508 research outputs found
Fluorescent Visualization of Bond Breaking in Polymer Glasses
Mechanofluorescent polymer probes were used to visualize stresses and bond scission in polystyrene and polycarbonate. Sonication of polystyrene probes with a molar mass of 1.1 × 105 g·mol-1 in solution resulted in 30% activation after 1 h, while shorter probes showed lower activation percentages. Single-asperity sliding friction tests were performed on mechanophore-containing polystyrene and polycarbonate films. Polystyrene showed clearly visible crack formation with a correlated pattern in the friction force, penetration depth, and fluorescent activation of the mechanophore. Significant mechanophore activation in polystyrene was observed for an applied normal load of 100 mN, whereas in polycarbonate, activation only occurred at a normal load higher than 400 mN. The different degrees of activation correlate well with the toughness of polycarbonate compared to polystyrene.</p
Patients’ Needs Concerning Patient Education in Axial Spondyloarthritis:A Qualitative Study
Introduction: Within the EULAR recommendations, patient education (PE) is stated as the basis of the management of axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA). However, educational needs are scarcely qualitatively studied in axSpA. Therefore, we aimed to explore experiences and needs of PE in patients with axSpA. Methods: A phenomenological approach was used, with semi-structured in-depth interviews with patients with axSpA including broad variation in characteristics. Thematic analysis was applied. To enhance credibility, data saturation, research triangulation, peer debriefing, member checking, theoretical notes, and bracketing were performed. Results: Three interrelated themes regarding PE were identified from 20 interviews: illness perception, content, and ‘availability’. Illness perception affects how patients experience and process PE, which consequently influences coping strategies. Prognosis, treatment, and coaching to self-management were identified as the most important content of PE. Regarding ‘availability’, face-to-face PE is preferred for exploring needs, supplemented by self-education, which can be freely applied. Additionally, sufficient time and a comprehensible amount of information were important and participants emphasized the need for axSpA-tailored information for relatives and friends. Participants reported a trusting patient–healthcare provider (HCP) relationship, and multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary attunement between HCPs as prerequisites for effective PE. Conclusions: This first qualitative study exploring patients’ experiences and needs of PE in axSpA revealed that prognosis, treatment, and coaching to self-management are important regarding content, and the combination of face-to-face contact and self-education the preferred modalities. It seems essential that patients’ illness perceptions are taken into account for effective PE. These results add relevant insights for future PE guidelines in axSpA.</p
Fiber-induced crystallization in elongational flows
Morphology development at the fiber/matrix interphase in fiber-reinforced isotactic polypropylene composites is a widely studied topic. While the application of shear flow may strongly enhance the nucleation density around the fiber, little is known about the influence of fibers on the crystallization of polypropylene subjected to an extensional flow. In this work, the flow around a single glass fiber upon uniaxial elongation of the melt is examined using X-ray scattering and diffraction techniques and compared to the response measured for the neat matrix. A comparison between a neat and compatibilized matrix is made given the strong influence of the addition of an adhesion modifier on the bulk crystallization kinetics of polypropylene. The flow is applied using an in-house-built filament stretching extensional rheometer, which, due to its midfilament control scheme, allows for in situ X-ray experiments. Combined small-angle X-ray scattering/wide-angle X-ray diffraction patterns are acquired during the flow and subsequent crystallization step. Postcrystallization area scans of the filament show that the introduction of a single glass fiber gives rise to the development of β-phase crystals, particularly in the area around the fiber ends, and in contrast to what is observed for the matrix materials alone, where solely α-phase is found. Surprisingly enough, the addition of a single fiber (0.00045 vol %) alters the crystallizing polymorph in almost the entire filament. However, the addition of the adhesion modifier hinders the formation of β-phase crystals around the fiber due to an acceleration of the bulk crystallization kinetics. Finite element simulations provide insight into the flow field around the fiber during stretching and demonstrate that the flow is no longer uniaxial extension, but dominated by shear, even though the volumetric amount of fiber as compared to the matrix is negligible. These findings explain the experimental observation of substantial β-phase formation after the introduction of a single fiber, while this is not observed in the matrix material. Worth noting, the formation of β-phase polypropylene depends not only on the presence and the strength of the flow but predominantly on the type of flow, i.e., shear as opposed to elongation
Analytical solutions for two heteronuclear atoms in a ring trap
We consider two heteronuclear atoms interacting with a short-range
potential and confined in a ring trap. By taking the Bethe-ansatz-type
wavefunction and considering the periodic boundary condition properly, we
derive analytical solutions for the heteronuclear system. The eigen-energies
represented in terms of quasi-momentums can then be determined by solving a set
of coupled equations. We present a number of results, which display different
features from the case of identical atoms. Our result can be reduced to the
well-known Lieb-Liniger solution when two interacting atoms have the same
masses.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figure
BCS and BEC p-wave pairing in Bose-Fermi gases
The pairing of fermionic atoms in a mixture of atomic fermion and boson gases
at zero temperature is investigated. The attractive interaction between
fermions, that can be induced by density fluctuations of the bosonic
background, can give rise to a superfluid phase in the Fermi component of the
mixture. The atoms of both species are assumed to be in only one internal
state, so that the pairing of fermions is effective only in odd-l channels. No
assumption about the value of the ratio between the Fermi velocity and the
sound velocity in the Bose gas is made in the derivation of the energy gap
equation. The gap equation is solved without any particular "ansatz" for the
pairing field or the effective interaction. The p-wave superfluidity is studied
in detail. By increasing the strength and/or decreasing the range of the
effective interaction a transition of the fermion pairing regime, from the
Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer state to a system of tightly bound couples can be
realized. These composite bosons behave as a weakly-interacting Bose-Einstein
condensate.Comment: 14 pages, 6 eps-figures. To be published in European Physical Journal
Centrality dependence of charged particle production at large transverse momentum in Pb-Pb collisions at TeV
The inclusive transverse momentum () distributions of primary
charged particles are measured in the pseudo-rapidity range as a
function of event centrality in Pb-Pb collisions at
TeV with ALICE at the LHC. The data are presented in the range
GeV/ for nine centrality intervals from 70-80% to 0-5%.
The Pb-Pb spectra are presented in terms of the nuclear modification factor
using a pp reference spectrum measured at the same collision
energy. We observe that the suppression of high- particles strongly
depends on event centrality. In central collisions (0-5%) the yield is most
suppressed with at -7 GeV/. Above
GeV/, there is a significant rise in the nuclear modification
factor, which reaches for GeV/. In
peripheral collisions (70-80%), the suppression is weaker with almost independently of . The measured nuclear
modification factors are compared to other measurements and model calculations.Comment: 17 pages, 4 captioned figures, 2 tables, authors from page 12,
published version, figures at
http://aliceinfo.cern.ch/ArtSubmission/node/284
Particle-yield modification in jet-like azimuthal di-hadron correlations in Pb-Pb collisions at = 2.76 TeV
The yield of charged particles associated with high- trigger
particles ( GeV/) is measured with the ALICE detector in
Pb-Pb collisions at = 2.76 TeV relative to proton-proton
collisions at the same energy. The conditional per-trigger yields are extracted
from the narrow jet-like correlation peaks in azimuthal di-hadron correlations.
In the 5% most central collisions, we observe that the yield of associated
charged particles with transverse momenta GeV/ on the
away-side drops to about 60% of that observed in pp collisions, while on the
near-side a moderate enhancement of 20-30% is found.Comment: 15 pages, 2 captioned figures, 1 table, authors from page 10,
published version, figures at
http://aliceinfo.cern.ch/ArtSubmission/node/350
Measurement of charm production at central rapidity in proton-proton collisions at TeV
The -differential production cross sections of the prompt (B
feed-down subtracted) charmed mesons D, D, and D in the rapidity
range , and for transverse momentum GeV/, were
measured in proton-proton collisions at TeV with the ALICE
detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The analysis exploited the hadronic
decays DK, DK, DD, and their charge conjugates, and was performed on a
nb event sample collected in 2011 with a
minimum-bias trigger. The total charm production cross section at TeV and at 7 TeV was evaluated by extrapolating to the full phase space
the -differential production cross sections at TeV
and our previous measurements at TeV. The results were compared
to existing measurements and to perturbative-QCD calculations. The fraction of
cdbar D mesons produced in a vector state was also determined.Comment: 20 pages, 5 captioned figures, 4 tables, authors from page 15,
published version, figures at
http://aliceinfo.cern.ch/ArtSubmission/node/307
Anisotropic flow of charged hadrons, pions and (anti-)protons measured at high transverse momentum in Pb-Pb collisions at TeV
The elliptic, , triangular, , and quadrangular, , azimuthal
anisotropic flow coefficients are measured for unidentified charged particles,
pions and (anti-)protons in Pb-Pb collisions at TeV
with the ALICE detector at the Large Hadron Collider. Results obtained with the
event plane and four-particle cumulant methods are reported for the
pseudo-rapidity range at different collision centralities and as a
function of transverse momentum, , out to GeV/.
The observed non-zero elliptic and triangular flow depends only weakly on
transverse momentum for GeV/. The small dependence
of the difference between elliptic flow results obtained from the event plane
and four-particle cumulant methods suggests a common origin of flow
fluctuations up to GeV/. The magnitude of the (anti-)proton
elliptic and triangular flow is larger than that of pions out to at least
GeV/ indicating that the particle type dependence persists out
to high .Comment: 16 pages, 5 captioned figures, authors from page 11, published
version, figures at http://aliceinfo.cern.ch/ArtSubmission/node/186
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