Microwave-induced thermal escape in Josephson junctions

We investigate, by experiments and numerical simulations, thermal activation processes of Josephson tunnel junctions in the presence of microwave radiation. When the applied signal resonates with the Josephson plasma frequency oscillations, the switching current may become multi-valued in a temperature range far exceeding the classical to quantum crossover temperature. Plots of the switching currents traced as a function of the applied signal frequency show very good agreement with the functional forms expected from Josephson plasma frequency dependencies on the bias current. Throughout, numerical simulations of the corresponding thermally driven classical Josephson junction model show very good agreement with the experimental data.Comment: 10 pages and 4 figure

Venous Pulse Wave Velocity variation in response to a simulated fluid challenge in healthy subjects

Purpose: The evaluation of a mini or simulated fluid challenge is still a complex and open issue in the clinical setting and it is of paramount significance for the fluid therapy optimization. We here investigated the capacity of a new hemodynamic parameter, the venous Pulse Wave Velocity (vPWV), to detect the effect of passive leg raising (PLR). Materials and methods: In 15 healthy volunteers (7 M, 8 F, age 26 ± 3) venous pressure pulses were elicited by pneumatic compressions of the left hand and proximally detected by ultrasound for calculation of the vPWV. We also non-invasively measured the basilic vein (BV) cross-sectional perimeter, and peripheral venous pressure (PVP). The PLR manoeuvre was performed twice to evaluate reliability of the assessment. Results: The PLR had an overall statistically significant effect on the entire set of variables (MANOVA, p < 0.05): vPWV increased from 2.11 ± 0.46 to 2.30 ± 0.47 m/s (p = 0.01; average increase: 10%). This effect was transient and dropped below 5% after about 3 min. A significant increase was also exhibited by BV size and PVP. In consecutive measurements vPWV showed little intra-subject variability (CoV = 8%) and good reliability (ICC = 0.87). Finally, the vPWV responses to the two PLRs exhibited good agreement (paired T-test: p = 0.96), and moderate reliability (ICC = 0.57). Conclusion: These results demonstrated that vPWV can be non-invasively, objectively and reliably measured in healthy subjects and that it is adequate to detect small pressure/volume variations, as induced by PLR-from-supine. These characteristics make it suitable for clinical applications

Uso Da Zona De Amortecimento De Uma Unidade De Conservação De Cerrado Por Mamíferos

Habitat loss and degradation is threatening mammals worldwide. Therefore, Protected Areas (PA) are of utmost importance to preserve biodiversity. Their effectiveness, however, depends on some management strategies such as buffer zones, which prevent/mitigate the impact of external threats and might increase the amount of available habitat for wildlife existing within reserves. Nevertheless, how intensively terrestrial mammals use buffer zones remains little studied, particularly in the Neotropical region. Aiming to analyse the use of a buffer zone (5 km wide) by medium and large-sized mammals, we modelled the occupancy probabilities of five species of conservation concern including local (interior and buffer zone) as a site covariate, simultaneously controlling for imperfect detection. Data collection was made with camera traps from April to September 2013 in a 9000 ha Cerrado PA (“interior”) and in its surrounding area (39721.41 ha; “buffer zone”). This PA (Jataí Ecological Station) is immersed in a landscape where sugarcane plantations predominate in the northeastern of the state of São Paulo. We also conducted an inventory to compare the number and composition of species between interior and buffer zone. A total of 31 mammal species (26 natives) was recorded via camera traps and active search for sightings, vocalizations, tracks and signs. Occupancy estimates for Myrmecophaga tridactyla, Leopardus pardalis and Pecari tajacu were numerically higher in interior. On the other hand, Chrysocyon brachyurus had the highest occupancy in buffer zone, while the largest predator, Puma concolor, used both areas similarly. However, as the confidence intervals (95%) overlapped, the differences in occupancy probabilities between interior and buffer were weak for all these species. Additionally, regarding only the species recorded by cameras, the observed and estimated richness were similar between interior and buffer zone of the PA. Our data demonstrated that the buffer zone is indeed used by medium and large-sized mammals, including conservation-dependent ones. The lack of enforcement of current legislation regarding buffer zones is therefore a real threat for mammals, even when protection is guaranteed in the interior of protected areas. © Universidade Estadual de Campinas UNICAMP. All rights reserved.16

Bismuth vanadate photoanodes for water splitting deposited by radio frequency plasma reactive co-sputtering

Photoactive bismuth vanadate (BiVO4) thin coatings were deposited on fluorine-doped tin oxide glass by plasma reactive sputtering from Bi2O3 and vanadium (V) radio frequency (RF) powered targets. The films were characterized by x-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersion spectroscopy, and UV-vis spectroscopy. The effects that the power density supplied to the Bi2O3 target, the post-annealing treatment, and the film thickness have on the structural features and on the photoelectrochemical (PEC) performances of the so obtained BiVO4 film-based photoelectrodes were investigated. Their PEC performance in water splitting was evaluated in a three-electrode cell by both incident photon to current efficiency (IPCE) and linear sweep voltammetry measurements under AM 1.5 G simulated solar light irradiation. A monoclinic phase of BiVO4, which is more photoactive than the tetragonal BiVO4 phase, was obtained by optimizing the power density supplied to the Bi2O3 target, i.e., by tuning the Bi:V:O atomic ratio. The best PEC performance was obtained for a stoichiometric 1:1 Bi:V atomic ratio, attained with 20 W power supplied at the Bi2O3 target and 300 W power supplied at the vanadium target, and an optimal 200 nm thickness of the BiVO4 film, with a 0.65 mA/cm2 photocurrent density attained at 1.23 V vs. standard calomel electrode, under simulated solar light. These results show the suitability of plasma reactive sputtering with two RF powered electrodes for the deposition of BiVO4 photoanodes for water splitting

Anastomotic leakage in colorectal cancer surgery

The safety of colorectal surgery for oncological disease is steadily improving, but anastomotic leakage is still the most feared and devastating complication from both a surgical and oncological point of view. Anastomotic leakage affects the outcome of the surgery, increases the times and costs of hospitalization, and worsens the prognosis in terms of short- and long-term outcomes. Anastomotic leakage has a wide range of clinical features ranging from radiological only finding to peritonitis and sepsis with multi-organ failure. C-reactive protein and procalcitonin have been identified as early predictors of anastomotic leakage starting from postoperative day 2–3, but abdominal-pelvic computed tomography scan is still the gold standard for the diagnosis. Several treatments can be adopted for anastomotic leakage. However, there is not a universally accepted flowchart for the management, which should be individualized based on patient's general condition, anastomotic defect size and location, indication for primary resection and presence of the proximal stoma. Non‐operative management is usually preferred in patients who underwent proximal faecal diversion at the initial operation. Laparoscopy can be attempted after minimal invasive surgery and can reduce surgical stress in patients allowing a definitive treatment. Reoperation for sepsis control is rarely necessary in those patients who already have a diverting stoma at the time of the leak, especially in extraperitoneal anastomoses. In patients without a stoma who do not require abdominal reoperation for a contained pelvic leak, there are several treatment options, including laparoscopic diverting ileostomy combined with trans-anal anastomotic tube drainage, percutaneous drainage or recently developed endoscopic procedures, such as stent or clip placement or endoluminal vacuum‐assisted therapy. We describe the current approaches to treat this complication, as well as the clinical tests necessary to diagnose and provide an effective therapy

A 10-3 drift velocity monitoring chamber

The MEG-II experiment searches for the lepton flavor violating decay: mu in electron and gamma. The reconstruction of the positron trajectory uses a cylindrical drift chamber operated with a mixture of He and iC4H10 gas. It is important to provide a stable performance of the detector in terms of its electron transport parameters, avalanche multiplication, composition and purity of the gas mixture. In order to have a continuous monitoring of the quality of gas, we plan to install a small drift chamber, with a simple geometry that allows to measure very precisely the electron drift velocity in a prompt way. This monitoring chamber will be supplied with gas coming from the inlet and the outlet of the detector to determine if gas contaminations originate inside the main chamber or in the gas supply system. The chamber is a small box with cathode walls, that define a highly uniform electric field inside two adjacent drift cells. Along the axis separating the two drift cells, four staggered sense wires alternated with five guard wires collect the drifting electrons. The trigger is provided by two 90Sr weak calibration radioactive sources placed on top of a two thin scintillator tiles telescope. The whole system is designed to give a prompt response (within a minute) about drift velocity variations at the 0.001 level

Possibility of obtaining TiO2 material by plasma dynamic method into an air atmosphere

This paper shows the possibility to synthesize directly the titanium dioxide in a supersonic jet of an electric discharge erosive plasma. Using the X-ray diffractometry it is shown that the obtained product contains two main crystalline phases: anatase and rutile with tetragonal syngony. The size of the coherent scattering region is less 100 nm

Broadband noise decoherence in solid-state complex architectures

Broadband noise represents a severe limitation towards the implementation of a solid-state quantum information processor. Considering common spectral forms, we propose a classification of noise sources based on the effects produced instead of on their microscopic origin. We illustrate a multi-stage approach to broadband noise which systematically includes only the relevant information on the environment, out of the huge parametrization needed for a microscopic description. We apply this technique to a solid-state two-qubit gate in a fixed coupling implementation scheme.Comment: Proceedings of Nobel Symposium 141: Qubits for Future Quantum Informatio

Qualidade sensorial de néctares de maracujás BRS Ouro Vermelho produzidos em diferentes sistemas de cultivo.

O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar o perfil sensorial e a aceitabilidade de néctares de maracujás obtidos de plantas submetidas a diferentes sistemas de produção, orgânico e convencional, com ou sem sombreamento pelo consórcio com mandioca. As amostras foram avaliadas por Análise Descritiva Quantitativa e por teste de aceitação com escala hedônica. Os dados do perfil descritivo e de aceitação foram analisados por Mapa de Preferência Externo, Análise de Variância e teste de comparação de médias de Fisher. Observou-se que os frutos que não foram submetidos ao sombreamento apresentaram néctares com perfil sensorial bastante semelhante e maior aceitação. Néctares de maracujá convencional não sombreado e orgânico não sombreado apresentaram correlação com os atributos aroma verde, homogeneidade e gosto ácido. As maiores diferenças na aceitação foram observadas entre as amostras convencional sombreada e orgânico não sombreada, com diferenças significativas nos atributos de cor, sabor e qualidade global. O Mapa de Preferência Externo apontou que a amostra de néctar convencional sombreado, com menor aceitação, foi correlacionada com os atributos fibrosidade e viscosidade