Doppler-Free Spectroscopy of Weak Transitions: An Analytical Model Applied to Formaldehyde

Experimental observation of Doppler-free signals for weak transitions can be greatly facilitated by an estimate for their expected amplitudes. We derive an analytical model which allows the Doppler-free amplitude to be estimated for small Doppler-free signals. Application of this model to formaldehyde allows the amplitude of experimentally observed Doppler-free signals to be reproduced to within the experimental error.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figures, 1 table, v2: many small improvements + corrected line assignmen

ValueGuard: Protection of Native Applications against Data-Only Buffer Overflows

Code injection attacks that target the control-data of an application have been prevalent amongst exploit writers for over 20 years. Today however, these attacks are getting increasingly harder for attackers to successfully exploit due to numerous countermeasures that are deployed by modern operating systems. We believe that this fact will drive exploit writers away from classic control-data attacks and towards data-only attacks. In data-only attacks, the attacker changes key data structures that are used by the program’s logic and thus forces the control flow into existing parts of the program that would be otherwise unreachable, e.g. overflowing into a boolean variable that states whether the current user is an administrator or not and setting it to “true” thereby gaining access to the administrative functions of the program. In this paper we present ValueGuard, a canary-based defense mechanism to protect applications against data-only buffer overflow attacks. ValueGuard inserts canary values in front of all variables and verifies their integrity whenever these variables are used. In this way, if a buffer overflow has occurred that changed the contents of a variable, ValueGuard will detect it since the variable’s canary will have also been changed. The countermeasure itself can be used either as a testing tool for applications before their final deployment or it can be applied selectively to legacy or high-risk parts of programs that we want to protect at run-time, without incurring extra time-penalties to the rest of the applications.status: publishe

The UK risk assessment scheme for all non-native species

1. A pest risk assessment scheme, adapted from the EPPO (European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organisation) scheme, was developed to assess the risks posed to UK species, habitats and ecosystems by non-native taxa. 2. The scheme provides a structured framework for evaluating the potential for non-native organisms, whether intentional or unintentional introductions, to enter, establish, spread and cause significant impacts in all or part of the UK. Specialist modules permit the relative importance of entry pathways, the vulnerability of receptors and the consequences of policies to be assessed and appropriate risk management options to be selected. Spreadsheets for summarising the level of risk and uncertainty, invasive attributes and economic impact were created. In addition, new methods for quantifying economic impact and summarising risk and uncertainty were explored. 3. Although designed for the UK, the scheme can readily be applied elsewhere

Satellite-Detected Fluorescence Reveals Global Physiology of Ocean Phytoplankton

Phytoplankton photosynthesis links global ocean biology and climate-driven fluctuations in the physical environment. These interactions are largely expressed through changes in phytoplankton physiology, but physiological status has proven extremely challenging to characterize globally. Phytoplankton fluorescence does provide a rich source of physiological information long exploited in laboratory and field studies, and is now observed from space. Here we evaluate the physiological underpinnings of global variations in satellite-based phytoplankton chlorophyll fluorescence. The three dominant factors influencing fluorescence distributions are chlorophyll concentration, pigment packaging effects on light absorption, and light-dependent energy-quenching processes. After accounting for these three factors, resultant global distributions of quenching-corrected fluorescence quantum yields reveal a striking consistency with anticipated patterns of iron availability. High fluorescence quantum yields are typically found in low iron waters, while low quantum yields dominate regions where other environmental factors are most limiting to phytoplankton growth. Specific properties of photosynthetic membranes are discussed that provide a mechanistic view linking iron stress to satellite-detected fluorescence. Our results present satellite-based fluorescence as a valuable tool for evaluating nutrient stress predictions in ocean ecosystem models and give the first synoptic observational evidence that iron plays an important role in seasonal phytoplankton dynamics of the Indian Ocean. Satellite fluorescence may also provide a path for monitoring climate-phytoplankton physiology interactions and improving descriptions of phytoplankton light use efficiencies in ocean productivity models

Counter-propagating radiative shock experiments on the Orion laser and the formation of radiative precursors

We present results from new experiments to study the dynamics of radiative shocks, reverse shocks and radiative precursors. Laser ablation of a solid piston by the Orion high-power laser at AWE Aldermaston UK was used to drive radiative shocks into a gas cell initially pressurised between $0.1$ and $1.0 \ bar with different noble gases. Shocks propagated at {80 \pm 10 \ km/s} and experienced strong radiative cooling resulting in post-shock compressions of { \times 25 \pm 2}. A combination of X-ray backlighting, optical self-emission streak imaging and interferometry (multi-frame and streak imaging) were used to simultaneously study both the shock front and the radiative precursor. These experiments present a new configuration to produce counter-propagating radiative shocks, allowing for the study of reverse shocks and providing a unique platform for numerical validation. In addition, the radiative shocks were able to expand freely into a large gas volume without being confined by the walls of the gas cell. This allows for 3-D effects of the shocks to be studied which, in principle, could lead to a more direct comparison to astrophysical phenomena. By maintaining a constant mass density between different gas fills the shocks evolved with similar hydrodynamics but the radiative precursor was found to extend significantly further in higher atomic number gases (\sim$$4$ times further in xenon than neon). Finally, 1-D and 2-D radiative-hydrodynamic simulations are presented showing good agreement with the experimental data.Comment: HEDLA 2016 conference proceeding

Temporal structure of stimulated-Brillouin-scattering reflectivity considering transversal-mode development

The time-resolved reflectivity of optical phase conjugation by stimulated Brillouin scattering ~SBS! is investigated both theoretically and experimentally. A three-dimensional and transient model of SBS is developed to compare the experimental and theoretical results. Noise initiation of the SBS process is included in the model to simulate the shot-to-shot variation in the reflectivity and the Stokes temporal profile.Shahraam Afshaarvahid, Axel Heuer, Ralf Menzel, and Jesper Munc

Nonlinear ion-acoustic (IA) waves driven in a cylindrically symmetric flow

By employing a self-similar, two-fluid MHD model in a cylindrical geometry, we study the features of nonlinear ion-acoustic (IA) waves which propagate in the direction of external magnetic field lines in space plasmas. Numerical calculations not only expose the well-known three shapes of nonlinear structures (sinusoidal, sawtooth, and spiky or bipolar) which are observed by numerous satellites and simulated by models in a Cartesian geometry, but also illustrate new results, such as, two reversely propagating nonlinear waves, density dips and humps, diverging and converging electric shocks, etc. A case study on Cluster satellite data is also introduced.Comment: accepted by AS

Incydenty sercowo-naczyniowe u pacjentów stosujących sildenafil - wyniki badania International Men’s Health Study

Wstęp: Celem pracy było oszacowanie częstości występowania poważnych incydentów sercowo-naczyniowych (np. zawał serca, udar) oraz całkowitej śmiertelności wśród mężczyzn z zaburzeniami erekcji otrzymujących sildenafil. Metody: Prospektywnym, obserwacyjnym badaniem kohortowym International Men’s Health Study (IMHS) objęto pacjentów ze zdiagnozowanymi zaburzeniami erekcji oraz wcześniej stosujących sildenafil lub dopiero zaczynających przyjmować ten preparat. Dane wyjściowe oraz z obserwacji odległej dotyczące chorób sercowo-naczyniowych (CVD), czynników ryzyka oraz zaburzeń erekcji uzyskano za pomocą odpowiednich kwestionariuszy. Do osób, które przebyły epizod sercowo-naczyniowy, wysłano kwestionariusze w celu zebrania informacji związanych z ekspozycją na sildenafil/leczeniem zaburzeń erekcji przed incydentem. Wyniki: W analizowanej grupie (n = 3813) odnotowano 35 incydentów sercowo-naczyniowych u 30 chorych. Częstość zgonu z jakiejkolwiek przyczyny, zawału serca oraz udaru wynosiła odpowiednio 0,4; 0,6 i 0,1 na każdych 100 pacjentolat obserwacji. W grupie 6 mężczyzn, którzy zgłosili stosowanie sildenafilu na miesiąc przed incydentem sercowo-naczyniowym, 2 podało jego użycie w czasie 24 godzin poprzedzających zdarzenie. Wnioski: Wyniki badania IMHS potwierdzają wcześniejsze doniesienia o współwystępowaniu zaburzeń erekcji oraz CVD i o podobnych czynnikach ryzyka tych chorób

Solution and bulk properties of branched polyvinyl acetates IV--Melt viscosity

The melt viscosities of some randomly branched and some comb shaped branched polyvinyl acetate fractions were compared to the viscosities of linear polymer over a range of molecular weights. The melt viscosity of the branched polymer was usually higher than that of linear polymer of the same weight average molecular weight. The extent of this increase was related to the molecular weight of the branches but no correlation could be found which included the number of branches per molecule. This unusual behaviour is believed to be due to the fact that the length of the branches in the polymers of this study was above the critical chain length for polyvinyl acetate which made it possible for the branches to be engaged in intermolecular chain entanglements.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/32168/1/0000223.pd