119 research outputs found
Hybrid dispersion laser scanner.
Laser scanning technology is one of the most integral parts of today's scientific research, manufacturing, defense, and biomedicine. In many applications, high-speed scanning capability is essential for scanning a large area in a short time and multi-dimensional sensing of moving objects and dynamical processes with fine temporal resolution. Unfortunately, conventional laser scanners are often too slow, resulting in limited precision and utility. Here we present a new type of laser scanner that offers ∼1,000 times higher scan rates than conventional state-of-the-art scanners. This method employs spatial dispersion of temporally stretched broadband optical pulses onto the target, enabling inertia-free laser scans at unprecedented scan rates of nearly 100 MHz at 800 nm. To show our scanner's broad utility, we use it to demonstrate unique and previously difficult-to-achieve capabilities in imaging, surface vibrometry, and flow cytometry at a record 2D raster scan rate of more than 100 kHz with 27,000 resolvable points
Outbreak of gastroenteritis caused by Yersinia pestis in Afghanistan.
Plague, which is most often caused by the bite of Yersinia pestis-infected fleas, is a rapidly progressing, serious disease that can be fatal without prompt antibiotic treatment. In late December 2007, an outbreak of acute gastroenteritis occurred in Nimroz Province of southern Afghanistan. Of the 83 probable cases of illness, 17 died (case fatality 20·5%). Being a case was associated with consumption or handling of camel meat (adjusted odds ratio 4·4, 95% confidence interval 2·2-8·8, P<0·001). Molecular testing of patient clinical samples and of tissue from the camel using PCR/electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry revealed DNA signatures consistent with Yersinia pestis. Confirmatory testing using real-time PCR and immunological seroconversion of one of the patients confirmed that the outbreak was caused by plague, with a rare gastrointestinal presentation. The study highlights the challenges of identifying infectious agents in low-resource settings; it is the first reported occurrence of plague in Afghanistan
Simplifying the OpenFlexure microscope software with the web of things.
We present the OpenFlexure Microscope software stack which provides computer control of our open source motorised microscope. Our diverse community of users needs both graphical and script-based interfaces. We split the control code into client and server applications interfaced via a web API conforming to the W3C Web of Things standard. A graphical interface is viewed either in a web browser or in our cross-platform Electron application, and gives basic interactive control including common operations such as Z stack acquisition and tiled scanning. Automated control is possible from Python and Matlab, or any language that supports HTTP requests. Network control makes the software stack more robust, allows multiple microscopes to be controlled by one computer, and facilitates sharing of equipment. Graphical and script-based clients can run simultaneously, making it easier to monitor ongoing experiments. We have included an extension mechanism to add functionality, for example controlling additional hardware components or adding automation routines. Using a Web of Things approach has resulted in a user-friendly and extremely versatile software control solution for the OpenFlexure Microscope, and we believe this approach could be generalized in the future to make automated experiments involving several instruments much easier to implement
Top pair Asymmetries at Hadron colliders with general couplings
Recently it has been shown that measurement of charge asymmetry of top pair
production at LHC excludes any flavor violating vector gauge boson that
could explain Tevatron forward-backward asymmetry (FBA). We consider the
general form of a gauge boson including left-handed, right-handed vector
and tensor couplings to examine FBA and charge asymmetry. To evaluate top pair
asymmetries at Tevatron and LHC, we consider mixing constraints on
flavor changing couplings and show that this model still explain
forward-backward asymmetry at Tevatron and charge asymmetry can not exclude it
in part of parameters space.Comment: 18 pages, 7 figure
The Impact of Kaluza-Klein Excited W Boson on the Single Top at LHC and Comparison with other Models
We study the s-channel single top quark production at the LHC in the context
of extra dimension theories, including the Kaluza-Klein (KK) decomposition. It
is shown that the presence of the first KK excitation of gauge boson can
reduce the total cross section of s-channel single top production considerably
if () for () in
proton-proton collisions. Then the results will be compared with the impacts of
other beyond Standard Model (SM) theories on the cross section of single top
s-channel. The possibility of distinguishing different models via their effects
on the production cross section of the s-channel is discussed.Comment: 23 pages,6 figure
CP violation in sbottom decays
We study CP asymmetries in two-body decays of bottom squarks into charginos
and tops. These asymmetries probe the SUSY CP phases of the sbottom and the
chargino sector in the Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model. We identify the
MSSM parameter space where the CP asymmetries are sizeable, and analyze the
feasibility of their observation at the LHC. As a result, potentially
detectable CP asymmetries in sbottom decays are found, which motivates further
detailed experimental studies for probing the SUSY CP phases.Comment: 29 pages, 7 figure
The Light Stop Scenario from Gauge Mediation
In this paper we embed the light stop scenario, a MSSM framework which
explains the baryon asymmetry of the universe through a strong first order
electroweak phase transition, in a top-down approach. The required low energy
spectrum consists in the light SM-like Higgs, the right-handed stop, the
gauginos and the Higgsinos while the remaining scalars are heavy. This spectrum
is naturally driven by renormalization group evolution starting from a heavy
scalar spectrum at high energies. The latter is obtained through a
supersymmetry-breaking mix of gauge mediation, which provides the scalars
masses by new gauge interactions, and gravity mediation, which generates
gaugino and Higgsino masses. This supersymmetry breaking also explains the \mu\
and B_\mu\ parameters necessary for electroweak breaking and predicts small
tri-linear mixing terms A_t in agreement with electroweak baryogenesis
requirements. The minimal embedding predicts a Higgs mass around its
experimental lower bound and by a small extension higher masses m_H\lesssim 127
GeV can be accommodated.Comment: 20 pages, 3 figures; v2: changes in the conventions; v3: more details
on the Higgs mass prediction, version published in JHE
NLO QCD corrections to tW' and tZ' production in forward-backward asymmetry models
We consider Z' and W' models recently proposed to explain the top
forward-backward asymmetry at the Tevatron. We present the next-to-leading
order QCD corrections to associated production of such vector bosons together
with top quarks at the Large Hadron Collider, for centre-of-mass energies of 7
and 8 TeV. The corrections are significant, modifying the total production
cross-section by 30-50%. We consider the effects of the corrections on the top
and vector-boson kinematics. The results are directly applicable to current
experimental searches, for both the ATLAS and CMS collaborations.Comment: 62 pages, 13 figures, 36 tables. v3 Updated to correspond to Journal
version and incorporate supplementary materia
CP asymmetries in the supersymmetric trilepton signal at the LHC
In the CP-violating Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model, we study the
production of a neutralino-chargino pair at the LHC. For their decays into
three leptons, we analyze CP asymmetries which are sensitive to the CP phases
of the neutralino and chargino sector. We present analytical formulas for the
entire production and decay process, and identify the CP-violating
contributions in the spin correlation terms. This allows us to define the
optimal CP asymmetries. We present a detailed numerical analysis of the cross
sections, branching ratios, and the CP observables. For light neutralinos,
charginos, and squarks, the asymmetries can reach several 10%. We estimate the
discovery potential for the LHC to observe CP violation in the trilepton
channel.Comment: 39 pages, 8 figures, version to appear in EPJC, discussion(s) added,
typo in (D.79), (D.118) corrected, new Fig. 7; The European Physical Journal
C, Volume 72, Issue 3, 201
Geohazards analysis of Pisa tunnel in a fractured incompetent rocks in Zagros Mountains, Iran.
The Pisa 2 tunnel with 740 m in length and 20° N trend is located along the Kazerun fault zone in Simply Folded Belt of Zagros, Iran. This tunnel has been excavated in the fractured incompetent marl layers with high expansive pressure of up to 2 kg/cm2. In this study, the geological hazards along the tunnel have been recognized and categorized. This study revealed that, in the long-term usage of the tunnel, the lining did not endure against the loading and the secondary leakages. It is mainly attributed due to the non-efficiencies of drainage and isolation systems in the tunnel site. Therefore, it caused asphalt damage, drainage damage, and wall distortion. FLAC3D software has been used in this research. We conducted various analyses for pre-excavation stress states, syn-excavation, and post-excavation strain states. The results showed no indication of instability and critical deformations during the excavation time. It also revealed that due to the non-efficiencies of drainage and isolation systems against secondary leakages and consequently marl expansion, the volumetric and shear strains (i.e., expansions and displacements) have exceeded from the critical states of strain along the tunnel. For various remedy purpose, this paper attempted several measures that can be taken in order to modify the drainage and isolation systems along the tunnel area. The reconstruction of drainage systems with suitable reinforced concrete and adequate slope has been proposed. The width of channel and isolation of backside of lining and implementation of multi-order outlets (i.e., backside of lining) for draining of groundwater into where the main drainage systems are located in the tunnel gallery were suggested
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