Study on growing correlation length prior to the earthquakes occurred in Gansu Province and its nearby area

The growing correlation length prior to the moderate-great earthquakes occurred in Gansu Province and its nearby area since 1986 has been studied using the method of single-link cluster analysis (SLC). According to different conditions in the source area, the circular spatial window centered in the epicenter and the parallelgrammic spatial window along the fault belt have been selected. The results show that the phenomena of growing correlation length have been observed before the earthquakes studied in the paper.

Growing correlation length of moderate-sized earthquakes prior to two great earthquakes near Sumatra Island

Seismic correlation length for moderate earthquakes prior to two great earthquakes in the northern sea area of Sumatra Island （Mw9.1 in 2004 and MsS. 6 in 2012） has been studied, using method of Single- Link-Cluster （ SLC ） analysis, and found to show a power-law growth about two years before their occurrences. No such growth was found for a magnitude 7 earthquake in the same area. This result suggests the occurrence of a physical process of critical-point characteristics in the source area before the great earthquakes.

Preliminary research on the relationship between long-range correlations and predictability

By establishing the Markov model for a long-range correlated time series （LRCS） and analysing its evolutionary characteristics, this paper defines a physical effective correlation length （ECL） T, which reflects the predictability of the LRCS. It also finds that the ECL has a better power law relation with the long-range correlated exponent γ of the LRCS： T = Kexp（-γ/0.3） ＋ Y, （0 〈 γ〈 1） the predictability of the LRCS decays exponentially with the increase of γ It is then applied to a daily maximum temperature series （DMTS） recorded at 740 stations in China between the years 1960-2005 and calculates the ECL of the DMTS. The results show the remarkable regional distributive feature that the ECL is about 10-14 days in west, northwest and northern China, and about 5-10 days in east, southeast and southern China. Namely, the predictability of the DMTS is higher in central-west China than in east and southeast China. In addition, the ECL is reduced by 1-8 days in most areas of China after subtracting the seasonal oscillation signal of the DMTS from its original DMTS; however, it is only slightly altered when the decadal linear trend is removed from the original DMTS. Therefore, it is shown that seasonal oscillation is a significant component of daily maximum temperature evolution and may provide a basis for predicting daily maximum temperatures. Seasonal oscillation is also significant for guiding general weather predictions, as well as seasonal weather predictions.

Viscosities and their correlations with structures of Cu–Ag melts

The viscosities of a series of Cu–Ag melts in a temperature range from 1473 K to nearly liquid temperatures are measured by using an oscillating viscometer. At the same temperature, the value of viscosity increases first with silver content increasing, and reaches a maximum value at the eutectic component Cu40Ag60, then decreases. All the temperature dependences of the viscosities of Cu–Ag melts conform with the Arrhenius equation. The parameters of correlation length D of the studied Cu–Ag melts are calculated according to the experimental results of x-ray diffraction. The temperature dependence of correlation length D shows an exponential decay function, which is similar to the Arrhenius equation. Based on the values of viscosities and correlation length D, a direct correlation between viscosity and liquid structure is found for the investigated Cu–Ag melts through comparative analysis.

Random phase screen influence of the inhomogeneous tissue layer on the generation of acoustic vortices

The influence of the inhomogeneous tissue layer on the generation of acoustic vortices （AV） is studied theoretically and experimentally based on the phase screen model. By considering the time-shift of a random phase screen, the formula of acoustic pressure for the AV beam generated by a circular array of eight planar piston sources is derived. With the actual correlation length of the abdominal wall, numerical simulations before and after the insertion of the inhomogeneous tissue layer are conducted, and also demonstrated by experimental measurements. It is proved that, when the thickness variation of the phase screen is less than one wavelength, no significant influence on the generation of AVs can be produced. The variations of vortex nodes and antinodes in terms of the location, shape, and size of AVs are not obvious. Although the circular pressure distribution might be deformed by the phase interference with a larger thickness variation, AVs can still be generated around the center axis with perfect phase spirals in a reduced effective radius. The favorable results provide the feasibility of AV generation inside the human body and suggest the application potential of AVs in object manipulation for biomedical engineering.

A SLOW RELAXATION MODE OF POLYMER CHAINS IN A SEMIDILUTE SOLUTION

Dust-free semidilute and concentrated polystyrene(PS)solutions in different solvents were prepared by slow evaporation and in situ anionic polymerization,which removes the effects of troublesome artifacts such as dust contamination and concentration gradient.The dynamics was reexamined by a combination of static and dynamic laser light scattering.In benzene and toluene(good solvents for PS),only one fast diffusive mode of polymer chains can be observed when the concentration(c)is up to 20%,which is attribut...

Application of scaling-rule theory in crustal rock fracture to studying characteristics of seismological precursors associated with M=6.1 Shandan-Minle earthquake

In the paper, we introduce Allegre＇s scaling-rule theory of rock fracture and the probability to develop a method for predicting earthquake occurrence time on its basis. As an example, we study the characteristics of seismological precursors （seismic spatial correlation length and coda Qc） associated with the earthquake （M=6.1） occurred in Shandan-Minle, Gansu Province. The results show an increasing trend of seismic spatial correlation length and coda Qc before the earthquake. And a power exponent relation is used to fit the increasing variation form of these two parameters. The study has provided a basis for creating a method and finding indexes to predict the earthquake occurrence time by using the monitored seismic spatial correlation length and coda Qc.

Monte Carlo study of the magnetic properties of spin liquid compound NiGa_2S_4

The magnetic properties of two-dimensional antiferromagnet NiGa2S4 have attracted much attention and yet some problems are far from being solved. We investigate the magnetic properties of NiGa2S4 by Monte Carlo simulations. A new spin-interacting model is proposed to describe the system, and the specific heat together with the doping effect of nonmagnetic impurity is studied by simulations. The double peaks of the specific heat as well as other behaviors are well reproduced. We also compare our results with those of other models, and the underlying physics is discussed.

Stability of PAC(Psy-2A-Crt I) gene and agronomic traits in the F_(2:3) of IR36/PAC transgenic plants

This study was carried out to evaluate the expression of yellow endosperm color in the progeny of Psy-2A-Crt I（β-carotene gene, PAC） transgenic plants crossed with IR36. The selected 25 lines of F2 progeny exhibited stable expression of yellow endosperm color and high agronomic characteristics. IR36 and PAC transgenic plant of the grain length, width and ratio showed the same tendency of normal distribution. For progeny selection, colorimeters were as employed to distinguish differing visible colors. Correlation analysis was conducted to investigate the relationship between b＊ value and the expression of specific genes. b＊ value was associated with the relative expression of the PAC-Rev and MAR product by real-time PCR and t-test revealed significant difference. Based on this study, correlation between colorimetric values and real-time PCR was effective to detect gene expression. Yellow endosperm progenies represent a new genetic pool that might be useful to increase the genetic diversity of yellow endosperm rice.

Ligand Modified and Light Switched On/Off Single-Chain Magnets of {Fe_(2)Co} Coordination Polymers via Metal-to-Metal Charge Transfer

It is still a formidable challenge to simultaneously switch single-chain magnet(SCM)behavior via ligand modification and light irradiation in the field of molecular spintronics.Herein,we present a ligandbridged layer{[pzTpFe(CN)3]4Co2(Bib)4}·3H2O(1;pzTp,tetra-kis(1-pyrazolyl)borate;Bib,1,4-bis-(1Himidazol-1-yl)benzene)and a well-isolated double chain{[pzTpFe(CN)3]2Co(Bpi)2}·CH3CN·4H2O(2;Bpi,1-Biphenyl-4-yl-1H-imidazole)that display reversible metal-to-metal charge transfer(MMCT)between FeIII LS(μ-CN)CoII HS(μ-NC)FeIII LS(LS,low spin;HS,high spin)and FeIII LS(μ-CN)CoIII LS(μ-NC)FeII LS linkages under alternating irradiation with 808 and 532 nm lasers.The bidirectional light irradiations induces significant changes in anisotropy and intrachain magnetic interactions,resulting in the on/off switching of SCM behavior with observable hysteresis loops by 808 and 532 nm light irradiations for both compounds.Because of the ligand modification,the SCM property of 2 with the monodentate ligand is greatly improved with a correlation length increased to 83,which is the largest correlation length among all reported light actuated SCMs.Furthermore,the influence of ligand modification on their thermally induced MMCT is also discussed.This study provides a rational approach for the swift and reversible control of SCM behavior via ligand modified and light induced MMCT,which is crucial to the future technological demand for high-density data storage and processing.

Applying the spectral stochastic finite element method in multiple-random field RC structures

This paper uses the spectral stochastic finite element method(SSFEM)for analyzing reinforced concrete(RC)beam/slab problems.In doing so,it presents a new framework to study how the correlation length of a random field(RF)with uncertain parameters will affect modeling uncertainties and reliability evaluations.It considers:1)different correlation lengths for uncertainty parameters,and 2)dead and live loads as well as the elasticity moduli of concrete and steel as a multi-dimensional RF in concrete structures.To show the SSFEM’s efficiency in the study of concrete structures and to evaluate the sensitivity of the correlation length effects in evaluating the reliability,two examples of RC beams and slabs have been investigated.According to the results,the RF correlation length is effective in modeling uncertainties and evaluating reliabilities;the longer the correlation length,the greater the dispersion range of the structure response and the higher the failure probability.