Hydrogen absorption properties of amorphous (Ni0.6Nb0.4−yTay)100−xZrx membranes

Ni based amorphous materials have great potential as hydrogen purification membranes. In the present work the melt spun (Ni0.6Nb0.4−yTay)100−xZrx with y=0, 0.1 and x=20, 30 was studied. The result of X-ray diffraction spectra of the ribbons showed an amorphous nature of the alloys. Heating these ribbons below T < 400 °C, even in a hydrogen atmosphere (1−10 bar), the amorphous structure was retained. The crystallization process was characterized by differential thermal analysis and the activation energy of such process was obtained. The hydrogen absorption properties of the samples in their amorphous state were studied by the volumetric method, and the results showed that the addition of Ta did not significantly influence the absorption properties, a clear change of the hydrogen solubility was observed with the variation of the Zr content. The values of the hydrogenation enthalpy changed from ~37 kJ/mol for x=30 to ~9 kJ/mol for x=20. The analysis of the volumetric data provides the indications about the hydrogen occupation sites during hydrogenation, suggesting that at the beginning of the absorption process the deepest energy levels are occupied, while only shallower energy levels are available at higher hydrogen content, with the available interstitial sites forming a continuum of energy levels

Response of the Brazilian gravitational wave detector to signals from a black hole ringdown

It is assumed that a black hole can be disturbed in such a way that a ringdown gravitational wave would be generated. This ringdown waveform is well understood and is modelled as an exponentially damped sinusoid. In this work we use this kind of waveform to study the performance of the SCHENBERG gravitational wave detector. This first realistic simulation will help us to develop strategies for the signal analysis of this Brazilian detector. We calculated the signal-to-noise ratio as a function of frequency for the simulated signals and obtained results that show that SCHENBERG is expected to be sensitive enough to detect this kind of signal up to a distance of $\sim 20\mathrm{kpc}$.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, Amaldi 5 Conference Proceedings contribution. Submitted to Class. Quantum Gra

An exact self-consistent gravitational shock wave in semiclassical gravity

We find a self-consistent pp-gravitational shock wave solution to the semiclassical Einstein equations resulting from the $1/N$ approach to the effective action. We model the renormalized matter stress-energy-momentum tensor by $N$ massless scalar fields in the Minkowski vacuum plus a classical particle. We show that quantum effects generate a milder singularity at the position of the particle than the classical solution, but the singularity does not disappear. At large distances from the particle, the quantum correction decreases slowly, as $1/\rho^2$ ($\rho$ being the distance to the particle in the shock wave plane). We argue that this large distance correction is a necessary consequence of quantum gravity.Comment: 13 pages, REVTEX, 4 PS figures. Revised version contains a derivation of the solution compatible with its distributional character. The final results, though, are the sam

The unitary ability of IQ and indexes in WAIS-IV

Lichtenberger and Kaufman (2009, p. 167) defined unitary ability as ‘an ability […] that is represented by a cohesive set of scaled scores, each reflecting slightly different or unique aspects of the ability’. Flanagan and Kaufman (2009) and Lichtenberger and Kaufman (2012) used a difference of 23 IQ points between the highest score (Max) and the lowest score (Min) obtained by a subject in the four Indexes of the WAIS-IV to define unitarity of the total IQ score. A similar method has been used to assess the unitary ability of the four Indexes, with a threshold of 5 points. Such difference scores (of 23 for IQ and 5 for Indexes) are considered high and infrequent and the authors therefore conclude that the corresponding Full-Scale IQ score or Index score is uninterpretable. In this paper we argue that these thresholds are inappropriate because they are based on the wrong standard deviation. The main aim of this study was to establish variability thresholds for IQ and the WAIS-IV Indexes for the American standardization sample and to compare these thresholds with those for the Italian standardization sample. We also consider an alternative approach to determining whether an IQ score represents a unitary ability, based on the maximum difference score for the 10 core subtests that contribute to Full-Scale IQ scores

Measuring gravitational waves from binary black hole coalescences: II. the waves' information and its extraction, with and without templates

We discuss the extraction of information from detected binary black hole (BBH) coalescence gravitational waves, focusing on the merger phase that occurs after the gradual inspiral and before the ringdown. Our results are: (1) If numerical relativity simulations have not produced template merger waveforms before BBH detections by LIGO/VIRGO, one can band-pass filter the merger waves. For BBHs smaller than about 40 solar masses detected via their inspiral waves, the band pass filtering signal to noise ratio indicates that the merger waves should typically be just barely visible in the noise for initial and advanced LIGO interferometers. (2) We derive an optimized (maximum likelihood) method for extracting a best-fit merger waveform from the noisy detector output; one "perpendicularly projects" this output onto a function space (specified using wavelets) that incorporates our prior knowledge of the waveforms. An extension of the method allows one to extract the BBH's two independent waveforms from outputs of several interferometers. (3) If numerical relativists produce codes for generating merger templates but running the codes is too expensive to allow an extensive survey of the merger parameter space, then a coarse survey of this parameter space, to determine the ranges of the several key parameters and to explore several qualitative issues which we describe, would be useful for data analysis purposes. (4) A complete set of templates could be used to test the nonlinear dynamics of general relativity and to measure some of the binary parameters. We estimate the number of bits of information obtainable from the merger waves (about 10 to 60 for LIGO/VIRGO, up to 200 for LISA), estimate the information loss due to template numerical errors or sparseness in the template grid, and infer approximate requirements on template accuracy and spacing.Comment: 33 pages, Rextex 3.1 macros, no figures, submitted to Phys Rev

Diazoxide-responsive hyperinsulinemic hypoglycemia caused by HNF4A gene mutations

Objective: The phenotype associated with heterozygous HNF4A gene mutations has recently been extended to include diazoxide responsive neonatal hypoglycemia in addition to maturity-onset diabetes of the young (MODY). To date, mutation screening has been limited to patients with a family history consistent with MODY. In this study, we investigated the prevalence of HNF4A mutations in a large cohort of patients with diazoxide responsive hyperinsulinemic hypoglycemia (HH). Subjects and methods: We sequenced the ABCC8, KCNJ11, GCK, GLUD1, and/or HNF4A genes in 220 patients with HH responsive to diazoxide. The order of genetic testing was dependent upon the clinical phenotype. Results: A genetic diagnosis was possible for 59/220 (27%) patients. KATP channel mutations were most common (15%) followed by GLUD1 mutations causing hyperinsulinism with hyperammonemia (5.9%), and HNF4A mutations (5%). Seven of the 11 probands with a heterozygous HNF4A mutation did not have a parent affected with diabetes, and four de novo mutations were confirmed. These patients were diagnosed with HI within the first week of life (median age 1 day), and they had increased birth weight (median +2.4 SDS). The duration of diazoxide treatment ranged from 3 months to ongoing at 8 years. Conclusions: In this large series, HNF4A mutations are the third most common cause of diazoxide responsive HH. We recommend that HNF4A sequencing is considered in all patients with diazoxide responsive HH diagnosed in the first week of life irrespective of a family history of diabetes, once KATP channel mutations have been excluded

Supergravity Inflation on the Brane

We study N=1 Supergravity inflation in the context of the braneworld scenario. Particular attention is paid to the problem of the onset of inflation at sub-Planckian field values and the ensued inflationary observables. We find that the so-called $\eta$-problem encountered in supergravity inspired inflationary models can be solved in the context of the braneworld scenario, for some range of the parameters involved. Furthermore, we obtain an upper bound on the scale of the fifth dimension, M_5 \lsim 10^{-3} M_P, in case the inflationary potential is quadratic in the inflaton field, $\phi$. If the inflationary potential is cubic in $\phi$, consistency with observational data requires that $M_5 \simeq 9.2 \times 10^{-4} M_P$.Comment: 6 pages, 1 figure, to appear in Phys. Rev.

Braneworld effective action and origin of inflation

We construct braneworld effective action in two brane Randall-Sundrum model and show that the radion mode plays the role of a scalar field localizing essentially nonlocal part of this action. Non-minimal curvature coupling of this field reflects the violation of AdS/CFT-correspondence for finite values of brane separation. Under small detuning of the brane tension from the Randall-Sundrum flat brane value, the radion mode can play the role of inflaton. Inflationary dynamics corresponds to branes moving apart in the field of repelling interbrane inflaton-radion potential and implies the existence acceleration stage caused by remnant cosmological constant at late (large brane separation) stages of evolution. We discuss the possibility of fixing initial conditions in this model within the concept of braneworld creation from the tunneling or no-boundary cosmological state, which formally replaces the conventional moduli stabilization mechanism.Comment: 18 pages, LaTeX, the effective action form factor is corrected for small separation between branes and new references are adde