499 research outputs found
Debonding analysis via digital volume correlation during in-situ pull-out tests on fractal fibers
The quantification of debonding was performed for additively manufactured “fractal” fibers embedded within two brittle matrices. Three pull-out tests were carried out inside of an X-ray tomograph allowing for Digital Volume Correlation analyses. Relative motions at the interfaces were measured thanks to adapted meshes with split nodes. Profiles of normal, tangential and vertical displacement jumps as well as vertical strains in the fibers were used to study interfacial debonding. An articulated load transfer mechanism between the fiber and the matrix was observed in the examined tests, as demonstrated by zigzagged distributions of vertical displacement jumps and vertical strain profiles in the fibers at the initial stages of pull-out. Vertical strain concentrations were observed in correspondence to lateral protrusions (or ribs) of the reinforcing fibers. These results suggest that fiber–matrix interlocking may be affected by geometry-driven tensile stiffening effects between the ribs. For larger values of pull-out displacements, more diffuse damage of the fiber–matrix interface was observed between the ribs, especially in plaster matrices
Universal homodyne tomography with a single local oscillator
We propose a general method for measuring an arbitrary observable of a
multimode electromagnetic field using homodyne detection with a single local
oscillator. In this method the local oscillator scans over all possible linear
combinations of the modes. The case of two modes is analyzed in detail and the
feasibility of the measurement is studied on the basis of Monte-Carlo
simulations. We also provide an application of this method in tomographic
testing of the GHZ state.Comment: 12 pages, 5 figures (8 eps files
SEQUIN: a grammar inference framework for analyzing malicious system behavior
Open access articleTargeted attacks on IT systems are a rising threat to the confidentiality of sensitive data and the availability of critical systems. The emergence of Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs) made it paramount to fully understand the particulars of such attacks in order to improve or devise effective defense mechanisms. Grammar inference paired with visual analytics (VA) techniques offers a powerful foundation for the automated extraction of behavioral patterns from sequential event traces. To facilitate the interpretation and analysis of APTs, we present SEQUIN, a grammar inference system based on the Sequitur compression algorithm that constructs a context-free grammar (CFG) from string-based input data. In addition to recursive rule extraction, we expanded the procedure through automated assessment routines capable of dealing with multiple input sources and types. This automated assessment enables the accurate identification of interesting frequent or anomalous patterns in sequential corpora of arbitrary quantity and origin. On the formal side, we extended the CFG with attributes that help describe the extracted (malicious) actions. Discovery-focused pattern visualization of the output is provided by our dedicated KAMAS VA prototype
Sexual selection predicts species richness across the animal kingdom
Funding: Swiss National Science Foundation to T. J. (PA00P3-145375/1) and to L.M.-O. (P2BSP3_158842 and P300PA_171516).Our improving knowledge of the animal tree of life consistently demonstrates that some taxa diversify more rapidly than others, but what contributes to this variation remains poorly understood. An influential hypothesis proposes that selection arising from competition for mating partners plays a key role in promoting speciation. However, empirical evidence showing a link between proxies of this sexual selection and species richness is equivocal. Here, we collected standardized metrics of sexual selection for a broad range of animal taxa, and found that taxonomic families characterized by stronger sexual selection on males show relatively higher species richness. Thus, our data support the hypothesis that sexual selection elevates species richness. This could occur either by promoting speciation and/or by protecting species against extinction.PostprintPeer reviewe
Talbot Oscillations and Periodic Focusing in a One-Dimensional Condensate
An exact theory for the density of a one-dimensional Bose-Einstein condensate
with hard core particle interactions is developed in second quantization and
applied to the scattering of the condensate by a spatially periodic impulse
potential. The boson problem is mapped onto a system of free fermions obeying
the Pauli exclusion principle to facilitate the calculation. The density
exhibits a spatial focusing of the probability density as well as a periodic
self-imaging in time, or Talbot effect. Furthermore, the transition from single
particle to many body effects can be measured by observing the decay of the
modulated condensate density pattern in time. The connection of these results
to classical and atom optical phase gratings is made explicit
Least-squares inversion for density-matrix reconstruction
We propose a method for reconstruction of the density matrix from measurable
time-dependent (probability) distributions of physical quantities. The
applicability of the method based on least-squares inversion is - compared with
other methods - very universal. It can be used to reconstruct quantum states of
various systems, such as harmonic and and anharmonic oscillators including
molecular vibrations in vibronic transitions and damped motion. It also enables
one to take into account various specific features of experiments, such as
limited sets of data and data smearing owing to limited resolution. To
illustrate the method, we consider a Morse oscillator and give a comparison
with other state-reconstruction methods suggested recently.Comment: 16 pages, REVTeX, 6 PS figures include
Self-homodyne tomography of a twin-beam state
A self-homodyne detection scheme is proposed to perform two-mode tomography
on a twin-beam state at the output of a nondegenerate optical parametric
amplifier. This scheme has been devised to improve the matching between the
local oscillator and the signal modes, which is the main limitation to the
overall quantum efficiency in conventional homodyning. The feasibility of the
measurement is analyzed on the basis of Monte-Carlo simulations, studying the
effect of non-unit quantum efficiency on detection of the correlation and the
total photon-number oscillations of the twin-beam state.Comment: 13 pages (two-column ReVTeX) including 21 postscript figures; to
appear on Phys. Rev.
Evaluation of nutrition care to adult patients on HAART attending primary healthcare facilities in Mpumalanga
CITATION: Schiever, J. F. et al. 2019. Evaluation of nutrition care to adult patients on HAART attending primary healthcare facilities in Mpumalanga, South African Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 32(1):13-20. doi:10.1080/16070658.2017.1412183The original publication is available at https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/ojcn20/currentObjectives: This study aimed to evaluate nutrition care and nursing professional knowledge received by adults on highly active antiretroviral therapy attending primary health care (PHC) facilities
Design: Cross-sectional, descriptive study.
Subjects and setting: The study was conducted on 263 adults and 75 nursing professionals, recruited from 19 facilities in the Mbombela sub-district, Mpumalanga.
Outcome measures: Interviewer-administered questionnaires were completed for each patient. Nursing professionals completed a self-administered questionnaire. Assessment tools were completed for each facility.
Results: Some 41% of patients were either overweight or obese, and most females (n = 87; 51.8%) had a BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2. Based on waist circumference, 52.7% (n = 88) of females and 8.4% (n = 8) of males showed increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Although nurses were aware of a nutrition supplementation programme, knowledge of national nutrition guidelines was inadequate. Clinical judgement, rather than eligibility criteria, was used to identify suitable patients, with 13.3% (n = 35) receiving supplementation whereas only 4.9% (n = 13) qualified. Facilities generally had sufficient equipment and fair storage conditions, but stock shortages of nutrition supplements were problematic.
Conclusions: Whilst certain positive findings emerged, nutrition care could be improved, largely through adequate training and support to professional nurses. Training should focus on correct execution of assessment measurements and appropriate nutritional counselling, emphasising balanced eating, food security and prevention of over-nutrition. Nurses should be familiarised with national nutrition guidelines and have access to a constant nutrition supplementation supply. Improved monitoring and evaluation of nutrition care to adults on treatment at PHC facilities is needed.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/16070658.2017.1412183Publisher’s versio
High resolution amplitude and phase gratings in atom optics
An atom-field geometry is chosen in which an atomic beam traverses a field
interaction zone consisting of three fields, one having frequency propagating in the direction and the other two having
frequencies and propagating in the
- direction. For and , where and are positive integers and
is the pulse duration in the atomic rest frame, the atom-field interaction
results in the creation of atom amplitude and phase gratings having period . In this manner, one can use optical fields having
wavelength to produce atom gratings having periodicity much less
than .Comment: 11 pages, 14 figure
Phase dynamics in a binary-collisions atom laser scheme
Various aspects of the phase dynamics of an atom laser scheme based on binary
collisions are investigated. Analytical estimates of the influence of elastic
atom-atom collisions on the laser linewidth are given, and linewidths
achievable in a recently proposed atom laser scheme [Phys. Rev. A 56, 2989
(1997)] are evaluated explicitly. The extent to which a relative phase can be
established between two interfering atom lasers, as well as the properties of
that phase, are also investigated.Comment: Revtex, 10 pages, 6 figure
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