193 research outputs found
Representations of integers by certain positive definite binary quadratic forms
We prove part of a conjecture of Borwein and Choi concerning an estimate on
the square of the number of solutions to n=x^2+Ny^2 for a squarefree integer N.Comment: 8 pages, submitte
Solid-state additive manufacturing for metallized optical fiber integration
The formation of smart, Metal Matrix Composite (MMC) structures through the use of solid-state Ultrasonic Additive Manufacturing (UAM) is currently hindered by the fragility of uncoated optical fibers under the required processing conditions. In this work, optical fibers equipped with metallic coatings were fully integrated into solid Aluminum matrices using processing parameter levels not previously possible. The mechanical performance of the resulting manufactured composite structure, as well as the functionality of the integrated fibers, was tested. Optical microscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Focused Ion Beam (FIB) analysis were used to characterize the interlaminar and fiber/matrix interfaces whilst mechanical peel testing was used to quantify bond strength. Via the integration of metallized optical fibers it was possible to increase the bond density by 20–22%, increase the composite mechanical strength by 12–29% and create a solid state bond between the metal matrix and fiber coating; whilst maintaining full fiber functionality
Survival in the presence of antifungals: genome-wide expression profiling of Aspergillus niger in response to sublethal concentrations of caspofungin and fenpropimorph
Microbiologi
Spin and orbital ordering in double-layered manganites
We study theoretically the phase diagram of the double-layered perovskite
manganites taking into account the orbital degeneracy, the strong Coulombic
repulsion, and the coupling with the lattice deformation. Observed spin
structural changes as the increased doping are explained in terms of the
orbital ordering and the bond-length dependence of the hopping integral along
-axis. Temperature dependence of the neutron diffraction peak corresponding
to the canting structure is also explained. Comparison with the 3D cubic system
is made.Comment: 7 figure
Expressing the equation of state parameter in terms of the three dimensional cosmic shear
We study the functional dependence of the spin-weighted angular moments of
the two-point correlation function of the three dimensional cosmic shear on the
expansion history of the universe. We first express the redshift dependent
total equation of state parameter in terms of the growing mode of the gauge
invariant metric perturbation in the conformal-Newtonian gauge for the case of
adiabatic perturbations. We then express the redshift dependent angular moments
of the shear two-point correlation function as an integral in terms of the
metric perturbation. We present the final explicit expression for the case of a
Harrison-Zeldovich spectrum of primordial perturbations. Our analysis is
restricted to the linear regime. We use our results to make a preliminary study
of the required sensitivity that will allow cosmic shear observations to add
significant information about the expansion history of the universe.Comment: Final version to appear in JCAP. Substantial improvements include
added preliminary numerial results and a realistic transfer functio
Social and cultural origins of motivations to volunteer a comparison of university students in six countries
Although participation in volunteering and motivations to volunteer (MTV) have received substantial attention on the national level, particularly in the US, few studies have compared and explained these issues across cultural and political contexts. This study compares how two theoretical perspectives, social origins theory and signalling theory, explain variations in MTV across different countries. The study analyses responses from a sample of 5794 students from six countries representing distinct institutional contexts. The findings provide strong support for signalling theory but less so for social origins theory. The article concludes that volunteering is a personal decision and thus is influenced more at the individual level but is also impacted to some degree by macro-level societal forces
Birthing practices of traditional birth attendants in South Asia in the context of training programmes
Traditional Birth Attendants (TBA) training has been an important component of public health policy interventions to improve maternal and child health in developing countries since the 1970s. More recently, since the 1990s, the TBA training strategy has been increasingly seen as irrelevant, ineffective or, on the whole, a failure due to evidence that the maternal mortality rate (MMR) in developing countries had not reduced. Although, worldwide data show that, by choice or out of necessity, 47 percent of births in the developing world are assisted by TBAs and/or family members, funding for TBA training has been reduced and moved to providing skilled birth attendants for all births. Any shift in policy needs to be supported by appropriate evidence on TBA roles in providing maternal and infant health care service and effectiveness of the training programmes. This article reviews literature on the characteristics and role of TBAs in South Asia with an emphasis on India. The aim was to assess the contribution of TBAs in providing maternal and infant health care service at different stages of pregnancy and after-delivery and birthing practices adopted in home births. The review of role revealed that apart from TBAs, there are various other people in the community also involved in making decisions about the welfare and health of the birthing mother and new born baby. However, TBAs have changing, localised but nonetheless significant roles in delivery, postnatal and infant care in India. Certain traditional birthing practices such as bathing babies immediately after birth, not weighing babies after birth and not feeding with colostrum are adopted in home births as well as health institutions in India. There is therefore a thin precarious balance between the application of biomedical and traditional knowledge. Customary rituals and perceptions essentially affect practices in home and institutional births and hence training of TBAs need to be implemented in conjunction with community awareness programmes
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