5,425 research outputs found
The impact of neurological illness on marital relationships
The current study investigated the impact of neurological illness on marital relationship satisfaction. Participants numbered 423 patients and 335 carers from motor neurone disease (MND), Huntington\u27s disease (HD), Parkinson\u27s, and multiple sclerosis (MS). The results demonstrated that patients and carers with HD had a significantly lower level of relationship satisfaction and sex life satisfaction than the other three illness groups. Further, patients with HD indicated a significantly higher level of relationship satisfaction than their carers. For MS and MND patients, social support predicted marital relationship satisfaction, and for Parkinson\u27s patients, social support and sex life satisfaction predicted marital relationship satisfaction. <br /
Derivation of tropospheric methane from TCCON CHâ‚„ and HF total column observations
The Total Carbon Column Observing Network (TCCON) is a global ground-based network of Fourier transform spectrometers that produce precise measurements of column-averaged dry-air mole fractions of atmospheric methane (CHâ‚„). Temporal variability in the total column of CHâ‚„ due to stratospheric dynamics obscures fluctuations and trends driven by tropospheric transport and local surface fluxes that are critical for understanding CHâ‚„ sources and sinks. We reduce the contribution of stratospheric variability from the total column average by subtracting an estimate of the stratospheric CHâ‚„ derived from simultaneous measurements of hydrogen fluoride (HF). HF provides a proxy for stratospheric CHâ‚„ because it is strongly correlated to CHâ‚„ in the stratosphere, has an accurately known tropospheric abundance (of zero), and is measured at most TCCON stations. The stratospheric partial column of CHâ‚„ is calculated as a function of the zonal and annual trends in the relationship between CHâ‚„ and HF in the stratosphere, which we determine from ACE-FTS satellite data. We also explicitly take into account the CHâ‚„ column averaging kernel to estimate the contribution of stratospheric CHâ‚„ to the total column. The resulting tropospheric CHâ‚„ columns are consistent with in situ aircraft measurements and augment existing observations in the troposphere
Subclinical infection of macaques and baboons with a baboon simarterivirus
Simarteriviruses (Arteriviridae: Simarterivirinae) are commonly found at high titers in the blood of African monkeys but do not cause overt disease in these hosts. In contrast, simarteriviruses cause severe disease in Asian macaques upon accidental or experimental transmission. Here, we sought to better understand the host-dependent drivers of simarterivirus pathogenesis by infecting olive baboons (n = 4) and rhesus monkeys (n = 4) with the simarterivirus Southwest baboon virus 1 (SWBV-1). Surprisingly, none of the animals in our study showed signs of disease following SWBV-1 inoculation. Three animals (two rhesus monkeys and one olive baboon) became infected and sustained high levels of SWBV-1 viremia for the duration of the study. The course of SWBV-1 infection was highly predictable: plasma viremia peaked between 1 × 107 and 1 × 108 vRNA copies/mL at 3–10 days post-inoculation, which was followed by a relative nadir and then establishment of a stable set-point between 1 × 106 and 1 × 107 vRNA copies/mL for the remainder of the study (56 days). We characterized cellular and antibody responses to SWBV-1 infection in these animals, demonstrating that macaques and baboons mount similar responses to SWBV-1 infection, yet these responses are ineffective at clearing SWBV-1 infection. SWBV-1 sequencing revealed the accumulation of non-synonymous mutations in a region of the genome that corresponds to an immunodominant epitope in the simarterivirus major envelope glycoprotein GP5, which likely contribute to viral persistence by enabling escape from host antibodies
Accuracy of Trace Formulas
Using quantum maps we study the accuracy of semiclassical trace formulas. The
role of chaos in improving the semiclassical accuracy, in some systems, is
demonstrated quantitatively. However, our study of the standard map cautions
that this may not be most general. While studying a sawtooth map we demonstrate
the rather remarkable fact that at the level of the time one trace even in the
presence of fixed points on singularities the trace formula may be exact, and
in any case has no logarithmic divergences observed for the quantum bakers map.
As a byproduct we introduce fantastic periodic curves akin to curlicues.Comment: 20 pages, uuencoded and gzipped, 1 LaTex text file and 9 PS files for
figure
Stationary Flows of the Parabolic Potential Barrier in Two Dimensions
In the two-dimensional isotropic parabolic potential barrier , though it is a model of an unstable system in quantum
mechanics, we can obtain the stationary states corresponding to the real energy
eigenvalue . Further, they are infinitely degenerate. For the first few
eigenstates, we will find the stationary flows round a right angle that are
expressed by the complex velocity potentials .Comment: 12 pages, AmS-LaTeX, 4 figure
Deformabilidad en hormigones con agregados reciclados
Diversos trabajos han demostrado la factibilidad de elaborar hormigones con agregados reciclados, sin embargo sobre algunos aspectos poco explorados aún existen informaciones contrapuestas. Entre ellos se destacan el comportamiento diferido del hormigón (contracción y fluencia) y la capacidad de deformación en tracción (extensibilidad). Estas propiedades afectan directamente el grado de fisuración que puede tener una estructura de hormigón, lo que adquiere una significativa relevancia en la práctica, al considerar su vida en servicio. En este trabajo se presenta un estudio de la deformabilidad de hormigones que contienen 50 o 100 % de agregado grueso obtenido a partir de la trituración de losas de pavimento. Los resultados se comparan con los de otros dos hormigones elaborados con idénticas proporciones de materiales componentes variando el tipo de agregado grueso, piedra partida granÃtica o piedra partida cuarcÃtica. Se evaluaron la resistencia a tracción, la extensibilidad en flexión bajo cargas rápidas, y la fluencia en compresión. Bajo cargas de corta duración se encontró una deformabilidad creciente en el hormigón con mayor contenido de agregados reciclados, tanto en flexotracción como en compresión; también se midieron mayores valores de contracción libre y de fluencia. A partir de los resultados surge que es posible estimar la deformabilidad del hormigón con agregados reciclados siguiendo criterios similares a los aplicados en hormigones con agregados naturales; las diferencias de deformabilidad se pueden justificar considerando la menor rigidez del agregado reciclado.Different works have demonstrated the feasibility of elaborating concrete with recycled aggregates, nevertheless there is still opposite information about some aspects that have not been widely studied. The differed behaviour (shrinkage and creep) and the deformation capacity in tension (extensibility) of concrete are among them. These properties have a direct effect over the degree of cracking that can have a concrete structure so, considering its service life, they acquire a significant relevance in practice. This paper presents a study on the deformability of concretes that contain 50 or 100 % of coarse aggregate obtained from crushed pavement slabs. The results are compared with those obtained on other two concretes prepared with the same mixture proportions varying only the type of coarse aggregate, granitic crushed stone or quartzitic crushed stone. The tensile strength, extensibility in flexure under rapid rate of loading and creep in compression were evaluated. It was found that under short term loads the deformability of concrete increases with the content of recycled aggregates, both in flexure and in compression, grater values of free shrinkage and creep were also measured. From the obtained results it appears that the deformability of concrete with recycled aggregates can be estimated following the same criteria applied to concrete with natural aggregate, the differences in deformability can be justified considering the lower stiffness of the recycled aggregate
Semiclassical ionization dynamics of the hydrogen molecular ion in an electric field of arbitrary orientation
Quasi-static models of barrier suppression have played a major role in our
understanding of the ionization of atoms and molecules in strong laser fields.
Despite their success, in the case of diatomic molecules these studies have so
far been restricted to fields aligned with the molecular axis. In this paper we
investigate the locations and heights of the potential barriers in the hydrogen
molecular ion in an electric field of arbitrary orientation. We find that the
barriers undergo bifurcations as the external field strength and direction are
varied. This phenomenon represents an unexpected level of intricacy even on
this most elementary level of the dynamics. We describe the dynamics of
tunnelling ionization through the barriers semiclassically and use our results
to shed new light on the success of a recent theory of molecular tunnelling
ionization as well as earlier theories that restrict the electric field to be
aligned with the molecular axis
Statistical Mechanics for Unstable States in Gel'fand Triplets and Investigations of Parabolic Potential Barriers
Free energies and other thermodynamical quantities are investigated in
canonical and grand canonical ensembles of statistical mechanics involving
unstable states which are described by the generalized eigenstates with complex
energy eigenvalues in the conjugate space of Gel'fand triplet. The theory is
applied to the systems containing parabolic potential barriers (PPB's). The
entropy and energy productions from PPB systems are studied. An equilibrium for
a chemical process described by reactions is also
discussed.Comment: 14 pages, AmS-LaTeX, no figur
Two-dimensional turbulence in magnetised plasmas
In an inhomogeneous magnetised plasma the transport of energy and particles
perpendicular to the magnetic field is in general mainly caused by quasi
two-dimensional turbulent fluid mixing. The physics of turbulence and structure
formation is of ubiquitous importance to every magnetically confined laboratory
plasma for experimental or industrial application. Specifically, high
temperature plasmas for fusion energy research are also dominated by the
properties of this turbulent transport. Self-organisation of turbulent vortices
to mesoscopic structures like zonal flows is related to the formation of
transport barriers that can significantly enhance the confinement of a fusion
plasma. This subject of great importance in research is rarely touched on in
introductory plasma physics or continuum dynamics courses. Here a brief
tutorial on 2D fluid and plasma turbulence is presented as an introduction to
the field, appropriate for inclusion in undergraduate and graduate courses.Comment: This is an author-created, un-copyedited version of an article
published in European Journal of Physics. IOP Publishing Ltd is not
responsible for any errors or omissions in this version of the manuscript or
any version derived from it. The definitive publisher authenticated version
is available online at doi: 10.1088/0143-0807/29/5/00
Comparison of SMILES ClO profiles with satellite, balloon-borne and ground-based measurements
We evaluate the quality of ClO profiles derived from the Superconducting Submillimeter-Wave Limb-Emission Sounder (SMILES) on the International Space Station (ISS). Version 2.1.5 of the level-2 product generated by the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) is the subject of this study. Based on sensitivity studies, the systematic error was estimated as 5–10 pptv at the pressure range of 80–20 hPa, 35 pptv at the ClO peak altitude (~ 4 hPa), and 5–10 pptv at pressures ≤ 0.5 hPa for daytime mid-latitude conditions. For nighttime measurements, a systematic error of 8 pptv was estimated for the ClO peak altitude (~ 2 hPa). The SMILES NICT v2.1.5 ClO profiles agree with those derived from another level-2 processor developed by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) within the bias uncertainties, except for the nighttime measurements in the low and middle latitude regions where the SMILES NICT v2.1.5 profiles have a negative bias of ~ 30 pptv in the lower stratosphere. This bias is considered to be due to the use of a limited spectral bandwidth in the retrieval process of SMILES NICT v2.1.5, which makes it difficult to distinguish between the weak ClO signal and wing contributions of spectral features outside the bandwidth. In the middle and upper stratosphere outside the polar regions, no significant systematic bias was found for the SMILES NICT ClO profile with respect to data sets from other instruments such as the Aura Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS), the Odin Sub-Millimetre Radiometer (SMR), the Envisat Michelson Interferometer for Passive Atmospheric Sounding (MIPAS), and the ground-based radiometer at Mauna Kea, which demonstrates the scientific usability of the SMILES ClO data including the diurnal variations. Inside the chlorine-activated polar vortex, the SMILES NICT v2.1.5 ClO profiles show larger volume mixing ratios by 0.4 ppbv (30%) at 50 hPa compared to those of the JAXA processed profiles. This discrepancy is also considered to be an effect of the limited spectral bandwidth in the retrieval processing. We also compared the SMILES NICT ClO profiles of chlorine-activated polar vortex conditions with those measured by the balloon-borne instruments: Terahertz and submillimeter Limb Sounder (TELIS) and the MIPAS-balloon instrument (MIPAS-B). In conclusion, the SMILES NICT v2.1.5 ClO data can be used at pressures ≤ ~30 hPa for scientific analysis
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