Neobisium yozgati n. sp., and N. anaisae n. sp. (Neobisiidae, Pseudoscorpiones), from Turkey and Macedonia (FYROM), respectively

Two new species of endemic and relict cave-dwellers of genus Neobisium Chamberlin, have been described from Turkey and Macedonia (FYROM), respectively. From its phenetically close congener, N. granulatum Beier, N. yozgati n. sp. (from Yozgat, Turkey) is distinguished in many important respects. In addition, N. anaisae n. sp. (from a cave in Krapa, FYROM) differs from its closest forms (N. korabense Ćurčić, N. ohridanum Hadži, and N. vladimirpantici Ćurčić) by many morphological characters and form of different body parts. Both species are illustrated, diagnosed, and thoroughly described. They both represent endemic and relict forms

Two new epigean pseudoscorpions (Neobisiidae, Pseudoscorpiones) from the Maritime Alps, France

Two species of pseudoscorpions new to science (Neobisium montisageli n. sp. and Roncus peissei n. sp.), collected in Southeastern France, are described, the diagnostic characteristics are illustrated, and their distribution is given. The possible establishment of two species groups of Roncus in Europe is discussed briefly in view of the importance of some of the diagnostic characteristics

The L^2 geometry of spaces of harmonic maps S^2 -> S^2 and RP^2 -> RP^2

Harmonic maps from S^2 to S^2 are all weakly conformal, and so are represented by rational maps. This paper presents a study of the L^2 metric gamma on M_n, the space of degree n harmonic maps S^2 -> S^2, or equivalently, the space of rational maps of degree n. It is proved that gamma is Kaehler with respect to a certain natural complex structure on M_n. The case n=1 is considered in detail: explicit formulae for gamma and its holomorphic sectional, Ricci and scalar curvatures are obtained, it is shown that the space has finite volume and diameter and codimension 2 boundary at infinity, and a certain class of Hamiltonian flows on M_1 is analyzed. It is proved that \tilde{M}_n, the space of absolute degree n (an odd positive integer) harmonic maps RP^2 -> RP^2, is a totally geodesic Lagrangian submanifold of M_n, and that for all n>1, \tilde{M}_n is geodesically incomplete. Possible generalizations and the relevance of these results to theoretical physics are briefly discussed.Comment: 27 pages, 2 figure

Relation between Reactive Surface Sites and Precursor Choice for Area-Selective Atomic Layer Deposition Using Small Molecule Inhibitors

Implementation of vapor/phase dosing of small molecule inhibitors (SMIs) in advanced atomic layer deposition (ALD) cycles is currently being considered for bottom-up fabrication by area-selective ALD. When SMIs are used, it can be challenging to completely block precursor adsorption due to the inhibitor size and the relatively short vapor/phase exposures. Two strategies for precursor blocking are explored: (i) physically covering precursor adsorption sites, i.e., steric shielding, and (ii) eliminating precursor adsorption sites from the surface, i.e., chemical passivation. In this work, it is determined whether steric shielding is enough for effective precursor blocking during area-selective ALD or whether chemical passivation is required as well. At the same time, we address why some ALD precursors are more difficult to block than others. To this end, the blocking of the Al precursor molecules trimethylaluminum (TMA), dimethylaluminum isopropoxide (DMAI), and tris(dimethylamino)aluminum (TDMAA) was studied by using acetylacetone (Hacac) as inhibitor. It was found that DMAI and TDMAA are more easily blocked than TMA because they adsorb on the same surface sites as Hacac, while TMA is also reactive with other surface sites. This work shows that chemical passivation plays a crucial role for precursor blocking in concert with steric shielding. Moreover, the reactivity of the precursor with the surface groups on the non-growth area dictates the effectiveness of blocking precursor adsorption

Thomas Decomposition of Algebraic and Differential Systems

In this paper we consider disjoint decomposition of algebraic and non-linear partial differential systems of equations and inequations into so-called simple subsystems. We exploit Thomas decomposition ideas and develop them into a new algorithm. For algebraic systems simplicity means triangularity, squarefreeness and non-vanishing initials. For differential systems the algorithm provides not only algebraic simplicity but also involutivity. The algorithm has been implemented in Maple

MRI study of transient cerebral ischemia in the gerbil: interest of T2 mapping

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic use of MRI and, more precisely, the use of quantitative T2 imaging at 7 T for the early detection of neuronal cerebral alterations after transient ischemia in the gerbil. METHODS: One hundred forty-seven Mongolian gerbils were separated into four groups for which a bicarotid artery occlusion lasted for 4, 6, 8, or 10 minutes, respectively. The animals were scanned before carotid artery occlusion and at 3, 6, 10, 24, and 48 hours and 5 days after the ischemic incident. MR images were acquired on a Bruker Avance DRX300 mini-imaging system. RESULTS: Our results show that T2 mapping is able to localize brain damage induced by transient ischemia and to detect early perturbations in water content (as early as 6 hours after ischemia). CONCLUSIONS: T2 measurements in the striata are correlated with the severity of the ischemic incident, since the changes observed on the T2 images are directly proportional to the duration of occlusion

Origins of the Ambient Solar Wind: Implications for Space Weather

The Sun's outer atmosphere is heated to temperatures of millions of degrees, and solar plasma flows out into interplanetary space at supersonic speeds. This paper reviews our current understanding of these interrelated problems: coronal heating and the acceleration of the ambient solar wind. We also discuss where the community stands in its ability to forecast how variations in the solar wind (i.e., fast and slow wind streams) impact the Earth. Although the last few decades have seen significant progress in observations and modeling, we still do not have a complete understanding of the relevant physical processes, nor do we have a quantitatively precise census of which coronal structures contribute to specific types of solar wind. Fast streams are known to be connected to the central regions of large coronal holes. Slow streams, however, appear to come from a wide range of sources, including streamers, pseudostreamers, coronal loops, active regions, and coronal hole boundaries. Complicating our understanding even more is the fact that processes such as turbulence, stream-stream interactions, and Coulomb collisions can make it difficult to unambiguously map a parcel measured at 1 AU back down to its coronal source. We also review recent progress -- in theoretical modeling, observational data analysis, and forecasting techniques that sit at the interface between data and theory -- that gives us hope that the above problems are indeed solvable.Comment: Accepted for publication in Space Science Reviews. Special issue connected with a 2016 ISSI workshop on "The Scientific Foundations of Space Weather." 44 pages, 9 figure

Extreme Ultra-Violet Spectroscopy of the Lower Solar Atmosphere During Solar Flares

The extreme ultraviolet portion of the solar spectrum contains a wealth of diagnostic tools for probing the lower solar atmosphere in response to an injection of energy, particularly during the impulsive phase of solar flares. These include temperature and density sensitive line ratios, Doppler shifted emission lines and nonthermal broadening, abundance measurements, differential emission measure profiles, and continuum temperatures and energetics, among others. In this paper I shall review some of the advances made in recent years using these techniques, focusing primarily on studies that have utilized data from Hinode/EIS and SDO/EVE, while also providing some historical background and a summary of future spectroscopic instrumentation.Comment: 34 pages, 8 figures. Submitted to Solar Physics as part of the Topical Issue on Solar and Stellar Flare

Search for supersymmetry with a dominant R-parity violating LQDbar couplings in e+e- collisions at centre-of-mass energies of 130GeV to 172 GeV

A search for pair-production of supersymmetric particles under the assumption that R-parity is violated via a dominant LQDbar coupling has been performed using the data collected by ALEPH at centre-of-mass energies of 130-172 GeV. The observed candidate events in the data are in agreement with the Standard Model expectation. This result is translated into lower limits on the masses of charginos, neutralinos, sleptons, sneutrinos and squarks. For instance, for m_0=500 GeV/c^2 and tan(beta)=sqrt(2) charginos with masses smaller than 81 GeV/c^2 and neutralinos with masses smaller than 29 GeV/c^2 are excluded at the 95% confidence level for any generation structure of the LQDbar coupling.Comment: 32 pages, 30 figure