12,835 research outputs found
What drives the dust activity of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko?
We use the gravitational instability formation scenario of cometesimals to
derive the aggregate size that can be released by the gas pressure from the
nucleus of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko for different heliocentric distances
and different volatile ices. To derive the ejected aggregate sizes, we
developed a model based on the assumption that the entire heat absorbed by the
surface is consumed by the sublimation process of one volatile species. The
calculations were performed for the three most prominent volatile materials in
comets, namely, H_20 ice, CO_2 ice, and CO ice. We find that the size range of
the dust aggregates able to escape from the nucleus into space widens when the
comet approaches the Sun and narrows with increasing heliocentric distance,
because the tensile strength of the aggregates decreases with increasing
aggregate size. The activity of CO ice in comparison to H_20 ice is capable to
detach aggregates smaller by approximately one order of magnitude from the
surface. As a result of the higher sublimation rate of CO ice, larger
aggregates are additionally able to escape from the gravity field of the
nucleus. Our model can explain the large grains (ranging from 2 cm to 1 m in
radius) in the inner coma of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko that have been
observed by the OSIRIS camera at heliocentric distances between 3.4 AU and 3.7
AU. Furthermore, the model predicts the release of decimeter-sized aggregates
(trail particles) close to the heliocentric distance at which the gas-driven
dust activity vanishes. However, the gas-driven dust activity cannot explain
the presence of particles smaller than ~1 mm in the coma because the high
tensile strength required to detach these particles from the surface cannot be
provided by evaporation of volatile ices. These smaller particles can be
produced for instance by spin-up and centrifugal mass loss of ejected larger
aggregates
Mesoscopic simulation of diffusive contaminant spreading in gas flows at low pressure
Many modern production and measurement facilities incorporate multiphase
systems at low pressures. In this region of flows at small, non-zero Knudsen-
and low Mach numbers the classical mesoscopic Monte Carlo methods become
increasingly numerically costly. To increase the numerical efficiency of
simulations hybrid models are promising. In this contribution, we propose a
novel efficient simulation approach for the simulation of two phase flows with
a large concentration imbalance in a low pressure environment in the low
intermediate Knudsen regime. Our hybrid model comprises a lattice-Boltzmann
method corrected for the lower intermediate Kn regime proposed by Zhang et al.
for the simulation of an ambient flow field. A coupled event-driven
Monte-Carlo-style Boltzmann solver is employed to describe particles of a
second species of low concentration. In order to evaluate the model, standard
diffusivity and diffusion advection systems are considered.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figure
The coronagraphic Modal Wavefront Sensor: a hybrid focal-plane sensor for the high-contrast imaging of circumstellar environments
The raw coronagraphic performance of current high-contrast imaging
instruments is limited by the presence of a quasi-static speckle (QSS)
background, resulting from instrumental non-common path errors (NCPEs). Rapid
development of efficient speckle subtraction techniques in data reduction has
enabled final contrasts of up to 10-6 to be obtained, however it remains
preferable to eliminate the underlying NCPEs at the source. In this work we
introduce the coronagraphic Modal Wavefront Sensor (cMWS), a new wavefront
sensor suitable for real-time NCPE correction. This pupil-plane optic combines
the apodizing phase plate coronagraph with a holographic modal wavefront
sensor, to provide simultaneous coronagraphic imaging and focal-plane wavefront
sensing using the science point spread function. We first characterise the
baseline performance of the cMWS via idealised closed-loop simulations, showing
that the sensor successfully recovers diffraction-limited coronagraph
performance over an effective dynamic range of +/-2.5 radians root-mean-square
(RMS) wavefront error within 2-10 iterations. We then present the results of
initial on-sky testing at the William Herschel Telescope, and demonstrate that
the sensor is able to retrieve injected wavefront aberrations to an accuracy of
10nm RMS under realistic seeing conditions. We also find that the cMWS is
capable of real-time broadband measurement of atmospheric wavefront variance at
a cadence of 50Hz across an uncorrected telescope sub-aperture. When combined
with a suitable closed-loop adaptive optics system, the cMWS holds the
potential to deliver an improvement in raw contrast of up to two orders of
magnitude over the uncorrected QSS floor. Such a sensor would be eminently
suitable for the direct imaging and spectroscopy of exoplanets with both
existing and future instruments, including EPICS and METIS for the E-ELT.Comment: 14 pages, 12 figures: accepted for publication in Astronomy &
Astrophysic
Seething Horizontal Magnetic Fields in the Quiet Solar Photosphere
The photospheric magnetic field outside of active regions and the network has
a ubiquitous and dynamic line-of-sight component that strengthens from disk
center to limb as expected for a nearly horizontal orientation. This component
shows a striking time variation with an average temporal rms near the limb of
1.7 G at ~3" resolution. In our moderate resolution observations the nearly
horizontal component has a frequency variation power law exponent of -1.4 below
1.5 mHz and is spatially patchy on scales up to ~15 arcsec. The field may be a
manifestation of changing magnetic connections between eruptions and evolution
of small magnetic flux elements in response to convective motions. It shows no
detectable latitude or longitude variations.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figures, submitted to ApJ letters, quality of figures
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How patients with insulin-treated type 1 and type 2 diabetes view their own and their physician's treatment goals.
To investigate the subjective treatment goals of insulin-treated diabetic patients.
297 type 1 and 205 type 2 diabetic patients, representative of the North-western Swiss population, filled out a self report questionnaire focusing on their own treatment goals using standardized measures wherever available. Factor analysis of the 16 items reflecting their treatment goals revealed four subscales (Crohnbach's alpha): High actual quality of life (0.73), weight reduction/maintenance and daily hassles (0.68), good medical care and knowledge (0.64) and good long term glucose control (0.71).
Good long term glucose control was the single most important main treatment goal for most patients (type 1: 60.2%, type 2: 49.7%, p = 0.025). However, both type 1 and type 2 diabetic patients believed that this goal - especially the value of HbA1c - was overestimated (both p <0.0001), while high actual quality of life was underestimated (p = 0.003 and p = 0.05, respectively) by their physicians compared to their own assessment. Good long term glucose control (OR 1.63, p = 0.003) and high actual quality of life (OR 2.17, p <0.0001) were more important and weight reduction/maintenance and coping with daily hassles (OR 0.75, p = 0.07) were slightly less important treatment goals for type 1 than for type 2 diabetic patients. These differences in goals were best associated with the mode of insulin therapy, self-monitoring, and with the extent of diabetes education.
Patients believe that physicians overestimate the importance of long term glucose control and underestimate the importance of actual quality of life. Diabetes education and self management have the largest impact on patients' own treatment goals
What are disease perceptions and subjective treatment goals of insulin treated diabetic patients?
BACKGROUND: Despite increasing importance of patient self-management, little is known about their own perceptions and treatment goals. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this explorative study was to examine what diabetic patients perceive as most concerning and what their own treatment goals are. METHODS: A 23-item anonymous questionnaire was distributed among type 1 diabetic patients treated with and without an insulin pump and insulin treated type 2 diabetic patients in the outpatient clinic of a University Hospital. 86% of the questionnaires were returned (n = 124). RESULTS: In open-ended questions, patients in all three groups together felt mostly restricted by their loss of freedom (24%), the dietary restrictions (17%) and the need to measure blood glucose (17%). Patients treated with an insulin pump worried more about hypoglycaemia and less about dietary restrictions. In closed-ended questions, patients were mostly concerned about hypoglycaemia and developing complications. However, the main treatment goal of both groups together was long-term good blood glucose control (63%). Further patient goals were the prevention of complications (27%) and the preservation of a good quality of life. Quality of life was a more important goal for type 1 diabetic patients (29%) than for type 2 diabetic patients (0%). Patients thought that blood glucose control was more important for their physicians (main treatment goal for 86%) than for themselves. CONCLUSION: Insulin treated patients with diabetes spontaneously express concerns about their actual quality of life and daily hassles and mention long-term worries after explicit questioning. For their main treatment goals they choose mainly long-term goals. According to the patients, physicians tend to overestimate blood glucose control
Flow Equations for N Point Functions and Bound States
We discuss the exact renormalization group or flow equation for the effective
action and its decomposition into one particle irreducible N point functions.
With the help of a truncated flow equation for the four point function we study
the bound state problem for scalar fields. A combination of analytic and
numerical methods is proposed, which is applied to the Wick-Cutkosky model and
a QCD-motivated interaction. We present results for the bound state masses and
the Bethe-Salpeter wave function. (Figs. 1-4 attached as separate uuencoded
post-script files.)Comment: 17 pages, HD-THEP-93-3
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