Small Energy Scale for Mixed-Valent Uranium Materials

We investigate a two-channel Anderson impurity model with a $5f^1$ magnetic and a $5f^2$ quadrupolar ground doublet, and a $5f^2$ excited triplet. Using the numerical renormalization group method, we find a crossover to a non-Fermi liquid state below a temperature $T^*$ varying as the $5f^2$ triplet-doublet splitting to the 7/2 power. To within numerical accuracy, the non-linear magnetic susceptibility and the $5f^1$ contribution to the linear susceptibility are given by universal one-parameter scaling functions. These results may explain UBe$_{13}$ as mixed valent with a small crossover scale $T^*$.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, REVTeX, to appear in Phys. Rev. Let

Aerodynamic performance of conventional and advanced design labyrinth seals with solid-smooth abradable, and honeycomb lands

Labyrinth air seal static and dynamic performance was evaluated using solid, abradable, and honeycomb lands with standard and advanced seal designs. The effects on leakage of land surface roughness, abradable land porosity, rub grooves in abradable lands, and honeycomb land cell size and depth were studied using a standard labyrinth seal. The effects of rotation on the optimum seal knife pitch were also investigated. Selected geometric and aerodynamic parameters for an advanced seal design were evaluated to derive an optimized performance configuration. The rotational energy requirements were also measured to determine the inherent friction and pumping energy absorbed by the various seal knife and land configurations tested in order to properly assess the net seal system performance level. Results indicate that: (1) seal leakage can be significantly affected with honeycomb or abradable lands; (2) rotational energy absorption does not vary significantly with the use of a solid-smooth, an abradable, or a honeycomb land; and (3) optimization of an advanced lab seal design produced a configuration that had leakage 25% below a conventional stepped seal

HLA-B27 Positivity: associated health implications

HLA-B27 positivity makes the onset of autoimmune diseases such as uveitis, ankylosing spondylitis and Crohn's disease more likely to occur. Ankylosing spondylitis and Crohn's disease are two types of HLA-B27 positive diseases that demonstrate a direct association with uveitis. Although the possession of HLA-B27 positivity is not mandatory for autoimmune diseases such as uveitis to occur, HLA-B27 positivity not only makes it more likely but may modify the clinical picture in which a patient presents. In relation to assessment and diagnosis it is imperative that the medical history of patients is thoroughly examined to ensure pathological sequelae are appropriately treated. Nurses play an important role in assessing patients that have uveitis and should suspect ankylosing spondylitis or Crohn's disease may be present

Archaic mitochondrial DNA inserts in modern day nuclear genomes

Traces of interbreeding of Neanderthals and Denisovans with modern humans in the form of archaic DNA have been detected in the genomes of present-day human populations outside sub-Saharan Africa. Up to now, only nuclear archaic DNA has been detected in modern humans; we therefore attempted to identify archaic mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) residing in modern human nuclear genomes as nuclear inserts of mitochondrial DNA (NUMTs)

Design and fabrication of noncondensing radiator for environmental evaluation of space power mercury Rankine system

Conceptual and mechanical design analyses, and fabrication of noncondensing radiator for environmental testing of space power mercury Rankine syste

Magnetically Robust Non-Fermi Liquid Behavior in Heavy Fermion Systems with f^2-Configuration: Competition between Crystalline-Electric-Field and Kondo-Yosida Singlets

We study a magnetic field effect on the Non-Fermi Liquid (NFL) which arises around the quantum critical point (QCP) due to the competition between the f^2-crystalline-electric-field singlet and the Kondo-Yosida singlet states by using the numerical renormalization ground method. We show the characteristic temperature T_F^*, corresponding to a peak of a specific heat, is not affected by the magnetic field up to H_z^* which is determined by the distance from the QCP or characteristic energy scales of each singlet states. As a result, in the vicinity of QCP, there are parameter regions where the NFL is robust against the magnetic field, at an observable temperature range T > T_F^*, up to H_z^* which is far larger than T_F^* and less than min(T_{K2}, $Delta).Comment: 8 pages, 9 figur

Numerical Renormalization Group Study of non-Fermi-liquid State on Dilute Uranium Systems

We investigate the non-Fermi-liquid (NFL) behavior of the impurity Anderson model (IAM) with non-Kramers doublet ground state of the f$^2$ configuration under the tetragonal crystalline electric field (CEF). The low energy spectrum is explained by a combination of the NFL and the local-Fermi-liquid parts which are independent with each other. The NFL part of the spectrum has the same form to that of two-channel-Kondo model (TCKM). We have a parameter range that the IAM shows the $- \ln T$ divergence of the magnetic susceptibility together with the positive magneto resistance. We point out a possibility that the anomalous properties of U$_x$Th$_{1-x}$Ru$_2$Si$_2$ including the decreasing resistivity with decreasing temperature can be explained by the NFL scenario of the TCKM type. We also investigate an effect of the lowering of the crystal symmetry. It breaks the NFL behavior at around the temperature, $\delta /10$, where $\delta$ is the orthorhombic CEF splitting. The NFL behavior is still expected above the temperature, $\delta/10$.Comment: 25 pages, 12 figure

Discrete solitons in electromechanical resonators

We consider a parametrically driven Klein--Gordon system describing micro- and nano-devices, with integrated electrical and mechanical functionality. Using a multiscale expansion method we reduce the system to a discrete nonlinear Schrodinger equation. Analytical and numerical calculations are performed to determine the existence and stability of fundamental bright and dark discrete solitons admitted by the Klein--Gordon system through the discrete Schrodinger equation. We show that a parametric driving can not only destabilize onsite bright solitons, but also stabilize intersite bright discrete solitons and onsite and intersite dark solitons. Most importantly, we show that there is a range of values of the driving coefficient for which dark solitons are stable, for any value of the coupling constant, i.e. oscillatory instabilities are totally suppressed. Stability windows of all the fundamental solitons are presented and approximations to the onset of instability are derived using perturbation theory, with accompanying numerical results. Numerical integrations of the Klein--Gordon equation are performed, confirming the relevance of our analysis

Intermediate Wakimoto modules for Affine sl(n+1)

We construct certain boson type realizations of affine sl(n+1) that depend on a parameter r. When r=0 we get a Fock space realization of Imaginary Verma modules appearing in the work of the first author and when r=n they are the Wakimoto modules described in the work of Feigin and Frenkel

Treatment of paediatric burns with a nanocrystalline silver dressing compared with standard wound care in a burns unit: A cost analysis

Burns are a leading cause of non-natural death in South African infants and children. Conventional care of partial-thickness burns often requires painful, time consuming and costly twice-daily dressing changes to clean the wound and apply antimicrobial topical agents. A new topical nanocrystalline silver-coated (NS) dressing (Acticoat; Smith & Nephew) has been developed and is the first-line treatment of choice in many burn centres. However, because of its cost the Department of Health has been reluctant to introduce it as a standard of care. We retrospectively studied 4 randomly selected paediatric burn patients, calculating the cost associated with the use of NS dressings and comparing this with the projected costs of three previously standard burn wound treatment regimens. NS dressings were changed every 3 days based on their sustained and slow release of silver ions over 72 hours. Using NS clearly saved costs compared with the three other regimens. The demonstrated cost savings resulted primarily from the decreased number of dressings, and the presumed shorter hospital stay