20,127 research outputs found
Appearance of the canine meninges in subtraction magnetic resonance images
The canine meninges are not visible as discrete structures in noncontrast magnetic resonance (MR) images, and are incompletely visualized in T1âweighted, postgadolinium images, reportedly appearing as short, thin curvilinear segments with minimal enhancement. Subtraction imaging facilitates detection of enhancement of tissues, hence may increase the conspicuity of meninges. The aim of the present study was to describe qualitatively the appearance of canine meninges in subtraction MR images obtained using a dynamic technique. Images were reviewed of 10 consecutive dogs that had dynamic preâ and postgadolinium T1W imaging of the brain that was interpreted as normal, and had normal cerebrospinal fluid. Imageâanatomic correlation was facilitated by dissection and histologic examination of two canine cadavers. Meningeal enhancement was relatively inconspicuous in postgadolinium T1âweighted images, but was clearly visible in subtraction images of all dogs. Enhancement was visible as faint, smallârounded foci compatible with vessels seen end on within the sulci, a series of larger rounded foci compatible with vessels of variable caliber on the dorsal aspect of the cerebral cortex, and a continuous thin zone of moderate enhancement around the brain. Superimposition of colorâencoded subtraction images on pregadolinium T1â and T2âweighted images facilitated localization of the origin of enhancement, which appeared to be predominantly dural, with relatively few leptomeningeal structures visible. Dynamic subtraction MR imaging should be considered for inclusion in clinical brain MR protocols because of the possibility that its use may increase sensitivity for lesions affecting the meninges
Speciation without chromatography: Part I. Determination of tributyltin in aqueous samples by chloride generation, headspace solid-phase microextraction and inductively coupled plasma time of flight mass spectrometry
An analytical procedure was developed for the determination of tributyltin in aqueous samples. The relatively high volatility of the organometal halide species confers suitability for their headspace sampling from the vapour phase above natural waters or leached solid samples. Tributyltin was collected from the sample headspace above various chloride-containing matrices, including HCl, sodium chloride solution and sea-water, by passive sampling using a polydimethylsiloxane/divinylbenzene (PDMS/DVB)-coated solid-phase microextraction (SPME) fiber. Inductively coupled plasma time-of-flight mass spectrometry (ICP-TOFMS) was used for detection following thermal desorption of analytes from the fiber. A detection limit of 5.8 pg mlâ1(as tin) was realized in aqueous samples. Method validation was achieved using NRCC PACS-2 (Sediment) certified reference material, for which reasonable agreement between certified and measured values for tributyltin content was obtained
Recovery of continuous wave squeezing at low frequencies
We propose and demonstrate a system that produces squeezed vacuum using a
pair of optical parametric amplifiers. This scheme allows the production of
phase sidebands on the squeezed vacuum which facilitate phase locking in
downstream applications. We observe strong, stably locked, continuous wave
vacuum squeezing at frequencies as low as 220 kHz. We propose an alternative
resonator configuration to overcome low frequency squeezing degradation caused
by the optical parametric amplifiers.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figure
Secondary pattern computation of an arbitrarily shaped main reflector
The secondary pattern of a perfectly conducting offset main reflector being illuminated by a point feed at an arbitrary location was studied. The method of analysis is based upon the application of the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) to the aperture fields obtained using geometrical optics (GO) and geometrical theory of diffraction (GTD). Key features of the reflector surface is completely arbitrary, the incident field from the feed is most general with arbitrary polarization and location, and the edge diffraction is calculated by either UAT or by UTD. Comparison of this technique for an offset parabolic reflector with the Jacobi-Bessel and Fourier-Bessel techniques shows good agreement. Near field, far field, and scan data of a large reflector are presented
An experimental investigation of criteria for continuous variable entanglement
We generate a pair of entangled beams from the interference of two amplitude
squeezed beams. The entanglement is quantified in terms of EPR-paradox [Reid88]
and inseparability [Duan00] criteria, with observed results of and , respectively. Both results clearly beat the standard quantum
limit of unity. We experimentally analyze the effect of decoherence on each
criterion and demonstrate qualitative differences. We also characterize the
number of required and excess photons present in the entangled beams and
provide contour plots of the efficacy of quantum information protocols in terms
of these variables.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure
Compensation of relector antenna surface distortion using an array feed
The dimensional stability of the surface of a large reflector antenna is important when high gain or low sidelobe performance is desired. If the surface is distorted due to thermal or structural reasons, antenna performance can be improved through the use of an array feed. The design of the array feed and its relation to the surface distortion are examined. The sensitivity of antenna performance to changing surface parameters for fixed feed array geometries is also studied. This allows determination of the limits of usefulness for feed array compensation
Schubert Polynomials for the affine Grassmannian of the symplectic group
We study the Schubert calculus of the affine Grassmannian Gr of the
symplectic group. The integral homology and cohomology rings of Gr are
identified with dual Hopf algebras of symmetric functions, defined in terms of
Schur's P and Q-functions. An explicit combinatorial description is obtained
for the Schubert basis of the cohomology of Gr, and this is extended to a
definition of the affine type C Stanley symmetric functions. A homology Pieri
rule is also given for the product of a special Schubert class with an
arbitrary one.Comment: 45 page
Microlensing of gamma ray bursts by stars and MACHOs
The microlensing interpretation of the optical afterglow of GRB 000301C seems
naively surprising, since a simple estimate of the stellar microlensing rate
gives less than one in four hundred for a flat Omega_Lambda=0.7 cosmology,
whereas one event was seen in about thirty afterglows. Considering baryonic
MACHOs making up half of the baryons in the universe, the microlensing
probability per burst can be roughly 5% for a GRB at redshift z=2. We explore
two effects that may enhance the probability of observing microlensed gamma-ray
burst afterglows: binary lenses and double magnification bias. We find that the
consideration of binary lenses can increase the rate only at the ~15% level. On
the other hand, because gamma-ray bursts for which afterglow observations exist
are typically selected based on fluxes at widely separated wavebands which are
not necessarily well correlated (e.g. localization in X-ray, afterglow in
optical/infrared), magnification bias can operate at an enhanced level compared
to the usual single-bias case. We find that existing estimates of the slope of
the luminosity function of gamma-ray bursts, while as yet quite uncertain,
point to enhancement factors of more than three above the simple estimates of
the microlensing rate. We find that the probability to observe at least one
microlensing event in the sample of 27 measured afterglows can be 3-4% for
stellar lenses, or as much as 25 Omega_lens for baryonic MACHOs. We note that
the probability to observe at least one event over the available sample of
afterglows is significant only if a large fraction of the baryons in the
universe are condensed in stellar-mass objects. (ABRIDGED)Comment: 22 pages, 4 figures, 2 table
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