Measurement of spontaneous emission from a two-dimensional photonic band gap defined microcavity at near-infrared wavelengths

An active, photonic band gap-based microcavity emitter in the near infrared is demonstrated. We present direct measurement of the spontaneous emission power and spectrum from a microcavity formed using a two-dimensional photonic band gap structure in a half wavelength thick slab waveguide. The appearance of cavity resonance peaks in the spectrum correspond to the photonic band gap energy. For detuned band gaps, no resonances are observed. For devices with correctly tuned band gaps, a two-time enhancement of the extraction efficiency was demonstrated compared to detuned band gaps and unpatterned material

A new multiparametric topological method for determining the primary cosmic ray mass composition in the knee energy region

The determination of the primary cosmic ray mass composition from the characteristics of extensive air showers (EAS), obtained at an observation level in the lower half of the atmosphere, is still an open problem. In this work we propose a new method of the Multiparametric Topological Analysis and show its applicability for the determination of the mass composition of the primary cosmic rays at the PeV energy region.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, talk given at Vulcano 2004 Workshop 'Frontier Objects in Physics and Astrophysics', Vulcano, Italy, 24-29.05.04, to be published in the Proceedings of the Worksho

Precise determination of muon and electromagnetic shower contents from shower universality property

We consider two new aspects of Extensive Air Shower development universality allowing to make accurate estimation of muon and electromagnetic (EM) shower contents in two independent ways. In the first case, to get muon (or EM) signal in water Cherenkov tanks or in scintillator detectors it is enough to know the vertical depth of shower maximum and the total signal in the ground detector. In the second case, the EM signal can be calculated from the primary particle energy and the zenith angle. In both cases the parametrizations of muon and EM signals are almost independent on primary particle nature, energy and zenith angle. Implications of the considered properties for mass composition and hadronic interaction studies are briefly discussed. The present study is performed on 28000 of proton, oxygen and iron showers, generated with CORSIKA 6.735 for $E^{-1}$ spectrum in the energy range log(E/eV)=18.5-20.0 and uniformly distributed in cos^2(theta) in zenith angle interval theta=0-65 degrees for QGSJET II/Fluka interaction models.Comment: Submitted to Phys. Rev.

Fluorescence and Hybrid Detection Aperture of the Pierre Auger Observatory

The aperture of the Fluorescence Detector (FD) of the Pierre Auger Observatory is evaluated from simulated events using different detector configurations: mono, stereo, 3-FD and 4-FD. The trigger efficiency has been modeled using shower profiles with ground impacts in the field of view of a single telescope and studying the trigger response (at the different levels) by that telescope and by its neighbours. In addition, analysis cuts imposed by event reconstruction have been applied. The hybrid aperture is then derived for the Auger final extension. Taking into account the actual Surface Detector (SD) array configuration and its trigger response, the aperture is also calculated for a typical configuration of the present phase.Comment: contribution to the 29th International Cosmic Ray Conference, Pune, India, 3-10 August 200

Gambling Disorders Among Young Women Regular Gamblers: The Unique and Common Contribution of Executive Thinking Style and Mindfulness

The aim of this study is to investigate the role played by mindfulness in the relationship between cognitive styles and gambling disorders in a sample of female young adults. Participants in this study (125 women; Mage = 18.64 years; SD = 1.7) were recruited in betting or bingo halls. They completed the South Oaks Gambling Screen, the Child and Adolescent Mindfulness Measure, and Sternberg's questionnaire on thinking styles. The results from the mediation analyses revealed that the executive thinking style increases gambling and that the deficit in mindfulness ability mediates this relationship. Theoretical and clinical implications are discussed

Coping Strategies, Creativity, Social Self-Efficacy, and Hypercompetitiveness in Gambling Behaviors: A Study on Male Adolescent Regular Gamblers

The purpose of this research was to explore the cognitive and personality characteristics of male adolescent gamblers. Participants were 273 teenage males (M = 18.04, SD = 2.10) attending betting centers in Sicily, who completed self-report questionnaires on gambling, creativity, perceived social self-efficacy, hypercompetitiveness, and coping strategies. Pathological gamblers reported higher levels of avoidant coping strategies than occasional gamblers. They also scored higher on hypercompetitiveness than both occasional and problem gamblers. Further, problem gamblers scored higher than occasional gamblers on the complexity domain of creative personality. Finally, poor perceived social self-efficacy, higher levels of avoidant coping, and hypercompetitiveness predicted pathological gambling. Theoretical, psycho-educational, and clinical implications are discussed

Monitoring and early detection of internal erosion: Distributed sensing and processing

International audienceEarly detection of leakages in hydraulic infrastructures is important to ensure their safety and security. Significant flow of water through the dike can be an indicator of internal erosion and results in a thermal anomaly. Temperature measurements are therefore capable of revealing information linked to leakage. Optical fiber-based distributed temperature sensors present an economically viable and reliable solution for recording spatio-temporal temperature data over long distances, with spatial and temperature resolutions of 1m and 0.05 C, respectively. The acquired data are influenced by several factors, among them water leakages, heat transfer through the above soil depth, seasonal thermal variations, and the geomechanical environment. Soil properties such as permeability alter the acquired signal locally. This article presents leakage detection methods based on signal processing of the raw temperature data from optical fiber sensors. The first approach based on source separation identifies leakages by separating them from the non-relevant information. The second approach presents a potential alarm system based on the analysis of daily temperature variations. Successful detection results for simulated as well as real experimental setups of Electricité de France are presented

A simple approach for CTAB-free and biofunctionalized gold nanorods to construct photothermal active nanomedicine for potential in vivo applications in cancer cells and scar treatment

Cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), a surfactant commonly used in the synthesis of gold nanorods (AuNR), presents challenges owing to cytotoxicity in biological applications, limiting their biomedical applicability, particularly in cancer therapy. This study introduces a straightforward methodology for the effective removal of CTAB by utilizing a combination of ligand replacement and surface bioconjugation processes that efficiently eliminates CTAB and simultaneously functionalizes nanorods with hyaluronic acid (HA) to enhance biocompatibility and introduce targeting capabilities toward cancer cells. The surface chemistry modification of CTAB-capped and CTAB-free AuNR, before and after the functionalization with HA, was scrutinized by UV–visible, surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS), attenuated total reflectance (ATR) Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR), and X-ray photoelectron (XPS) spectroscopies. The surface charge, size, and morphology of the different plasmonic nanoparticles were characterized by zeta potential, dynamic light scattering (DLS), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The photothermal response was assessed by laser irradiation and thermal camera measurements. Proof-of-work in vitro cellular experiments of cytotoxicity and oxidative stress were carried out on prostate cancer cells, PC-3, overexpressing the CD44 cell surface receptor specifically recognized by HA, in comparison with the CD44-negative murine fibroblasts (3T3 cell line) by MTT and MitoSOX assays, respectively. Cellular uptake and organelle alteration were scrutinized by confocal laser scanning microscopy (LSM), while the perturbative effects on cell migration were studied by optical microscopy (wound scratch assay). The study’s findings offer a promising pathway to tune the gold nanorod properties in cancer treatment by reducing cytotoxicity and enhancing targeted therapeutic efficacy, as well as in the control of scar tissue formation