Optical Breakdown in Gases Induced by High-power IR CO2 Laser Pulses

This chapter reviews some fundamentals of laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) and describes some experimental studies developed in our laboratory on gases such as nitrogen, oxygen and air. LIBS of these gases at different pressures, in the spectral range ultraviolet-visible-near infrared (UV-Vis-NIR), was excited by using a high-power transverse excitation atmospheric (TEA) CO2 laser (¿=9.621 or 10.591 ¿m; tFWHM=64 ns; and different laser power densities). The spectra of the generated plasmas are dominated by emission of strong atomic, ionic species and molecular bands. Excitation temperatures are estimated from the intensities of atomic and ionic lines. Electron number densities are deduced from the Stark broadening of several ionic lines. The characteristics of the spectral emission intensities from different species have been investigated as functions of the gas pressure and laser irradiance. Optical breakdown threshold intensities in different gases have been experimentally measured. The physical processes leading to laser-induced breakdown of gases have been analyzed. Plasma characteristics of LIBS in air are examined in detail on the emission lines of N+, O+ and C by using time-resolved optical-emission spectroscopy (OES) technique. The results show a faster decay of continuum and ionic spectral species than of neutral atomic and molecular ones. The velocity and kinetic energy distributions for the different species are obtained from time-of-flight (TOF) OES measurements. Excitation temperatures and electron densities in the laser-induced plasma are estimated from the analysis of spectral data at various times from the laser pulse incidence. Temporal evolution of electron density has been used for the estimation of the three-body recombination rate constant.Peer Reviewe

Temporal evolution of the laser-induced plasma generated by IR CO 2 pulsed laser on carbon targets

Time-resolved optical emission analysis was carried out for the plasma plume, produced by high-power tunable IR CO2 pulsed laser ablation of graphite, at λ=10.591 μm and in a regime of relatively high laser fluences (123-402 J/ cm2). Wavelength-dispersed spectra of the plasma plume, at medium-vacuum conditions (4 Pa) and at 9.0 mm from the target, show ionized species (C+, C2+, C3+, C4+, N2 +, N+, and O+), neutral atoms (C, H, N, and O), and neutral diatomic molecules (C2, CN, OH, CH, and N2). In this work, we focus our attention on the temporal evolution of different atomic/ionic and molecular species over a broad spectral range from 190 to 1000 nm. The results show a faster decay for ionic fragments than for neutral atomic and molecular species. The velocity and kinetic energy distributions for different species were obtained from time-of-flight measurements using time-resolved optical emission spectroscopy. Possible mechanisms for the production of these distributions are discussed. Excitation temperature, electron density, and vibrational temperature in the laser-induced plasma were estimated from the analysis of spectral data at various times from the laser pulse incidence. © 2009 American Institute of Physics.Peer Reviewe

Demographic limitation processes

20 páginas, 2 figuras, 1 tabla, 3 cuadros.-- Editor: Valladares, F.[ES]: Procesos de limitación demográfica. Este capítulo ofrece una revisión de los factores que afectan a la regeneración natural de la vegetación, considerando la serie de etapas demográficas que determinan la dinámica demográfica de una pobla- ción. Son muy escasos los estudios disponibles que analizan toda la serie de eventos concatenados entre la producción de flores y frutos y el establecimiento exitoso de una planta adulta reproductiva. También son escasos los trabajos que permiten establecer los efectos aplazados que tienen las interacciones con animales a lo largo del ciclo de regeneración. La aproximación que proponemos cuantifica las pérdidas de propágulos en cada etapa demográfica e identifica “cuellos de botella” del reclutamiento que pue- den colapsar la regeneración natural de una especie. Revisamos una serie de casos de estudio que ilustran diversos procesos de limitación demográfica. El uso de técnicas explícitamente demográficas es fundamental para comprender la evolución de las especies forestales Mediterráneas y para diseñar actuaciones de preservación de sus poblaciones y de su extraordinaria diversidad.[EN]: We review the main factors influencing recruitment limitation in Mediterranean woody species by considering the sequential stages that determine the demographic cycle. Very few studies examine the whole set of demographic stages, from flower production to the successful establishment of adult reproductive plants, and their influence on recruitment. There are also few studies exploring the delayed effects of animal interactions throughout the regeneration cycle, but the information on stage-specific effects is more detailed. We propose an approach that quantifies the propagule losses at each sequential demographic stage and identifies demographic bottlenecks that might collapse population growth. We review a series of case studies illustrating different limitation processes. The use of explicit demographic techniques is central to understand the evolution of Mediterranean woody species and to design sound, ecologically-based, conservation plans to preserve their extraordinary diversity.Juan Arroyo agradece la financiación otorgada a los proyectos 4474-91 (National Geographic Society), PB 91-0894, PB95-0551, 1FD97-0743-CO3-03, PB98-1144, BOS200307924-CO2-01 (MECD, MCyT). Los trabajos de Pedro Jordano han sido financiados con proyectos MECD y MCyT (1FD97-0743-CO3-01, PB 96-0857, BOS2000-1366-C02-01 y REN2003-00273), así como la Junta de Andalucía (PAI). Juan Luis García-Castaño estuvo financiado durante su período pre-doctoral con una beca FPU, AP96-27318040. El trabajo de Fernando Pulido ha sido parcialmente financiado por una beca FPI de la Junta de Extremadura y los proyectos regional IPR-0A050 y estatal BOS2002- 12222-E del Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología. Los trabajos de Patricio García-Fayos han sido financiados con proyectos MCyT (1FD97-0551), de la Generalitat Valenciana (02-046) y de la Institució Alfons el Magnánim (02-046)Peer reviewe

Tratamiento de las fracturas de tobillo con polaina funcional conformada

Se realiza un estudio retrospectivo sobre 35 fracturas de tobillo tratadas con yeso funcional conformado en período de seguimiento de 1 año, algunas no desplazadas y otras desplazadas, pero en las que fue posible conseguir ortopédicamente o con osteosíntesis «a mínima» una correcta reducción. Para la confección del enyesado funcional conformado (YFC), se siguió el método preconizado por F. Esteve valorando clínicamente movilidad, dolor, marcha y estabilidad y radiográficamente reducción, articulación en carga y consolidación. La edad media fue de 53 años, predominando etiología casual (86% de los casos) y el tipo de fractura las de supinación. La duración del período agudo fue de 3,5 a 4 semanas, la del período funcional de 4 semanas y la del período de readaptación de 2 a 3 semanas. Los resultados, en base a los criterios clínicos y radiológicos, fueron excelentes en el 21 % de los casos, buenos en el 62%, regulares en el 10% y malos en el 7%.A total of 35 ankle fractures treated with a functional below-the-knee brace were retrospectively studied. The follow-up period was one year. There were displaced and non displaced fractures, but in all of them was possible to achieved a satisfactory reduction either orthopaedically or with a minimal osteosynthesis. Functional bellow-the-knee bracings was performed according to Esteve. Different parameters such as motion, pain, walking ability and fracture stability were clinically assesed. Fracture reduction and joint consolidation were radiographically evaluated with weight-bearig in the affected leg. The age average was 53 years. Among fractures predominated casual fall etiology (86%) and supination type. The duration of the no loading immovilization period way 3-4 weeks. The functional casting period was 4 weeks and the readaptative period was 2-3 weeks. Based on the clinical and radiological assessments, the results were excellent in a 2 1 % of cases, good in 67%, fair in 10% and poor in 7%

Osteoartritis luética de rodilla

Se presenta el caso de un varón de 59 años, con antecedente de contacto sexual sospechoso entre 3 y 5 años antes, que desarrolló episodios de derrame articular indoloro en rodilla izquierda con una lesión osteítica destructiva en meseta tibial interna. Tras descartar otras patologías, el diagnóstico se efectuó por la intensa actividad treponéndca demostrada en la serología específica y la buena respuesta al tratamiento antibiótico. Los derrames desaparecieron, persistiendo únicamente la deformidad residual. No conseguimos identificar espiroquetas en el material obtenido por biopsia osteoarticular.We report a 59 years old man with a suspicious sexual contact between 3-5 years ago, who developed repeated painless swelling in his left knee, and a progressive destructive osteitis in his tibia. After rejecting other pathologies, the diagnosis arrived by the high treponemic activity proved by specific serology and the clinical recovery with antibiotic treatment. The swelling disappeared and only the residual deformity persisted. We didn't find any treponema in the biopsy

EEMI - An Electronic Health Record for Pediatricians: Adoption Barriers, Services and Use in Mexico

The use of paper health records and handwritten prescriptions are prone to preset errors of misunderstanding instructions or interpretations that derive in affecting patients’ health. Electronic Health Records (EHR) systems are useful tools that among other functions can assists physicians’ tasks such as finding recommended medicines (and their contraindications) and dosage for a given diagnosis, filling prescriptions and support data sharing with other systems. By using an EHR many errors can be avoided. This paper presents EEMI (Expediente Electrónico Médico Infantil), a Children EHR focused on assisting pediatricians in their daily office practice. EEMI functionality keeps the relationships among diagnosis, treatment, and medications. EEMI also calculates dosages and automatically creates prescriptions which can be personalized by the physician. The system also validates patient allergies to avoid prescription of any pharmaceutical with alerts. EEMI was developed based on the experience of pediatricians in the Monterrey metropolitan area. This paper also presents the current use of EHRs in Mexico, the Mexican Norm (NOM-024-SSA3-2010), standards for the development of electronic medical records and its relationships with other standards for data exchange and data representation in the health area. This system is currently in production. It uses novel technologies such as cloud computing and software services

Energy efficient torus networks with on/off links

[EN] Future exascale computing systems will require energy and performance efficient interconnection networks to respond to the high data movement demands of new applications, such as those coming from big-data and artificial intelligence areas. The network structure plays a major role in the overall interconnect performance, for this reason torus is a common topology used in the current largest supercomputers. There are several proposals to improve energy efficiency of interconnection networks. However, few works combine both energy and performance, and sometimes they are treated as opposed issues. In this paper, we try to determine which torus network configuration offers the best performance/energy ratio when high-radix switches are used to build the interconnect system. The performance/energy evaluation has been performed by trace-driven simulation under realistic scenarios, where several mixes of scientific applications share a supercomputer system and are scheduled to be executed with the available resources at each moment.This work has been supported by the Spanish MINECO and European Commission (FEDER funds) under project TIN2015-66972-05-1-R and project TIN2015-66972-05-2-R. Francisco J. Andujar is also funded by the Spanish MINECO under a Juan de la Cierva grant FJCI-2015-26080.Andújar, FJ.; Coll, S.; Alonso Díaz, M.; Martínez-Rubio, J.; López Rodríguez, PJ.; Sánchez, JL.; Alfaro, FJ.... (2019). Energy efficient torus networks with on/off links. Journal of Parallel and Distributed Computing. 130:37-49. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpdc.2019.03.015S374913

Unprecedented magnetoresistance in Cd-substituted Tl2Mn2O7 pyrochlores

3 pages, 3 figures.Moderate pressure techniques (P = 20 kbar) have been used to prepare Tl2–xCdxMn2O7 (0x0.4) pyrochlore-like materials. The x = 0.2 compound has been characterized by neutron powder diffraction, magnetic, magnetotransport, and Hall measurements. This material is ferromagnetic below TC = 110 K. Both electrical resistance and magnetoresistance (MR) are enhanced with respect to stoichiometric Tl2Mn2O7, due to the drastic reduction in the number of carriers (electrons) induced by hole doping. MR(0.5 T) is higher than 106% at 120 K, and MR(9 T) is 30% at room temperature. We show that hole doped derivatives of Tl2Mn2O7 are promising candidates in which to search for large bulk magnetoresistance.The author are grateful for the financial support of CICyT (Project Nos. PB97-1181 and MAT99-1045).Peer reviewe

Effect of the topical administration of corticosteroids and tuberculin pre-sensitisation on the diagnosis of tuberculosis in goats

Background: Caprine tuberculosis (TB) is a zoonosis caused by members of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC). Caprine TB control and eradication programmes have traditionally been based on intradermal tuberculin tests and slaughterhouse surveillance. However, this strategy has limitations in terms of sensitivity and specificity. Different factors may affect the performance of the TB diagnostic tests used in goats and, subsequently, the detection of TB-infected animals. In the present study, the effect of two of the factors that may affect the performance of the techniques used to diagnose TB in goats, the topical administration of corticosteroids and a recent pre-sensitisation with tuberculin, was analysed. Methods: The animals (n = 151) were distributed into three groups: (1) a group topically treated with corticosteroids 48 h after intradermal tuberculin tests (n = 53); (2) a group pre-sensitised with bovine and avian purified protein derivatives (PPDs) 3 days before the intradermal tuberculin test used for TB diagnosis (n = 48); and (3) a control group (n = 50). All the animals were tested using single and comparative intradermal tuberculin (SIT and CIT, respectively) tests, an interferon-gamma release assay (IGRA) and a P22 ELISA. Results: The number of SIT test reactors was significantly lower in the group treated with corticosteroids when compared to the pre-sensitised (p 0.05). No significant effect was observed on IGRA and P22 ELISA due to corticosteroids administration. Nevertheless, a previous PPD injection affected the IGRA performance in some groups. Conclusions: The application of topical corticosteroid 24 h before reading the SIT and CIT tests can reduce the increase in skin fold thickness and subsequently significantly decrease the number of positive reactors. Corticosteroids used can be detected in hair samples. A previous pre-sensitisation with bovine and avian PPDs does not lead to a significant reduction in the number of intradermal tests reactors. These results are valuable in order to improve diagnosis of caprine TB and detect fraudulent activities in the context of eradication programs.This study was funded by the “Analysis of the long-term caprine tuberculosis eradication process and development of diagnostic tests and control measures for its improvement (GoaTBfree-UCM)” Project (PID2019-105155RB-C31, Ministry of Science and Innovation of Spain) and the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food of Spain. JO was supported by an FPU contract-fellowship (Formación de Profesorado Universitario) from the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (FPU18/05197).S

Modal analysis of β-Ga₂O₃:Cr widely tunable luminescent optical microcavities

Optical microcavities are key elements in many photonic devices, and those based on distributed Bragg reflectors (DBRs) enhance dramatically the end reflectivity, allowing for higher quality factors and finesse values. Besides, they allow for wide wavelength tunability, needed for nano-and microscale light sources to be used as photonic building blocks in the micro- and nanoscale. Understanding the complete behavior of light within the cavity is essential to obtaining an optimized design of properties and optical tunability. In this work, focused ion-beam fabrication of high refractive-index contrast DBR-based optical cavities within Ga₂O₃:Cr microwires grown and doped by the vapor-solid mechanism is reported. Room-temperature microphotoluminescence spectra show strong modulations from about 650 nm up to beyond 800 nm due to the microcavity resonance modes. Selectivity of the peak wavelength is achieved for two different cavities, demonstrating the tunability of this kind of optical system. Analysis of the confined modes is carried out by an analytical approximation and by finite-difference-time-domain simulations. A good agreement is obtained between the reflectivity values of the DBRs calculated from the experimental resonance spectra, and those obtained by finite-difference-time-domain simulations. Experimental reflectivities up to 70% are observed in the studied wavelength range and cavities, and simulations demonstrate that reflectivities up to about 90% could be reached. Therefore, Ga₂O₃:Cr high-reflectivity optical microcavities are shown as good candidates for single-material-based, widely tunable light emitters for micro- and nanodevices