Numerical analysis of side-loads reduction in a sub-scale dual-bell rocket nozzle

A calibrated delayed detached eddy simulation of a sub-scale cold-gas dual-bell nozzle flow at high Reynolds number and in sea-level mode is carried out at nozzle pressure ratio NPR = 45.7. In this regime the over-expanded flow exhibits a symmetric and controlled flow separation at the inflection point, that is the junction between the two bells, leading to the generation of a low content of aerodynamic side loads with respect to conventional bell nozzles. The nozzle wall-pressure signature is analyzed in the frequency domain and compared with the experimental data available in the literature for the same geometry and flow conditions. The Fourier spectra in time and space (azimuthal wavenumber) show the presence of a persistent tone associated to the symmetric shock movement. Asymmetric modes are only slightly excited by the shock and the turbulent structures. The low mean value of the side-loads magnitude is in good agreement with the experiments and confirms that the inflection point dampens the aero-acoustic interaction between the separation-shock and the detached shear layer

Changes in Protective Behavioral Strategies and Alcohol Use among College Students

Background—Protective behavioral strategies (PBS) are specific cognitive-behavioral strategies designed to reduce alcohol consumption and resulting negative consequences. A host of studies have examined the cross-sectional relationship between such strategies and alcohol use in the high-risk population of United States college students, but prospective studies on the construct are lacking. The primary purposes of this study were to determine if PBS use prospectively predicted subsequent alcohol use/alcohol-related problems and if changes in PBS use were associated with less alcohol use and fewer problems. Methods—Data were examined from 521 heavy drinking college students (60% male, 84% White, mean age = 18.9 years). Participants completed questionnaires assessing alcohol use, alcohol-related problems, and PBS use at baseline, 6-month, and 12-month follow-ups. Results—Analysis of residualized change scores indicated that increases in some PBS across time were associated with less alcohol use and fewer alcohol-related problems at follow-up. Findings regarding the prospective relationship between PBS use and subsequent alcohol use/ problems were equivocal. Discussion—Results from the study suggest that PBS may have value in alcohol-related interventions among college students. Clinicians who help clients increase their use of PBS may help those clients increase the probability of drinking less and experiencing fewer alcohol-related problems in the future

Calcium/calmodulin-dependent kinases can regulate the TSH expression in the rat pituitary.

PURPOSE: The endocrine secretion of TSH is a finely orchestrated process controlled by the thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH). Its homeostasis and signaling rely on many calcium-binding proteins belonging to the "EF-hand" protein family. The Ca2+/calmodulin (CaM) complex is associated with Ca2+/CaM-dependent kinases (Ca2+/CaMK). We have investigated Ca2+/CaMK expression and regulation in the rat pituitary. METHODS: The expression of CaMKII and CaMKIV in rat anterior pituitary cells was shown by immunohistochemistry. Cultured anterior pituitary cells were stimulated by TRH in the presence and absence of KN93, the pharmacological inhibitor of CaMKII and CaMKIV. Western blotting was then used to measure the expression of these kinases and of the cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB). TSH production was measured by RIA after time-dependent stimulation with TRH. Cells were infected with a lentiviral construct coding for CaMKIV followed by measurement of CREB phosphorylation and TSH. RESULTS: Our study shows that two CaM kinases, CaMKII and CaMKII, are expressed in rat pituitary cells and their phosphorylation in response to TRH occurs at different time points, with CaMKIV being activated earlier than CaMKII. TRH induces CREB phosphorylation through the activity of both CaMKII and CaMKIV. The activation of CREB increases TSH gene expression. CaMKIV induces CREB phosphorylation while its dominant negative and KN93 exert the opposite effects. CONCLUSION: Our data indicate that the expression of Ca2+/CaMK in rat anterior pituitary are correlated to the role of CREB in the genetic regulation of TSH, and that TRH stimulation activates CaMKIV, which in turn phosphorylates CREB. This phosphorylation is linked to the production of thyrotropin

Non-Financial Resources to Enhance Companies’ Profitability: A Stakeholder Perspective

Purpose This study aims to investigate the impact of stakeholders’ nonfinancial resources (NFRs) on companies’ profitability, filling a significant gap in the literature regarding the role of NFRs in value creation. Design/methodology/approach Data from 76 organizations from 2017 to 2019 were collected and analyzed. Four primary NFRs and their key value drivers were identified, representing core elements that support different dimensions of a company’s performance. Statistical tests examined the relationship between stakeholders’ NFRs and financial performance measures. Findings When analyzed collectively and individually, the results reveal a significant positive influence of stakeholders’ NFRs on a firm’s profitability. Higher importance assigned to NFRs correlates with a higher return on sales. Originality/value This study contributes to the literature by empirically bridging the gap between stakeholder theory and the resource-based view, addressing the intersection of these perspectives. It also provides novel insights into how stakeholders’ NFRs impact profitability, offering valuable implications for research and managerial practice. It suggests that managers should integrate nonfinancial measures of NFRs within their performance measurement system to manage better and sustain companies’ value-creation process

How the interbank market becomes systemically dangerous: an agent-based network model of financial distress propagation

Assessing the stability of economic systems is a fundamental research focus in economics, that has become increasingly interdisciplinary in the currently troubled economic situation. In particular, much attention has been devoted to the interbank lending market as an important diffusion channel for financial distress during the recent crisis. In this work we study the stability of the interbank market to exogenous shocks using an agent-based network framework. Our model encompasses several ingredients that have been recognized in the literature as pro-cyclical triggers of financial distress in the banking system: credit and liquidity shocks through bilateral exposures, liquidity hoarding due to counterparty creditworthiness deterioration, target leveraging policies and fire-sales spillovers. But we exclude the possibility of central authorities intervention. We implement this framework on a dataset of 183 European banks that were publicly traded between 2004 and 2013. We document the extreme fragility of the interbank lending market up to 2008, when a systemic crisis leads to total depletion of market equity with an increasing speed of market collapse. After the crisis instead the system is more resilient to systemic events in terms of residual market equity. However, the speed at which the crisis breaks out reaches a new maximum in 2011, and never goes back to values observed before 2007. Our analysis points to the key role of the crisis outbreak speed, which sets the maximum delay for central authorities intervention to be effective

Stimulated Emission Tomography: Beyond Polarization

In this work we demonstrate the use of stimulated emission tomography to characterize a hyper-entangled state generated by spontaneous parametric down-conversion in a CW-pumped source. In particular, we consider the generation of hyper-entangled states consisting of photon pairs entangled in polarisation and path. These results extend the capability of stimulated emission tomography beyond the polarisation degree of freedom, and demonstrate the use of this technique to study states in higher dimension Hilbert spaces

Forecast indices from a ground-based microwave radiometer for operational meteorology

Abstract. Today, commercial microwave radiometer profilers (MWRPs) are robust and unattended instruments providing real-time, accurate atmospheric observations at ~ 1 min temporal resolution under nearly all weather conditions. Common commercial units operate in the 20–60 GHz frequency range and are able to retrieve profiles of temperature, vapour density, and relative humidity. Temperature and humidity profiles retrieved from MWRP data are used here to feed tools developed for processing radiosonde observations to obtain values of forecast indices (FIs) commonly used in operational meteorology. The FIs considered here include K index, total totals, KO index, Showalter index, T1 gust, fog threat, lifted index, S index (STT), Jefferson index, microburst day potential index (MDPI), Thompson index, TQ index, and CAPE (convective available potential energy). Values of FIs computed from radiosonde and MWRP-retrieved temperature and humidity profiles are compared in order to quantitatively demonstrate the level of agreement and the value of continuous FI updates. This analysis is repeated for two sites at midlatitude, the first one located at low altitude in central Europe (Lindenberg, Germany) and the second one located at high altitude in North America (Whistler, Canada). It is demonstrated that FIs computed from MWRPs well correlate with those computed from radiosondes, with the additional advantage of nearly continuous updates. The accuracy of MWRP-derived FIs is tested against radiosondes, taken as a reference, showing different performances depending upon index and environmental situation. Overall, FIs computed from MWRP retrievals agree well with radiosonde values, with correlation coefficients usually above 0.8 (with few exceptions). We conclude that MWRP retrievals can be used to produce meaningful FIs, with the advantage (with respect to radiosondes) of nearly continuous updates

A statistical study of the Stromboli volcano explosion quakes before and during 2002-2003 eruptive crisis

We study the seismic wavefield and the statistical properties of the Stromboli volcano explosions preceding and during the 2002–2003 crisis. We analyze the recordings of a three‐component seismometer operating since 23 May 2002 to 30 January 2003, including the first 34 days of the crisis. Before the crisis, we recognize three bell‐shaped classes of spectra with maxima falling in the range 1–5 Hz. Spectral content has two main changes, the most prominent one occurring at the crisis onset when the frequency peak at ∼0.3 Hz increases in amplitude. Independent component analysis extracts three time‐stable independent oscillations that peaked at 1.1, 1.8, and 2.5 Hz, with radial and shallow polarization indicating a stable source mechanism. Energy of the explosions is lognormally distributed, except during a 2 month time interval before the crisis when it also shows a higher mean value. The interoccurrence time distributions display an homogeneous Poissonian behavior with a mean intertime of 250 s, without changes at the crisis onset. Only swarms of explosions are not ruled by a Poisson process and display higher occurrence rates and higher energies. Finally, we depict a scheme of the crisis. A modification of the equilibrium is induced by rising magma that produces a change in the boundary conditions of the plumbing system. The escape from the equilibrium produces, at first, variations in the usual statistics of the explosions, then it leads to the lava effusion and to a pressure drop in the plumbing system that induces a deep gas slug nucleation and the excitation of low frequencies