21,841 research outputs found
Feasibility and benefits of laminar flow control on supersonic cruise airplanes
An evaluation was made of the applicability and benefits of laminar flow control (LFC) technology to supersonic cruise airplanes. Ancillary objectives were to identify the technical issues critical to supersonic LFC application, and to determine how those issues can be addressed through flight and wind-tunnel testing. Vehicle types studied include a Mach 2.2 supersonic transport configuration, a Mach 4.0 transport, and two Mach 2-class fighter concepts. Laminar flow control methodologies developed for subsonic and transonic wing laminarization were extended and applied. No intractible aerodynamic problems were found in applying LFC to airplanes of the Mach 2 class, even ones of large size. Improvements of 12 to 17 percent in lift-drag ratios were found. Several key technical issues, such as contamination avoidance and excresence criteria were identified. Recommendations are made for their resolution. A need for an inverse supersonic wing design methodology is indicated
First-principle density-functional calculation of the Raman spectra of BEDT-TTF
We present a first-principles density-functional calculation for the Raman
spectra of a neutral BEDT-TTF molecule. Our results are in excellent agreement
with experimental results. We show that a planar structure is not a stable
state of a neutral BEDT-TTF molecule. We consider three possible conformations
and discuss their relation to disorder in these systems.Comment: 3 pages, 2 figures, submitted to the proceedings of ISCOM 200
What criteria do police officers use to measure the success of an interview with a child?
This study used a mixed-methods approach to explore the perceptions of a heterogeneous sample of 75 police interviewers regarding their performance in a mock interview with a 5-7-year-old child. Each officer recruited for this study was authorised to conduct investigative interviews with children. Specifically, we explored how the officers\u27 perception of what makes a good interview differs depending on their background experience and their (perceived and actual) ability to adhere to best-practice interview guidelines. Overall, the officers\u27 perceptions of what constitutes an effective interview were not entirely consistent with those held by experts in forensic interviewing. The majority of the interviewers perceived that the locus of control in the interview rested primarily with the child and/or the environmental setting. In contrast, experts tend to place the central onus of responsibility for the outcome of an interview on the skill of the interviewer in using open-ended questions. Several possible explanations for, and the implications of, these findings are discussed.<br /
Child abuse investigation: an in depth analysis of how police officers perceive and cope with daily work challenges
Purpose: The purpose of the current study was two-fold: to explore police officers\u27 perceptions of the daily challenges involved in child abuse investigation and how those challenges affect their ability to undertake child abuse investigations, and to explore how these challenges are managed on a daily basis. Design/methodology/approach: This study employed a qualitative research design. In-depth interviews were conducted with a diverse sample of 25 police officers working in child abuse units across three Australian states. Findings: Inductive thematic analysis revealed that heavy caseload and collaboration with other professional groups are two key sources of negative work stress frequently associated with child abuse investigation. Further, despite the provision of organisational strategies aimed at reducing work stress, the officers tended to rely predominantly on informal coping mechanisms. Research limitations/implications: This study has raised many questions for further research aimed at developing interventions to assist police organisations in managing work stress. Originality/value: This paper provides an in-depth analysis of the key challenges associated with child abuse investigation and the coping mechanisms employed for overcoming these challenges from the unique perspective of police officers authorised to investigate child abuse.<br /
A phenomenological model of the superconducting state of the Bechgaard salts
We present a group theoretical analysis of the superconducting state of the
Bechgaard salts, e.g., (TMTSF)_2PF_6 or (TMTSF)_2ClO_6. We show that there are
eight symmetry distinct superconducting states. Of these only the (fully
gapped, even frequency, p-wave, triplet) 'polar state' is consistent with the
full range of the experiments on the Bechgaard salts. The gap of the polar
state is d(k) (psi_uk,0,0), where psi_uk may be any odd parity function that is
translationally invariant.Comment: 4 pages, no figure
The Sunyaev-Zel'dovich temperature of the intracluster medium
The relativistic Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SZ) effect offers a method, independent
of X-ray, for measuring the temperature of the intracluster medium (ICM) in the
hottest systems. Here, using N-body/hydrodynamic simulations of three galaxy
clusters, we compare the two quantities for a non-radiative ICM, and for one
that is subject both to radiative cooling and strong energy feedback from
galaxies. Our study has yielded two interesting results. Firstly, in all cases,
the SZ temperature is hotter than the X-ray temperature and is within ten per
cent of the virial temperature of the cluster. Secondly, the mean SZ
temperature is less affected by cooling and feedback than the X-ray
temperature. Both these results can be explained by the SZ temperature being
less sensitive to the distribution of cool gas associated with cluster
substructure. A comparison of the SZ and X-ray temperatures (measured for a
sample of hot clusters) would therefore yield interesting constraints on the
thermodynamic structure of the intracluster gas.Comment: This version accepted for publication in MNRAS following minor
revisio
Epileptic high-frequency network activity in a model of non-lesional temporal lobe epilepsy
High-frequency cortical activity, particularly in the 250–600 Hz (fast ripple) band, has been implicated in playing a crucial role in epileptogenesis and seizure generation. Fast ripples are highly specific for the seizure initiation zone. However, evidence for the association of fast ripples with epileptic foci depends on animal models and human cases with substantial lesions in the form of hippocampal sclerosis, which suggests that neuronal loss may be required for fast ripples. In the present work, we tested whether cell loss is a necessary prerequisite for the generation of fast ripples, using a non-lesional model of temporal lobe epilepsy that lacks hippocampal sclerosis. The model is induced by unilateral intrahippocampal injection of tetanus toxin. Recordings from the hippocampi of freely-moving epileptic rats revealed high-frequency activity (4100 Hz), including fast ripples. High-frequency activity was present both during interictal discharges and seizure onset. Interictal fast ripples proved a significantly more reliable marker of the primary epileptogenic zone than the presence of either interictal discharges or ripples (100–250 Hz). These results suggest that fast ripple activity should be considered for its potential value in the pre-surgical workup of non-lesional temporal lobe epilepsy
Comparison of the phase diagram of the half-filled layered organic superconductors with the phase diagram of the RVB theory of the Hubbard-Heisenberg model
We present an resonating valence bond (RVB) theory of superconductivity for
the Hubbard--Heisenberg model on an anisotropic triangular lattice. We show
that these calculations are consistent with the observed phase diagram of the
half-filled layered organic superconductors, such as the beta, beta', kappa and
lambda phases of (BEDT-TTF)_2X [bis(ethylenedithio)tetrathiafulvalene] and
(BETS)_2X [bis(ethylenedithio)tetraselenafulvalene]. We find a first order
transition from a Mott insulator to a d_{x^2-y^2} superconductor with a small
superfluid stiffness and a pseudogap with d_{x^2-y^2} symmetry. The
Mott--Hubbard transition can be driven either by increasing the on-site Coulomb
repulsion, U, or by changing the anisotropy of the two hopping integrals, t'/t.
Our results suggest that the ratio t'/t plays an important role in determining
the phase diagram of the organic superconductors.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figur
Hypersonic performance, stability and control characteristics of a .0075 scale model Rockwell International 089B-139B orbiter configuration
An investigation was made in the Langley Continuous Flow Hypersonic Tunnel at a Mach number of 10.3 to study the hypersonic aerodynamic characteristics of a Rockwell International shuttle orbiter configuration. Tests were made at a Reynolds number of 790,000 x 106 based on body length with an angle-of-attack range of 10 to 35 deg and sideslip variations of +1 to -9 deg. The effects of elevon and body flap deflection were investigated
Radiationless Travelling Waves In Saturable Nonlinear Schr\"odinger Lattices
The longstanding problem of moving discrete solitary waves in nonlinear
Schr{\"o}dinger lattices is revisited. The context is photorefractive crystal
lattices with saturable nonlinearity whose grand-canonical energy barrier
vanishes for isolated coupling strength values. {\em Genuinely localised
travelling waves} are computed as a function of the system parameters {\it for
the first time}. The relevant solutions exist only for finite velocities.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure
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