Two-component propellant grain for rocket motor combustion analysis and geometric optimization

The paper considers utilization of rocket motor propellant grains that consist of two propellants. The idea is to achieve approximately neutral burning using an outer surface inhibited cylindrical shape and complex contact surface between propellants. An existing propellant grain with complex geometry has been analytically modeled in terms of determination of evolution of corresponding burning surface areas. The analytical and experimental results' diagrams of this grain have been found to have a saw-tooth shape because of the segments that separate the two propellants, causing potential problems in the burning process during the relatively short active phase, showing an obvious need for further optimization. This has created an opportunity for development of improved propellant grain geometry and corresponding mathematical model for determination of main interior ballistic parameters. Comparison between calculation results based on both models and experimentally determined chamber pressure data shows very good agreement. Therefore, two-component propellant grains have significant application possibilities using the suggested modeling approaches

Pediatric Sepsis: clinical Considerations

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Pediatric Sepsis: clinical Markers

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Pediatric Sepsis: genetic Considerations

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Behavioral and morphological traits influencing variation in task performance of Camponotus vagus ants

The colony performance of social insects is supported by an efficient allocation of tasks among workers in the colony. The division of labor among ant workers is linked to age and caste polyethism, however, only a few studies have shown the relationship between workers’ behavioral variation and task performance. In this study, we investigated the task syndrome by testing the relationship between behavioral traits with task performance and location switching (switching the performance of tasks from inside to outside the nest) in the same-age workers of Camponotus vagus ants. We also investigated the division of labor in workers with and without location switching by checking if each caste is characterized by specific behavioral traits or tasks. Moreover, we checked whether the difference in the worker’s body size and its lifespan can influence task performance. Our results support the existence of task syndrome in ant workers by showing how individuals with specific behavioral traits are more likely to perform specific tasks within the colony. Moreover, the time of location switching was correlated with the tasks performed by the workers ( brood care , selfgrooming and walking ) and their behavioral traits ( aggressiveness and total distance ). In addition, worker size and lifespan are shown to influence task performance by the workers. Altogether, our study underpins the relationship between the behavioral traits and the task allocation and performance of workers within an ant colony

Identification of Young Stellar Object candidates in the GaiaGaia DR2 x AllWISE catalogue with machine learning methods

The second $Gaia$ Data Release (DR2) contains astrometric and photometric data for more than 1.6 billion objects with mean $Gaia$ $G$ magnitude $<$20.7, including many Young Stellar Objects (YSOs) in different evolutionary stages. In order to explore the YSO population of the Milky Way, we combined the $Gaia$ DR2 database with WISE and Planck measurements and made an all-sky probabilistic catalogue of YSOs using machine learning techniques, such as Support Vector Machines, Random Forests, or Neural Networks. Our input catalogue contains 103 million objects from the DR2xAllWISE cross-match table. We classified each object into four main classes: YSOs, extragalactic objects, main-sequence stars and evolved stars. At a 90% probability threshold we identified 1,129,295 YSO candidates. To demonstrate the quality and potential of our YSO catalogue, here we present two applications of it. (1) We explore the 3D structure of the Orion A star forming complex and show that the spatial distribution of the YSOs classified by our procedure is in agreement with recent results from the literature. (2) We use our catalogue to classify published $Gaia$ Science Alerts. As $Gaia$ measures the sources at multiple epochs, it can efficiently discover transient events, including sudden brightness changes of YSOs caused by dynamic processes of their circumstellar disk. However, in many cases the physical nature of the published alert sources are not known. A cross-check with our new catalogue shows that about 30% more of the published $Gaia$ alerts can most likely be attributed to YSO activity. The catalogue can be also useful to identify YSOs among future $Gaia$ alerts.Comment: 19 pages, 12 figures, 3 table

On Turing dynamical systems and the Atiyah problem

Main theorems of the article concern the problem of M. Atiyah on possible values of l^2-Betti numbers. It is shown that all non-negative real numbers are l^2-Betti numbers, and that "many" (for example all non-negative algebraic) real numbers are l^2-Betti numbers of simply connected manifolds with respect to a free cocompact action. Also an explicit example is constructed which leads to a simply connected manifold with a transcendental l^2-Betti number with respect to an action of the threefold direct product of the lamplighter group Z/2 wr Z. The main new idea is embedding Turing machines into integral group rings. The main tool developed generalizes known techniques of spectral computations for certain random walk operators to arbitrary operators in groupoid rings of discrete measured groupoids.Comment: 35 pages; essentially identical to the published versio

Activity of 50 Long-Period Comets Beyond 5.2 AU

Remote investigations of the ancient solar system matter has been traditionally carried out through the observations of long-period (LP) comets that are less affected by solar irradiation than the short-period counterparts orbiting much closer to the Sun. Here we summarize the results of our decade-long survey of the distant activity of LP comets. We found that the most important separation in the dataset is based on the dynamical nature of the objects. Dynamically new comets are characterized by a higher level of activity on average: the most active new comets in our sample can be characterized by afrho values >3--4 higher than that of our most active returning comets. New comets develop more symmetric comae, suggesting a generally isotropic outflow. Contrary to this, the coma of recurrent comets can be less symmetrical, ocassionally exhibiting negative slope parameters, suggesting sudden variations in matter production. The morphological appearance of the observed comets is rather diverse. A surprisingly large fraction of the comets have long, teniouos tails, but the presence of impressive tails does not show a clear correlation with the brightness of the comets.Comment: 21 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in A