Low-frequency dynamic response of the bismuth strontium ferrite (Bi,Sr)FeO3−x

Broad-range measurements of the dynamic response of polycrystalline samples of the (Bi,Sr)FeO_3?x perovskite-like solid solution are performed over a frequency range from 10 Hz to 1 GHz at temperatures of 100–300 K for the first time. The colossal dielectric constant effect and the influence of electric contacts on the results of measurements are considered. It is shown that the frequency dependences of the permittivity and dynamic conductivity of (Bi,Sr)FeO_3?x samples can be described within the universal dielectric response model.     

Modelling two-dimensional flow past arbitrary cylindrical bodies using boundary element formulations

This paper presents an efficient method of solving Queen's linearized equations for steady plane flow of an incompressible, viscous Newtonian fluid past a cylindrical body of arbitrary cross-section. The numerical solution technique is the well known direct boundary element method. Use of a fundamental solution of Oseen's equations, the ‘Oseenlet’, allows the problem to be reduced to boundary integrals and numerical solution then only requires boundary discretization. The formulation and solution method are validated by computing the net forces acting on a single circular cylinder, two equal but separated circular cylinders and a single elliptic cylinder, and comparing these with other published results. A boundary element representation of the full Navier-Stokes equations is also used to evaluate the drag acting on a single circular cylinder by matching with the numerical Oseen solution in the far field.     

Deconvolution filtering: Temporal smoothing revisited

Inferences made from analysis of BOLD data regarding neural processes are potentially confounded by multiple competing sources: cardiac and respiratory signals, thermal effects, scanner drift, and motion-induced signal intensity changes. To address this problem, we propose deconvolution filtering, a process of systematically deconvolving and reconvolving the BOLD signal via the hemodynamic response function such that the resultant signal is composed of maximally likely neural and neurovascular signals. To test the validity of this approach, we compared the accuracy of BOLD signal variants (i.e., unfiltered, deconvolution filtered, band-pass filtered, and optimized band-pass filtered BOLD signals) in identifying useful properties of highly confounded, simulated BOLD data: (1) reconstructing the true, unconfounded BOLD signal, (2) correlation with the true, unconfounded BOLD signal, and (3) reconstructing the true functional connectivity of a three-node neural system. We also tested this approach by detecting task activation in BOLD data recorded from healthy adolescent girls (control) during an emotion processing task.