Shock wave formation in hot nuclear matter

Assuming that nuclear matter can be treated as a perfect fluid, we study the propagation of perturbations in the baryon density at high temperature. The equation of state is derived from the non-linear Walecka model. The expansion of the Euler and continuity equations of relativistic hydrodynamics around equilibrium configurations lead to the breaking wave equation for the density perturbation. We solve it numerically for this perturbation and follow the propagation of the initial pulses.     

Pseudo-Newtonian potentials and the radiation emitted by a source swirling around a stellar object

We use pseudo-Newtonian potentials to compute the scalar radiation emitted by a source orbiting a stellar object. We compare the results obtained in this approach with the ones obtained via quantum field theory in Schwarzschild spacetime. We find that, up to the marginally stable circular orbit, the potential that better reproduces the Schwarzschild results is the Nowak–Wagoner one. For unstable circular orbits, none of the pseudo-Newtonian potentials considered in our analysis produces satisfactory results. We show that the Paczyński–Wiita potential, the most used in the literature to analyze accretion disks, generates the least satisfactory results for the scalar radiation emitted by the source in circular orbit around a Schwarzschild black hole.     

Augmentation of the Porcine Vocal Fold Using Autologous Composite Cervical Fascia and Fat Graft. Comparison Between the Transmuscular and Submuscular Approaches

Objectives

To assess the integration of an autologous composite fascia and fat graft implanted into the lamina propria of a porcine vocal fold using two different approaches.

Study Design

An experimental prospective study on the porcine larynx was conducted at a tertiary research institution.

Methods

An external cervical approach was used to expose the thyroid cartilage of 24 healthy minipigs under general anesthesia. The composite fascia/fat graft was implanted through two distinct approaches, transmuscular and submuscular. Animals were sacrificed at 7, 30, 90, and 180 days for macroscopic and histological study of the larynx. Graft integration and local inflammatory response were studied.

Results

The survival rate of the experimental model was 100% and all animals had local inflammatory response to the surgical procedure. Only 41.7% of the grafts placed inside the thyroarytenoid (TA) muscle fibers were identified postmortem, whereas 83.3% of the submuscular grafts remained intact.

Conclusions

Graft incorporation was better and there was less inflammation when the architecture of the TA muscle fibers was preserved. Graft extrusion was observed in the most of the cases where it was placed inside the muscle.     

Thermodynamics of a Peyrard–Bishop One-Dimensional Lattice with On-site “Hump” Potential

This paper presents a thermodynamic study of DNA through a Peyrard–Bishop one-dimensional lattice with an on-site “hump” potential. The transfer integral operator method was used to obtain the thermodynamic properties of the system and the solution of the Schrödinger-type equation that emerges from this formalism was determined by the variational method. With the parameters of the potential, commonly used in literature, the value obtained for the denaturation temperature was extremely high. This work suggests different parameters to describe the thermodynamics of DNA macromolecule.     

W/O/W Multiple Emulsions Obtained by One‐Step Emulsification Method and Evaluation of the Involved Variables

The effects of some composition variables on the development of multiple emulsions by one‐step method were evaluated and their morphology characterized. The formulations that remained stable during the period of the test were submitted to centrifugation and thermal stress tests. The stability and the morphology of multiple droplets were affected not only by the type and concentration of the surfactants employed, but also by the water/oil ratios used. The results suggest that the formation of multiple droplets could involve a combination of transitional and catastrophic phase inversions. The results provide improved knowledge about the one‐step emulsification method, a simplified process to prepare multiple emulsions when compared to the two‐steps method.     

Early stages hydration of high initial strength Portland cement

This work complements a quantitative thermogravimetric study of the first 24 h of hydration of a high initial strength and sulphate resistant Portland cement (HS SR PC) using non-conventional differential thermal analysis (NCDTA) and Vicat needle method. Different water/cement (W/C) ratios from 0.35 to 0.85 were used to evaluate the most indicated operating conditions to maximize calcium hydroxide production for further use in CO₂ capture. Thermogravimetric analysis data performed at 4 and 24 h of hydration were also compared to the NCDTA and Vicat data for each kind of paste, to analyze the influence of the W/C ratio on the simultaneous hydration and setting process. The increase of the W/C ratio increases the induction time retards the solidification and setting processes but increases the hydration degree as the W/C ratio is increased from 0.45. At 24 h, products prepared with 0.35 W/C ratio present a little higher hydration degree than those prepared with W/C = 0.45, because of the highest level of temperature in the reacting mixture in the former case, during the first 8 h. There is a practical limit of W/C = 0.66 to prepare the pastes, due to a limit of the miscibility between HS SR PC and water, above which, the excess of water forms a separated phase that does not interfere in the hydration process.     

Arithmetic toric varieties

We study toric varieties over a field k that split in a Galois extension using Galois cohomology with coefficients in the toric automorphism group. Part of this Galois cohomology fits into an exact sequence induced by the presentation of the class group of the toric variety. This perspective helps to compute the Galois cohomology, particularly for cyclic Galois groups. We use Galois cohomology to classify k‐forms of projective spaces when is cyclic, and we also study k‐forms of surfaces.     

Spectral bounds for the independence ratio and the chromatic number of an operator

We define the independence ratio and the chromatic number for bounded, self-adjoint operators on an L ²-space by extending the definitions for the adjacency matrix of finite graphs. In analogy to the Hoffman bounds for finite graphs, we give bounds for these parameters in terms of the numerical range of the operator. This provides a theoretical framework in which many packing and coloring problems for finite and infinite graphs can be conveniently studied with the help of harmonic analysis and convex optimization. The theory is applied to infinite geometric graphs on Euclidean space and on the unit sphere.     

Synthesis and characterization of a silylated Brazilian clay mineral surface

Clay mineral containing kaolinite, illite and montmorillonite was organofunctionalized with silylating agents: (3-aminopropyl)triethoxysilane, 3-[2-(2-aminoethylamino)ethylamino]propyl-trimethoxysilane and (3-mercaptopropyl)trimethoxy-silane, to yield three hybrids labelled Clay1, Clay2 and Clay3, respectively. These solids were characterized using elemental analysis, thermogravimetry, X-ray diffractometry, infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron micrograph, and ²⁹Si and ²⁷Al solid state NMR. Immobilized quantities of the organic groups were 0.66 mmol g^?1, 0.48 mmol g^?1 and 0.88 mmol g^?1 for Clayx (x = 1–3), respectively. X-ray diffraction patterns confirmed the immobilization of silanes onto the surface without changes in the textural properties of the clay mineral as noted from the SEM images. Spectroscopic measurements were in agreement with the covalent bonding between the silanes and the hydroxyl groups deposited on the surface. The new hybrids were utilized as adsorbents of cobalt in aqueous solution, with retention values of 0.78 mmol g^?1, 1.1 mmol g^?1 and 0.70 mmol g^?1 for Clayx (x = 1–3), respectively.     

A comparative study of AlGaAsSb/AlAsSb distributed Bragg mirrors on InP

AlGaAsSb/AlAsSb Bragg mirrors lattice matched on InP with six pairs of layers were grown by molecular beam epitaxy. The effect of Te doping on the electrical and optical properties of the Bragg mirrors, and the presence of digital alloy gradient layers between the ternary and quaternary layers are analysed. The presence of digital alloy layers at the interfaces reduces the electrical resistance through the perpendicular direction of the Bragg mirror, without significantly affecting the reflectivity.