The interaction between the Moon and the solar wind

We study the interaction between the Moon and the solar wind using a three-dimensional hybrid plasma solver. The proton fluxes and electromagnetical fields are presented for typical solar wind conditions with different magnetic field directions. We find two different wake structures for an interplanetary magnetic field that is perpendicular to the solar wind flow, and for one that is parallell to the flow. The wake for intermediate magnetic field directions will be a mix of these two extreme conditions. Several features are consistent with a fluid interaction, e.g., the presence of a rarefaction cone, and an increased magnetic field in the wake. There are however several kinetic features of the interaction. We find kinks in the magnetic field at the wake boundary. There are also density and magnetic field variations in the far wake, maybe from an ion beam instability related to the wake refill. The results are compared to observations by the WIND spacecraft during a wake crossing. The model magnetic field and ion velocities are in agreement with the measurements. The density and the electron temperature in the central wake are not as well captured by the model, probably from the lack of electron physics in the hybrid model.Comment: Accepted for publication in Earth, Planets and Spac

Superconductor-Nanowire Devices from Tunneling to the Multichannel Regime: Zero-Bias Oscillations and Magnetoconductance Crossover

We present transport measurements in superconductor-nanowire devices with a gated constriction forming a quantum point contact. Zero-bias features in tunneling spectroscopy appear at finite magnetic fields, and oscillate in amplitude and split away from zero bias as a function of magnetic field and gate voltage. A crossover in magnetoconductance is observed: Magnetic fields above ~ 0.5 T enhance conductance in the low-conductance (tunneling) regime but suppress conductance in the high-conductance (multichannel) regime. We consider these results in the context of Majorana zero modes as well as alternatives, including Kondo effect and analogs of 0.7 structure in a disordered nanowire.Comment: Supplemental Material here: https://dl.dropbox.com/u/1742676/Churchill_Supplemental.pd

Integration of Vibro-Acoustography Imaging Modality with the Traditional Mammography

Vibro-acoustography (VA) is a new imaging modality that has been applied to both medical and industrial imaging. Integrating unique diagnostic information of VA with other medical imaging is one of our research interests. In this work, we establish correspondence between the VA images and traditional X-ray mammogram by adopting a flexible control-point selection technique for image registration. A modified second-order polynomial, which simply leads to a scale/rotation/translation invariant registration, was used. The results of registration were used to spatially transform the breast VA images to map with the X-ray mammography with a registration error of less than 1.65 mm. The fused image is defined as a linear integration of the VA and X-ray images. Moreover, a color-based fusion technique was employed to integrate the images for better visualization of structural information

Nécrose pariétale utérine partielle après capitonnage hémostatique au cours d’une hémorragie de la délivrance

L'hémorragie de la délivrance reste la première cause de mortalité dans la majorité des pays y compris le Maroc. Sa prise en charge doit être multidisciplinaire, rapide, avec mise en 'uvre de moyens médicaux et parfois chirurgicaux pour contrôler l'hémorragie. Les techniques de compression ou de cloisonnement utérins ont été peu évaluées mais diffusées rapidement dans le monde entier vu la facilité de leur réalisation; Néanmoins des complications secondaires ont été rapportées dans la littérature dont la nécrose utérine. Nous rapportons le cas d'une patiente de 33ans césarisée à 38 semaines d'aménorrhée pour utérus cicatriciel associé à une grossesse gémellaire avec inertie utérine. Un capitonnage hémostatique a été nécessaire pour contrôler l'hémorragie, l'évolution a été marquée par la survenue d'une nécrose partielle utérine confirmée histologiquement. Nous insistons à travers cette observation et sous la lumière de la revue de la littérature sur la nécessité d'un suivi post opératoire des patientes qui bénéficient de capitonnage hémostatique pour mieux documenter l'efficacité et les complications de cet acte chirurgical qui reste encore sous évalué.Key words: Hémorragie de la délivrance, Atonie utérine, capitonnage utérin, nécrose utérin

Blood pressure alterations in burn patients with septic shock under hydrocortisone treatment

Background and Objectives: Hydrocortisone is widely used in septic shock cases resistant to fluid and vasopressor therapy. It may result in increased blood pressure and survival. However the efficacy is no established among patients with severe burn and septic shock. Accordingly it was assessed in this study. Materials and Methods: The patients older than 14 years of age with resistant septic shock were enrolled during one-year period. The hydrocortisone was prescribed 100 mg three times per day and the alterations in systolic and diastolic blood pressures were recorded. Results: Twenty-nine patients were enrolled including 19 men and 10 women. The mean age was 37 ± 19 years and the mean burn surface area was 60 ± 20. Fourteen patients had positive blood culture. The most common isolated microorganism were Pseudomonas aeuroginosa in 34.6(10 cases), and then Acinetobacter in 13.8(4 cases). The infection was from wound in 79 and the remaining 21 had pneumonia. Twenty-one patients had good response to hydrocortisone and the increase in systolic and diastolic blood pressures was significant; but the mortality rate was similar. Conclusion: Treatment with hydrocortisone would result in increase in systolic and diastolic blood pressure in burn patients with resistant septic shock. © 2015, Tehran University of Medical Science. All rights reserved

Microstructure, texture and tensile properties of ultrafine/nano grained magnesium alloy processed by accumulative back extrusion

An AZ31 wrought magnesium alloy was processed by employing multipass accumulative back extrusion process. The obtained microstructure, texture and room temperature tensile properties were characterized and discussed. Ultrafine grained microstructure including nano grains were developed, where the obtained mean grain size was decreased from 8 to 0.5 µm by applying consecutive passes. The frequency of both low angle and high angle boundaries increased after processing. Strength of the experimental alloy was decreased after processing, which was attributed to the obtained texture involving the major component lying inclined to the deformation axis. Both the uniform and post uniform elongations of the processed materials were increased after processing, where a total elongation of 68 pct was obtained after six-pass deformation. The contribution of different twinning and slip mechanism was described by calculating corresponding Schmid factors. The operation of prismatic slip was considered as the major deformation contributor. The significant increase in post uniform deformation of the processed material was discussed relying on the occurrence of grain boundary sliding associated with the operation of prismatic slip.Postprint (author's final draft

Endometrial Stromal Nodule: Report of a Case

Endometrial stromal nodule (ESN) is the least common of the endometrial stromal tumors. They are rare neoplasms which are diagnosed in most instances by light microscopy. Although such nodules are benign, hysterectomy has been considered the treatment of choice to determine the margins of the tumor required for diagnosis and to differentiate it from invasive stromal sarcoma Whose prognosis is totally different. We report a case of a 45 years old woman, with presurgical diagnosis of adnexal mass or uterine tumor. She underwent a total abdominal hysterectomy. Pathologic examination revealed an endometrial stromal nodule. Through this observation, we insist on the fact that the ESNs are rare and benign entities which must be differentiated from the other invasive malignant stromal tumors; this can change the final prognosis