Radiative corrections to the Dalitz plot of K_{l3}^\pm decays

We calculate the model-independent radiative corrections to the Dalitz plot of K_{l3}^\pm decays to order (\alpha/\pi)(q/M_1), where q is the momentum transfer and M_1 is the mass of the kaon. The final results are presented, first, with the triple integration over the variables of the bremsstrahlung photon ready to be performed numerically and, second, in an analytical form. These two forms are useful to crosscheck on one another and with other calculations. This paper is organized to make it accessible and reliable in the analysis of the Dalitz plot of precision experiments and is not compromised to fixing the form factors at predetermined values. It is assumed that the real photons are kinematically discriminated. Otherwise, our results have a general model-independent applicability.Comment: RevTex4, 38 pages, 5 figures, 5 tables; some typos corrected; discussion extended to compare with other result

MOCVD Growth of ZnO Nanowires Through Colloidal and Sputtered Au Seed Via Zn[TMHD]2 Precursor

AbstractZinc oxide (ZnO) nanowire (NW) arrays were grown on Si (100) substrate by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) via Zn[TMHD]2 as precursor. Here we adopted two different procedures to grow ZnO NWs namely, colloid and sputtered Au pre-deposition on Si (100) substrate. Comparative studies based on the morphology and growth behavior of ZnO NWs were performed. The grown ZnO NWs were characterized by field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), Co-focal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM), and Raman spectroscopy

An unusual new theropod with a didactyl manus from the upper cretaceous of patagonia, Argentina

Background Late Cretaceous terrestrial strata of the Neuquén Basin, northern Patagonia, Argentina have yielded a rich fauna of dinosaurs and other vertebrates. The diversity of saurischian dinosaurs is particularly high, especially in the late Cenomanian-early Turonian Huincul Formation, which has yielded specimens of rebacchisaurid and titanosaurian sauropods, and abelisaurid and carcharodontosaurid theropods. Continued sampling is adding to the known vertebrate diversity of this unit. Methodology/ Principal Findings A new, partially articulated mid-sized theropod was found in rocks from the Huincul Formation. It exhibits a unique combination of traits that distinguish it from other known theropods justifying erection of a new taxon, Gualicho shinyae gen. et sp. nov. Gualicho possesses a didactyl manus with the third digit reduced to a metacarpal splint reminiscent of tyrannosaurids, but both phylogenetic and multivariate analyses indicate that didactyly is convergent in these groups. Derived characters of the scapula, femur, and fibula supports the new theropod as the sister taxon of the nearly coeval African theropod Deltadromeus and as a neovenatorid carcharodontosaurian. A number of these features are independently present in ceratosaurs, and Gualicho exhibits an unusual mosaic of ceratosaurian and tetanuran synapomorphies distributed throughout the skeleton. Conclusions/ Significance Gualicho shinyae gen. et sp. nov. increases the known theropod diversity of the Huincul Formation and also represents the first likely neovenatorid from this unit. It is the most basal tetatanuran to exhibit common patterns of digit III reduction that evolved independently in a number of other tetanuran lineages. A close relationship with Deltadromaeus from the Kem Kem beds of Niger adds to the already considerable biogeographic similarity between the Huincul Formation and coeval rock units in North Africa.Fil: Apesteguía, Sebastián. Universidad Maimónides. Área de Investigaciones Biomédicas y Biotecnológicas. Centro de Estudios Biomédicos, Biotecnológicos, Ambientales y de Diagnóstico; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Smith, Nathan D.. Natural History Museum Of Los Angeles County; Estados UnidosFil: Valieri, Rubén Juárez. Provincia de Rio Negro; ArgentinaFil: Makovicky, Peter J.. Field Museum Of Natural History; Estados Unido

Validation of the Use of SEBS Blends as a Substitute for Liquid Silicone Rubber in Injection Processes

Liquid silicone rubber is an interesting material at an industrial level, but there are great difficulties in the design and machining of molds, and in addition, it cannot be processed using conventional equipment. Therefore, new lines of research have focused on the search for new materials capable of providing final properties similar to liquid silicone rubber, that can also be engineered using simple, conventional processes and machinery. In this investigation, a range of compatible blends, based on two commercial grades of styrene-b-ethyleneco- butylene-b-styrene (SEBS) thermoplastic elastomer, was studied in order to obtain a range of different Shore A hardness blends for industrial applications where liquid silicone rubber (different hardness) is currently used. The two blended elastomers used had widely differing Shore A hardness values (5 and 90). Once the blended materials had been characterized, the Cross and Williams et al. [20] (Cross-WLF) mathematical model was applied in order to obtain theoretical performance curves for the viscosity of each of the blends. After this, a model was developed using the Computer Aided Engineering (CAE) software package Autodesk Moldflow 2012TM. This computer modeling validated the results obtained from the mathematical models, thus making available to process engineers the full range of hardnesses necessary for industrial products (where liquid silicone rubber is used), while still providing the advantages of thermoplastic injection molding.The authors wish to thank "Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion" IPT-310000-2010-37 and Universidad Politecnica de Valencia PAID 10012 for their financial support.Juárez Varón, D.; R. Balart; T. Boronat; Reig Pérez, MJ.; Ferrándiz Bou, S. (2013). Validation of the Use of SEBS Blends as a Substitute for Liquid Silicone Rubber in Injection Processes. Materials and Manufacturing Processes. 28(11):1215-1221. doi:10.1080/10426914.2013.811732S121512212811Zhang, B., Wong, J. S.-P., Shi, D., Yam, R. C.-M., & Li, R. K.-Y. (2010). Investigation on the mechanical performances of ternary nylon 6/SEBS elastomer/nano-SiO2hybrid composites with controlled morphology. Journal of Applied Polymer Science, 115(1), 469-479. doi:10.1002/app.30185Su, F.-H., & Huang, H.-X. (2009). Mechanical and rheological properties of PP/SEBS/OMMT ternary composites. Journal of Applied Polymer Science, 112(5), 3016-3023. doi:10.1002/app.29875Sugimoto, M., Sakai, K., Aoki, Y., Taniguchi, T., Koyama, K., & Ueda, T. (2009). Rheology and morphology change with temperature of SEBS/hydrocarbon oil blends. Journal of Polymer Science Part B: Polymer Physics, 47(10), 955-965. doi:10.1002/polb.21699Jose, A. J., Alagar, M., & P. Thomas, S. (2012). Preparation and Characterization of Organoclay Filled Polysulfone Nanocomposites. Materials and Manufacturing Processes, 27(3), 247-254. doi:10.1080/10426914.2011.585490Ivanović, N., Marjanović, N., Grbović Novaković, J., Manasijević, M., Rakočević, Z., Andrić, V., & Hadžić, B. (2009). Experimental and Theoretical Investigations of Cured and Uncured Disiloxane Bisbenzocyclobutene Thin Films. Materials and Manufacturing Processes, 24(10-11), 1180-1184. doi:10.1080/10426910902978811Perisić, M., Radojević, V., Uskoković, P. S., Stojanović, D., Jokić, B., & Aleksić, R. (2009). Wood–Thermoplastic Composites Based on Industrial Waste and Virgin High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE). Materials and Manufacturing Processes, 24(10-11), 1207-1213. doi:10.1080/10426910903032212Iqbal, H., Sheikh, A. K., Al-Yousef, A., & Younas, M. (2012). Mold Design Optimization for Sand Casting of Complex Geometries Using Advance Simulation Tools. Materials and Manufacturing Processes, 27(7), 775-785. doi:10.1080/10426914.2011.648250Özek, C., & Çelık, Y. H. (2011). Calculating Molding Parameters in Plastic Injection Molds with ANN and Developing Software. Materials and Manufacturing Processes, 27(2), 160-168. doi:10.1080/10426914.2011.560224Hirschmanner, M., Mörwald, K., & Fröhlich, C. (2011). Next Generation Mold Level Control: Development of LevCon 2.0. Materials and Manufacturing Processes, 26(1), 169-174. doi:10.1080/10426910903206691Selvakumar, P., & Bhatnagar, N. (2009). Studies on Polypropylene/Carbon Fiber Composite Foams by Nozzle-Based Microcellular Injection Molding System. Materials and Manufacturing Processes, 24(5), 533-540. doi:10.1080/10426910902742738Gramegna, N., Corte, E. D., & Poles, S. (2011). Manufacturing Process Simulation for Product Design Chain Optimization. Materials and Manufacturing Processes, 26(3), 527-533. doi:10.1080/10426914.2011.564248Marković, G., Radovanović, B., Marinović-Cincović, M., & Budinski-Simendić, J. (2009). The Effect of Accelerators on Curing Characteristics and Properties of Natural Rubber/Chlorosulphonated Polyethylene Rubber Blend. Materials and Manufacturing Processes, 24(10-11), 1224-1228. doi:10.1080/10426910902967087Mehat, N. M., & Kamaruddin, S. (2011). Investigating the Effects of Injection Molding Parameters on the Mechanical Properties of Recycled Plastic Parts Using the Taguchi Method. Materials and Manufacturing Processes, 26(2), 202-209. doi:10.1080/10426914.2010.529587Chen, C.-C., Su, P.-L., Chiou, C.-B., & Chiang, K.-T. (2011). Experimental Investigation of Designed Parameters on Dimension Shrinkage of Injection Molded Thin-Wall Part by Integrated Response Surface Methodology and Genetic Algorithm: A Case Study. Materials and Manufacturing Processes, 26(3), 534-540. doi:10.1080/10426914.2010.530331Martinez, A., Castany, J., & Aisa, J. (2011). Characterization of In-Mold Decoration Process and Influence of the Fabric Characteristics in This Process. Materials and Manufacturing Processes, 26(9), 1164-1172. doi:10.1080/10426914.2010.536934Primo Benitez-Rangel, J., Trejo-Hernández, M., Alberto Morales-Hernández, L., & Domínguez-González, A. (2010). Improvement of the Injection Mold Process by Using Vibration Through a Mold Accessory. Materials and Manufacturing Processes, 25(7), 577-580. doi:10.1080/10426910903124902Chen, C.-C. (2011). Design of Effective Parameters on the Wick-Debinding Process for Powder Injection Molded Green Compact. Materials and Manufacturing Processes, 26(10), 1261-1268. doi:10.1080/10426914.2010.544826Boronat, T., Segui, V. J., Peydro, M. A., & Reig, M. J. (2009). Influence of temperature and shear rate on the rheology and processability of reprocessed ABS in injection molding process. Journal of Materials Processing Technology, 209(5), 2735-2745. doi:10.1016/j.jmatprotec.2008.06.013Cross, M. M. (1965). Rheology of non-Newtonian fluids: A new flow equation for pseudoplastic systems. Journal of Colloid Science, 20(5), 417-437. doi:10.1016/0095-8522(65)90022-xReig, M. J., Segui, V. J., & Zamanillo, J. D. (2005). Rheological Behavior Modeling of Recycled ABS/PC Blends Applied to Injection Molding Process. Journal of Polymer Engineering, 25(5). doi:10.1515/polyeng.2005.25.5.43

Robust Estimators in Generalized Pareto Models

This paper deals with optimally-robust parameter estimation in generalized Pareto distributions (GPDs). These arise naturally in many situations where one is interested in the behavior of extreme events as motivated by the Pickands-Balkema-de Haan extreme value theorem (PBHT). The application we have in mind is calculation of the regulatory capital required by Basel II for a bank to cover operational risk. In this context the tail behavior of the underlying distribution is crucial. This is where extreme value theory enters, suggesting to estimate these high quantiles parameterically using, e.g. GPDs. Robust statistics in this context offers procedures bounding the influence of single observations, so provides reliable inference in the presence of moderate deviations from the distributional model assumptions, respectively from the mechanisms underlying the PBHT.Comment: 26pages, 6 figure

Generating high-order exceptional points in coupled electronic oscillators using complex synthetic gauge fields

Exceptional points (EPs) are degeneracies of non-Hermitian systems, where both eigenvalues and eigenvectors coalesce. Classical and quantum systems exhibiting high-order EPs have recently been identified as fundamental building blocks for the development of novel, ultra-sensitive opto-electronic devices. However, arguably one of their major drawbacks is that they rely on non-linear amplification processes that could limit their potential applications, particularly in the quantum realm. In this work, we show that high-order EPs can be designed by means of linear, time-modulated, chain of inductively coupled RLC (where R stands for resistance, L for inductance, and C for capacitance) electronic circuits. With a general theory, we show that $N$ coupled circuits with $2N$ dynamical variables and time-dependent parameters can be mapped onto an $N$-site, time-dependent, non-Hermitian Hamiltonian, and obtain constraints for $\mathcal{PT}$-symmetry in such models. With numerical calculations, we obtain the Floquet exceptional contours of order $N$ by studying the energy dynamics in the circuit. Our results pave the way toward realizing robust, arbitrary-order EPs by means of synthetic gauge fields, with important implications for sensing, energy transfer, and topology

Instituto Internacional de Investigaci ́on e Innovaci ́on del Envejecimiento

El Instituto Internacional de Investigaci on e Innovaci on del Envejecimiento es un proyecto transfronterizo y multidisciplinar centrado en la mejora de la calidad de vida de los ancianos mediante el uso de la tecnolog a. En este proyecto colaboran la Universidad de Evora, el Instituto Polit ecnico de Porto Alegre, el Instituto Polit ecnico de Beja, la Administraci on Regional de Salud de Alentejo y la Universidad de Extremadura. Los objetivos del proyecto se centran en comprender los aspectos biom edicos, funcionales y psicol ogicos del envejecimiento; generar nuevos modelos y procesos de cuidado a ancianos y desarrollar soluciones tecnol ogicas que contribuyan a la salud y calidad de vida de los ancianos y a la sostenibilidad de los servicios