1,196 research outputs found
The influence of polyvalent metal cations on the corrosion rate of molybdenum in molten glass
Density measurements using coherence imaging spectroscopy based on Stark broadening
A coherence imaging camera has been set up at Pilot-PSI. The system is to be used for imaging the plasma density through the Stark effect broadening of the H(γ) line. Local density values are then obtained by the Abel inversion of the measured interferometric fringe contrast. This report will present the instrument setup and proof-of-principle demonstration. The inverted spatial electron density profiles obtained near the cascaded arc source of Pilot-PSI in discharges with axial magnetic field of B=0.4 T are compared with an independent measurement of electron density by Thomson scattering and good agreement is found.This work, supported by the European Communities under
the contract of the Association EURATOM/FOM, was
carried out within the framework of the European Fusion
Programme with financial support from NWO
A global reference for caesarean section rates (C‐Model): a multicountry cross‐sectional study
Objective: To generate a global reference for caesarean section (CS) rates at health facilities. Design Cross-sectional study.
Setting: Health facilities from 43 countries. Population/Sample Thirty eight thousand three hundred and twenty-four women giving birth from 22 countries for model building and 10 045 875 women giving birth from 43 countries for model testing.
Methods: We hypothesised that mathematical models could determine the relationship between clinical-obstetric characteristics and CS. These models generated probabilities of CS that could be compared with the observed CS rates. We devised a three-step approach to generate the global benchmark of CS rates at health facilities: creation of a multi-country reference population, building mathematical models, and testing these models.
Main outcome measures: Area under the ROC curves, diagnostic odds ratio, expected CS rate, observed CS rate.
Results: According to the different versions of the model, areas under the ROC curves suggested a good discriminatory capacity of C-Model, with summary estimates ranging from 0.832 to 0.844. The C-Model was able to generate expected CS rates adjusted for the case-mix of the obstetric population. We have also prepared an e-calculator to facilitate use of C-Model (www.who.int/ reproductivehealth/publications/maternal_perinatal_health/c-model/en/).
Conclusions: This article describes the development of a global reference for CS rates. Based on maternal characteristics, this tool was able to generate an individualised expected CS rate for health facilities or groups of health facilities. With C-Model, obstetric teams, health system managers, health facilities, health insurance companies, and governments can produce a customised reference CS rate for assessing use (and overuse) of CS.
Tweetable abstract: The C-Model provides a customized benchmark for caesarean section rates in health facilities and system
Density functional study of the actinide nitrides
The full potential all electron linearized augmented plane wave plus local
orbitals (FP-LAPW + lo) method, as implemented in the suite of software WIEN2K,
has been used to systematically investigate the structural, electronic, and
magnetic properties of the actinide compounds AnN (An = Ac, Th, Pa, U, Np, Pu,
Am). The theoretical formalism used is the generalized gradient approximation
to density functional theory (GGA-DFT) with the Perdew-Burke-Ernzerhof (PBE)
exchange-correlation functional. Each compound has been studied at six levels
of theory: non-magnetic (NM), non-magnetic with spin-orbit coupling (NM+SOC),
ferromagnetic (FM), ferromagnetic with spin-orbit coupling (FM+SOC),
anti-ferromagnetic (AFM), and anti-ferromagnetic with spin-orbit coupling
(AFM+SOC). The structural parameters, bulk moduli, densities of states, and
charge distributions have been computed and compared to available experimental
data and other theoretical calculations published in the literature. The total
energy calculations indicate that the lowest energy structures of AcN, ThN, and
PaN are degenerate at the NM+SOC, FM+SOC, and AFM+SOC levels of theory with
vanishing total magnetic moments in the FM+SOC and AFM+SOC cases, making the
ground states essentially non-magnetic with spin-orbit interaction. The ground
states of UN, NpN, PuN, and AmN are found to be FM+SOC at the level of theory
used in the present computations. The nature of the interactions between the
actinide metals and nitrogen atom, and the implications on 5f electron
delocalization and localization are discussed in detail.Comment: 5 tables, 12 figure
Ecosystem engineering by large grazers enhances carbon stocks in a tidal salt marsh
Grazers can have a large impact on ecosystem processes and are known to change vegetation composition. However, knowledge of how the long-term presence of grazers affects soil carbon sequestration is limited. In this study, we estimated total accumulated organic carbon in soils of a back-barrier salt marsh and determined how this is affected by long-term grazing by both small and large grazers in relation to age of the ecosystem. In young marshes, where small grazers predominate, hare and geese have a limited effect on total accumulated organic carbon. In older, mature marshes, where large grazers predominate, cattle substantially enhanced carbon content in the marsh soil. We ascribe this to a shift in biomass distribution in the local vegetation towards the roots in combination with trampling effects on the soil chemistry. These large grazers thus act as ecosystem engineers: their known effect on soil compaction (based on a previous study) enhances anoxic conditions in the marsh soil, thereby reducing the oxygen available for organic carbon decomposition by the local microbial community. This study showed that the indirect effects of grazing can significantly enhance soil carbon storage through changing soil abiotic conditions. This process should be taken into account when estimating the role of ecosystems in reducing carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere. Ultimately, we propose a testable conceptual framework that includes 3 pathways by which grazers can alter carbon storage: (1) through above-ground biomass removal, (2) through alteration of biomass distribution towards the roots and/or (3) by changing soil abiotic conditions that affect decomposition.</p
Forecasting the biogeomorphic development of intertidal wetland restoration: a novel modelling approach
Erosion yields of carbon under various plasma conditions in Pilot-PSI
Fine-grain graphite targets have been exposed to ITER divertor relevant
plasmas in Pilot-PSI to address material migration issues in fusion devices.
Optical emission spectroscopy and mass loss measurements have been employed to
quantify gross chemical erosion and net erosion yields, respectively. Effects
of the ion impact energy and target geometry on carbon erosion yields have been
studied. It is concluded that temporal evolution of gross chemical erosion is
strongly connected with changes in morphology of plasma exposed surfaces. The
net carbon erosion yield is increased when the targets are partly covered by
insulating boron-nitride rings.Comment: 14 pages, 4 figures, Contribution to the 19th International
Conference on Plasma Surface Interaction
Prevalence of sexually transmitted infections in women attending antenatal care in Tete province, Mozambique
Objective. To determine the prevalence of Chlamydia trachomatis
(CT), Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG) and syphilis in pregnant
women.
Methods. A cross-sectional study was conducted among women
attending antenatal care clinics (ANCs). Blood samples were
tested for syphilis using the rapid plasma reagin (RPR) and
treponemal haemagglutination (TPHA) tests; CT and NG
were diagnosed using a manual polymerase chain reaction
assay on first-void urine samples. A socio-demographic
questionnaire was completed. Results were compared with
previous published data on sexually transmitted infection (STI)
prevalence in Mozambique.
Results. Blood and urine samples were collected from 1 119
and 835 women, respectively. The prevalence of CT was 4.1%,
and that of NG 2.5%. The RPR test was positive in 5.2% of the
women, and 7.1% had a positive TPHA test. Active syphilis
was found in 4.7%. In univariate analysis, CT was associated
with having had any level of education (
Dissociative recombination and electron-impact de-excitation in CH photon emission under ITER divertor-relevant plasma conditions
For understanding carbon erosion and redeposition in nuclear fusion devices,
it is important to understand the transport and chemical break-up of
hydrocarbon molecules in edge plasmas, often diagnosed by emission of the CH
A^2\Delta - X^2\Pi Ger\"o band around 430 nm. The CH A-level can be excited
either by electron-impact or by dissociative recombination (D.R.) of
hydrocarbon ions. These processes were included in the 3D Monte Carlo impurity
transport code ERO. A series of methane injection experiments was performed in
the high-density, low-temperature linear plasma generator Pilot-PSI, and
simulated emission intensity profiles were benchmarked against these
experiments. It was confirmed that excitation by D.R. dominates at T_e < 1.5
eV. The results indicate that the fraction of D.R. events that lead to a CH
radical in the A-level and consequent photon emission is at least 10%.
Additionally, quenching of the excited CH radicals by electron impact
de-excitation was included in the modeling. This quenching is shown to be
significant: depending on the electron density, it reduces the effective CH
emission by a factor of 1.4 at n_e=1.3*10^20 m^-3, to 2.8 at n_e=9.3*10^20
m^-3. Its inclusion significantly improved agreement between experiment and
modeling
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