204 research outputs found
Thermal improvement of existing dwellings
This report describes the outcome from a study to determine the impact of energy efficiency measures applied to the Scottish housing stock. Assuming conventional property type classifications, the present performance of the housing stock is quantified using available survey data. Building simulation techniques were then employed to generate a Web-based, decision-support tool for use by policy makers to estimate the impact of deploying energy efficiency measures in different combinations over time. The process of tool formulation is described and an example is given of tool use to identify best-value retrofitting options while taking factors such as future climate change and improved standard of living into account
Electromagnetically induced transparency in multi-level cascade scheme of cold rubidium atoms
We report an experimental investigation of electromagnetically induced
transparency in a multi-level cascade system of cold atoms. The absorption
spectral profiles of the probe light in the multi-level cascade system were
observed in cold Rb-85 atoms confined in a magneto-optical trap, and the
dependence of the spectral profile on the intensity of the coupling laser was
investigated. The experimental measurements agree with the theoretical
calculations based on the density matrix equations of the rubidium cascade
system.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figure
Anomalous c-axis charge dynamics in copper oxide materials
Within the t-J model, the c-axis charge dynamics of the copper oxide
materials in the underdoped and optimally doped regimes is studied by
considering the incoherent interlayer hopping. It is shown that the c-axis
charge dynamics is mainly governed by the scattering from the in-plane
fluctuation. In the optimally doped regime, the c-axis resistivity is a linear
in temperatures, and shows the metallic-like behavior for all temperatures,
while the c-axis resistivity in the underdoped regime is characterized by a
crossover from the high temperature metallic-like behavior to the low
temperature semiconducting-like behavior, which are consistent with experiments
and numerical simulations.Comment: 6 pages, Latex, Three figures are adde
Theory of Two-Dimensional Quantum Heisenberg Antiferromagnets with a Nearly Critical Ground State
We present the general theory of clean, two-dimensional, quantum Heisenberg
antiferromagnets which are close to the zero-temperature quantum transition
between ground states with and without long-range N\'{e}el order. For
N\'{e}el-ordered states, `nearly-critical' means that the ground state
spin-stiffness, , satisfies , where is the
nearest-neighbor exchange constant, while `nearly-critical' quantum-disordered
ground states have a energy-gap, , towards excitations with spin-1,
which satisfies . Under these circumstances, we show that the
wavevector/frequency-dependent uniform and staggered spin susceptibilities, and
the specific heat, are completely universal functions of just three
thermodynamic parameters. Explicit results for the universal scaling functions
are obtained by a expansion on the quantum non-linear sigma model,
and by Monte Carlo simulations. These calculations lead to a variety of
testable predictions for neutron scattering, NMR, and magnetization
measurements. Our results are in good agreement with a number of numerical
simulations and experiments on undoped and lightly-doped .Comment: 81 pages, REVTEX 3.0, smaller updated version, YCTP-xxx
Search for direct production of charginos and neutralinos in events with three leptons and missing transverse momentum in âs = 7 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector
A search for the direct production of charginos and neutralinos in final states with three electrons or muons and missing transverse momentum is presented. The analysis is based on 4.7 fbâ1 of protonâproton collision data delivered by the Large Hadron Collider and recorded with the ATLAS detector. Observations are consistent with Standard Model expectations in three signal regions that are either depleted or enriched in Z-boson decays. Upper limits at 95% confidence level are set in R-parity conserving phenomenological minimal supersymmetric models and in simplified models, significantly extending previous results
Jet size dependence of single jet suppression in lead-lead collisions at sqrt(s(NN)) = 2.76 TeV with the ATLAS detector at the LHC
Measurements of inclusive jet suppression in heavy ion collisions at the LHC
provide direct sensitivity to the physics of jet quenching. In a sample of
lead-lead collisions at sqrt(s) = 2.76 TeV corresponding to an integrated
luminosity of approximately 7 inverse microbarns, ATLAS has measured jets with
a calorimeter over the pseudorapidity interval |eta| < 2.1 and over the
transverse momentum range 38 < pT < 210 GeV. Jets were reconstructed using the
anti-kt algorithm with values for the distance parameter that determines the
nominal jet radius of R = 0.2, 0.3, 0.4 and 0.5. The centrality dependence of
the jet yield is characterized by the jet "central-to-peripheral ratio," Rcp.
Jet production is found to be suppressed by approximately a factor of two in
the 10% most central collisions relative to peripheral collisions. Rcp varies
smoothly with centrality as characterized by the number of participating
nucleons. The observed suppression is only weakly dependent on jet radius and
transverse momentum. These results provide the first direct measurement of
inclusive jet suppression in heavy ion collisions and complement previous
measurements of dijet transverse energy imbalance at the LHC.Comment: 15 pages plus author list (30 pages total), 8 figures, 2 tables,
submitted to Physics Letters B. All figures including auxiliary figures are
available at
http://atlas.web.cern.ch/Atlas/GROUPS/PHYSICS/PAPERS/HION-2011-02
Protease-anti-protease compartmentalization in SARS-CoV-2 ARDS: Therapeutic implications
Background Interleukin-6 (IL-6) is elevated in SARS-CoV-2 infection. IL-6 regulates acute-phase proteins, such as alpha-1 antitrypsin (AAT), a key lung anti-protease. We investigated the protease-anti-protease balance in the circulation and pulmonary compartments in SARS-CoV-2 acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) compared to non-SARS-CoV-2 ARDS (nsARDS) and the effects of tocilizumab (IL-6 receptor antagonist) on anti-protease defence in SARS-CoV-2 infection. Methods Levels and activity of AAT and neutrophil elastase (NE) were measured in plasma, airway tissue and tracheal secretions (TA) of people with SARS-CoV-2 ARDS or nsARDS. AAT and IL-6 levels were evaluated in people with moderate SARS-CoV-2 infection who received standard of care +/- tocilizumab. Findings AAT plasma levels doubled in SARS-CoV-2 ARDS. In lung parenchyma AAT levels were increased, as was the percentage of neutrophils involved in NET formation. A protease-anti-protease imbalance was detected in TA with active NE and no active AAT. The airway anti-protease, secretory leukoprotease inhibitor was decreased in SARS-CoV-2-infected lungs and cleaved in TA. In nsARDS, plasma AAT levels were elevated but TA samples had less AAT cleavage, with no detectable active NE in most samples. Induction of AAT in ARDS occurred mainly through IL-6. Tocilizumab down-regulated AAT during SARS-CoV-2 infection. Interpretation There is a protease-anti-protease imbalance in the airways of SARS-CoV-2-ARDS patients. This imbalance is a target for anti-protease therapy. Funding NIH Serological Sciences Network, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
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