Plasma Emission Redistribution in a Single Cylce of a Pulsed DC Magnetron

Time-resolved images of the optical emissions from a pulsed dc titanium target planar rectangular sputtering magnetron plasma were taken using Argon spectral filters and a Roper Scientific ICCD camera with a time resolution of 0.05-0.2 μs. At the beginning of the \u27on-time\u27, when the power is turned on, the discharge initially starts preferentially in two opposite curved sections (\u27cross corners\u27) of the magnetron race track, where it exhibits the most intense plasma emissions. During the rest of the \u27on-time\u27, the emissions from the straight sections of the race track of the magnetron are always slightly more intense than the emissions from the curved sections of the race track. This pattern extends into the start of the \u27off-time\u27, when the power is turned off. In an effort to explain this \u27plasma emission redistribution (PER)\u27 effect, we used a Monte Carlo (MC) approach to simulate the optical emissions from our pulsed dc magnetron plasma. The simulation reproduces the PER effect, which can be linked to the specific electric (E) and magnetic (B) field spatial distributions and electric field distribution temporal variations in conjunction with the electron E x B drift

Sequelae of COVID-19 at long-term follow-up after hospitalization

Aim. To assess long-term sequelae of COVID-19 in hospitalized patients at 3 to 7 months after discharge.Material and Methods. The whole of 700 patients hospitalized to the temporary COVID-19 treatment center hosted by the FSBI “National Medical Research Center of Cardiology” of the Ministry of Health of Russia from April to June 2020 were invited to participate in a follow-up study. At 3-7 months after the index hospitalization, patients or their proxies were contacted via telephone in order to obtain information on their vital status, cardiovascular and other conditions or their complications, and new hospitalizations. In addition, patients were invited to an outpatient visit under the "COVID-19-follow-up" program, encompassing physical examination and a comprehensive battery of laboratory and instrumental tests, including spirometry, chest computed tomography (CT) and the six minute walk test (6MWT). Further, dyspnea was assessed using the mMRC (Modified Medical Research Council) Dyspnea Scale. Results: We were able to contact 87.4% (612/700) of patients or their proxies. At follow-up, 4.4% (27) patients died, of which 96.3% (26) had cardiovascular diseases (CVD). A total of 213 patients aged 19 to 94 years old (mean age 56.8±12.5, median 57 years [49.0; 64.0]; men, 55.4%) agreed come for an outpatient visit and to participate in the “COVID-19-follow-up” program. Since discharge, 8% (17) of patients required new hospitalizations, and more than a half of these patients (58.8%; 10/17) had CVD-related hospitalizations. A total of 8.4% (18) patients experienced worsening of hypertension, 9 (4.2%) patients had newly diagnosed hypertension, 2 (0.9%) – coronary artery disease patients experienced new/recurrent angina symptoms. 4 (1.9%) patients had newly diagnosed coronary artery disease, and one patient had an ischemic stroke. At the outpatient visit, 114 (53.5%) patients had some symptoms, most frequently, shortness of breath (33%), fatigue (27.4%), chest pain (11.3%), and abnormal heartbeats (8.5%). Based on the mMRC Scale, 59% of patients had dyspnea of varying severity. Most patients had a normal vital capacity (VC), which was moderately reduced in 3.3% and severely reduced in 0.5% of patients. Chest CT scans were obtained in 78 (36.6%) patients, whose worst lung damage scores during hospitalization were CT3 or CT4. One in ten patients (10.8%) with severe lung damage during acute infection had persisting ground glass opacities, 35.9% developed fibrotic changes, 79.6% of patients had linear or fine focal opacities. According to the 6MWT data, 12.3% of patients walked less than 70% of the predicted distance, 67% walked 71 to 99% of the predicted distance, and 20.7% of patients were able to walk 100% of their predicted distance.Conclusion. These data suggest long-term negative sequelae of COVID-19 in more than half of hospitalized patients

Geographies of the Self: Space, Place, and Scale Revisited

Where do tendencies to exclude, discriminate, and dominate originate from? Why for many do harmful traits like these appear so characteristic of modern life? How might we move beyond this predicament to foster more sustainable and enriching relationships with one another and with Nature? In this paper, I explore the classic geographic concepts of space, place, and scale and apply them to a consideration of the body and of selfhood. In doing so, I trace out two markedly different ‘geographies of the self’. The first ‘self’ emerges from the basic tenet that space and matter are mutually exclusive, a premise that underpins the dominant episteme of objective rationality. This is the self as selfish, insular, and oppositional. The second ‘self’ emerges from the basic tenet that matter dynamically includes and is included in space, giving rise to the philosophy of ‘natural inclusionality’. The natural inclusional self is hence dynamically distinct but not definitively discrete, a vital inclusion of its natural neighbourhood. I consider some of the implications of these two versions of the self for society, contending that the first promotes a culture of exclusion and the second a culture of belonging. In finishing, I consider questions of method and praxis as they relate to the project of evolving inclusional selves

Dynamics of changes in the acute period and long-term results of chest CT in patients with COVID-19 pneumonia

To demonstrate chest CT changes during the dynamic observation of patients with severe viral COVID-19 pneumonia in the acute period and 6 months after recovery. Materials and methods. We present a clinical experience and follow-up of two patients with severe bilateral viral COVID-19 pneumonia, using chest computed tomography (CT) in the acute period and 6 months after recovery. Series of chest computer tomograms were analyzed in dynamics. CT was performed using a low-dose protocol on a Toshiba Aquilion ONE tomograph. Total patient radiation dose was less than 6.2 mSv, with an average of 1.5-1.6 mSv per study. Results. The ability of monitoring of chest CT indicators is demonstrated for making the choice of therapy in the acute period, as well as to assess the long-term consequences 6 months after recovery. The dynamic of CT patterns was studied depending on the stage of the course and results of treatment of viral pneumonia. Differences of outcomes are shown on patients with a similar clinical course of the disease six months after the same type of treatment. Conclusion. CT diagnostics for coronavirus infection helps not only in making an accurate diagnosis, but is also necessary in dynamic for monitoring the clinical course and evaluating residual changes after viral pneumonia

Variable angle of incidence spectroscopic ellipsometric characterization of TiO\u3csub\u3e2\u3c/sub\u3e/Ag/TiO\u3csub\u3e2\u3c/sub\u3e optical coatings

Optical constants (3000–8000 Å) and layer thicknesses of TiO2/Ag/TiO2 optical coatings are determined using variable angle of incidence spectroscopic ellipsometry. Ellipsometrically determined silver layer thicknesses agree well with those obtained by cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy. Also, spectral characteristics, absent in bulk silver data, are observed in n and k spectra for the thin silver layers. It is suggested that these structures may be caused by plasmon effects from the silver layers

Time-resolved processes in a pulsed electrical discharge in argon bubbles in water

A phenomenological picture of a pulsed electrical discharge in gas bubbles in water is produced by combining electrical, spectroscopic, and imaging characterization methods. The discharge is generated by applying 1 $\mu$s pulses of 5 to 20 kV between a needle and a disk electrode submerged in water. An Ar gas bubble surrounds the tip of the needle electrode. Imaging, electrical characteristics, and time-resolved optical emission spectroscopic data suggest a fast streamer propagation mechanism and the formation of a plasma channel in the bubble. Comparing the electrical and imaging data for consecutive pulses applied to the bubble at a frequency of 1 Hz indicates that each discharge proceeds as an entirely new process with no memory of the previous discharge aside from the presence of long-lived chemical species, such as ozone and oxygen. Imaging and electrical data show the presence of two discharge events during each applied voltage pulse, a forward discharge near the beginning of the applied pulse depositing charge on the surface of the bubble and a reverse discharge removing the accumulated charge from the water/gas interface when the applied voltage is turned off. The pd value of ~300–500 torr cm, the 1 μs long pulse duration, low repetition rate, and unidirectional character of the applied voltage pulses make the discharge process here unique compared to the traditional corona or dielectric barrier discharges