Alternate proof of the Rowe-Rosensteel proposition and seniority conservation

For a system with three identical nucleons in a single-$j$ shell, the states can be written as the angular momentum coupling of a nucleon pair and the odd nucleon. The overlaps between these non-orthonormal states form a matrix which coincides with the one derived by Rowe and Rosensteel [Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 87}, 172501 (2001)]. The propositions they state are related to the eigenvalue problems of the matrix and dimensions of the associated subspaces. In this work, the propositions will be proven from the symmetric properties of the $6j$ symbols. Algebraic expressions for the dimension of the states, eigenenergies as well as conditions for conservation of seniority can be derived from the matrix.Comment: 9 pages, no figur

Pyrolysing horse manure via microwave-induced heating for bioenergy recovery

Transforming waste to energy is essential in view of the need to search for greener and more sustainable energy sources. Such transformation of energy is also aligned with the aim of reducing excessive waste generation whilst creating potential biofuel pathways for power generation. In the present study, animal waste in the form of horse manure is being used as feedstock to undergo microwave-induced pyrolysis via a fixed-bed pyrolysis rig. The relationship of the pyrolysis parameters such as pyrolysis temperature of 350 and 550 °C, carrier gas flow rate of 0.5 and 1.5 L/min and ratio of horse manure to activated carbon blend of 1:2 and 1:1, with the yield of pyrolysed products is studied. The derived pyrolysis products in the form of solid, liquid and gaseous are characterised and quantified. Result shows that the highest yield of solid, liquid and gaseous products obtained are 78.8 wt%, 24.7 wt% and 34.2 wt%. Solid yield is observed to decrease with increasing pyrolysis temperature while gaseous yield shows a reverse trend. Higher carrier gas flow rate is observed to lower the generation of gaseous and liquid yield while increasing the solid yield. Higher amount of activated carbon within the feedstock is seen to lower the solid yield but increase the gaseous and liquid yields. The liquid yield is found to contain 55.78 wt% of phenolic compounds while gaseous product consists of up to 55 vol% of syngas. The control of the operating conditions in pyrolysis rig enables the production of pyrolysis end products in different phases, generating useful bioenergy and biofertilizer products in the context of circular economy

Realization of Circular Slot Frequency Selective Surfaces using Photoplotter and Wet Etching Technique for Terahertz Material Sensing Applications

This paper discusses on the analysis of band pass Frequency Selective Surfaces (FSS) for performance enhancement in material sensing application. Terahertz Spectroscopy has proved to be versatile tool for detection and sensing in measuring non-conductive materials. It is because most of the non-conductive materials have unique molecular resonance that may translate as transmission and absorption of signals within terahertz range. However, the most critical issue in detection and sensing is to improve its sensitivity therefore an extremely low concentration material still can be able to be detected in THz band. Hence, in this paper, a circular slot is modeled on a planar structure of Rogers Duroid 5880LZ substrate with thickness of 508µm using Computer Simulation Technology (CST). The simulation generates a band pass response with transmission magnitude of 0.95 at 0.66THz. Furthermore, photoplotter and wet etching fabrication process is used for the realization of terahertz FSS. Simulated and measured transmission shows a good agreement between 0.5THz to 0.7THz as only 1% shifts in frequency between simulated and measured results. Besides that, the fabrication of circular FSS shows narrower measured bandwidth as compared to its simulated counterpart. Hence, with the limitation of the wet etching to produce micron size structure both simulation and measured result shows good agreement for all the critical issues in this study

Electrospun nanofiber membranes as ultrathin flexible supercapacitors

A highly flexible electrochemical supercapacitor electrode was developed with a novel metal oxide-reinforced nanofiber electrode by utilizing a solution-based electrospinning technique. The facile fabrication steps involved the introduction of metal precursors into a polymeric solution, which was subjected to an in situ electrospinning process. The electrospun polymeric web with metallic ingredients was then subjected to an oxidative stabilization process that induced the formation of metal oxide nanoparticles within the polymer structure. Finally, the metal oxide nanoparticles incorporated with nanofibers were obtained using a carbonization process, thus converting the polymer backbones into a carbon-rich conductive nanofiber structure. The fabricated nanofibers were decorated and implanted with metal oxide nanoparticles that had a surface-decorated structure morphology due to the solubility of the precursors in the reaction solution. The electrochemical performance of the fabricated metal oxide reinforced with nanofiber electrodes was investigated as an electrochemical system, and the novel morphology significantly improved the specific capacitance compared to a pristine carbon nanofiber membrane. As a result of the uniform dispersion of metal oxide nanoparticles throughout the surface of the nanofibers, the overall capacitive behavior of the membrane was enhanced. Furthermore, a fabricated free-standing flexible device that utilized the optimized nanofiber electrode demonstrated high stability even after it was subjected to various bending operations and curvatures. These promising results showed the potential applications of these lightweight, conductive nanofiber electrodes in flexible and versatile electronic devices

The littlest Higgs model and Higgs boson associated production with top quark pair at high energy linear e+e−e^{+}e^{-} collider

In the parameter space allowed by the electroweak precision measurement data, we consider the contributions of the new particles predicted by the littlest Higgs($LH$) model to the Higgs boson associated production with top quark pair in the future high energy linear $e^{+}e^{-}$ collider($ILC$). We find that the contributions mainly come from the new gauge bosons $Z_{H}$ and $B_{H}$. For reasonable values of the free parameters, the absolute value of the relative correction parameter $\delta\sigma/\sigma^{SM}$ can be significanly large, which might be observed in the future $ILC$ experiment with $\sqrt{S}=800GeV$.Comment: latex files, 13 pages, 3 figure

Bactericidal and Anti-biofilm Effects of Polyhexamethylene Biguanide in Models of Intracellular and Biofilm of Staphylococcus aureus Isolated from Bovine Mastitis

Staphylococcus aureus infection is a common cause of mastitis, reducing milk yield, affecting animal welfare and causing huge economic losses within the dairy industry. In addition to the problem of acquired drug resistance, bacterial invasion into udder cells and the formation of surface biofilms are believed to reduce antibiotic efficacy, leading to treatment failure. Here, we investigated the antimicrobial activities of enrofloxacin, an antibiotic that is commonly used in mastitis therapy and polyhexamethylene biguanide (PHMB), an antimicrobial polymer. The antimicrobial activities were tested against intracellular S. aureus in infected Mac-T cells (host cells). Also, fluorescein-tagged PHMB was used to study PHMB uptake and localization with S. aureus within the infected Mac-T cells. Anti-biofilm activities were tested by treating S. aureus biofilms and measuring effects on biofilm mass in vitro. Enrofloxacin and PHMB at 15 mg/L killed between 42 to 92 and 99.9% of intracellular S. aureus, respectively. PHMB-FITC entered and colocalized with the intracellular S. aureus, suggesting direct interaction of the drug with the bacteria inside the host cells. Enrofloxacin and PHMB at 15 mg/L reduced between 10 to 27% and 28 to 37% of biofilms’ mass, respectively. The half-maximal inhibitory concentrations (IC50) obtained from a cytotoxicity assay were 345 ± 91 and 21 ± 2 mg/L for enrofloxacin and PHMB, respectively; therefore, both compounds were tolerated by the host cells at high concentrations. These findings suggest that both antimicrobials are effective against intracellular S. aureus and can disrupt biofilm structures, with PHMB being more potent against intracellular S. aureus, highlighting the potential application of PHMB in mastitis therapy

Is there something of the MCT in orientationally disordered crystals ?

Molecular Dynamics simulations have been performed on the orientationally disordered crystal chloroadamantane: a model system where dynamics are almost completely controlled by rotations. A critical temperature T_c = 225 K as predicted by the Mode Coupling Theory can be clearly determined both in the alpha and beta dynamical regimes. This investigation also shows the existence of a second remarkable dynamical crossover at the temperature T_x > T_c consistent with a previous NMR and MD study [1]. This allows us to confirm clearly the existence of a 'landscape-influenced' regime occurring in the temperature range [T_c-T_x] as recently proposed [2,3].Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures, REVTEX