Nuclear quantum effects in liquid water from path-integral simulations using an ab initio force-matching approach

We have applied path integral simulations, in combination with new ab initio based water potentials, to investigate nuclear quantum effects in liquid water. Because direct ab initio path integral simulations are computationally expensive, a flexible water model is parameterised by force-matching to density functional theory-based molecular dynamics simulations. Static and dynamic properties of liquid water at ambient conditions are presented and the role of nuclear quantum effects, exchange-correlation functionals and dispersion corrections are discussed in regards to reproducing the experimental properties of liquid water.     

Dislocation-density-based constitutive modelling of tensile flow and work-hardening behaviour of P92 steel

The flow and work-hardening behaviour of tempered martensitic P92 steel have been investigated using phenomenological constitutive model in the temperature range 300–873 K for the strain rates ranging from 3.16 × 10^?5 to 1.26 × 10^?3 s^?1. The analysis indicated that the hybrid model reduced to Estrin–Mecking (E–M) one-internal-variable model at intermediate and high temperatures. Further, the analysis also indicated that dislocation dense martensite lath/cell boundaries and precipitates together act as effective barriers to dislocation glide in P92 steel. The flow behaviour of the steel was adequately described by the E–M approach for the range of temperatures and strain rates examined. Three distinct temperature regimes have been obtained for the variations in work-hardening parameters with respect to temperature and strain rate. Signatures of dynamic strain ageing in terms of the anomalous variations in work-hardening parameters at intermediate temperatures and the dominance of dynamic recovery at high temperatures have been observed. The evaluation of activation energy suggested that deformation is controlled by the dominance of cross-slip of dislocations at room and intermediate temperatures, and climb of dislocations at high temperatures.     

Sparse Multicategory Generalized Distance Weighted Discrimination in Ultra-High Dimensions

Distance weighted discrimination (DWD) is an appealing classification method that is capable of overcoming data piling problems in high-dimensional settings. Especially when various sparsity structures are assumed in these settings, variable selection in multicategory classification poses great challenges. In this paper, we propose a multicategory generalized DWD (MgDWD) method that maintains intrinsic variable group structures during selection using a sparse group lasso penalty. Theoretically, we derive minimizer uniqueness for the penalized MgDWD loss function and consistency properties for the proposed classifier. We further develop an efficient algorithm based on the proximal operator to solve the optimization problem. The performance of MgDWD is evaluated using finite sample simulations and miRNA data from an HIV study.     

Up to 30 mW of broadly tunable CW green-to-orange light, based on sum-frequency mixing of Cr:forsterite and Nd:YVO4 lasers

Efficient generation of continuous-wave (CW) tunable light in the yellow region is reported. The method is based on sum-frequency mixing of a tunable Cr⁴⁺:forsterite laser with a Nd:YVO₄ laser. A periodically poled lithium niobate crystal was placed intra-cavity in a Nd:YVO₄ laser, and the Cr⁴⁺:forsterite laser was single-passed through the non-linear media. With this setup, it was possible to generate up to 3 mW of yellow light smoothly tunable from 573 to 587 nm. This is the highest output demonstrated to date for a tunable diode pumped solid-state CW laser in this wavelength region. The ways to improve the efficiency further are discussed.     

Fiber bragg gratings made with a phase mask and 800-nm femtosecond radiation

High-quality retroreflecting fiber Bragg gratings were written in standard Ge-doped telecom fiber (Corning SMF-28) after a few minutes exposure with pulsed 800-nm, 120-fs laser radiation by use of a deep-etch silica zero-order nulled phase mask optimized for 800 nm. Induced index modulations of 1.9 x 10(-3) were achieved with peak power intensities of 1.2 x 10(13) W/cm2 without any fiber sensitization. The fiber gratings are stable and did not erase after 2 weeks at 300 degrees C. The primary mechanism of induced index change results from a structural modification to the fiber core.     

Probing buried interfaces with non-linear optical spectroscopy

The importance of buried interfaces in our everyday lives and in current scientific research is highlighted, along with experimental difficulty associated with studying such systems. We present an overview of the application of second harmonic generation and sum-frequency spectroscopy to the study of buried interfaces. Several examples from the current literature are presented, ranging from chemical and biological, to electrical and magnetic interfaces. The importance of this work in the context of ongoing research in these areas is discussed. Finally, we provide a snapshot of the state of the art in non-linear optical spectroscopy by mentioning several new directions that are likely to have a large impact on future research into the physics and chemistry of buried interfaces.     

The Parkinson larynx: Tremor and videostroboscopic findings

Patients with Parkinson's disease have a high incidence of speech, voice, and laryngeal abnormalities. To characterize laryngeal abnormalities, visual-perceptual ratings of endoscopic and stroboscopic examinations of 22 patients diagnosed with idiopathic Parkinson's disease and 7 patients with Parkinson's-plus syndromes were carried out by four trained viewers. Incidence of tremor, tremor location, phase closure, phase symmetry, amplitude, and mucosal waveform were scored. Tremor was observed in one or more of these conditions—rest, normal pitch and loudness, or loud phonation—for most of the 29 patients. Fifty-five percent of the idiopathic Parkinson's disease patients had tremor, with the primary location being vertical laryngeal tremor. Sixty-four percent of the Parkinson's-plus patients had tremor, with the arytenoid cartilages being the primary location. Laryngeal tremor was observed early in the disease in these Parkinson's disease patients. The most striking stroboscopic findings for the idiopathic Parkinson's disease patients were abnormal phase closure and phase asymmetry. Amplitude and mucosal wave-form were essentially within normal limits in the majority of the idiopathic Parkinson patients.