Probing isospin- and momentum-dependent nuclear effective interactions in neutron-rich matter

The single-particle potentials for nucleons and hyperons in neutron-rich matter generally depends on the density and isospin asymmetry of the medium as well as the momentum and isospin of the particle. It further depends on the temperature of the matter if the latter is in thermal equilibrium. We review here the extension of a Gogny-type isospin- and momentum-dependent interaction in several aspects made in recent years and their applications in studying intermediate-energy heavy ion collisions, thermal properties of asymmetric nuclear matter and properties of neutron stars. The importance of the isospin- and momentum-dependence of the single-particle potential, especially the momentum dependence of the isovector potential, is clearly revealed throughout these studies.Comment: 27 pages, 19 figures, 1 table, accepted version to appear in EPJA special volume on Nuclear Symmetry Energ

3D Reconstruction from IR Thermal Images and Reprojective Evaluations

Infrared thermography has been widely used in various domains to measure the temperature distributions of objects and surfaces. The methodology can be further extended to 3D applications if the spatial information of the temperature distribution is available. This paper proposes a 3D infrared imaging approach based on silhouette volume intersection to reconstruct volumetric temperature data of enclosed objects. 3D IR images are taken from various angles and integrated with 2D RGB images to effectively reconstruct a 3D model of the object's temperature distributions. Various automatic thresholding methods are also compared and evaluated by reprojection scoring to systematically assess the effectiveness and accuracy of the different approaches. Experiment results have demonstrated the ability of the system to provide an estimate to the 3D location of an internal heat source from images taken externally

Experimental Study on Vertical Fire Spread of Thin Hanging Combustibles

AbstractIn order to study vertical fire spread law of thin combustibles hang in atrium, the vertical combustion characteristics of thin combustibles was tested using vertical combustion experimental equipment, limited oxygen index tester and calorific value analyzer. Combustion parameters such as oxygen index, calorific value, vertical fire spread rate, surface temperature, mass loss rate and heat release rate were obtained. Fitting line showed that vertical fire spread rate, mass loss rate and heat release rate can be expressed as a power function of burning time. Vertical fire spread was accelerated growth, which the fire spread rate is over ten times of horizontal fire spread rate. The maximum surface temperature of the combustion cotton was about 500°C, the maximum surface temperature of the combustion cardboard was about 700°C. Experimental results showed that the thin combustibles hang in atrium and other large spaces have a greater fire risk, its vertical fire spread is very fast, so fire prevention measures should be taken in practical applications

Simulation Analysis on Flow Field and Temperature Field in Mould of Special Thick Slab Caster

A three-dimensional model of the thick slab continuous casting mould of 400 × 2200 mm was established. The effects of immersion depth of nozzle and casting speed on the flow field and temperature field were investigated. The high temperature distribution in mould, the thickness of narrow face solidified shell, the impact position of stream and the free surface velocity were used as the main points of analysis. Simulation and practical water modelling both exhibited the same changing trends, namely, the flow velocity of the surface increases with the distance from nozzle. The scientific basis for optimizing the flow field and temperature field in the continuous casting of special thick slab mould was acquired through calculations

Anxiety and Levodopa Equivalent Daily Dose Are Potential Predictors of Sleep Quality in Patients With Parkinson Disease in Taiwan

Background and Purpose: Non-motor symptoms of Parkinson disease (PD) have a strong negative impact on the health-related quality of life (QoL) of patients with PD. Sleep disturbance is an important non-motor symptom because of its high prevalence. However, previous studies investigating the determinants of sleep quality in patients with PD have revealed inconsistent results. Our study evaluated the correlations between sleep quality in patients with PD and disease-related variables, medications used depression, anxiety, and QoL and identified the determinants of sleep disturbance in people with PD in Taiwan.Methods: A total of 134 patients with PD were recruited from the outpatient clinic. We examined the correlations between the Parkinson disease sleep scale-2 (PDSS-2) scores and different variables, namely the Unified Parkinson Disease Rating Scale, Parkinson disease questionnaire, Beck Depression Inventory, and Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI). Logistic regression analysis was used to assess the potential predictive variables for sleep quality in patients with PD.Results: Among our participants, 47.8% were classified as poor sleepers (PDSS-2 = 15–60). Correlation analysis demonstrated that poor sleepers exhibited longer disease durations, higher levodopa equivalent daily doses (LEDDs), higher PD severity, more depression and anxiety symptoms, poorer QoL, more frequent unemployed status, higher hypnotics use, higher dependency for activities of daily living, more motor impairments, and more therapy-related complications. Logistic regression revealed that the LEDD was a significant predictive factor of sleep quality.Conclusion: Poor sleepers constituted approximately half of our patients with PD. The participants experienced more favorable sleep if they were currently working. Increased PD duration, severity, depression or anxiety symptoms, and doses of dopaminergic therapy were significantly associated with poor sleep quality. Continued working, attempts to treat comorbid anxiety or depression, and avoidance of overdosage of dopaminergic treatments may improve sleep quality in patients with PD