Dipole-dipole interaction between a quantum dot and graphene nanodisk

We study theoretically the dipole-dipole interaction and energy transfer in a hybrid system consisting of a quantum dot and graphene nanodisk embedded in a nonlinear photonic crystal. In our model a probe laser field is applied to measure the energy transfer between the quantum dot and graphene nanodisk while a control field manipulates the energy transfer process. These fields create excitons in the quantum dot and surface plasmon polaritons in the graphene nanodisk which interact via the dipole-dipole interaction. Here the nonlinear photonic crystal acts as a tunable photonic reservoir for the quantum dot, and is used to control the energy transfer. We have found that the spectrum of power absorption in the quantum dot has two peaks due to the creation of two dressed excitons in the presence of the dipole-dipole interaction. The energy transfer rate spectrum of the graphene nanodisk also has two peaks due to the absorption of these two dressed excitons. Additionally, energy transfer between the quantum dot and the graphene nanodisk can be switched on and off by applying a pump laser to the photonic crystal or by adjusting the strength of the dipole-dipole interaction. We show that the intensity and frequencies of the peaks in the energy transfer rate spectra can be modified by changing the number of graphene monolayers in the nanodisk or the separation between the quantum dot and graphene. Our results agree with existing experiments on a qualitative basis. The principle of our system can be employed to fabricate nano-biosensors, optical nano-switches, and energy transfer devices

The muscle-powered bite of allosaurus (dinosauria; theropoda): an interpretation of cranio-dental morphology

11 pages, 7 figures.[EN] The skull morphology of Allosaurus has been the subject of functional interpretations which imply a predatory behaviour radically different from that recorded in any predatory land vertebrate. Those interpretations imply the use of the skull and maxillary dentition as analogues of hand-held, man-made weapons, incorporating the inertia of the predator's dash toward prey to add to the effect of the impact, and using wide jaw gapes as a way to keep the mandible out of the way of such blows. We re-interpret the evident adaptations for gape and for recruitment of neck muscles in head depression of Al/osaurus in terms of a muscle-powered bite directed at surfaces with moderate convexity, such as the bodies of very large preso In our model, the force s leading to penetration of the teeth are generated in the context of the opposition between the maxillary and the mandible. This interpretation allows us to incorporate all the observed adaptations of the Al/osaurus skull, while avoiding the problems created by previous models.[ES] La morfología craneal de Al/osaurus ha sido objeto de interpretaciones funcionales que implican un comportamiento depredador radicalmente distinto para el inferido para cualquier vertebrado depredador terrestre. Esas interpretaciones implican el uso de la dentición superior e inferior como análogos de cuchillos o dagas manufacturadas por el hombre, incorporando la inercia del golpe del depredador contra la presa para añadir el efecto del impacto, y usando amplias aperturas mandibulares para mantener la mandíbula fuera de la línea de acción del impacto. Reinterpretamos las evidentes adaptaciones para amplias aberturas mandibulares, y para la utilización de la musculatura cervical en la depresión de la cabeza de Allosaurus en función de una mordida basada en la fuerza muscular dirigida a superficies moderadamente convexas, como el cuerpo de una gran presa. En nuestro modelo, las fuerzas que producen la penetración son generadas en el contexto de una oposición entre el maxilar y la mandíbula. Esta interpretación nos permite incorporar todas las adaptaciones observadas en el cráneo de Allosaurus, al mismo tiempo que se evitan los problemas creados por modelos alternativos.Peer reviewe

Relativistic Magnetohydrodynamics: Renormalized eigenvectors and full wave decomposition Riemann solver

We obtain renormalized sets of right and left eigenvectors of the flux vector Jacobians of the relativistic MHD equations, which are regular and span a complete basis in any physical state including degenerate ones. The renormalization procedure relies on the characterization of the degeneracy types in terms of the normal and tangential components of the magnetic field to the wavefront in the fluid rest frame. Proper expressions of the renormalized eigenvectors in conserved variables are obtained through the corresponding matrix transformations. Our work completes previous analysis that present different sets of right eigenvectors for non-degenerate and degenerate states, and can be seen as a relativistic generalization of earlier work performed in classical MHD. Based on the full wave decomposition (FWD) provided by the the renormalized set of eigenvectors in conserved variables, we have also developed a linearized (Roe-type) Riemann solver. Extensive testing against one- and two-dimensional standard numerical problems allows us to conclude that our solver is very robust. When compared with a family of simpler solvers that avoid the knowledge of the full characteristic structure of the equations in the computation of the numerical fluxes, our solver turns out to be less diffusive than HLL and HLLC, and comparable in accuracy to the HLLD solver. The amount of operations needed by the FWD solver makes it less efficient computationally than those of the HLL family in one-dimensional problems. However its relative efficiency increases in multidimensional simulations.Comment: 50 pages, 17 figures (2 in color). Submitted to ApJ Suppl. Se

Modeling general, specific, and method variance in personality measures: Results for ZKA-PQ and NEO-PI-R

Reprinted by permission of SAGE PublicationsContemporary models of personality assume a hierarchical structure in which broader traits contain narrower traits. Individual differences in response styles also constitute a source of score variance. In this study, the bifactor model is applied to separate these sources of variance for personality subscores. The procedure is illustrated using data for two personality inventories—NEO Personality Inventory–Revised and Zuckerman–Kuhlman–Aluja Personality Questionnaire. The inclusion of the acquiescence method factor generally improved the fit to acceptable levels for the Zuckerman–Kuhlman–Aluja Personality Questionnaire, but not for the NEO Personality Inventory–Revised. This effect was higher in subscales where the number of direct and reverse items is not balanced. Loadings on the specific factors were usually smaller than the loadings on the general factor. In some cases, part of the variance was due to domains being different from the main one. This information is of particular interest to researchers as they can identify which subscale scores have more potential to increase predictive validit

Adaptive Filtered-x Algorithms for Room Equalization Based on Block-Based Combination Schemes

(c) 2016 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. Permission from IEEE must be obtained for all other users, including reprinting/ republishing this material for advertising or promotional purposes, creating new collective works for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted components of this work in other works.[EN] Room equalization has become essential for sound reproduction systems to provide the listener with the desired acoustical sensation. Recently, adaptive filters have been proposed as an effective tool in the core of these systems. In this context, this paper introduces different novel schemes based on the combination of adaptive filters idea: a versatile and flexible approach that permits obtaining adaptive schemes combining the capabilities of several independent adaptive filters. In this way, we have investigated the advantages of a scheme called combination of block-based adaptive filters which allows a blockwise combination splitting the adaptive filters into nonoverlapping blocks. This idea was previously applied to the plant identification problem, but has to be properly modified to obtain a suitable behavior in the equalization application. Moreover, we propose a scheme with the aim of further improving the equalization performance using the a priori knowledge of the energy distribution of the optimal inverse filter, where the block filters are chosen to fit with the coefficients energy distribution. Furthermore, the biased block-based filter is also introduced as a particular case of the combination scheme, especially suited for low signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) or sparse scenarios. Although the combined schemes can be employed with any kind of adaptive filter, we employ the filtered-x improved proportionate normalized least mean square algorithm as basis of the proposed algorithms, allowing to introduce a novel combination scheme based on partitioned block schemes where different blocks of the adaptive filter use different parameter settings. Several experiments are included to evaluate the proposed algorithms in terms of convergence speed and steady-state behavior for different degrees of sparseness and SNRs.The work of L. A. Azpicueta-Ruiz was supported in part by the Comtmidad de Madrid through CASI-CAM-CM under Grant S2013/ICE-2845, in part by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness through DAMA under Grant TIN2015-70308-REDT, and Grant TEC2014-52289-R, and in part by the European Union. The work of L. Fuster, M. Ferrer, and M. de Diego was supported in part by EU together with the Spanish Government under Grant TEC2015-67387-C4-1-R (MINECO/FEDER), and in part by the Cieneralitat Valenciana under Grant PROMETEOII/2014/003. The associate editor coordinating the review of this manuscript and approving it for publication was Prof. Simon Dodo.Fuster Criado, L.; Diego Antón, MD.; Azpicueta-Ruiz, LA.; Ferrer Contreras, M. (2016). Adaptive Filtered-x Algorithms for Room Equalization Based on Block-Based Combination Schemes. IEEE/ACM Transactions on Audio, Speech and Language Processing. 24(10):1732-1745. https://doi.org/10.1109/TASLP.2016.2583065S17321745241

Effect of potential formation on the electrochemical behaviour of a highly-alloyed austenitic stainless steel in contaminated phosphoric acid at different temperatures

The electrochemical behaviour of the highly alloyed austenitic stainless steel UNS N08031 (Alloy 31) in a contaminated phosphoric acid solution is studied using potentiodynamic curves, EIS and Mott–Shottky. The relative stability of the films formed on Alloy 31 has been studied after a pre-passivated treatment at 0.3, 0.5, 0.8 and 1 VAg/AgCl, potentials within the passive domain. The protection of Alloy 31 was provided by the inner oxide film, while the outer film was more defective. The electronic-semiconducting properties of the passive films have been correlated to corrosion resistance. Passivated Alloy 31 at 0.8 VAg/AgCl showed lower concentration of charge carriers, which beneficially affects the protecting and electronic properties of the passive oxide film.The authors wish to express their gratitude to the MAEC of Spain (PCI Mediterraneo C/8196/07, C/018046/08, D/023608/09 and D/030177/10), to Programa de Apoyo a la Investigacion y Desarrollo de la UPV (PAID-06-09), to the Generalitat Valenciana (GV/2011/093) for the financial support and to Dra. Asuncion Jaime for her translation assistance.Escrivá Cerdán, C.; Blasco Tamarit, ME.; García García, DM.; García Antón, J.; Guenbour, A. (2012). Effect of potential formation on the electrochemical behaviour of a highly-alloyed austenitic stainless steel in contaminated phosphoric acid at different temperatures. Electrochimica Acta. 80:248-256. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electacta.2012.07.012S2482568

An essential role for the MAL protein in targeting Lck to the plasma membrane of human T lymphocytes

The MAL protein is an essential component of the specialized machinery for apical targeting in epithelial cells. The src family kinase Lck plays a pivotal role in T cell signaling. We show that MAL is required in T cells for efficient expression of Lck at the plasma membrane and activation of IL-2 transcription. To investigate the mechanism by which MAL regulates Lck targeting, we analyzed the dynamics of Lck and found that it travels to the plasma membrane in specific transport carriers containing MAL. Coimmunoprecipitation experiments indicated an association of MAL with Lck. Both carrier formation and partitioning of Lck into detergent-insoluble membranes were ablated in the absence of MAL. Polarization of T cell receptor for antigen (TCR) and microtubule-organizing center to immunological synapse (IS) were also defective. Although partial correction of the latter defects was possible by forced expression of Lck at the plasma membrane, their complete correction, formation of transport vesicles, partitioning of Lck, and restoration of signaling pathways, which are required for IL-2 transcription up-regulation, were achieved by exogenous expression of MAL. We concluded that MAL is required for recruitment of Lck to specialized membranes and formation of specific transport carriers for Lck targeting. This novel transport pathway is crucial for TCR-mediated signaling and IS assembly

Influenza vaccine and risk of acute myocardial infarction in a population-based case-control study

Objective To assess the relationship between influenza vaccination and risk of a first acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in the general population by different epidemic periods. Methods This is a population-based case?control study carried out in BIFAP (Base de datos para la investigación farmacoepidemiológica en atención primaria), over 2001?2015, in patients aged 40?99 years. Per each incident AMI case, five controls were randomly selected, individually matched for exact age, sex and index date (AMI diagnosis). A patient was considered vaccinated when he/she had a recorded influenza vaccination at least 14 days before the index date within the same season. The association between influenza vaccination and AMI risk was assessed through a conditional logistic regression, computing adjusted ORs (AOR) and their respective 95% CIs. The analysis was performed overall and by each of the three time epidemic periods per study year (pre-epidemic, epidemic and postepidemic). Results We identified 24 155 AMI cases and 120 775 matched controls. Of them, 31.4% and 31.2%, respectively, were vaccinated, yielding an AOR of 0.85 (95% CI 0.82 to 0.88). No effect modification by sex, age and background cardiovascular risk was observed. The reduced risk of AMI was observed shortly after vaccination and persisted over time. Similar results were obtained during the pre-epidemic (AOR=0.87; 95% CI 0.79 to 0.95), epidemic (AOR=0.89; 95% CI 0.82 to 0.96) and postepidemic (AOR=0.83; 95% CI 0.79 to 0.87) periods. No association was found with pneumococcal vaccine (AOR=1.10; 95% CI 1.06 to 1.15). Conclusions Results are compatible with a moderate protective effect of influenza vaccine on AMI in the general population, mostly in primary prevention, although bias due to unmeasured confounders may partly account for the results.Instituto de Salud Carlos IIIMinisterio de Ciencia e InnovaciónHospital Universitario Príncipe de Asturia