294 research outputs found
Electrical model of an NMOS body biased structure in triple-well technology under photoelectric laser stimulation
International audienceâ This study is driven by the need to optimize failure analysis methodologies based on laser/silicon interactions with an integrated circuit using a triple-well process. It is therefore mandatory to understand the behavior of elementary devices to laser illumination, in order to model and predict the behavior of more complex circuits. This paper presents measurements of the photoelectric currents induced by a pulsed-laser on an NMOS transistor in triple-well Psubstrate/DeepNwell/Pwell structure dedicated to low power body biasing techniques. This evaluation compares the triple-well structure to a classical Psubstrate-only structure of an NMOS transistor. It reveals the possible activation change of the bipolar transistors. Based on these experimental measurements, an electrical model is proposed that makes it possible to simulate the effects induced by photoelectric laser stimulation
SIGMA and XTE observations of the soft X-ray transient XTEJ1755-324
We present observations of the X-ray transient XTEJ1755-324 performed during
summer 1997 with the XTE satellite and with the SIGMA hard X-ray telescope
onboard the GRANAT observatory. The source was first detected in soft X-rays
with XTE on July 25 1997 with a rather soft X-ray spectrum and its outburst was
monitored in soft X-rays up to November 1997. On September 16 it was first
detected in hard X-rays by the French soft gamma ray telescope SIGMA during a
Galactic Center observation. The flux was stronger on September 16 and 17
reaching a level of about 110 mCrab in the 40-80 keV energy band. On the same
days the photon index of the spectrum was determined to be alpha =-2.3 +/- 0.9
(1 sigma error) while the 40-150 keV luminosity was about 8 x 10^{36} erg/s for
a distance of 8.5 kpc. SIGMA and XTE results on this source indicate that this
source had an ultrasoft-like state during its main outburst and a harder
secondary outburst in September. These characteristics make the source similar
to X-Nova Muscae 1991, a well known black hole candidate.Comment: 19 pages LaTeX, 6 Postscript figures included, Accepted by
Astrophysical Journa
Proton drip-line nuclei in relativistic mean-field theory
The position of the two-proton drip line has been calculated for even-even
nuclei with in the framework of the relativistic mean-field
(RMF) theory. The current model uses the NL3 effective interaction in the
mean-field Lagrangian and describes pairing correlations in the
Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS) formalism. The predictions of the RMF theory
are compared with those of the Hartree-Fock+BCS approach (with effective force
Skyrme SIII) and the finite-range droplet model (FRDM) and with the available
experimental information.Comment: 18 pages, RevTeX, 2 p.s figures, to appear in Phys. Rev.
Properties Of The Hard X-ray Radiation From The Black Hole Candidates: Cygnus X-1 And 1E1740.7-2942
The entire dataset of the GRANAT/SIGMA observations of Cyg X-1 and
1E1740.7-2942 in 1990-1994 was analyzed in order to search for correlations
between primary observational characteristics of the hard X-ray (40-200 keV)
emission - hard X-ray luminosity, hardness of the spectrum (quantified in terms
of the best-fit thermal bremsstrahlung temperature kT) and the RMS of
short-term flux variations. Although no strict point-to-point correlations were
detected certain general tendencies are evident. It was found that for Cyg X-1
the spectral hardness is in general positively correlated with relative
amplitude of short-term variability. The correlation of similar kind was found
for X-ray transient GRO J0422+32 (X-ray Nova Persei 1992). For both sources an
approximate correlation between kT and L_X was found. At low hard X-ray
luminosity - below 10E37 erg/sec - kT increases with L_X. At higher luminosity
the spectral hardness depends weaker or does not depend at all on the hard
X-ray luminosity. The low luminosity end of these approximate correlations (low
kT and low RMS) corresponds to extended episodes of very low hard X-ray flux
occurred during SIGMA observations.Comment: 6 pages, 7 figures, uses mn.sty, epsf.sty, psfig.tex; Accepted for
publication in MNRAS; Also available at
http://hea.iki.rssi.ru/~sik/PAPERS/mnras97.ps.gz (gzipped PostScript
Relationships between Orthostatic Hypotension, Frailty, Falling and Mortality in Elderly Care Home Residents
Background: Orthostatic hypotension (OH; profound falls in blood pressure when upright) is a common deficit that increases in incidence with age, and may be associated with falling risk. Deficit accumulation results in frailty, regarded as enhanced vulnerability to adverse outcomes. We aimed to evaluate the relationships between OH, frailty, falling and mortality in elderly care home residents.
Methods: From the Minimum Data Set (MDS) document, a frailty index (FI-MDS) was generated from a list of 58 deficits, ranging from 0 (no deficits) to 1.0 (58 deficits). OH was evaluated from beat-to-beat blood pressure and heart rate (finger plethysmography) collected during a 15-min supine-seated orthostatic stress test. Retrospective and prospective falling rates (falls/year) were extracted from facility falls incident reports. All-cause 3-year mortality was determined. Data are reported as mean ± standard error.
Results: Data were obtained from 116 older adults (aged 84.2 ± 0.9 years; 44% males) living in two long term care facilities. The mean FI-MDS was 0.36 ± 0.01; FI-MDS was correlated with age (r = 0.277; p = 0.003). Those who were frail (FI â„ 0.27) had larger Initial (â 17.8 ± 4.2 vs â 6.1 ± 3.3 mmHg, p = 0.03) and Consensus (â 22.7 ± 4.3 vs â 11.5 ± 3. 3 mmHg, p = 0.04) orthostatic reductions in systolic arterial pressure. Frail individuals had higher prospective and retrospective falling rates and higher 3-year mortality. Receiver operating characteristic curves evaluated the ability of FI-MDS alone to predict prospective falls (sensitivity 72%, specificity 36%), Consensus OH (sensitivity 68%, specificity 60%) and 3-year mortality (sensitivity 77%, specificity 49%). Kaplan Meier survival analyses showed significantly higher 3-year mortality in those who were frail compared to the non-frail (p = 0.005).
Conclusions: Frailty can be captured using a frailty index based on MDS data in elderly individuals living in long term care, and is related to susceptibility to orthostatic hypotension, falling risk and 3-year mortality. Use of the MDS to generate a frailty index may represent a simple and convenient risk assessment tool for older adults living in long term care. Older adults who are both frail and have impaired orthostatic blood pressure control have a particularly high risk of falling and should receive tailored management to mitigate this ris
Genomics and metagenomics of trimethylamine-utilizing Archaea in the human gut microbiome
International audienceThe biological significance of Archaea in the human gut microbiota is largely unclear. We recently reported genomic and biochemical analyses of the Methanomassiliicoccales, a novel order of methanogenic Archaea dwelling in soil and the animal digestive tract. We now show that these Methanomassiliicoccales are present in published microbiome data sets from eight countries. They are represented by five Operational Taxonomic Units present in at least four cohorts and phylogenetically distributed into two clades. Genes for utilizing trimethylamine (TMA), a bacterial precursor to an atherosclerogenic human metabolite, were present in four of the six novel Methanomassiliicoccales genomes assembled from ELDERMET metagenomes. In addition to increased microbiota TMA production capacity in long-term residential care subjects, abundance of TMA-utilizing Methanomassiliicoccales correlated positively with bacterial gene count for TMA production and negatively with fecal TMA concentrations. The two large Methanomassiliicoccales clades have opposite correlations with host health status in the ELDERMET cohort and putative distinct genomic signatures for gut adaptation
A possible association of the new VHE gamma-ray source HESS J1825--137 with the pulsar wind nebula G18.0--0.7
We report on a possible association of the recently discovered very
high-energy -ray source HESS J1825--137 with the pulsar wind nebula
(commonly referred to as G 18.0--0.7) of the year old
Vela-like pulsar PSR B1823--13. HESS J1825--137 was detected with a
significance of 8.1 in the Galactic Plane survey conducted with the
H.E.S.S. instrument in 2004. The centroid position of HESS J1825--137 is offset
by 11\arcmin south of the pulsar position. \emph{XMM-Newton} observations have
revealed X-ray synchrotron emission of an asymmetric pulsar wind nebula
extending to the south of the pulsar. We argue that the observed morphology and
TeV spectral index suggest that HESS J1825--137 and G 18.0--0.7 may be
associated: the lifetime of TeV emitting electrons is expected to be longer
compared to the {\it XMM-Newton} X-ray emitting electrons, resulting in
electrons from earlier epochs (when the spin-down power was larger)
contributing to the present TeV flux. These electrons are expected to be
synchrotron cooled, which explains the observed photon index of , and
the longer lifetime of TeV emitting electrons naturally explains why the TeV
nebula is larger than the X-ray size. Finally, supernova remnant expansion into
an inhomogeneous medium is expected to create reverse shocks interacting at
different times with the pulsar wind nebula, resulting in the offset X-ray and
TeV -ray morphology.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, to appear in Astronomy and Astrophysics Letter
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