Almost all the X-ray afterglows of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) observed by the Swift satellite have a shallow decay phase in the first thousands of seconds. We show that in an inhomogeneous jet (multiple-subjet or patchy-shell) model the superposition of the afterglows of off-axis subjets (patchy shells) can have the shallow decay phase. The necessary condition for obtaining the shallow decay phase...

Elastocaloric cooling is considered an environmentally friendly future alternative to vapor-compression technology. Recently, a shell-and-tube-like elastocaloric regenerator loaded in compression has demonstrated record-breaking heat-pumping performance and fatigue-resistant operation. The aim of this work thus present new 1D numerical model simulate optimize the operation with design. In first...

The onset of plastic yielding in a spherical shell loaded by a rigid flat is analyzed using finite element analysis. The effect of spherical shell geometry and material properties on the critical normal load, critical interference, and critical contact area, at the onset of plastic yielding, is investigated and the location where plastic yielding first occurs is determined. A universal dimensio...

We provide a qualitative review of key X-ray spectral diagnostics of astrophysical plasmas. We begin with a brief discussion of the two major types of equilibria, collisional ionization and photoionization, and then consider the behaviour of hydrogen-like, helium-like, iron L-shell and iron K-shell transitions for these separate cases. Where possible, we discuss explicit examples using high-res...

Two tungsten disulfide (WS₂)-based core-shell nanocomposites were fabricated using readily available reagents and simple procedures. The surface was pre-treated with a surfactant couple in a layer-by-layer approach, enabling good dispersion of the WS₂ nanostructures in aqueous media and providing a template for the polymerization of a silica (SiO₂) shell. After a Stöber-like reaction, a conform...

The formation of monogamous pair bonds, by prairie voles, is facilitated by activation of dopamine (DA) D2-like, but not D1-like, receptors within the nucleus accumbens (NAcc) shell. Because DA exerts opposing regulation of cAMP production depending on the subtype of receptor activated, we tested the hypothesis that DA regulation of pair bond formation is mediated via the cAMP signaling cascade...