385 research outputs found
Tunable Depletion Potentials Driven By Shape Variation Of Surfactant Micelles
Depletion interaction potentials between micron-sized colloidal particles are induced by nanometer-scale surfactant micelles composed of hexaethylene glycol monododecyl ether (C12E6), and they are measured by video microscopy. The strength and range of the depletion interaction is revealed to arise from variations in shape anisotropy of the surfactant micelles. This shape anisotropy increases with increasing sample temperature. By fitting the colloidal interaction potentials to theoretical models, we extract micelle length and shape anisotropy as a function of temperature. This work introduces shape anisotropy tuning as a means to control interparticle interactions in colloidal suspensions, and it shows how the interparticle depletion potentials of micron-scale objects can be employed to probe the shape and size of surrounding macromolecules at the nanoscale
Charged black holes: Wave equations for gravitational and electromagnetic perturbations
A pair of wave equations for the electromagnetic and gravitational
perturbations of the charged Kerr black hole are derived. The perturbed
Einstein-Maxwell equations in a new gauge are employed in the derivation. The
wave equations refer to the perturbed Maxwell spinor and to the shear
of a principal null direction of the Weyl curvature. The whole
construction rests on the tripod of three distinct derivatives of the first
curvature of a principal null direction.Comment: 12 pages, to appear in Ap.
Reactions of a Be-10 beam on proton and deuteron targets
The extraction of detailed nuclear structure information from transfer
reactions requires reliable, well-normalized data as well as optical potentials
and a theoretical framework demonstrated to work well in the relevant mass and
beam energy ranges. It is rare that the theoretical ingredients can be tested
well for exotic nuclei owing to the paucity of data. The halo nucleus Be-11 has
been examined through the 10Be(d,p) reaction in inverse kinematics at
equivalent deuteron energies of 12,15,18, and 21.4 MeV. Elastic scattering of
Be-10 on protons was used to select optical potentials for the analysis of the
transfer data. Additionally, data from the elastic and inelastic scattering of
Be-10 on deuterons was used to fit optical potentials at the four measured
energies. Transfers to the two bound states and the first resonance in Be-11
were analyzed using the Finite Range ADiabatic Wave Approximation (FR-ADWA).
Consistent values of the spectroscopic factor of both the ground and first
excited states were extracted from the four measurements, with average values
of 0.71(5) and 0.62(4) respectively. The calculations for transfer to the first
resonance were found to be sensitive to the size of the energy bin used and
therefore could not be used to extract a spectroscopic factor.Comment: 16 Pages, 10 figure
State Transition Algorithm
In terms of the concepts of state and state transition, a new heuristic
random search algorithm named state transition algorithm is proposed. For
continuous function optimization problems, four special transformation
operators called rotation, translation, expansion and axesion are designed.
Adjusting measures of the transformations are mainly studied to keep the
balance of exploration and exploitation. Convergence analysis is also discussed
about the algorithm based on random search theory. In the meanwhile, to
strengthen the search ability in high dimensional space, communication strategy
is introduced into the basic algorithm and intermittent exchange is presented
to prevent premature convergence. Finally, experiments are carried out for the
algorithms. With 10 common benchmark unconstrained continuous functions used to
test the performance, the results show that state transition algorithms are
promising algorithms due to their good global search capability and convergence
property when compared with some popular algorithms.Comment: 18 pages, 28 figure
The emergence of international food safety standards and guidelines: understanding the current landscape through a historical approach
Following the Second World War, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) teamed up to construct an International Codex Alimentarius (or 'food code') which emerged in 1963. The Codex Committee on Food Hygiene (CCFH) was charged with the task of developing microbial hygiene standards, although it found itself embroiled in debate with the WHO over the nature these standards should take. The WHO was increasingly relying upon the input of biometricians and especially the International Commission on Microbial Specifications for Foods (ICMSF) which had developed statistical sampling plans for determining the microbial counts in the final end products. The CCFH, however, was initially more focused on a qualitative approach which looked at the entire food production system and developed codes of practice as well as more descriptive end-product specifications which the WHO argued were 'not scientifically correct'. Drawing upon historical archival material (correspondence and reports) from the WHO and FAO, this article examines this debate over microbial hygiene standards and suggests that there are many lessons from history which could shed light upon current debates and efforts in international food safety management systems and approaches
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HLW Glass Studies: Development of Crystal-Tolerant HLW Glasses
In our study, a series of lab-scale crucible tests were performed on designed glasses of different compositions to further investigate and simulate the effect of Cr, Ni, Fe, Al, Li, and RuO2 on the accumulation rate of spinel crystals in the glass discharge riser of the HLW melter. The experimental data were used to expand the compositional region covered by an empirical model developed previously (Matyáš et al. 2010b), improving its predictive performance. We also investigated the mechanism for agglomeration of particles and impact of agglomerates on accumulation rate. In addition, the TL was measured as a function of temperature and composition
HLW Glass Studies: Development of Crystal-Tolerant HLW Glasses
In our study, a series of lab-scale crucible tests were performed on designed glasses of different compositions to further investigate and simulate the effect of Cr, Ni, Fe, Al, Li, and RuO2 on the accumulation rate of spinel crystals in the glass discharge riser of the HLW melter. The experimental data were used to expand the compositional region covered by an empirical model developed previously (Matyáš et al. 2010b), improving its predictive performance. We also investigated the mechanism for agglomeration of particles and impact of agglomerates on accumulation rate. In addition, the TL was measured as a function of temperature and composition
Use of a differential pressure transducer for the monitoring of soil volume change in cyclic triaxial test on unsaturated soils
A new experimental set-up using a differential pressure transducer was
developed, that enables the monitoring of volume changes in cyclic triaxial
tests on unsaturated soils. Calibration tests were performed in order to
analyze the performance of the set-up, especially in terms of loading
frequencies. Based on calibration results, a low frequency of 0.05 Hz was
adopted for the tests carried out on the unsaturated loess from northern
France. Five water contents were considered in the tests. The obtained results
have confirmed the efficiency of the new system for volume change monitoring
under cyclic loading. The effect of water content on the cyclic behavior of
loess was clearly evidenced. Finally, some suggestions were made to improve the
accuracy of the system
Halo Nucleus Be11: A Spectroscopic Study via Neutron Transfer
This is the publisher's version, also available electronically from http://journals.aps.org/prl/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevLett.108.192701
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