Data-Driven Methods for Spectator Symmetry Plane Estimation in CBM Experiment at FAIR

The Compressed Baryonic Matter experiment (CBM) at FAIR aims to study the area of the QCD phase diagram at high net baryon densities and moderate temperatures with collisions of heavy ions at sNN=2.8–4.9 GeV. The anisotropic transverse flow is one of the most important observable phenomena in a study of the properties of matter created in such collisions. Flow measurements require the knowledge of the collision symmetry plane, which can be determined from the deflection of the collision spectators in the plane transverse to the direction of the moving ions. The CBM performance for projectile spectator symmetry plane estimation is studied with GEANT4 Monte Carlo simulations using collisions of gold ions with beam momentum of 12A GeV/c generated with the DCM-QGSM-SMM model. Different data-driven methods to extract the correction factor in flow analysis for the resolution of the spectator symmetry plane estimated with the CBM Projectile Spectator Detector are investigated.

Solar Cycle Variations in the Position of Vortex Structures in the Venus Wake

Measurements conducted with the Venus Express (VEX) spacecraft at its entry and exit through vortex structures in the Venus wake reveal that their position varies with the solar cycle. Both crossings are consistently measured closer to Venus during minimum solar cycle conditions and are gradually encountered at larger distances downstream from the planet along the solar cycle. At the same time their width along the VEX trajectory on the plane transverse to the solar wind direction is larger during minimum solar cycle conditions and show a gradual decrease along the solar cycle. As a result the vortex structures are envisioned as features that gradually become thinner as they extend along the Venus wake and agree with the geometry of a vortex flow in fluid dynamics whose thickness decreases with the downstream distance from an obstacle. Similar conditions should also be applicable to Mars and other bodies within the solar system and also possibly to exo-planets in external stellar systems.

Study of the influence of treatment on the strength of undoped indium antimonide single-crystal plates

The method of plane-transverse bending was used to measure the strength of thin single-crystal plates of undoped InSb with a crystallographic orientation of (100). It was found that the strength of the plates (thickness ≤ 800 μm) depends on their processing. Using a full processing cycle (grinding and chemical polishing) allows to increase the strength of InSb plates by 2 times (from 3.0 to 6.4 kg/mm2). It is shown that the dependence of strength on processing for wafers with (100) orientation is similar to this dependence for wafers (111), while the strength of wafers (111) is 2 times higher. The contact profilometry method was used to measure the roughness of thin plates, which also passed successive processing steps. It was found that during a full cycle of processing, the roughness of InSb plates decreases (Ra from 0.6 to 0.04 μm), leading to a general smoothing of the surface roughness. The strength and roughness of the (100) InSb and GaAs wafers are compared. It was found that the strength of GaAs cut wafers is 2 times higher than the strength of InSb cut wafers and slightly increases after a full cycle of their processing. It was shown that the roughness of GaAs and InSb plates after a full cycle of surface treatment is significantly reduced: 10 times for InSb due to overall surface leveling and 3 times for GaAs (Rz from 2.4 to 0.8 μm) due to a decrease in the peak component. Conducting a full cycle of processing InSb plates can increase their strength by removing broken layers by sequential operations and reducing the risk of mechanical damage.

Interobserver Agreement and Plane-Dependent Intraobserver Variability of Shear Wave Sonoelastography in the Differential Diagnosis of Ectopic Thymus Tissue

Shear wave elastography (SWE) has been demonstrated to be a useful tool in the differential diagnosis of ectopic thymus tissues (ETs), providing quantitative values of the shear wave stiffness (SWS) of both ETs and adjacent thyroid tissue. However, no data are available on the potential influence of the imaging plane (transverse vs. longitudinal) on the obtained SWS and shear wave ratio (SWR) values in SWE of these tissues. Moreover, no reports on the interobserver repeatability of SWE were published in regard to ETs. The aim of this study has been to evaluate the potential influence of the examination plane—transverse vs. longitudinal—on the SWS and SWR results, as well as to determine whether SWE of ETs is subjected to interobserver variability. SWE was demonstrated to have high inter- and intraobserver agreement in the evaluation of ETs and adjacent thyroid tissue. Significant differences between SWS values, but not SWR values, obtained in the transverse and longitudinal planes were observed. This phenomenon is probably a result of anisotropy-related artifacts and does not reduce the reliability of the method. SWE operators should be aware of the presence of plane-dependent artifacts to properly interpret the obtained results.

A Localized Collocation Solver Based on T-Complete Functions for Anti-Plane Transverse Elastic Wave Propagation Analysis in 2D Phononic Crystals

In this paper, we introduce a novel localized collocation solver for two-dimensional (2D) phononic crystal analysis. In the proposed collocation solver, the displacement at each node is expressed as a linear combination of T-complete functions in each stencil support and the sparse linear system is obtained by satisfying the considered governing equation at interior nodes and boundary conditions at boundary nodes. As compared with finite element method (FEM) results and the analytical solutions, the efficiency and accuracy of the proposed localized collocation solver are verified under a benchmark example. Then, the proposed method is applied to 2D phononic crystals with various lattice forms and scatterer shapes, where the related band structures, transmission spectra, and displacement amplitude distributions are calculated as compared with the FEM.

Atypical myelitis in patients with multiple sclerosis: Characterization and comparison with typical multiple sclerosis and neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders

Background: Atypical myelitis in multiple sclerosis (MS) is characterized by extensive myelitis in the longitudinal (longitudinally extensive transverse myelitis) or axial plane (transverse myelitis). Objective: To characterize a cohort of MS patients with atypical myelitis. Methods: Atypical myelitis was extracted from the French and Luxembourg MS databases and compared to two cohorts of MS patients with typical myelitis and neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders (NMOSDs) patients with myelitis. Results: We enrolled 28 MS patients with atypical myelitis, 68 MS patients with typical myelitis and 119 NMOSD patients with a first episode of myelitis. MS patients with atypical myelitis were characterized by a mean age of 34.0 (±10.7) years and 64.3% were women. In 82.1% of the patients, atypical myelitis was the first episode of MS. Mean Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) scores at nadir and 3–6 months after onset were 4.1 ± 2.1 and 3.3 ± 2, respectively. Differences between groups revealed a predominance of cervicothoracic myelitis and a higher level of disability in NMOSD patients. Disability in MS patients with atypical myelitis was more severe than in the MS patients with typical myelitis; 28% had already converted to progressive MS within our mean follow-up of 39.6 (±30.4) months. Conclusion: Atypical myelitis may be the first presentation of MS and is associated with poorer prognosis.

EXTERNAL PARAMETERS OF THE CONNECTION OF A RECTANGULAR WAVEGUIDE PARTIALLY FILLED OF LINEAR DIELECTRIC WITH A RECTANGULAR WAVEGUIDE PARTIALLY FILLED OF NONLINEAR DIELECTRIC

. In the article, the external parameters of the connection of a rectangular waveguide partially filled of linear dielectric with a rectangular waveguide partially filled of a nonlinear dielectric are determined. Knowledge of the external parameters of such a connection ensures the design of devices with open nonlinear elements. Promising microwave paths of radio engineering systems based on rectangular waveguides partially filled of dielectric include a wide variety of active and passive microwave devices. The plane-transverse junction of these waveguides is considered for various geometric dimensions of dielectric plates and their relative permittivity. Such a junction is characterized by reactive conductivity, which is determined through the sum of the reactive conductivities of local fields. The transverse electric field at the junction is represented through the eigenvector function of the geometric surface, which coincides with the cross section of the waveguides. The scattering matrix of the plane-transverse junction is determined through the conductivity of the sections of the two waveguides and the conductivity of the plane-transverse junction. The dependences of the traveling wave coefficient and the modulus of the reflection coefficient on the geometric dimensions of the dielectric plate are plotted taking into account the local fields generated at the plane transverse junction. At the junction of two waveguides, not only changed the geometric dimensions of the dielectric plates along the wide and narrow walls of the waveguide, but also their relative permittivity. In one case, two higher types of waves were taken into account: quasi - H30 and quasi - H12, in the other case - four higher types of waves: quasi - H30, quasi - H12, quasi - E12, quasi - H50. Calculations show that an increase in the number of higher types of waves has practically no effect on the accuracy of calculations. The results obtained indicate the rapid internal convergence of the obtained solutions and the correct choice of the transverse electric eigenvector function of rectangular waveguides partially filled of dielectric as approximate the field on the junction of two waveguides.