Inertial oscillation modes of an inclined dipolar magnetosphere as a source of band-limited noise in X-ray pulsars

Magnetic fields of strongly magnetized stars can trap conducting matter due to frozen-in condition. In the force-free regime, the motion of the matter along the field lines may be considered in the 'bead on a wire' approximation. Such a motion, if gravity and centrifugal forces are taken into account, has equilibrium points, some of which are stable. In most cases, stability is possible in about several per cent of the possible locations. Corresponding oscillation frequencies span the range from zero to root 3 of the spin frequency. We suggest that this variability mode may be excited in some X-ray pulsars during the outbursts and create the peaked broad-band noise component near the break frequency in the power density spectrum, as well as produce some of the quasi-periodic oscillation features in this frequency range. Existence of this variability does not require any changes in mass accretion rate and involves only a small amount of matter infiltrating from the disc and magnetic flow due to interchange instabilities

Magnetic angle evolution in accreting neutron stars

The rotation of a magnetized accreting neutron star (NS) in a binary system is described by its spin period and two angles: spin inclination alpha with respect to the orbital momentum and magnetic angle chi between the spin and the magnetic moment. Magnetospheric accretion spins the NS up and adjusts its rotation axis, decreasing alpha to nearly perfect alignment. Its effect upon the magnetic angle is more subtle and relatively unstudied. In this work, we model the magnetic angle evolution of a rigid spherical accreting NS. We find that the torque spinning the NS up may affect the magnetic angle while both alpha and chi significantly deviate from zero, and the spin-up torque varies with the phase of the spin period. As the rotation axis of the NS is being aligned with the spin-up torque, the magnetic axis becomes misaligned with the rotation axis. Under favourable conditions, magnetic angle may increase by Delta chi similar to 15 degrees-20 degrees. This orthogonalization may be an important factor in the evolution of millisecond pulsars, as it partially compensates the chi decrease potentially caused by pulsar torques. If the direction of the spin-up torque changes randomly with time, as in wind-fed high-mass X-ray binaries, both the rotation axis of the NS and its magnetic axis become involved in a non-linear random-walk evolution. The ultimate attractor of this process is a bimodal distribution in chi peaking at chi = 0 degrees and chi = 90 degrees.</p

Analysis of micromechanical and tribotechnical properties of fluoropolymers during friction on 40Kh steel

The paper presents the results of micromechanical and tribotechnical tests of samples of polytetrafluoroethylene, radiation-modified (PTFE – RM according to modes A and B), coked in comparison with the PTFE standard (Fluoroplast -F4). The influence of the surface roughness of a 40Kh steel counter-tile on the coefficients of friction against time at a constant sliding speed is considered. Micromechanical tests were carried out using the method of instrumental indentation with a triangular Berkovich diamond pyramid. Tribotechnical tests were performed on a friction machine with a vertical axis of rotation of the spindle according to the scheme “the end of the sample of the fluoropolymer disk is the end of the counter-flange of the annular sleeve (steel 40Kh)” without lubrication and when the friction pair is lubricated with MGE-10A hydraulic oil. It was found that during friction without lubrication, PTFE samples had the maximum friction coefficients, and F4K20 samples had the minimum friction coefficients when working with 40X steel counter-tiles treated with P180 sandpaper. PTFE-RM (A) samples had the best wear resistance, followed by decreasing F4K20, PTFE – RM (B) and PTFE under friction without lubrication. In the presence of lubricant, the samples of the PTFE standard were inferior in wear resistance to the F4K20 samples, but were 5-7% better than the samples of PTFE-RM (B) and (A), respectively

Evidence of longterm cyclic evolution of radio pulsar periods

The measurements of pulsar frequency second derivatives have shown that they are 1e2...1e6 times larger than expected for standard pulsar spin-down law. Moreover, the second derivatives as well as braking indices are even negative for about half the pulsars. We explain these paradoxical results on the basis of the statistical analysis of the rotational parameters f0, f1 and f2 of the subset of 295 pulsars taken mostly from the ATNF database. We have found a strong correlation between f2 and f1 for both f2 > 0 (correlation coefficient r ~ 0.9) and f2 < 0 (r ~ 0.85), as well as between f0 and f1 (r ~ 0.6...0.7). We interpret these dependencies as evolutionary ones due to f1 being nearly proportional to the pulsars' age. The derived statistical relations as well as "anomalous" values of f2 are well described by assuming the existence of long-time variations of the spin-down rate. The pulsar frequency evolution, therefore, consists of secular change of f0_{ev}(t), f1_{ev}(t) and f2_{ev}(t) according to the power law with n ~ 5, the irregularities, observed within the timespan as timing noise, and the non-monotonous variations on the timescale of several tens of years, which is larger than that of the timespan. It is possible that the nature of long-term variations is similar to that of short-term ones. The idea of non-constant secular pulsars' braking index n is also analysed.Comment: 8 pages, 8 figures. To appear in Advances in Space Research in the proceedings of the 36th COSPAR Scientific Assembly, Beijing, July 200

On the peculiarities in the rotational frequency evolution of isolated neutron stars

The measurements of pulsar frequency second derivatives have shown that they are $10^2-10^6$ times larger than expected for standard pulsar spin-down law, and are even negative for about half of pulsars. We explain these paradoxical results on the basis of the statistical analysis of the rotational parameters $\nu$, $\dot \nu$ and $\ddot \nu$ of the subset of 295 pulsars taken mostly from the ATNF database. We have found a strong correlation between $\ddot \nu$ and $\dot \nu$ for both $\ddot\nu > 0$ and $\ddot\nu < 0$, as well as between $\nu$ and $\dot\nu$. We interpret these dependencies as evolutionary ones due to $\dot\nu$ being nearly proportional to the pulsars' age. The derived statistical relations as well as "anomalous" values of $\ddot\nu$ are well described by assuming the long-time variations of the spin-down rate. The pulsar frequency evolution, therefore, consists of secular change of $\nu_{ev}(t)$, $\dot\nu_{ev}(t)$ and $\ddot\nu_{ev}(t)$ according to the power law with $n \approx 5$, the irregularities, observed within a timespan as a timing noise, and the variations on the timescale larger than that timespan -- several tens of years.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures. Accepted for publication in ApSS, in the proceedings of the conference "Isolated Neutron Stars: from the Interior to the Surface", London, April 2006; eds. S. Zane, R. Turolla and D. Pag

Global, regional, and national under-5 mortality, adult mortality, age-specific mortality, and life expectancy, 1970–2016: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2016

BACKGROUND: Detailed assessments of mortality patterns, particularly age-specific mortality, represent a crucial input that enables health systems to target interventions to specific populations. Understanding how all-cause mortality has changed with respect to development status can identify exemplars for best practice. To accomplish this, the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2016 (GBD 2016) estimated age-specific and sex-specific all-cause mortality between 1970 and 2016 for 195 countries and territories and at the subnational level for the five countries with a population greater than 200 million in 2016. METHODS: We have evaluated how well civil registration systems captured deaths using a set of demographic methods called death distribution methods for adults and from consideration of survey and census data for children younger than 5 years. We generated an overall assessment of completeness of registration of deaths by dividing registered deaths in each location-year by our estimate of all-age deaths generated from our overall estimation process. For 163 locations, including subnational units in countries with a population greater than 200 million with complete vital registration (VR) systems, our estimates were largely driven by the observed data, with corrections for small fluctuations in numbers and estimation for recent years where there were lags in data reporting (lags were variable by location, generally between 1 year and 6 years). For other locations, we took advantage of different data sources available to measure under-5 mortality rates (U5MR) using complete birth histories, summary birth histories, and incomplete VR with adjustments; we measured adult mortality rate (the probability of death in individuals aged 15-60 years) using adjusted incomplete VR, sibling histories, and household death recall. We used the U5MR and adult mortality rate, together with crude death rate due to HIV in the GBD model life table system, to estimate age-specific and sex-specific death rates for each location-year. Using various international databases, we identified fatal discontinuities, which we defined as increases in the death rate of more than one death per million, resulting from conflict and terrorism, natural disasters, major transport or technological accidents, and a subset of epidemic infectious diseases; these were added to estimates in the relevant years. In 47 countries with an identified peak adult prevalence for HIV/AIDS of more than 0·5% and where VR systems were less than 65% complete, we informed our estimates of age-sex-specific mortality using the Estimation and Projection Package (EPP)-Spectrum model fitted to national HIV/AIDS prevalence surveys and antenatal clinic serosurveillance systems. We estimated stillbirths, early neonatal, late neonatal, and childhood mortality using both survey and VR data in spatiotemporal Gaussian process regression models. We estimated abridged life tables for all location-years using age-specific death rates. We grouped locations into development quintiles based on the Socio-demographic Index (SDI) and analysed mortality trends by quintile. Using spline regression, we estimated the expected mortality rate for each age-sex group as a function of SDI. We identified countries with higher life expectancy than expected by comparing observed life expectancy to anticipated life expectancy on the basis of development status alone. FINDINGS: Completeness in the registration of deaths increased from 28% in 1970 to a peak of 45% in 2013; completeness was lower after 2013 because of lags in reporting. Total deaths in children younger than 5 years decreased from 1970 to 2016, and slower decreases occurred at ages 5-24 years. By contrast, numbers of adult deaths increased in each 5-year age bracket above the age of 25 years. The distribution of annualised rates of change in age-specific mortality rate differed over the period 2000 to 2016 compared with earlier decades: increasing annualised rates of change were less frequent, although rising annualised rates of change still occurred in some locations, particularly for adolescent and younger adult age groups. Rates of stillbirths and under-5 mortality both decreased globally from 1970. Evidence for global convergence of death rates was mixed; although the absolute difference between age-standardised death rates narrowed between countries at the lowest and highest levels of SDI, the ratio of these death rates-a measure of relative inequality-increased slightly. There was a strong shift between 1970 and 2016 toward higher life expectancy, most noticeably at higher levels of SDI. Among countries with populations greater than 1 million in 2016, life expectancy at birth was highest for women in Japan, at 86·9 years (95% UI 86·7-87·2), and for men in Singapore, at 81·3 years (78·8-83·7) in 2016. Male life expectancy was generally lower than female life expectancy between 1970 and 2016, an

Global, regional, and national disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) for 333 diseases and injuries and healthy life expectancy (HALE) for 195 countries and territories, 1990–2016: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2016

BACKGROUND: Measurement of changes in health across locations is useful to compare and contrast changing epidemiological patterns against health system performance and identify specific needs for resource allocation in research, policy development, and programme decision making. Using the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2016, we drew from two widely used summary measures to monitor such changes in population health: disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) and healthy life expectancy (HALE). We used these measures to track trends and benchmark progress compared with expected trends on the basis of the Socio-demographic Index (SDI). METHODS: We used results from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2016 for all-cause mortality, cause-specific mortality, and non-fatal disease burden to derive HALE and DALYs by sex for 195 countries and territories from 1990 to 2016. We calculated DALYs by summing years of life lost and years of life lived with disability for each location, age group, sex, and year. We estimated HALE using age-specific death rates and years of life lived with disability per capita. We explored how DALYs and HALE differed from expected trends when compared with the SDI: the geometric mean of income per person, educational attainment in the population older than age 15 years, and total fertility rate. FINDINGS: The highest globally observed HALE at birth for both women and men was in Singapore, at 75·2 years (95% uncertainty interval 71·9-78·6) for females and 72·0 years (68·8-75·1) for males. The lowest for females was in the Central African Republic (45·6 years [42·0-49·5]) and for males was in Lesotho (41·5 years [39·0-44·0]). From 1990 to 2016, global HALE increased by an average of 6·24 years (5·97-6·48) for both sexes combined. Global HALE increased by 6·04 years (5·74-6·27) for males and 6·49 years (6·08-6·77) for females, whereas HALE at age 65 years increased by 1·78 years (1·61-1·93) for males and 1·96 years (1·69-2·13) for females. Total global DALYs remained largely unchanged from 1990 to 2016 (-2·3% [-5·9 to 0·9]), with decreases in communicable, maternal, neonatal, and nutritional (CMNN) disease DALYs offset by increased DALYs due to non-communicable diseases (NCDs). The exemplars, calculated as the five lowest ratios of observed to expected age-standardised DALY rates in 2016, were Nicaragua, Costa Rica, the Maldives, Peru, and Israel. The leading three causes of DALYs globally were ischaemic heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, and lower respiratory infections, comprising 16·1% of all DALYs. Total DALYs and age-standardised DALY rates due to most CMNN causes decreased from 1990 to 2016. Conversely, the total DALY burden rose for most NCDs; however, age-standardised DALY rates due to NCDs declined globally. INTERPRETATION: At a global level, DALYs and HALE continue to show improvements. At the same time, we observe that many populations are facing growing functional health loss. Rising SDI was associated with increases in cumulative years of life lived with disability and decreases in CMNN DALYs offset by increased NCD DALYs. Relative compression of morbidity highlights the importance of continued health interventions, which has changed in most locations in pace with the gross domestic product per person, education, and family planning. The analysis of DALYs and HALE and their relationship to SDI represents a robust framework with which to benchmark location-specific health performance. Country-specific drivers of disease burden, particularly for causes with higher-than-expected DALYs, should inform health policies, health system improvement initiatives, targeted prevention efforts, and development assistance for health, including financial and research investments for all countries, regardless of their level of sociodemographic development. The presence of countries that substantially outperform others suggests the need for increased scrutiny for proven examples of best practices, which can help to extend gains, whereas the presence of underperforming countries suggests the need for devotion of extra attention to health systems that need more robust support. FUNDING: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Healthcare Access and Quality Index based on mortality from causes amenable to personal health care in 195 countries and territories, 1990-2015 : a novel analysis from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015

Background National levels of personal health-care access and quality can be approximated by measuring mortality rates from causes that should not be fatal in the presence of effective medical care (ie, amenable mortality). Previous analyses of mortality amenable to health care only focused on high-income countries and faced several methodological challenges. In the present analysis, we use the highly standardised cause of death and risk factor estimates generated through the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) to improve and expand the quantification of personal health-care access and quality for 195 countries and territories from 1990 to 2015. Methods We mapped the most widely used list of causes amenable to personal health care developed by Nolte and McKee to 32 GBD causes. We accounted for variations in cause of death certification and misclassifications through the extensive data standardisation processes and redistribution algorithms developed for GBD. To isolate the effects of personal health-care access and quality, we risk-standardised cause-specific mortality rates for each geography-year by removing the joint effects of local environmental and behavioural risks, and adding back the global levels of risk exposure as estimated for GBD 2015. We employed principal component analysis to create a single, interpretable summary measure-the Healthcare Quality and Access (HAQ) Index-on a scale of 0 to 100. The HAQ Index showed strong convergence validity as compared with other health-system indicators, including health expenditure per capita (r= 0.88), an index of 11 universal health coverage interventions (r= 0.83), and human resources for health per 1000 (r= 0.77). We used free disposal hull analysis with bootstrapping to produce a frontier based on the relationship between the HAQ Index and the Socio-demographic Index (SDI), a measure of overall development consisting of income per capita, average years of education, and total fertility rates. This frontier allowed us to better quantify the maximum levels of personal health-care access and quality achieved across the development spectrum, and pinpoint geographies where gaps between observed and potential levels have narrowed or widened over time. Findings Between 1990 and 2015, nearly all countries and territories saw their HAQ Index values improve; nonetheless, the difference between the highest and lowest observed HAQ Index was larger in 2015 than in 1990, ranging from 28.6 to 94.6. Of 195 geographies, 167 had statistically significant increases in HAQ Index levels since 1990, with South Korea, Turkey, Peru, China, and the Maldives recording among the largest gains by 2015. Performance on the HAQ Index and individual causes showed distinct patterns by region and level of development, yet substantial heterogeneities emerged for several causes, including cancers in highest-SDI countries; chronic kidney disease, diabetes, diarrhoeal diseases, and lower respiratory infections among middle-SDI countries; and measles and tetanus among lowest-SDI countries. While the global HAQ Index average rose from 40.7 (95% uncertainty interval, 39.0-42.8) in 1990 to 53.7 (52.2-55.4) in 2015, far less progress occurred in narrowing the gap between observed HAQ Index values and maximum levels achieved; at the global level, the difference between the observed and frontier HAQ Index only decreased from 21.2 in 1990 to 20.1 in 2015. If every country and territory had achieved the highest observed HAQ Index by their corresponding level of SDI, the global average would have been 73.8 in 2015. Several countries, particularly in eastern and western sub-Saharan Africa, reached HAQ Index values similar to or beyond their development levels, whereas others, namely in southern sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, and south Asia, lagged behind what geographies of similar development attained between 1990 and 2015. Interpretation This novel extension of the GBD Study shows the untapped potential for personal health-care access and quality improvement across the development spectrum. Amid substantive advances in personal health care at the national level, heterogeneous patterns for individual causes in given countries or territories suggest that few places have consistently achieved optimal health-care access and quality across health-system functions and therapeutic areas. This is especially evident in middle-SDI countries, many of which have recently undergone or are currently experiencing epidemiological transitions. The HAQ Index, if paired with other measures of health-systemcharacteristics such as intervention coverage, could provide a robust avenue for tracking progress on universal health coverage and identifying local priorities for strengthening personal health-care quality and access throughout the world. Copyright (C) The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.Peer reviewe

Simulated Geophysical Monitoring of Radioactive Waste Repository Barriers

Estimation of attenuation of the elastic waves in clays and high clay-content rocks is important for the quality of geophysical methods relying on processing the recorded waveforms. Time-lapse imaging is planned to be employed for monitoring of the condition of high-radioactive waste repositories. Engineers can analyze and optimize configuration of the monitoring system using numerical modelling tools. The reliability of modeling requires proper calibration. The purpose of this thesis is threefold: (i) propose a calibration methodology for the wave propagation tools based on the experimental data, (ii) estimate the attenuation in bentonite as a function of temperature and water content, and (iii) investigate the feasibility of active sonic monitoring of the engineered barriers. The results suggest that pronounced inelastic behavior of bentonite has to be taken into account in geophysical modeling and analysis. The repository--scale models confirm that active sonic monitoring is capable of depicting physical changes in the bentonite barrier.M.A.S