3,935 research outputs found
Anomalous Roughening of Viscous Fluid Fronts in Spontaneous Imbibition
We report experiments on spontaneous imbibition of a viscous fluid by a model
porous medium in the absence of gravity. The average position of the interface
satisfies Washburn's law. Scaling of the interface fluctuations provides a
dynamic exponent z \simeq 3, indicative of global dynamics driven by capillary
forces. The complete set of exponents clearly shows that interfaces are not
self-affine, exhibiting distinct local and global scaling, both for time
(b=0.64\pm 0.02, b* =0.33 \pm 0.03) and space (a=1.94 \pm 0.20, a_loc=0.94 \pm
0.10). These values are compatible with an intrinsic anomalous scaling
scenario.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure
Commensurate-Incommensurate Magnetic Phase Transition in Magnetoelectric Single Crystal LiNiPO
Neutron scattering studies of single-crystal LiNiPO reveal a spontaneous
first-order commensurate-incommensurate magnetic phase transition. Short- and
long-range incommensurate phases are intermediate between the high temperature
paramagnetic and the low temperature antiferromagnetic phases. The modulated
structure has a predominant antiferromagnetic component, giving rise to
satellite peaks in the vicinity of the fundamental antiferromagnetic Bragg
reflection, and a ferromagnetic component giving rise to peaks at small
momentum-transfers around the origin at . The wavelength of the
modulated magnetic structure varies continuously with temperature. It is argued
that the incommensurate short- and long-range phases are due to
spin-dimensionality crossover from a continuous to the discrete Ising state.
These observations explain the anomalous first-order transition seen in the
magnetoelectric effect of this system
Alpha-particle formation and clustering in nuclei
The nucleonic localization function has been used for a decade to study the
formation of alpha-particles in nuclei, by providing a measure of having
nucleons of a given spin in a single place. However, differences in
interpretation remain, compared to the nucleonic density of the nucleus. In
order to better understand the respective role of the nucleonic localization
function and the densities in the alpha-particle formation in cluster states or
in alpha-decay mechanism, both an analytic approximation and microscopic
calculations, using energy density functionals, are undertaken. The nucleonic
localization function is shown to measure the anti-centrifugal effect, and is
not sensitive to the level of compactness of the alpha-particle itself. It
probes the purity of the spatial overlap of four nucleons in the four possible
(spin, isospin) states. The density provides, in addition, information on the
compactness of an alpha-particle cluster.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figure
Real time plasma equilibrium reconstruction in a Tokamak
The problem of equilibrium of a plasma in a Tokamak is a free boundary
problemdescribed by the Grad-Shafranov equation in axisymmetric configurations.
The right hand side of this equation is a non linear source, which represents
the toroidal component of the plasma current density. This paper deals with the
real time identification of this non linear source from experimental
measurements. The proposed method is based on a fixed point algorithm, a finite
element resolution, a reduced basis method and a least-square optimization
formulation
Post-surgical vestibular schwannoma remnant tumors: What to do?
AbstractBackgroundVestibular schwannomas (VS) are benign tumors of the vestibular nerve's myelin sheath. The current trend in VS surgery is to preserve at the facial function, even if it means leaving a small vestibular schwannoma tumor remnant (VSTR) after the surgery. There is no defined therapeutic management VSTR. The aim of this study was to assess the evolution of the VSTR to define the best therapeutic management and identify predictive factors of VSTR progression.MethodsAmong the 256 patients treated surgically for VS in the Department of Neurosurgery at Angers University Hospital, 33 patients with a post-surgical VSTR were included in this retrospective study. For all surgical patients, the data collected were age at diagnosis, the Koos classification, the surgical access, the existence of a type 2 neurofibromatosis (NF2), the TR location and size on control MRI-scans. Patients had a bi-annual follow-up with clinical status and VSTR size assessment with MRI-scan. Survival analyzes were performed to determine the time and rate of VSTR progression, and identify factors of progression.ResultsThe mean follow-up of the population was 51 months. All VS remnant progression occurred between 38 and 58 months after surgery. In non-NF2 patients with first follow-up MRI-scan three months after surgery, 43% presented a spontaneous regression, 50% a stability and 7% a progression of the VSTR. In the same population with the 1-year MR-scan after surgery as baseline, 25% presented a spontaneous regression, 62.5% a stability and 12.5% a VSTR progression. These data are consistent with the data reported in the literature. The post-operative facial function impairment and an initial remnant ≥ 1.5cm3 were found to be significant risk factors of VS remnant progression in non-NF2 population in univariate analysis (P=0.048 and 0.031) but not in multivariate analysis.ConclusionIn our experience, the best therapeutic management of the post-surgical VSTP in non-NF2 patients with no risk factor of progression is a simple clinical radiological follow-up otherwise complementary radiosurgery should be considered
On the Brightness and Waiting-time Distributions of a Type III Radio Storm observed by STEREO/WAVES
Type III solar radio storms, observed at frequencies below approximately 16
MHz by space borne radio experiments, correspond to the quasi-continuous,
bursty emission of electron beams onto open field lines above active regions.
The mechanisms by which a storm can persist in some cases for more than a solar
rotation whilst exhibiting considerable radio activity are poorly understood.
To address this issue, the statistical properties of a type III storm observed
by the STEREO/WAVES radio experiment are presented, examining both the
brightness distribution and (for the first time) the waiting-time distribution.
Single power law behavior is observed in the number distribution as a function
of brightness; the power law index is approximately 2.1 and is largely
independent of frequency. The waiting-time distribution is found to be
consistent with a piecewise-constant Poisson process. This indicates that
during the storm individual type III bursts occur independently and suggests
that the storm dynamics are consistent with avalanche type behavior in the
underlying active region.Comment: 14 pages, 4 figures, 1 table. Accepted for publication in
Astrophysical Journal Letter
Microscopic description of , , and cluster decays of Rn and Ra
Alpha and cluster decays are analyzed for heavy nuclei located above
Pb on the chart of nuclides: Rn and Ra, that
are also candidates for observing the decay mode. A microscopic
theoretical approach based on relativistic Energy Density Functionals (EDF), is
used to compute axially-symmetric deformation energy surfaces as functions of
quadrupole, octupole and hexadecupole collective coordinates. Dynamical
least-action paths for specific decay modes are calculated on the corresponding
potential energy surfaces. The effective collective inertia is determined using
the perturbative cranking approximation, and zero-point and rotational energy
corrections are included in the model. The predicted half-lives for
-decay are within one order of magnitude of the experimental values. In
the case of single emission, the nuclei considered in the present
study exhibit least-action paths that differ significantly up to the scission
point. The differences in alpha-decay lifetimes are not only driven by Q
values, but also by variances of the least-action paths prior to scission. In
contrast, the decay mode presents very similar paths from
equilibrium to scission, and the differences in lifetimes are mainly driven by
the corresponding Q values. The predicted C cluster decay half-lives are
within three orders of magnitudes of the empirical values, and point to a much
more complex pattern compared to the alpha-decay mode.Comment: 9 pages, 13 figure
Essential role of STAT5a in DCIS formation and invasion following estrogen treatment
Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) is one of the earliest stages of breast cancer (BCa). The mechanisms by which DCIS lesions progress to an invasive state while others remain indolent are yet to be fully characterized and both diagnosis and treatment of this pre-invasive disease could benefit from better understanding the pathways involved. While a decreased expression of Caveolin-1 (Cav-1) in the tumor microenvironment of patients with DCIS breast cancer was linked to progression to invasive breast cancer (IBC), the downstream effector(s) contributing to this process remain elusive. The current report shows elevated expression of Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription 5a (STAT5a) within the DCIS-like lesions in Cav-1 KO mice following estrogen treatment and inhibition of STAT5a expression prevented the formation of these mammary lesions. In addition, STAT5a overexpression in a human DCIS cell line (MCF10DCIS.com) promoted their invasion, a process accelerated by estrogen treatment and associated with increased levels of the matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) precursor. In sum, our results demonstrate a novel regulatory axis (Cav-1♦STAT5a♦MMP-9) in DCIS that is fully activated by the presence of estrogen. Our studies suggest to further study phosphorylated STAT5a (Y694) as a potential biomarker to guide and predict outcome of DCIS patient population
Intrauterine Anesthesia for Gynecologic Procedures: A Systematic Review
To assess the effectiveness of intrauterine local anesthesia in reducing pain associated with outpatient gynecologic procedures
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