256 research outputs found
Strong Coupling Correction in Superfluid He in Aerogel
Effects of impurity scatterings on the strong coupling (SC) contribution,
stabilizing the ABM (axial) pairing state, to the quartic term of the
Ginzburg-Landau (GL) free energy of superfluid He are theoretically studied
to examine recent observations suggestive of an anomalously small SC effect in
superfluid He in aerogels. To study the SC corrections, two approaches are
used. One is based on a perturbation in the short-range repulsive interaction,
and the other is a phenomenological approach used previously for the bulk
liquid by Sauls and Serene [Phys.Rev.B 24, 183 (1981)]. It is found that the
impurity scattering favors the BW pairing state and shrinks the region of the
ABM pairing state in the T-P phase diagram. In the phenomenological approach,
the resulting shrinkage of the ABM region is especially substantial and, if
assuming an anisotropy over a large scale in aerogel, leads to justifying the
phase diagrams determined experimentally.Comment: 19 pages, 9 figures, Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.
Vortex core transitions in superfluid 3He in globally anisotropic aerogels
Core structures of a single vortex in A-like and B-like phases of superfluid
3He in uniaxially compressed and stretched aerogels are studied by numerically
solving Ginzburg-Landau equations derived microscopically. It is found that,
although any uniaxial deformation leads to a wider A-like phase with the axial
pairing in the pressure-temperature phase diagram, the vortex core states in
the two phases in aerogel depend highly on the type of deformation. In a
compressed aerogel, the first-order vortex core transition (VCT) previously
seen in the bulk B phase appears at any pressure in the B-like phase while no
strange vortex core is expected in the corresponding A-like phase. By contrast,
in a stretched aerogel, the VCT in the B-like phase is lost while another VCT
is expected to occur between a nonunitary core and a polar one in the A-like
phase. Experimental search for these results is hoped to understand correlation
between superfluid 3He and aerogel structure.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figures Text was changed. Resubmitted versio
Anisotropic Aerogels for Studying Superfluid He
It may be possible to stabilize new superfluid phases of He with
anisotropic silica aerogels. We discuss two methods that introduce anisotropy
in the aerogel on length scales relevant to superfluid He. First,
anisotropy can be induced with uniaxial strain. A second method generates
anisotropy during the growth and drying stages. We have grown cylindrical
98% aerogels with anisotropy indicated by preferential radial shrinkage
after supercritical drying and find that this shrinkage correlates with small
angle x-ray scattering (SAXS). The growth-induced anisotropy was found to be
out of phase relative to that induced by strain. This has
implications for the possible stabilization of superfluid phases with specific
symmetry.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, submitted to Quantum Fluids and Solids (QFS)
conference 200
The influence of climate and land-cover scenarios on dam management strategies in a highwater pressure catchment in Northeast Spain
Altres ajuts: EU LIFE (LIFE12ENV/ES/000536)This paper evaluates the response of streamflow in a Mediterranean medium-scaled basin under land-use and climate change scenarios and its plausible implication on the management of Boadella-Darnius reservoir (NE Spain). Land cover and climate change scenarios supposed over the next several decades were used to simulate reservoir inflow using the Regional Hydro-Ecologic Simulation System (RHESsys) and to analyze the future impacts on water management (2021-2050). Results reveal a clear decrease in dam inflow (-34%) since the dam was operational from 1971 to 2013. The simulations obtained with RHESsys show a similar decrease (-31%) from 2021 to 2050. Considering the ecological minimum flow outlined by water authorities and the projected decrease in reservoir's inflows, different water management strategies are needed to mitigate the effects of the expected climate change
Integrando escalas y métodos LTER para comprender la dinámica global de un espacio protegido de montaña: el Parque Nacional de Ordesa y Monte Perdido.
Los espacios protegidos, por el hecho de albergar una gran geo-biodiversidad y asegurar una baja intervención humana, constituyen lugares muy adecuados para el seguimiento de organismos y procesos a escala ecológica, así como para la obtención de series temporales largas a escala geológica. En el marco de la red LTER-España, el Parque Nacional de Ordesa y Monte Perdido (PNOMP) y el Instituto Pirenaico de Ecología-CSIC están impulsando estudios para la detección de cambios a distintas escalas mediante variados métodos y aproximaciones. Destacamos aquí los más consolidados, entre los que se encuentran los análisis de registros de sedimentos en lagos, espeleotemas en cuevas, la dinámica de uno de los pocos glaciares activos de la Península ibérica, el análisis físico-químico de aguas corrientes e ibones de alta montaña, el registro del cambio climático actual en árboles longevos, la afección que éste ejerce sobre masas actuales de pinos en el límite superior del bosque y de abetales en zonas húmedas, la matorralización de algunos pastos y los procesos mecanicistas que subyacen, la reorganización de la diversidad florística en pastos tras el abandono paulatino o drástico de la ganadería, la biodiversidad de las comunidades alpinas y la dinámica poblacional de especies amenazadas o indicadoras de hábitats o de motores de cambio global. Los seguimientos ecológicos actuales muestran que tanto el cambio climático como el de usos del suelo están teniendo una considerable trascendencia en la fisionomía y la estructura de algunos de los ambientes más icónicos y frecuentes del parque (deterioro del glaciar, termofilización de la flora en cumbres alpinas, densificación del bosque en su límite superior, pérdida de productividad en algunos pastos supraforestales, etc.). También sugieren una importante variabilidad espacial en los procesos (por ej. en el PNOMP conviven pastos matorralizados y pastos muy estables), y evidencian que los cambios observados no siempre siguen los paradigmas establecidos (por ej., las especies amenazadas mantienen dinámicas poblacionales estables). La integración de resultados parciales proporcionados por cada aproximación relativiza la importancia de las percepciones que cada estudio destaca por separado, y permite medir los cambios actuales en el marco de referencia de los cambios a escala geológica.Predecir la resistencia y resiliencia de los ecosistemas o las poblaciones de seres vivos para enfrentarse a los futuros cambios ambientales es complicado, no sólo por la falta de conocimientos disponibles sino también porque las respuestas que observamos no siempre son tan rápidas o lineales como se espera. La modelización constituye una herramienta cada vez más utilizada, pero requiere de evidencias reales para validar sus pronósticos, por lo que la observación de los procesos que actúan en el PNOMP ha de incluir un esfuerzo continuado de monitorización multiescalar y multidisciplinar de los distintos componentes de la geo, hidro-, crio- y biosfera, sin olvidar el componente humano. Entender la complejidad supone conectar las interacciones que existen entre todos los sistemas y ponderar sus efectos según las escalas de trabajo
Persistent symptoms and decreased health-related quality of life after symptomatic pediatric COVID-19: A prospective study in a Latin American tertiary hospital
OBJECTIVES: To prospectively evaluate demographic, anthropometric and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in pediatric patients with laboratory-confirmed coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)
METHODS: This was a longitudinal observational study of surviving pediatric post-COVID-19 patients (n=53) and pediatric subjects without laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 included as controls (n=52) was performed.
RESULTS: The median duration between COVID-19 diagnosis (n=53) and follow-up was 4.4 months (0.8-10.7). Twenty-three of 53 (43%) patients reported at least one persistent symptom at the longitudinal follow-up visit and 12/53 (23%) had long COVID-19, with at least one symptom lasting for >12 weeks. The most frequently reported symptoms at the longitudinal follow-up visit were headache (19%), severe recurrent headache (9%), tiredness (9%), dyspnea (8%), and concentration difficulty (4%). At the longitudinal follow-up visit, the frequencies of anemia (11% versus 0%, p=0.030), lymphopenia (42% versus 18%, p=0.020), C-reactive protein level of >30 mg/L (35% versus 0%, p=0.0001), and D-dimer level of >1000 ng/mL (43% versus 6%, p=0.0004) significantly reduced compared with baseline values. Chest X-ray abnormalities (11% versus 2%, p=0.178) and cardiac alterations on echocardiogram (33% versus 22%, p=0.462) were similar at both visits. Comparison of characteristic data between patients with COVID-19 at the longitudinal follow-up visit and controls showed similar age (p=0.962), proportion of male sex (p=0.907), ethnicity (p=0.566), family minimum monthly wage (p=0.664), body mass index (p=0.601), and pediatric pre-existing chronic conditions (p=1.000). The Pediatric Quality of Live Inventory 4.0 scores, median physical score (69 [0-100] versus 81 [34-100], p=0.012), and school score (60 [15-100] versus 70 [15-95], p=0.028) were significantly lower in pediatric patients with COVID-19 at the longitudinal follow-up visit than in controls.
CONCLUSIONS: Pediatric patients with COVID-19 showed a longitudinal impact on HRQoL parameters, particularly in physical/school domains, reinforcing the need for a prospective multidisciplinary approach for these patients. These data highlight the importance of closer monitoring of children and adolescents by the clinical team after COVID-19
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