584 research outputs found
First-passage statistics of colloids on fractals: Theory and experimental realization
In nature and technology, particle dynamics frequently occur in complex environments, for example in restricted geometries or crowded media. These dynamics have often been modeled invoking a fractal structure of the medium although the fractal structure was only indirectly inferred through the dynamics. Moreover, systematic studies have not yet been performed. Here, colloidal particles moving in a laser speckle pattern are used as a model system. In this case, the experimental observations can be reliably traced to the fractal structure of the underlying medium with an adjustable fractal dimension. First-passage time statistics reveal that the particles explore the speckle in a self-similar, fractal manner at least over four decades in time and on length scales up to 20 times the particle radius. The requirements for fractal diffusion to be applicable are laid out, and methods to extract the fractal dimension are established
Thermodynamic analysis of inverted bifurcation
We present a thermodynamic analysis of inverted bifurcation
in binary mixtures heated from below. From this analysis it
follows that an inverted bifurcation is caused by the competition
between a stabilizing effect with a long relaxation time and a
destabilizing effect with a short relaxation time. These
conditions are precisely the same as those that give rise to
overstability. This might explain why overstability and inverted
bifurcation occur in the same systems
Multiple frequencies of synchronization in classical and quantum networks
Complex systems consisting of vector or matrix oscillators can synchronize to a common state characterized by a frequency matrix with distinct eigenvalues, leading to multiple frequencies of synchronization. In quantum networked systems the synchronized state is a linear combination of states corresponding to different energy levels. Suitable symmetry-breaking network interactions, however, allow only one or more such frequencies to appear. A specific example in three dimensions, where all trajectories lie on the 2-sphere, is a model of interacting spin-1 quantum angular momentum states, where synchronization to a nontrivial frequency occurs despite the presence of zero-frequency modes of oscillation.Skye M. Platten, M. A. Lohe, and Peter J. Mora
Influence of the Dufour effect on convection in binary gas mixtures
Linear and nonlinear properties of convection in binary fluid layers heated
from below are investigated, in particular for gas parameters. A Galerkin
approximation for realistic boundary conditions that describes stationary and
oscillatory convection in the form of straight parallel rolls is used to
determine the influence of the Dufour effect on the bifurcation behaviour of
convective flow intensity, vertical heat current, and concentration mixing. The
Dufour--induced changes in the bifurcation topology and the existence regimes
of stationary and traveling wave convection are elucidated. To check the
validity of the Galerkin results we compare with finite--difference numerical
simulations of the full hydrodynamical field equations. Furthermore, we report
on the scaling behaviour of linear properties of the stationary instability.Comment: 14 pages and 10 figures as uuencoded Postscript file (using uufiles
Influence of through-flow on linear pattern formation properties in binary mixture convection
We investigate how a horizontal plane Poiseuille shear flow changes linear
convection properties in binary fluid layers heated from below. The full linear
field equations are solved with a shooting method for realistic top and bottom
boundary conditions. Through-flow induced changes of the bifurcation thresholds
(stability boundaries) for different types of convective solutions are deter-
mined in the control parameter space spanned by Rayleigh number, Soret coupling
(positive as well as negative), and through-flow Reynolds number. We elucidate
the through-flow induced lifting of the Hopf symmetry degeneracy of left and
right traveling waves in mixtures with negative Soret coupling. Finally we
determine with a saddle point analysis of the complex dispersion relation of
the field equations over the complex wave number plane the borders between
absolute and convective instabilities for different types of perturbations in
comparison with the appropriate Ginzburg-Landau amplitude equation
approximation. PACS:47.20.-k,47.20.Bp, 47.15.-x,47.54.+rComment: 19 pages, 15 Postscript figure
Influence of the Soret effect on convection of binary fluids
Convection in horizontal layers of binary fluids heated from below and in
particular the influence of the Soret effect on the bifurcation properties of
extended stationary and traveling patterns that occur for negative Soret
coupling is investigated theoretically. The fixed points corresponding to these
two convection structures are determined for realistic boundary conditions with
a many mode Galerkin scheme for temperature and concentration and an accurate
one mode truncation of the velocity field. This solution procedure yields the
stable and unstable solutions for all stationary and traveling patterns so that
complete phase diagrams for the different convection types in typical binary
liquid mixtures can easily be computed. Also the transition from weakly to
strongly nonlinear states can be analyzed in detail. An investigation of the
concentration current and of the relevance of its constituents shows the way
for a simplification of the mode representation of temperature and
concentration field as well as for an analytically manageable few mode
description.Comment: 30 pages, 12 figure
The National Competency Framework for registered nurses in adult critical care: An overview
In the years following the abolition of the English National Board for Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting (ENB) in 2002, concerns were raised within the Critical Care nursing community about a lack of consistency in post-registration education programmes. In response to this the Critical Care Network National Nurse Leads (CC3N) formed a sub-group, the Critical Care Nurse Education Review Forum (CCNERF) to address these concerns. A review of UK course provision confirmed marked inconsistency in the length, content and associated academic award. The CCNERF commenced a two phase project, first developing national standards for critical care nurse education such as length of course and academic credit level; followed by the development of a national competency framework1, 2. Following significant review and revision, version two of the National Competency Framework for Registered Nurses in Adult Critical Care was published by CC3N in 20153. This paper introduces the National Competency Framework and provides an overview of its background, development and implementation. It then considers the future direction of UK post-registration Critical Care nurse education
Failing boys and moral panics: perspectives on the underachievement debate
The paper re-examines the underachievement debate from the perspective of the ‘discourse of derision’ that surrounds much writing in this area. It considers the contradictions and inconsistencies which underpin much of the discourse – from a reinterpretation of examination scores, to the conflation of the concepts of ‘under’ and ‘low’ achievement and finally to the lack of consensus on a means of defining and measuring the term underachievement. In doing so, this paper suggests a more innovative approach for understanding, re-evaluating and perhaps rejecting the notion of underachievement
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