Using optical resonances to control heat generation and propagation in silicon nanostructures

Here we propose a new computational approach to light-to-matter interactions in silicon nanopillars, which simulates heat generation and propagation dynamics occurring in continuous wave laser processing over a wide temporal range (from 1 fs to about 25 hours). We show that visible light can be exploited to selectively crystallize internal region of the pillars, which is not possible by conventional treatments. A detailed study on lattice crystallization and reconstruction dynamics reveals that local heating drives the formation of secondary antennas embedded into the pillars, highlighting the importance of taking into account the spatial and temporal evolution of the optical properties of the material under irradiation. This approach can be easily extended to many types of nanostructured materials and interfaces, offering a unique computational tool for many applications involving optothermal processes.Comment: 21 pages, 4 figure

Advanced deep sea diving equipment

Design requirements are generated for a deep sea heavy duty diving system to equip salvage divers with equipment and tools that permit work of the same quality and in times approaching that done on the surface. The system consists of a helmet, a recirculator for removing carbon dioxide, and the diver's dress. The diver controls the inlet flow by the recirculatory control valve and is able to change closed cycle operation to open cycle if malfunction occurs. Proper function of the scrubber in the recirculator minimizes temperature and humidity effects as it filters the returning air

Between the historical languages and the reconstructed language : an alternative approach to the Gerundive + “Dative of Agent” construction in Indo-European

It is argued by Hettrich (1990) that the “dative of agent” construction in the Indo-European languages most likely continues a construction inherited from Proto-Indo-European. In two recent proposals (Danesi 2013, Luraghi 2016), it is argued that the “dative of agent” contains no agent at all, although the two proposals differ with regard to the reconstructability of the “dative of agent” construction. Luraghi argues that it is an independent secondary development from an original beneficiary function (cf. Hettrich 1990), while Danesi maintains that the construction is reconstructable for an earlier proto-stage. Elaborating on Danesi’s approach, we analyze gerundives with the “dative of agent” in six different Indo-European languages that bridge the east–west divide, namely, Sanskrit, Avestan, Ancient Greek, Latin, Tocharian, and Lithuanian. Scrutiny of the data reveals similarities at a morphosyntactic level, a semantic level (i.e. modal meaning and low degree of transitivity), and also, to some extent, at an etymological level. An analysis involving a modal reading of the predicate, with a dative subject and a nominative object, is better equipped to account for the particulars of the “gerundive + nominative + dative” construction than the traditional agentive/passive analysis. The proposal is couched within the theoretical framework of Construction Grammar, in which the basic unit of language is the Construction, i.e. a form–function correspondence, and no principled distinction between lexical items and complex syntactic structures is assumed. As these structures are by definition units of comparanda, required by the Comparative Method, they can be successfully utilized in the reconstruction of a proto-construction for Proto-Indo-European

Acertijos matemáticos e imaginación: Una visión viquiana de la enigmatología

Enigmatología es el término que ha sido usado para designar el estudio de los puzzles en la cultura humana. La estructura poética de los puzzles implica que quien intenta resolverlos debe literalmente imaginar escenarios que trasciendan un razonamiento lineal. En tiempo de Vico, el cartesianismo dominaba la escena académica de la época, haciendo que la vieja tradición, centrada en el estudio de la lengua y la literatura perdiera terreno frente a un énfasis puesto en la matemática, la filosofía crítica y las ciencias. Los puzzles eran considerados como productos de un pensamiento lógico-racional. Pocos los consideraron como productos de una fuerza creativa más fundamental. El concepto de fantasia de Vico vino a proporcionar una poderosa estructura explicativa para comprender cualquier ingenio enigmatológico.Enigmatology is the term that has been used to designate the study of puzzles in human cultures. The poetic structure of puzzles implies that they require the solver to literally imagine scenarios in ways that transcend linear reasoning. In Vico’s times, Cartesianism dominated the academic scene of the day, causing the older tradition, centered on the study of language and literature, to lose ground to an emphasis on mathematics, critical philosophy, and the sciences. Puzzles were viewed as products of rational-logical thinking. Few saw them as products of a more fundamental creative force. Vico’s concept of fantasia came forward to provide a powerful explanatory framework for understanding enigmatological artifacts

Trattamento motorio di riequilibrio delle catene mio-fasciali nelle disfunzioni dell'apparato stomatognatico

Tutti gli squilibri dell'Apparato Stomatognatico messi in luce da recenti studi scientifici finiscono per costituire importanti pertirbazioni dell'assetto globale della statica posturale. Ciò si verifica perchè l'Apparato occlusivo costituisce, a livello funzionale, un importante punto di collegamento tra le catene muscolari anteriori e posteriori. Il meccanismo delle sollecitazioni anomale muscolari determinate dalle molteplici disfunzioni che possono interessare questo apparato incidono notevolmente sulla qualità lavorativa e sociale delle persone che ne sono coinvolte. Nella tesi vengono riportate alcune alterazioni morfo-funzionali di questo apparato e gli scompensi corporei, statici, dinamici e posturali che ne derivano. Viene quindi presa in esame la necessità di intervenire con un approccio interdisciplinare nel trattamento di questi disturbi mediante la collaborazione di un Team multidisciplinare costituito da Dentista, Occlusodonzista, Fisioterapista e laureato in Scienze Motorie. A quest'ultimo spetta il compito di impostare a seguire il lavoro di riallineamento e stabilizzazione della postura che le sollecitazioni anomale miofasciali hanno destabilizzato sotto l'impulso alterato del recettore Stomatognatico. Importante è a tal fine che il lavoro di simmetrizzazione delle catene statiche e dinamiche venga condotto parallelamente all'aggiustamento del recettore interessato attuato dallo specialista, impostando un lavoro che parta dall'osservazione del soggetto, applicando test chinesiologici e di valutazione muscolare, articolare e motoria ed infine pianificando un protocollo rieducativo di attività motoria personalizzato e adatto alle specifiche esigenze del caso da trattare. Nella tesi si riporta anche un protocollo di lavoro rieducativo-compensativo tipo, che prevede una vasta gamma di esercizi opportunamente descritti ed illustrati

Bond-slip in reinforced concrete elements

A model for fiber reinforced composites that takes into account the fiber slipping is presented in this paper and applied to the analysis of reinforced concrete elements. The model is formulated within the framework of the plasticity theory and the mixtures theory, considering two phases corresponding to the matrix (concrete) and the fibers (reinforcing bars) and modifying the behavior of the last to take into account the relative displacement between the two phases. An elasto-plastic interface model developed by other writers is used to describe the bond-slip mechanism. The resulting model is attractive for the analysis of reinforced concrete problems at the macro-structural level since the explicit discretization of reinforcing bars and interface is not required, with the consequent computational cost reduction. The paper concludes with application examples and comparisons with experimental results of reinforced concrete elements that show the capacity of the model developed. © ASCE.Fil: Luccioni, Bibiana Maria. Universidad Nacional de Tucuman. Facultad de Cs.exactas y Tecnología. Laboratorio de Estructuras; ArgentinaFil: López, Daniel Ernesto. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo; ArgentinaFil: Danesi, Rodolfo Francisco. Universidad Nacional de Tucuman. Facultad de Cs.exactas y Tecnología. Laboratorio de Estructuras; Argentin

Measuring airline hub timetable co-ordination and connectivity: definition of a new index and application to a sample of European hubs

In this paper a new index for measuring the timetable co-ordination of an airline hub is proposed, with application to a sample of European hubs. This index is both quite accurate and easy to use, so that it may prove a useful schedule analysis tool for airline managers. In section 1 of this paper, the definition of “wave-system structure” and “ideal wave” are given. In section 2 the problem of measuring hub connectivity and hub timetable co-ordination is discussed. Then, both the so-called “weighted indirect connection number”, which is an index for measuring hub connectivity, and the “connectivity ratio”, which is an index for measuring hub timetable co-ordination, are described, in section 3 and 4 respectively. In section 5, a new index for measuring hub timetable co-ordination is illustrated: the “weighted connectivity ratio”. Some examples of hub timetable co-ordination measures performed with the new index are reported in section 6

Opposition theory and the interconnectedness of language, culture, and cognition

The theory of opposition has always been viewed as the founding principle of structuralism within contemporary linguistics and semiotics. As an analytical technique, it has remained a staple within these disciplines, where it continues to be used as a means for identifying meaningful cues in the physical form of signs. However, as a theory of conceptual structure it was largely abandoned under the weight of post-structuralism starting in the 1960s — the exception to this counter trend being the work of the Tartu School of semiotics. This essay revisits opposition theory not only as a viable theory for understanding conceptual structure, but also as a powerful technique for establishing the interconnectedness of language, culture, and cognition

Of Cigarettes, High Heels, and Other Interesting Things 3/E

Among species, human beings seem to be a peculiar lot. Why is it, for example, that certain members of the species routinely put their survival at risk by puffing on a small stick of nicotine? Why is it that some females of the species make locomotion difficult for themselves by donning high-heel footwear? Are there hidden or unconscious reasons behind such strange behaviors that seem to be so utterly counter-instinctual, so to speak? For no manifest biological reason, humanity has always searched, and continues to search, for a purpose to its life. Is it this search that has led it to engage in such bizarre behaviors as smoking and wearing high heels? And is it the reason behind humanity’s invention of myths, art, rituals, languages, mathematics, science, and all the other truly remarkable things that set it apart from all other species? Clearly, Homo sapiens appears to be unique in the fact that many of its behaviors are shaped by forces other than the instincts. The discipline that endeavors to understand these forces is known as semiotics. Relatively unknown in comparison to, say, philosophy or psychology, semiotics probes the human condition in its own peculiar way, by unraveling the meanings of the signs that undergird not only the wearing of high-heel shoes, but also the construction of words, paintings, sculptures, and the like