3,627 research outputs found
Microwave intermodulation distortion of MgB2 thin films
The two tone intermodulation arising in MgB2 thin films deposited in-situ by
planar magnetron sputtering on sapphire substrates is studied. Samples are
characterised using an open-ended dielectric puck resonator operating at 8.8
GHz. The experimental results show that the third order products increase with
the two-tone input power with a slope ranging between 1.5 and 2.3. The
behaviour can be understood introducing a mechanism of vortex penetration in
grain boundaries as the most plausible source of non linearities in these
films. This assumption is confirmed by the analysis of the field dependence of
the surface resistance, that show a linear behaviour at all temperatures under
test.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figures; to be published in Appl. Phys. Let
Cosmic dance in the Shapley Concentration Core - I. A study of the radio emission of the BCGs and tailed radio galaxies
The Shapley Concentration () covers several degrees in the
Southern Hemisphere, and includes galaxy clusters in advanced evolutionary
stage, groups of clusters in the early stages of merger, fairly massive
clusters with ongoing accretion activity, and smaller groups located in
filaments in the regions between the main clusters. With the goal to
investigate the role of cluster mergers and accretion on the radio galaxy
population, we performed a multi-wavelength study of the BCGs and of the
galaxies showing extended radio emission in the cluster complexes of Abell 3528
and Abell 3558. Our study is based on a sample of 12 galaxies. We observed the
clusters with the GMRT at 235, 325 and 610 MHz, and with the VLA at 8.46 GHz.
We complemented our study with the TGSS at 150 MHz, the SUMSS at 843 MHz and
ATCA at 1380, 1400, 2380, and 4790 MHz data. Optical imaging with ESO-VST and
mid-IR coverage with WISE are also available for the host galaxies. We found
deep differences in the properties of the radio emission of the BCGs in the two
cluster complexes. The BCGs in the A3528 complex and in A3556, which are
relaxed cool-core objects, are powerful active radio galaxies. They also
present hints of restarted activity. On the contrary, the BCGs in A3558 and
A3562, which are well known merging systems, are very faint, or quiet, in the
radio band. The optical and IR properties of the galaxies are fairly similar in
the two complexes, showing all passive red galaxies. Our study shows remarkable
differences in the radio properties of the BGCs, which we relate to the
different dynamical state of the host cluster. On the contrary, the lack of
changes between such different environments in the optical band suggests that
the dynamical state of galaxy clusters does not affect the optical counterparts
of the radio galaxies, at least over the life-time of the radio emission.Comment: 24 pages, 11 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy &
Astrophysic
Zeolite-feldspar epiclastic rocks as flux in ceramic tile manufacturing
Low-cost, naturally-occurring mixtures of feldspar and zeolite occurring in epiclastic rocks are promising substitutes for conventional quartz-feldspathic fluxes in ceramic bodies, since their fusibility and low hardness are expected to improve both grinding and sintering. Three epiclastic outcrops, with a different zeolite-to-feldspar ratio, were characterized (XRPD, fusibility) and tested in porcelain stoneware bodies; their behaviour during processing was appraised and compared with that of a reference. The addition of an epiclastic rock (20 wt.%), replacing rhyolite and aplite fluxes, brought about some significant advantages, mainly represented by better grindability, lower firing temperature with improved mechanical strength and lower porosity. Disadvantages concern increased slip viscosity, worse powder compressibility, resulting in larger firing shrinkage, and a darker colour of the tiles due to relatively high amounts of iron oxide
Development of a Male Turbo-Prop Unmanned Aerial Vehiche for Civil Application
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) increasingly are seen as the next step in aircraft evolution with the potential to replace manned aircraft over a broad range of civilian roles. Industry, who recognise the cost effectiveness of UAV, is keen to grasp this potential and the technology is rapidly developing with numerous projects currently in operation of development throughout Europe and worldwide. In response to this needs University of Naples has developed a MALE configuration TurboProp engined using innovative structural and aerodynamic solutions. Regarding the structural aspect the extensive use of composite materials led to the definition of a weight efficient vehicle capable to carry on up to 500 kg of payloads covering a wide range of medium altitude missions. With reference to aerodynamic solution, an Eppler modified profile, numerically optimized, has been adopted for its efficiency that has granted long endurance and, coupled with the power provided by the chosen engine (PT6A – 67 B), high performance. The aeroelastic assessment has revealed that no critical phenomena occur in the flight envelope. Once defined the aerodynamic and structural aspects, an analysis of reliability and safety has been performed aimed to evaluate MTBL (Mean Time Between Loss) and MTBCF (Mean Time Between Critical Failure) features
Advances in understanding the relationship between sleep and attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
Abstract: Starting from the consolidated relationship between sleep and cognition, we reviewed the
available literature on the association between Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and
sleep. This review analyzes the macrostructural and microstructural sleep features, following the
Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses criteria (PRISMA).We included
the polysomnographic studies published in the last 15 years. The results of macrostructural
parameters are mixed. Almost half of the 18 selected investigations did not find dierences between
sleep architecture of children with ADHD and controls. Five studies observed that children with
ADHD show a longer Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep duration than controls. Eight studies
included microstructural measures. Remarkable alterations in sleep microstructure of ADHD are
related to slow wave activity (SWA) and theta oscillations, respectively, during Non-REM (NREM)
and REM sleep. Specifically, some studies found higher SWA in the ADHD group than controls.
Similarly, higher theta activity appears to be detrimental for memory performance and inhibitory
control in ADHD. These patterns could be interpreted as a maturational delay in ADHD. Also, the
increased amount of these activities would be consistent with the hypothesis that the poor sleep
could imply a chronic sleep deprivation in children with ADHD, which in turn could aect their
cognitive functioning
ARMA Modelling for Sleep Disorders Diagnose
Part 10: Control and DecisionInternational audienceDifferences in EEG sleep spindles constitute a promising indicator of sleep disorders. In this paper Sleep Spindles are extracted from real EEG data using a triple (Short Time Fourier Transform-STFT; Wavelet Transform-WT; Wave Morphology for Spindle Detection-WMSD) algorithm. After the detection, an Autoregressive–moving-average (ARMA) model is applied to each Spindle and finally the ARMA’s coefficients’ mean is computed in order to find a model for each patient. Regarding only the position of real poles and zeros, it is possible to distinguish normal from Parasomnia REM subjects
Tongue Reconstruction with Buccinator Myomucosal Island Flaps: Technical Considerations, Oncologic Safety, Functional Outcomes and QoL Assessment—A Retrospective Observational Study
The objective of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of buccinator myomucosal island flaps for tongue reconstruction following malignant tumor resections. A retrospective study was performed on 52 patients who underwent tongue reconstructions with buccinator myomucosal island flaps between 2012 and 2020. We reviewed the flap type and size, harvesting time, recipient- and donor-site complications, postoperative oncologic outcomes, functional recovery and QoL assessment. All of the flaps were transposed successfully without any total flap loss. Neither in the primary site nor in the neck were cancer relapses observed. An evaluation of the sensitivity revealed that 96.1% of patients experienced a recovery of touch, two-point and pain sensations. There were significant differences between the flap and the native mucosa in terms of the tactile (p < 0.001), pain (p < 0.001) and two-point (p < 0.001) thresholds. The average swallowing score recorded was 6.1 out of 7, with only minor complaints. The quality of life assessments demonstrated high scores across physical (24.5 out of 28), social (25.8 out of 28), emotional (20.3 out of 24) and functional (25 out of 28) aspects. The present study showed how buccinator myomucosal island flaps represent an effective and functional tongue reconstructive option, requiring a short operative time with a low rate of donor site morbidity, and with evidence of long-term oncologic safety and high quality of life
Unstable Heavy Majorana Neutrinos and Leptogenesis
We propose a new mechanism producing a non-vanishing lepton number asymmetry,
based on decays of heavy Majorana neutrinos. If they are produced out of
equilibrium, as occurs in preheating scenario, and are superpositions of mass
eigenstates rapidly decaying, their decay rates contains interference terms
provided the mass differences are small compared to widths .
The resulting lepton asymmetry, which is the analogue of the time-integrated CP
asymmetry in system, is found to be proportional to .Comment: 18 pages, latex, revised version to be published in Phys. Rev.
Towards multi-physics description of fuel behaviour for accidental conditions
In the present document, the development of well-structured multi-physics simulation environments to complement fuel performance analysis is presented. The simulation environments are based on information from the sub-channel / reactor scale, i.e., initial and boundary conditions for the fuel pin simulations in off-normal conditions. The environments are developed based on the codes TRANSURANUS, OpenFOAM, SIMMER-III, and BELLA, focused on satisfying the requirements of the code/module to fuel behaviour, with a strong perspective towards the BPJ simulations of concern for the MYRRHA sub-critical core. The results obtained using the multi-physics simulation environments support the design optimization and safety assessment of the MYRRHA fuel pin during normal irradiation and transient scenarios. As well, it will be used in the activity associated with Task 6.2 of the PATRICIA Project, focused on the in-depth, complete analysis of multiple BPJ scenarios, to identify the worst case and hence draw conservative conclusions on the MYRRHA pin safety under irradiation
- …