589 research outputs found
A characterization of the scientific impact of Brazilian institutions
In this paper we studied the research activity of Brazilian Institutions for
all sciences and also their performance in the area of physics between 1945 and
December 2008. All the data come from the Web of Science database for this
period. The analysis of the experimental data shows that, within a nonextensive
thermostatistical formalism, the Tsallis \emph{q}-exponential distribution
can constitute a new characterization of the research impact for
Brazilian Institutions. The data examined in the present survey can be fitted
successfully by applying a universal curve namely, with for {\it all} the available citations
, being an "effective temperature". The present analysis ultimately
suggests that via the "effective temperature" , we can provide a new
performance metric for the impact level of the research activity in Brazil,
taking into account the number of the publications and their citations. This
new performance metric takes into account the "quantity" (number of
publications) and the "quality" (number of citations) for different Brazilian
Institutions. In addition we analyzed the research performance of Brazil to
show how the scientific research activity changes with time, for instance
between 1945 to 1985, then during the period 1986-1990, 1991-1995, and so on
until the present. Finally, this work intends to show a new methodology that
can be used to analyze and compare institutions within a given country.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figure
Particle interactions with single or multiple 3D solar reconnecting current sheets
The acceleration of charged particles (electrons and protons) in flaring
solar active regions is analyzed by numerical experiments. The acceleration is
modelled as a stochastic process taking place by the interaction of the
particles with local magnetic reconnection sites via multiple steps. Two types
of local reconnecting topologies are studied: the Harris-type and the X-point.
A formula for the maximum kinetic energy gain in a Harris-type current sheet,
found in a previous work of ours, fits well the numerical data for a single
step of the process. A generalization is then given approximating the kinetic
energy gain through an X-point. In the case of the multiple step process, in
both topologies the particles' kinetic energy distribution is found to acquire
a practically invariant form after a small number of steps. This tendency is
interpreted theoretically. Other characteristics of the acceleration process
are given, such as the mean acceleration time and the pitch angle distributions
of the particles.Comment: 18 pages, 9 figures, Solar Physics, in pres
A comparative study of a theoretical neural net model with MEG data from epileptic patients and normal individuals
OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to compare a theoretical neural net model with MEG data from epileptic patients and normal individuals. METHODS: Our experimental study population included 10 epilepsy sufferers and 10 healthy subjects. The recordings were obtained with a one-channel biomagnetometer SQUID in a magnetically shielded room. RESULTS: Using the method of x(2)-fitting it was found that the MEG amplitudes in epileptic patients and normal subjects had Poisson and Gauss distributions respectively. The Poisson connectivity derived from the theoretical neural model represents the state of epilepsy, whereas the Gauss connectivity represents normal behavior. The MEG data obtained from epileptic areas had higher amplitudes than the MEG from normal regions and were comparable with the theoretical magnetic fields from Poisson and Gauss distributions. Furthermore, the magnetic field derived from the theoretical model had amplitudes in the same order as the recorded MEG from the 20 participants. CONCLUSION: The approximation of the theoretical neural net model with real MEG data provides information about the structure of the brain function in epileptic and normal states encouraging further studies to be conducted
Wavelet analysis on pressure stimulated currents emitted by marble samples
International audienceThis paper presents a wavelet based method of analysis of experimentally recorded weak electric signals from marble specimens which have undergone successive abrupt step loadings. Experimental results verify the existence of "memory effects" in rocks, as far as the current emission is concerned, akin to the "Kaiser effect" in acoustic emissions, which accompany rock fracturing. Macroscopic signal processing shows similarities and differences between the currents emitted during successive loading and wavelet analysis can reveal significant differences between the currents of each loading cycle that contain valuable information for the micro and macro cracks in the specimen as well as information for the remaining strength of the material. Wavelets make possible the time localization of the energy of the electric signal emitted by stressed specimens and can serve as method to differentiate between compressed and uncompressed samples, or to determine the deformation level of specimens
Nonlinear Site Response During the 7 September 1999 Athens, Greece, Earthquake (M\u3csub\u3eW\u3c/sub\u3e 5.6)
The largest available strong-motion recording (PGA=0.35g), least affected by topography, structural response and/or soil-structure interaction, is investigated for possible nonlinear site response during the M, 5.9 Athens earthquake of 7 September 1999. Smoothed horizontal-to-vertical spectral ratios (HVSR) are calculated in subsequent overlapping 3.5-s windows, thus covering a wide range of excitation levels. Mean HVSR curves are computed for a so-called “weak-“ and “strong-“ motion range (mean horizontal ground acceleration in window, MGA\u3c=10.2 cm/s/s and \u3e=20.5 cm/s/s). The two curves have similar shape, with the “strong” curve visibly shifted toward lower frequencies relative to the “weak” one; the dominant site resonance occurs at 4.0 Hz (0.25 s) and 4.7 Hz (0.21 s), respectively. Linear correlation analysis shows that the resonance frequency, f0, and MGA are significantly correlated (t=-0.661). We attribute this behaviour to the degradation of the sediment shear modulus (nonlinearity). Our results, combined with indications that sediment sites in the near-fault area were exposed to ground shaking well above PGA=0.35 g during the earthquake of 7 September 1999, imply that these sites exhibited considerable nonlinear response
Energy Spectrum of the Electrons Accelerated by a Reconnection Electric Field: Exponential or Power Law?
The direct current (DC) electric field near the reconnection region has been
proposed as an effective mechanism to accelerate protons and electrons in solar
flares. A power-law energy spectrum was generally claimed in the simulations of
electron acceleration by the reconnection electric field. However in most of
the literature, the electric and magnetic fields were chosen independently. In
this paper, we perform test-particle simulations of electron acceleration in a
reconnecting magnetic field, where both the electric and magnetic fields are
adopted from numerical simulations of the MHD equations. It is found that the
accelerated electrons present a truncated power-law energy spectrum with an
exponential tail at high energies, which is analogous to the case of diffusive
shock acceleration. The influences of reconnection parameters on the spectral
feature are also investigated, such as the longitudinal and transverse
components of the magnetic field and the size of the current sheet. It is
suggested that the DC electric field alone might not be able to reproduce the
observed single or double power-law distributions.Comment: 18 pages, 6 figures, published in Ap
Scanning probe microscopy techniques for mechanical characterization at nanoscale
Three atomic force microscopy (AFM)-based techniques are reviewed that allow one to conduct accurate measurements of mechanical properties of either stiff or compliant materials at a nanometer scale. Atomic force acoustic microscopy, AFM-based depth sensing indentation, and torsional harmonic AFM are briefly described. Examples and results of quantitative characterization of stiff (an ultrathin SeSn film), soft polymeric (polyaniline fibers doped with detonation nanodiamond) and biological (collagen fibers) materials are reported
Testing of the Salmon Welfare Index Model (SWIM 1.0) as a computational welfare assessment for sea-caged European sea bass
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