Dynamical Properties of Heavy-Ion Collisions from the Photon-Photon Intensity Correlations

We consider here the bremsstrahlung emission of photons at low and intermediate energies $E_{lab}\le 1000 MeV/u$ of the projectile. and derive expressions more general than previous results obtained by Neuhauser which were limited to the case of isotropic systems. We find that the two-photon correlation function strongly depends not only on the space-time properties of the collision region but also on the dynamics of the proton-neutron scattering process in nuclear matter. As a consequence of polarisation correlations it turns out that for a purely chaotic source the intercept of the correlation function of photons can reach the value $3$ (as compared with the maximum value $2$ for isotropic systems). Furthermore even for ``hard" photons ($E_{\gamma} > 25 MeV$) the maximum of the correlation function can reach the value of $2$ in contrast with the value of $1.5$ derived by Neuhauser for this case. The formulae obtained in this paper which include also the possible presence of a coherent component can be used as a basis for a systematic analysis of photon intensity-interferometry experiments.Comment: 12 pages, LaTeX, DMR-THEP-93-2/

Biomechanics of biomaterials used in soft tissue regenerative

Biodegradable polymers have been used in implantable medical devices, such as suture fibers, fixation screws and soft tissue engineering devices. Apart from biological compatibility, these devices shall also be functional compatible and perform adequate mechanical temporary support during the healing process. In regenerative medicine, the scaffold that will provide this temporary support should simultaneously enhance cellular adhesion, proliferation and remodeling of new tissue. In soft tissue applications, biodegradable polymers are the materials of election. These materials undergo through a process of degradation, mainly controlled by hydrolysis, leading to a reduction of molecular weight, followed by reduction of strength and finally a reduction of mass until it is totally absorbed and assimilated by the host. Fatigue/creep damage also contribute to the progressive decrease of mechanical properties. Meanwhile, cells cultured over the scaffold will produce the new tissue that will gradually replace the material biomechanical functions.Os polímeros biodegradáveis têm sido utilizados em dispositivos médicos implantáveis, como fios de sutura, parafusos e dispositivos para engenharia de tecidos moles. Além da compatibilidade biológica, tais dispositivos devem apresentar compatibilidade funcional e desempenhar funções temporárias de suporte mecânico durante o processo de cura. Em medicina regenerativa, este suporte temporário deve favorecer a adesão celular, a sua proliferação e a remodelação de novo tecido. Em engenharia de tecidos moles os polímeros biodegradáveis são os materiais de eleição. Estes materiais sofrem um processo de degradação, controlado sobretudo hidrólise, e que resulta numa redução do peso molecular, seguida de uma redução da resistência mecânica e finalmente uma redução da massa até a completa absorção e assimilação pelo organismo. O dano por fadiga/fluência também contribui para a progressiva diminuição das propriedades mecânicas. Entretanto, as células cultivadas sobre o suporte vão produzir o novo tecido que vai gradualmente substituir as funções biomecânicas do material.Peer ReviewedAward-winnin

Locking the GFP Fluorophore to Enhance Its Emission Intensity

Funding Information: Thanks are due to the University of Aveiro, FCT/MEC, Centro 2020 and Portugal2020, the COMPETE program, and the European Union (FEDER program) via the financial support to the LAQV-REQUIMTE (UIDB/50006/2020 and UIDP/50006/2020), to the CICECO-Aveiro Institute of Materials (UID/CTM/50011/2019, UIDB/50011/2020 and UIDP/50011/2020), financed by national funds through the FCT/MCTES, to the Portuguese NMR Network. SG is supported by national funds (OE), through FCT, I.P., in the scope of the framework contract foreseen in the numbers 4, 5, and 6 of the article 23, of the Decree-Law 57/2016, of August 29, changed by Law 57/2017, of July 19. JRMF. Thanks FCT and ESF (European Social Fund) through POCH (Programa Operacional Capital Humano) for her PhD grant (UI/BD/151272/2021). Publisher Copyright: © 2022 by the authors.The Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) and its analogues have been widely used as fluorescent biomarkers in cell biology. Yet, the chromophore responsible for the fluorescence of the GFP is not emissive when isolated in solution, outside the protein environment. The most accepted explanation is that the quenching of the fluorescence results from the rotation of the aryl–alkene bond and from the Z/E isomerization. Over the years, many efforts have been performed to block these torsional rotations, mimicking the environment inside the protein β-barrel, to restore the emission intensity. Molecule rigidification through chemical modifications or complexation, or through crystallization, is one of the strategies used. This review presents an overview of the strategies developed to achieve highly emissive GFP chromophore by hindering the torsional rotations.publishersversionpublishe

Strain sensitivity enhancement in suspended core fiber tapers

Suspended core fiber tapers with different cross sections (with diameters from 70 μm to 120 μm) are produced by filament heating. Before obtaining the taper, the spectral behavior of the suspended core fiber is a multimode interference structure. When the taper is made, an intermodal interference between a few modes is observed. This effect is clearly visible for low taper core dimensions. Since the core and cladding do not collapse, two taper regions exist, one in the core and the other in the cladding. The cladding taper does not affect the light transmission, only the core is reduced to a microtaper. The spectral response of the microtaper based-suspended core fiber is similar to a beat of two interferometers. The strain is applied to the microtaper, and with the reduction in the transverse area, an increase in sensitivity is observed. When the taper is immersed in a liquid with a different index of refraction or subjected to temperature variations, no spectral change occurs

Exploiting the Power of mip Solvers in maxsat

Abstract. maxsat is an optimization version of satisfiability. Since many practical problems involve optimization, there are a wide range of potential applications for effective maxsat solvers. In this paper we present an extensive empirical evaluation of a number of maxsat solvers. In addition to traditional maxsat solvers, we also evaluate the use of a state-of-the-art Mixed Integer Program (mip) solver, cplex, for solving maxsat. mip solvers are the most popular technology for solving opti-mization problems and are also theoretically more powerful than sat solvers. In fact, we show that cplex is quite effective on a range of maxsat instances. Based on these observations we extend a previously developed hybrid approach for solving maxsat, that utilizes both a sat solver and a mip solver. Our extensions aim to take better advantage of the power of the mip solver. The resulting improved hybrid solver is shown to be quite effective.

Multimode Interference In Tapered Single Mode-multimode-single Mode Fiber Structures For Strain Sensing Applications

Tapering single mode-multimode-single mode structures to enhance sensitivity is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. 50 mm-long coreless MMF sections are spliced between SMFs and tapered. They are characterized in strain and an increase in strain sensitivity is obtained with taper diameter reduction. Sensitivities as high as -23.69 pm/με for the 15 μm taper are attained. A combination of an untapered and tapered SMS is proposed as a sensing system for the simultaneous measurement of strain and temperature. © 2012 SPIE.8421Soldano, L., Pennings, E., Optical multi-mode interference devices based on self-imaging: Principles and applications (1995) Lightwave Technology, Journal of, 13, pp. 615-627. , AprilKumar, A., Varshney, R.K., Sharma, P., Transmission characteristics of sms fiber optic sensor structures (2003) Optics Communications, 219, pp. 215-219Wang, Q., Farrell, G., Yan, W., Investigation on single-mode-multimode-single-mode fiber structure (2008) J. Lightwave Technol., 26, pp. 512-519. , MarMehta, A., Mohammed, W., Johnson, E., Multimode interference-based fiber-optic displacement sensor (2003) Photonics Technology Letters, IEEE, 15, pp. 1129-1131. , augMohammed, W., Mehta, A., Johnson, E., Wavelength tunable fiber lens based on multimode interference (2004) Lightwave Technology, Journal of, 22, pp. 469-477. , febFrazão, O., Silva, S.O., Viegas, J., Ferreira, L.A., Araújo, F.M., Santos, J.L., Optical fiber refractometry based on multimode interference (2011) Appl. Opt., 50, pp. E184-E188. , SepMohammed, W.S., Smith, P.W.E., Gu, X., All-fiber multimode interference bandpass filter (2006) Opt. Lett., 31, pp. 2547-2549. , SepWang, Q., Farrell, G., Multimode-fiber-based edge filter for optical wavelength measurement application and its design (2006) Microwave and Optical Technology Letters, 48 (5), pp. 900-902Wang, P., Brambilla, G., Ding, M., Semenova, Y., Wu, Q., Farrell, G., High-sensitivity, evanescent field refractometric sensor based on a tapered, multimode fiber interference (2011) Opt. Lett., 36, pp. 2233-2235. , JunFrazão, O., Silva, S.F.O., Guerreiro, A., Santos, J.L., Ferreira, L.A., Araújo, F.M., Strain sensitivity control of fiber bragg grating structures with fused tapers (2007) Appl. Opt., 46 (36), pp. 8578-8582Biazoli, C.R., André, R.M., Frazão, O., Cordeiro, C.M.B., Tapering down optical fiber to ultra-high strain sensitivity (2012) Photonics Technology Letters, IEEE, , Submitte

Blow-up solutions for linear perturbations of the Yamabe equation

For a smooth, compact Riemannian manifold (M,g) of dimension N \geg 3, we are interested in the critical equation $$\Delta_g u+(N-2/4(N-1) S_g+\epsilon h)u=u^{N+2/N-2} in M, u>0 in M,$$ where \Delta_g is the Laplace--Beltrami operator, S_g is the Scalar curvature of (M,g), $h\in C^{0,\alpha}(M)$, and $\epsilon$ is a small parameter