X-ray powder diffraction,FTIR, and raman study of strontium boroarsenate,SrBAsO<Subscript>5</Subscript>

In this study, SrBAsO₅ was synthesized by a solid state reaction using SrCO₃, As₂O₅, and H₃BO₃ as reported before. The x-ray powder diffraction, FTIR, and Raman data were in agreement with the reported crystal structure. It crystallizes in a hexagonal system in P3₁21, and the refined unit cell parameters are a = 7.056(3) Å, c = 6.898(1) Å, and Z = 3. It is isostructural with SrBPO₅. FTIR and Raman investigation of this compound were done for the first time in this study.     

Scintillation index of elliptical Gaussian beam in turbulent atmosphere

A tensor method is used to formulate the on-axis scintillation index for an elliptical Gaussian beam (EGB; astigmatic Gaussian beam) propagating in a weak turbulent atmosphere. Variations of the on-axis scintillation of an EGB are studied. It is interesting to find that the scintillation index of an EGB can be smaller than that of a circular Gaussian beam in a weakly turbulent atmosphere under certain conditions and is closely related to the ratio of the beam waist size along the long axis to that along the short axis of the EGB, the wavelength, and the structure constant of the turbulent atmosphere.     

Preparation and characterization of polyaniline (PANI)-Mn3O4 nanocomposite

Polyaniline (PANI)-Mn₃O₄ nanocomposite was synthesized by a combination of sonochemical synthesis of Mn₃O₄ NP's and in-situ polymerization of aniline. Structural characteristics were evaluated by XRD, FT-IR, TGA, VSM, TEM and SEM analysis, and conduction characteristics were evaluated by total conductivity measurements in the temperature range of 20-100 °C and frequency range of 0.1 Hz-1 MHz. Our findings show that PANI is successfully coated on nanoparticles surface and overall conductivity of nanocomposite is approximately 50-1000 times higher than that of uncapped Mn₃O₄ or PANI base with increase in temperature. Morphology of the synthesized powder was observed to be thin nanosheets with a thickness of 2-3 nm based on SEM analysis. Room temperature magnetization curves for nanocomposite show no hysteresis, indicating the super-paramagnetic character of the sample in the region of measured field strength. σ_AC increased after polyaniline coating.     

Cylindrically symmetric Brans–Dicke–Maxwell solutions

We investigate cylindrically symmetric vacuum solutions with both null and non-null electromagnetic fields in the framework of the Brans–Dicke theory and compare these solutions with some of the well-known solutions of general relativity for special values of the parameters of the resulting field functions. We see that, unlike general relativity where the gravitational force of an infinite and charged line mass acting on a test particle is always repulsive, it can be attractive or repulsive for Brans–Dicke theory depending on the values of the parameters as well as the radial distance from the symmetry axis.     

Characterization of NiFe<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>4</Subscript> nanoparticles synthesized by various methods

Microwave-induced combustion with glycine, CTAB-assisted hydrothermal process with NaOH and NH3, EDTA assisted-hydrothermal methods have been applied to prepare NiFe₂O₄ nanoparticles for the first time. Structural and magnetic properties of the products were investigated by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmison electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and electron spin resonance spectrometry (EPR). TEM measurements showed that morphology of the product depends on the synthesis method employed. The average cystallite size of NiFe₂O₄ nanoparticles was in the range of 14–59 nm as measured by XRD. The uncoated sample (Method A) had an EPR linewidth of 1973 Oe, the coated samples reached lower values. The magnetic dipolar interactions existing among the Ni ferrite nanoparticles are reduced by the coatings, which could cause the decrease in the linewidth of the EPR signals. Additionally, the linewidth increases with an increase in the size and the size distribution of nanoparticles.     

Evolution of the degree of polarization of an electromagnetic Gaussian Schell-model beam in a Gaussian cavity

The interaction of an electromagnetic Gaussian Schell-model (EGSM) beam with a Gaussian cavity is analyzed. In particular, the evolution of the degree of polarization of the EGSM beam is investigated. The results show that the behavior of the degree of polarization depends on both the statistical properties of the source that generates the EGSM beam and the parameters of the cavity.     

Scintillations of laser array beams

The scintillation index of a laser array beam is analytically derived and numerically evaluated for weak turbulence conditions. On-axis as well as off-axis positions of the receiver plane are considered. Our graphical illustrations prove that at longer propagation ranges and at some midrange radial displacement parameters, laser array beams exhibit less scintillations, when compared to a fundamental Gaussian beam. However, when compared among themselves, laser array beams tend to have reduced scintillations with rising numbers of beamlets, longer propagation wavelengths, at midrange radial displacement parameters, at intermediate Gaussian source sizes, at bigger inner scales and smaller outer scales of turbulence. However, in this improvement, the number of beamlets does not seem to have a major role. PACS 42.25.Dd; 42.25.Ja; 42.25.Kb     

DMSO-based photonic crystal fiber sensor with enhanced sensitivity

We construct a dimethylsulfoxide(DMSO)-based photonic crystal fiber(PCF) temperature sensor with enhanced sensitivity.A solid-core PCF with large mode area is employed to supply the in-line Mach– Zehnder interference between the fundamental and cladding modes.Thus,temperature sensing can be realized because of the shift of interference spectrum at different temperatures.The DMSO solvent is infiltrated between the main sensor and a silica tube to increase the temperature sensitivity of the sensor.The obtained sensitivity(0.315 nm/ffC) is one or two orders of magnitude higher than that of previously published results.The proposed sensor is adapted for high-temperature sensing.     

Optimal control policies for ambulance diversion

Ambulance diversion (AD) is used by emergency departments (EDs) to relieve congestion by requesting ambulances to bypass the ED and transport patients to another facility. We study optimal AD control policies using a Markov Decision Process (MDP) formulation that minimizes the average time that patients wait beyond their recommended safety time threshold. The model assumes that patients can be treated in one of two treatment areas and that the distribution of the time to start treatment at the neighboring facility is known. Assuming Poisson arrivals and exponential times for the length of stay in the ED, we show that the optimal AD policy follows a threshold structure, and explore the behavior of optimal policies under different scenarios. We analyze the value of information on the time to start treatment in the neighboring hospital, and show that optimal policies depend strongly on the congestion experienced by the other facility. Simulation is used to compare the performance of the proposed MDP model to that of simple heuristics under more realistic assumptions. Results indicate that the MDP model performs significantly better than the tested heuristics under most cases. Finally, we discuss practical issues related to the implementation of the policies prescribed by the MDP.     

Temperature field in rubber vibration isolators

The temperature field inside a vibrating rubber solid cylinder is investigated. The rubber cylinder, a specimen of a vibration isolator rubber (Neoprene GR), is subjected to a repeatedly cyclic compressive force by means of an electrodynamic shaker. In the experimental investigation the temperatures at 16 different locations inside the cylinder have been measured by means of copper-constantan thermocouples. After the estimation of the heat generated per unit volume per unit time with the help of the estimated damping and stiffness coefficients of rubber, one can attempt the solution of the heat conduction equation describing the temperature field inside the rubber specimen. The values of the temperature found from the analytical investigation compare fairly well with the experimental measurements.