Particle trapping and banding in rapid solidification

Solidification of suspensions of small particles, from nanometer to colloidal (sub-micrometer) sizes, produces biomimetic materials with novel microstructure and expanding applications in microfluidics, nanotechnology and tissue engineering. To facilitate understanding and control of the solidification process, a thermodynamically consistent theory is here developed. We use the Boltzmann particle velocity distribution to determine the probability a particle is engulfed by an advancing solid-liquid interface and obtain the resulting kinetic phase diagram. We demonstrate use of the theory by predicting the formation of bands in rapidly solidified alumina suspensions, in quantitative agreement with experiment

Sensitivity of the mussel Mytilus edulis to substrate‑borne vibration in relation to anthropogenically generated noise

© 2015 Inter-Research. Many anthropogenic activities in the oceans involve direct contact with the seabed (for example pile driving), creating radiating particle motion waves. However, the consequences of these waveforms to marine organisms are largely unknown and there is little information on the ability of invertebrates to detect vibration, or indeed the acoustic component of the signal. We quantified sensitivity of the marine bivalve Mytilus edulis to substrate-borne vibration by exposure to vibration under controlled conditions. Sinusoidal excitation by tonal signals at frequencies within the range 5 to 410 Hz was applied during the tests, using the 'staircase' method of threshold determination. Thresholds were related to mussel size and to seabed vibration data produced by anthropogenic activities. Clear behavioural changes were observed in response to the vibration stimulus. Thresholds ranged from 0.06 to 0.55 m s -2 (acceleration, root mean squared), with valve closure used as the behavioural indicator of reception and response. Thresholds were shown to be within the range of vibrations measured in the vicinity of anthropogenic operations such as pile driving and blasting. The responses show that vibration is likely to impact the overall fitness of both individuals and mussel beds of M. edulis due to disruption of natural valve periodicity, which may have ecosystem and commercial implications. The observed data provide a valuable first step to understanding the impacts of such vibration upon a key coastal and estuarine invertebrate which lives near industrial and construction activity, and illustrate that the role of seabed vibration should not be underestimated when assessing the impacts of noise pollution

Drink wise, age well; reducing alcohol related harm among people over 50: a study protocol

Background: Evidence suggests that the use of alcohol among older adults (defined as those aged 50+) has increased in recent years, with people aged 55-64 now more likely to exceed the recommended weekly guidelines than any other age group. Methods/ design: This is a quasi-experimental study with a before-after design. A postal questionnaire will be sent to 76,000 people aged 50 and over registered with a general practice in five different 'demonstration' (intervention) and control areas in the UK. Multiple interventions will then be delivered in demonstration areas across the UK. At the end of the programme, a postal questionnaire will be sent to the same individuals who completed it pre-programme to establish if there has been a reduction in alcohol use, at-risk drinking and alcohol related problems. Qualitative interviews with clients and staff will explore how the interventions were experienced; how they may work to bring about change and to identify areas for practice improvements. Discussion: This study protocol describes a multi-level, multi-intervention prevention-to-treatment programme which aims to reduce alcohol-related harm in people aged 50 and over

Compound nuclear decay and the liquid to vapor phase transition: a physical picture

Analyses of multifragmentation in terms of the Fisher droplet model (FDM) and the associated construction of a nuclear phase diagram bring forth the problem of the actual existence of the nuclear vapor phase and the meaning of its associated pressure. We present here a physical picture of fragment production from excited nuclei that solves this problem and establishes the relationship between the FDM and the standard compound nucleus decay rate for rare particles emitted in first-chance decay. The compound thermal emission picture is formally equivalent to a FDM-like equilibrium description and avoids the problem of the vapor while also explaining the observation of Boltzmann-like distribution of emission times. In this picture a simple Fermi gas thermometric relation is naturally justified and verified in the fragment yields and time scales. Low energy compound nucleus fragment yields scale according to the FDM and lead to an estimate of the infinite symmetric nuclear matter critical temperature between 18 and 27 MeV depending on the choice of the surface energy coefficient of nuclear matter.Comment: Five page two column pages, four figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.

The long gamma-ray burst rate and the correlation with host galaxy properties

To answer questions on the start and duration of the epoch of reionisation, periods of galaxy mergers and properties of other cosmological encounters, the cosmic star formation history (CSFH), is of fundamental importance. Using the association of long gamma-ray bursts (LGRBs) with the death of massive stars and their ultra-luminous nature, the CSFH can be probed to higher redshifts than current conventional methods. Unfortunately, no consensus has been reached on the manner in which the LGRB rate (LGRBR) traces the CSFH, leaving many of the questions mentioned mostly unexplored by this method. Observations by the GRB NIR detector (GROND) over the past 4 years have, for the first time, acquired highly complete LGRB samples. Driven by these completeness levels and new evidence of LGRBs also occurring in more massive and metal rich galaxies than previously thought, the possible biases of the LGRBR-CSFH connection are investigated over a large range of galaxy properties. The CSFH is modelled using empirical fits to the galaxy mass function and galaxy star formation rates. Biasing the CSFH by metallicity cuts, mass range boundaries, and other unknown redshift dependencies, a LGRBR is generated and compared to the highly complete GROND sample. It is found that there is no strong preference for a metallicity cut or fixed galaxy mass boundaries and that there are no unknown redshift effects, in contrast to previous work which suggest values of Z/Z_sun~0.1-0.3. From the best-fit models, we predict that ~1.2% of the LGRB burst sample exists above z=6. The linear relationship between the LGRBR and the CSFH suggested by our results implies that redshift biases present in previous LGRB samples significantly affect the inferred dependencies of LGRBs on their host galaxy properties. Such biases can lead to, e.g., an interpretation of metallicity limitations and evolving LGRB luminosity functions.Comment: 15 pages, 14 figures, 7 tables, accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysic

Modulated phases of a 1D sharp interface model in a magnetic field

We investigate the ground states of 1D continuum models having short-range ferromagnetic type interactions and a wide class of competing longer-range antiferromagnetic type interactions. The model is defined in terms of an energy functional, which can be thought of as the Hamiltonian of a coarse-grained microscopic system or as a mesoscopic free energy functional describing various materials. We prove that the ground state is simple periodic whatever the prescribed total magnetization might be. Previous studies of this model of frustrated systems assumed this simple periodicity but, as in many examples in condensed matter physics, it is neither obvious nor always true that ground states do not have a more complicated, or even chaotic structure.Comment: 12 pages, 3 figure

Striped phases in two dimensional dipole systems

We prove that a system of discrete 2D in-plane dipoles with four possible orientations, interacting via a 3D dipole-dipole interaction plus a nearest neighbor ferromagnetic term, has periodic striped ground states. As the strength of the ferromagnetic term is increased, the size of the stripes in the ground state increases, becoming infinite, i.e., giving a ferromagentic ground state, when the ferromagentic interaction exceeds a certain critical value. We also give a rigorous proof of the reorientation transition in the ground state of a 2D system of discrete dipoles with six possible orientations, interacting via a 3D dipole-dipole interaction plus a nearest neighbor antiferromagnetic term. As the strength of the antiferromagnetic term is increased the ground state flips from being striped and in-plane to being staggered and out-of-plane. An example of a rotator model with a sinusoidal ground state is also discussed.Comment: 20 pages, 1 figur

Nociceptive neuropeptide increases and periorbital allodynia in a model of traumatic brain injury.

OBJECTIVE: This study tests the hypothesis that injury to the somatosensory cortex is associated with periorbital allodynia and increases in nociceptive neuropeptides in the brainstem in a mouse model of controlled cortical impact (CCI) injury. METHODS: Male C57BL/6 mice received either CCI or craniotomy-only followed by weekly periorbital von Frey (mechanical) sensory testing for up to 28 days post-injury. Mice receiving an incision only and naïve mice were included as control groups. Changes in calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) and substance P (SP) within the brainstem were determined using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and immunohistochemistry, respectively. Activation of ionized calcium-binding adaptor molecule-1-labeled macrophages/microglia and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP)-positive astrocytes were evaluated using immunohistochemistry because of their potential involvement in nociceptor sensitization. RESULTS: Incision-only control mice showed no changes from baseline periorbital von Frey mechanical thresholds. CCI significantly reduced mean periorbital von Frey thresholds (periorbital allodynia) compared with baseline and craniotomy-only at each endpoint, analysis of variance P \u3c .0001. Craniotomy significantly reduced periorbital threshold at 14 days but not 7, 21, or 28 days compared with baseline threshold, P \u3c .01. CCI significantly increased SP immunoreactivity in the brainstem at 7 and 14 days but not 28 days compared with craniotomy-only and controls, P \u3c .001. CGRP levels in brainstem tissues were significantly increased in CCI groups compared with controls (incision-only and naïve mice) or craniotomy-only mice at each endpoint examined, P \u3c .0001. There was a significant correlation between CGRP and periorbital allodynia (P \u3c .0001, r = -0.65) but not for SP (r = 0.20). CCI significantly increased the number of macrophage/microglia in the injured cortex at each endpoint up to 28 days, although cell numbers declined over weeks post-injury, P \u3c .001. GFAP(+) immunoreactivity was significantly increased at 7 but not 14 or 28 days after CCI, P \u3c .001. Craniotomy resulted in transient periorbital allodynia accompanied by transient increases in SP, CGRP, and GFAP immunoreactivity compared with control mice. There was no increase in the number of macrophage/microglia cells compared with controls after craniotomy. CONCLUSION: Injury to the somatosensory cortex results in persistent periorbital allodynia and increases in brainstem nociceptive neuropeptides. Findings suggest that persistent allodynia and increased neuropeptides are maintained by mechanisms other than activation of macrophage/microglia or astrocyte in the injured somatosensory cortex