1,460 research outputs found
Optimization of cw sodium laser guide star efficiency
Context: Sodium laser guide stars (LGS) are about to enter a new range of
laser powers. Previous theoretical and numerical methods are inadequate for
accurate computations of the return flux and hence for the design of the
next-generation LGS systems.
Aims: We numerically optimize the cw (continuous wave) laser format, in
particular the light polarization and spectrum.
Methods: Using Bloch equations, we simulate the mesospheric sodium atoms,
including Doppler broadening, saturation, collisional relaxation, Larmor
precession, and recoil, taking into account all 24 sodium hyperfine states and
on the order of 100 velocity groups.
Results: LGS return flux is limited by "three evils": Larmor precession due
to the geomagnetic field, atomic recoil due to radiation pressure, and
transition saturation. We study their impacts and show that the return flux can
be boosted by repumping (simultaneous excitation of the sodium D2a and D2b
lines with 10-20% of the laser power in the latter).
Conclusions: We strongly recommend the use of circularly polarized lasers and
repumping. As a rule of thumb, the bandwidth of laser radiation in MHz (at each
line) should approximately equal the launched laser power in Watts divided by
six, assuming a diffraction-limited spot size.Comment: 15 pages, 12 figures, to be published in Astronomy & Astrophysics,
AA/2009/1310
O corpo feminino na educação cearense no século xx: territórios de representações, discursos e fé / The female body in cearense education in the 20th century: territories of representations, speech and faith
Este estudo busca historicizar a situação da educação de mulheres tendo como mote o corpo feminino em um determinado momento da história, especificamente no final do século XIX e inicio do XX, a partir das ideias presentes na época sobre a situação feminina no Brasil e no Ceará. Tem caráter bibliográfico com base em fontes, autores, documentos, jornais e periódicos da época, com o objetivo de (re)construir aspectos da realidade social cearense relativos à educação da mulher e pela mulher, através do ambiente social, que apontava para uma “comunidade de sentido”, uma preparação da sociedade em geral para a aceitação de novas ideias relacionadas ao corpo como repositório de amalgama de representações, mitos, discursos e preconceitos que foram se erigindo e eclodiram de forma mais acentuada no momento em que os seres femininos começaram a ocupar o espaço público. Desse modo realizamos uma incursão a partir de um corpus teórico-epistemológico da História Cultural, História da Educação Comparada, História das Mulheres.
O ensino de história frente às novas tecnologias: das discussões epstemologica à educação básica / History teaching for new technologies: from epstemological discussions to basic education
O presente trabalho tem por objetivo discutir e compreender como os usos das tecnologias aplicadas à educação histórica, em especial a Internet, podem contribuir para a pesquisa e o ensino, tendo como pressuposto às discussões teórico-metodológicas da historiografia, bem como, apropriação das tecnologias da informação e comunicação (TIC’s). Desse modo, realiza-se um balanço das concepções e conceitos que permitiram um alargamento no tocante ao uso de novas fontes de pesquisa. As proposições de análise adotadas consistem em entrevistas realizadas com professores e alunos dos cursos de licenciatura em História e docentes da educação básica
Gleam: the GLAST Large Area Telescope Simulation Framework
This paper presents the simulation of the GLAST high energy gamma-ray
telescope. The simulation package, written in C++, is based on the Geant4
toolkit, and it is integrated into a general framework used to process events.
A detailed simulation of the electronic signals inside Silicon detectors has
been provided and it is used for the particle tracking, which is handled by a
dedicated software. A unique repository for the geometrical description of the
detector has been realized using the XML language and a C++ library to access
this information has been designed and implemented.Comment: 10 pages, Late
Symptomatic reactions, clinical outcomes and patient satisfaction associated with upper cervical chiropractic care: A prospective, multicenter, cohort study
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Observational studies have previously shown that adverse events following manipulation to the neck and/or back are relatively common, although these reactions tend to be mild in intensity and self-limiting. However, no prospective study has examined the incidence of adverse reactions following spinal adjustments using upper cervical techniques, and the impact of this care on clinical outcomes.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Consecutive new patients from the offices of 83 chiropractors were recruited for this practice-based study. Clinical outcome measures included 1) Neck pain disability index (100-point scale), 2) Oswestry back pain index (100-point scale), 3) 11-point numerical rating scale (NRS) for neck, headache, midback, and low back pain, 4) treatment satisfaction, and 5) Symptomatic Reactions (SR). Data were collected at baseline, and after approximately 2 weeks of care. A patient reaching sub-clinical status for pain and disability was defined as a follow-up score <3 NRS and <10%, respectively. A SR is defined as a new complaint not present at baseline or a worsening of the presenting complaint by >30% based on an 11-point numeric rating scale occurring <24 hours after any upper cervical procedure.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A total of 1,090 patients completed the study having 4,920 (4.5 per patient) office visits requiring 2,653 (2.4 per patient) upper cervical adjustments over 17 days. Three hundred thirty- eight (31.0%) patients had SRs meeting the accepted definition. Intense SR (NRS ≥8) occurred in 56 patients (5.1%). Outcome assessments were significantly improved for neck pain and disability, headache, mid-back pain, as well as lower back pain and disability (<it>p </it><0.001) following care with a high level (mean = 9.1/10) of patient satisfaction. The 83 chiropractors administered >5 million career upper cervical adjustments without a reported incidence of serious adverse event.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Upper cervical chiropractic care may have a fairly common occurrence of mild intensity SRs short in duration (<24 hours), and rarely severe in intensity; however, outcome assessments were significantly improved with less than 3 weeks of care with a high level of patient satisfaction. Although our findings need to be confirmed in subsequent randomized studies for definitive risk-benefit assessment, the preliminary data shows that the benefits of upper cervical chiropractic care may outweigh the potential risks.</p
How often does music and rhythm improve patients’ perception of motor symptoms in Parkinson’s disease?
Digital endpoints in clinical trials of Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative diseases: challenges and opportunities.
Alzheimer's disease (AD) and other neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's disease (PD) and Huntington's disease (HD) are associated with progressive cognitive, motor, affective and consequently functional decline considerably affecting Activities of Daily Living (ADL) and quality of life. Standard assessments, such as questionnaires and interviews, cognitive testing, and mobility assessments, lack sensitivity, especially in early stages of neurodegenerative diseases and in the disease progression, and have therefore a limited utility as outcome measurements in clinical trials. Major advances in the last decade in digital technologies have opened a window of opportunity to introduce digital endpoints into clinical trials that can reform the assessment and tracking of neurodegenerative symptoms. The Innovative Health Initiative (IMI)-funded projects RADAR-AD (Remote assessment of disease and relapse-Alzheimer's disease), IDEA-FAST (Identifying digital endpoints to assess fatigue, sleep and ADL in neurodegenerative disorders and immune-mediated inflammatory diseases) and Mobilise-D (Connecting digital mobility assessment to clinical outcomes for regulatory and clinical endorsement) aim to identify digital endpoints relevant for neurodegenerative diseases that provide reliable, objective, and sensitive evaluation of disability and health-related quality of life. In this article, we will draw from the findings and experiences of the different IMI projects in discussing (1) the value of remote technologies to assess neurodegenerative diseases; (2) feasibility, acceptability and usability of digital assessments; (3) challenges related to the use of digital tools; (4) public involvement and the implementation of patient advisory boards; (5) regulatory learnings; and (6) the significance of inter-project exchange and data- and algorithm-sharing
Influence of knee joint angle on muscle properties of paralyzed and nonparalyzed human knee extensors
Muscles of individuals with a spinal cord injury (SCI) exhibit an unexpected leftward shift in the force (torque)-frequency relationship. We investigated whether differences in torque-angle relationships between SCI and able-bodied control muscles could explain this shift. Electrically stimulated knee-extensor contractions were obtained at knee flexion angles of between 30° and 90°. Torque-frequency relationships were obtained at 30°, 90°, and optimum angle. Optimum angle was not different between groups but SCI-normalized torques were lower at the extreme angles. At all angles, SCI muscles produced higher relative torques at low stimulation frequencies. Thus, there was no evidence of a consistent change in the length of paralyzed SCI muscles, and the anomalous leftward shift in the torque-frequency relationship was not the result of testing the muscle at a relatively long length. The results provide valuable information about muscle changes occurring in various neurological disorders. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc
Effects of TNF-α and Leptin on Weight Loss in Patients with Stable Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
Noise Characterization and Filtering in the MicroBooNE Liquid Argon TPC
The low-noise operation of readout electronics in a liquid argon time
projection chamber (LArTPC) is critical to properly extract the distribution of
ionization charge deposited on the wire planes of the TPC, especially for the
induction planes. This paper describes the characteristics and mitigation of
the observed noise in the MicroBooNE detector. The MicroBooNE's single-phase
LArTPC comprises two induction planes and one collection sense wire plane with
a total of 8256 wires. Current induced on each TPC wire is amplified and shaped
by custom low-power, low-noise ASICs immersed in the liquid argon. The
digitization of the signal waveform occurs outside the cryostat. Using data
from the first year of MicroBooNE operations, several excess noise sources in
the TPC were identified and mitigated. The residual equivalent noise charge
(ENC) after noise filtering varies with wire length and is found to be below
400 electrons for the longest wires (4.7 m). The response is consistent with
the cold electronics design expectations and is found to be stable with time
and uniform over the functioning channels. This noise level is significantly
lower than previous experiments utilizing warm front-end electronics.Comment: 36 pages, 20 figure
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