Influence of Vertical Ground Motions on the Seismic Fragility Modeling of a Bridge-Soil-Foundation System

This paper explores the effects of vertical ground motions (VGMs) on the component fragility of a coupled bridged-soil-foundation (CBSF) system with liquefaction potential, and highlights the unique considerations on the demand and capacity model required for fragility analysis under VGMs. Optimal intensity measures (IMs) that account for VGMs are identified. Moreover, fragility curves that consider capacity change with fluctuating axial force are derived. Results show that the presence of VGMs has a minor effect on the failure probabilities of piles and expansion bearings, while it has a great influence on fixed bearings. Whether VGMs have an impact on column fragilities depends on the design axial load ratio. Finally, more accurate fragility surfaces are derived, which are compared with results of conventional fragility curves. This study highlights the important role that VGMs play in the selection of optimal IMs, and the capacity and fragility representation of certain components of CBSF systems

Superposition of macroscopic numbers of atoms and molecules

We theoretically examine photoassociation of a non-ideal Bose-Einstein condensate, focusing on evidence for a macroscopic superposition of atoms and molecules. This problem raises an interest because, rather than two states of a given object, an atom-molecule system is a seemingly impossible macroscopic superposition of different objects. Nevertheless, photoassociation enables coherent intraparticle conversion, and we thereby propose a viable scheme for creating a superposition of a macroscopic number of atoms with a macroscopic number of molecules.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figs, to appear in Phys. Rev. Let

Dissipative Particle Dynamics with Energy Conservation

The stochastic differential equations for a model of dissipative particle dynamics with both total energy and total momentum conservation in the particle-particle interactions are presented. The corresponding Fokker-Planck equation for the evolution of the probability distribution for the system is deduced together with the corresponding fluctuation-dissipation theorems ensuring that the ab initio chosen equilibrium probability distribution for the relevant variables is a stationary solution. When energy conservation is included, the system can sustain temperature gradients and heat flow can be modeled.Comment: 7 pages, submitted to Europhys. Let

Dermatological cancer screening: Evaluation of a new community pharmacy service

Background: Skin cancer accounts for one third of all cancers. Prognosis is inversely related to identification stage. Objectives: To describe a novel service, mole scans, performed in community pharmacy, the findings from the first 3.5 years it was in place, and to explore patient acceptability of the service. Methods: Norwegian Boots' pharmacies offer a mole scanning service in cooperation with ScreenCancer. Scans are undertaken within pharmacy consultation rooms. Image interpretation is undertaken remotely by a specialist. Number and result of scans performed from 2010 to 2014 are reported. A satisfaction questionnaire was returned by 10% of participants. Results: A total of 25836 scans were performed on 15777 individuals. Of these, 83.6% had normal scans, 1% had melanoma, and 15.4% had another skin condition. In 2014 the service identified 4.1% of melanoma cases registered in the Norwegian Cancer Registry. Most responders (88%) would use a similar service again. Nearly all (99%) felt the pharmacy was a suitable venue, and 95% would recommend the service to others. In total, 99% of respondents scored their overall satisfaction as “good” or higher. Conclusions: This approach was acceptable among participants who provided feedback. Providing mole scanning through pharmacies enables individuals to obtain a rapid check of moles causing concern, in an acceptable environment with a high level of satisfaction

The globular cluster system of NGC 1316. II - The extraordinary object SH2

SH2 has been described as an isolated HII-region, located about 6.5 arcmin south of the nucleus of NGC 1316 (Fornax A), a merger remnant in the the outskirts of the Fornax cluster of galaxies. We give a first, preliminary description of the stellar content and environment of this remarkable object. We used photometric data in the Washington system and HST photometry from the Hubble Legacy Archive for a morphological description and preliminary aperture photometry. Low-resolution spectroscopy provides radial velocities of the brightest star cluster in SH2 and a nearby intermediate-age cluster. SH2 is not a normal HII-region, ionized by very young stars. It contains a multitude of star clusters with ages of approximately 0.1 Gyr. A ring-like morphology is striking. SH2 seems to be connected to an intermediate-age massive globular cluster with a similar radial velocity, which itself is the main object of a group of fainter clusters. Metallicity estimates from emission lines remain ambiguous. The present data do not yet allow firm conclusions about the nature or origin of SH2. It might be a dwarf galaxy that has experienced a burst of extremely clustered star formation. We may witness how globular clusters are donated to a parent galaxy.Comment: 5 pages, to appear in A&A, format slightly different from the printed versio

Feshbach-Stimulated Photoproduction of a Stable Molecular Condensate

Photoassociation and the Feshbach resonance are, in principle, feasible means for creating a molecular Bose-Einstein condensate from an already-quantum-degenerate gas of atoms; however, mean-field shifts and irreversible decay place practical constraints on the efficient delivery of stable molecules using either mechanism alone. We therefore propose Feshbach-stimulated Raman photoproduction, i.e., a combination of magnetic and optical methods, as a viable means to collectively convert degenerate atoms into a stable molecular condensate with near-unit efficiency.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, 1 table; v3 includes few-level diagram of scheme, and added discussion; transferred to PR

Model study on the photoassociation of a pair of trapped atoms into an ultralong-range molecule

Using the method of quantum-defect theory, we calculate the ultralong-range molecular vibrational states near the dissociation threshold of a diatomic molecular potential which asymptotically varies as $-1/R^3$. The properties of these states are of considerable interest as they can be formed by photoassociation (PA) of two ground state atoms. The Franck-Condon overlap integrals between the harmonically trapped atom-pair states and the ultralong-range molecular vibrational states are estimated and compared with their values for a pair of untrapped free atoms in the low-energy scattering state. We find that the binding between a pair of ground-state atoms by a harmonic trap has significant effect on the Franck-Condon integrals and thus can be used to influence PA. Trap-induced binding between two ground-state atoms may facilitate coherent PA dynamics between the two atoms and the photoassociated diatomic molecule.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figures, to appear in Phys. Rev. A (September, 2003

The roles of motivation and ability in controlling the consequences of stereotype suppression

Two experiments investigated the conditions under which previously suppressed stereotypes are applied in impression formation. In Experiment 1, the extent to which a previously suppressed racial stereotype influenced subsequent impressions depended on the race of the target who was subsequently encountered. Whereas impressions of race-unspecified targets were assimilated to the stereotype following its suppression, no such effects were observed when the target belonged to the racial group whose stereotype had been initially suppressed. These results demonstrate that when perceivers are motivated to avoid stereo-typing individuals, the influence of a stereotype that has been previously activated through suppression is minimized. Experiment 2 demonstrated that these processing goals effectively reduce the impact of suppression-activated stereotypes only when perceivers have sufficient capacity to enact the goals. These results suggest that both sufficient motivation and capacity are necessary to prevent heightened stereotyping following stereotype suppression

Manipulating the critical temperature for the superfluid phase transition in trapped atomic Fermi gases

We examine the effect of the trapping potential on the critical temperature, $T_C$, for the BCS transition to a superfluid state in trapped atomic gases of fermions. $T_C$ for an arbitrary power law trap is calculated in the Thomas-Fermi approximation. For anharmonic traps, $T_C$ can be increased by several orders of magnitude in comparison to a harmonic trap. Our theoretical results indicate that, in practice, one could manipulate the critical temperature for the BCS phase transition by shaping the traps confining the atomic Fermi gases.Comment: 4 page