1,126 research outputs found
Entropy engineering in inorganic non-metallic glass
Advances in developing high entropy alloys and ceramics with improved physical properties have greatly broadened their application field from aerospace industry, public transportation to nuclear plants. In this review, we describe the concept of entropy engineering as applicable to inorganic non-metallic glasses, especially for tailoring and enhancing their mechanical, electrical, and optical properties. We also present opportunities and challenges in calculating entropy of inorganic non-metallic glass systems, correlating entropy to glass formation, and in developing functional inorganic non-metallic glasses via the entropy concept
Novel species of Calonectria associated with Eucalyptus leaf blight in Southeast China
Leaf blight caused by Calonectria spp. is an important disease occurring on Eucalyptus trees grown in plantations of Southeast Asia. Symptoms of leaf blight caused by Calonectria spp. have recently been observed in commercial Eucalyptus plantations in FuJian Province in Southeast China. The aim of this study was to identify these Calonectria spp. employing morphological characteristics, DNA sequence comparisons for the β-tubulin, histone H3 and translation elongation factor-1α gene regions and sexual compatibility. Four Calonectria spp. were identified, including Ca. pauciramosa and three novel taxa described here as Ca. crousiana, Ca. fujianensis and Ca. pseudocolhounii. Inoculation tests showed that all four Calonectria spp. found in this study were pathogenic on two different E. urophylla × E. grandis hybrid clones, commercially utilised in eucalypt plantations in China
Detection of nano scale thin films with polarized neutron reflectometry at the presence of smooth and rough interfaces
By knowing the phase and modules of the reflection coefficient in neutron
reflectometry problems, a unique result for the scattering length density (SLD)
of a thin film can be determined which will lead to the exact determination of
type and thickness of the film. In the past decade, several methods have been
worked out to resolve the phase problem such as dwell time method, reference
layer method and variation of surroundings, among which the reference method
and variation of surroundings by using a magnetic substrate and polarized
neutrons is of the most applicability. All of these methods are based on the
solution of Schrodinger equation for a discontinuous and step-like potential at
each interface. As in real sample there are some smearing and roughness at
boundaries, consideration of smoothness and roughness of interfaces would
affect the final output result. In this paper, we have investigated the effects
of smoothness of interfaces on determination of the phase of reflection as well
as the retrieval process of the SLD, by using a smooth varying function (Eckart
potential). The effects of roughness of interfaces on the same parameters, have
also been investigated by random variation of the interface around it mean
position
Predicting leptonic CP violation in the light of Daya Bay result
In the light of the recent Daya Bay result the reactor angle is about 9
degrees, we reconsider the model presented in arXiv:1005.3482 showing that,
when all neutrino oscillation parameters are taken at their best fit values of
Schwetz et al and the reactor angle to be the central value of Daya Bay, the
predicted value of the CP phase is approximately 45 degrees.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, update of arXiv:1005.348
Generalized Buneman pruning for inferring the most parsimonious multi-state phylogeny
Accurate reconstruction of phylogenies remains a key challenge in
evolutionary biology. Most biologically plausible formulations of the problem
are formally NP-hard, with no known efficient solution. The standard in
practice are fast heuristic methods that are empirically known to work very
well in general, but can yield results arbitrarily far from optimal. Practical
exact methods, which yield exponential worst-case running times but generally
much better times in practice, provide an important alternative. We report
progress in this direction by introducing a provably optimal method for the
weighted multi-state maximum parsimony phylogeny problem. The method is based
on generalizing the notion of the Buneman graph, a construction key to
efficient exact methods for binary sequences, so as to apply to sequences with
arbitrary finite numbers of states with arbitrary state transition weights. We
implement an integer linear programming (ILP) method for the multi-state
problem using this generalized Buneman graph and demonstrate that the resulting
method is able to solve data sets that are intractable by prior exact methods
in run times comparable with popular heuristics. Our work provides the first
method for provably optimal maximum parsimony phylogeny inference that is
practical for multi-state data sets of more than a few characters.Comment: 15 page
Quantum trajectory approach to stochastically-induced quantum interference effects in coherently-driven two-level atoms
Stochastic perturbation of two-level atoms strongly driven by a coherent
light field is analyzed by the quantum trajectory method. A new method is
developed for calculating the resonance fluorescence spectra from numerical
simulations. It is shown that in the case of dominant incoherent perturbation,
the stochastic noise can unexpectedly create phase correlation between the
neighboring atomic dressed states. This phase correlation is responsible for
quantum interference between the related transitions resulting in anomalous
modifications of the resonance fluorescence spectra.Comment: paper accepted for publicatio
Rates of glycaemic deterioration in a real-world population with type 2 diabetes
Aims/hypothesis: There is considerable variability in how diabetes progresses after diagnosis. Progression modelling has largely focused on ‘time to failure’ methods, yet determining a ‘coefficient of failure’ has many advantages. We derived a rate of glycaemic deterioration in type 2 diabetes, using a large real-world cohort, and aimed to investigate the clinical, biochemical, pharmacological and immunological variables associated with fast and slow rates of glycaemic deterioration. Methods: An observational cohort study was performed using the electronic medical records from participants in the Genetics of Diabetes Audit and Research in Tayside Study (GoDARTS). A model was derived based on an individual’s observed HbA1c measures from the first eligible HbA1c after the diagnosis of diabetes through to the study end (defined as insulin initiation, death, leaving the area or end of follow-up). Each HbA1c measure was time-dependently adjusted for the effects of non-insulin glucose-lowering drugs, changes in BMI and corticosteroid use. GAD antibody (GADA) positivity was defined as GAD titres above the 97.5th centile of the population distribution. Results: The mean (95% CI) glycaemic deterioration for type 2 diabetes and GADA-positive individuals was 1.4 (1.3, 1.4) and 2.8 (2.4, 3.3) mmol/mol HbA1c per year, respectively. A younger age of diagnosis, lower HDL-cholesterol concentration, higher BMI and earlier calendar year of diabetes diagnosis were independently associated with higher rates of glycaemic deterioration in individuals with type 2 diabetes. The rate of deterioration in those diagnosed at over 70 years of age was very low, with 66% having a rate of deterioration of less than 1.1 mmol/mol HbA1c per year, and only 1.5% progressing more rapidly than 4.4 mmol/mol HbA1c per year. Conclusions/interpretation: We have developed a novel approach for modelling the progression of diabetes in observational data across multiple drug combinations. This approach highlights how glycaemic deterioration in those diagnosed at over 70 years of age is minimal, supporting a stratified approach to diabetes management.</p
Proton strangeness form factors in (4,1) clustering configurations
We reexamine a recent result within a nonrelativistic constituent quark model
(NRCQM) which maintains that the uuds\bar s component in the proton has its
uuds subsystem in P state, with its \bar s in S state (configuration I). When
the result are corrected, contrary to the previous result, we find that all the
empirical signs of the form factors data can be described by the lowest-lying
uuds\bar s configuration with \bar s in P state that has its uuds subsystem in
state (configuration II). Further, it is also found that the removal of the
center-of-mass (CM) motion of the clusters will enhance the contributions of
the transition current considerably. We also show that a reasonable description
of the existing form factors data can be obtained with a very small probability
P_{s\bar s}=0.025% for the uuds\bar s component. We further see that the
agreement of our prediction with the data for G_A^s at low-q^2 region can be
markedly improved by a small admixture of configuration I. It is also found
that by not removing CM motion, P_{s\bar s} would be overestimated by about a
factor of four in the case when transition dominates over direct currents.
Then, we also study the consequence of a recent estimate reached from analyzing
the existing data on quark distributions that P_{s\bar s} lies between 2.4-2.9%
which would lead to a large size for the five-quark (5q) system, as well as a
small bump in both G^s_E+\eta G^s_M and G^s_E in the region of q^2 =< 0.1
GeV^2.Comment: Prepared for The Fifth Asia-Pacific Conference on Few-Body Problems
in Physics 2011 in Seoul, South Korea, 22-26 August 201
Solar Magnetic Carpet I: Simulation of Synthetic Magnetograms
This paper describes a new 2D model for the photospheric evolution of the
magnetic carpet. It is the first in a series of papers working towards
constructing a realistic 3D non-potential model for the interaction of
small-scale solar magnetic fields. In the model, the basic evolution of the
magnetic elements is governed by a supergranular flow profile. In addition,
magnetic elements may evolve through the processes of emergence, cancellation,
coalescence and fragmentation. Model parameters for the emergence of bipoles
are based upon the results of observational studies. Using this model, several
simulations are considered, where the range of flux with which bipoles may
emerge is varied. In all cases the model quickly reaches a steady state where
the rates of emergence and cancellation balance. Analysis of the resulting
magnetic field shows that we reproduce observed quantities such as the flux
distribution, mean field, cancellation rates, photospheric recycle time and a
magnetic network. As expected, the simulation matches observations more closely
when a larger, and consequently more realistic, range of emerging flux values
is allowed (4e16 - 1e19 Mx). The model best reproduces the current observed
properties of the magnetic carpet when we take the minimum absolute flux for
emerging bipoles to be 4e16 Mx. In future, this 2D model will be used as an
evolving photospheric boundary condition for 3D non-potential modeling.Comment: 33 pages, 16 figures, 5 gif movies included: movies may be viewed at
http://www-solar.mcs.st-and.ac.uk/~karen/movies_paper1
DNA single-strand break repair and spinocerebellar ataxia with axonal neuropathy-1
DNA single-strand breaks (SSBs) are the commonest DNA lesions arising spontaneously in cells, and if not repaired may block transcription or may be converted into potentially lethal/clastogenic DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs). Recently, evidence has emerged that defects in the rapid repair of SSBs preferentially impact the nervous system. In particular, spinocerebellar ataxia with axonal neuropathy (SCAN1) is a human disease that is associated with mutation of TDP1 (tyrosyl DNA phosphodiesterase 1) protein and with a defect in repairing certain types of SSBs. Although SCAN1 is a rare neurodegenerative disorder, understanding the molecular basis of this disease will lead to better understanding of neurodegenerative processes. Here we review recent progress in our understanding of TDP1, single-strand break repair (SSBR), and neurodegenerative disease
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