Investigations into free tropospheric new particle formation in the central Canadian arctic during the winter/spring transition as part of TOPSE

In this paper, we investigate the role of in situ new particle production in the central Canadian sub-Arctic and Arctic as part of the TOPSE experiment. Airborne measurements conducted primarily in the free troposphere were made from 50° to 90°W longitude and 60° to 85°N latitude during the period from February to May 2000. Data pertinent to this paper include 3–4 nm diameter (Dp) particles, ultrafine condensation nuclei (Dp \u3e 3 nm), fine particles (0.2 \u3c Dp \u3c 3 μm), and the possible nucleation precursor, sulfuric acid, and its precursor, sulfur dioxide. For data averaged over this period, most species showed little evidence for a latitudinal trend. Fine aerosol number concentrations, however, showed a slight increase with latitude. The evolution of various species concentrations over the period of the study show that fine particles also had a consistent temporal trend, increasing at all altitudes from February to May, whereas sulfur dioxide at the surface tended to peak in late March. Ultrafine condensation nuclei and 3–4 nm particles showed no temporal trends. Little evidence for in situ new particle production was observed during the study, except for one atypical event where SO2concentrations were 3.5 ppbv, 2 orders of magnitude higher than typical levels. This paper cannot address the question of whether the observed condensation nuclei were produced in situ by a low particle production rate or transported from lower latitudes

Magnetic properties and spin dynamics in single molecule paramagnets Cu6Fe and Cu6Co

The magnetic properties and the spin dynamics of two molecular magnets have been investigated by magnetization and d.c. susceptibility measurements, Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) and proton Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) over a wide range of temperature (1.6-300K) at applied magnetic fields, H=0.5 and 1.5 Tesla. The two molecular magnets consist of CuII(saldmen)(H2O)}6{FeIII(CN)6}](ClO4)38H2O in short Cu6Fe and the analog compound with cobalt, Cu6Co. It is found that in Cu6Fe whose magnetic core is constituted by six Cu2+ ions and one Fe3+ ion all with s=1/2, a weak ferromagnetic interaction between Cu2+ moments through the central Fe3+ ion with J = 0.14 K is present, while in Cu6Co the Co3+ ion is diamagnetic and the weak interaction is antiferromagnetic with J = -1.12 K. The NMR spectra show the presence of non equivalent groups of protons with a measurable contact hyperfine interaction consistent with a small admixture of s-wave function with the d-function of the magnetic ion. The NMR relaxation results are explained in terms of a single ion (Cu2+, Fe3+, Co3+) uncorrelated spin dynamics with an almost temperature independent correlation time due to the weak magnetic exchange interaction. We conclude that the two molecular magnets studied here behave as single molecule paramagnets with a very weak intramolecular interaction, almost of the order of the dipolar intermolecular interaction. Thus they represent a new class of molecular magnets which differ from the single molecule magnets investigated up to now, where the intramolecular interaction is much larger than the intermolecular one

Strengths and Weaknesses in the Intellectual Profile of Different Subtypes of Specific Learning Disorder

The present study analyzes whether and how the most common diagnoses within the specific learning disorder (SLD) category are characterized by different intellectual profiles. The issue is relevant to the current debate on the unitary versus decomposable nature of the SLD category and may help define specific interventions. Intellectual profiles were obtained using the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children–IV (WISC-IV) on 1,049 children diagnosed with SLD using the ICD-10 codes. Four major subsamples were compared: reading disorder, spelling disorder, disorder of arithmetical skills, and mixed disorder of scholastic skills. The four main WISC-IV indexes (verbal comprehension, perceptual reasoning, working memory, and processing speed) were considered. Results showed that all SLD subgroups share similar weaknesses in working memory and processing speed, but they also showed that the subgroups are characterized by partly different intellectual profiles. These specificities should be considered in the definition of SLD

Intercomparisons of airborne measurements of aerosol ionic chemical composition during TRACE-P and ACE-Asia

As part of the two field studies, Transport and Chemical Evolution over the Pacific (TRACE-P) and the Asian Aerosol Characterization Experiment (ACE-Asia), the inorganic chemical composition of tropospheric aerosols was measured over the western Pacific from three separate aircraft using various methods. Comparisons are made between the rapid online techniques of the particle into liquid sampler (PILS) for measurement of a suite of fine particle a mist chamber/ion chromatograph (MC/IC) measurement of fine sulfate, and the longer time-integrated filter and micro-orifice impactor (MOI) measurements. Comparisons between identical PILS on two separate aircraft flying in formation showed that they were highly correlated (e.g., sulfate r2 of 0.95), but were systematically different by 10 ± 5% (linear regression slope and 95% confidence bounds), and had generally higher concentrations on the aircraft with a low-turbulence inlet and shorter inlet-to-instrument transmission tubing. Comparisons of PILS and mist chamber measurements of fine sulfate on two different aircraft during formation flying had an r 2 of 0.78 and a relative difference of 39% ± 5%. MOI ionic data integrated to the PILS upper measurement size of 1.3 mm sampling from separate inlets on the same aircraft showed that for sulfate, PILS and MOI were within 14% ± 6% and correlated with an r 2 of 0.87. Most ionic compounds were within ±30%, which is in the range of differences reported between PILS and integrated samplers from ground-based comparisons. In many cases, direct intercomparison between the various instruments is difficult due to differences in upper-size detection limits. However, for this study, the results suggest that the fine particle mass composition measured from aircraft agree to within 30–40%

Use of biological drugs in patients with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis in italy: Results from the PSONG survey

This Italian multicenter retrospective study compared the drug survival and efficacy of differentanti-TNF agents in psoriasis (PsO) and psoriatic arthritis (PsA) patients. A database of PsO/PsApatients treated with adalimumab, etanercept, and infliximab from May 2013 to May 2014 wasanalyzed. PASI 75, 90, and 100 was calculated at each time point to evaluate efficacy. Drug sur-vival rate and probability of maintaining PASI response were evaluated. The impact of dependentvariables on probability of PASI 75 loss was evaluated by logistic regression. 1,235 patients wereincluded, 577 with PsO and 658 with PsA. Highest survival rates were observed with adalimumabfollowed by etanercept and infliximab in PsO and PsA patients. The probability of maintainingPASI response was significantly higher for adalimumab followed by infliximab. For PsO patients,the odds of losing PASI 75 was higher in etanercept-treated patients (OR: 8.1; 95% CI: 4.2–15.6,p<.001) or infliximab (OR: 6.6; 95% CI: 2.6–16.3,p<.001) vs. adalimumab. Likewise, for PsApatients the odds of losing PASI 75 was higher in etanercept-treated patients (OR: 2.3; 95% CI:1.4–3.8,p5.01) or infliximab (OR: 2.2; 95% CI: 1.1–4.1,p5.018) vs. adalimumab. Adalimumabcould be the best therapeutic option over other anti-TNF agents for the treatment of PsO and PsApatients

The Green Bank Northern Celestial Cap Pulsar Survey II: The Discovery and Timing of Ten Pulsars

We present timing solutions for ten pulsars discovered in 350 MHz searches with the Green Bank Telescope. Nine of these were discovered in the Green Bank Northern Celestial Cap survey and one was discovered by students in the Pulsar Search Collaboratory program in analysis of drift-scan data. Following discovery and confirmation with the Green Bank Telescope, timing has yielded phase-connected solutions with high precision measurements of rotational and astrometric parameters. Eight of the pulsars are slow and isolated, including PSR J0930$-$2301, a pulsar with nulling fraction lower limit of $\sim$30\% and nulling timescale of seconds to minutes. This pulsar also shows evidence of mode changing. The remaining two pulsars have undergone recycling, accreting material from binary companions, resulting in higher spin frequencies. PSR J0557$-$2948 is an isolated, 44 \rm{ms} pulsar that has been partially recycled and is likely a former member of a binary system which was disrupted by a second supernova. The paucity of such so-called `disrupted binary pulsars' (DRPs) compared to double neutron star (DNS) binaries can be used to test current evolutionary scenarios, especially the kicks imparted on the neutron stars in the second supernova. There is some evidence that DRPs have larger space velocities, which could explain their small numbers. PSR J1806+2819 is a 15 \rm{ms} pulsar in a 44 day orbit with a low mass white dwarf companion. We did not detect the companion in archival optical data, indicating that it must be older than 1200 Myr.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figure

The CMS Event Builder

The data acquisition system of the CMS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider will employ an event builder which will combine data from about 500 data sources into full events at an aggregate throughput of 100 GByte/s. Several architectures and switch technologies have been evaluated for the DAQ Technical Design Report by measurements with test benches and by simulation. This paper describes studies of an EVB test-bench based on 64 PCs acting as data sources and data consumers and employing both Gigabit Ethernet and Myrinet technologies as the interconnect. In the case of Ethernet, protocols based on Layer-2 frames and on TCP/IP are evaluated. Results from ongoing studies, including measurements on throughput and scaling are presented. The architecture of the baseline CMS event builder will be outlined. The event builder is organised into two stages with intelligent buffers in between. The first stage contains 64 switches performing a first level of data concentration by building super-fragments from fragments of 8 data sources. The second stage combines the 64 super-fragments into full events. This architecture allows installation of the second stage of the event builder in steps, with the overall throughput scaling linearly with the number of switches in the second stage. Possible implementations of the components of the event builder are discussed and the expected performance of the full event builder is outlined.Comment: Conference CHEP0

Using XDAQ in Application Scenarios of the CMS Experiment

XDAQ is a generic data acquisition software environment that emerged from a rich set of of use-cases encountered in the CMS experiment. They cover not the deployment for multiple sub-detectors and the operation of different processing and networking equipment as well as a distributed collaboration of users with different needs. The use of the software in various application scenarios demonstrated the viability of the approach. We discuss two applications, the tracker local DAQ system for front-end commissioning and the muon chamber validation system. The description is completed by a brief overview of XDAQ.Comment: Conference CHEP 2003 (Computing in High Energy and Nuclear Physics, La Jolla, CA

Correlative Microscopy Of Bone In Implant Osteointegration Studies.

Routine morphological analyses usually include investigations by light microscopy (LM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Each of these techniques provides specific information on tissue morphology and all the obtained results are then combined to give an in-depth morphological overview of the examined sample. The limitations of this traditional comparative microscopy lie in the fact that each technique requires a different experimental sample, so that many specimens are necessary and the combined results come from different samples. The present study describes a technical procedure of correlative microscopy, which allows us to examine the same bone section first by LM and then, after appropriate processing, by SEM or TEM. Thanks to the possibility of analyzing the same undecalcified bone sections both by LM and SEM, the approach described in the present study allows us to make very accurate evaluations of old/new bone morphology at the bone-implant interface