Statistical analysis of self-similar behaviour in the shear induced melting model

The analysis of the system behavior under the effect of the additive noises has been done using a simple model of shear melting. The situation with low intensity of the order parameter noise has been investigated in detail, and time dependence of the order parameter has been calculated. A distinctive feature of the obtained dependence is power-law distribution and self-similarity. The generalized Hurst exponent of the time series has been found within multifractal detrended fluctuation analysis. It is shown that the self-similarity of the time series increases when the noise intensity reduces.Comment: 11 pages, 9 figures, 29 reference

On the validity of the method of reduction of dimensionality: area of contact, average interfacial separation and contact stiffness

It has recently been suggested that many contact mechanics problems between solids can be accurately studied by mapping the problem on an effective one dimensional (1D) elastic foundation model. Using this 1D mapping we calculate the contact area and the average interfacial separation between elastic solids with nominally flat but randomly rough surfaces. We show, by comparison to exact numerical results, that the 1D mapping method fails even qualitatively. We also calculate the normal interfacial stiffness $K$ and compare it with the result of an analytical study. We attribute the failure of the elastic foundation model to the neglect of the long-range elastic coupling between the asperity contact regions.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, 29 reference

Paramagnetic Meissner effect in ZrB12 single crystal with non-monotonic vortex-vortex interactions

The magnetic response related to paramagnetic Meissner effect (PME) is studied in a high quality single crystal ZrB12 with non-monotonic vortex-vortex interactions. We observe the expulsion and penetration of magnetic flux in the form of vortex clusters with increasing temperature. A vortex phase diagram is constructed which shows that the PME can be explained by considering the interplay among the flux compression, the different temperature dependencies of the vortex-vortex and the vortex-pin interactions, and thermal fluctuations. Such a scenario is in good agreement with the results of the magnetic relaxation measurements.Comment: accepted by New Journal of Physic

36 Months Survivability And Its Predictors In Patients With Chronic Heart Failure And Decreased Fraction Of Left Ventricular Ejection Depending On Sex

Aim of the work: to compare survivability parameters during 36 months and their predictors among men and women with chronic heart failure and decreased fraction of left ventricular ejection.Materials and methods: the research included 356 patients with CHF (NYHA ІІ –ІV) with decreased LVEF<40 %, 18–75 years old. Using Kaplan-Meier method, there was analyzed the survivability in men and women during 36 months, then there were analyzed independent factors that influenced survivability terms depending on sex using the multiple logistic regression.Results. Our analysis of the survivability of patients with CHF with decreased LVEF demonstrated that the cumulative survival after 3 years of observation was 49 and 51 % for men and women, respectively. The curves of 36 months survivability didn\u27t reliably differ. At the analysis of factors, associated with the bad prognosis, there were observed differences between groups of men and women with CHF. Thus, in men the predictors of 36 month survival were: the thickness of the right ventricle wall, size of the right atrium, end-diastolic volume and end-systolic volume of LV, indices of EDV and ESV of LV, urinary acid level, value of LVEF. In women the predictors of survivability during 3 years were the following parameters: BMI, DM type 2 in an anamnesis, end-diastolic size of LV, end-systolic size of LV, blood glucose level, LVEF.Conclusion. The survivability of men and women with CHF with decreased LVEF during 36 months didn\u27t reliably differ and was 49 and 51 % respectively. But predictors of the lethal outcome in men and women essentially differed during 36 months, and their number is essentially higher in men

MgB2: synthesis, sound velocity, and dynamics of the vortex phase

The sound velocity is measured in polycrystalline MgB2 synthesized from the elements, and the bulk modulus and the Debye temperature are calculated. The conversion of an elastic wave into electromagnetic radiation is investigated in the mixed state.The dynamic parameters of the vortex lattice are estimated. This paper was published in Low Temp. Rhys., 2002, v.28, N3, p.270-274Comment: 4 pages with 4 figures, RevTex

A Comparative Numerical Study on GEM, MHSP and MSGC

In this work, we have tried to develop a detailed understanding of the physical processes occurring in those variants of Micro Pattern Gas Detectors (MPGDs) that share micro hole and micro strip geometry, like GEM, MHSP and MSGC etc. Some of the important and fundamental characteristics of these detectors such as gain, transparency, efficiency and their operational dependence on different device parameters have been estimated following detailed numerical simulation of the detector dynamics. We have used a relatively new simulation framework developed especially for the MPGDs that combines packages such as GARFIELD, neBEM, MAGBOLTZ and HEED. The results compare closely with the available experimental data. This suggests the efficacy of the framework to model the intricacies of these micro-structured detectors in addition to providing insight into their inherent complex dynamical processes

Convergence of cMyc and β-catenin on Tcf7l1 enables endoderm specification.

The molecular machinery that directs formation of definitive endoderm from pluripotent stem cells is not well understood. Wnt/β-catenin and Nodal signalling have been implicated, but the requirements for lineage specification remain incompletely defined. Here, we demonstrate a potent effect of inhibiting glycogen synthase kinase 3 (GSK3) on definitive endoderm production. We find that downstream of GSK3 inhibition, elevated cMyc and β-catenin act in parallel to reduce transcription and DNA binding, respectively, of the transcriptional repressor Tcf7l1. Tcf7l1 represses FoxA2, a pioneer factor for endoderm specification. Deletion of Tcf7l1 is sufficient to allow upregulation of FoxA2 in the presence of Activin. In wild-type cells, cMyc contributes by reducing Tcf7l1 mRNA, while β-catenin acts on Tcf7l1 protein. GSK3 inhibition is further required for consolidation of endodermal fate via upregulation of Sox17, highlighting sequential roles for Wnt signalling. The identification of a cMyc/β-catenin-Tcf7l1-FoxA2 axis reveals a de-repression mechanism underlying endoderm induction that may be recapitulated in other developmental and patho-logical contexts.This study was funded by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International, the European Commission FP7 project BetaCellTherapy (agreement No. 241883), a core support grant from the Wellcome Trust and MRC to the Wellcome Trust – Medical Research Council Cambridge Stem Cell Institute, and a University of Edinburgh Chancellor’s Fellowship awarded to GM. GM was a JDRF advanced postdoctoral fellow. AS is a Medical Research Council Professor.This is the final version of the article. It was first available from Wiley via http://dx.doi.org/10.15252/embj.20159211

First results of the Kourovka Planet Search: discovery of transiting exoplanet candidates in the first three target fields

We present the first results of our search for transiting exoplanet candidates as part of the Kourovka Planet Search (KPS) project. The primary objective of the project is to search for new hot Jupiters which transit their host stars, mainly in the Galactic plane, in the $R_c$ magnitude range of 11 to 14 mag. Our observations were performed with the telescope of the MASTER robotic network, installed at the Kourovka astronomical observatory of the Ural Federal University (Russia), and the Rowe-Ackermann Schmidt Astrograph, installed at the private Acton Sky Portal Observatory (USA). As test observations, we observed three celestial fields of size $2\times2$ deg$^2$ during the period from 2012 to 2015. As a result, we discovered four transiting exoplanet candidates among the 39000 stars of the input catalogue. In this paper, we provide the description of the project and analyse additional photometric, spectral, and speckle interferometric observations of the discovered transiting exoplanet candidates. Three of the four transiting exoplanet candidates are most likely astrophysical false positives, while the nature of the fourth (most promising) candidate remains to be ascertained. Also, we propose an alternative observing strategy that could increase the project's exoplanet haul.Comment: 11 pages, 16 figures; Accepted for publication in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 201

Efficient Methods for Fast Shading

On devices without battery consuming and specialized hardware for rendering, it is important to improve the speed and quality so that these methods are suitable for real-time rendering. Furthermore such algorithms are needed on the coming multicore architectures. We show how the methods by Gouraud and Phong, the commonly most used methods for shading, can be improved and made faster for both software rendering as well as simple low energy consuming hardware implementations. Moreover, this paper summarizes the authors’ achievements in increasing shading speed and performance and a Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function is simplified for faster computing and hardware implementatio