Performance of the MPD Experiment for the Anisotropic Flow Measurements

The main goal of the future MPD experiment at collider NICA( JINR,Dubna) is to explore the QCD phase diagram in the region corresponding to the highest baryon chemical potential. Properties of such dense matter can be studied using the azimuthal anisotropy of the produced particles. Performance of the detector response based on simulations with realistic reconstruction procedure is presented for centrality determination, reaction plane estimation, directed and elliptic flow coefficients

Regression in the Symptoms and Discal Hernia in Case of Lumbar Radiculopathy

BACKGROUND: Discogenic lumbar radiculopathy has a favorable potential for survival; the regression of clinical symptoms may outpace the subsidence of discal hernia. AIM: The objective of the study is comparing the clinical data and the results of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in patients with discogenic lumbar radiculopathy over 1 year of observation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty-two patients (13 males at the average age of 39.1 ± 11.8 years) with discogenic lumbar radiculopathy confirmed by MRI were examined in the study. The intensity of pain condition was assessed using the numerical rating scale; disability was assessed using the Oswestry disability index. Sixteen patients were subjected to repeated MRI. RESULTS: Statistically significant (p < 0.01) reduction of the average pain intensity and intensity of disability more than 2 times was observed as early as in the first 2 weeks. Gradual reduction of pain and disability was observed during the year. Reduction of discal hernia by more than 50% was observed on average after 8.7 ± 4.7 months. CONCLUSION: In the case of discogenic radiculopathy, the reduction of pain and related disability far outstrips the regression of the herniation of intervertebral disk

Thermoelectric performance of weakly coupled granular materials

We study thermoelectric properties of inhomogeneous nanogranular materials for weak tunneling conductance between the grains, g_t < 1. We calculate the thermopower and figure of merit taking into account the shift of the chemical potential and the asymmetry of the density of states in the vicinity of the Fermi surface. We show that the weak coupling between the grains leads to a high thermopower and low thermal conductivity resulting in relatively high values of the figure of merit on the order of one. We estimate the temperature at which the figure of merit has its maximum value for two- and three-dimensional samples. Our results are applicable for many emerging materials, including artificially self-assembled nanoparticle arrays.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

Deformations of Existing Buildings, Caused by Construction Activities

Construction of a new building (NB) affects existing adjacent old buildings (OB) during pit excavation, piling, footing and NB erection. Two relevant history cases are described. In the first one, the graphs of OB settlements versus distance from the pit are given for the period of pit excavation and the total settlements for the period of NB erection. The second case gives the family of OB settlement time-related graphs versus distance from the pit, in which these settlements were caused by piling operations

Mössbauer spectra and magnetic properties of Tm0.65Sr 0.35Fe x Mn1 - X O3 (x = 0.3, 0.35, 0.4)

We report Mössbauer spectroscopy results for Tm0.65Sr 0.35Fe x Mn1 - x O3 (x = 0.3-0.4) at 300 and 80 K. Like in the case of lighter lanthanide ferromanganites, we observe phase separation of the magnetic sub- system: a magnetic phase shows up in the spectra in the form of a Zeeman sextet and "paramagnetic" dou- blets. © 2013 Pleiades Publishing, Ltd