Classical hybrid approaches on a transportation problem with gas emissions constraints

In order to keep a green planet, in particular its important to limiting the pollution with gas emissions. In a specific capacitated fixed-charge transportation problem with fixed capacities for distribution centers and customers with particular demands, the objective is to keep the pollution factor in a given range while the total cost of the transportation is as low as possible. In order to solve this problem, we developed several hybrid variants of the nearest neighbor classical approach. The proposed models are analyzed on a set of instances used in the literature. The preliminary results shows that the newly approaches are attractive and appropriate for solving the described transportation problem.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figur

A heuristic quantum theory of the integer quantum Hall effect

Contrary to common belief, the current emitted by a contact embedded in a two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) is quantized in the presence of electric and magnetic fields. This observation suggests a simple, clearly defined model for the quantum current through a Hall device that does not invoke disorder or interactions as the cause of the integer quantum Hall effect (QHE), but is based on a proper quantization of the classical electron drift motion. The theory yields a quantitative description of the breakdown of the QHE at high current densities that is in agreement with experimental data. Furthermore, several of its key points are in line with recent findings of experiments that address the dependency of the QHE on the 2DEG bias voltage, results that are not easily explained within the framework of conventional QHE models.Comment: 20 pages, 6 figure

Brachial Approach As an Alternative Technique of Fibrin Sheath Removal for Implanted Venous Access Devices.

Implanted venous access device (IVAD) late dysfunction is commonly caused by fibrin sheath formation. The standard method of endovascular fibrin sheath removal is performed via the femoral vein. However, it is not always technically feasible and sometimes contraindicated. Moreover, approximately 4-6 h of bed rest is necessary after the procedure. In this article, we describe an alternative method of fibrin sheath removal using the brachial vein approach in a young woman receiving chemotherapy for breast cancer. The right basilic vein was punctured, and a long 6°F introducer sheath was advanced into the right subclavian vein. Endovascular maneuvers consisted on advancing Atrieve™ Vascular Snare 15-9 mm after catheter insertion in the superior vena cava through a 5.2°F Judkins left catheter. IVAD patency was restored without any complication, and the patient was discharged immediately after the procedure. In conclusion, fibrin sheath removal from an obstructed IVAD could be performed via the right brachial vein. Further research is necessary in order to prove efficacy of this technique

What is the difference? Blazhko and non-Blazhko RRab stars and the special case of V123 in M3

In an extended photometric campaign of RR Lyrae variables of the globular cluster M3, an aberrant light-curve, non-Blazhko RRab star, V123, was detected. Based on its brightness, colors and radial velocity curve, V123 is a bona fide member of M3. The light curve of V123 exhibits neither a bump preceding light minimum, nor a hump on the rising branch, and has a longer than normal rise time, with a convex shape. Similar shape characterizes the mean light curves of some large-modulation-amplitude Blazhko stars, but none of the regular RRab variables with similar pulsation periods. This peculiar object thus mimics Blazhko variables without showing any evidence of periodic amplitude and/or phase modulation. We cannot find any fully convincing answer to the peculiar behavior of V123, however, the phenomenon raises again the possibility that rotation and aspect angle might play a role in the explanation of the Blazhko phenomenon, and some source of inhomogeneity acts (magnetic field, chemical inhomogeneity) that deforms the radial pulsation of Blazhko stars during the modulation.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures; accepted for publication in ApJ Letter

Ascending aortic remodelling in Fabry disease after long-term enzyme replacement therapy.

Previous cross-sectional studies reported a high prevalence of ascending aorta dilations/aneurysms in male adults with Fabry disease, independently of cardiovascular risk factors. To characterise the remodelling of the ascending aorta in classic Fabry disease under long-term enzyme replacement therapy. Diameter of the ascending aorta was measured with magnetic resonance imaging at the sino-tubular junction (STJ), and proximal (pAsAo), and distal ascending aorta (dAsAo) at baseline, and after 5 and 10 years of enzyme replacement therapy in 15 adult Fabry patients (10 males; 5 females). Over a mean follow-up of 9.5 years, the annual expansion rates measured in 10 males with Fabry disease were 0.41 ± 0.16, 0.36 ± 0.25 and 0.41 ± 0.26 mm/y at the STJ, pAsAo and dAsAo, respectively. Expansion rate at the pAsAo level in male patients was significantly higher than the expected expansion projected from theoretical normal values: 0.36 ± 0.25 vs 0.13 ± 0.05, p = 0.017. In 5 females, the annual expansion rates at the STJ, pAsAo and dAsAo were 0.14 ± 0.11, 0.21 ± 0.18 and 0.26 ± 0.24 mm/y, respectively. There was no significant difference from the projected normal expansion rate at the level of the pAsAo: 0.21 ± 0.18 vs 0.13 ± 0.04, p = 0.39. Our data suggest that the remodelling of the ascending aorta is more pronounced in male patients with Fabry disease under long-term enzyme replacement therapy compared with the progression observed in a large population study

Narráció és retorika = Narrative and Rhetoric

A kutatás a narratológiai és a retorikai elemzések egymással való kapcsolatba hozásának lehetőségeit vizsgálta. Különös figyelmet fordítottunk az irodalomtörténeti elbeszélésre, amely egyrészt történetet mond, másrészt meggyőzni igyekszik, következésképpen narratív és retorikai formáltsága elvileg sem választható szét, valamint a fenségesre, amely az elbeszélhetetlen elbeszélése, és így a lehetetlen megvalósítására talál retorikai stratégiákat, a narratíva megszakításaként is értelmezhető. Prométheusz mítoszát választottuk ki annak vizsgálatára, milyen retorikával beszélhető el újra és újra az európai kultúra egyik alaptörténete. | The project focused on the potentials of connecting narratological and rhetorical analyses. A special emphasis was laid on the literary historical narration, which both tells a (hi)story and tries to persuade readers, and therefore its narrative and rhetorical formations cannot be theoretically separated; another important issue was the sublime, which can be described as the narration of what cannot be narrated, and therefore it seeks for rhetoric strategies to realize the impossible. The project has chosen the myth of Prometheus to analyze which rhetoric strategies make possible the repeated retelling of a basic story of the European culture

Cryptotomography: reconstructing 3D Fourier intensities from randomly oriented single-shot diffraction patterns

We reconstructed the 3D Fourier intensity distribution of mono-disperse prolate nano-particles using single-shot 2D coherent diffraction patterns collected at DESY's FLASH facility when a bright, coherent, ultrafast X-ray pulse intercepted individual particles of random, unmeasured orientations. This first experimental demonstration of cryptotomography extended the Expansion-Maximization-Compression (EMC) framework to accommodate unmeasured fluctuations in photon fluence and loss of data due to saturation or background scatter. This work is an important step towards realizing single-shot diffraction imaging of single biomolecules.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Spectral Compressibility at the Metal-Insulator Transition of the Quantum Hall Effect

The spectral properties of a disordered electronic system at the metal-insulator transition point are investigated numerically. A recently derived relation between the anomalous diffusion exponent $\eta$ and the spectral compressibility $\chi$ at the mobility edge, $\chi=\eta/2d$, is confirmed for the integer quantum Hall delocalization transition. Our calculations are performed within the framework of an unitary network-model and represent a new method to investigate spectral properties of disordered systems.Comment: 5 pages, RevTeX, 3 figures, Postscript, strongly revised version to be published in PR