Wigner instability analysis of the damped Hirota equation

We address the modulation instability of the Hirota equation in the presence of stochastic spatial incoherence and linear time-dependent amplification/attenuation processes via the Wigner function approach. We show that the modulation instability remains baseband type, though the damping mechanisms substantially reduce the unstable spectrum independent of the higher-order contributions (e.g. the higher-order nonlinear interaction and the third-order dispersion). Additionally, we find out that the unstable structure due to the Kerr interaction exhibits a significant resilience to the third-order-dispersion stabilizing effects in comparison with the higher-order nonlinearity, as well as a moderate Lorentzian spectrum damping may assist the rising of instability. Finally, we also discuss the relevance of our results in the context of current experiments exploring extreme wave events driven by the modulation instability (e.g. the generation of the so-called rogue waves).Comment: 7+4 pages. 3 figures. Comments are welcome. To appear in Physica

Riesz transforms, Cauchy-Riemann systems and amalgam Hardy spaces

In this paper we study Hardy spaces $\mathcal{H}^{p,q}(\mathbb{R}^d)$, $0<p,q<\infty$, modeled over amalgam spaces $(L^p,\ell^q)(\mathbb{R}^d)$. We characterize $\mathcal{H}^{p,q}(\mathbb{R}^d)$ by using first order classical Riesz transforms and compositions of first order Riesz transforms depending on the values of the exponents $p$ and $q$. Also, we describe the distributions in $\mathcal{H}^{p,q}(\mathbb{R}^d)$ as the boundary values of solutions of harmonic and caloric Cauchy-Riemann systems. We remark that caloric Cauchy-Riemann systems involve fractional derivative in the time variable. Finally we characterize the functions in $L^2(\mathbb{R}^d) \cap \mathcal{H}^{p,q}(\mathbb{R}^d)$ by means of Fourier multipliers $m_\theta$ with symbol $\theta(\cdot/|\cdot|)$, where $\theta \in C^\infty(\mathbb{S}^{d-1})$ and $\mathbb{S}^{d-1}$ denotes the unit sphere in $\mathbb{R}^d$.Comment: 24 page

Reservoir formation in shallow granular flows through a contraction

We consider flow of dry granular matter down an inclined chute with a localized contraction. Measurements and analysis show that changes in particle volume fraction are important, especially across granular bores. For fixed upstream conditions and depending on the nozzle width of the contraction, we observe either small oblique jumps, a reservoir with a steady jump, or a reservoir with an upstream traveling bore. Shallow layer theory extended to include porosity changes qualitatively predicts these regimes. Implications for volcanic debris \ud ows are discussed

“What makes a house a home?”: A theoretical model for the architectural design of homes based on human psychological needs to support and promote users’ psychological well-being

The current PhD thesis investigates the relationship between the Architectural design of homes and inhabitants’ psychological well-being. Psychological wellbeing is understood to be achieved by addressing human psychological needs. In fact, while there are many guidelines and policies that inform the architectural design of homes, there is a lack of consideration for the satisfaction of human needs through design. People spend most of their lifetime inside their homes compared to any other form of built environment, However, most of existing literature on psychological well-being within the built environment focuses on non-residential buildings such as; offices, schools, elderly homes, hospitals, etc. and there is a general lack of literature on well-being in homes specifically. This research combines the two fields of architecture and psychology, by investigating theories of psychological needs as these are the key nutriments of psychological well-being.The aim of this research was to develop a theoretical model of the architectural design of homes based on human needs to support and promote users’ psychological well-being.A mixed methods approach was adopted to address and achieve the research aim. First, a quantitative survey questionnaire was distributed online and around Bristol, UK (n=101) to explore if there was a link between residents’ perceptions of their homes and their psychological well-being. Second, a series of qualitative semi-structured interviews took place in Clifton, Bristol (n=13) to investigate, in-depth, the results of the survey.The results of the quantitative study demonstrated a direct link between residents’ satisfaction with their home and satisfaction with life in general. Further, the survey showed the importance of the physical structure of homes and of perceived opportunities for personalisation in the overall satisfaction with a home and subsequently, well-being and life in general. The qualitative phase results identified five key themes which were perceived to affect the experience of homes; physical structure, memories embodied in the home, security, transformability, and cultural preference.The main contributions to knowledge that this PhD thesis offers are:• An assessment of well-being in the built environment focusing on homes.• A study of human needs to identify the architectural needs for a healthy home.• A theoretical model of the architectural design of homes based on human needs to support and promote users’ psychological well-being

Optimal Container Migration for Mobile Edge Computing: Algorithm, System Design and Implementation

Edge computing is a promising alternative to cloud computing for offloading computationally heavy tasks from resource-constrained mobile user devices. Placed at the edge of the network, edge computing is particularly advantageous to delay-limited applications for having a short distance to end- users. However, when a mobile user moves away from the service coverage of the associated edge server, the advantage gradually vanishes, increasing response time. Although service migration has been studied to address this problem focusing on minimizing the service downtime, both zero-downtime and the amount of traffic generated as a result of migration need further study. In this paper, an optimal live migration for containerized edge computing service is studied. This paper presents three zero-downtime migration techniques based on state duplication and state reproduction techniques, and then, proposes an optimal migration technique selection algorithm that jointly minimizes the response time and network traffic during migration. For validation and performance comparison, the proposed migration techniques are implemented on off-the-shelf hardware with Linux operating system. The evaluation results showed that compared with a naive migration, the optimal approach reduced the response time and network load by at least 74.75% and 94.79%, respectively, under considered scenarios

Current Status of Baricitinib as a Repurposed Therapy for COVID-19

The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic has mandated the instant (re)search for potential drug candidates. In response to the unprecedented situation, it was recognized early that repurposing of available drugs in the market could timely save lives, by skipping the lengthy phases of preclinical and initial safety studies. BenevolentAI’s large knowledge graph repository of structured medical information suggested baricitinib, a Janus-associated kinase inhibitor, as a potential repurposed medicine with a dual mechanism; hindering SARS-CoV2 entry and combatting the cytokine storm; the leading cause of mortality in COVID-19. However, the recently-published Adaptive COVID-19 Treatment Trial-2 (ACTT-2) positioned baricitinib only in combination with remdesivir for treatment of a specific category of COVID-19 patients, whereas the drug is not recommended to be used alone except in clinical trials. The increased pace of data output in all life sciences fields has changed our understanding of data processing and manipulation. For the purpose of drug design, development, or repurposing, the integration of different disciplines of life sciences is highly recommended to achieve the ultimate benefit of using new technologies to mine BIG data, however, the final say remains to be concluded after the drug is used in clinical practice. This review demonstrates different bioinformatics, chemical, pharmacological, and clinical aspects of baricitinib to highlight the repurposing journey of the drug and evaluates its placement in the current guidelines for COVID-19 treatment

Theoretical and Experimental Study of the Absorption rate of H2S in CuSO4 Solutions. The Effect of Enhancement of Mass Transfer by a Precipitation Reaction

In this paper the desulphurization of gas streams using aqueous copper sulphate (CuSO4) solutions as washing liquor is studied theoretically and experimentally. The desulphurization is accomplished by a precipitation reaction that occurs when sulphide ions and metal ions are brought into contact with each other. Absorption experiments of H2S in aqueous CuSO4 solutions were carried out in a Mechanically Agitated Gas Liquid Reactor. The experiments were conducted at a temperature of 293 K and CuSO4 concentrations between 0.01 and 0.1 M. These experiments showed that the process efficiently removes H2S. Furthermore, the experiments indicate that the absorption of H2S in a CuSO4 solution may typically be considered a mass transfer limited process at, for this type of industrial process, relevant conditions. The extended model developed by Al-Tarazi et al. (2004) has been used to predict the rate of H2S absorption. This model describes the absorption and accompanying precipitation process in terms of, among others, elementary reaction steps, particle nucleation and growth. The results from this extended model and results obtained with a much simpler model, regarding the absorption of H2S in CuSO4 containing aqueous solutions as absorption of a gas accompanied by an instantaneous irreversible reaction were compared with experimental results. From this comparison it appeared that the absorption rate of H2S in a CuSO4 solution can, under certain conditions, be considered as a mass transfer rate controlled process. Under a much wider range of conditions the error that is made by assuming that the absorption process is a mass transfer controlled process, is still within engineering accuracy. Application of the simple model allows for a considerable reduction of the theoretical effort needed for the design of a gas-liquid contacting device, thereby still assuring that the desired gas specification can be met under a wide range of operating conditions. A comparison of the experimental results and the simulated results showed that the extended model gives an under prediction of the H2S absorption rate for the experimental conditions applied

Geometry and subsidence history of the Dead Sea basin : a case for fluid-induced mid-crustal shear zone?

This paper is not subject to U.S. copyright. The definitive version was published in Journal of Geophysical Research 117 (2012): B01406, doi:10.1029/2011JB008711.Pull-apart basins are narrow zones of crustal extension bounded by strike-slip faults that can serve as analogs to the early stages of crustal rifting. We use seismic tomography, 2-D ray tracing, gravity modeling, and subsidence analysis to study crustal extension of the Dead Sea basin (DSB), a large and long-lived pull-apart basin along the Dead Sea transform (DST). The basin gradually shallows southward for 50 km from the only significant transverse normal fault. Stratigraphic relationships there indicate basin elongation with time. The basin is deepest (8–8.5 km) and widest (~15 km) under the Lisan about 40 km north of the transverse fault. Farther north, basin depth is ambiguous, but is 3 km deep immediately north of the lake. The underlying pre-basin sedimentary layer thickens gradually from 2 to 3 km under the southern edge of the DSB to 3–4 km under the northern end of the lake and 5–6 km farther north. Crystalline basement is ~11 km deep under the deepest part of the basin. The upper crust under the basin has lower P wave velocity than in the surrounding regions, which is interpreted to reflect elevated pore fluids there. Within data resolution, the lower crust below ~18 km and the Moho are not affected by basin development. The subsidence rate was several hundreds of m/m.y. since the development of the DST ~17 Ma, similar to other basins along the DST, but subsidence rate has accelerated by an order of magnitude during the Pleistocene, which allowed the accumulation of 4 km of sediment. We propose that the rapid subsidence and perhaps elongation of the DSB are due to the development of inter-connected mid-crustal ductile shear zones caused by alteration of feldspar to muscovite in the presence of pore fluids. This alteration resulted in a significant strength decrease and viscous creep. We propose a similar cause to the enigmatic rapid subsidence of the North Sea at the onset the North Atlantic mantle plume. Thus, we propose that aqueous fluid flux into a slowly extending continental crust can cause rapid basin subsidence that may be erroneously interpreted as an increased rate of tectonic activity.Fieldwork was funded by U.S. AID Middle Eastern Regional Cooperation Program grant M21–012, with in-kind contributions by Al-Balqa’ Applied University (Jordan), the Geophysical Institute of Israel, and the U.S. Geological Survey