Fe1-xNix alloy nanoparticles encapsulated inside carbon nanotubes: Controlled synthesis, structure and magnetic properties

In the present work, different synthesis procedures have been demonstrated to fill carbon nanotubes (CNTs) with Fe1-xNix alloy nanoparticles (x = 0.33, 0.5). CNTs act as templates for the encapsulation of magnetic nanoparticles, and provide a protective shield against oxidation as well as prevent nanoparticles agglomeration. By variation of the reaction parameters, the purity of the samples, degree of filling, the composition and size of filling nanoparticles have been tailored and therefore the magnetic properties. The samples were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Bright-field (BF) TEM tomography, X-ray powder diffraction, superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The Fe1-x Nix-filled CNTs show a huge enhancement in the coercive fields compared to the corresponding bulk materials, which make them excellent candidates for several applications such as magnetic storage devices

Investigating long-term human ecodynamics in the European Arctic:Towards an integrated multi-scalar analysis of early and mid Holocene cultural, environmental and palaeodemographic sequences in Finnmark County, Northern Norway

Most parts of the Circumpolar Arctic have only discontinuous evidence for long-term human settlement. In contrast, Northern Norway has an unbroken archaeological record that extends back to the early Holocene. Numerous high-resolution archaeological and palaeoenvironmental records have been generated by commercial excavations and surveys, offering archaeologists unique opportunities to investigate long-term human ecodynamics in an Arctic coastal setting. To date, however, deeper analysis of the new datasets has yet to be undertaken. This paper aims to present a new synthesis of early and mid Holocene archaeological and paleoenvironmental sequences for Western Finnmark (11500-2000 cal BP). This enables us to identify three major phases of culture change that broadly correlate with climatic and environmental shifts. We then present emerging results from our multi-scalar analysis of the processes driving these transformations. At supra-regional and regional scales, our palaeodemographic modelling indicates major population events centered around 6000 cal BP and 4000 cal BP. At intra-regional scales, we are identifying spatial clustering of prehistoric settlements into local socio-economic communities. At the scale of local settlements, our analysis of house-pit chronologies is clarifying the degree of simultaneous occupation and re-use. We also draw on recent research into rock art and ritual landscapes in an effort to reconstruct the relationship between settlement clusters and general interaction patterns. Integration of these diverse lines of evidence is generating a vivid picture of thriving Arctic coastal communities, with indications that the timing and pace of cultural responses to climatic and environmental changes were more complex than previously thought

Florix, an index to assess plant species in floodplains for nature conservation – Developed and tested along the river Danube

Natural floodplains are ecosystems with a diverse mosaic of habitats and site conditions, but also highly threatened due to anthropogenic pressures. Plant species occur in all habitat types and can indicate their value for nature conservation. To improve sustainable management of rivers and floodplains, several indices such as the River Ecosystem Service Index (RESI) have been developed. However, there are so far no assessment schemes for the entire range of floodplain plants. The common assessment approaches like biological integrity, achievement rates or threatened species (Red list), applying to other species groups or other ecosystems, are not appropriate in floodplains. Legal obligations and the need to restore floodplains clearly call for an index assessing the ecological value in a reference area which can be combined with a 5-scale assessment in accordance to established assessments like RESI or the Water Framework Directive. Five typical characteristics describing vascular plants’ adaptation to floodplain habitats were identified. These can be derived from published data sets available for all species in Germany. We checked these indicators for multicollinearity and selected three of them: species number, hydrodynamic indicators, nature conservation indicators. Species number highly correlate with habitat indicators and geographic occurrence. For the selected three indicators we determined thresholds to group habitats and their indicator rate to five classes (very low to very high value for nature conservation). These thresholds are valid for the river Danube and for the habitat types scrutinized in this study. The Florix approach was sensitive in data sets testing active against former floodplains and protected against unprotected areas: For the entire reference region ‘Danube floodplain’, Florix values were higher in the active floodplain and in the protected areas. Only the habitat type ‘water bodies’ showed better scores for habitats in the former floodplain, for ‘softwood forests’ the status of being part of a protected area had no effect. Florix results were validated in two case studies differing in land use intensity. The region with dominant agricultural use showed significantly lower values than that with a higher portion of forests and grasslands. Florix can be used for a floristic conservation status assessment at single habitat level or for the entity of a study region in comparison to a reference region. It allows to identify main pressures and to complement a habitat-type based evaluation. To achieve higher comparability, we should strive for a generalized monitoring in Europe like it is common in aquatic ecosystem monitoring

Processing Succinct Matrices and Vectors

We study the complexity of algorithmic problems for matrices that are represented by multi-terminal decision diagrams (MTDD). These are a variant of ordered decision diagrams, where the terminal nodes are labeled with arbitrary elements of a semiring (instead of 0 and 1). A simple example shows that the product of two MTDD-represented matrices cannot be represented by an MTDD of polynomial size. To overcome this deficiency, we extended MTDDs to MTDD_+ by allowing componentwise symbolic addition of variables (of the same dimension) in rules. It is shown that accessing an entry, equality checking, matrix multiplication, and other basic matrix operations can be solved in polynomial time for MTDD_+-represented matrices. On the other hand, testing whether the determinant of a MTDD-represented matrix vanishes PSPACE$-complete, and the same problem is NP-complete for MTDD_+-represented diagonal matrices. Computing a specific entry in a product of MTDD-represented matrices is #P-complete.Comment: An extended abstract of this paper will appear in the Proceedings of CSR 201

Being Warm Being Happy: fuel poverty and adults with intellectual disabilities

Self-determination has been acknowledged as a criticalconstruct for people with intellectual disability (ID), given the benefits itspromotion entails towards an enhanced quality of life..

High-statistics finite size scaling analysis of U(1) lattice gauge theory with Wilson action

We describe the results of a systematic high-statistics Monte-Carlo study of finite-size effects at the phase transition of compact U(1) lattice gauge theory with Wilson action on a hypercubic lattice with periodic boundary conditions. We find unambiguously that the critical exponent nu is lattice-size dependent for volumes ranging from 4^4 to 12^4. Asymptotic scaling formulas yield values decreasing from nu(L >= 4) = 0.33 to nu(L >= 9) = 0.29. Our statistics are sufficient to allow the study of different phenomenological scenarios for the corrections to asymptotic scaling. We find evidence that corrections to a first-order transition with nu=0.25 provide the most accurate description of the data. However the corrections do not follow always the expected first-order pattern of a series expansion in the inverse lattice volume V^{-1}. Reaching the asymptotic regime will require lattice sizes greater than L=12. Our conclusions are supported by the study of many cumulants which all yield consistent results after proper interpretation.Comment: revtex, 12 pages, 9 figure

Scaling analysis of the magnetic monopole mass and condensate in the pure U(1) lattice gauge theory

We observe the power law scaling behavior of the monopole mass and condensate in the pure compact U(1) gauge theory with the Villain action. In the Coulomb phase the monopole mass scales with the exponent \nu_m=0.49(4). In the confinement phase the behavior of the monopole condensate is described with remarkable accuracy by the exponent \beta_{exp}=0.197(3). Possible implications of these phenomena for a construction of a strongly coupled continuum U(1) gauge theory are discussed.Comment: Added references [1

Adiposity, Dysmetabolic Traits, and Earlier Onset of Female Puberty in Adolescent Offspring of Women With Gestational Diabetes Mellitus: A Clinical Study Within the Danish National Birth Cohort

OBJECTIVE Offspring of pregnancies affected by gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) are at increased risk of the development of type 2 diabetes. However, the extent to which these dysmetabolic traits may be due to offspring and/or maternal adiposity is unknown. We examined body composition and associated cardiometabolic traits in 561 9- to 16-year-old offspring of mothers with GDM and 597 control offspring. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS We measured anthropometric characteristics; puberty status; blood pressure; and fasting glucose, insulin, C-peptide, and lipid levels; and conducted a DEXA scan in a subset of the cohort. Differences in the outcomes between offspring of mothers with GDM and control subjects were examined using linear and logistic regression models. RESULTS After adjustment for age and sex, offspring of mothers with GDM displayed higher weight, BMI, waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), systolic blood pressure, and resting heart rate and lower height. Offspring of mothers with GDM had higher total and abdominal fat percentages and lower muscle mass percentages, but these differences disappeared after correction for offspring BMI. The offspring of mothers with GDM displayed higher fasting plasma glucose, insulin, C-peptide, HOMA-insulin resistance (IR), and plasma triglyceride levels, whereas fasting plasma HDL cholesterol levels were decreased. Female offspring of mothers with GDM had an earlier onset of puberty than control offspring. Offspring of mothers with GDM had significantly higher BMI, WHR, fasting glucose, and HOMA-IR levels after adjustment for maternal prepregnancy BMI, and glucose and HOMA-IR remained elevated in the offspring of mothers with GDM after correction for both maternal and offspring BMIs. CONCLUSIONS In summary, adolescent offspring of women with GDM show increased adiposity, an adverse cardiometabolic profile, and earlier onset of puberty among girls. Increased fasting glucose and HOMA-IR levels among the offspring of mothers with GDM may be explained by the programming effects of hyperglycemia in pregnancy. </jats:sec

Non-Zero Sum Games for Reactive Synthesis

In this invited contribution, we summarize new solution concepts useful for the synthesis of reactive systems that we have introduced in several recent publications. These solution concepts are developed in the context of non-zero sum games played on graphs. They are part of the contributions obtained in the inVEST project funded by the European Research Council.Comment: LATA'16 invited pape