1,104 research outputs found
Real time dynamic strain monitoring of optical links using the backreflection of live PSK data
A major cause of faults in optical communication links is related to unintentional
third party intrusions (normally related to civil/agricultural works) causing fiber breaks or
cable damage. These intrusions could be anticipated and avoided by monitoring the dynamic
strain recorded along the cable. In this work, a novel technique is proposed to implement realtime
distributed strain sensing in parallel with an operating optical communication channel.
The technique relies on monitoring the Rayleigh backscattered light from optical
communication data transmitted using standard modulation formats. The system is treated as a
phase-sensitive OTDR (ΦOTDR) using random and non-periodical non-return-to-zero (NRZ)
phase-shift keying (PSK) pulse coding. An I/Q detection unit allows for a full (amplitude,
phase and polarization) characterization of the backscattered optical signal, thus achieving a
fully linear system in terms of ΦOTDR trace coding/decoding. The technique can be used
with different modulation formats, and operation using 4 Gbaud single-polarization dual PSK
and 4 Gbaud dual-polarization quadrature PSK is demonstrated. As a proof of concept,
distributed sensing of dynamic strain with a sampling of 125 kHz and a spatial resolution of
2.5 cm (set by the bit size) over 500 m is demonstrated for applied sinusoidal strain signals of
500 Hz. The limitations and possibilities for improvement of the technique are also discussed.European CommissionMinisterio de Economía y CompetitividadComunidad de Madri
Influencia de la irrigación en el atizonamiento de las hojas de ñame (Dioscorea cayennensis) por Curvularia eragrostidis en el N.E. de Brasil
El atizonmiento de las hojas(quema), causado por Curvularia eragrostidis, es una de las principales enfermedades del ñame (Dioscorea cayennensis) en elnoreste brasilero. Por esto se analizó el progreso y patrón espacial de la enfermedad en cuatro áreas con plantaciones comerciales de ñame, dos irrigadas (A y B ) y dos no irrigadas (Cy D), localizadas en ell municipio deAlianca, Estado de Pernambuco, Brasil.En las áreas irrigadas, la cantidad inicial y la máxima severidad de la enfermedad, fueron superiores a las verificadas en las áreas no irrigadas. Utilizando el modelo de Gompertz, no se verificaron diferencias significativas entre las tasas de progreso de la enfermedad, siendo idénticas en las áreas A, B, C y ligeramente inferior en el área D. Los valores de área bajo la curva de progreso de la enfermedad fueron superiores en las áreas irrigadas, aunque con pequeña diferencia a lo constatado en el área D. En las áreas B, C y D, las plantas enfermas presentaron un patrón aleatorio, dentro y entre las lineas de plantación y el área A presentó un patrón agregado, especialmente entre las lineas.Considerando estos resultados, es posible concluir que la irrigación no tuvo influencia significativa en la severidad de la mancha necrótica de las hojas deñame ni en la agregación de plantas enfermas dentro de las áreas de plantación
Spin- and charge-density oscillations in spin chains and quantum wires
We analyze the spin- and charge-density oscillations near impurities in spin
chains and quantum wires. These so-called Friedel oscillations give detailed
information about the impurity and also about the interactions in the system.
The temperature dependence of these oscillations explicitly shows the
renormalization of backscattering and conductivity, which we analyze for a
number of different impurity models. We are also able to analyze screening
effects in one dimension. The relation to the Kondo effect and experimental
consequences are discussed.Comment: Final published version. 15 pages in revtex format including 22
epsf-embedded figures. The latest version in PDF format is available from
http://fy.chalmers.se/~eggert/papers/density-osc.pd
Core Alzheimer’s disease cerebrospinal fluid biomarker assays are not affected by aspiration or gravity drip extraction methods
Background
CSF biomarkers are well-established for routine clinical use, yet a paucity of comparative assessment exists regarding CSF extraction methods during lumbar puncture. Here, we compare in detail biomarker profiles in CSF extracted using either gravity drip or aspiration.
Methods
Biomarkers for β-amyloidopathy (Aβ1–42, Aβ1–40), tauopathy (total tau), or synapse pathology (BACE1, Neurogranin Trunc-p75, α-synuclein) were assessed between gravity or aspiration extraction methods in a sub-population of the Australian Imaging, Biomarkers and Lifestyle (AIBL) study (cognitively normal, N = 36; mild cognitive impairment, N = 8; Alzheimer’s disease, N = 6).
Results
High biomarker concordance between extraction methods was seen (concordance correlation > 0.85). Passing Bablock regression defined low beta coefficients indicating high scalability.
Conclusions
Levels of these commonly assessed CSF biomarkers are not influenced by extraction method. Results of this study should be incorporated into new consensus guidelines for CSF collection, storage, and analysis of biomarkers
Individual isotopic specializations predict subsequent inter-individual variation in movement in a freshwater fish
Despite many similarities and intuitive links between individual dietary specialization and behavioral inter-individual variation, these phenomena have been studied in isolation, and empirical data confirming relationships between these intraspecific variance sources are lacking. Here we use stable isotope analysis and acoustic telemetry to test the hypothesis that individual specialization in trophic (d15N) and littoral/pelagic prey reliance (d13C) covary with inter-individual variation in movement in a group of 34 free-swimming burbot (Lota lota). By performing stable isotope analysis on tissues with differing isotopic turnover rates (anal fin and dorsal muscle), in 24 lethally sampled burbot, we demonstrate that individual specialization in trophic niche (d15N) and li
J/Psi suppression in colliding nuclei: statistical model analysis
We consider the suppression at a high energy heavy ion collision. An
ideal gas of massive hadrons in thermal and chemical equilibrium is formed in
the central region. The finite-size gas expands longitudinally in accordance
with Bjorken law. The transverse expansion in a form of the rarefaction wave is
taken into account. We show that suppression in such an environment,
when combined with the disintegration in nuclear matter, gives correct
evaluation of NA38 and NA50 data in a broad range of initial energy densities.Comment: 14 pages, 13 figures. Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.
Dissociation cross sections of ground-state and excited charmonia with light mesons in the quark model
We present numerical results for the dissociation cross sections of
ground-state, orbitally- and radially-excited charmonia in collisions with
light mesons. Our results are derived using the nonrelativistic quark model, so
all parameters are determined by fits to the experimental meson spectrum.
Examples of dissociation into both exclusive and inclusive final states are
considered. The dissociation cross sections of several C=(+) charmonia may be
of considerable importance for the study of heavy ion collisions, since these
states are expected to be produced more copiously than the J/psi. The relative
importance of the productions of ground-state and orbitally-excited charmed
mesons in a pion-charmonium collision is demonstrated through the -dependent charmonium dissociation cross sections.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figure
Models of quintessence coupled to the electromagnetic field and the cosmological evolution of alpha
We study the change of the effective fine structure constant in the
cosmological models of a scalar field with a non-vanishing coupling to the
electromagnetic field. Combining cosmological data and terrestrial observations
we place empirical constraints on the size of the possible coupling and explore
a large class of models that exhibit tracking behavior. The change of the fine
structure constant implied by the quasar absorption spectra together with the
requirement of tracking behavior impose a lower bound of the size of this
coupling. Furthermore, the transition to the quintessence regime implies a
narrow window for this coupling around in units of the inverse Planck
mass. We also propose a non-minimal coupling between electromagnetism and
quintessence which has the effect of leading only to changes of alpha
determined from atomic physics phenomena, but leaving no observable
consequences through nuclear physics effects. In doing so we are able to
reconcile the claimed cosmological evidence for a changing fine structure
constant with the tight constraints emerging from the Oklo natural nuclear
reactor.Comment: 13 pages, 10 figures, RevTex, new references adde
Dimensionless cosmology
Although it is well known that any consideration of the variations of
fundamental constants should be restricted to their dimensionless combinations,
the literature on variations of the gravitational constant is entirely
dimensionful. To illustrate applications of this to cosmology, we explicitly
give a dimensionless version of the parameters of the standard cosmological
model, and describe the physics of Big Bang Neucleosynthesis and recombination
in a dimensionless manner. The issue that appears to have been missed in many
studies is that in cosmology the strength of gravity is bound up in the
cosmological equations, and the epoch at which we live is a crucial part of the
model. We argue that it is useful to consider the hypothetical situation of
communicating with another civilization (with entirely different units),
comparing only dimensionless constants, in order to decide if we live in a
Universe governed by precisely the same physical laws. In this thought
experiment, we would also have to compare epochs, which can be defined by
giving the value of any {\it one} of the evolving cosmological parameters. By
setting things up carefully in this way one can avoid inconsistent results when
considering variable constants, caused by effectively fixing more than one
parameter today. We show examples of this effect by considering microwave
background anisotropies, being careful to maintain dimensionlessness
throughout. We present Fisher matrix calculations to estimate how well the fine
structure constants for electromagnetism and gravity can be determined with
future microwave background experiments. We highlight how one can be misled by
simply adding to the usual cosmological parameter set
Equine infectious anemia : prevalence in working equids of livestock herds, in Minas Gerais, Brazil
Estimaram-se, no estado de Minas Gerais, a prevalência e a distribuição espacial da anemia infecciosa eqüina (AIE) em propriedades com eqüídeos de serviço. As amostras de sangue, de 6540 eqüídeos de 1940 rebanhos foram coletadas no período de setembro de 2003 a março de 2004, nos 853 municípios do estado. Utilizaram-se dois testes de laboratório em seqüência: ELISA, usando-se antígeno recombinante gp90, e imunodifusão em gel de ágar (IDGA). As prevalências foram de 5,3% [IC=4,3 a 6,3%] para rebanhos e de 3,1% [IC=2,2 a 3,9%] para animais. O estado de Minas Gerais foi considerado área endêmica para AIE. As mais altas prevalências para rebanhos e para animais foram encontradas na região Norte/Noroeste, seguida pela região Vale do Mucuri/Jequitinhonha. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ABSTRACTThe prevalence and spatial distribution of equine infectious anemia (EIA) were estimated in livestock herds where equids were used as draft power and for transportation in the State of Minas Gerais, Brazil. Serum samples were collected from September/2003 to March/2004 in 853 municipalities of the state. The sample comprised 6,540 equids from 1,940 herds. Two laboratorial tests were performed in sequence: ELISA using a recombinant gp90 protein, following by the AGID. The prevalence in the herds was estimated in 5.3% [CI = 4.3 to 6.3%], and 3.1% [CI = 2.2 to 3.9%] of the animals tested were positive. Minas Gerais was considered an endemic region for EIA. The highest prevalence for herds and animals was found in North/Northwest region (strata) followed by Vale do Mucuri/Jequitinhonha region
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