Event-by-Event Fluctuations of Particle Ratios in Heavy-Ion Collisions

We study event-by-event dynamical fluctuations of various particle ratios at different energies. We assume that particle production in final state is due to chemical equilibrium processes. We compare results from resonance gas model with available experimental data. At SPS energies, the model can very well reproduce the experimentally measured fluctuations. We make predictions for dynamical fluctuations of strangeness and non-strangeness particle ratios. We found that the energy-dependence is non-monotonic. Furthermore, we found that fluctuations strongly depend on particle ratios.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figure, 1 tabl

Experimental studies of nanofluid thermal conductivity enhancement and applications: A review

In many applications, there is a critical need for enhancing the poor thermal conductivity of conventional fluids in order to develop efficient heat transfer fluids. This requirement can be met through dispersing nanometric particles in a given base fluid such as water, ethylene glycol, oil or air. The resulting nanofluids enhanced thermal conductivity of the base fluids. In order to evaluate this enhancement, nanofluid thermal conductivity is required to be measured. Several methods and techniques are covered in the present contribution. In addition, enhancements recorded experimentally are reviewed and summarized. Different parameters affecting on such enhancement are covered, including: nanoparticle concentration, size, shape and thermal conductivity. In addition, base fluid type, nanofluid bulk temperature and dispersion techniques are also covered parameters. However, nanofluids have the potential to contribute in several practical applications including solar thermal, transportation, electronic cooling, medical, detergency and military applications. In the present work, a brief overview of evolution in the use of nanofluids in some applications has been presented. According to this contribution, there is a critical need for further fundamental and applications of nanofluids studies in order to understand the physical mechanisms of using nanofluids as well as explore different aspects of applications of nanofluids

Investigating the Effects of Shear Stress on the Protein Expression of Lymphatic Endothelial Cells (LECs)

The lymphatic system plays three main important roles: Its cells are primarily responsible for the immune response of the human body, it represents a separate circulatory system, and it is involved in the transport of select nutrients from the digestive system to the circulatory system. All of these functions rely on the generation and regulation of the lymph flow along the lymphatic network. Any malfunction in the flow within the lymphatic network could potentially lead to an anomaly in the body as whole. Moreover, any imbalance within the fluid reabsorption of the interstitial fluid could lead to edema, which is a common problem worldwide. The lymphatic vasculature acts also as a conduit for cancer metastasis. My research will investigate the effects of shear forces on gene expression within lymphatic endothelial cells. Identification of factors that trigger gene expression in LECs also has implications for cancer metastasis as well as the pathophysiology of lymphatic edema. The expected outcomes for this research project is that it may identify changes in shear forces that may result in altered gene expression in lymphatic endothelial cells that may have a role in lymphatic edema

Evaluation of yolk sac size and embryonic heart rate in first trimester and pregnancy outcome

Background: Accurate differentiation between normal pregnancy and pregnancy loss in early gestation remains a clinical challenge-previous studies have described the association between embryonic well-beings and the characteristics of gestational sac. The aim of the study was to evaluate the yolk sac size and embryonic heart rate as a prognostic factor for the first trimester pregnancy outcome.Methods: This was a prospective cohort observesional study. It included 52 pregnant women in their first trimester from 6 week till 12 weeks gestation. Transvaginal sonographic examination after explanation and agreement of each patient. All pregnancies were followed for their pregnancy outcome after completion of 12 weeks. The adverse outcome was spontaneous miscarriage occurring before or at 12 weeks of gestation. These patients allocated into four study groups: according to gestational age at presentation and pregnancy outcome. Group I included women who were examined during (6-7 weeks+6 days). Group II included women who were examined during (8-9 weeks+6 days). Group III included women who were examined during (10-12 weeks). Group IV included women who had their pregnancies resulted into first trimester spontaneous miscarriage.Results: The validity of YS diameter regarding the prognosis of first trimester pregnancy outcome shows that; YSD had 100% specificity and 97.8% sensitivity in prediction of miscarriage. Regarding embryonic heartbeat, there was a statistically significant difference between group IV and the other groups. There was embryonic bradycardia in the miscarriage group. EHR had a sensitivity of 97.5% and specificity of 100% in prediction of first trimester pregnancy outcome.Conclusions: Abnormal yolk sac diameter, in the form of small, enlarged, absent or irregular yolk sac, and embryonic bradycardia are associated with poor pregnancy outcome

Opportunistic Spectrum Sharing using Dumb Basis Patterns: The Line-of-Sight Interference Scenario

We investigate a spectrum-sharing system with non-severely faded mutual interference links, where both the secondary-to-primary and primary-to-secondary channels have a Line-of-Sight (LoS) component. Based on a Rician model for the LoS channels, we show, analytically and numerically, that LoS interference hinders the achievable secondary user capacity. This is caused by the poor dynamic range of the interference channels fluctuations when a dominant LoS component exists. In order to improve the capacity of such system, we propose the usage of an Electronically Steerable Parasitic Array Radiator (ESPAR) antenna at the secondary terminals. An ESPAR antenna requires a single RF chain and has a reconfigurable radiation pattern that is controlled by assigning arbitrary weights to M orthonormal basis radiation patterns. By viewing these orthonormal patterns as multiple virtual dumb antennas, we randomly vary their weights over time creating artificial channel fluctuations that can perfectly eliminate the undesired impact of LoS interference. Because the proposed scheme uses a single RF chain, it is well suited for compact and low cost mobile terminals