34,519 research outputs found
Infrared diode laser spectroscopy of the fundamental band of NF(a1Î)
Thirty-one lines of the fundamental vibrationârotation band of the NF free radical in its a 1 state have been detected in absorption near 8.6 ”m using a tunable infrared diode laser. Linewidths were Doppler limited and several transitions were accompanied by resolved hyperfine structure due to fluorine and nitrogen nuclear moments. Wave number calibration using accurately determined N2O lines yielded v0 = 1165.952±0.001 cm^â1 for the band center. Rotational and centrifugal distortion constants for both v = 0 and 1 states have also been determined
Metamaterials for light rays: ray optics without wave-optical analog in the ray-optics limit
Volumes of sub-wavelength electromagnetic elements can act like homogeneous
materials: metamaterials. In analogy, sheets of optical elements such as prisms
can act ray-optically like homogeneous sheet materials. In this sense, such
sheets can be considered to be metamaterials for light rays (METATOYs).
METATOYs realize new and unusual transformations of the directions of
transmitted light rays. We study here, in the ray-optics and scalar-wave
limits, the wave-optical analog of such transformations, and we show that such
an analog does not always exist. Perhaps, this is the reason why many of the
ray-optical possibilities offered by METATOYs have never before been
considered.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures, references update
Long-term study of the impact of methotrexate on serum cytokines and lymphocyte subsets in patients with active rheumatoid arthritis: correlation with pharmacokinetic measures
Objective To describe changes in immune parameters observed during long-term methotrexate (MTX) therapy in patients with active rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and explore correlations with simultaneously measured MTX pharmacokinetic (PKC) parameters.
Design Prospective, open-label, long-term mechanism of action study.
Setting University clinic.
Methods MTX was initiated at a single weekly oral dose of 7.5â
mg and dose adjusted for efficacy and toxicity for the duration of the study. Standard measures of disease activity were performed at baseline and every 6â36â
months. Serum cytokine measurements in blood together with lymphocyte surface immunophenotypes and stimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) cytokine production were assessed at each clinical evaluation.
Results Cytokine concentrations exhibited multiple significant correlations with disease activity measures over time. The strongest correlations observed were for interleukin (IL)-6 (r=0.45, p<0.0001 for swollen joints and r=0.32, p=0.002 for tender joints) and IL-8 (r=0.25, p=0.01 for swollen joints). Significant decreases from baseline were observed in serum IL-1B, IL-6 and IL-8 concentrations. The most significant changes were observed for IL-6 (p<0.001). Significant increases from baseline were observed in IL-2 release from PBMCs ex vivo (p<0.01). In parallel, multiple statistically significant correlations were observed between MTX PKC measures and immune parameters. The change in swollen joint count correlated inversely with the change in area under the curve (AUC) for MTX (r=â0.63, p=0.007).
Conclusions MTX therapy of patients with RA is accompanied by a variety of changes in serum cytokine expression, which in turn correlate strongly with clinical disease activity and MTX pharmacokinetics (PKCs). These data strongly support the notion that MTX mediates profound and functionally relevant effects on the immunological hierarchy in the RA lesion
Control of the persistent currents in two interacting quantum rings through the Coulomb interaction and inter-ring tunneling
The persistent current in two vertically coupled quantum rings containing few
electrons is studied. We find that the Coulomb interaction between the rings in
the absence of tunneling affects the persistent current in each ring and the
ground state configurations. Quantum tunneling between the rings alters
significantly the ground state and the persistent current in the system.Comment: accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.
Remarks on the extension of the Ricci flow
We present two new conditions to extend the Ricci flow on a compact manifold
over a finite time, which are improvements of some known extension theorems.Comment: 9 pages, to appear in Journal of Geometric Analysi
Ricci flows with unbounded curvature
We show that any noncompact Riemann surface admits a complete Ricci flow
g(t), t\in[0,\infty), which has unbounded curvature for all t\in[0,\infty).Comment: 12 pages, 1 figure; updated reference
Determination of the Baryon Density from Large Scale Galaxy Redshift Surveys
We estimate the degree to which the baryon density, , can be
determined from the galaxy power spectrum measured from large scale galaxy
redshift surveys, and in particular, the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. A high
baryon density will cause wiggles to appear in the power spectrum, which should
be observable at the current epoch. We assume linear theory on scales and do not include the effects of redshift distortions, evolution,
or biasing. With an optimum estimate of to ,
the uncertainties in are roughly 0.07 and 0.016 in flat
and open () cosmological models, respectively. This result
suggests that it should be possible to test for consistency with big bang
nucleosynthesis estimates of if we live in an open universe.Comment: 23 Pages, 10 Postscript figure
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Development and implementation of a vehicle-pedestrian conflict analysis method: Adaptation of a vehicle-vehicle technique
This paper examines the development, use, and evaluation of a new traffic conflict analysis technique that specifically addresses pedestrian-vehicle conflicts with the intention of being applicable to shared-space environments. The method is based on an existing, well-established, and widely used vehicle-vehicle conflict analysis technique, but is adapted to consider the movement of pedestrians, which differs significantly from that of vehicles. The new method is then implemented on the Exhibition Road site of West London with the use of video data collected from locations with a potentially high concentration of vehicle-pedestrian conflicts, and the results of the analysis are presented. Finally, the results are compared with those obtained by other conflict analysis techniques and also against accident data to assess not only the accuracy but also the functionality of the new technique
Interference fringes with maximal contrast at finite coherence time
Interference fringes can result from the measurement of four-time fourth-order correlation functions of a wave field. These fringes have a statistical origin and, as a consequence, they show the greatest contrast when the coherence time of the field is finite. A simple acoustic experiment is presented in which these fringes are observed, and it is demonstrated that the contrast is maximal for partial coherence. Random telegraph phase noise is used to vary the field coherence in order to highlight the problem of interpreting this interference; for this noise, the Gaussian moment theorem may not be invoked to reduce the description of the interference to one in terms of first-order interference.M.W. Hamilto
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Analysis of pedestrian-vehicle traffic conflicts in street designs with elements of shared space
This paper investigates changes in pedestrian-vehicle traffic conflicts in urban streets redesigned according to the principles of shared space, using a recently developed Pedestrian-Vehicle Conflicts Analysis (PVCA) method. In a first step, the PVCA method is revised to more accurately reflect the features of shared space: this includes the definition of a systematic process for identifying conflict occurrences on one hand, and the full quantification of the conflict severity grading process on the other. Then, the refined PVCA method is applied to a case study in London, using video data from periods before and after the redevelopment of the Exhibition Road site from a conventional dual carriageway to a modern design with some elements of shared space. The results of the comparative analysis carried out indicate a general decrease in traffic conflict rates as a result of the redesign, but also highlight specific issues that may require additional analysis
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