Microscopic study of neutron-rich Dysprosium isotopes

Microscopic studies in heavy nuclei are very scarce due to large valence spaces involved. This computational problem can be avoided by means of the use of symmetry based models. Ground-state, gamma and beta-bands, and their B(E2) transition strengths in 160-168Dy isotopes, are studied in the framework of the pseudo-SU(3) model which includes the preserving symmetry Q.Q term and the symmetry-breaking Nilsson and pairing terms, systematically parametrized. Additionally, three rotor-like terms are considered whose free parameters, fixed for all members of the chain are used to fine tune the moment of inertia of rotational bands and the band-head of gamma and beta-bands. The model succesfully describes in a systematic way rotational features in these nuclei and allows to extrapolate toward the midshell nucleus 170Dy. The results presented show that it is possible to study full chain of isotopes or isotones in the region with the present model

How Can We Collaborate? Moving past communication dysfunction in public school communities

Parental Engagement at a Hartford public elementary school has decreased. This is cause for concern because parental engagement is critical to the academic success of children (Jeynes, 2012). This study therefore addresses the question: What are the barriers to effective communication between public school educators and the families they serve? It is argued that communication dysfunction between families and schools can contribute to an increase in “negative social capital” and in turn produce barriers to successful collaboration between schools and families. Through in-depth interviews and participant-observations at school events, this study shows that the formation of “negative social capital” creates a greater disconnect between the school and the home by reinforcing a relationship built on distrust and miscommunication. The lack of communication exists because the school has difficulties addressing the needs of parents. Language barriers further hinder equal partnership between staff and families. The goal of this research is increased parental involvement in the educational process. The mechanism to achieve this goal is effective collaboration with bilingual parents

Electromechanical surface damping combining constrained layer and shunted piezoelectric matetrials with passive electrical networks of second order

An electromechanical surface damping (EMSD) technique is proposed. This technique combines two surface damping methods, the shunted piezoelectric-ceramic damping with the viscoelastic constrained layer damping (CLD). The damping contribution of the shunted piezoelectric intends to enhance the effective frequency range of the CLD. Piezoelectric ceramics provide similar damping characteristics to viscoelastic material when they are shunted with resonant electrical networks. A resonant shunting circuit provides the opportunity of tuning (shifting) the effective damping range of the piezoelectric into an arbitrary frequency, enhancing the damping at the vicinity of such frequency. Also, the EMSD technique proposes the use of a multiple resonant network to shunt the piezoelectric ceramic. This concept enhances simultaneously the effective damping range at the vicinity of multiple and selected frequencies. This thesis assesses the dynamic behavior of a simple structure under EMSD treatment and it studies the effectiveness of multiple tuning also. A cantilever beam-like structure is adopted as a case study and a typical oscillator with two resonant networks has been selected to shunt the piezoelectric-ceramic. A viscoelastic material is attached on the structure and constrained by the piezoelectric ceramic. The EMSD is tuned to two natural frequencies of the main structure and its effectiveness in suppressing two vibration peaks simultaneously is evaluated. This study provides insight into the use of shunting networks of higher order. The constitutive equations of the EMSD differential element are developed and a finite element solution is obtained. Finally, the EMSD is optimized to find effective tuning parameters

The portrayal of men\u27s and women\u27s occupational roles and the settings of the portrayals in magazine advertisements from 1958-1988

This study investigated the portrayal of men\u27s and women\u27s occupational roles and settings in magazine advertising from 1958-1988. A review of the literature revealed there was a need to update investigations focusing on women\u27s working/nonworking roles. Moreover, there was a gap in the literature investigating the portrayal of men\u27s roles. A content analysis of 240 randomly selected advertisements indicated there were no significant changes in the portrayal of occupational roles. However, the data suggest that the settings in which women were depicted changed more than the settings for men. The majority of the ads showed women in outside/recreational and no settings. Moreover, women were pictured in more varied settings than men including nontraditional portrayals. Although there was a slight increase in the portrayal of women in working roles, the increment was diminished in its significance by the high level of decorative role portrayals. According to past researchers, such a neutral portrayal may be a means of offending fewer consumers and avoiding making judgments about sex roles altogether

Circular dichroism simulated spectra of chiral gold nanoclusters: A dipole approximation

Circular dichroism (CD) spectra of chiral bare and thiol-passivated gold nanoclusters have been calculated within the dipole approximation. The calculated CD spectra show features that allow us to distinguish between clusters with different indexes of chirality. The main factor responsible of the differences in the CD lineshapes is the distribution of interatomic distances that characterize the chiral cluster geometry. These results provide theoretical support for the quantification of chirality and its measurement, using the CD lineshapes of chiral metal nanoclusters.Comment: 3 pages + 4 figure

On the Dynamics of Dengue Virus type 2 with Residence Times and Vertical Transmission

A two-patch mathematical model of Dengue virus type 2 (DENV-2) that accounts for vectors' vertical transmission and between patches human dispersal is introduced. Dispersal is modeled via a Lagrangian approach. A host-patch residence-times basic reproduction number is derived and conditions under which the disease dies out or persists are established. Analytical and numerical results highlight the role of hosts' dispersal in mitigating or exacerbating disease dynamics. The framework is used to explore dengue dynamics using, as a starting point, the 2002 outbreak in the state of Colima, Mexico

Object identification by using orthonormal circus functions from the trace transform

In this paper we present an efficient way to both compute and extract salient information from trace transform signatures to perform object identification tasks. We also present a feature selection analysis of the classical trace-transform functionals, which reveals that most of them retrieve redundant information causing misleading similarity measurements. In order to overcome this problem, we propose a set of functionals based on Laguerre polynomials that return orthonormal signatures between these functionals. In this way, each signature provides salient and non-correlated information that contributes to the description of an image object. The proposed functionals were tested considering a vehicle identification problem, outperforming the classical trace transform functionals in terms of computational complexity and identification rate