Influence of Josephson current second harmonic on stability of magnetic flux in long junctions

We study the long Josephson junction (LJJ) model which takes into account the second harmonic of the Fourier expansion of Josephson current. The dependence of the static magnetic flux distributions on parameters of the model are investigated numerically. Stability of the static solutions is checked by the sign of the smallest eigenvalue of the associated Sturm-Liouville problem. New solutions which do not exist in the traditional model, have been found. Investigation of the influence of second harmonic on the stability of magnetic flux distributions for main solutions is performed.Comment: 4 pages, 6 figures, to be published in Proc. of Dubna-Nano2010, July 5-10, 2010, Russi

Power Intensification of Swelling Process

DergiPark: 245958trakyafbdMakale, boru şekilli bir parçanın şişirilmesinde ilave eksenel basınç uygulayarak güç yoğunlaştırmanın etkilerini araştırmak üzere yürütülen çalışmaların sonuçlarını özetlemektedir. Eksenel basıncın arttırılması, ?? gerilme indeksini ve gerilme halinin rijitliğini azaltarak şekil değiştirme bölgesindeki malzemenin düzgün akışını sağlamaktadır. Bu yöntemle düşük karbonlu çelik parçalar için, şişirme indeksinde % 15 civarında bir düşüş ve şekillendirilebilirlikte % 76 ile % 78 arasında bir artış elde edilmektedir.The paper deals with the outcomes of investigations carried out to determine the impact of power intensification of a deformation process by means of applying additional axial pressure over the fronts of round billets. By increasing axial pressure, the value of ?? index and the “rigidity” of the stressed state pattern drops down that promote redistribution of metal within the area of deformation. This resulted in 15% decrease of the index of swelling and 76 to 78% increase of the permissible level of swelling during deformation of low carbon steel specimen

Morphology of the rat carotid body

The carotid body (CB) is the main peripheral arterial chemoreceptor that registers the levels of pO2, pCO2 and pH in the blood and responds to their changes by regulating breathing. It is strategically located in the bifurcation region of each common carotid artery. The organ consists of "glomera" composed of two cell types, glomus and sustentacular cells, interspersed by blood vessels and nerve bundles, and separated by connective tissue. The neuron-like glomus or type I cells contain numerous cytoplasmic organelles and dense-cored vesicles that store and release neurotransmitters. They form both conventional chemical and electrical synapses between each other and are contacted by peripheral nerve endings of petrosal ganglion afferent neurons. The glial-like sustentacular or type II cells sustain physiologic neurogenesis in the adult CB and are thus supposed to be progenitor cells. This new source of adult stem cells may be potentially useful for tissue repair after injury or for cell therapy against neurodegenerative diseases. The CB is a highly vascularized organ and its intraorgan hemodynamics possibly plays a role in the process of chemoreception. There is also evidence that chronic hypoxia induces marked morphological and neurochemical changes within the CB but the detailed molecular mechanisms by which these affect the hypoxic chemosensitivity still remain to be elucidated. Dysregulation of the CB function is implicated in various physiological and pathophysiological conditions, including ventilatory altitude acclimatization and sleep-disordered breathing. Knowledge of the morphological and functional aspects of the CB will contribute to our better understanding of respiratory homeostasis in health and disease.Biomedical Reviews 2011; 22: 41-55

Age-dependent changes in clock neuron structural plasticity and excitability are associated with a decrease in circadian output behaviour and sleep

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from the publisher via the DOI in this recordAgeing has significant effects on circadian behaviour across a wide variety of species, but the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. Previous work has demonstrated the age-dependent decline in behavioural output in the model organism Drosophila. We demonstrate this age-dependent decline in circadian output is combined with changes in daily activity of Drosophila. Ageing also has a large impact on sleep behaviour, significantly increasing sleep duration whilst reducing latency. We used electrophysiology to record from large ventral lateral neurons (l-LNv) of the Drosophila circadian clock, finding a significant decrease in input resistance with age, but no significant changes in spontaneous electrical activity or membrane potential. We propose this change contributes to observed behavioural and sleep changes in light-dark conditions. We also demonstrate a reduction in the daily plasticity of the architecture of the small ventral lateral neurons (s-LNv), likely underlying the reduction in circadian rhythmicity during ageing. These results provide further insights into the effect of ageing on circadian biology, demonstrating age-related changes in electrical activity in conjunction with the decline in behavioural outputs.Wellcome TrustLeverhulme TrustEngineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC

Kinematic characteristics of motion in the mirror game

We present the analysis of data collected in the mirror game setting. In our set-up two players are asked to mirror each other movements (with or without a designated leader). First, we study kinematic characteristics of motion of individual players, and next we investigate how they are affected by interactions between the players. Results of the presented analysis will be used to inform the design of interactive virtual players with kinematics based on the similarity principle.Engineering and Physical Sciences Research CouncilEuropean Project AlterEgo FP7 ICT 2.9 - Cognitive Sciences and Robotic

The impact of the consumer and neighbourhood food environment on dietary intake and obesity-related outcomes: A systematic review of causal impact studies.

Background The food environment has been found to impact population dietary behaviour. Our study aimed to systematically review the impact of different elements of the food environment on dietary intake and obesity. Methods We searched MEDLINE, Embase, PsychInfo, EconLit databases to identify literature that assessed the relationship between the built food environments (intervention) and dietary intake and obesity (outcomes), published between database inception to March 26, 2020. All human studies were eligible except for those on clinical sub-groups. Only studies with causal inference methods were assessed. Studies focusing on the food environment inside homes, workplaces and schools were excluded. A risk of bias assessment was conducted using the CASP appraisal checklist. Findings were summarized using a narrative synthesis approach. Findings 58 papers were included, 55 of which were conducted in high-income countries. 70% of papers focused on the consumer food environments and found that in-kind/financial incentives, healthy food saliency, and health primes, but not calorie menu labelling significantly improved dietary quality of children and adults, while BMI results were null. 30% of the papers focused on the neighbourhood food environments and found that the number of and distance to unhealthy food outlets increased the likelihood of fast-food consumption and higher BMI for children of any SES; among adults only selected groups were impacted - females, black, and Hispanics living in low and medium density areas. The availability and distance to healthy food outlets significantly improved children's dietary intake and BMI but null results were found for adults. Interpretation Evidence suggests certain elements of the consumer and neighbourhood food environments could improve populations dietary intake, while effect on BMI was observed among children and selected adult populations. Underprivileged groups are most likely to experience and impact on BMI. Future research should investigate whether findings translate in other countries