Near-real-time TOMS, telecommunications and meteorological support for the 1987 Airborne Antarctic Ozone Experiment

The goal of the 1987 Airborne Antarctic Ozone Experiment was to improve the understanding of the mechanisms involved in the formation of the Antarctic ozone hole. Total ozone data taken by the Nimbus-7 Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) played a central role in the successful outcome of the experiment. During the experiment, the near-real-time TOMS total ozone observations were supplied within hours of real time to the operations center in Punta Arenas, Chile. The final report summarizes the role which Research and Data Systems (RDS) Corporation played in the support of the experiment. The RDS provided telecommunications to support the science and operations efforts for the Airborne Antarctic Ozone Experiment, and supplied near real-time weather information to ensure flight and crew safety; designed and installed the telecommunications network to link NASA-GSFC, the United Kingdom Meteorological Office (UKMO), Palmer Station, the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) to the operation at Punta Arenas; engineered and installed stations and other stand-alone systems to collect data from designated low-orbiting polar satellites and beacons; provided analyses of Nimbus-7 TOMS data and backup data products to Punta Arenas; and provided synoptic meteorological data analysis and reduction

Single-electron tunneling in InP nanowires

We report on the fabrication and electrical characterization of field-effect devices based on wire-shaped InP crystals grown from Au catalyst particles by a vapor-liquid-solid process. Our InP wires are n-type doped with diameters in the 40-55 nm range and lengths of several microns. After being deposited on an oxidized Si substrate, wires are contacted individually via e-beam fabricated Ti/Al electrodes. We obtain contact resistances as low as ~10 kOhm, with minor temperature dependence. The distance between the electrodes varies between 0.2 and 2 micron. The electron density in the wires is changed with a back gate. Low-temperature transport measurements show Coulomb-blockade behavior with single-electron charging energies of ~1 meV. We also demonstrate energy quantization resulting from the confinement in the wire.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

Spin-Orbital Entanglement and Violation of the Goodenough-Kanamori Rules

We point out that large composite spin-orbital fluctuations in Mott insulators with $t_{2g}$ orbital degeneracy are a manifestation of quantum entanglement of spin and orbital variables. This results in a dynamical nature of the spin superexchange interactions, which fluctuate over positive and negative values, and leads to an apparent violation of the Goodenough-Kanamori rules. [{\it Published in Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 96}, 147205 (2006).}]Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure

Orbital dynamics in ferromagnetic transition metal oxides

We consider a model of strongly correlated $e_g$ electrons interacting by superexchange orbital interactions in the ferromagnetic phase of LaMnO$_3$. It is found that the classical orbital order with alternating occupied $e_g$ orbitals has a full rotational symmetry at orbital degeneracy, and the excitation spectrum derived using the linear spin-wave theory is gapless. The quantum (fluctuation) corrections to the order parameter and to the ground state energy restore the cubic symmetry of the model. By applying a uniaxial pressure orbital degeneracy is lifted in a tetragonal field and one finds an orbital-flop phase with a gap in the excitation spectrum. In two dimensions the classical order is more robust near the orbital degeneracy point and quantum effects are suppressed. The orbital excitation spectra obtained using finite temperature diagonalization of two-dimensional clusters consist of a quasiparticle accompanied by satellite structures. The orbital waves found within the linear spin-wave theory provide an excellent description of the dominant pole of these spectra.Comment: 13 pages, 12 figures, to appear in Phys. Rev.

Orbital liquid in ferromagnetic manganites: The orbital Hubbard model for ege_g electrons

We have analyzed the symmetry properties and the ground state of an orbital Hubbard model with two orbital flavors, describing a partly filled spin-polarized $e_g$ band on a cubic lattice, as in ferromagnetic manganites. We demonstrate that the off-diagonal hopping responsible for transitions between $x^2-y^2$ and $3z^2-r^2$ orbitals, and the absence of SU(2) invariance in orbital space, have important implications. One finds that superexchange contributes in all orbital ordered states, the Nagaoka theorem does not apply, and the kinetic energy is much enhanced as compared with the spin case. Therefore, orbital ordered states are harder to stabilize in the Hartree-Fock approximation (HFA), and the onset of a uniform ferro-orbital polarization and antiferro-orbital instability are similar to each other, unlike in spin case. Next we formulate a cubic (gauge) invariant slave boson approach using the orbitals with complex coefficients. In the mean-field approximation it leads to the renormalization of the kinetic energy, and provides a reliable estimate for the ground state energy of the disordered state. Using this approach one finds that the HFA fails qualitatively in the regime of large Coulomb repulsion $U\to\infty$ -- the orbital order is unstable, and instead a strongly correlated orbital liquid with disordered orbitals is realized at any electron filling.Comment: 25 pages, 9 figure

Orbital and spin physics in LiNiO2 and NaNiO2

We derive a spin-orbital Hamiltonian for a triangular lattice of e_g orbital degenerate (Ni^{3+}) transition metal ions interacting via 90 degree superexchange involving (O^{2-}) anions, taking into account the on-site Coulomb interactions on both the anions and the transition metal ions. The derived interactions in the spin-orbital model are strongly frustrated, with the strongest orbital interactions selecting different orbitals for pairs of Ni ions along the three different lattice directions. In the orbital ordered phase, favoured in mean field theory, the spin-orbital interaction can play an important role by breaking the U(1) symmetry generated by the much stronger orbital interaction and restoring the threefold symmetry of the lattice. As a result the effective magnetic exchange is non-uniform and includes both ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic spin interactions. Since ferromagnetic interactions still dominate, this offers yet insufficient explanation for the absence of magnetic order and the low-temperature behaviour of the magnetic susceptibility of stoichiometric LiNiO_2. The scenario proposed to explain the observed difference in the physical properties of LiNiO_2 and NaNiO_2 includes small covalency of Ni-O-Li-O-Ni bonds inducing weaker interplane superexchange in LiNiO_2, insufficient to stabilize orbital long-range order in the presence of stronger intraplane competition between superexchange and Jahn-Teller coupling.Comment: 33 pages, 12 postscript figures, uses iopams.sty . This article features in New Journal of Physics as part of a Focus Issue on Orbital Physics - all contributions may be freely accessed at (http://stacks.iop.org/1367-2630/6/i=1/a=E05). The published version of this article may be found at http://stacks.iop.org/1367-2630/7/12

Multicomponent intervention for patients admitted to an emergency unit for suicide attempt: an exploratory study

Suicide is a major cause of premature deaths worldwide and belongs to the top priority public health issues. While suicide attempt is the most important risk factor for completed suicide, intervention for suicide attempters (SA) have produced mixed results. Since an important proportion of SA request medical care, emergency units (EU) are an opportune setting to implement such interventions. This exploratory study evaluated the feasibility and acceptability of a multicomponent intervention for SA admitted to an EU. The intervention consisted of coordination by a case manager of a joint crisis plan (JCP), an early meeting with relatives and the existing care network, as well as phone contacts during 3 months after suicide attempt. Among 107 SA admitted to the emergency unit during the study period, 51 could not be included for logistical reason, 22 were excluded, and intervention was offered to 34. Of these, 15 refused the intervention, which was thus piloted with 19 SA. First-time attempters most frequently declined the intervention. Feasibility and acceptability of phone contacts and case manager were good, while JCPs and meetings were difficult to implement and perceived as less acceptable. Refusal pattern questions the global acceptability and is discussed: JCPs and meetings will have to be modified in order to improve their feasibility and acceptability, especially among first-time attempters

Fishing regulations, sexual dimorphism, and the life history of harvest

Freshwater recreational fisheries regulations are a vital tool for achieving social and ecological fisheries objectives. However, angler behavior and fish biology may interact to influence regulation efficacy in unexpected ways. We combined models of fish growth and angler behavior to explore how angler behavior interacts with fish life history to shape the probability of fish harvest given capture across ages, life stages, and sexes of walleye (Sander vitreus). Compared to females, males grew more quickly as juveniles, matured earlier, and reached smaller maximum sizes. Male walleye were therefore vulnerable to harvest for more of their reproductive lives than females because males spent more time at sizes where anglers were very likely to harvest them. We suggest that restricting harvest of large individuals in sexually dimorphic species may favor the survival of large, reproductive-aged females. Moreover, we show that combining models of fish growth and harvester behavior can provide insights into how harvest affects fish with complex life histories over the course of their lives. La réglementation relative aux pêches sportives en eau douce constitue un outil d’importance capitale pour l’atteinte des objectifs sociaux et écologiques des pêches. Les interactions des comportements des pêcheurs et de la biologie des poissons peuvent toutefois influencer l’efficacité de la réglementation de manière imprévue. Nous combinons des modèles de croissance des poissons et de comportement des pêcheurs afin d’examiner l’effet de l’interaction du comportement des pêcheurs et du cycle biologique des poissons sur la probabilité de récolte de poissons au vu des prises selon l’âge, de l’étape du cycle de vie et du sexe de dorés jaunes (Sander vitreus). Comparativement aux femelles, les mâles croissent plus vite quand ils sont juvéniles, arrivent à maturité plus tôt et atteignent des tailles maximums plus petites. Les dorés mâles sont donc plus vulnérables à la récolte pour une plus grande partie de leur vie reproductive que les femelles parce qu’ils passent plus de temps à des tailles qui les rendent plus susceptibles d’être récoltés par les pêcheurs. Nous suggérons que le fait de restreindre la récolte aux grands individus pour des espèces qui présentent un dimorphisme sexuel pourrait favoriser la survie des grandes femelles en âge de reproduction. Nous démontrons en outre que le jumelage de modèles de croissance des poissons et de comportement des pêcheurs peut fournir de l’information utile sur l’effet de la récolte sur les poissons aux cycles biologiques complexes au fil de leur vie

Just-In-Place Information for Mobile Device Interfaces

Abstract. This paper addresses the potentials of context sensitivity for making mobile device interfaces less complex and easier to interact with. Based on a semiotic approach to information representation, it is argued that the design of mobile device interfaces can benefit from spatial and temporal indexicality, reducing information complexity and interaction space of the device while focusing on information and functionality relevant here and now. Illustrating this approach, a series of design sketches show the possible redesign of an existing web and wap-based information service.

Suppression of static stripe formation by next-neighbor hopping

We show from real-space Hartree-Fock calculations within the extended Hubbard model that next-nearest neighbor (t') hopping processes act to suppress the formation of static charge stripes. This result is confirmed by investigating the evolution of charge-inhomogeneous corral and stripe phases with increasing t' of both signs. We propose that large t' values in YBCO prevent static stripe formation, while anomalously small t' in LSCO provides an additional reason for the appearance of static stripes only in these systems.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure