Fusion yield: Guderley model and Tsallis statistics

The reaction rate probability integral is extended from Maxwell-Boltzmann approach to a more general approach by using the pathway model introduced by Mathai [Mathai A.M.:2005, A pathway to matrix-variate gamma and normal densities, Linear Algebra and Its Applications}, 396, 317-328]. The extended thermonuclear reaction rate is obtained in closed form via a Meijer's G-function and the so obtained G-function is represented as a solution of a homogeneous linear differential equation. A physical model for the hydrodynamical process in a fusion plasma compressed and laser-driven spherical shock wave is used for evaluating the fusion energy integral by integrating the extended thermonuclear reaction rate integral over the temperature. The result obtained is compared with the standard fusion yield obtained by Haubold and John in 1981.[Haubold, H.J. and John, R.W.:1981, Analytical representation of the thermonuclear reaction rate and fusion energy production in a spherical plasma shock wave, Plasma Physics, 23, 399-411]. An interpretation for the pathway parameter is also given.Comment: 17 pages, LaTe

Detect-alert-deter system for enhanced biosecurity and risk assessment

This project developed a prototype of a machine vision-based surveillance system to enhance wildlife biosecurity by automatically detecting and deterring target wildlife. It was programmed to recognise and target ducks, which are avian influenza (AI) reservoirs and a potential biosecurity risk. Other species may also be reservoir or bridge species that spread AI, and therefore seasonal surveys of wild birds on and around meat chicken farms were undertaken as wild bird migration patterns vary for wild birds at different times of the year

Probing the hydrogen melting line at high pressures by dynamic compression

We investigate the capabilities of dynamic compression by intense heavy ion beams to yield information about the high pressure phases of hydrogen. Employing ab initio simulations and experimental data, a new wide range equation of state for hydrogen is constructed. The results show that the melting line up to its maximum as well as the transition from molecular fluids to fully ionized plasmas can be tested with the beam parameters soon to be available. We demonstrate that x-ray scattering can distinguish between phases and dissociation states

A New Configuration of Vertical Axis Wind Turbine: Towards the Development of a highly distributed and efficient Wind Power Generation

Preliminary results obtained for a new configuration lift based vertical-axis wind turbine are shown. The turbine rotor is a cross flow fan type made with high curvature aerodynamic profiles. A reduced scale model of the turbine rotor has been designed and preliminary tested at the Department of Aerospace Engineering of the University of Pisa (rotor diameter 250 mm, rotor height 210 mm). The reduced scale model shows an efficiency of about eighteen per cent. The rotor is of a self-starting type. Two-dimensional CFD analyses have been performed applying both the Moving Reference Frame and the Moving Mesh conditions to the grid which surrounds the rotor blades (Fluent® Rel. 6.3 and STAR-CCM+® Rel. 6.04 have been used). Noticeable scale effects have been found numerically, so, the efficiency of a full scale lift based vertical axis multi-blades optimized wind turbine is expected to be comparable with lift based horizontal-axis wind turbines

A reduced coupled-mode description for the electron-ion energy relaxation in dense matter

We present a simplified model for the electron-ion energy relaxation in dense two-temperature systems that includes the effects of coupled collective modes. It also extends the standard Spitzer result to both degenerate and strongly coupled systems. Starting from the general coupled-mode description, we are able to solve analytically for the temperature relaxation time in warm dense matter and strongly coupled plasmas. This was achieved by decoupling the electron-ion dynamics and by representing the ion response in terms of the mode frequencies. The presented reduced model allows for a fast description of temperature equilibration within hydrodynamic simulations and an easy comparison for experimental investigations. For warm dense matter, both fluid and solid, the model gives a slower electron-ion equilibration than predicted by the classical Spitzer result

Ab Initio Simulations of Dense Helium Plasmas

We study the thermophysical properties of dense helium plasmas by using quantum molecular dynamics and orbital-free molecular dynamics simulations, where densities are considered from 400 to 800 g/cm$^{3}$ and temperatures up to 800 eV. Results are presented for the equation of state. From the Kubo-Greenwood formula, we derive the electrical conductivity and electronic thermal conductivity. In particular, with the increase in temperature, we discuss the change in the Lorenz number, which indicates a transition from strong coupling and degenerate state to moderate coupling and partial degeneracy regime for dense helium.Comment: 4 PRL pages, 3 figure

Effect of scan strategies and use of support structures on surface quality and hardness of L-PBF AlSi10Mg parts

Additive manufacturing allows for a great degree of design freedom and is rapidly becoming a mainstream manufacturing process. However, as in all manufacturing processes, it has its limitations and specificities. Equipping engineers with this knowledge allows for a higher degree of optimization, extracting the most out of this technology. Therefore, a specific part design was devised and created via L-PBF (Laser Powder Bed Fusion) using AlSi10Mg powder. Certain parameters were varied to identify the influence on material density, hardness, roughness, residual stress and microstructures. It was found that on heat treated parts laser pattern strategy is one of the most influential aspects, showing that chessboard and stripes 67° improved outcome; average Ra roughness varied between 8-12 μm, residual stress was higher on vertical surfaces than horizontal surfaces, with the combination of support structures and stripes 67° strategies generating the lowest residual stress (205 MPa on a lateral/vertical face), hardness was non-orientation dependent and larger on samples with chessboard fabrication strategies, while microstructures were composed of α-Al dendrites surrounded by Si particles. The distribution and grain size of the microstructure is dependent on location regarding melt pool and HAZ area. Furthermore, Al-Mg oxides were encountered on the surface, along with pores generating from lack of fusion

The AGE reader:a non-invasive method to assess long term tissue damage

AIMS: Advanced glycation endproducts (AGEs) are sugar modified adducts which arise during non-enzymatic glycoxidative stress. These compounds may become systemically elevated in disease states, and accumulate in tissue, especially on long-lived proteins. AGEs have been implicated in various acute, and chronic diseases, stressing the need for reliable and comprehensive measuring techniques. Measurement of AGEs in tissue such as skin requires skin biopsies, which is an invasive procedure. The AGE Reader has been developed to assess skin autofluorescence (SAF) non-invasively by the fluorescent properties of several AGEs. RESULTS/CONCLUSION: Various studies have shown that SAF is a useful marker of disease processes associated with oxidative stress. It is prospectively associated with development of cardiovascular events in patients with diabetes, renal or cardiovascular disease, and it predicts diabetes, cardiovascular disease and mortality in the general population. However, when measuring SAF in individual subjects, several factors may limit the reliability of the measurement, and hamper its use as a systemic biomarker for AGEs. These include endogenous factors present in the skin that absorb emission light such as melanin in dark-skinned subjects, but also factors that lead to temporal changes in SAF such as acute diseases and strenuous physical exercise associated with glycoxidative stress. Also, exogenous factors could potentially influence SAF levels inadvertently such as nutrition, and for example the application of skin care products. This review will give an overview of the AGE Reader functionality and the intrinsic, and exogenous factors which potentially influence the SAF assessment in individual subjects

La terapia farmacologica della fibromialgia = Pharmacological treatment of fibromyalgia

Fibromyalgia syndrome (FM) is a condition of chronic and diffuse muscular pain affecting particularly middle aged women. The aetiology of FM is not completely understood and it is currently considered a disorder of pain regulation. The most efficacious compounds include the tricyclic drugs and mixed reuptake inhibitors. Recent works suggest that the anticonvulsant medications pregabalin and gabapentin are also effective. Moreover, two serotonin and norepinephrine-reuptake inhibitors-duloxetine and milnacipran show encouraging results in treating FM symptoms. The results of clinical trials of anti-inflammatory medications have been generally disappointing, but three RCTs have found that tramadol (with or without acetaminophen) is effective in FM