Coherent optical binary polarisation shift keying heterodyne system in the free-space optical turbulence channel

In this paper, analytical and simulation results for the bit error rate (BER) performance and fading penalty of a coherent optical binary polarization shift keying (2PolSK) heterodyne system adopted for a free space optical (FSO) communication link modeled as the log-normal and the negative exponential atmospheric turbulence channels are presented. The conditional and unconditional BER expressions are derived, demonstrating the comprehensive similarity between the 2PolSK and the binary frequency shift keying (2FSK) schemes with regards to the system sensitivity. The power penalty due to the non-ideal polarization beam splitter (PBS) is also analyzed. The receiver sensitivity employing 2PolSK is compared with other modulation schemes in the presence of turbulence and the phase noise. The results show that 2PolSK offers improved signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) performance compared to the binary amplitude shift keying (2ASK)

Structural and magnetic study of a dilute magnetic semiconductor: Fe doped CeO2 nanoparticles

This paper reports the effect of Fe doping on the structure and room temperature ferromagnetism of CeO2 nanoparticles. X-ray diffraction and selective area electron diffraction measurement reflects that Ce1-xFexO2 (x = 0.0 - 0.07) nanoparticles exhibit single phase nature with cubic structure and none of the sample showed the presence of any secondary phase. The mean particle size calculated by using a transmission electron microscopy measurement was found to increase with increase in Fe content. DC magnetization measurements performed at room temperature indicates that all the samples exhibit ferromagnetism. The saturation magnetic moment has been found to increase with an increase in the Fe content.Comment: 16 Pages, 5 figure, 1 Table, Accepted in JN

Qualitative feature of the low-lying spectrum of intrashell states of 4-valence-electron atoms derived from symmetry consideration

Inherent nodal surfaces existing in the wavefunctions of intrashell states of 4-valence-electron atoms have been investigated. The decisive effect of these surfaces has been demonstrated, the ordering of low-lying levels has been predicted, a primary classification scheme has been proposed, the existence of three rotation bands has been suggested.Comment: 10 pages, no figure

VELOS : a VR platform for ship-evacuation analysis

Virtual Environment for Life On Ships (VELOS) is a multi-user Virtual Reality (VR) system that aims to support designers to assess (early in the design process) passenger and crew activities on a ship for both normal and hectic conditions of operations and to improve ship design accordingly. This article focuses on presenting the novel features of VELOS related to both its VR and evacuation-specific functionalities. These features include: (i) capability of multiple users’ immersion and active participation in the evacuation process, (ii) real-time interactivity and capability for making on-the-fly alterations of environment events and crowd-behavior parameters, (iii) capability of agents and avatars to move continuously on decks, (iv) integrated framework for both the simplified and advanced method of analysis according to the IMO/MSC 1033 Circular, (v) enrichment of the ship geometrical model with a topological model suitable for evacuation analysis, (vi) efficient interfaces for the dynamic specification and handling of the required heterogeneous input data, and (vii) post-processing of the calculated agent trajectories for extracting useful information for the evacuation process. VELOS evacuation functionality is illustrated using three evacuation test cases for a ro–ro passenger ship

Deduction of the quantum unmbers of low-lying states of the (e+e+e-e-) system from symmetry consideration

The feature of the low-lying spectrum and a complete set of quantum numbers of the (e+e+e-e-) system have been deduced based on symmetry consideration. The existence of a low odd-parity L=1 excited state with the spins of the two electrons coupled to s1=1 and the two positrons coupled to s2=0 (or s1=0 and s2=1) and a low even-parity L=0 excited state with s1=s2=1 have been predicted. The discussion is generalized to 2-dimensional (e+e+e-e-) systems.Comment: 12 pages, 5 tables, no figure

Nonabelian D-branes and Noncommutative Geometry

We discuss the nonabelian world-volume action which governs the dynamics of N coincident Dp-branes. In this theory, the branes' transverse displacements are described by matrix-valued scalar fields, and so this is a natural physical framework for the appearance of noncommutative geometry. One example is the dielectric effect by which Dp-branes may be polarized into a noncommutative geometry by external fields. Another example is the appearance of noncommutative geometries in the description of intersecting D-branes of differing dimensions, such as D-strings ending on a D3- or D5-brane. We also describe the related physics of giant gravitons.Comment: 21 pages, Latex, ref. adde

Greybody Factors of Charged Dilaton Black Holes in 2 + 1 Dimensions

We have studied scalar perturbations of charged dilaton black holes in 2+1 dimensions. The black hole considered here is a solution to the low-energy string theory in 2+1 dimensions. The exact decay rates and the grey body factors for the massless minimally coupled scalar is computed for both the charged and the uncharged dilaton black holes. The charged and the uncharged black hole show similar behavior for grey body factors, reflection coefficients and decay rates.Comment: The equation for the potential and figure:1 are changed. The changes does not effect the result

Comparison of ethanedinitrile (C2N2) and metam sodium for control of Bursaphelenchus xylophilus (Nematoda: Aphelenchidae) and Monochamus alternatus (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) in naturally infested logs at low temperatures

The Bursaphelenchus xylophilus, commonly known as pinewood nematode in Japan, is a quarantine pest and is most often associated with beetles of the genus Monochamus, the pine sawyers, particularly Monochamus alternatus. Long-distance dispersal of the nematode and its vectors led to widespread losses in pine forests. Two fumigation trials were conducted for treatment of logs naturally infested with both M. alternatus and B. xylophilus. The logs were treated with ethanedinitrile or metam sodium at low temperature (-7-25.7°C and -3.7-23.1°C) for 3-d exposure in winter and early spring. Fumigation with ethanedinitrile at concentrations of 48, 68, 97 and 158 g/m3 resulted in 34.6-58.3, 91.5-97.2, 100, and 100% mortality for M. alternatus and 88.4, 77.9, 96.4, and 98.0% mortality for B. xylophilus, respectively. With Metam sodium fumigation at a dose rate of 1162 g/m3, 100% M. alternatus and 97.4% B. xylophilus were killed. These results suggest that 97 g/m3 of ethanedinitrile is adequate for complete control of M. alternatus in pine wood and >158 g/m3 is required for eradication of B. xylophilus at low temperature fumigation. These results suggest that 97 g/m3 of ethanedinitrile offers complete control of M. alternatus in pine wood and control of >98% B. xylophilus in winter or spring fumigation at a dosage rate of 158 g/m3. Therefore, ethanedinitrile has great potential for treatment of fresh pine wooden logs to manage the nematodes and the vector insects at low temperature

The small fiber neuropathy NaV1.7 I228M mutation: impaired neurite integrity via bioenergetic and mitotoxic mechanisms, and protection by dexpramipexole

Gain-of-function variants in voltage-gated sodium channel NaV1.7 that increase firing frequency and spontaneous firing of dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neurons have recently been identified in 5-10% of patients with idiopathic small fiber neuropathy (I-SFN). Our previous in vitro observations suggest that enhanced sodium channel activity can contribute to a decrease in length of peripheral sensory axons. We have hypothesized that sustained sodium influx due to the expression of SFN-associated sodium channel variants may trigger an energetic deficit in neurons that contributes to degeneration and loss of nerve fibers in SFN. Using an ATP FRET biosensor, we now demonstrate reduced steady-state levels of ATP and markedly faster ATP decay in response to membrane depolarization in cultured DRG neurons expressing an SFN-associated variant NaV1.7, I228M, compared with wild-type neurons. We also observed that I228M neurons show a significant reduction in mitochondrial density and size, indicating dysfunctional mitochondria and a reduced bioenergetic capacity. Finally, we report that exposure to dexpramipexole, a drug that improves mitochondrial energy metabolism, increases the neurite length of I228M-expressing neurons. Our data suggest that expression of gain-of-function variants of NaV1.7 can damage mitochondria and compromise cellular capacity for ATP production. The resulting bioenergetic crisis can consequently contribute to loss of axons in SFN. We suggest that, in addition to interventions that reduce ionic disturbance caused by mutant NaV1.7 channels, an alternative therapeutic strategy might target the bioenergetic burden and mitochondrial damage that occur in SFN associated with NaV1.7 gain-of-function mutations.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Sodium channel NaV1.7 mutations that increase dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neuron excitability have been identified in small fiber neuropathy (SFN). We demonstrate reduced steady-state ATP levels, faster depolarization-evoked ATP decay, and reduced mitochondrial density and size in cultured DRG neurons expressing SFN-associated variant NaV1.7 I228M. Dexpramipexole, which improves mitochondrial energy metabolism, has a protective effect. Because gain-of-function NaV1.7 variants can compromise bioenergetics, therapeutic strategies that target bioenergetic burden and mitochondrial damage merit study in SFN