bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Transient and Progressive Flooding Stages of Damaged Ro-Ro Vessels: A Systematic Review of Entailed Factors
Authors: Khaddaj-Mallat Chadi , Rousset Jean-Marc , Ferrant Pierre
Published: March 2011

Roll-on/roll-off vessels appear to be sensitive to rapid capsizing due to an abrupt ingress of water caused by maritime accidents. As a result of the damage creation, the flooded ship can experience intermediate stages, which might be more devastating than the final condition, as the sudden loading could significantly alter the ship stability characteristics. Far from a probabilistic analysis, the paper under study presents the state-of-the-art in regards to flooding physics by treating some relevant important topics. It sheds light on the transient and progressive flooding stages, focuses on relevant factors, and suggests combinations between factors that strongly affect the flooding before the steady state is reached. Furthermore, the authors comment on some points, which remain difficult to take into consideration either numerically or experimentally, and propose, where found necessary, recommendations for a more reliable assessment of the flooding process. This review shows that the intermediate flooding phase depends upon many factors, and its assessment could be adequate in calm water condition. The effects and interdependency between these factors still require further investigation. Therefore, we recommend carrying out a wide range parametric investigation into these factors, which consider their interdependency and encourage the application of the design of experiments methodology.
Heat Transfer to Flat Strips Immersed in a Fluidized Bed
Authors: Penny Christopher , Rosero Dennis , Naylor David , Friedman Jacob
Published: March 2011

Heat transfer to objects immersed in a fluidized bed has been studied extensively across a relatively large range of geometries, though most work has looked at cylinders, a geometry important in power generation fluidized bed applications. As the power generation industry has been the primary stimulant to fluidized bed heat transfer research, very little information is available regarding geometries significant in heat treating applications. In this work, heat transfer to thin flat strips immersed in a fluidized bed is examined. This geometry is important in the steel strap manufacturing industry where many manufacturers use environmentally damaging molten lead baths to heat-treat their product. In order to determine the feasibility of a fluidized bed heat treating system as an alternative to the more hazardous lead-based process, an experimental investigation has been conducted in which Nusselt number data for flat strips with widths in the range of 6.35–25.4 mm are obtained using a laboratory-scale fluidized bed (310 mm diameter). Aluminum oxide sand particles in the range of dp=145–330 μm (50–90 grit) are used as the fluidized media within the fluidized operating range from 0.15Gmf to approximately 10Gmf. The strip orientation angle θo was also varied to establish the position from which maximum heat transfer is obtained. It was found that a decrease in particle diameter, an increase in fluidizing rate, and an increase in sample diameter resulted in an increase in Nusselt number. It was also observed that for the smaller samples tested, a maximum Nusselt number plateau was reached, at approximately G/Gmf=2.5. Finally, it was shown that an increase in θo (from 0 deg to 90 deg) resulted in an increase in Nusselt number. A correlation for the maximum Nusselt number was developed, providing excellent agreement within ±15%.
On the Operation Space and Motion Compatibility of Variable Topology Mechanisms
Authors: Shieh Win-Bin , Sun Frederick , Chen Dar-Zen
Published: March 2011

With the implementation of just one mechanism, variable topology mechanisms can serve the functions of many mechanisms by changing their topology. These types of mechanisms have raised interest and attracted numerous studies in recent years, yet few of these studies have focused discussing of these mechanisms in light of their operation space. As the change of a variable topology mechanism is induced by either intrinsic constraints or constraints due to the change of joint geometry profile, the operation space of kinematic joints and kinematic chains in various working stages is changed in accordance. A theoretic framework based on the concept of the operation space of variable topology mechanisms is presented here. A number of characteristics with regard to the motion compatibility among joints and loops in different working stages are derived, laying a foundation for systematical synthesis of variable topology mechanisms. Design of a novel latch mechanism for the standardized mechanical interface system is given as an illustrative example for the synthesis of a variable topology mechanism.
Technical Note: Unsupervised C‐arm pose tracking with radiographic fiducial
Authors: Fallavollita P. , Burdette E. C. , Song D. Y. , Abolmaesumi P. , Fichtinger G.
Published: March 2011

Purpose:

C‐arm fluoroscopy reconstruction, such as that used in prostate brachytherapy, requires that the relative poses of the individual C‐arm fluoroscopy images must be known prior to reconstruction. Radiographic fiducials can provide excellent C‐arm pose tracking, but they need to be segmented in the image. The authors report an automated and unsupervised method that does not require prior segmentation of the fiducial.

Methods:

The authors compute the individual C‐arm poses relative to a stationary radiographic fiducial of known geometry. The authors register a filtered 2D fluoroscopy image of the fiducial to its 3D model by using image intensity alone without prior segmentation. To enhance the C‐arm images, the authors investigated a three‐step cascade filter and a line enhancement filter. The authors tested the method on a composite fiducial containing beads, straight lines, and ellipses. Ground‐truth C‐arm pose was provided by a clinically proven method.

Results:

Using 111 clinical C‐arm images and ±10° and ±10 mm random perturbation around the ground‐truth pose, a total of 2775 cases were evaluated. The average rotation and translation errors were 0.62° and 0.72 mm for the three‐step filter and 0.67° and 0.87 mm using the line enhancement filter.

Conclusions:

The C‐arm pose tracking method was sufficiently accurate and robust on human patient data for subsequent 3D implant reconstruction.
A MEK Inhibitor Abrogates Myeloproliferative Disease in
Kras
Mutant Mice
Authors: Lyubynska Natalya , Gorman Matthew F. , Lauchle Jennifer O. , Hong Wan Xing , Akutagawa Jon K. , Shannon Kevin , Braun Benjamin S.
Published: March 2011

Inhibiting the Raf/MEK/ERK pathway reverses the harmful effects of oncogenic
Kras
on hematopoietic differentiation, suggesting a strategy for treating myeloproliferative neoplasms.
Balloon-augmented carotid artery sacrifice with Onyx: a proof of concept study in a swine model
Authors: Spiotta Alejandro M , Sivapatham Thinesh , Teng Qingshan , Moskowitz Shaye I , Hui Ferdinand K
Published: March 2011

Introduction

Carotid sacrifice remains a valuable tool in the treatment of select vascular lesions. Neurointerventionalists have relied on coil embolization as their primary means of carotid sacrifice, a procedure that can be lengthy and expensive with long fluoroscopy times. We investigated a novel technique for carotid sacrifice in a swine model using temporary balloon occlusion to achieve proximal flow arrest in the carotid artery while embolizing the vessel with a liquid embolic agent.

Methods

A total of 10 common carotid artery sacrifices were performed in pigs under fluoroscopic guidance. Various balloons were employed to achieve near total proximal flow arrest to allow an Onyx cast to accumulate in the target vessel.

Results

The technique for sacrifice was modified during the experiment with the final procedures yielding successful sacrifice using Onyx through a dimethylsulfoxide-tolerant catheter (Echelon 14) with the assistance of two fibered coils and a 5 mm×30 mm Hyperglide balloon resulting in a 2.5 cm long cast.

Conclusion

Carotid artery sacrifice using commercially available non-adhesive liquid embolic agents is feasible with balloon assistance, allowing for reduced radiation and material costs. Coils may be beneficial in providing an anchor point for liquid embolic deposition, as well as reducing the volume of liquid embolysate required to achieve vessel occlusion.
Insights into the biochemistry of the ubiquitous NhaP family of cation/H+antiportersThis paper is one of a selection of papers published in a Special Issue entitled CSBMCB 53rd Annual Meeting — Membrane Proteins in Health and Disease, and has undergone the Journal’s usual peer review process.
Authors: Resch Craig T. , Winogrodzki Judith L. , Häse Claudia C. , Dibrov Pavel
Published: March 2011

Na+/H+antiporters are integral membrane proteins that exchange Na+for H+across the cytoplasmic or organellar membranes of virtually all living cells. They are essential for control of cellular pH, volume homeostasis, and regulation of Na+levels. Na+/H+antiporters have become increasingly characterized and are now becoming important drug targets. The recently identified NhaP family of Na+/H+antiporters, from the CPA1 superfamily, contains proteins with a surprisingly broad collective range of transported cations, exchanging protons for alkali cations such as Na+, Li+, K+, or Rb+as well as for Ca2+and, possibly, NH4+. Questions about ion selectivity and the physiological impact of each particular NhaP antiporter are far from trivial. For example, Vc-NhaP2 from Vibrio cholerae has recently been shown to function in vivo as a specific K+/H+antiporter while retaining the ability to exchange H+for Na+and bind (but not exchange with H+) Li+in a competitive manner. These and other findings reviewed in this communication make antiporters of the NhaP type attractive systems to study intimate molecular mechanisms of cation exchange. In an evolutionary perspective, the NhaP family seems to be a phylogenetic entity undergoing active divergent evolution. In this minireview, to rationalize peculiarities of the cation specificity in the NhaP family, the “size-exclusion principle” and the idea of “ligand shading” are discussed.
Effect of Acupuncture on Heart Rate Variability in Primary Dysmenorrheic Women
Authors: Kim Eunsook , Cho Jung-Hoon , Jung Woo Sang , Lee Sanghoon , Pak Sok Cheon
Published: March 2011

Primary dysmenorrhea is a common gynecological complaint among young women that is related to an autonomic nervous system (ANS) disturbance. Acupuncture is one of several therapeutic approaches for primary dysmenorrhea, since it can modulate ANS function. The heart rate variability (HRV) parameters such as high frequency (HF), low frequency (LF) and LF/HF ratio are generally accepted tools to assess ANS activity. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of acupuncture applied at Hegu (LI4) and Sanyinjiao (SP6) points on HRV of women with primary dysmenorrhea during the late luteal phase. The experimental design was a crossover and patient-blinded procedure. All subjects participated in Sham (SA) and Real Acupuncture (RA) procedure, separated by one month, in a crossover sequence. The participants included 38 women (mean age 22.3 years; weight 53.8 kg; height 162.6 cm). HRV measurement was 15 min before and 15 min after an acupuncture procedure. The RA procedure was performed at two bilateral acupoints, but needles were inserted subcutaneously to the acupuncture points for the SA procedure. The RA induced a significant decrease in LF/HF ratio and a significant increase in the HF power, while SA treatment caused a significant increase only in the HF power. Manual acupuncture at bilateral acupoints of LI4 and SP6 may play a role in dysmenorrhea treatment with autonomic nervous system involvement.
Analgesic and Anti-Inflammatory Property of the Methanol Extract from Ligustrum morrisonense Leaves in Rodents
Authors: Wu Chi-Rei , Lin Wen-Hsin , Lin Yung-Ta , Wen Chi-Luan , Ching Hui , Lin Li-Wei
Published: March 2011

Ligustrum morrisonense Kaneh and Sasaki (abbreviated as LM), an endemic Ligustrum plant in Taiwan, is similar to Ligustrum lucidum, which is usually used for curing hepatic and inflammatory disorders. The aim of this study was to evaluate the analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties of LM by chemical-induced algesia and carrageenan-induced inflammation in rodents. Its triterpenoid contents were measured by using high performance liquid chromatography-photodiode array detector. LM leaf extracts effectively inhibited writhing responses induced by 1% acetic acid and biphasic-licking responses caused by 1% formalin. LM leaf extract also reduced the edema induced by 1% carrageenan. Furthermore, LM leaf extract reduced the abdominal Evan's blue extravasations caused by lipopolysaccharide (LPS), serotonin, histamine and bradykinin. LM leaf extract has higher contents of amyrin and lupeol among six assayed triterpenoid compounds. In conclusion, LM is a potential analgesic and anti-inflammatory Ligustrum plant, and its anti-inflammatory effects are partially related to decreasing microvascular permeability via inflammatory mediators and inhibiting cyclooxygenase-2 activity.
The Effects of Corni Fructus Extract and Its Fractions Against α-Glucosidase Inhibitory Activitiesin Vitroand Sucrose Tolerance in Normal Rats
Authors: Park Chan Hum , Noh Jeong Sook , Tanaka Takashi , Uebaba Kazuo , Cho Eun Ju , Yokozawa Takako
Published: March 2011

Corni Fructus (Cornus officinalis Sieb. et Zucc.) is a traditional medicine exerting multifaceted protective effects against diabetes and its complications. In this study, to further identify the physiological effects of Corni Fructus against diabetes and its complications, we investigated α-glucosidase inhibitory activities in vitro and employed the sucrose tolerance test as an indicator of the control of the postprandial blood glucose level. In vitro assays showed that Corni Fructus extract has a higher inhibitory activity than its major components. Then, Corni Fructus extract was fractionated again to screen the fractions showing a strong inhibitory activity against α-glucosidase. Of the tested fractions, five showed a rate of α-glucosidase inhibition of over 80%. Next, the four abundant fractions were evaluated their IC50values, as well as the inhibition mode in vitro and plasma glucose level after sucrose loading in normal Wistar rats. As a result, the IC50values of these fractions were between 1.1–2.1 μg/ml. Among the four fractions, three showed mixed inhibition, while one (Fr. 4–9) showed the competition-independent inhibition of α-glucosidase. In addition, Fr. 4S-1 significantly inhibited the rise in the plasma glucose levels at a dose of 20 mg/kg body weight after sucrose loading. These results indicate that Fr. 4S-1 from Corni Fructus has a potential to control postprandial hyperglycemia by α-glucosidase inhibition.
Tanshinone IIA Inhibits Angiotensin II-Induced Cell Proliferation in Rat Cardiac Fibroblasts
Authors: Chan Paul , Liu Ju-Chi , Lin Li-Jen , Chen Po-Yuan , Cheng Tzu-Hurng , Lin Jaung-Geng , Hong Hong-Jye
Published: March 2011

Tanshinone IIA extracted from Danshen, a popular medicinal herb used in traditional Chinese medicine, exhibits cardio-protective effects. However, the mechanism of its cardioprotective effect is not well established. The aims of this study were to examine whether tanshinone IIA may alter angiotensin II (Ang II)-induced cell proliferation and to identify the putative underlying signaling pathways in rat cardiac fibroblasts. Cultured rat cardiac fibroblasts were pre-treated with tanshinone IIA and stimulated with Ang II, cell proliferation and endothelin-1 (ET-1) expression were examined. The effect of tanshinone IIA on Ang II-induced reactive oxygen species (ROS) formation, and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) phosphorylation were also examined. In addition, the effect of tanshinone IIA on nitric oxide (NO) production, and endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) phosphorylation were tested to elucidate the intracellular mechanism. The increased cell proliferation and ET-1 expression by Ang II (100 nM) were partially inhibited by tanshinone IIA. Tanshinone IIA also inhibited Ang II-increased ROS formation, and ERK phosphorylation. In addition, tanshinone IIA was found to increase the NO generation, and eNOS phosphorylation. NG-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME), an inhibitor of NOS, and the short interfering RNA transfection for eNOS markedly attenuated the inhibitory effect of tanshinone IIA on Ang II-induced cell proliferation. The results suggest that tanshinone IIA prevents cardiac fibroblast proliferation by interfering with the generation of ROS and involves the activation of the eNOS-NO pathway.
FUSION RATE IN μtt IN MUONIC MOLECULAR ION USING LINEAR COMBINATION OF ATOMIC ORBITAL METHOD
Authors: MAHDAVI M. , KALEJI B. , KOOHROKHI T.
Published: March 2011

In this paper, the tritium–tritium fusion reaction rate in a muonic molecular ion (μtt) is calculated by using a square-well nuclear potential as a complex for nuclear interaction between two tritones. The complex potential parameters are obtained by fitting process on fusion cross-section experimental data. The real and imaginary parts of the nuclear potential are calculated as Ur = -62531.87 (keV) and Ui = -165.63 (keV), respectively. A free parameter that is related to the radius of this potential is A = 0.004155. Also, considering the optical nuclear potential, the energy value of μtt muonic molecular ion is calculated. The fusion rate is calculated by liner combination of atomic orbital (LCAO) method. Finally, the reaction rate, λ, is obtained 0.28×1010 s -1 by calculating the transition probability through the potential barrier and the oscillation frequency of wave function.
DEVELOPMENT OF A LORENTZIAN-FUNCTION APPROXIMATION UTILIZING IN THE CHARGED- PARTICLE-INDUCED NONRESONANT REACTION RATE
Authors: HE J. J. , LI L. , HU J. , ZHANG L. Y. , XU S. W. , YU X. Q. , LIU M. L.
Published: March 2011

A development has been made for the charged-particle-induced nonresonant reaction-rate equations. The forms of reaction-rate equations for nonresonant and resonant reactions have been united in a frame of Lorentzian-Function Approximation (LFA) mathematically. In the frame of LFA, the nonresonant reaction taken place within the Gamow window can be considered, in form, as a "resonance" reaction with a full width at half maximum (FWHM, Γ nr ) equal to the 1/e width (Δ) in a well-known Gaussian-Function Approximation (GFA).
FLUCTUATION PATTERN OF SHOWER AND COMPOUND MULTIPLICITY DISTRIBUTIONS IN NUCLEUS–NUCLEUS INTERACTIONS AT A FEW GeV
Authors: GHOSH DIPAK , DEB ARGHA , LAHIRI MADHUMITA BANERJEE , MANDAL PASUPATI , BISWAS SUBRATA , GHOSH JAYITA , BHATTACHARYYA SWARNAPRATIM , HALDAR PRABIR KUMAR , MAITY DIPAK
Published: March 2011

This work presents a study on the multiplicity distribution of shower and compound multiplicity (pions + target protons) emitted from 12 C – AgBr and 24 Mg – AgBr interactions at 4.5 AGeV in terms of negative binomial distribution (NBD) and also on the fluctuation pattern of shower and compound multiplicity in the frame work of two-dimensional factorial moment methodology using the concept of Hurst exponent.
MULTIPLICITY DISTRIBUTION AND MULTIPLICITY MOMENT OF BLACK AND GREY PARTICLES IN HIGH ENERGY NUCLEUS–NUCLEUS INTERACTIONS
Authors: GHOSH DIPAK , DEB ARGHA , BHATTACHARYYA SWARNAPRATIM , DATTA UTPAL
Published: March 2011

In this paper we have studied the multiplicity distribution of black and grey particles emitted from 16 O – AgBr interactions at 2.1 AGeV and 60 AGeV. We have also calculated the multiplicity moment up to the fifth order for both the interactions and for both kinds of emitted particles. The variation of multiplicity moment with the order number has been investigated. It is seen that in the case of black particles multiplicity moment up to fourth order remains almost constant as energy increases from 2.1 AGeV to 60 AGeV. Fifth order multiplicity moment increases insignificantly with energy. However in the case of grey particles no such constancy of multiplicity moment with energy of the projectile beam is obtained. Later we have extended our study on the basis of Regge–Mueller approach to find the existence of second order correlation during the emission of black as well as the grey particles. The second Mueller moment is found to be positive and it increases as energy increases in the case of black particles. On the contrary in the case of grey particles the second Mueller moment decreases with energy. It can be concluded that as energy increases correlation among the black particles increases. On the other hand with the increase of energy correlation among the grey particles is found to diminish.
MICROSCOPIC STUDY OF NEGATIVE PARITY YRAST STATES IN NEUTRON-DEFICIENT 119–127Ba ISOTOPES
Authors: BHARTI ARUN , SINGH SURAM , KHOSA S. K.
Published: March 2011

The negative parity yrast bands of neutron-deficient 119–127 Ba nuclei are studied by using the Projected Shell Model approach. Energy levels, transition energies and B(M1)/B(E2) ratios are calculated and compared with the available experimental data. The calculations reproduce the band head spins of negative parity yrast bands and indicate the multi-quasiparticle structure for these bands.
PRODUCTIONS OF HEAVY FLAVORED MESONS IN RELATIVISTIC HEAVY ION COLLISIONS IN THE RECOMBINATION MODEL
Authors: PENG R. , YANG C. B.
Published: March 2011

We find the distributions of shower partons initiated by heavy quarks c and b by studying the fragmentation functions in the framework of the recombination model. The transverse momentum spectra of heavy flavored mesons are predicted with these distributions. We find that the contribution from the recombination of thermal-shower partons is an important part in the total spectrum for the mesons. We predict the heavy flavored meson productions for different centralities with the heavy quark fugacities fitted by the experimental data of J/ψ transverse momentum spectra in Au+Au collisions.
ACTIVE VIBRATION CONTROL OF COMPOSITE PLATE USING AFC ACTUATOR AND PVDF SENSOR
Authors: KERUR S. B. , GHOSH ANUP
Published: March 2011

A finite element formulation for active vibration control of laminated composite plate integrated with active fiber composite (AFC) layer acting as distributed actuator and PVDF layer as sensor is presented in this paper. An eight noded quadratic isoparametric element with five mechanical degrees of freedom and one electrical degree of freedom per node of the element is considered. Newmark time integration method is used to calculate the dynamic response and negative velocity feedback control algorithm is used to control the dynamic response of the laminated composite plate. The effect of piezoelectric fiber orientation in actuator layer on the control of vibration is studied.
BUCKLING OF CIRCULAR SANDWICH PLATES OF VARIABLE CORE THICKNESS AND FGM FACE SHEETS
Authors: JALALI S. K. , NAEI M. H. , POORSOLHJOUY A.
Published: March 2011

Presented herein is the buckling response of circular sandwich plates with a homogenous core of variable thickness and constant thickness functionally graded material (FGM) face sheets whose material properties are assumed to be graded in the thickness direction according to a simple power law. The plate is modeled using the first order shear deformation plate theory and subjected to a uniform radial compression. In order to determine the distribution of the prebuckling load along the radius, the membrane equation is solved using the shooting method. Subsequently, by employing the pseudospectral method that makes use of Chebyshev polynomials, the stability equations are solved numerically to evaluate the critical buckling load. Numerical solutions are presented for both clamped and simply supported plates and for linear and parabolic core thickness distributions. The results show that the buckling behavior is significantly influenced by the thickness variation profile, the aspect ratio, the volume fraction index, and the core-to-face sheet thickness ratio. Comparison studies demonstrate that the results obtained using the current method compare very well with those available in the literature.
DYNAMIC STABILITY OF LAMINATED COMPOSITE PLATES WITH PIEZOELECTRIC LAYERS SUBJECTED TO PERIODIC IN-PLANE LOAD
Authors: PRADYUMNA S. , GUPTA ABHISHEK
Published: March 2011

In this paper, the dynamic stability characteristics of laminated composite plates with piezoelectric layers subjected to periodic in-plane load are studied. The finite element method is employed using a modified first-order shear deformation plate theory (MFSDT). The formulation includes the effects of transverse shear, in-plane, and rotary inertia. The boundaries of dynamic instability regions are obtained using Bolotin's approach. The structural system is considered to be undamped. The correctness of the formulation is established by comparing the authors' results with those available in the published literature. The effects of control voltage, static buckling load parameter, number of stacking layers, and thickness of plate on the principal and second instability regions are investigated for cross-ply laminated composite plate.
ADVANCED FINITE ELEMENT MODEL OF TSING MA BRIDGE FOR STRUCTURAL HEALTH MONITORING
Authors: DUAN Y. F. , XU Y. L. , FEI Q. G. , WONG K. Y. , CHAN K. W. Y. , NI Y. Q. , NG C. L.
Published: March 2011

The Tsing Ma Bridge is a cable suspension bridge carrying both highway and railway. A bridge health monitoring system called wind and structural health monitoring system (WASHMS) has been installed in the Tsing Ma Bridge and operated since 1997 to monitor the structural performance and its associated loads and environments. However, there exists a possibility that the worst structural conditions may not be directly monitored due to the limited number of sensors and the complexity of structure and loading conditions. Therefore, it is an essential task to establish structural performance relationships between the critical locations/components of the bridge and those instrumented by the WASHMS. Meanwhile, to develop and validate practical and effective structural damage detection techniques and safety evaluation strategies, the conventional modeling for cable-supported bridges by approximating the bridge deck as continuous beams or grids is not applicable for simulation of real damage scenarios. To fulfil these tasks, a detailed full three-dimensional (3D) finite element model of the Tsing Ma Bridge is currently established for direct computation of the stress/strain states for all important bridge components. This paper presents the details of establishing this full 3D finite element model and its calibration. The major structural components are modeled in detail and the connections and boundary conditions are modeled properly, which results in about half million elements for the complete bridge model. The calibration of vibration modes and stresses/strains due to passing trains is carried out, and a good agreement is found between the computed and measured results.
BEAM-COLUMN RESISTANCE OF STEEL MEMBERS: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF AISC LRFD AND EC3 APPROACHES
Authors: YONG DANNY J. , LÓPEZ AITZIBER , SERNA MIGUEL A.
Published: March 2011

The paper presents a comparative study of a well-established steelwork design standard, the American AISC LRFD, and the new European code for the design of steel structures, Eurocode 3. The study is focused on the resistance capacity of steel members subjected to one of the following load cases: axial compression, bending, and combined axial compression and bending. First, the paper compares the formulation of both codes in order to identify similarities and differences. Particular attention is given to the resistance of beam columns since many steel structural members in building structures fall into this category. In the case of pure bending and combined axial compression and bending, the paper considers two extreme cases of linear moment distribution: equal end moments and opposite end moments. The results are presented graphically in order to make possible their interpretation and to detect significant differences in resistance. The comparative study shows that the resistance capacities given by LRFD and EC3 can differ appreciably for some of the cases considered. Moreover, there are also significant differences between the two methods proposed by the Eurocode when slenderness is high and the beam is subjected to linear moment distribution with opposite end moments. Finally, the paper stresses those points where each standard offers a simpler approach.
BUCKLING ANALYSIS OF PLANAR FRAMEWORKS USING THE QUADRATURE ELEMENT METHOD
Authors: ZHONG H. , ZHANG R. , YU H.
Published: March 2011

The recently proposed weak form quadrature element method (QEM) is applied to the buckling analysis of planar frameworks. This method starts with approximation of the integrands in the weak form description (variational formulation) of a problem. Neither the nodes nor the number of nodes in a quadrature element is fixed, being adjustable according to convergence need. Examples are presented and comparison with the results of the finite element method is made to demonstrate the effectiveness and computational efficiency of the QEM. It is shown that the QEM is suitable for buckling analysis of planar frameworks with either varying or constant cross sections.
DYNAMIC ANALYSIS OF PRESTRESSED CONCRETE BOX-GIRDER BRIDGES BY USING THE BEAM SEGMENT FINITE ELEMENT METHOD
Authors: WANG Z.-C. , REN W.-X.
Published: March 2011

A beam segment element formulation is presented for the dynamic analysis of prestressed concrete box-girder bridges, which can conveniently takes into account the effects of the restrained torsion, distortion, transverse local deformation, diaphragms, and prestressing tendons of prestressed concrete box-girder bridges. The spatial displacement field of the beam segment element is directly represented by the nodal degrees of freedom of the corner points. The stiffness matrix and mass matrix of such a segment element are formulated based on the principle of stationary total potential energy in elastic system dynamics. The proposed beam segment element formulation is then implemented to carry out the free vibration analysis of a real case prestressed concrete box-girder bridge. In terms of both natural frequencies and mode shapes, the formulation is verified by the three-dimensional (3D) finite element analysis using a commercial package. It is demonstrated that the proposed beam segment element formulation is suitable and efficient for the dynamic analysis of prestressed concrete box-girder bridges with the advantages of less element numbers and enough accuracy. It is expected that this methodology can be an effective approach for the further dynamic response analysis under all kinds of dynamic loads such as earthquakes, winds, vehicles, and their interaction.
QUASITRIANGULARITY OF BRZEZIŃSKI'S CROSSED COPRODUCTS
Authors: MA TIANSHUI , LI HAIYING , WANG SHUANHONG
Published: March 2011

In continuation of our recent work about the quasitriangular structures for the twisted tensor biproduct, we give the necessary and sufficient conditions for Brzeziński crossed coproduct coalgebra, including the twisted tensor coproduct introduced by Caenepeel, Ion, Militaru and Zhu and crossed coproduct as constructed by Lin, equipped with the usual tensor product algebra structure to be a Hopf algebra. Furthermore, the necessary and sufficient conditions for Brzeziński crossed coproduct to be a quasitriangular Hopf algebra are obtained.
ON SEMITRANSITIVE JORDAN ALGEBRAS OF MATRICES
Authors: BERNIK J. , DRNOVŠEK R. , BUKOVŠEK D. KOKOL , KOŠIR T. , OMLADIČ M. , RADJAVI H.
Published: March 2011

A set [Formula: see text] of linear operators on a vector space is said to be semitransitive if, given nonzero vectors x, y, there exists [Formula: see text] such that either Ax = y or Ay = x. In this paper we consider semitransitive Jordan algebras of operators on a finite-dimensional vector space over an algebraically closed field of characteristic not two. Two of our main results are:

(1) Every irreducible semitransitive Jordan algebra is actually transitive.

(2) Every semitransitive Jordan algebra contains, up to simultaneous similarity, the upper triangular Toeplitz algebra, i.e. the unital (associative) algebra generated by a nilpotent operator of maximal index.
ON THE ASSOCIATIVE ALGEBRA STRUCTURES CLOSEST TO ALGEBRA STRUCTURES
Authors: KUBO FUJIO , SUENOBU FUMIYA
Published: March 2011

We shall define the associative algebra structure closest to a given algebra structure. When we face a new multiplication, being caused by noise and so on, it must be useful to compute with the closest associative multiplication to such a perturbed one. In this paper we shall give a procedure to find the closest associative structure and demonstrate our strategy for the 2-dimensional algebras over the field of real numbers. Then we trace the points of the sets of structure constants of the deformed algebras.
FROM TRISECTIONS IN MODULE CATEGORIES TO QUASI-DIRECTED COMPONENTS
Authors: ALVARES E. R. , ASSEM I. , COELHO F. U. , I. PEÑA M. , TREPODE S.
Published: March 2011

In this paper, we define and study a special type of trisections in a module category, namely the compact trisections which characterize quasi-directed components. We apply this notion to the study of laura algebras and we use it to define a class of algebras with predictable Auslander–Reiten components.
A NECESSARY CONDITION FOR CERTAIN PRIMES TO BE WRITTEN IN THE FORM xq + ryq
Authors: SAVIN DIANA , ŞTEFĂNESCU MIRELA
Published: March 2011

We give a characterization of the prime natural numbers p of the form xq + ryq, where q and r are distinct odd primes.
KT-BIMODULES AND WEAK KT-BIMODULES
Authors: TÜTÜNCÜ DERYA KESKİN
Published: March 2011

Let SMR be an (S, R)-bimodule. We denote DS(N) = {s ∈ S |sM ⊆ N} for any submodule N of MR. We investigate the condition DS(K + T) = DS(K) + DS(T) for submodules K and T of MR. Various characterizations and properties are derived for modules with this property. In particular, for S = End (MR), the π-projective modules are those modules MR for which S = DS(K) + DS(T) whenever M = K+T, and we give some new results on these modules and lifting modules.
SOME RESULTS ON THE COMPLEMENT OF THE ZERO-DIVISOR GRAPH OF A COMMUTATIVE RING
Authors: VISWESWARAN S.
Published: March 2011

Let R be a commutative ring with identity admitting at least two nonzero zero-divisors. First, in this article we determine when the complement of the zero-divisor graph of R is connected and also determine its diameter when it is connected. Second, in this article we study the relationship between the connectedness of the complement of the zero-divisor graph of R to that of the connectedness of the complement of the zero-divisor graph of T where either T = R[x] or T = R[[x]] and we study the relationship between their diameters in the case when both the graphs are connected. Finally, we give some examples to illustrate some of the results proved in this article.
ON THE COMMUTING GRAPH OF RINGS
Authors: OMIDI G. R. , VATANDOOST E.
Published: March 2011

Let R be a non-commutative ring. The commuting graph of R denoted by Γ(R), is a graph with vertex set R\Z(R) and two vertices a and b are adjacent if ab = ba. It has been shown that the diameter of Γ(R)c is less than 3. For a finite ring R we show that the diameter of Γ(R)c is one if and only if R is the non-commutative ring on 4 elements. Also we characterize all rings where the complements of their commuting graphs are planar. Moreover, we identify the commuting graphs of rings of order pi for i = 2, 3 and prime number p.
ABELIAN GROUPS WITH A p2-BOUNDED SUBGROUP, REVISITED
Authors: PETRORO CARLA , SCHMIDMEIER MARKUS
Published: March 2011

Let Λ be a commutative local uniserial ring of length n, p be a generator of the maximal ideal, and k be the radical factor field. The pairs (B, A) where B is a finitely generated Λ-module and A ⊆B a submodule of B such that pmA = 0 form the objects in the category [Formula: see text]. We show that in case m = 2 the categories [Formula: see text] are in fact quite similar to each other: If also Δ is a commutative local uniserial ring of length n and with radical factor field k, then the categories [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] are equivalent for certain nilpotent categorical ideals [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text]. As an application, we recover the known classification of all pairs (B, A) where B is a finitely generated abelian group and A ⊆ B a subgroup of B which is p2-bounded for a given prime number p.
ON RINGS R WHOSE GRAPHS Γ(R) SATISFY CONDITION (Kp)
Authors: CHEN LI , WU TONGSUO
Published: March 2011

Let p be a prime number. Let G = Γ(R) be a ring graph, i.e. the zero-divisor graph of a commutative ring R. For an induced subgraph H of G, let CG(H) = {z ∈ V(G) ∣N(z) = V(H)}. Assume that in the graph G there exists an induced subgraph H which is isomorphic to the complete graph Kp-1, a vertex c ∈ CG(H), and a vertex z such that d(c, z) = 3. In this paper, we characterize the finite commutative rings R whose graphs G = Γ(R) have this property (called condition (Kp)).
SINGLE-PARTICLE AND PAIR DYNAMICAL PROPERTIES OF ACETONE–METHANOL MIXTURES CONTAINING CHARGED AND NEUTRAL SOLUTES: A MOLECULAR DYNAMICS STUDY
Authors: GUPTA RINI , CHANDRA AMALENDU
Published: March 2011

The dynamical properties of acetone–methanol mixtures containing either an ionic or a neutral hydrophobic solute are investigated by means of a series of molecular dynamics simulations. The primary goal has been to study how the solute and solvent dynamical properties change with variation of composition of the mixture ranging from pure acetone to pure methanol. The variations of structure and energetics of the mixture with composition are also calculated. The diffusion coefficients of both ionic and neutral solutes are found to show nonlinear variation with composition of the mixture, although the extent of nonlinearity in the diffusion of the neutral solute is much weaker. Calculations of appropriate solute-solvent distribution functions reveal the extent and nature of selective solvation of these solute species which play a role in determining the nonideal dynamical characteristics of these solutes. The free energies of solvation of the ionic solutes are also calculated and the results are discussed in the context of their dynamical behavior. The hydrogen bond statistics and dynamics of these mixtures are also calculated over their entire composition range. The energies and lifetimes of hydrogen bonds between an acetone and a methanol molecule or between two methanol molecules are found to increase with increase of acetone mole fraction of the mixture. Residence times of methanol molecules in solvation shells of acetone and methanol are also found to follow the same trend as relaxation times. However, these pair dynamical properties show essentially linear dependence on composition, thus behave almost ideally with respect to changes in composition of the mixture.
QUANTUM DYNAMICS OF THE He + Li2 INELASTIC SCATTERING
Authors: AKPINAR SINAN , TURMUS TUNAY , SURUCU SEDA
Published: March 2011

In this paper, we report the results of three dimensional time dependent quantum wave packet calculations carried out for He+Li2 inelastic reaction in the collision energy range 0.43–1.18 eV. A three dimensional potential energy surface (PES) computed by Varandas was used for the dynamical calculations.1 The state to state and state to all transition probabilities for total angular momentum J = 0 have been calculated in a broad range of collision energies. Integral cross-sections and rate constants have been calculated from the wave packet transition probabilities by means of J-shifting approximation based on a capture model and a uniform J-shifting method for J > 0.
QUANTUM CHEMICAL STUDY OF CISPLATIN-WATER COMPLEXES: AN INVESTIGATION OF ELECTRON CORRELATION EFFECTS
Authors: LOPES JULIANA FEDOCE , DA SILVA JÚLIO C. S. , ROCHA WILLIAN R. , DE ALMEIDA WAGNER B. , DOS SANTOS HÉLIO F.
Published: March 2011

The interaction of cisplatin ([ Pt(NH3)2Cl2] ) with water was studied for distinct complexation modes aiming to investigate the level of calculation required to describe transition metal complexes of biological relevance, where large scale ab initio post-Hartree-Fock calculations are usually precluded. Coupled Cluster (CCSD(T)) single point calculations employing MP2 and MP4(SDQ) optimized geometries and good quality basis sets, using effective core potential for platinum atom, are reported as well as Density Functional Theory (DFT) results employing various exchange-correlation functional. The importance of electron correlation effects for the calculation of interaction energies is discussed. The extension of correlation energy recovered by DFT was assessed considering the CCSD(T) results as reference. The recently developed M06-2x functional showed the best overall agreement with CCSD(T) calculations. The relative importance of the electrostatic and dispersion contributions to the interaction energy was estimated with the aid of the atoms in molecules theory and also using an empirical approach based on the multipole expansion method. It was found a strong dependence of the energy contributions on the spatial orientation of water and cisplatin monomers, with the electrostatic contribution dominating the interaction energy for the lowest energy equilibrium structures.
DECOHERENCE OF GAUSSIAN AND NONGAUSSIAN PHOTON-NUMBER ENTANGLED STATES IN A NOISY CHANNEL
Authors: ALLEGRA MICHELE , GIORDA PAOLO , PARIS MATTEO G. A.
Published: March 2011

We consider photon-number entangled states (PNES) and study the degradation of their entanglement in a noisy channel, using different separability criteria and a recently proposed measure of nonGaussianity as key tools. Upon comparing Gaussian and nonGaussian states within the class, we collect some evidence that Gaussian states are maximally robust against noise, i.e. the complete loss of entanglement occurs in maximal time. However, the gap with respect to nonGaussian states is negligible for sufficiently high energy of the states.
EXPERIMENTAL TESTS OF QUANTUM MECHANICS PAULI EXCLUSION PRINCIPLE VIOLATION (THE VIP EXPERIMENT) AND FUTURE PERSPECTIVES
Authors: CURCEANU (PETRASCU) C. , BARTALUCCI S. , BRAGADIREANU M. , GUARALDO C. , ILIESCU M. , PIETREANU T. , PONTA T. , VIDAL A. ROMERO , SCORDO A. , SIRGHI D. L. , SIRGHI F. , SPERANDIO L. , DOCE O. VAZQUEZ , CARGNELLI M. , ISHIWATARI T. , MARTON J. , WIDMANN E. , ZMESKAL J. , BERTOLUCCI S. , DI MATTEO S. , EGGER J.-P. , MILOTTI E. , LAUBENSTEIN M.
Published: March 2011

The Pauli exclusion principle (PEP) is one of the basic principles of modern physics. Being at the very basis of our understanding of matter, as many other fundamental principles it spurs, presently, a lively debate on its possible limits, deeply rooted in the very foundations of Quantum Field Theory. Therefore, it is extremely important to test the limits of its validity. Quon theory provides a suitable mathematical framework of possible violation of PEP, where the violation parameter q translates into a probability of violating PEP. Experimentally, setting a bound on PEP violation means confining the violation parameter to a value very close to either 1 (for bosons) or -1 (for fermions). The VIP (VIolation of the Pauli exclusion principle) experiment established a limit on the probability that PEP is violated by electrons, using the method of searching for PEP forbidden atomic transitions in copper. We describe the experimental method, the obtained results, both in terms of the q-parameter from quon theory and as probability of PEP violation, we briefly discuss them and present future plans to go beyond the actual limit by upgrading the experimental technique using vetoed new spectroscopical fast Silicon Drift Detectors. We also shortly mention the possibility of using a similar experimental technique to search for eventual X-rays, generated in the spontaneous collapse models.
SOFT-PROCESSING FOR INFORMATION RECONCILIATION IN QKD APPLICATIONS
Authors: MONDIN MARINA , DELGADO MARIA , MESITI FABIO , DANESHGARAN FRED
Published: March 2011

In this manuscript, a composite channel model for quantum key distribution is considered, including both a "hard output" quantum channel and a "soft output" classic channel. The metrics derived from the two channels are jointly processed at the receiver, exploiting capacity achieving soft-metric based iteratively decoded block codes, and soft-information based information reconciliation and privacy amplification techniques are proposed. The performance of the proposed mixed-soft-metric algorithms is analyzed as a function of the system parameters.
QUANTUM SIZE EFFECTS IN SUPERCONDUCTING JUNCTIONS WITH A FERROMAGNETIC INTERLAYER
Authors: BELOGOLOVSKII M. , LEO N. DE , FRETTO M. , LACQUANITI V.
Published: March 2011

Motivated by a recent experiment evidencing an unusual double-peak structure in tunneling conductance spectra of a nano-sized ferromagnet — superconductor bilayer, we propose a clean-limit scattering-like model for a quasi-ballistic transport in superconducting heterostructures with conducting ferromagnetic films. The model also includes an effect of charge interactions with an environment which partially degrade quantum correlations in the system. Our numerical simulations show that (i) the observed feature arises from a quantum-mechanical geometrical size effect and (ii) such measurements can serve as a sensitive tool for controlling quantum-mechanical phenomena in the studied junctions.
DETERMINISTIC GENERATION OF INDISTINGUISHABLE SINGLE-PHOTON PULSES IN THE SINGLE-ATOM-CAVITY QED SYSTEM
Authors: GOGYAN ANAHIT , GUÉRIN STÉPHANE , JAUSLIN HANS-RUDOLF , MALAKYAN YURI
Published: March 2011

We present a mechanism to produce indistinguishable single-photon pulses on demand from a single atom-optical cavity system. We use sequences of two laser pulses of alternate circular polarizations at the two Raman transitions of a four-level atom. They allow the production of the same cavity-mode photons without repumping of the atom between photon generations. Photons that are emitted from the cavity with near-unity efficiency in well-defined temporal modes, feature the same polarization, frequency and identical shapes, controlled by the laser fields. The second order correlation function reveals the single-photon nature of the proposed source. A realistic setup for the experimental implementation is presented.
QUANTUM INFORMATICS WITH PLASMONIC META-MATERIALS
Authors: KAMLI ALI A. , MOISEEV SERGEY A. , SANDERS BARRY C.
Published: March 2011

Surface polaritons (SP) at a meta-material interface are proposed as qubits. The SP fields are shown to have; low losses, subwavelength confinement and can demonstrate very small modal volume. These important properties are used to demonstrate interesting applications in quantum information i.e. coherent control of weak fields, and large Kerr nonlinearity at the low photon level.
QUANTUM PROBABILITY FROM CLASSICAL SIGNAL THEORY
Authors: KHRENNIKOV ANDREI , OHYA MASANORI , WATANABE NOBORU
Published: March 2011

We present quantum mechanics (QM) as theory of special classical random signals. On one hand, this approach provides a possibility to go beyond conventional QM: to create a finer description of micro processes than given by the QM-formalism. In fact, we present a model with hidden variables of the wave-type. On the other hand, our approach establishes coupling between quantum and classical information theories. We recall that quantum information theory has already been used for description of the entropy of Gaussian input signals for noisy channels. The entropy of a classical random input was invented as the entropy of the quantum density operator corresponding to the covariance operator of the input process.1 In this paper, we proceed the other way around: we apply classical signal theory to create a measurement model which reproduces quantum probabilities.