Day Plots of Bacterial Magnetite from Sediments of Shira Lake (Khakassia, Russia)

The domain state of magnetite detected in sediments of Shira lake (Khakassia, Russia) was examined by means of magnetic hysteresis. Analysis of experimental data obtained on samples from different parts of bottom sediment cores in terms of Day plots allowed us to conclude that magnetite particles are in the pseudo-single-domain state. This indicates respectively small size of magnetite particles (< 100 nm) and reveals their bacterial origin. Biogenic magnetite buried in the bottom sediments can indicate the climatic changes in the Shira lake level in the Late Holocen

Oxidation of Nb(110): atomic structure of the NbO layer and its influence on further oxidation.

NbO terminated Nb(110) and its oxidation are examined by scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy (STS). The oxide structures are strongly influenced by the structural and electronic properties of the underlying NbO substrate. The NbO is terminated by one-dimensional few-nanometer nanocrystals, which form an ordered pattern. High-resolution STS measurements reveal that the nanocrystals and the regions between the nanocrystals exhibit different electronic characters. Low-dosage oxidation, sufficient for sub-monolayer coverage of the NbO, with subsequent UHV annealing results in the formation of resolved sub-nanometer clusters, positioned in-between the nanocrystals. Higher dosage oxidation results in the formation of a closed Nb2O5-y layer, which is confirmed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements. The pentoxide is amorphous at the atomic-scale. However, large scale (tens of nanometers) structures are observed with their symmetry matching that of the underlying nanocrystals

On the New "Manual on Design of Composite Steel and Concrete Structures (in Elaboration of Formulary SP 266.13330.2016 "Composite Steel and Concrete Structures. Design Rules")"

The paper provides a brief overview of domestic and foreign guidelines (manuals) for the design of composite steel and concrete structures: steel-concrete slabs on profiled flooring, combined beams, and columns with rigid reinforcement. The necessity of creation of the actual manual corresponding to the modernlevel of development of construction science, normative documents and design practiceslinked to the new formulary SP 266.1325800.2016 is proved. It will facilitate the design, reduce labor expenditures and improve the reliability of composite steel and concrete structures. The new guidance provides general recommendations for the design of composite steel and concrete structures and the basic regulations for the calculations. The new guidance describes recommendations for modeling of composite steel and concrete structures and elements in the calculated complexes, the recommendations for calculation of combined beams fully concreting rectangular and T-section, partially concreting along with support slab on the lower flange of the beam, columns with rigid reinforcement, shear a connection of composite beams. Recommendations on the registration of creep, shrinkage and crack formation in the appointment of the modulus of elasticity are given. Recommendations on the use of diagrams of the state of concrete, reinforcement, and steel in the calculation of steel-concrete elements on a nonlinear deformation model are given. Recommendations on the use of the range of sheet flooring for steel-reinforced concrete slabs, as well as metal profiles as steel beams and rigid reinforcement in the cross sections of columns and combined beams, are presented. Recommendations on a design of units and details of composite steel and concrete structures are given, refined recommendations on buffer are presented. The examples of connection of steel beams with columns with rigid reinforcement are given. The examples of calculation of composite steel and concrete structures taking subject to the recommendations given in the Manual are presented

Step bunching with both directions of the current: Vicinal W(110) surfaces versus atomistic scale model

We report for the first time the observation of bunching of monoatomic steps on vicinal W(110) surfaces induced by step up or step down currents across the steps. Measurements reveal that the size scaling exponent {\gamma}, connecting the maximal slope of a bunch with its height, differs depending on the current direction. We provide a numerical perspective by using an atomistic scale model with a conserved surface flux to mimic experimental conditions, and also for the first time show that there is an interval of parameters in which the vicinal surface is unstable against step bunching for both directions of the adatom drift.Comment: 17 pages, 10 figure

Ultra-Sensitive Hot-Electron Nanobolometers for Terahertz Astrophysics

The background-limited spectral imaging of the early Universe requires spaceborne terahertz (THz) detectors with the sensitivity 2-3 orders of magnitude better than that of the state-of-the-art bolometers. To realize this sensitivity without sacrificing operating speed, novel detector designs should combine an ultrasmall heat capacity of a sensor with its unique thermal isolation. Quantum effects in thermal transport at nanoscale put strong limitations on the further improvement of traditional membrane-supported bolometers. Here we demonstrate an innovative approach by developing superconducting hot-electron nanobolometers in which the electrons are cooled only due to a weak electron-phonon interaction. At T<0.1K, the electron-phonon thermal conductance in these nanodevices becomes less than one percent of the quantum of thermal conductance. The hot-electron nanobolometers, sufficiently sensitive for registering single THz photons, are very promising for submillimeter astronomy and other applications based on quantum calorimetry and photon counting.Comment: 19 pages, 3 color figure

Quantum-inspired optimization for wavelength assignment

Problems related to wavelength assignment (WA) in optical communications networks involve allocating transmission wavelengths for known transmission paths between nodes that minimize a certain objective function, for example, the total number of wavelengths. Playing a central role in modern telecommunications, this problem belongs to NP-complete class for a general case so that obtaining optimal solutions for industry-relevant cases is exponentially hard. In this work, we propose and develop a quantum-inspired algorithm for solving the wavelength assignment problem. We propose an advanced embedding procedure to transform this problem into the quadratic unconstrained binary optimization (QUBO) form, having a improvement in the number of iterations with price-to-pay being a slight increase in the number of variables (“spins”). Then, we compare a quantum-inspired technique for solving the corresponding QUBO form against classical heuristic and industrial combinatorial solvers. The obtained numerical results indicate on an advantage of the quantum-inspired approach in a substantial number of test cases against the industrial combinatorial solver that works in the standard setting. Our results pave the way to the use of quantum-inspired algorithms for practical problems in telecommunications and open a perspective for further analysis of the use of quantum computing devices

Label-free characterization of white blood cells using fluorescence lifetime imaging and flow-cytometry: molecular heterogeneity and erythrophagocytosis [Invited]

Article reporting the results of blood cell characterization using label-free fluorescence imaging techniques and flow-cytometry. Autofluorescence parameters of different cell types – white blood cells, red blood cells, erythrophagocytic cells – are assessed and analyzed in terms of molecular heterogeneity and possibilities of differentiation between different cell types in vitro and in vivo

Design, Performance, and Calibration of CMS Hadron Endcap Calorimeters

Detailed measurements have been made with the CMS hadron calorimeter endcaps (HE) in response to beams of muons, electrons, and pions. Readout of HE with custom electronics and hybrid photodiodes (HPDs) shows no change of performance compared to readout with commercial electronics and photomultipliers. When combined with lead-tungstenate crystals, an energy resolution of 8\% is achieved with 300 GeV/c pions. A laser calibration system is used to set the timing and monitor operation of the complete electronics chain. Data taken with radioactive sources in comparison with test beam pions provides an absolute initial calibration of HE to approximately 4\% to 5\%

Design, Performance and Calibration of the CMS Forward Calorimeter Wedges

We report on the test beam results and calibration methods using charged particles of the CMS Forward Calorimeter (HF). The HF calorimeter covers a large pseudorapidity region (3\l |\eta| \le 5), and is essential for large number of physics channels with missing transverse energy. It is also expected to play a prominent role in the measurement of forward tagging jets in weak boson fusion channels. The HF calorimeter is based on steel absorber with embedded fused-silica-core optical fibers where Cherenkov radiation forms the basis of signal generation. Thus, the detector is essentially sensitive only to the electromagnetic shower core and is highly non-compensating (e/h \approx 5). This feature is also manifest in narrow and relatively short showers compared to similar calorimeters based on ionization. The choice of fused-silica optical fibers as active material is dictated by its exceptional radiation hardness. The electromagnetic energy resolution is dominated by photoelectron statistics and can be expressed in the customary form as a/\sqrt{E} + b. The stochastic term a is 198% and the constant term b is 9%. The hadronic energy resolution is largely determined by the fluctuations in the neutral pion production in showers, and when it is expressed as in the electromagnetic case, a = 280% and b = 11%