976 research outputs found
Alexandrite laser source for atmospheric lidar measurements
During the past years, there has been a marked increase in interest in the applications of vibronic solid state lasers to meteorology and atmospheric physics. Two airborne lidar programs are now under development in France. The differential absorption lidar (DIAL) method with vibronic solid state lasers is very attractive for water vapor, temperature and pressure measurements. Alexandrite laser and titanium-sapphire are both suitable for these applications. However, only alexandrite rods are commercially available. The requirements on the laser source for airborne dial applications are two fold: (1) a restriction on laser linewidth and a requirement on stability and tunability with a good spectral purity; and (2) a requirement on the time separation between the two pulses. These constraints are summarized
Large capacitance enhancement and negative compressibility of two-dimensional electronic systems at LaAlO/SrTiO interfaces
Novel electronic systems forming at oxide interfaces comprise a class of new
materials with a wide array of potential applications. A high mobility electron
system forms at the LaAlO/SrTiO interface and, strikingly, both
superconducts and displays indications of hysteretic magnetoresistance. An
essential step for device applications is establishing the ability to vary the
electronic conductivity of the electron system by means of a gate. We have
fabricated metallic top gates above a conductive interface to vary the electron
density at the interface. By monitoring capacitance and electric field
penetration, we are able to tune the charge carrier density and establish that
we can completely deplete the metallic interface with small voltages. Moreover,
at low carrier densities, the capacitance is significantly enhanced beyond the
geometric capacitance for the structure. In the same low density region, the
metallic interface overscreens an external electric field. We attribute these
observations to a negative compressibility of the electronic system at the
interface. Similar phenomena have been observed previously in semiconducting
two-dimensional electronic systems. The observed compressibility result is
consistent with the interface containing a system of mobile electrons in two
dimensions.Comment: 4 figures in main text; 4 figures in the supplemen
Importance of Spin-Orbit Interaction for the Electron Spin Relaxation in Organic Semiconductors
Despite the great interest organic spintronics has recently attracted, there is only a partial understanding of the fundamental physics behind electron spin relaxation in organic semiconductors. Mechanisms based on hyperfine interaction have been demonstrated, but the role of the spin-orbit interaction remains elusive. Here, we report muon spin spectroscopy and time-resolved photoluminescence measurements on two series of molecular semiconductors in which the strength of the spin-orbit interaction has been systematically modified with a targeted chemical substitution of different atoms at a particular molecular site. We find that the spin-orbit interaction is a significant source of electron spin relaxation in these materials
Spintronic magnetic anisotropy
An attractive feature of magnetic adatoms and molecules for nanoscale
applications is their superparamagnetism, the preferred alignment of their spin
along an easy axis preventing undesired spin reversal. The underlying magnetic
anisotropy barrier --a quadrupolar energy splitting-- is internally generated
by spin-orbit interaction and can nowadays be probed by electronic transport.
Here we predict that in a much broader class of quantum-dot systems with spin
larger than one-half, superparamagnetism may arise without spin-orbit
interaction: by attaching ferromagnets a spintronic exchange field of
quadrupolar nature is generated locally. It can be observed in conductance
measurements and surprisingly leads to enhanced spin filtering even in a state
with zero average spin. Analogously to the spintronic dipolar exchange field,
responsible for a local spin torque, the effect is susceptible to electric
control and increases with tunnel coupling as well as with spin polarization.Comment: 6 pages with 4 figures + 26 pages of Supplementary Informatio
Spin dynamics of molecular nanomagnets fully unraveled by four-dimensional inelastic neutron scattering
Molecular nanomagnets are among the first examples of spin systems of finite
size and have been test-beds for addressing a range of elusive but important
phenomena in quantum dynamics. In fact, for short-enough timescales the spin
wavefunctions evolve coherently according to the an appropriate cluster
spin-Hamiltonian, whose structure can be tailored at the synthetic level to
meet specific requirements. Unfortunately, to this point it has been impossible
to determine the spin dynamics directly. If the molecule is sufficiently
simple, the spin motion can be indirectly assessed by an approximate model
Hamiltonian fitted to experimental measurements of various types. Here we show
that recently-developed instrumentation yields the four-dimensional
inelastic-neutron scattering function S(Q,E) in vast portions of reciprocal
space and enables the spin dynamics to be determined with no need of any model
Hamiltonian. We exploit the Cr8 antiferromagnetic ring as a benchmark to
demonstrate the potential of this new approach. For the first time we extract a
model-free picture of the quantum dynamics of a molecular nanomagnet. This
allows us, for example, to examine how a quantum fluctuation propagates along
the ring and to directly test the degree of validity of the
N\'{e}el-vector-tunneling description of the spin dynamics
Economic factors influencing zoonotic disease dynamics: demand for poultry meat and seasonal transmission of avian influenza in Vietnam
While climate is often presented as a key factor influencing the seasonality of diseases, the importance of anthropogenic factors is less commonly evaluated. Using a combination of methods-wavelet analysis, economic analysis, statistical and disease transmission modelling-we aimed to explore the influence of climatic and economic factors on the seasonality of H5N1 Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza in the domestic poultry population of Vietnam. We found that while climatic variables are associated with seasonal variation in the incidence of avian influenza outbreaks in the North of the country, this is not the case in the Centre and the South. In contrast, temporal patterns of H5N1 incidence are similar across these 3 regions: periods of high H5N1 incidence coincide with Lunar New Year festival, occurring in January-February, in the 3 climatic regions for 5 out of the 8 study years. Yet, daily poultry meat consumption drastically increases during Lunar New Year festival throughout the country. To meet this rise in demand, poultry production and trade are expected to peak around the festival period, promoting viral spread, which we demonstrated using a stochastic disease transmission model. This study illustrates the way in which economic factors may influence the dynamics of livestock pathogens
Influence of film structure and light on charge trapping and dissipation dynamics in spun-cast organic thin-film transistors measured by scanning Kelvin probe microscopy
Herein, time-dependent scanning Kelvin probe microscopy of solution processed organic thin film transistors (OTFTs) reveals a correlation between film microstructure and OTFT device performance with the location of trapped charge within the device channel. The accumulation of the observed trapped charge is concurrent with the decrease in I{sub SD} during operation (V{sub G}=-40 V, V{sub SD}= -10 V). We discuss the charge trapping and dissipation dynamics as they relate to the film structure and show that application of light quickly dissipates the observed trapped charge
Computer simulation of syringomyelia in dogs
Syringomyelia is a pathological condition in which fluid-filled cavities (syringes) form and expand in the spinal cord. Syringomyelia is often linked with obstruction of the craniocervical junction and a Chiari malformation, which is similar in both humans and animals. Some brachycephalic toy breed dogs such as Cavalier King Charles Spaniels (CKCS) are particularly predisposed. The exact mechanism of the formation of syringomyelia is undetermined and consequently with the lack of clinical explanation, engineers and mathematicians have resorted to computer models to identify possible physical mechanisms that can lead to syringes. We developed a computer model of the spinal cavity of a CKCS suffering from a large syrinx. The model was excited at the cranial end to simulate the movement of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and the spinal cord due to the shift of blood volume in the cranium related to the cardiac cycle. To simulate the normal condition, the movement was prescribed to the CSF. To simulate the pathological condition, the movement of CSF was blocked
Involvement of patients or their representatives in quality management functions in EU hospitals:implementation and impact on patient-centred care strategies
OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to describe the involvement of patients or their representatives in quality management (QM) functions and to assess associations between levels of involvement and the implementation of patient-centred care strategies. DESIGN: A cross-sectional, multilevel STUDY DESIGN: that surveyed quality managers and department heads and data from an organizational audit. SETTING: Randomly selected hospitals (n = 74) from seven European countries (The Czech Republic, France, Germany, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Turkey). PARTICIPANTS: Hospital quality managers (n = 74) and heads of clinical departments (n = 262) in charge of four patient pathways (acute myocardial infarction, stroke, hip fracture and deliveries) participated in the data collection between May 2011 and February 2012. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Four items reflecting essential patient-centred care strategies based on an on-site hospital visit: (1) formal survey seeking views of patients and carers, (2) written policies on patients' rights, (3) patient information literature including guidelines and (4) fact sheets for post-discharge care. The main predictors were patient involvement in QM at the (i) hospital level and (ii) pathway level. RESULTS: Current levels of involving patients and their representatives in QM functions in European hospitals are low at hospital level (mean score 1.6 on a scale of 0 to 5, SD 0.7), but even lower at departmental level (mean 0.6, SD 0.7). We did not detect associations between levels of involving patients and their representatives in QM functions and the implementation of patient-centred care strategies; however, the smallest hospitals were more likely to have implemented patient-centred care strategies. CONCLUSIONS: There is insufficient evidence that involving patients and their representatives in QM leads to establishing or implementing strategies and procedures that facilitate patient-centred care; however, lack of evidence should not be interpreted as evidence of no effect
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