Target-searching on the percolation

We study target-searching processes on a percolation, on which a hunter tracks a target by smelling odors it emits. The odor intensity is supposed to be inversely proportional to the distance it propagates. The Monte Carlo simulation is performed on a 2-dimensional bond-percolation above the threshold. Having no idea of the location of the target, the hunter determines its moves only by random attempts in each direction. For lager percolation connectivity $p\gtrsim 0.90$, it reveals a scaling law for the searching time versus the distance to the position of the target. The scaling exponent is dependent on the sensitivity of the hunter. For smaller $p$, the scaling law is broken and the probability of finding out the target significantly reduces. The hunter seems trapped in the cluster of the percolation and can hardly reach the goal.Comment: 5 figure

Cooperative spontaneous emission in nonuniform media

The subject of this paper is modification of cooperative spontaneous emission by a nonuniform medium, with nonuniform distributions of electromagnetic field. A brief analyzis is presented and it is postulated, that if spontaneous emission from an atom is strongly suppressed, cooperative emission with another atom may be a preferred emission channel and counteract the suppression.Comment: The final publication is available at http://www.epj.or

3D porous Li3V2(PO4)3/hard carbon composites for improving the rate performance of lithium ion batteries

A 3D porous Li3V2(PO4)3/hard carbon composite delivers a capacity of 98 mA h g−1 after 1000 cycles at 10C.</p

The past and future of global river ice

More than one-third of Earth’s landmass is drained by rivers that seasonally freeze over. Ice transforms the hydrologic1,2, ecologic3,4, climatic5 and socio-economic6–8 functions of river corridors. Although river ice extent has been shown to be declining in many regions of the world1, the seasonality, historical change and predicted future changes in river ice extent and duration have not yet been quantified globally. Previous studies of river ice, which suggested that declines in extent and duration could be attributed to warming temperatures9,10, were based on data from sparse locations. Furthermore, existing projections of future ice extent are based solely on the location of the 0-°C isotherm11. Here, using satellite observations, we show that the global extent of river ice is declining, and we project a mean decrease in seasonal ice duration of 6.10 ± 0.08 days per 1-°C increase in global mean surface air temperature. We tracked the extent of river ice using over 400,000 clear-sky Landsat images spanning 1984–2018 and observed a mean decline of 2.5 percentage points globally in the past three decades. To project future changes in river ice extent, we developed an observationally calibrated and validated model, based on temperature and season, which reduced the mean bias by 87 per cent compared with the 0-degree-Celsius isotherm approach. We applied this model to future climate projections for 2080–2100: compared with 2009–2029, the average river ice duration declines by 16.7 days under Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) 8.5, whereas under RCP 4.5 it declines on average by 7.3 days. Our results show that, globally, river ice is measurably declining and will continue to decline linearly with projected increases in surface air temperature towards the end of this century

Recurrence and Polya number of general one-dimensional random walks

The recurrence properties of random walks can be characterized by P\'{o}lya number, i.e., the probability that the walker has returned to the origin at least once. In this paper, we consider recurrence properties for a general 1D random walk on a line, in which at each time step the walker can move to the left or right with probabilities $l$ and $r$, or remain at the same position with probability $o$ ($l+r+o=1$). We calculate P\'{o}lya number $P$ of this model and find a simple expression for $P$ as, $P=1-\Delta$, where $\Delta$ is the absolute difference of $l$ and $r$ ($\Delta=|l-r|$). We prove this rigorous expression by the method of creative telescoping, and our result suggests that the walk is recurrent if and only if the left-moving probability $l$ equals to the right-moving probability $r$.Comment: 3 page short pape

Graphene-like carbon sheet/Fe3O4 nanocomposites derived from soda papermaking black liquor for high performance lithium ion batteries

Alkali lignins and its degradation products in the soda papermaking black liquor (SPBL) are renewable resource with the highest natural carbon content. In this work we convert SPBL into the high-performance carbon-based nanocomposite anodes. The unique functional groups of lignin biomass induce spontaneous formation of graphene-like carbon sheet (GCS) in-situ doped SiC/S. The lamellar GCS/FeO nanocomposite (GCS/FO-NC) is facilely prepared via one-step in-situ thermo-chemical method at 700\ua0°C, in which donut shaped FeO nanoparticles with superlattices and inner surface are homogeneously embedded in the interlayer of GCS and are also anchored on its surface. The GCS/FO-NC anode exhibits a ultrahigh first discharge specific capacity of 3829\ua0mAh\ua0g at 50\ua0mA\ua0g in a coin-type Li ion battery, which is more than 4 times the theoretical capacity (924\ua0mAh\ua0g) of FeO and 5 times that of the graphene anode (744\ua0mAh. g). Even at a high current density (1000\ua0mA\ua0g), it still exhibits a high reversible capacity (750\ua0mAh\ua0g) after 1400 discharge/charge cycles. More importantly, the removal efficiency of chemical oxygen demand of SPBL is up to 83.4% during the synthesis process, which reduce its load to environment and synthetic cost of carbon-based nanocomposite anodes

Expression of anion exchanger 2 in human gastric cancer

Anion exchanger 2 (AE2), which mediates exchange of Cl-/HCO3- across the plasma membrane, is widely expressed in body tissues. It is most abundantly expressed in stomach and is responsible for the uptake of Cl- ions that are destined to become HCl molecules. Aim: To determine whether AE2 expression was altered in gastric tumors. Methods: We have studied AE2 expression in normal human gastric tissues (n =16) and in gastric tumors (n = 33) using immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescent labeling. Results: In normal gastric tissue positive staining was observed in gastric fundus gland, suggesting parietal cell-related expression of AE2, and AE2 expression was localized in the nuclear membrane and even in cell nuclei. For assay of cancerous gastric tissues, specimens of human gastric cancer arising from the region of the fundus (2 cases), the body (14 cases) and the antrum (17 cases) were randomly selected. Immunohistochemical staining has showed that AE2 was down-regulated in all 14 cancerous gastric body specimens, whereas staining for AE2 in cancerous antrum was less intense and had a diffuse profile. Conclusions: The data suggest that AE2 might be associated with gastric carcinogenesis and the achlorhydria experienced by gastric cancer patients.Анионный обменник 2 (АЕ2), который опосредует перенос Cl- /HCO3 - через плазматическую мембрану, экспрессируется клетками разных тканей. Самый высокий уровень экспрессии АЕ2 в желудке, поскольку этот белок отвечает за поглощение ионов Cl- , которые впоследствии используются для секреции HCl. Цель: Изучить изменения в экспрессии АЕ2 при раке желудка. Методы: исследована экспрессия АЕ2 в нормальных тканях (n = 16) и опухолях желудка (n = 33) с применением методов иммуногистохимии и иммунофлуоресценции. Результаты: в нетрансформированной ткани желудка в фундальной железе выявляли сильную положительную реакцию, что свидетельствует об экспрессии АЕ2 париетальными клетками, причем экспрессия АЕ2 была локализирована в ядерной мембране и в ядре. В опухолях желудка (фундального отдела (n = 2), тела (n = 14) и антрального отдела (n = 17)), отобранных случайным образом, был проведен анализ экспрессии АЕ2. Иммуногистохимическое исследование показало снижение экспрессии АЕ2 во всех 14 случаях рака тела желудка. Окрашивание АЕ2 в образцах рака антрального отдела желудка было менее интенсивным и диффузным. Выводы: полученные данные позволяют предположить наличие связи между экспрессией АЕ2 и развитием рака желудка, а также ахлоргидрией, отмечаемой у больных раком желудка

RivWidthCloud: An Automated Google Earth Engine Algorithm for River Width Extraction from Remotely Sensed Imagery

The wetted width of a river is one of the most important hydraulic parameters that can be readily measured using remote sensing. Remotely sensed river widths are used to estimate key attributes of river systems, including changes in their surface area, channel storage, and discharge. Although several published algorithms automate river network and width extraction from remote sensing images, they are limited by only being able to run on local computers and do not automatically manage cloudy images as input. Here we present RivWidthCloud, a river width software package developed on the Google Earth Engine cloud computing platform. RivWidthCloud automatically extracts river centerline and widths from optical satellite images with the ability to flag observations that are obstructed by features like clouds, cloud shadows, and snow based on existing quality band classification. Because RivWidthCloud is built on a popular cloud computing platform, it allows users to easily apply the algorithm to the platform's vast archive of remote sensing images, thereby reducing the users' overhead for computing hardware and data storage. By comparing RivWidthCloud-derived widths from Landsat images to in situ widths from the U.S. and Canada, we show that RivWidthCloud can estimate widths with high accuracy (root mean square error: 99 m; mean absolute error: 43 m; mean bias:-21 m). By making RivWidthCloud publicly available, we anticipate that it will be used to address both river science questions and operational applications of water resource management

The triangular Ising antiferromagnet in a staggered field

We study the equilibrium properties of the nearest-neighbor Ising antiferromagnet on a triangular lattice in the presence of a staggered field conjugate to one of the degenerate ground states. Using a mapping of the ground states of the model without the staggered field to dimer coverings on the dual lattice, we classify the ground states into sectors specified by the number of ``strings''. We show that the effect of the staggered field is to generate long-range interactions between strings. In the limiting case of the antiferromagnetic coupling constant J becoming infinitely large, we prove the existence of a phase transition in this system and obtain a finite lower bound for the transition temperature. For finite J, we study the equilibrium properties of the system using Monte Carlo simulations with three different dynamics. We find that in all the three cases, equilibration times for low field values increase rapidly with system size at low temperatures. Due to this difficulty in equilibrating sufficiently large systems at low temperatures, our finite-size scaling analysis of the numerical results does not permit a definite conclusion about the existence of a phase transition for finite values of J. A surprising feature in the system is the fact that unlike usual glassy systems, a zero-temperature quench almost always leads to the ground state, while a slow cooling does not.Comment: 12 pages, 18 figures: To appear in Phys. Rev.

Equilibrium and dynamical properties of the ANNNI chain at the multiphase point

We study the equilibrium and dynamical properties of the ANNNI (axial next-nearest-neighbor Ising) chain at the multiphase point. An interesting property of the system is the macroscopic degeneracy of the ground state leading to finite zero-temperature entropy. In our equilibrium study we consider the effect of softening the spins. We show that the degeneracy of the ground state is lifted and there is a qualitative change in the low temperature behaviour of the system with a well defined low temperature peak of the specific heat that carries the thermodynamic ``weight'' of the ground state entropy. In our study of the dynamical properties, the stochastic Kawasaki dynamics is considered. The Fokker-Planck operator for the process corresponds to a quantum spin Hamiltonian similar to the Heisenberg ferromagnet but with constraints on allowed states. This leads to a number of differences in its properties which are obtained through exact numerical diagonalization, simulations and by obtaining various analytic bounds.Comment: 9 pages, RevTex, 6 figures (To appear in Phys. Rev. E