1,765 research outputs found
Needed-Uniform Utility Rate Laws
This study consists of an analysis of the statutory standards, court decisions, and utility commission decisions used in fixing telephone or other utility rates, where the same are used regardless of the nature of the utility, in each of fifty-one jurisdictions in the United States
High magnetic field studies of the Vortex Lattice structure in YBa2Cu3O7
We report on small angle neutron scattering measurements of the vortex
lattice in twin-free YBa2Cu3O7, extending the previously investigated maximum
field of 11~T up to 16.7~T with the field applied parallel to the c axis. This
is the first microscopic study of vortex matter in this region of the
superconducting phase. We find the high field VL displays a rhombic structure,
with a field-dependent coordination that passes through a square configuration,
and which does not lock-in to a field-independent structure. The VL pinning
reduces with increasing temperature, but is seen to affect the VL correlation
length even above the irreversibility temperature of the lattice structure. At
high field and temperature we observe a melting transition, which appears to be
first order, with no detectable signal from a vortex liquid above the
transition
Rockslide deformation monitoring with fiber optic strain sensors
With micro-strain resolution and the capability to sample at rates of 100 Hz and higher, fiber optic (FO) strain sensors offer exciting new possibilities for in-situ landslide monitoring. Here we describe a new FO monitoring system based on long-gauge fiber Bragg grating sensors installed at the Randa Rockslide Laboratory in southern Switzerland. The new FO monitoring system can detect sub-micrometer scale deformations in both triggered-dynamic and continuous measurements. Two types of sensors have been installed: (1) fully embedded borehole sensors and (2) surface extensometers. Dynamic measurements are triggered by sensor deformation and recorded at 100 Hz, while continuous data are logged every 5 min. Deformation time series for all sensors show displacements consistent with previous monitoring. Accelerated shortening following installation of the borehole sensors is likely related to long-term shrinkage of the grout. A number of transient signals have been observed, which in some cases were large enough to trigger rapid sampling. The combination of short- and long-term observation offers new insight into the deformation process. Accelerated surface crack opening in spring is shown to have a diurnal trend, which we attribute to the effect of snowmelt seeping into the crack void space and freezing at night to generate pressure on the crack walls. Controlled-source tests investigated the sensor response to dynamic inputs, which compared an independent measure of ground motion against the strain measured across a surface crack. Low frequency signals were comparable but the FO record suffered from aliasing, where undersampling of higher frequency signals generated spectral peaks not related to ground motion
Momentum-dependent charge correlations in YBaCuO superconductors probed by resonant x-ray scattering: Evidence for three competing phases
We have used resonant x-ray scattering to determine the momentum dependent
charge correlations in YBaCuO samples with highly ordered
chain arrays of oxygen acceptors (ortho-II structure). The results reveal
nearly critical, biaxial charge density wave (CDW) correlations at in-plane
wave vectors (0.315, 0) and (0, 0.325). The corresponding scattering intensity
exhibits a strong uniaxial anisotropy. The CDW amplitude and correlation length
are enhanced as superconductivity is weakened by an external magnetic field.
Analogous experiments were carried out on a YBaCuO crystal with
a dilute concentration of spinless (Zn) impurities, which had earlier been
shown to nucleate incommensurate magnetic order. Compared to pristine crystals
with the same doping level, the CDW amplitude and correlation length were found
to be strongly reduced. These results indicate a three-phase competition
between spin-modulated, charge-modulated, and superconducting states in
underdoped YBaCuO.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures revised version, to appear in Phys. Rev. Let
Real-time optical manipulation of cardiac conduction in intact hearts
Optogenetics has provided new insights in cardiovascular research, leading to new methods for cardiac pacing, resynchronization therapy and cardioversion. Although these interventions have clearly demonstrated the feasibility of cardiac manipulation, current optical stimulation strategies do not take into account cardiac wave dynamics in real time. Here, we developed an all‐optical platform complemented by integrated, newly developed software to monitor and control electrical activity in intact mouse hearts. The system combined a wide‐field mesoscope with a digital projector for optogenetic activation. Cardiac functionality could be manipulated either in free‐run mode with submillisecond temporal resolution or in a closed‐loop fashion: a tailored hardware and software platform allowed real‐time intervention capable of reacting within 2 ms. The methodology was applied to restore normal electrical activity after atrioventricular block, by triggering the ventricle in response to optically mapped atrial activity with appropriate timing. Real‐time intraventricular manipulation of the propagating electrical wavefront was also demonstrated, opening the prospect for real‐time resynchronization therapy and cardiac defibrillation. Furthermore, the closed‐loop approach was applied to simulate a re‐entrant circuit across the ventricle demonstrating the capability of our system to manipulate heart conduction with high versatility even in arrhythmogenic conditions. The development of this innovative optical methodology provides the first proof‐of‐concept that a real‐time optically based stimulation can control cardiac rhythm in normal and abnormal conditions, promising a new approach for the investigation of the (patho)physiology of the heart
Experiences in deploying metadata analysis tools for institutional repositories
Current institutional repository software provides few tools to help metadata librarians understand and analyze their collections. In this article, we compare and contrast metadata analysis tools that were developed simultaneously, but independently, at two New Zealand institutions during a period of national investment in research repositories: the Metadata Analysis Tool (MAT) at The University of Waikato, and the Kiwi Research Information Service (KRIS) at the National Library of New Zealand.
The tools have many similarities: they are convenient, online, on-demand services that harvest metadata using OAI-PMH; they were developed in response to feedback from repository administrators; and they both help pinpoint specific metadata errors as well as generating summary statistics. They also have significant differences: one is a dedicated tool wheres the other is part of a wider access tool; one gives a holistic view of the metadata whereas the other looks for specific problems; one seeks patterns in the data values whereas the other checks that those values conform to metadata standards. Both tools work in a complementary manner to existing Web-based administration tools. We have observed that discovery and correction of metadata errors can be quickly achieved by switching Web browser views from the analysis tool to the repository interface, and back. We summarize the findings from both tools' deployment into a checklist of requirements for metadata analysis tools
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Evolution of the eyes of vipers with and without infrared-sensing pit organs
We examined lens and brille transmittance, photoreceptors, visual pigments, and visual opsin gene sequences of viperid snakes with and without infrared-sensing pit organs. Ocular media transmittance is high in both groups. Contrary to previous reports, small as well as large single cones occur in pit vipers. Non-pit vipers differ from pit vipers in having a twotiered retina, but few taxa have been examined for this poorly understood feature. All vipers sampled express rh1, sws1 and lws visual opsin genes. Opsin spectral tuning varies but not in accordance with the presence/absence of pit organs, and not always as predicted from gene sequences. The visual opsin genes were generally under purifying selection, with positive selection at spectral tuning amino acids in RH1 and SWS1 opsins, and at retinal pocket stabilization sites in RH1 or LWS (and without substantial differences between pit and nonpit vipers). Lack of evidence for sensory trade-off between viperid eyes (in the aspects examined) and pit organs might be explained by the high degree of neural integration of vision and infrared detection; the latter representing an elaboration of an existing sense with addition of a novel sense organ, rather than involving the evolution of a wholly novel sensory system
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