21,044 research outputs found
Daytime lidar measurements of tidal winds in the mesospheric sodium layer at Urbana, Illinois
For more than 15 years lidar systems have been used to study the chemistry and dynamics of the mesospheric sodium layer. Because the layer is an excellent tracer of atmospheric wave motions, sodium lidar has proven to be particularly useful for studying the influence of gravity waves and tides on mesospheric dynamics. These waves, which originate in the troposphere and stratosphere, propagate through the mesosphere and dissipate their energy near the mesopause making important contributions to the momentum and turbulence budget in this region of the atmosphere. Recently, the sodium lidar was modified for daytime operation so that wave phenomena and chemical effects could be monitored throughout the complete diurnal cycle. The results of continuous 24 hour lidar observations of the sodium layer structure are presented alond with measurement of the semidiurnal tidal winds
Early Surgery for Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury: Where Are We Now?
Study Design: Narrative review.
Objective: There is a strong biological rationale to perform early decompression after traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI). With an enlarging clinical evidence base, most spine surgeons internationally now favor early decompression for the majority of SCI patients; however, a number of pertinent questions remain surrounding this therapy.
Methods: A narrative review evaluating the status of early surgery for SCI. In particular, we addressed the following questions: (1) Which patients stand to benefit most from early surgery? 2) What is the most appropriate time threshold defining early surgery?
Results: Although heterogeneity exists, the evidence generally seems to support early surgery. While the best evidence exists for cervical SCI, there is insufficient data to support a differential effect for early surgery depending on neurological level or injury severity. When comparing thresholds to define early versus late surgery-including a later threshold (48-72 hours), an earlier threshold (24 hours), and an ultra-early threshold (8-12 hours)-the 2 earlier time points seem to be associated with the greatest potential for improved outcomes. However, existing prehospital and hospital logistics pose barriers to early surgery in a significant proportion of patients. An overview of recommendations from the recent AOSpine guidelines is provided.
Conclusion: In spite of increasing acceptance of early surgery post SCI, further research is needed to (1) identify subgroups of patients who stand to derive particular benefit-in particular to develop more evidence-based approaches for central cord syndrome and (2) investigate the efficacy and feasibility of ultra-early surgery targeting more aggressive timelines
Spin-Polarization transition in the two dimensional electron gas
We present a numerical study of magnetic phases of the 2D electron gas near
freezing. The calculations are performed by diffusion Monte Carlo in the fixed
node approximation. At variance with the 3D case we find no evidence for the
stability of a partially polarized phase. With plane wave nodes in the trial
function, the polarization transition takes place at Rs=20, whereas the best
available estimates locate Wigner crystallization around Rs=35. Using an
improved nodal structure, featuring optimized backflow correlations, we confirm
the existence of a stability range for the polarized phase, although somewhat
shrunk, at densities achievable nowadays in 2 dimensional hole gases in
semiconductor heterostructures . The spin susceptibility of the unpolarized
phase at the magnetic transition is approximately 30 times the Pauli
susceptibility.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figure
Effects of Backflow Correlation in the Three-Dimensional Electron Gas: Quantum Monte Carlo Study
The correlation energy of the homogeneous three-dimensional interacting
electron gas is calculated using the variational and fixed-node diffusion Monte
Carlo methods, with trial functions that include backflow and three-body
correlations. In the high density regime the effects of backflow dominate over
those due to three-body correlations, but the relative importance of the latter
increases as the density decreases. Since the backflow correlations vary the
nodes of the trial function, this leads to improved energies in the fixed-node
diffusion Monte Carlo calculations. The effects are comparable to those found
for the two-dimensional electron gas, leading to much improved variational
energies and fixed-node diffusion energies equal to the release-node energies
of Ceperley and Alder within statistical and systematic errors.Comment: 14 pages, 5 figures, submitted to Physical Review
Orientational Melting in Carbon Nanotube Ropes
Using Monte Carlo simulations, we investigate the possibility of an
orientational melting transition within a "rope" of (10,10) carbon nanotubes.
When twisting nanotubes bundle up during the synthesis, orientational
dislocations or twistons arise from the competition between the anisotropic
inter-tube interactions, which tend to align neighboring tubes, and the torsion
rigidity that tends to keep individual tubes straight. We map the energetics of
a rope containing twistons onto a lattice gas model and find that the onset of
a free "diffusion" of twistons, corresponding to orientational melting, occurs
at T_OM > 160 K.Comment: 4 page LaTeX file with 3 figures (10 PostScript files
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