Black-body photon clustering by semi-classical means

If stimulated emission could be turned off then only uncorrelated photons would be emitted from black bodies and the photon counting statistics would be Poissonian. Through the process of stimulated emission, some fraction of the photons emitted from a black body are correlated and thus emitted in clusters. This photon clustering can be calculated by semi-classical means. The corresponding results are in agreement with quantum theory.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figures, 1 table. Added proof that stimulated-emission produced photon clustering at the source leads to the Hanbury Brown and Twiss effect without invoking photon-photon interference. Fixed unit mistakes in the left hand side of Eqs (4), (6), (7), and (9

Vessels in a Rhododendron ferrugineum (L.) population do not trace temperature anymore at the alpine shrubline

Introduction Mean xylem vessel or tracheid area have been demonstrated to represent powerful proxies to better understand the response of woody plants to changing climatic conditions. Yet, to date, this approach has rarely been applied to shrubs. MethodsHere, we developed a multidecadal, annually-resolved chronology of vessel sizes for Rhododendron ferrugineum shrubs sampled at the upper shrubline (2,550 m asl) on a north-facing, inactive rock glacier in the Italian Alps. Results and DiscussionOver the 1960-1989 period, the vessel size chronology shares 64% of common variability with summer temperatures, thus confirming the potential of wood anatomical analyses on shrubs to track past climate variability in alpine environments above treeline. The strong winter precipitation signal recorded in the chronology also confirms the negative effect of long-lasting snow cover on shrub growth. By contrast, the loss of a climate-growth relation signal since the 1990s for both temperature and precipitation, significantly stronger than the one found in radial growth, contrasts with findings in other QWA studies according to which stable correlations between series of anatomical features and climatic parameters have been reported. In a context of global warming, we hypothesize that this signal loss might be induced by winter droughts, late frost, or complex relations between increasing air temperatures, permafrost degradation, and its impacts on shrub growth. We recommend future studies to validate these hypotheses on monitored rock glaciers

Nanocellulose and PEDOT:PSS composites and their applications

The need for achieving sustainable technologies has encouraged research on renewable and biodegradable materials for novel products that are clean, green, and environmentally friendly. Nanocellulose (NC) has many attractive properties such as high mechanical strength and flexibility, large specific surface area, in addition to possessing good wet stability and resistance to tough chemical environments. NC has also been shown to easily integrate with other materials to form composites. By combining it with conductive and electroactive materials, many of the advantageous properties of NC can be transferred to the resulting composites. Conductive polymers, in particular poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene:poly(styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS), have been successfully combined with cellulose derivatives where suspensions of NC particles and colloids of PEDOT:PSS are made to interact at a molecular level. Alternatively, different polymerization techniques have been used to coat the cellulose fibrils. When processed in liquid form, the resulting mixture can be used as a conductive ink. This review outlines the preparation of NC/PEDOT:PSS composites and their fabrication in the form of electronic nanopapers, filaments, and conductive aerogels. We also discuss the molecular interaction between NC and PEDOT:PSS and the factors that affect the bonding properties. Finally, we address their potential applications in energy storage and harvesting, sensors, actuators, and bioelectronics

Difficult intubation and extubation in adult anaesthesia.

To provide an update to French guidelines about "Difficult intubation and extubation in adult anaesthesia 2006". A consensus committee of 13 experts was convened. A formal conflict-of-interest (COI) policy was developed at the onset of the process and enforced throughout. The entire guidelines process was conducted independent of any industry funding. The authors were advised to follow the principles of the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) system to guide assessment of quality of evidence. The potential drawbacks of making strong recommendations in the presence of low-quality evidence were emphasized. Few recommendations were ungraded. The panel focused on 6 questions: 1) Why must oxygen desaturation be avoided during intubation and what preoxygenation and oxygenation techniques should be used to prevent it? 2) Should videolaryngoscopes be used instead of standard laryngoscopy with or without a long stylet to achieve a better success rate of intubation after the first attempt during anticipated difficult intubation off fiberoptic intubation? 3) Should TCI or target controlled inhalation anaesthesia (TCIA) be used instead of bolus sedation for airway control in the event of suspected or proven difficulty in a patient spontaneously breathing? 4) What mode of anaesthesia should be performed in patients with difficult intubation criteria and potentially difficult mask ventilation? 5) In surgical patients, what criteria predict difficulties encountered during postoperative tracheal extubation? 6) Should decision trees and algorithms be employed to direct decision-making for the management of difficult intubation, whether foreseen or not? (based on the information from the preceding five issues). Population, intervention, comparison, and outcomes (PICO) questions were reviewed and updated as needed, and evidence profiles were generated. The analysis of the literature and the recommendations were then conducted according to the GRADE <sup>®</sup> methodology. The SFAR Guideline panel provided 13 statements on difficult intubation and extubation in adult anaesthesia. After two rounds of discussion and various amendments, a strong agreement was reached for 99% of recommendations. Of these recommendations, five have a high level of evidence (Grade 1±), 8 have a low level of evidence (Grade 2±). No recommendation was provided for one question. Substantial agreement exists among experts regarding many strong recommendations for the best care of patients with difficult intubation and extubation in adult anaesthesia

FIRST RESULTS OF AN EXPERIMENT ON ADVANCED COLLIMATOR MATERIALS AT CERN HIRADMAT FACILITY

A comprehensive, first-of-its-kind experiment (HRMT-14) has been recently carried out at CERN HiRadMat facility on six different materials of interest for Beam Intercepting Devices (collimators, targets, dumps). Both traditional materials (Mo, W and Cu alloys) as well as advanced metal/diamond and metal/graphite composites were tested under extreme conditions as to pressure, density and temperature, leading to the development of highly dynamic phenomena as shock-waves, spallation, explosions. Experimental data were acquired, mostly in real time, relying on extensive integrated instrumentation (strain gauges, temperature and vacuum sensors) and on remote acquisition devices (laser Doppler vibrometer and high-speed camera). The experiment was a success under all points of view in spite of the technological challenges and harsh environment. First measurements are in good agreement with results of complex simulations, confirming the effectiveness of the acquisition system and the reliability of advanced numerical methods when material constitutive models are completely available. Valuable information has been collected as to thermalshock robustness of tested materials

Limits on the production of scalar leptoquarks from Z (0) decays at LEP

A search has been made for pairs and for single production of scalar leptoquarks of the first and second generations using a data sample of 392000 Z0 decays from the DELPHI detector at LEP 1. No signal was found and limits on the leptoquark mass, production cross section and branching ratio were set. A mass limit at 95% confidence level of 45.5 GeV/c2 was obtained for leptoquark pair production. The search for the production of a single leptoquark probed the mass region above this limit and its results exclude first and second generation leptoquarks D0 with masses below 65 GeV/c2 and 73 GeV/c2 respectively, at 95% confidence level, assuming that the D0lq Yukawa coupling alpha(lambda) is equal to the electromagnetic one. An upper limit is also given on the coupling alpha(lambda) as a function of the leptoquark mass m(D0)

Optical image formation and processing

Optical Image Formation and Processin