Ordered structures formed by ultrasoft, aspherical particles

We have applied the formalism of classical density functional theory to study the shape and the orientation of the density profiles rho(r) formed by aspherical, ultrasoft particles. For simplicity we have considered particles with an elliptic shape, characterised by an aspect ratio lambda. The rho(r)\u2019s are obtained via the minimisation of the grand-potential functional Omega[rho], for which we have used a mean-field format. The optimisation of Omega[rho] is numerically realised in a free (i.e. unbiased) manner minimising the functional with respect to the density profile, which we have discretised in the unit cell of the lattice on 80^3 grid points. Keeping the temperature fixed and varying the chemical potential and lambda, we have investigated the impact of these parameters on the density profile

Online Motion Planning for Safe Human–Robot Cooperation Using B-Splines and Hidden Markov Models

When humans and robots work together, ensuring safe cooperation must be a priority. This research aims to develop a novel real-time planning algorithm that can handle unpredictable human movements by both slowing down task execution and modifying the robot’s path based on the proximity of the human operator. To achieve this, an efficient method for updating the robot’s motion is developed using a two-fold control approach that combines B-splines and hidden Markov models. This allows the algorithm to adapt to a changing environment and avoid collisions. The proposed framework is thus validated using the Franka Emika Panda robot in a simple start–goal task. Our algorithm successfully avoids collision with the moving hand of an operator monitored by a fixed camera

Effect of antiferromagnetic exchange interactions on the Glauber dynamics of one-dimensional Ising models

We study the effect of antiferromagnetic interactions on the single spin-flip Glauber dynamics of two different one-dimensional (1D) Ising models with spin $\pm 1$. The first model is an Ising chain with antiferromagnetic exchange interaction limited to nearest neighbors and subject to an oscillating magnetic field. The system of master equations describing the time evolution of sublattice magnetizations can easily be solved within a linear field approximation and a long time limit. Resonant behavior of the magnetization as a function of temperature (stochastic resonance) is found, at low frequency, only when spins on opposite sublattices are uncompensated owing to different gyromagnetic factors (i.e., in the presence of a ferrimagnetic short range order). The second model is the axial next-nearest neighbor Ising (ANNNI) chain, where an antiferromagnetic exchange between next-nearest neighbors (nnn) is assumed to compete with a nearest-neighbor (nn) exchange interaction of either sign. The long time response of the model to a weak, oscillating magnetic field is investigated in the framework of a decoupling approximation for three-spin correlation functions, which is required to close the system of master equations. The calculation, within such an approximate theoretical scheme, of the dynamic critical exponent z, defined as ${1/\tau} \approx ({1/ {\xi}})^z$ (where \tau is the longest relaxation time and \xi is the correlation length of the chain), suggests that the T=0 single spin-flip Glauber dynamics of the ANNNI chain is in a different universality class than that of the unfrustrated Ising chain.Comment: 5 figures. Phys. Rev. B (accepted July 12, 2007

A Machine Learning Approach to Monitor the Emergence of Late Intrauterine Growth Restriction

Late intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) is a fetal pathological condition characterized by chronic hypoxia secondary to placental insufficiency, resulting in an abnormal rate of fetal growth. This pathology has been associated with increased fetal and neonatal morbidity and mortality. In standard clinical practice, late IUGR diagnosis can only be suspected in the third trimester and ultimately confirmed at birth. This study presents a radial basis function support vector machine (RBF-SVM) classification based on quantitative features extracted from fetal heart rate (FHR) signals acquired using routine cardiotocography (CTG) in a population of 160 healthy and 102 late IUGR fetuses. First, the individual performance of each time, frequency, and nonlinear feature was tested. To improve the unsatisfactory results of univariate analysis we firstly adopted a Recursive Feature Elimination approach to select the best subset of FHR-based parameters contributing to the discrimination of healthy vs. late IUGR fetuses. A fine tuning of the RBF-SVM model parameters resulted in a satisfactory classification performance in the training set (accuracy 0.93, sensitivity 0.93, specificity 0.84). Comparable results were obtained when applying the model on a totally independent testing set. This investigation supports the use of a multivariate approach for the in utero identification of late IUGR condition based on quantitative FHR features encompassing different domains. The proposed model allows describing the relationships among features beyond the traditional linear approaches, thus improving the classification performance. This framework has the potential to be proposed as a screening tool for the identification of late IUGR fetuses

Beyond-mean-field description of a trapped unitary Fermi gas with mass and population imbalance

A detailed description is given of the phase diagram for a two-component unitary Fermi gas with mass and population imbalance, for both homogeneous and trapped systems. This aims at providing quantitative benchmarks for the normal-to-superfluid phase transition of a mass-imbalanced Fermi gas in the temperature-polarization parameter space. A self-consistent t-matrix approach is adopted, which has already proven to accurately describe the thermodynamic properties of the mass and population balanced unitary Fermi gas. Our results provide a guideline for the ongoing experiments on heteronuclear Fermi mixtures.Comment: 10 pages, 10 figures, final versio

Finite-size effects on the dynamic susceptibility of CoPhOMe single-chain molecular magnets in presence of a static magnetic field

The static and dynamic properties of the single-chain molecular magnet [Co(hfac)$_2$NITPhOMe] are investigated in the framework of the Ising model with Glauber dynamics, in order to take into account both the effect of an applied magnetic field and a finite size of the chains. For static fields of moderate intensity and short chain lengths, the approximation of a mono-exponential decay of the magnetization fluctuations is found to be valid at low temperatures; for strong fields and long chains, a multi-exponential decay should rather be assumed. The effect of an oscillating magnetic field, with intensity much smaller than that of the static one, is included in the theory in order to obtain the dynamic susceptibility $\chi(\omega)$. We find that, for an open chain with $N$ spins, $\chi(\omega)$ can be written as a weighted sum of $N$ frequency contributions, with a sum rule relating the frequency weights to the static susceptibility of the chain. Very good agreement is found between the theoretical dynamic susceptibility and the ac susceptibility measured in moderate static fields ($H_{\rm dc}\le 2$ kOe), where the approximation of a single dominating frequency turns out to be valid. For static fields in this range, new data for the relaxation time, $\tau$ versus $H_{\rm dc}$, of the magnetization of CoPhOMe at low temperature are also well reproduced by theory, provided that finite-size effects are included.Comment: 16 pages, 9 figure

Glauber slow dynamics of the magnetization in a molecular Ising chain

The slow dynamics (10^-6 s - 10^4 s) of the magnetization in the paramagnetic phase, predicted by Glauber for 1d Ising ferromagnets, has been observed with ac susceptibility and SQUID magnetometry measurements in a molecular chain comprising alternating Co{2+} spins and organic radical spins strongly antiferromagnetically coupled. An Arrhenius behavior with activation energy Delta=152 K has been observed for ten decades of relaxation time and found to be consistent with the Glauber model. We have extended this model to take into account the ferrimagnetic nature of the chain as well as its helicoidal structure.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures (low resolution), 16 references. Submitted to Physical Review Letter

Environmental sustainability of orthopedic devices produced with powder bed fusion

Additive manufacturing consists in melting metallic powders to produce objects from 3D data, layer upon layer. Its industrial applications range from automotive, biomedical (e.g., prosthetic implants for dentistry and orthopedics), aeronautics and others. This study uses life cycle assessment to evaluate the possible improvement in environmental performance of laser-based powder bed fusion additive manufacturing systems on prosthetic device production. Environmental impacts due to manufacturing, use, and end of life of the designed solution were assessed. In addition, two powder production technologies, gas atomization (GA) and plasma atomization (PA), were compared in order to establish the most sustainable one. Production via traditional subtractive technologies and the additive manufacturing production were also compared. 3D building was found to have a significant environmental advantage compared to the traditional technology. The powder production process considerably influences on a damage point of view the additive manufacturing process; however, its impact can be mitigated if GA powders are employed