Search

Collective particle transport across periodic energy landscapes is ubiquitously present in many condensed matter systems spanning from vortices in high-temperature superconductors, frictional atomic sliding, driven skyrmions to biological and active matter. Here we report the emergence of fast solitons propagating against a rotating optical landscape. These experimentally observed solitons are stable cluster waves that originate from a coordinated particle exchange process which occurs when the number of trapped microparticles exceeds the number of potential wells. The size and speed of individual solitons rapidly increase with the particle diameter as predicted by theory and confirmed by numerical simulations. We show that when several solitons coexist, an effective repulsive interaction can stabilize their propagation along the periodic potential. Our experiments demonstrate a generic mechanism for cluster-mediated transport with potential applications to condensed matter systems on different length scales.

Among fishes, salmonids (family Salmonidae) have attracted a great deal of research attention focused on sexual dimorphism and associated selective forces. Most of this research has been directed toward anadromous and mostly semelparous salmon and trout (Oncorhynchus,Salmo), and comparatively little is known about intersexual variability in strictly iteroparous freshwater salmonids. We examined a comprehensive data set of 28 linear morphometric characters in 11 of 15 currently recognised species of grayling (Thymallinae,Thymallus), a genus consisting of iteroparous species only, to identify general patterns of intersexual morphological variability. Overall, we found that all grayling species show common sex-specific traits particularly relating to size dimensions of the dorsal, anal, pelvic and pectoral fins. Although the magnitude of sexual dimorphism differed among species, there was no significant phylogenetic signal associated with these differences across the genus. These results are discussed in terms of the assumed selection pressures driving sexual dimorphism in graylings and are compared to existing knowledge in Salmonidae as a whole where similarities and differences with both Salmoninae and Coregoninae exist. The present study provides the first detailed genus-wide comparison of sexually dimorphic phenotypic characters in graylings, and highlights the need for more large-scale comparative studies in multiple salmonid species to better understand general macroevolutionary trends among this important group of freshwater fishes.

We performed spectral measurements of two low-temperature discrete Josephson junction (JJ) arrays on a Fourier-transform spectrometer. The arrays contain up to 9000 niobium based junctions located in the area 5 × 5 mm and composed of different designs. The spectrum of each array demonstrates a narrow peak in the frequency range near 140 GHz with the line width 160–170 MHz corresponding to the resolution limit of the spectrometer. It implies the coherent subterahertz radiation from niobium JJ arrays that is necessary for most applications where the JJ array based on similar technology would be implemented. The radiation coherence follows from numerical simulation of Josephson antennas with the self-made algorithm combining the Finite-Difference Time Domain Method with the Resistively and Capacitively Shunted Junction (RCSJ) model. Exploring the spectrum of Beverage-like Josephson antenna simulated by this algorithm we revealed the pure monochromatic emission of all junctions.

We propose a simulation method for Brownian dynamics of hard rods in one dimension for arbitrary continuous external force fields. It is an event-driven procedure based on the fragmentation and mergers of clusters formed by particles in contact. It allows one to treat particle interactions in addition to the hard-sphere exclusion as long as the corresponding interaction forces are continuous functions of the particle coordinates. We furthermore develop a treatment of sticky hard spheres as described by Baxter's contact interaction potential., Comment: 12 pages, 7 figures

Introduction The aim of this multicenter prospective study was to analyze the outcomes of bone lengthening by external fixator associated with flexible intramedullary nailing (FIN) in acquired limb length discrepancy (LLD). Hypothesis Hydroxyapatite (HA)-coated FIN enables reduced External Fixation Index in limb lengthening for acquired leg length discrepancies in comparison to non-HA-coated FIN. Material and methods This study included 54 patients (mean age, 17.9 years) operated on for femoral or tibial lengthening by combined technique (External fixator with FIN) for acquired length discrepancy. Titanium non-HA-coated FIN (29 cases) or HA-coated FIN (25 cases) were used. The factors that might influence external fixation index, complication occurrence and outcome were analyzed: age, amount of lengthening, nail diameter, HA-coating vs. non-HA-coated nails. Results The mean External Fixation Indexes (EFI) of groups compared for non-HA-coated nails vs. HA-coated nails were not significantly different: 26.5 d/cm and 27.2 d/cm in femoral lengthening and 34.9 d/cm and 31.7 d/cm in tibial lengthening. Positive correlation between the “nail diameter/inner distance between cortices at osteotomy site” ratio and EFI in tibial lengthening was revealed (p = 0.034). The nail types and the “nail diameter/medullary canal diameter” ratio interact and have significant simultaneous effect on EFI in femoral lengthening (p = 0.021). Discussion The results of this study revealed no differences with regards to EFI using HA-coated or non-HA-coated titanium FIN in lengthening for acquired leg-length discrepancies. Combined technique allowed reduced EFI and avoided major complications. Both non-HA-nail and HA-coated nail lengthening provided good and excellent outcomes. Level of evidence III; (controlled trial without randomization) prospective comparative study.

The article is devoted to a research of an effectiveness of high-level synthesis approach, based on Xilinx's high-level synthesis tool - Vivado, for a hardware implementation of sorting algorithms, which are one of the key algorithm for Big Data analysis, Data Mining, Data Storage and Management. Performance and hardware costs are the measures of the effectiveness in the provided research. The research methods are simulation and comparative analysis. Effectiveness of software implementation of the selected sorting algorithms based on a universal processor is compared with effectiveness of hardware implementation of the same sorting algorithms, obtained by high-level synthesis procedure with help of Xilinxs synthesis tool. The article discusses approaches to optimize the description of the sorting algorithms and assignments in boundaries of high-level synthesis procedure to achieve optimal effectiveness of the final hardware solutions. The article shows that the main effectiveness gain is provided by: the internal features of the sorting algorithm, selected for hardware implementation; the ability to parallelize the processing of the source arrays, which is achieved both by the settings of the Vivado synthesis tool and description style used for source code. Article summarizes research results and provide a direction for the future research works.

Solitons are commonly known as waves that propagate without dispersion. Here we show that they can occur for driven overdamped Brownian dynamics of hard spheres in periodic potentials at high densities. The solitons manifest themselves as periodic sequences of different assemblies of particles moving in the limit of zero noise, where transport of single particles is not possible. They give rise to particle currents at even low temperature that appear in band-like structures around certain hard-sphere diameters. At high temperatures, the band-like structures are washed out by the noise, but the particle transport is still dominated by the solitons. All these predicted features should occur in a broad class of periodic systems and are amenable to experimental tests., 6 pages, 4 figures plus supplemental material with 7 pages and 1 figure; 5 ancillary movie files

The choice and acoustic efficiency of construction and acoustic means of noise control is determined on the basis of calculations of changes in the spatio-temporal characteristics of the pulses of sound energy emitted by the sound source. The paper proposes a combined computational model for estimating the energy characteristics of pulse noise and their spatiotemporal changes. The model describes the formation and distribution of the reflected sound energy of pulses in the mirror-scattered reflection of sound from the fences. The principles of construction of the computational model and the computer program implementing it are stated. Evaluation of the computational model is performed by comparative analysis of experimental and computational data obtained by the action of a pulsed noise source in complex geometrically shaped rooms. It is found that the calculated graphs of the decay of the reflected pulse energy in time coincide with the experimentally determined declines.

In crowded systems, particle currents can be mediated by propagating collective excitations which are generated as rare events, are localized and have a finite lifetime. The theoretical description of such excitations is hampered by the problem of identifying complex many-particle transition states, calculation of their free energies, and the evaluation of propagation mechanisms and velocities. Here we show that these problems can be tackled for a highly jammed system of hard spheres in a periodic potential. We derive generation rates of collective excitations, their anomalously high velocities, explain the occurrence of an apparent jamming transition and its strong dependence on the system size. The particle currents follow a scaling behavior, where for small systems the current is proportional to the generation rate and for large systems given by the geometric mean of the generation rate and velocity. Our theoretical approach is widely applicable to dense nonequilibrium systems in confined geometries. It provides new perspectives for studying dynamics of collective excitations in experiments., 23 pages, 9 figures

Carbon forms (graphite, pyrolytic graphite, highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG), glassy carbon, carbon foam, graphene, buckypaper, etc) are a wide class of materials largely used in technology and energy storage. The huge request of carbon compounds with reliable and tunable physical and chemical properties is tackled by contriving new production protocols and/or compound functionalizations. To achieve these goals, new samples must be tested in a trial-and-error strategy with techniques that provide information in terms of both specimen quality and properties. In this work, we prove that electrochemical scanning probe techniques allow testing the performances of carbon compounds when are used as an electrode inside an electrochemical cell. Comparing the results with a reference sample (namely, HOPG) gives an insight on defects in the specimen structure, performances, and possible applications of the new samples. In this study, we concentrate on traditional carbon forms already employed in many fields versus new recently-developed specimens, in view of possible applications to the field of energy storage.

The study describes preliminary experience of the use of external fixators for limb lengthening and deformity correction in combination with flexible intramedullary nailing in management of polyostotic fibrous dysplasia. Patients and methods The retrospective study included 8 patients (mean age 11.6 ± 3.38 years; range 7–17 years) with polyostotic fibrous dysplasia operated on using external circular frame and flexible intramedullary nailing. Mean follow-up was 2.6 years. Surgical technique consisted of percutaneous osteotomy of a segment and application of circular external frame. The intramedullary nailing was done using two bent nails. Hydroxyapatite-coated nails were applied in three patients; five patients had titanium nails. Amount of lengthening (cm and %), amount of deformity correction, duration of external fixator use, index of external fixation, “nail/medullary canal at narrowest site” ratio, “nail-medullary canal at osteotomy site” ratio were analyzed. Results and complications were assessed according to Lascombes's classification. Results The mean amount of lengthening was 4.5 cm (or 13.7 ± 6.0% per segment). This gave a mean external fixation index of 32.5 ± 13.97 days/cm. The mean ratio of IM nail diameter/medullary canal diameter at the narrowest site was 0.22 ± 0.07 (range, 0.125–0.3 mm). No migration of IM nails into medullary canal were noticed. But in one case there was external migration of Ti-nail. In a year after frame removal, the results of treatment were classified as grade I in 7 cases and IIb in one case.At the latest follow-up control, mechanical axis deviation was found within normal limits in six patients. Two patients had excessive MAD of 11 and 28 mm. In the first case a partial varus deformity recurrence occurred at middle shaft site where a large dysplastic zone was presented. In the second case, a specific shepherd's crook deformity developed and caused excessive MAD. Mean lower limb length discrepancy varied from 1 to 15 mm. Conclusion There are advantages of using elastic intramedullary nailing and external fixation in the treatment of limb length discrepancy and deformity of long bones in patients with PFD. This strategy ensures reduced external fixation time and high accuracy of alignment. Intramedullary nails left in situ, especially nails with HA-coating, seem to prevent deformity recurrence and stimulate remodeling in dysplastic fibrous zones.

In typical computer system design flows, hardware microarchitecture is commonly considered a dynamically developing domain, where abstract mechanisms remain mostly in conceptual form and exhibit poor source code reuse in designs. However, many important basic mechanisms appear to be pervasive and persistent. This paper summarizes original efforts to propose generic implementations of microarchitectural mechanisms for in-order and out-of-order microarchitectures and various demo designs based on these implementations. The basic EDA components proposed for this design approach are “Kernel IP (KIP) cores”—open-source collection of programmable hardware generators inferred from microarchitectural templates. KIP cores feasibility for their role is demonstrated from the viewpoints of abstract representation of microarchitectural mechanisms, support of functional differentiation of designs, and generic optimizations. Experimental designing according to this approach has shown useful separation of concerns in hardware design activities, lower design effort, and increased formalization and code reuse.

The driving forces for this project are demands for a hardware, reconfigurable, high performance, low cost and low power solution that could be used in a widest range of Internet of Things (IoT) devices. The solution should be able to secure computer networks against emerging threats and vulnerabilities, sustaining privacy and trust This paper presents an approach for developing a novel hardware platform for Ethernet-based network firewall security services for IP networks. The article highlights functional and structural levels of the proposed hardware architecture, performance estimations and a trade-off between performance and hardware cost. Some implementation details, including HDL used, testing approaches and design tools are provided as well.

X-ray graphite optics consists of thin layers of Pyrolytic Graphite (PG) attached to a substrate of focusing shape. Pyrolytic Graphite is a perfect artificial graphite obtained by annealing of carbon deposit at temperatures about 3000 &deg, C under deformation. By varying the annealing conditions, one could get PG of different mosaic structure and mechanical properties. A wide variability of the reflecting layer characteristics and optics shape makes the graphite optics useful in an extended range of applications. The optics could be adjusted to applications that require moderate resolution as EDXRF (energy dispersive X-Ray fluorescence) and as well as for high-resolution applications as EXAFS (extended X-ray absorption fine structure), XANES (X-ray absorption near-edge structure) and XES (X-ray emission spectroscopy). To realize the optics with theoretically optimized parameters the relationship between the production procedure and the mosaicity and reflectivity of the optics was experimentally studied. The influence of thickness, the type of PG (Highly Oriented PG (HOPG) or Highly Annealed PG (HAPG)) and substrate characteristics on the optics performance is presented.

The general-purpose networks-on-chip (GP-NoC) has recently attracted the attention of the research and industry as a way to support the growing demands of computing systems. The design and the development of the communications and networking functions for such a large-scale versatile systems require knowledge of the traffic exchanged between the computing nodes. The object of the study in this paper is the last-level shared cache interface that is likely to be a traffic bottleneck in future GP-NoC architectures. First, using the direct measurements, we report on the stochastic traffic properties at large-scales, provide first two moments and distribution functions. Complementing measurements with fine-grained cycle-accurate CPU simulations, we then analyze the small-scale traffic behavior. We show that even for the simplest applications such as reading or writing of data, the nature of the traffic is stochastic, depends on the number of active cores, and irrespective of the application type, has an explicit batch structure. We further reveal that the batch sizes and inter-batch intervals can be well approximated by geometric distribution and the approximation becomes better when the number of active cores increases. These properties identify a simple arrival model that can be used in the analytical or simulation-based performance evaluation studies of the shared interface technologies in prospective NoCs.

Graphite oxide has a complex structure that can be modified in many ways to obtain materials for a wide range of applications. It is known that the graphite precursor has an important role in the synthesis of graphite oxide. In the present study, the basal-plane surface of highly annealed pyrolythic graphite (HAPG) was oxidized by Hummers’ method and investigated by Raman spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy. HAPG was used as a graphite precursor because its surface after cleavage contains well-ordered millimeter-sized regions. The treatment resulted in graphite intercalation by sulfuric acid and blister formation all over the surface. Surprisingly, the destruction of the sp2-lattice was not detected in the ordered regions. We suggest that the reagent diffusion under the basal plane surface occurred through the cleavage steps and dislocations with the Burgers vector parallel to the c-axis in graphite.

La Compañía Minera CUZCATLÁN S.A. de C.V., subsidiaria de la empresa FORTUNA SILVER MINES INC. (El Cliente), explota un yacimiento de oro y plata por métodos subterráneos, que son procesados en su planta concentradora en la Unidad Minera San José, ubicada en el Municipio de San José del Progreso, Distrito de Ocotlán, Estado de Oaxaca, México. Los relaves generados en dicha planta son almacenados actualmente en una presa, siguiendo el método convencional de almacenamiento en pulpa. Considerando que el Cliente tiene proyectado incrementar la capacidad de producción de su planta concentradora a 3,000 tpd, y con la finalidad de garantizar el abastecimiento de agua para la operación, se optó por cambiar el método de almacenamiento de relaves en pulpa por el de relaves filtrados. Para tal fin, el Cliente solicitó a SVS INGENIEROS S.A. (La Consultora) la elaboración del “Estudio de ingeniería de detalle del nuevo depósito de relaves secos de la mina San José”. En enero del 2015 se inició la construcción de la cimentación de dicho depósito, con la empresa contratista GRUPO CONSTRUCCIONES PLANIFICADAS S.A. de C.V. (El Contratista), para lo cual el Cliente contrata a las empresas SVS INGENIEROS S.A. y SEI-TETRA S.A. de C.V. (La Supervisión). SVS INGENIEROS S.A. designa un equipo de profesionales, dentro de los cuales se encuentra el graduando, para realizar la “Supervisión del aseguramiento de calidad (CQA) y gerenciamiento de construcción del nuevo depósito de jales secos de la mina San José – Fase I”. Posteriormente, en mayo de 2015 se paralizan las actividades de construcción, a fin de dar regulación al requisito de Manifestación de Impacto Ambiental (MIA), solicitado por la Subdelegación de Gestión para la Protección Ambiental y Recursos Naturales del Estado de Oaxaca (SEMARNAT). En julio de 2015, SEMARNAT aprueba el MIA presentado por el Cliente y el 24 de agosto del mismo año se reactiva la construcción de la cimentación del depósito de relaves, dentro de los límites de la parcela N° 1517. Concluyéndose la construcción el 2 de diciembre del 2015. The mining company CUZCATLÁN S.A. de C.V., subsidiary owned by FORTUNA SILVER MINES INC. (the Client), mines gold and silver deposits using underground mining methods, which are later processed in its concentration plant located at San Jose Mining Unit in the Municipality of San Jose del Progreso, district of Ocotlan, State of Oaxaca, Mexico. The tailings produced in this plant are currently stored in a tailings dam, following the conventional pulp storage method. Considering that the Client has foreseen an increase of production rates in its concentration plant to 3,000 tpd, the pulp storage method was changed for filtered dry stack tailings in order to ensure water supply for the operation. To this end, the Client requested SVS INGENIEROS S.A. (the Consulting Firm) to prepare the following study: “Estudio de ingeniería de detalle del nuevo depósito de relaves secos de la mina San José” (Detailed Engineering Study of the New Dry Tailings Deposit at San Jose Mine). In January 2015, the contractor GRUPO CONSTRUCCIONES PLANIFICADAS S.A. de C.V. (the Contractor) started building the foundations of such deposit and the Client hired two companies: SVS INGENIEROS S.A. and SEI-TETRA S.A. de C.V. (the Supervision). SVS INGENIEROS S.A. designated a group of professionals, including a Student preparing his thesis: “Supervisión del aseguramiento de calidad (CQA) y gerenciamiento de construcción del nuevo depósito de jales secos de la mina San José – Fase I” (Quality Assurance Supervision (CQA) and Construction Management of the New Dry Tailings Deposit at San Jose Mine - Phase I). Then, in May 2015 construction works were halted in order to comply with the requirements related to an Environmental Impact Report requested by the Management Sub-delegation of Environment and Natural Resources from the State of Oaxaca (SEMARNAT, Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources). In July 2015, SEMARNAT approved the Environmental Impact Report issued by the Client and in August 24, 2015, the construction of the foundations of the tailings Trabajo de suficiencia profesional

It has been theoretically and experimentally proven that complex frequencies, immitance functions of complex frequencies, as well as resonance at complex frequencies are physically real. It follows from the above that the physical macrocosm has extra hidden dimensions. The information expands the fundamental knowledge on the structure of the Universe and may lead to reconsideration of certain basic concepts in mathematical, physical and engineering sciences.

Based on research of resonant and transitional processes in electric LC-, RL-, RC-, and LCRcircuits, the article offers theoretical and experimental proof of physical reality of complex frequency and other concrete complex numbers which are a function of complex frequency. Analysis of resonant processes in electric circuits has shown inconsistency in their conventional interpretation at real frequencies. On the contrary, interpretation of resonance at complex frequencies allowed explaining all the inconsistencies of its interpretation at real frequencies. We provide the description of experiments confirming physical reality of resonance at complex frequencies. As for transitional processes in electric circuits, their analysis by means of differential equations requires the solution of the respective characteristic algebraic equations. In this respect we demonstrate that the solution of algebraic equations with the use of real numbers rules out the existence of oscillation transitional process, and, therefore, does not conform to physical reality.

The inevitability of economic crises is objectively determined by ignorance of the mechanics of the “black box” of the economy and the inappropriate market policy. The article shows that the fundamental market process “goods-money-goods” is described with a second-degree differential equation, and, therefore, is potentially an oscillation process. However, in order to implement the economic oscillation processes of the commodity-money circulations, certain conditions have to be fulfilled, which are usually not fulfilled on their own. In order to comply with these conditions, the participants of the commodities market should be organized in a certain way. Cognition and use of the described oscillation processes in the economy allows making its development controlled, predictable and, eventually, crisis-proof. The article presents the main principles of the new science – the theory of oscillation economic systems, which allows developing new highly efficient economic structures. This new science even allows describing and ensures implementation of new economic processes, for instance, resonant processes.

We consider lattice analogues of some conformal theories, including WZW and Toda models. We describe discrete versions of Drinfeld-Sokolov reduction and Sugawara construction for the WZW model. We formulate perturbation theory in chiral sector. We describe the spaces of Integrals of Motion in the perturbed theories. We interpret the perturbed WZW model in terms of NLS hierarchy and obtain of this model into the lattice KP-hierarchy., 25 pages, Plain LaTeX

It is shown, that the results of OPERA experiment become fully explainable, if to take into account physical reality of imaginaries and corresponding to them interpretation of the universe's hidden dimensions. Also it is explained, why from an experiment OPERA ensues, that neutrinos possess a zero rest mass.

We represent a classical Maxwell-Bloch equation and related to it positive part of the AKNS hierarchy in geometrical terms. The Maxwell-Bloch evolution is given by an infinitesimal action of a nilpotent subalgebra $n_+$ of affine Lie algebra $\hat {sl}_2$ on a Maxwell-Bloch phase space treated as a homogeneous space of $n_+$. A space of local integrals of motion is described using cohomology methods. We show that hamiltonian flows associated to the Maxwell-Bloch local integrals of motion (i.e. positive AKNS flows) are identified with an infinitesimal action of an abelian subalgebra of the nilpotent subalgebra $n_+$ on a Maxwell- Bloch phase space. Possibilities of quantization and latticization of Maxwell-Bloch equation are discussed., 16 pages, no figures, plain TeX, no macros