Nanogratings Formation in a System of Ultra-short Laser Pulses – Metalloorganic Gas – Deposited Metal – Sapphire in Sinergetic Interference Field with Waveguide Modes Participation

Experimental results of laser-induced deposition of structured metal films from metalloorganic vapor have been analyzed. A new physical model has been put forward to explain the results. The model is based on the interference phenomena between the incident laser radiation and waveguide modes of a thermally induced gradient waveguide in the substrate. Keywords: femtosecond radiation, metal deposition, interference, waveguide modes, surface nanogratings

Measurement of pressure and assessment of cavitation for a 22.5-kHz intra-arterial angioplasty device

This study was performed to understand better the mechanisms of action of an (22.5 kHz) ultrasonic wire catheter device used to remove atheromatous plaque in diseased blood vessels (ultrasonic angioplasty). During a clinical procedure, the wire acts as an acoustic waveguide to transfer acoustic energy from a generator outside the body to the ball tip of the wire, which is inserted in the blood vessel. The acoustic field radiated by the vibrating ball tip (1.5- to 3.0-mm diameter), was mapped in a relatively large (600 L) water tank and compared to the field from a well-characterized simple source. A dipolelike radiation pattern due to the translating ball tip was observed. At low power settings, standing wave effects in a smaller cylindrical volume (200-mm diameter, 350-mm height), which was used to simulate anthropometric dimensions, increase relative to the larger tank measurements. The standing wave ratio is dependent upon the pc characteristics of the medium and the dimensions of the volume, rather than on the absorption at this frequency. At high power-settings of the device, cavitation at the tip of the wire was measured using a 20-MHz passive cavitation detection scheme

A Preliminary Survey on Islamic Mysticism in Java

Berbagai praktik mistik telah berkembang di kalangan masyarakat Jawa. Kemunculan praktik tersebut sebenarnya dapat dilacak dari konteks sejarah masuknya Islam ke Indonesia, dan Jawa pada khususnya. Artikel ini bertujuan untuk mengeksplorasi Islam dan mistisime di Jawa, yakni menjelaskan rasionalitas dari penerimaan komunitas Muslim atas penyebaran mistisisme Islam dan penyebaran mistisisme Islam itu sendiri di Jawa. Penelitian ini menyimpulkan bahwa mistisime Jawa tumbuh subur dalam hampir setiap sendi kehidupan; di lingkungan keluarga istana, pesantren, grup kebatinan, dan di tingkat publik secara umum. Hal ini terjadi karena Islam yang sebenarnya diperkenalkan ke Indonesia dan Jawa, khususnya, adalah Islam yang dirumuskan sebagai Islam mistik. Mistisisme Islam lebih mudah berkembang sebagaimana ia juga dapat menyesuaikan diri dengan pemahaman pubik masyarakat Jawa

Convergence of eigenfunction expansions corresponding to nonlinear Sturm-Liouville operators

It is well known that the classical linear Sturm-Liouville eigenvalue problem is self-adjoint and possesses a family of eigenfunctions which form an orthonormal basis for the space L. A natural question is to ask if a similar result holds for nonlinear problems. In the present paper, we examine the basis property for eigenfunctions of nonlinear Sturm-Liouville equations subject to general linear, separated boundary conditions

Spin-guides and spin-splitters: Waveguide analogies in one-dimensional spin chains

Here we show a direct mapping between waveguide theory and spin chain transport, opening an alternative approach to quantum information transport in the solid-state. By applying temporally varying control profiles to a spin chain, we design a virtual waveguide or 'spin-guide' to conduct individual spin excitations along defined space-time trajectories of the chain. We explicitly show that the concepts of confinement, adiabatic bend loss and beamsplitting can be mapped from optical waveguide theory to spin-guides (and hence 'spin-splitters'). Importantly, the spatial scale of applied control pulses is required to be large compared to the inter-spin spacing, and thereby allowing the design of scalable control architectures.Comment: 5 figure

Quantum phase transitions in photonic cavities with two-level systems

Systems of coupled photonic cavities have been predicted to exhibit quantum phase transitions by analogy with the Hubbard model. To this end, we have studied topologies of few (up to six) photonic cavities each containing a single two-level system. Quantum phase space diagrams are produced for these systems, and compared to mean-field results. We also consider finite effective temperature, and compare this to the notion of disorder. We find the extent of the Mott lobes shrink analogously to the conventional Bose-Hubbard model.Comment: 11 pages, 11 figures, updated typo

A successful lifestyle intervention model replicated in diverse clinical settings

Lifestyle interventions (LIs) can treat metabolic syndrome and prevent type 2 diabetes mellitus, but they remain underutilised in routine practice. In 2010, an LI model was created in a rural primary care practice and spread with few resources to four other rural practices. A retrospective chart review evaluated changes in health indicators in two practice environments by following 372 participants, mainly women (mean age 52  years). Participants had a mean body mass index of 37 kg/m2 at baseline and lost an average of 12% of their initial body weight as a result of the intervention. Among  participants at the first intervention site for whom cardiometabolic data were available, the prevalence of metabolic syndrome decreased from 58% at baseline to 19% at follow-up. Taken as a whole, our experience suggests that LIs are feasible and deliver meaningful results in routine primary care practice

The effect of different combinations of vascular, dependency and cognitive endpoints on the sample size required to detect a treatment effect in trials of treatments to improve outcome after lacunar and non-lacunar ischaemic stroke

Background Endpoints that are commonly used in trials of moderate/severe stroke may be less frequent in patients with minor, non-disabling stroke thus inflating sample sizes. We tested whether trial efficiency might be improved with composite endpoints. Methods We prospectively recruited patients with lacunar and minor non-lacunar ischaemic stroke (NIHSS ≤ 7) and assessed recurrent vascular events (stroke, transient ischaemic attack (TIA), ischemic heart disease (IHD)), modified Rankin Score (mRS) and cognitive testing with the Addenbrooke’s Cognitive Examination (ACE-R) one year post-stroke. For a potential secondary prevention randomised controlled trial (RCT), we estimated sample sizes using individual or combined outcomes, at power 80% (and 90%), alpha 5%, required to detect a relative 10% risk reduction. Results Amongst 264 patients (118 lacunar, 146 non-lacunar), at one year, 30/264 (11%) patients had a recurrent vascular event, 5 (2%) had died, 3 (1%) had clinically-diagnosed dementia, 53/264 (20%) had mRS ≥ 3 and 29/158 (19%) had ACE-R ≤ 82 (57 could not attend for cognitive testing). For a potential trial, at 80% power, using mRS ≥ 3 alone would require n > 5000 participants, recurrent vascular events alone n = 9908 participants, and a composite of any recurrent vascular event, ACE-R ≤ 82, dementia or mRS ≥ 2 (present in 56% of patients) n = 2224 patients. However, including cognition increased missing data. Results were similar for lacunar and non-lacunar minor ischaemic stroke. Conclusions Composite outcomes including vascular events, dependency, and cognition reduce sample size and increase efficiency, feasibility, and relevance to patients of RCTs in minor ischaemic stroke. Efficiency might be improved further with more practical cognitive test strategies