Variability of Mass Dependence of Auroral Acceleration Processes with Solar Activity

The objectives of this investigation are to improve understanding of the mass dependent variability of the auroral acceleration processes and so to clarify apparent discrepancies regarding the altitude and local time variations with solar cycle by investigating: (1) the global morphological relationships between auroral electric field structures and the related particle signatures under varying conditions of solar activity, and (2) the relationships between the electric field structures and particle signatures in selected events that are representative of the different conditions occurring during a solar cycle. The investigation is based in part on the Lockheed UFI data base of UpFlowing Ion (UFI) events in the 5OO eV to 16keV energy range and associated electrons in the energy range 7O eV to 24 keV. This data base was constructed from data acquired by the ion mass spectrometer on the S3-3 satellite in the altitude range of I to 1.3 Re. The launch of the POLAR spacecraft in early 1996 and successful operation of its TIMAS ion mass spectrometer has provided us with data from within the auroral acceleration regions during the current solar minimum. The perigee of POLAR is at about 1 Re, comparable to that of S3-3. The higher sensitivity and time resolution of TIMAS compared to the ion mass spectrometer on S3-3 together with its wider energy range, 15 eV to 33 keV, facilitate more detailed studies of upflowing ions

Laparoscopic lLver Resection: a Single-Centre Experience

BACKGROUND The past 25 years have seen the increased use of minimally invasive surgery. The development of these techniques has impacted the domain of liver surgery. This study aimed to describe the safety, feasibility, benefits and results of laparoscopic liver resection in a single tertiary care centre. METHODS We reviewed the medical records of all patients who underwent liver surgery between January 2005 and December 2016 at the University Hospital of Basel. We selected all liver resections performed by laparoscopic surgery. To evaluate the results of the laparoscopic liver surgery, we chose the following data: the conversion rate from laparoscopy to open surgery, the median operating time, postoperative complications, the median length of stay following surgery and the median surgical margin in patients with malignant lesions. RESULTS Of the 274 liver operations, 201 (73%) were performed by open surgery and 73 (27%) by laparoscopy. Sixty-nine laparoscopic liver resections were included in this study. The selected laparoscopic liver resections were performed in 65 patients: 38 men and 27 women. The median age was 59 (range 29–85) years. Forty resections were performed for malignant lesions and 29 (42%) for benign diseases. The median operating time was 112 (range 50–247) minutes. The conversion rate was 19%. The most common cause for conversion was bleeding (69% of all conversions, 13% of all patients). Postoperative complications occurred in 15 patients (22%). The median hospitalisation time was 7.1 (range 2–23) days. Thirty-two patients (46.5% of all patients) had hepatocellular carcinoma. The mean tumour size was 25.6 (range 5–55) mm. The median surgical margin was 9 mm. CONCLUSION This study showed that in our centre laparoscopic liver surgery is a safe and effective treatment option for both benign and malignant liver lesions. Keywords: laparoscopic liver resection, laparoscopic hepatectomy, hepatocellular carcinoma, HC

The structure of the plasma sheet-lobe boundary in the Earth's magnetotail

The structure of the magnetotail plasma sheet-plasma lobe boundary was studied by observing the properties of tailward flowing O+ ion beams, detected by the ISEE 2 plasma experiment inside the boundary during three time periods. The computed value of the north-south electric field component as well as the O+ parameters are shown to change at the boundary. The results are related to other observations made in this region. The O+ parameters and the Ez component behavior are shown to be consistent with that expected from the topology of the electric field lines in the tail as mapped from the ionosphere

Epidemiological tracing of bovine tuberculosis in Switzerland : multilocus variable number of tandem repeat analysis of Mycobacterium bovis and Mycobacterium caprae

After 15 years of absence, in 2013 bovine tuberculosis (bTB) caused by Mycobacterium (M.) bovis and M. caprae reemerged in the Swiss dairy cattle population. In order to identify the sources of infection, molecular-epidemiologic tracing by MIRU-VNTR analysis in combination with spoligotyping was performed. A total of 17 M. bovis and 7 M. caprae isolates were cultured from bovine lymph nodes and analyzed with a set of 49 genetic markers by using automated capillary electrophoresis genotyping. The outbreak in the western part of Switzerland was caused by M. bovis spoligotype SB0120. With exception of four single-locus variations observed in MIRU 20, the MIRU-VNTR profiles of the 17 M. bovis isolates were identical, indicating a single source of infection. M. bovis detected in archival bovine specimens from the outbreak region showed an identical MIRU-VNTR profile, suggesting persistence of the agent in a dairy herd for nearly fifteen years. The outbreak in the eastern part of Switzerland was caused by M. caprae spoligotype SB0418. All Swiss M. caprae isolates showed the Lechtal-type MIRU-VNTR profile, described as endemic in wild ruminants and in dairy cattle in Austrian bordering regions. Hence, the agent was most likely introduced by Swiss dairy cattle summering on Austrian pastures. The present study represents the first MIRU-VNTR analysis of Swiss bTB isolates. These findings can contribute to developing a European MIRU-VNTR database to improve the international surveillance of bTB. Im 2013 ist die bovine Tuberkulose (bTB) erneut in der Schweiz ausgebrochen. Zur epidemiologischen Feintypisierung der zwei Pathogene, Mycobacterium (M.) bovis und M. caprae, wurde die MIRU-VNTR Analyse kombiniert mit Spoligotyping durchgeführt. 17 M. bovis und 7 M. caprae Isolate wurden anhand 49 genetischer Marker mittels automatisierter Kapillarelektrophorese analysiert. Der Ausbruch in der Westschweiz wurde durch den M. bovis Spoligotyp SB0120 verursacht. Mit der Ausnahme von 4 single-locus Variationen in MIRU 20 waren die MIRU-VNTR Profile der 17 M. bovis Isolate identisch, was auf eine einzelne Infektionsquelle hindeutet. Ein M. bovis Isolat aus Archivmaterial aus der Ausbruchsregion wies ein identisches MIRU-VNTR Profil auf. Eine asymptomatische Persistenz des Erregers von etwa 15 Jahren in einem Milchkuhbestand konnte deswegen in Betracht gezogen werden. Der zweite Ausbruch wurde in der Ostschweiz detektiert und durch M. caprae Spoligotyp SB0418 verursacht. Alle analysierten M. caprae Isolate wiesen das Profil vom Lechtaltyp auf, welcher in der Rotwild- und Rinderpopulation in Vorarlberg und Tirol als endemisch beschrieben wurde. Aufgrund dieser Ergebnisse konnte gezeigt werden, dass der Erreger durch Sömmerung in Grenzgebieten eingeschleppt wurde. Die erhaltenen Erkenntnisse sind ein Beitrag zur Etablierung einer einheitlichen europäischen MIRU-VNTR Datenbank und zur Optimierung der internationalen Überwachung der bTB

Response function beyond mean field of neutron-rich nuclei

The damping of single-particle and collective motion in exotic isotopes is a new topic and its study may shed light on basic problems of nuclear dynamics. For instance, it is known that nuclear structure calculations are not able, as a rule, to account completely for the empirical single-particle damping. In this contribution, we present calculations of the single-particle self-energy in the case of the neutron-rich light nucleus $^{28}$O, by taking proper care of the continuum, and we show that there are important differences with the case of nuclei along the valley of stability.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures. To appear in: Proceedings of the Topical Conference on Giant Resonances, Varenna, May 11-16, 1997 (Nucl. Phys. A, to be published

Seed-mediated synthesis of gold nanorods: control of the aspect ratio by variation of the reducing agent

Seed-mediated growth methods involving reduction of tetrachloroaurate(III) with ascorbic acid are common for the synthesis of gold nanorods. This study shows, however, that simply by appropriate choice of the reducing agent a drastic influence on the aspect ratio can be attained. Weaker reducing agents, such as dihydroxybenzene isomers (hydroquinone, catechol or resorcinol) or glucose can increase the aspect ratio of the nanorods by an order of magnitude, up to values as high as 100 (nanowires). The increase in aspect ratio is mainly a consequence of an increase in length of the particles (up to 1-3μm). This effect is probably associated with a decrease in the reduction rate of gold(III) species by dihydroxybenzenes or glucose compared to ascorbic acid. The reduction potential of the reducing agents strongly depends on the pH value, and related effects on the dimensions of the nanoparticles are also reflected in this study. The nanorods exhibited penta-twinned nature without noteworthy defects (e.g. stacking faults and dislocations

Uncertainty budget for a traceable operational radiometric calibration of field spectroradiometers, calibration of the heliosphere

To measure the distinct interaction of the Earth’smaterials with solar electromagnetic radiation, field spectroradiometers are commonly utilized. These are used to validate spectroradiometers deployed on various platforms through comparison exercises. Following metrology standards, the inclusion of uncertainties is required. Thus, field spectroradiometers need to be calibrated regularly against traceable radiance sources. In this article, we present a laboratory radiometric calibration protocol for the calibration of a heliosphere integrating sphere to make it traceable to the International System of Units as well as to establish an uncertainty budget. We adopted a transfer radiometer approach including four spectroradiometers that were calibrated at the Deutsches Zentrum für Luft und Raumfahrt Radiometric Standard facility before transferring that calibration to the heliosphere. After considering various sources of uncertainty by employing an uncertainty tree diagram approach, we arrive at an overall propagated uncertainty of approximately 1.5%. In future publications, we will present how to extend the traceability to other attenuations provided by the heliosphere. Its application to the calibration of a field spectroradiometer will be the focus of a future publication

Development of a fatigue test machine for high frequency applications

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First description of Arthroderma lilyanum in a rabbit with a focal alopecic area of the forelimb

Dermatophytosis is an important zoonotic disease in pet rabbits. While common clinical signs of dermatophytosis can occur, rabbits can also be asymptomatically infected. This case report describes a rabbit from Switzerland, with a focal alopecic area on one forepaw. Dermatophyte culture of a hair and skin sample taken from the lesion revealed growth of a dermatophyte, that was identified as the recently described species Arthroderma (A.) lilyanum by sequencing of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and β-tubulin genes. After local treatment with a disinfectant containing octenidine dihydrochloride and phenoxyethanol twice daily for two weeks, the lesion fully healed. Although it is not clear whether the dermatophyte was responsible for the lesion or if it was an incidental finding with an asymptomatic infection, the current report shows, that the host spectrum and geographical distribution of A. lilyanum are broader than previously thought