Search for Spatial Structures at Scales Z~1. III. The Effect of Lensing on QSO ?

We carried out a search for peak inhomogeneities in the distribution of matter - namely clumps and voids, within the range Z ~ 1-3. We used a new method, based on the lensing of quasars by a combination of lenses, belonging to the above sought inhomogeneities in the matter distribution. This work confirms the evidence of the existence of inhomogeneities found by us earlier - of a clump (superattractor N.1), and of a void (supervoid). Besides, the existence of a new gigantic clump (superattractor N.2) was also discovered at Z ~ 3. These clumps could well serve as centers of the Bose-condensation in the early Universe; in particular - as Anselm's arion condensate, which leads to the formation of quasiperiodic structures with a period p ~ 100-200 Mpc.Comment: 22 pages, 2 figures, 6 tables. submitted to Astrophys.& Space Sc

Step Bunching with Alternation of Structural Parameters

By taking account of the alternation of structural parameters, we study bunching of impermeable steps induced by drift of adatoms on a vicinal face of Si(001). With the alternation of diffusion coefficient, the step bunching occurs irrespective of the direction of the drift if the step distance is large. Like the bunching of permeable steps, the type of large terraces is determined by the drift direction. With step-down drift, step bunches grows faster than those with step-up drift. The ratio of the growth rates is larger than the ratio of the diffusion coefficients. Evaporation of adatoms, which does not cause the step bunching, decreases the difference. If only the alternation of kinetic coefficient is taken into account, the step bunching occurs with step-down drift. In an early stage, the initial fluctuation of the step distance determines the type of large terraces, but in a late stage, the type of large terraces is opposite to the case of alternating diffusion coefficient.Comment: 8pages, 16 figure

Social media use and impact during the holiday travel planning process

Through an empirical study among holiday travellers, residing in the Former Soviet Union Republics, this paper presents a comprehensive view of role and impact of social media on the whole holiday travel planning process: Before, during and after the trip, providing insights on usage levels, scope of use, level of influence and trust. Findings suggest that social media are predominantly used after holidays for experience sharing. It is also shown that there is a strong correlation between perceived level of influence from social media and changes made in holiday plans prior to final decisions. Moreover, it is revealed that user-generated content is perceived as more trustworthy when compared to official tourism websites, travel agents and mass media advertising

ART-XC: A Medium-energy X-ray Telescope System for the Spectrum-R-Gamma Mission

The ART-XC instrument is an X-ray grazing-incidence telescope system in an ABRIXAS-type optical configuration optimized for the survey observational mode of the Spectrum-RG astrophysical mission which is scheduled to be launched in 2011. ART-XC has two units, each equipped with four identical X-ray multi-shell mirror modules. The optical axes of the individual mirror modules are not parallel but are separated by several degrees to permit the four modules to share a single CCD focal plane detector, 1/4 of the area each. The 450-micron-thick pnCCD (similar to the adjacent eROSITA telescope detector) will allow detection of X-ray photons up to 15 keV. The field of view of the individual mirror module is about 18 x 18 arcminutes(exp 2) and the sensitivity of the ART-XC system for 4 years of survey will be better than 10(exp -12) erg s(exp -1) cm(exp -2) over the 4-12 keV energy band. This will allow the ART-XC instrument to discover several thousand new AGNs

New Symmetries in Crystals and Handed Structures

For over a century, the structure of materials has been described by a combination of rotations, rotation-inversions and translational symmetries. By recognizing the reversal of static structural rotations between clockwise and counterclockwise directions as a distinct symmetry operation, here we show that there are many more structural symmetries than are currently recognized in right- or left-handed handed helices, spirals, and in antidistorted structures composed equally of rotations of both handedness. For example, though a helix or spiral cannot possess conventional mirror or inversion symmetries, they can possess them in combination with the rotation reversal symmetry. Similarly, we show that many antidistorted perovskites possess twice the number of symmetry elements as conventionally identified. These new symmetries predict new forms for "roto" properties that relate to static rotations, such as rotoelectricity, piezorotation, and rotomagnetism. They also enable symmetry-based search for new phenomena, such as multiferroicity involving a coupling of spins, electric polarization and static rotations. This work is relevant to structure-property relationships in all material structures with static rotations such as minerals, polymers, proteins, and engineered structures.Comment: 15 Pages, 4 figures, 3 Tables; Fig. 2b has error

Higgs Bosons Production with Photons at Lepton-Antilepton Colliders

By model independent way scalar and pseudoscalar neutral Higgs boson production with photon in the tree process $\mu^+\mu^- \to H^0 \gamma$ are considered.For the Standard Model and Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model cases numerical estimates are obtained.The model independent flavour changing Higgs bosons production in the tree processes $e^+e^-,\mu^+e^- \to H^0_{fc} \gamma$ is also considered.Comment: 12 pages, LaTeX file, using eps.sty, 4 ps figures include

Key Intervention Characteristics in e-Health: Steps Towards Standardized Communication

PURPOSE: This paper reports expert opinion on e-health intervention characteristics that enable effective communication of characteristics across the diverse field of e-health interventions. The paper presents a visualization tool to support communication of the defining characteristics. METHODS: An initial list of e-health intervention characteristics was developed through an iterative process of item generation and discussion among the 12 authors. The list was distributed to 123 experts in the field, who were emailed an invitation to assess and rank the items. Participants were asked to evaluate these characteristics in three separate ways. RESULTS: A total of 50 responses were received for a response rate of 40.7%. Six respondents who reported having little or no expertise in e-health research were removed from the dataset. Our results suggest that 10 specific intervention characteristics were consistently supported as of central importance by the panel of 44 e-intervention experts. The weight and perceived relevance of individual items differed between experts; oftentimes, this difference is a result of the individual theoretical perspective and/or behavioral target of interest. CONCLUSIONS: The first iteration of the visualization of salient characteristics represents an ambitious effort to develop a tool that will support communication of the defining characteristics for e-health interventions aimed to assist e-health developers and researchers to communicate the key characteristics of their interventions in a standardized manner that facilitates dialog

Climate change implications for tidal marshes and food web linkages to estuarine and coastal nekton

Climate change is altering naturally fluctuating environmental conditions in coastal and estuarine ecosystems across the globe. Departures from long-term averages and ranges of environmental variables are increasingly being observed as directional changes [e.g., rising sea levels, sea surface temperatures (SST)] and less predictable periodic cycles (e.g., Atlantic or Pacific decadal oscillations) and extremes (e.g., coastal flooding, marine heatwaves). Quantifying the short- and long-term impacts of climate change on tidal marsh seascape structure and function for nekton is a critical step toward fisheries conservation and management. The multiple stressor framework provides a promising approach for advancing integrative, cross-disciplinary research on tidal marshes and food web dynamics. It can be used to quantify climate change effects on and interactions between coastal oceans (e.g., SST, ocean currents, waves) and watersheds (e.g., precipitation, river flows), tidal marsh geomorphology (e.g., vegetation structure, elevation capital, sedimentation), and estuarine and coastal nekton (e.g., species distributions, life history adaptations, predator-prey dynamics). However, disentangling the cumulative impacts of multiple interacting stressors on tidal marshes, whether the effects are additive, synergistic, or antagonistic, and the time scales at which they occur, poses a significant research challenge. This perspective highlights the key physical and ecological processes affecting tidal marshes, with an emphasis on the trophic linkages between marsh production and estuarine and coastal nekton, recommended for consideration in future climate change studies. Such studies are urgently needed to understand climate change effects on tidal marshes now and into the future