Sine Curve Research Articles

Characterizing Ground-Motion Amplification by Extensive Flat-Lying Sediments: The Seismic Response of the Eastern U.S. Atlantic Coastal Plain Strata

ABSTRACTWe examine the effects that Atlantic Coastal Plain (ACP) strata have on ground motions in the eastern and southeastern United States. The ACP strata consist of widespread, nearly flat-lying sediments, the upper portions of which are unconsolidated or semiconsolidated. The ACP sediments are deposited primarily on crystalline basement rocks, creating large velocity and density contrasts with the underlying rocks. At 211 sites on ACP strata to thicknesses of 4000 m, we compute spectral ratios relative to the average of four bedrock sites west or northwest of the strata. Sites consist of stations of Earthscope’s USArray Transportable Array (TA), and temporary deployments in the Southeast Suture of the Atlantic Margin Experiment (SESAME), Eastern North American Margin (ENAM) experiment, and the DCShake deployment in Washington, D.C. For the TA and SESAME stations, we use signals from 13 teleseisms and three regional earthquakes as input, combining the north and east components of motion after taking the Fourier transforms. We also include similarly processed site responses from the ENAM and DCShake arrays that were computed in earlier studies. Results show prominent, fundamental resonance peaks at frequencies determined by reverberations in the entire sediment column, and that often define the largest amplifications for each frequency. As frequencies increase, these resonance peaks migrate to thinner ACP strata and increase in amplitude. The peaks are well defined at frequencies below about 1 Hz, but become narrower and less defined regionally at higher frequencies. We develop simple equations to characterize amplification versus ACP thickness, which we approximate by cosine and Gaussian curves with amplifications of 1 on bedrock and rising to the resonance peak, and then decreasing to an average amplification at thicknesses greater than twice the resonance peak. Comparisons with other site corrections for the central and eastern United States based on sediment thickness show similarities on thin ACP strata but divergence on thicker sediments. The results also demonstrate the effectiveness of using teleseismic arrivals to characterize the site responses of sedimentary sequences.

Circadian activity rhythm in Parkinson's disease: findings from the PHASE study

ObjectiveCircadian disruptions in Parkinson's disease (PD) are characterized as amplitude reduction rather than as phase shift; however, large-scale studies evaluating circadian rhythms between PD patients and non-PD older adults have not been performed. The present study aimed to compare the circadian activity rhythm (CAR) between PD patients and non-PD older adults. MethodsIn this cross-sectional study on 157 PD outpatients and 1111 community-dwelling older adults (controls), physical activity was measured using actigraphy at 1-min intervals over 6 days in PD patients and 2 days in non-PD older adults. Data were base-10 log-transformed and regretted to the sigmoidally transformed cosine curve. ResultsThe mean amplitude (log counts/min) and acrophase were 1.85 (SD, 0.52) and 14:19 (SD, 1:15), respectively, in the controls (n = 1111); 1.42 (0.48) and 14:24 (1:20), respectively, in the early-stage (Hoehn–Yahr I and II) PD patients (n = 95); and 1.23 (0.54) and 13:41 (1:56), respectively, in the late-stage (Hoehn–Yahr III–V) PD patients (n = 62). Multivariable analysis revealed significantly lower amplitude in the early-stage and late-stage PD groups than in the controls. The acrophase significantly advanced in the late-stage PD group than in the controls. With the advancement of PD stage, amplitude and peak significantly decreased; trough increased; acrophase and active offset advanced; and robustness weakened. ConclusionsCompared with non-PD older adults, PD patients exhibited a phase advance in CAR, along with amplitude reduction. With an advanced stage of PD, a phase advance in CAR also occurred, along with amplitude reduction and weakened robustness.

Automated detection of individual Juniper tree location and forest cover changes using Google Earth Engine

Tree detection is the first step in the appraisal of a forest, especially when the focus is monitoring the growth of tree canopy. The acquisition of annual very high-resolution aerial images by the National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP) and their accessibility through Google Earth Engine (GEE) supports the delineation of tree canopies and change over time in a cost and time-effective manner. The objectives of this study are to develop an automated method to detect the crowns of individual western Juniper (Juniperus occidentalis) trees and to assess the change of forest cover from multispectral 1-meter resolution NAIP images collected from 2009 to 2016, in Oregon, USA. The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI), and Ratio Vegetation Index (RVI), were calculated from the NAIP images, in addition to the red-green-blue-near infrared bands. To identify the most suitable approach for individual tree crown identification, we created two training datasets: one considering yearly images separately and one merging all images, irrespective of the year. We segmented individual tree crowns using a random forest algorithm implemented in GEE and seven rasters, namely the reflectance of four spectral bands as recorded by the NAIP images (i.e., the red-green-blue-near infrared) and three calculated indices (i.e., NDVI, NDWI, and RVI). We compared the estimated location of the trees, computed as the centroid of the crown, with the visually identified treetops, which were considered as validation locations. We found that tree location errors were smaller when years were analyzed individually than by merging the years. Measurements of completeness (74%), correctness (94%), and mean accuracy detection (82 %) show promising performance of the random forest algorithm in crown delineation, considering that only four original input bands were used for crown segmentation. The change in the calculated crown area for western juniper follows a sinusoidal curve, with a decrease from 2011 to 2012 and an increase from 2012 to 2014. The proposed approach has the potential to estimate individual tree locations and forest cover area dynamics at broad spatial scales using regularly collected airborne imagery with easy-to-implement methods.

A similarity-based framework for incipient fault detection in underground power cables

Incipient faults are known as the faults mainly occurring on the junctions of underground power cables. Clearing quickly, these faults are difficult to detect by conventional protection equipment, leading to insulation degradation and permanent fault in the power cable over time. In this paper, employing similarity functions, a new method is put forward to distinguish the existing fault from other similar events with both high speed and accuracy. The proposed algorithm consists of a two-stages algorithm including change detection, disturbance identification, and fault detection. The proposed method performs the calculation on the voltage signal that is recorded at the sending end of the line. The cross-correlation function is employed for identifying change detection and determining disturbance time. Afterward, using sinusoidal curve fitting, the algorithm can distinguish the incipient fault from sudden load change, capacitor switching, and harmonic load. The accuracy of the proposed approach is verified by some experimental data and 6272 simulation data obtained from four types of well-known arc models, capacitor switching, and also load variations.

Research on Statistical Properties and Application of Off‐Axis Gaussian Schell‐Model Beams

AbstractThe analytical expression of the average intensity of an off‐axis Gaussian Schell‐model beam during propagation is derived and such focused beam's ability to capture particles is analyzed. It is found that the spectral density along propagation direction in strongly nonlocal nonlinear media (SNNM), and in SNNM under off‐waist incident condition, both presents a periodical distribution. Further, the propagation trajectory of the beam center is quantitatively analyzed. Results show that the trajectory of the beam center upon propagation is a sinusoidal curve. This focused beam is helpful to capture high‐index particles. In addition, the linear factor and coherent length also have an effect on the distribution of radiation force.

On the evaluation of mobile target trajectory between four-dimensional computer tomography and four-dimensional cone-beam computer tomography.

PurposeFor mobile lung tumors, four‐dimensional computer tomography (4D CT) is often used for simulation and treatment planning. Localization accuracy remains a challenge in lung stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) treatments. An attractive image guidance method to increase localization accuracy is 4D cone‐beam CT (CBCT) as it allows for visualization of tumor motion with reduced motion artifacts. However, acquisition and reconstruction of 4D CBCT differ from that of 4D CT. This study evaluates the discrepancies between the reconstructed motion of 4D CBCT and 4D CT imaging over a wide range of sine target motion parameters and patient waveforms.MethodsA thorax motion phantom was used to examine 24 sine motions with varying amplitudes and cycle times and seven patient waveforms. Each programmed motion was imaged using 4D CT and 4D CBCT. The images were processed to auto segment the target. For sine motion, the target centroid at each phase was fitted to a sinusoidal curve to evaluate equivalence in amplitude between the two imaging modalities. The patient waveform motion was evaluated based on the average 4D data sets.ResultsThe mean difference and root‐mean‐square‐error between the two modalities for sine motion were −0.35 ± 0.22 and 0.60 mm, respectively, with 4D CBCT slightly overestimating amplitude compared with 4D CT. The two imaging methods were determined to be significantly equivalent within ±1 mm based on two one‐sided t tests (p < 0.001). For patient‐specific motion, the mean difference was 1.5 ± 2.1 (0.8 ± 0.6 without outlier), 0.4 ± 0.3, and 0.8 ± 0.6 mm for superior/inferior (SI), anterior/posterior (AP), and left/right (LR), respectively.ConclusionIn cases where 4D CT is used to image mobile tumors, 4D CBCT is an attractive localization method due to its assessment of motion with respect to 4D CT, particularly for lung SBRT treatments where accuracy is paramount.

It’s a Wrap: A New Dimension for Sinusoids

An activity connects the features of sinusoid curves to tangible manipulatives printed on a 3D printer.

The effects of TGO growth stress and creep rate on TC/TGO interface cracking in APS thermal barrier coatings

To design reliable thermal barrier coatings (TBCs), it is essential to elucidate the interface failure mechanism and establish a better life-prediction model. Up to now, how the variations of thermally grown oxide (TGO) growth stresses and creep rates affect the interfacial cracking behavior between top coat (TC) and TGO has not been clearly studied. In this work, the thermos-mechanical model with simplified cosine curve interface morphology in TBCs is developed utilizing numerical simulation software (ABAQUS). According to the calculated stress states of TC/TGO interface, the possible damage scenarios are inferred. On this basis, the interface crack nucleation and propagation is simulated by the surface-based cohesive behavior. General features of the interface crack are in good coincidence with previous conjectures. Furthermore, large TGO growth stresses will trigger off premature cracking, conversely, the formation of TC/TGO interface crack can be postponed due to large TGO creep rates. In addition, the dominant fracture mode of TC/TGO interface is impacted by the variations of TGO growth stresses as well as its creep rate. The position of interface fracture mode transition has been shifted to a certain extent.

Properties of Active-Neutrino Oscillations and Double-Beta Decay in the Presence of Sterile-Neutrino Contributions

Light sterile neutrinos contributions both for active neutrinos oscillations and neutrinoless double beta decay characteristics are estimated in the framework of the phenomenological model with three active and three sterile neutrinos assuming the Majorana nature of neutrino. Appearance and survival probabilities for active neutrinos with contributions of eV-sterile neutrinos in application to the short-baseline anomalies in neutrino data are obtained at the same test values of the model parameters. Modified graphical dependences for the survival probability of electron neutrinos/antineutrinos and the probability of appearance of electron neutrinos/antineutrinos in muon neutrino/antineutrino beams as functions of distance and other model parameters at different neutrino energies, and also as functions of the ratio of the distance to the neutrino energy are presented. A significant difference was found between the probability curves of the considered neutrino model and the simple sinusoidal curves of the neutrino model with one sterile neutrino. Effective electron neutrino masses for the beta decay and the neutrinoless double beta decay are estimated with account of eV-sterile neutrinos contributions. Besides, the two-neutrino double beta decay characteristics for selenium-82 are calculated. These findings can be used for interpretation and prediction of results of ground-based experiments on search for the sterile neutrinos as well as the neutrinoless double beta decay.

Measurement of Dissipation Factor of Inner Layers of Insulation in Three-Core Belted Cables

This paper presents a substantiation of an approach for direct measurements of dielectric dissipation factor of layers of insulation between the conductors of three-core power cables. Proposed approach is based on grounding of the inspecteddielectric layer through the sufficiently low electrical resistance. The results of carried out analysis, which was carried out taking into consideration the presence of numerous parasitic parameters of tested layer of insulation due to the capacitive coupling between the electrically conductive elements of three-core power cable, have shown that for the case of sufficiently low value of used resistor the value of phase shift between the waveforms of voltage drop on inspected layer of insulation and resistor, through which this layer of insulation is grounded, coincides with the value of phase shift between the sine waveforms of current and voltage for parallel equivalent scheme of tested layer of insulation with power losses. Because of the dependence of dielectric power loss angle on the value of phase shift between sine curves of current and voltage, the presented approach for the measurement of dielectric dissipation factor is based on such coincidence of values of phase shift. Depending on the value of applied resistor, the value of dissipation factor is calculated on the basis of measured value of phase shift between the voltage drop on the electrical resistor, through which tested layer of insulation is grounded, and either the waveform of voltage dropon the inspected layer of insulation, or the waveform of applied voltage. Factors that affect the accuracy of measurement are discussed, equivalent schemes of tested three core power cable for various ways of applying testing voltage are presented and theexample of practical implementation of presented approach for dissipation factor measurement is also given. Further development of presented approach for dissipation factor measurement is supposed to include the comparative analysis of the results of its practical implementation with the results obtained by applying previously developed techniques based on aggregate measurements.

In-plane dynamic response and multi-objective optimization of negative Poisson's ratio (NPR) honeycomb structures with sinusoidal curve

In order to efficiently evaluate and design honeycomb structures with excellent energy-absorbing ability, in-plane dynamic response and multi-objective optimization of negative Poisson's ratio (NPR) honeycomb structures with sinusoidal curve are performed in this work. By establishing the in-plane impact finite element model, the deformation modes and in-plane dynamic responses of the sinusoidal NPR honeycomb structures under different impact velocities are detailed studied. And the geometric parameters (e.g., the amplitude and period) of the sinusoidal curve that affect the energy absorption performance of the structure are analyzed. Combining the optimal latin hypercube design method with the double-points infilling criterion, the high-precision adaptive Kriging models of the peak crush force (PCF) and the specific energy absorption (SEA) with respect to the amplitude and period are constructed. And then, a multi-objective crashworthiness optimization is carried out by non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm (NSGA-II). The Pareto optimal solution set is gained and the final compromise solution is then obtained based on the fitness function. The optimized results show the PCF of the sinusoidal NPR honeycomb structure decreases by 30.53%, while the SEA increases by 38.55%. It indicates that the optimized sinusoidal honeycomb structure has better energy absorption performance than the conventional concave hexagonal honeycomb. The results can provide some important design guidance for other honeycomb energy-absorbing structures.

Maximization and minimization of interfacial thermal conductance by modulating the mass distribution of the interlayer

Tuning interfacial thermal conductance has been a key task for the thermal management of nanoelectronic devices. Here, we study how the interfacial thermal conductance is greatly influenced by modulating the mass distribution of the interlayer of one-dimensional atomic chain. By nonequilibrium Green's function and machine learning algorithm, the maximum/minimum value of thermal conductance and its corresponding mass distribution are calculated. Interestingly, the mass distribution corresponding to the maximum thermal conductance is not a simple function, such as the linear and exponential distribution predicted in previous works, it is similar to a sinusoidal curve around a linear distribution for larger thickness interlayer. Further, the mechanism of the abnormal results is explained by analyzing the phonon transmission spectra and density of states. Additionally, the mass distributions are applied to Si/Ge and $\mathrm{Si}\text{/}{\mathrm{Si}}^{\mathrm{isotope}}$ three-dimensional systems. The work provides deep insight into optimizing and designing interfacial thermal conductance by modulating mass distribution of interlayer atoms.

The Role of Temporal Contingency and Integrity of Visual Inputs in the Sense of Agency: A Psychophysical Study.

The sense of agency is a subjective feeling that one's own actions drive action outcomes. Previous studies have focused primarily on the temporal contingency between actions and sensory inputs as a possible mechanism for the sense of agency. However, the contribution of the integrity of visual inputs has not been systematically addressed. In the current study, we developed a psychophysical task to examine the role of visual inputs as well as temporal contingencies toward the sense of agency. Specifically, participants were required to track a target on a sinusoidal curve on a computer screen. Visual integrity of sensory inputs was manipulated by gradually occluding a computer cursor, and participants were asked to report the sense of agency on a nine-point Likert scale. Temporal contingency was manipulated by varying the delay between finger movements on a touchpad and cursor movements. The results showed that the sense of agency was influenced by both visual integrity and temporal contingency. These results are discussed in the context of current models that have proposed that the sense of agency emerges from the comparison of visual inputs with motor commands.

Specific heat of Cu substituted GdNiSi

The specific heat of magnetic regenerator materials affects the efficiency of cryocoolers below 10 K. GdNiSi with the orthorhombic TiNiSi-type structure shows antiferromagnetic order at 11 K. To tune the magnetic transition temperature below 10 K, Cu substituted GdNiSi alloys were prepared. Powder X-ray diffraction and specific heat measurements were performed to study the effect of Cu substitution on the crystal structure and magnetic transition temperature. Increasing Cu content, the secondary phase which may be the hexagonal BeZrSi-type GdNi1−x Cu x Si is observed. The peak of the specific heat for x ≤ 0.2 was shifted higher temperature (13 K) due to the magnetic transition, though the unit cell volume of the TiNiSi-type structure slightly increased with increasing x. This result possibly originates from the increase of the RKKY interaction for the sinusoidal curve due to an increase of the intersite distance of Gd-ions.

Analytical solution for depth-averaged velocity and boundary shear in a compound channel

Estimation of streamwise depth-averaged velocity and boundary shear stress are important requisites for modelling of river flows associated with flood events. Recently, many methods have emerged to predict these flow variables with great accuracy, but they provide unsatisfactory results in shear layer regions. This paper presents an improved methodology to predict depth-averaged velocity and bed shear stress for a straight compound channel flow. An analytical solution to the depth-integrated turbulent form of the Navier–Stokes equation is obtained. The transverse shear stress in the mixing region is modelled using an effective eddy viscosity concept that contains horizontal coherent structures and three-dimensional bottom turbulence. The secondary flow term is modelled by considering the log-law profile for streamwise velocity and half cosine curve for the transverse velocity component. The analytical solution is successfully applied to a wide range of experimental compound channels and field cases. The efficacy of the present solution has been successfully tested by comparing with observed values.

Photodetachment dynamics in an inhomogeneous magnetic field

The photodetachment dynamics of negative ions in an inhomogeneous gradient magnetic field is investigated for the first time. The motion of the detached electron becomes much more complicated and interesting due to the influence of the non-uniform magnetic field, and its equations of motion can be expressed in terms of Jacobi elliptic functions. The electron’s trajectory in the plane perpendicular to the magnetic field is not a simple circular motion, but can be a helical curve, a sinusoidal curve, or a balloon-shaped curve, etc. The detached electron can travel along different types of closed orbits to the ionic source, causing the returning electron wave to interfere quantum mechanically with the initial outgoing wave. For different polarized laser light, there are in-phase and anti-phase oscillations in the photodetachment cross section (PCS) of the H $$^{\mathrm {-}}$$ ion in a gradient magnetic field. In particular, we discuss the influence of the magnetic field gradient on the oscillatory structures in the PCS of this system. Our study provides some insight in understanding the electron dynamics in an inhomogeneous magnetic field, which can be used to simulate the motion of planets in astrophysics, and has guiding significance for future experimental research. A family of detached electron trajectories in the inhomogeneous magnetic field. a The trajectories in the x–y–z plane. b The corresponding electron trajectory in the x–y plane.

The Wolf–Rayet + Black Hole Binary NGC 300 X-1: What is the Mass of the Black Hole?

Abstract We present new X-ray and UV observations of the Wolf–Rayet + black hole (BH) binary system NGC 300 X-1 with the Chandra X-ray Observatory and the Hubble Space Telescope Cosmic Origins Spectrograph. When combined with archival X-ray observations, our X-ray and UV observations sample the entire binary orbit, providing clues to the system geometry and interaction between the BH accretion disk and the donor star wind. We measure a binary orbital period of 32.7921 ± 0.0003 hr, in agreement with previous studies, and perform phase-resolved spectroscopy using the X-ray data. The X-ray light curve reveals a deep eclipse, consistent with inclination angles of i = 60°–75°, and a pre-eclipse excess consistent with an accretion stream impacting the disk edge. We further measure radial velocity variations for several prominent far-UV spectral lines, most notably H ii λ1640 and C iv λ1550. We find that the He ii emission lines systematically lag the expected Wolf–Rayet star orbital motion by a phase difference of Δϕ ∼ 0.3, while C iv λ1550 matches the phase of the anticipated radial velocity curve of the Wolf–Rayet donor. We assume the C iv λ1550 emission line follows a sinusoidal radial velocity curve (semi-amplitude = 250 km s−1) and infer a BH mass of 17 ± 4 M ⊙. Our observations are consistent with the presence of a wind-Roche lobe overflow accretion disk, where an accretion stream forms from gravitationally focused wind material and impacts the edge of the BH accretion disk.

Thermal Error Modeling of Rotary Axis Based on Convolutional Neural Network

Abstract Rotary axes are the key components for five-axis computerized numerical control machines, while their motions are dramatically influenced by thermal issues. To precisely model the thermal error of rotary axis, a convolutional neural network (CNN) model is developed. To form data sets for the CNN, a laser interferometer is used to measure the angular positioning error at different temperatures and a thermal imager is taken to obtain thermal images of the rotary axis. The measured thermal error is fitted to a sine curve so that training parameters are reduced. And the thermal pixel values of the initial thermal image are subtracted from all the thermal images to consider the incremental thermal effect, so the influence of the initial temperature is negligible. Finally, a deep CNN model with multiple output classifications is designed to complete the data training, verifying and testing. The experimental results show that the prediction accuracy for the parameters is higher than 90%, and the percentage reduction in error is higher than 80%.

A Mathematical Model for The Performance of Solar Heating Driven Bubble Pumps

A mathematical model of the bubble pump is established by employing the governing equations; the continuity, momentum and energy equations. The model was used to evaluate the performance of the pump under different geometrical and operational conditions. Different parameters including the pump tube diameter, the pumping head, and solar heating input were considered in the analysis. The flow rates of both phases (liquid and vapor) were predicted for each set of parameters. Methanol was used as the working fluid. The performance is presented for a number of different scenarios. The flow was found to be increased with both larger diameters and low static heads, while it has a roughly sine curve with the heat input. A set of results show that for a tube diameter of 10 mm and pumping head of 450 mm, increasing the heat input from 300 W to 500 W increases the mass flow rate of vapor from 0.04 kg/sec to 0.08 kg/sec, while the liquid flow increases from 0.075 kg/sec to 0.22 kg/sec, respectively. Generally, the results of this study were found to be in fair agreement with published results.

Peripheral body temperature rhythm is associated with suicide risk in major depressive disorder: a case-control study

BackgroundPatients with major depressive disorder (MDD) may have an abnormal peripheral body temperature rhythm, but its relationship with suicidal risk and the response to treatment with antidepressants remain unknown.AimsThis study...