1,923 research outputs found
Middle atmosphere measurements of small-scale electron density irregularities and ion properties during the MAC/Epsilon campaign
Rocket payloads designed to measure small scale electron density irregularities and ion properties in the middle atmosphere were flown with each of the three main salvos of the MAC/Epsilon campaign conducted at the Andoya Rocket Range, Norway, during October to November 1987. Fixed bias, hemispheric nose tip probes measured small scale electron density irregularities, indicative of neutral air turbulence, during the rocket's ascent; and subsequently, parachute-borne Gerdien condensers measured the region's polar electrical conductivity, ion mobility and density. One rocket was launched during daylight (October 15, 1052:20 UT), and the other two launches occurred at night (October 21, 2134 UT: November 12, 0021:40 UT) under moderately disturbed conditions which enhanced the detection and measurement of turbulence structures. A preliminary analysis of the real time data displays indicates the presence of small scale electron density irregularities in the altitude range of 60 to 90 km. Ongoing data reduction will determine turbulence parameters and also the region's electrical properties below 90 km
Theory of quantum dot spin-lasers
We formulate a model of a semiconductor Quantum Dot laser with injection of
spin-polarized electrons. As compared to higher-dimensionality structures, the
Quantum-Dot-based active region is known to improve laser properties, including
the spin-related ones. The wetting layer, from which carriers are captured into
the active region, acts as an intermediate level that strongly influences the
lasing operation. The finite capture rate leads to an increase of lasing
thresholds, and to saturation of emitted light at higher injection. In spite of
these issues, the advantageous threshold reduction, resulting from spin
injection, can be preserved. The "spin-filtering" effect, i.e., circularly
polarized emission at even modest spin-polarization of injection, remains
present as well. Our rate-equations description allows to obtain analytical
results and provides transparent guidance for improvement of spin-lasers.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figure
Curvature-coupling dependence of membrane protein diffusion coefficients
We consider the lateral diffusion of a protein interacting with the curvature
of the membrane. The interaction energy is minimized if the particle is at a
membrane position with a certain curvature that agrees with the spontaneous
curvature of the particle. We employ stochastic simulations that take into
account both the thermal fluctuations of the membrane and the diffusive
behavior of the particle. In this study we neglect the influence of the
particle on the membrane dynamics, thus the membrane dynamics agrees with that
of a freely fluctuating membrane. Overall, we find that this curvature-coupling
substantially enhances the diffusion coefficient. We compare the ratio of the
projected or measured diffusion coefficient and the free intramembrane
diffusion coefficient, which is a parameter of the simulations, with analytical
results that rely on several approximations. We find that the simulations
always lead to a somewhat smaller diffusion coefficient than our analytical
approach. A detailed study of the correlations of the forces acting on the
particle indicates that the diffusing inclusion tries to follow favorable
positions on the membrane, such that forces along the trajectory are on average
smaller than they would be for random particle positions.Comment: 16 pages, 8 figure
Individual quality assessment of autografting by probability estimation for clinical endpoints: a prospective validation study from the European group for blood and marrow transplantation.
The aim of supportive autografting is to reduce the side effects from stem cell transplantation and avoid procedure-related health disadvantages for patients at the lowest possible cost and resource expenditure. Economic evaluation of health care is becoming increasingly important. We report clinical and laboratory data collected from 397 consecutive adult patients (173 non-Hodgkin lymphoma, 30 Hodgkin lymphoma, 160 multiple myeloma, 7 autoimmune diseases, and 28 acute leukemia) who underwent their first autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplantation (PBSCT). We considered primary endpoints evaluating health economic efficacy (eg, antibiotic administration, transfusion of blood components, and time in hospital), secondary endpoints evaluating toxicity (in accordance with Common Toxicity Criteria), and tertiary endpoints evaluating safety (ie, the risk of regimen-related death or disease progression within the first year after PBSCT). A time-dependent grading of efficacy is proposed with day 21 for multiple myeloma and day 25 for the other disease categories (depending on the length of the conditioning regimen) as the acceptable maximum time in hospital, which together with antibiotics, antifungal, or transfusion therapy delineates four groups: favorable (≤7 days on antibiotics and no transfusions; ≤21 [25] days in hospital), intermediate (from 7 to 10 days on antibiotics and 7 days on antibiotics, >3 but 30/34 days in hospital after transplantation), and very unfavorable (>10 days on antibiotics, >6 transfusions; >30 to 34 days in hospital). The multivariate analysis showed that (1) PBSC harvests of ≥4 × 106/kg CD34 + cells in 1 apheresis procedure were associated with a favorable outcome in all patient categories except acute myelogenous leukemia and acute lymphoblastic leukemia (P = .001), (2) ≥5 × 106/kg CD34 + cells infused predicted better transplantation outcome in all patient categories (P 500 mL) (P = .002), and (5) patients with a central venous catheter during both collection and infusion of PBSC had a more favorable outcome post-PBSCT than peripheral access (P = .007). The type of mobilization regimen did not affect the outcome of auto-PBSCT. The present study identified predictive variables, which may be useful in future individual pretransplantation probability evaluations with the goal to improve supportive care
Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 incidence among blood donors in France, 1992 through 2006: use of an immunoassay to identify recent infections
BACKGROUND: In France, blood donations found to be positive for the presence of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) are further tested to detect recent infections (≤180 days) using an enzyme immunoassay (EIA-RI) developed in 2002. The characteristics of recently infected donors, estimates of HIV-1 incidence, and the residual risk of transfusion-transmitted HIV-1 are presented, in both first-time and repeat donors. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: Of the 1027 donations found to be HIV-1–positive between 1992 and 2006, a total of 459 could be retrospectively tested with the EIA-RI. Multivariate analysis was performed to determine the donor characteristics associated with recent infection. Incidence rates and residual risk obtained with the EIA-RI were compared to classical cohort estimates derived from repeat donor histories. RESULTS: Of the 459 HIV-1–positive donors studied, 105 (22.9%; 95% confidence interval [CI], 19.2-27.0) were identified as recently infected. Factors independently associated with recent infection were repeat donor status (adjusted odds ratio [AOR], 4.0; 95% CI, 2.4-6.9) and non-B subtypes (AOR, 2.0; 95% CI, 1.2-3.6). Incidence decreased from 4.3 (95% CI, 1.9-9.4) in 1992 through 1994 to 1.3 (95% CI, 0.6-2.8) per 105 in 2004 through 2006 in first-time donors and from 3.2 (95% CI, 2.0-5.0) to 0.8 (95% CI, 0.4-1.4) per 105 in repeat donors. Incidence and residual risk estimates were similar to those obtained with the classical cohort method. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that the EIA-RI can be used to estimate HIV-1 incidence in a population with low HIV incidence. The estimated HIV-1 incidence in the blood donor population confirms the extremely low risk (1 in 3,350,000 donations) of HIV-infected blood donations entering the blood supply in France
Origin of Low-Frequency Negative Transconductance Dispersion in p-HEMT
Measurements of low-frequency transconductance dispersion at different
temperatures and conductance deep level transient spectroscopic(CDLTS) studies
of an AlGaAs/InGaAs pseudomorphic HEMT were carried out. The experimental
results show the presence of defect states at the AlGaAs/InGaAs
hetero-interface. A mobility degradation model was developed to explain the low
frequency negative transconductance dispersion as well as the apparent
hole-like peaks observed in the CDLTS spectra. This model incorporates a time
dependent change in 2DEG mobility due to ionised impurity scattering by the
remaining charge states at the adjoining AlGaAs/InGaAs hetero-interface
High-Temperature Hall Effect in Ga(1-x)Mn(x)As
The temperature dependence of the Hall coefficient of a series of
ferromagnetic Ga(1-x)Mn(x)As samples is measured in the temperature range 80K <
T < 500K. We model the Hall coefficient assuming a magnetic susceptibility
given by the Curie-Weiss law, a spontaneous Hall coefficient proportional to
rho_xx^2(T), and including a constant diamagnetic contribution in the
susceptibility. For all low resistivity samples this model provides excellent
fits to the measured data up to T=380K and allows extraction of the hole
concentration (p). The calculated p are compared to alternative methods of
determining hole densities in these materials: pulsed high magnetic field (up
to 55 Tesla) technique at low temperatures (less than the Curie temperature),
and electrochemical capacitance- voltage profiling. We find that the Anomalous
Hall Effect (AHE) contribution to rho_xy is substantial even well above the
Curie temperature. Measurements of the Hall effect in this temperature regime
can be used as a testing ground for theoretical descriptions of transport in
these materials. We find that our data are consistent with recently published
theories of the AHE, but they are inconsistent with theoretical models
previously used to describe the AHE in conventional magnetic materials.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures, 1 table. Accepted to Phys.Rev.
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