20,477 research outputs found
Stress induced martensite at the crack tip in NiTi alloys during fatigue loading
Crack tip stress-induced phase transformation mechanisms in nickel-titanium alloys (NiTi) were analyzed by Digital Image Correlation (DIC), under fatigue loads. In particular, Single Edge Crack (SEC) specimens, obtained from a commercial pseudoelastic NiTi sheet, and an ad-hoc experimental setup were used, for direct measurements of the near crack tip displacement field by the DIC technique. Furthermore, a fitting procedure was developed to calculate the mode I Stress Intensity Factor (SIF), starting from the measured displacement field. Finally, cyclic tensile tests were performed at different operating temperature, in the range 298-338 K, and the evolution of the SIF was studied, which revealed a marked temperature dependence
Nonadiabatic effects in the dynamics of atoms confined in a cylindric time-orbiting-potential magnetic trap
In a time-orbiting-potential magnetic trap the neutral atoms are confined by
means of an inhomogeneous magnetic field superimposed to an uniform rotating
one. We perform an analytic study of the atomic motion by taking into account
the nonadiabatic effects arising from the spin dynamics about the local
magnetic field. Geometric-like magnetic-fields determined by the Berry's phase
appear within the quantum description. The application of a variational
procedure on the original quantum equation leads to a set of dynamical
evolution equations for the quantum average value of the position operator and
of the spin variables. Within this approximation we derive the
quantum-mechanical ground state configuration matching the classical adiabatic
solution and perform some numerical simulations.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figure
Eukaryotic and prokaryotic phytochelatin synthases differ less in functional terms than previously thought: a comparative analysis of Marchantia polymorpha and Geitlerinema sp. PCC 7407
This paper reports functional studies on the enzyme phytochelatin synthase in the liverwortMarchantia polymorphaand the cyanobacteriumGeitlerinemasp. strain PCC 7407. In vitro activity assays in control samples (cadmium-untreated) showed that phytochelatin synthase was constitutively expressed in both organisms. In the presence of 100 mu M cadmium, in both the liverwort and the cyanobacterium, the enzyme was promptly activated in vitro, and produced phytochelatins up to the oligomer PC4. Likewise,in vivoexposure to 10-36 mu M cadmium for 6-120 h induced in both organisms phytochelatin synthesis up to PC4. Furthermore, the glutathione (GSH) levels inM. polymorphawere constitutively low (compared with the average content in higher plants), but increased considerably under cadmium stress. Conversely, the GSH levels inGeitlerinemasp. PCC 7407 were constitutively high, but were halved under metal treatments. At odds with former papers, our results demonstrate that, as inM. polymorphaand other plants, the cyanobacterial phytochelatin synthase exposed to cadmium possesses manifest transpeptidasic activity, being able to synthesize phytochelatins with a degree of oligomerization higher than PC2. Therefore, prokaryotic and eukaryotic phytochelatin synthases differ less in functional terms than previously thought
Shot Noise Enhancement in Resonant Tunneling Structures in a Magnetic Field
We have observed that the shot noise of tunnel current, I, in
GaSb-AlSb-InAs-AlSb-GaSb double-barrier structure under a magnetic field can
exceed 2qI. The measurements were done at T=4K in fields up to 5T parallel to
the current. The noise enhancement occurred at each of the several
negative-differential conductance regions induced by the tunneling of holes
through Landau levels in the InAs quantum well. The amount of the enhancement
increased with the strength of the negative conductance and reached values up
to 8qI. These results are explained qualitatively by fluctuations of the
density of states in the well, but point out the need for a detailed theory of
shot noise enhancement in resonant tunneling devices.Comment: 4 pages, RevTex, 3 figure
Health-related quality of life and functional changes in DMD:A 12-month longitudinal cohort study
Family caregivers of people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) live stressful lives in which they spend most of their time caring for their loved ones and managing difficult situations, thereby reducing the time spent in taking care of themselves. This situation may last several years. Previous literature has widely highlighted that this situation reduces caregivers' quality of life and increases their psychological distress and risk of health problems, but there is a lack of studies that focus on psychological interventions for these situations. This qualitative study examined a pilot experience of two mutual support groups for family caregivers of people with ALS. The aim was to identify caregivers' needs, the prominent aspects of their experience, and to understand whether and how this intervention strategy might help them. Six partners (four men and two women) and six adult children (five women and one man) participated in the groups, which were conducted in northern Italy. After the support groups finished, participants underwent semi-structured interviews. The authors conducted a content analysis of the transcripts of the interviews and the 20 group sessions. The thematic areas identified were "caregiving," "being the son/daughter of a person with ALS," "being the partner of a person with ALS," "group experience" and "group evaluation." The caregiving experience was profoundly different depending on whether the caregiver was a son/daughter or a partner of a patient with ALS. Moreover, comparison with peers and mutual support helped participants to better cope with ALS and its consequences, to improve their care for their relatives and to overcome typical caregiver isolation. These results suggest the usefulness of involving communities in caregiver support in order to create new networks and activate personal and social resources for well-being
The aging male: investigation, treatment and monitoring of late-onset hypogonadism in males
Androgen deficiency in the aging male has become a topic of increasing interest and debate throughout the world. The demographics clearly demonstrate the increasing percentage of the population that is in the older age groups. The data also support the concept that testosterone falls progressively with age and that a significant percentage of men over the age of 60 years have serum testosterone levels that are below the lower limits of young adults (age 20-30 years) men. The principal questions raised by these observations are whether older hypogonadal men will benefit from testosterone treatment and what will be the risks associated with such intervention. The past decade has brought evidence of benefit of androgen treatment on multiple target organs of hypogonadal men and recent studies show short-term beneficial effects of testosterone in older men that are similar to those in younger men. Long-term data on the effects of testosterone treatment in the older population are limited and specific risk data on the prostate and cardiovascular systems are needed. Answers to key questions of functional benefits that may retard frailty of the elderly are not yet available. The recommendations described below were prepared for the International Society of Andrology (ISA) and the International Society for the Study of the Aging Male (ISSAM) following a panel discussion with active participation from the audience sponsored by the ISA on the topic at the 4th ISSAM Congress in Prague in February 2004.peer-reviewe
Exponential behavior of the interlayer exchange coupling across non-magnetic metallic superlattices
It is shown that the coupling between magnetic layers separated by
non-magnetic metallic superlattices can decay exponentially as a function of
the spacer thickness , as opposed to the usual decay. This effect
is due to the lack of constructive contributions to the coupling from extended
states across the spacer. The exponential behavior is obtained by properly
choosing the distinct metals and the superlattice unit cell composition.Comment: To appear in Phys. Rev.
Protecting quantum entanglement from leakage and qubit errors via repetitive parity measurements
Protecting quantum information from errors is essential for large-scale
quantum computation. Quantum error correction (QEC) encodes information in
entangled states of many qubits, and performs parity measurements to identify
errors without destroying the encoded information. However, traditional QEC
cannot handle leakage from the qubit computational space. Leakage affects
leading experimental platforms, based on trapped ions and superconducting
circuits, which use effective qubits within many-level physical systems. We
investigate how two-transmon entangled states evolve under repeated parity
measurements, and demonstrate the use of hidden Markov models to detect leakage
using only the record of parity measurement outcomes required for QEC. We show
the stabilization of Bell states over up to 26 parity measurements by
mitigating leakage using postselection, and correcting qubit errors using
Pauli-frame transformations. Our leakage identification method is
computationally efficient and thus compatible with real-time leakage tracking
and correction in larger quantum processors.Comment: 22 pages, 15 figure
A Hidden Twelve-Dimensional SuperPoincare Symmetry In Eleven Dimensions
First, we review a result in our previous paper, of how a ten-dimensional
superparticle, taken off-shell, has a hidden eleven-dimensional superPoincare
symmetry. Then, we show that the physical sector is defined by three
first-class constraints which preserve the full eleven-dimensional symmetry.
Applying the same concepts to the eleven dimensional superparticle, taken
off-shell, we discover a hidden twelve dimensional superPoincare symmetry that
governs the theory.Comment: 13 page
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