Decomposition model for phonon thermal conductivity of a monatomic lattice

An analytical treatment of decomposition of the phonon thermal conductivity of a crystal with a monatomic unit cell is developed on the basis of a two-stage decay of the heat current autocorrelation function observed in molecular dynamics simulations. It is demonstrated that the contributions from the acoustic short- and long-range phonon modes to the total phonon thermal conductivity can be presented in the form of simple kinetic formulas, consisting of products of the heat capacity and the average relaxation time of the considered phonon modes as well as the square of the average phonon velocity. On the basis of molecular dynamics calculations of the heat current autocorrelation function, this treatment allows for a self-consistent numerical evaluation of the aforementioned variables. In addition, the presented analysis allows, within the Debye approximation, for the identification of the temperature range where classical molecular dynamics simulations can be employed for the prediction of phonon thermal transport properties. As a case example, Cu is considered.     

Assessing outcomes for dysphonic patients

This study was designed to evaluate a disease-specific outcome measure for patients with selected voice disorders and to relate this instrument to a standardized quality of life measurement. In addition, the study attempts to document the degree of handicap for dysphonia patients globally, between different vocal pathologies, and in comparison to other chronic diseases. In this prospective, observational study, 260 adult patients evaluated for alterations of voice completed a general quality of life measure (the Medical Outcomes Trust Short Form 36-Item[SF-36]) and a voice-specific instrument (Voice Handicap Index [VHI]) pretreatment.

The highest correlation was between the social functioning score of the SF-36and the total score of the VHI and the physical, emotional, and functional subscales (p < 0.001) of the VHI. Significant correlation was also obtained for the SF-36 domains mental health (p < 0.01), general health (p < 0.01), and role functioning emotional (p < 0.017) with the three VHI domains and the total VHI score. Patients had significantly lower scores than the general U.S. population in five of the eight domains of SF-36. Patients with vocal fold paralysis had the highest level of pretreatment disability as measured on both the VHI and SF-36 among voice patients. The patients with dysphonia had a lower level of physical functioning than the patients with chronic sinusitis (p < 0.01), reflecting a greater handicap. In addition, the dysphonia group had lower levels of social functioning than the angina (p < 0.01) and sciatica (p < 0.01) groups and a lower score for mental health than the angina group (p < 0.01).

The SF-36 correlates with the VHI in the domains of social functioning,mental health, and role functioning emotional. The baseline handicap for voice disorders represents a significant disability even in comparison to conditions such as angina pectoris, sciatica, and chronic sinusitis.     

The Uncertainty of Fluxes

In the ordinary quantum Maxwell theory of a free electromagnetic field, formulated on a curved 3-manifold, we observe that magnetic and electric fluxes cannot be simultaneously measured. This uncertainty principle reflects torsion: fluxes modulo torsion can be simultaneously measured. We also develop the Hamilton theory of self-dual fields, noting that they are quantized by Pontrjagin self-dual cohomology theories and that the quantum Hilbert space is -graded, so typically contains both bosonic and fermionic states. Significantly, these ideas apply to the Ramond-Ramond field in string theory, showing that its K-theory class cannot be measured.     

Enhanced reactivity of nanoscale iron particles through a vacuum annealing process

A reactivity study was undertaken to compare and assess the rate of dechlorination of chlorinated aliphatic hydrocarbons (CAHs) by annealed and non-annealed nanoscale iron particles. The current study aims to resolve the uncertainties in recently published work studying the effect of the annealing process on the reduction capability of nanoscale Fe particles. Comparison of the normalized rate constants (m²/h/L) obtained for dechlorination reactions of trichloroethene (TCE) and cis-1,2-dichloroethene (cis-1,2-DCE) indicated that annealing nanoscale Fe particles increases their reactivity ~30-fold. An electron transfer reaction mechanism for both types of nanoscale particles was found to be responsible for CAH dechlorination, rather than a reduction reaction by activated H₂ on the particle surface (i.e., hydrogenation, hydrogenolysis). Surface analysis of the particulate material using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) together with surface area measurement by Brunauer, Emmett, Teller (BET) indicate that the vacuum annealing process decreases the surface area and increases crystallinity. BET surface area analysis recorded a decrease in nanoscale Fe particle surface area from 19.0 to 4.8 m²/g and crystallite dimensions inside the particle increased from 8.7 to 18.2 nm as a result of annealing.     

Neural networks for prediction of acoustical properties of polyurethane foams

This paper presents a study of neural networks for prediction of acoustical properties of polyurethane foams. The proposed neural network model of the foam uses easily measured parameters such as frequency, airflow resistivity and density to predict multiple acoustical properties including the sound absorption coefficient and the surface impedance. Such a model is quite robust in the sense that it can be used to develop models for many different classes of materials with different sets of input and output parameters. The current neural network model of the foam is empirical and provides a useful complement to the existing analytical and numerical approaches.     

A high statistics measurement of the Lambda(+)(c) lifetime

A high statistics measurement of the Lambda(+)(c) lifetime from the Fermilab fixed-target FOCUS photoproduction experiment is presented. We describe the analysis technique with particular attention to the determination of the systematic uncertainty. The measured value of 204.6 +/- 3.4 (stat) +/- 2.5 (syst) fs from 8034 +/- 122 Lambda(+)(c)-->pK(-)pi(+) decays represents a significant improvement over the present world average.     

Solution conformational preferences of glutaric, 3‐hydroxyglutaric, 3‐methylglutaric acid,and their mono‐ and dianions

Conformational preferences of glutaric, 3‐hydroxyglutaric and 3‐methylglutaric acid, and their mono‐ and dianions have been investigated with the aid of NMR spectroscopy. In contrast to succinic acid, glutaric acid displays essentially statistical conformational equilibria in polar and non‐polar solutions of high and low hydrogen‐bonding ability with no clear evidence for intramolecular hydrogen‐bonding interactions. The acid ionization constant ratios, K ₁/K₂, in D₂O and DMSO of glutaric, 3‐hydroxyglutaric, and 3‐methylglutaric acids also indicate that intramolecular interactions are much less important than, or indeed insignificant, for shorter‐chain acids. FTIR studies on 3‐methylglutaric acid indicate some preference for either association with solvent or dimerization, depending on the solvent, rather than intramolecular hydrogen bonding. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.