Personality traits, depression and itch in patients with atopic dermatitis in an experimental setting : A regression analysis

It is known that itch is associated with psychological variables, but it is not known whether personality characteristics, depression or anxiety are predictors of experimentally induced itch in patients with atopic dermatitis (AD). In this study itch was induced in 27 patients with AD and 28 healthy controls by the presentation of an experimental video on crawling insects and skin diseases. Itch intensity was measured by self-ratings and by observing the number of scratch movements. Itch increase was determined by subtracting itch intensity induced by the experimental video from itch intensity induced by a control video. Psychological variables were assessed using validated questionnaires. In patients with AD, depression was a significant predictor of self-rated induced itch (corrected R2 = 0.175); while agreeableness and public self-consciousness were significant predictors of induced scratching (corrected R2 = 0.534). In healthy controls no associations were found. These results imply that a special group of patients with AD might benefit from certain psychological interventions

Studying Algebraic Structures Using Prover9 and Mace4

In this chapter we present a case study, drawn from our research work, on the application of a fully automated theorem prover together with an automatic counter-example generator in the investigation of a class of algebraic structures. We will see that these tools, when combined with human insight and traditional algebraic methods, help us to explore the problem space quickly and effectively. The counter-example generator rapidly rules out many false conjectures, while the theorem prover is often much more efficient than a human being at verifying algebraic identities. The specific tools in our case study are Prover9 and Mace4; the algebraic structures are generalisations of Heyting algebras known as hoops. We will see how this approach helped us to discover new theorems and to find new or improved proofs of known results. We also make some suggestions for how one might deploy these tools to supplement a more conventional approach to teaching algebra.Comment: 21 pages, to appear as Chapter 5 in "Proof Technology in Mathematics Research and Teaching", Mathematics Education in the Digital Era 14, edited by G. Hanna et al. (eds.), published by Springe

Quantitative optical determination of the shape of Cu nanocrystals in a composite film

5 pages, 4 figures, 1 table.We demonstrate that optical extinction spectroscopy can be used to determine the effective shape of Cu nanocrystals (NCs) embedded in a transparent amorphous Al2O3 host both produced by pulsed laser deposition. The axial ratio of the NCs was extracted from the positions of the surface plasmon modes of the optical extinction spectra of the nanocomposite film. Comparison to the results obtained by grazing incidence small angle x-ray scattering shows excellent agreement. Thus, optical spectroscopy can be used as a simple, easily accessible, and versatile tool for the characterization of the NCs that form nanocomposite films.This work was supported by the European Union (BRITE Project No. 98-0616).Peer reviewe

A thermodynamic adsorption/entrapment model for selenium(IV) coprecipitation with calcite

Selenium is an environmentally relevant trace element, while the radioisotope 79Se is of particular concern in the context of nuclear waste disposal safety. Oxidized selenium species are relatively soluble and show only weak adsorption at common mineral surfaces. However, a possible sorption mechanism for selenium in the geosphere is the structural incorporation of selenium(IV) (selenite, SeO3 2) into calcite (CaCO3). In this study we investigate the interactions between selenite and calcite by a series of experimental and computational methods with the aim to quantify selenite incorporation into calcite at standard conditions. We further seek to describe the thermodynamics of selenite-doped calcite, and selenite coprecipitation with calcite. The structure of the incorporated species is investigated using Se K-edge EXAFS (isotropic and polarization dependent) and results are compared to density functional theory (DFT) calculations. These investigations confirm structural incorporation of selenite into calcite by the substitution of carbonate for selenite, leading to the formation of a Ca(SeO3)X(CO3)(1-X)solid solution.Coprecipitation experiments at low supersaturation indicate a linear increase of the selenite to carbonate ratio in the solid with the increase of the selenite to carbonate ratio in the contact solution. This relationship can be described under the assumption of an ideal mixing between calcite and a virtual CaSeO3 endmember, whose standard Gibbs free energy (G0(CaSeO3_exp) = 953 ± 6 kJ/mol, log10(KSP(CaSeO3_exp)) = 6.7 ± 1.0) is defined by linear extrapolation of the excess free energy from the dilute Henry’s law domain to X(CaSeO3) = 1. In contrast to this experimental result, DFT and force field calculations predict the virtual bulk CaSeO3 endmember to be significantly less stable and more soluble: G0(CaSeO3 bulk) = 912 ± 10 kJ/mol and log10(KSP(CaSeO3_bulk)) = 0.5 ± 1.7. To explain this discrepancy we introduce a thermodynamic adsorption/entrapment concept. This concept is based on the idea that the experimental value of 953 ± 6 kJ/mol reflects the Gibbs free energy of CaSeO3 within the surface layer, while the value obtained from atomistic calculations reflects bulk thermodynamic properties. In coprecipitation experiments performed at steady-state conditions the difference between these values is compensated by the supersaturation. Thus, if the Gibbs free energies of the bulk CaCO3 and CaSeO3 endmembers are substituted with the Gibbs free energies of the surface endmembers, the coprecipitation experiment can still be treated within the formalism of equilibrium thermodynamics. This concept leads to a number of important consequences, which can be tested both experimentally and theoretically.We show that selenite adsorption at the calcite surface and selenite coprecipitation with calcite under supersaturated conditions can be described with the same partition coefficient. This implies that the coprecipitation can be viewed as a sequence of adsorption and entrapment events. On the other hand, our aragonite recrystallization experiments show that at near equilibrium conditions the calcite growth is inhibited in the presence of selenite. Consistent with these observations, our DFT calculations show that the substitution of carbonate for selenite is energetically more favorable at the surface than inside the bulk. The whole set of the experimental and atomistic simulation results leads to the conclusion that the calcite–CaSeO3 solid solution can only grow continuously if the aqueous solution is supersaturated with respect to the bulk solid solution. Under these conditions selenite coprecipitates with calcite at a partition coefficient of D = 0.02 ± 0.01. If the solution is undersaturated with respect to the bulk solid solution, only surface ion-exchange occurs. Elevated selenite concentrations in bulk calcite therefore reflect non-equilibrium conditions

Gamma and pulsed electron radiolysis studies of CyMe4BTBP and CyMe4BTPhen: Identification of radiolysis products and effects on the hydrometallurgical separation of trivalent actinides and lanthanides

The radiolytic stability of the highly selective ligands CyMe4BTBP and CyMe4BTPhen against ionizing gamma radiation was studied in 1-octanol solution. CyMe4BTBP and CyMe4BTPhen are important extractants for a potential treatment of used nuclear fuel. They were studied under identical experimental conditions to directly compare the effects of gamma and pulsed electron radiolysis on the ligands and systematically study the influence of structural changes in the ligand backbone. Distribution ratios of Am3+, Cm3+ and Eu3+, the residual concentration of CyMe4BTBP and CyMe4BTPhen in solution, and the formation of radiolysis products were studied as a function of absorbed gamma dose and presence of an acidic aqueous phase during irradiation. Quantitative and semi-quantitative analyses were used to elucidate the radiolysis mechanism for both ligands. Addition products of alpha-hydroxyoctyl radicals formed through radiolysis of the 1-octanol diluent to the ligand molecules were identified as the predominant radiolysis products. These addition products also extract trivalent metal ions, as distribution ratios remained high although the parent molecule concentrations decreased. Therefore, the utilization time of a solvent using these extractants under the harsh conditions of used nuclear fuel treatment could be considerably longer than expected. Understanding the radiolysis mechanism is crucial for designing more radiation resistant extractants

Strong asymptotics for Jacobi polynomials with varying nonstandard parameters

Strong asymptotics on the whole complex plane of a sequence of monic Jacobi polynomials $P_n^{(\alpha_n, \beta_n)}$ is studied, assuming that $$\lim_{n\to\infty} \frac{\alpha_n}{n}=A, \qquad \lim_{n\to\infty} \frac{\beta _n}{n}=B,$$ with $A$ and $B$ satisfying $A > -1$, $B>-1$, $A+B < -1$. The asymptotic analysis is based on the non-Hermitian orthogonality of these polynomials, and uses the Deift/Zhou steepest descent analysis for matrix Riemann-Hilbert problems. As a corollary, asymptotic zero behavior is derived. We show that in a generic case the zeros distribute on the set of critical trajectories $\Gamma$ of a certain quadratic differential according to the equilibrium measure on $\Gamma$ in an external field. However, when either $\alpha_n$, $\beta_n$ or $\alpha_n+\beta_n$ are geometrically close to $\Z$, part of the zeros accumulate along a different trajectory of the same quadratic differential.Comment: 31 pages, 12 figures. Some references added. To appear in Journal D'Analyse Mathematiqu

Mathematics in Medical Diagnostics - 2022 Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Trauma Surgery Technology

The 4th event of the Giessen International Conference Series on Trauma Surgery Technology took place on April, the 23rd 2022 in Warsaw, Poland. It aims to bring together practical application research, with a focus on medical imaging, and the TDA experts from Warsaw. This publication contains details of our presentations and discussions

Effects of anisotropy on the geometry of tracer particle trajectories in turbulent flows

Using curvature and torsion to describe Lagrangian trajectories gives a full description of these as well as an insight into small and large time scales as temporal derivatives up to order 3 are involved. One might expect that the statistics of these properties depend on the geometry of the flow. Therefore, we calculated curvature and torsion probability density functions (PDFs) of experimental Lagrangian trajectories processed using the Shake-the-Box algorithm of turbulent von Kármán flow, Rayleigh-Bénard convection and a zero-pressuregradient boundary layer over a flat plate. The results for the von-Kármán flow compare well with experimental results for the curvature PDF and numerical simulation of homogeneous and isotropic turbulence for the torsion PDF. For the experimental Rayleigh-Bénard convection, the power law tails found agree with those measured for von-Kármán flow. Results for the logarithmic layer within the boundary layer differ slightly, we give some potential explanation below. To detect and quantify the effect of anisotropy either resulting from a mean flow or large-scale coherent motions on the geometry or tracer particle trajectories, we introduce the curvature vector. We connect its statistics with those of velocity fluctuations and demonstrate that strong large-scale motion in a given spatial direction results in meandering rather than helical trajectories

Effects of anisotropy on the geometry of tracer particle trajectories in turbulent flows

Using curvature and torsion to describe Lagrangian trajectories gives a full description of these as well as an insight into small and large time scales as temporal derivatives up to order 3 are involved. One might expect that the statistics of these properties depend on the geometry of the flow. Therefore, we calculated curvature and torsion probability density functions (PDFs) of experimental Lagrangian trajectories processed using the Shake-the-Box algorithm of turbulent von K\'arm\'an flow, Rayleigh-B\'enard convection and a zero-pressure-gradient turbulent boundary layer over a flat plate. The results for the von K\'arm\'an flow compare well with previous experimental results for the curvature PDF and numerical simulation of homogeneous and isotropic turbulence for the torsion PDF. Results for Rayleigh-B\'enard convection agree with those obtained for K\'arm\'an flow, while results for the logarithmic layer within the boundary layer differ slightly, and we provide a potential explanation. To detect and quantify the effect of anisotropy either resulting from a mean flow or large-scale coherent motions on the geometry or tracer particle trajectories, we introduce the curvature vector. We connect its statistics with those of velocity fluctuations and demonstrate that strong large-scale motion in a given spatial direction results in meandering rather than helical trajectories

The impact of the Great Exhibition of 1851 on the development of technical education during the second half of the nineteenth century

This paper examines the contribution made by the mechanics’ institute movement in Britain just prior to, and following, the opening of the Great Exhibition of 1851 in London. It argues that far from making little contribution to education, as often portrayed by historians, the movement was ideally positioned to respond to the findings of the Exhibition, which were that foreign goods on display were often more advanced than those produced in Britain. The paper highlights, through a regional study, how well suited mechanics’ institutes were in organising their own exhibitions, providing the idea of this first international exhibition. Subsequently, many offered nationally recognised technical subject examinations through relevant education as well as informing government commissions, prior to the passing of the Technical Instruction Acts in 1889 and the Local Taxation Act of 1890. These acts effectively put mechanics’ institutes into state ownership as the first step in developing further education for all in Britai