1,484 research outputs found
Fabrication of carbon film composites for high-strength structures
Physical and mechanical properties of fiber composite materials consisting of carbon films are described. Application of carbon film structural composites for constructing microwave filters or optical instruments is proposed. Applications in aerospace and architectural structures for high strength and low density properties are discussed
Physical properties of thin films
Studies and experiments are presented on carbon, boron, aluminum oxide, zirconium silicate, aluminum, and titanium vapor-deposited on polyimide film substrates
Magnetoresistance of UPt3
We have performed measurements of the temperature dependence of the
magnetoresistance up to 9 T in bulk single crystals of UPt3 with the magnetic
field along the b axis, the easy magnetization axis. We have confirmed previous
results for transverse magnetoresistance with the current along the c axis, and
report measurements of the longitudinal magnetoresistance with the current
along the b axis. The presence of a linear term in both cases indicates broken
orientational symmetry associated with magnetic order. With the current along
the c axis the linear term appears near 5 K, increasing rapidly with decreasing
temperature. For current along the b axis the linear contribution is negative.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, submitted to Quantum Fluids and Solids Conference
(QFS 2006
Space-Time Approach to Scattering from Many Body Systems
We present scattering from many body systems in a new light. In place of the
usual van Hove treatment, (applicable to a wide range of scattering processes
using both photons and massive particles) based on plane waves, we calculate
the scattering amplitude as a space-time integral over the scattering sample
for an incident wave characterized by its correlation function which results
from the shaping of the wave field by the apparatus. Instrument resolution
effects - seen as due to the loss of correlation caused by the path differences
in the different arms of the instrument are automatically included and analytic
forms of the resolution function for different instruments are obtained. The
intersection of the moving correlation volumes (those regions where the
correlation functions are significant) associated with the different elements
of the apparatus determines the maximum correlation lengths (times) that can be
observed in a sample, and hence, the momentum (energy) resolution of the
measurement. This geometrical picture of moving correlation volumes derived by
our technique shows how the interaction of the scatterer with the wave field
shaped by the apparatus proceeds in space and time. Matching of the correlation
volumes so as to maximize the intersection region yields a transparent,
graphical method of instrument design. PACS: 03.65.Nk, 3.80 +r, 03.75, 61.12.BComment: Latex document with 6 fig
Dendritic Spine Shape Analysis: A Clustering Perspective
Functional properties of neurons are strongly coupled with their morphology.
Changes in neuronal activity alter morphological characteristics of dendritic
spines. First step towards understanding the structure-function relationship is
to group spines into main spine classes reported in the literature. Shape
analysis of dendritic spines can help neuroscientists understand the underlying
relationships. Due to unavailability of reliable automated tools, this analysis
is currently performed manually which is a time-intensive and subjective task.
Several studies on spine shape classification have been reported in the
literature, however, there is an on-going debate on whether distinct spine
shape classes exist or whether spines should be modeled through a continuum of
shape variations. Another challenge is the subjectivity and bias that is
introduced due to the supervised nature of classification approaches. In this
paper, we aim to address these issues by presenting a clustering perspective.
In this context, clustering may serve both confirmation of known patterns and
discovery of new ones. We perform cluster analysis on two-photon microscopic
images of spines using morphological, shape, and appearance based features and
gain insights into the spine shape analysis problem. We use histogram of
oriented gradients (HOG), disjunctive normal shape models (DNSM), morphological
features, and intensity profile based features for cluster analysis. We use
x-means to perform cluster analysis that selects the number of clusters
automatically using the Bayesian information criterion (BIC). For all features,
this analysis produces 4 clusters and we observe the formation of at least one
cluster consisting of spines which are difficult to be assigned to a known
class. This observation supports the argument of intermediate shape types.Comment: Accepted for BioImageComputing workshop at ECCV 201
Have we seen the geneticisation of society? Expectations and evidence
Abby Lippmanâs geneticization thesis, of the early 1990s, argued and anticipated that with
the rise of genetics, increasing areas of social and health related activities would come to be
understood and defined in genetic terms leading to major changes in society, medicine and
health care. We review the considerable literature on geneticization and consider how the
concept stands both theoretically and empirically across scientific, clinical, popular and lay
discourse and practice. Social science scholarship indicates that relatively little of the original
claim of the geneticization thesis has been realised, highlighting the development of more
complex and dynamic accounts of disease in scientific discourse and the complexity of
relationships between bioscientific, clinical and lay understandings. This scholarship
represents a shift in social science understandings of the processes of sociotechnical change,
which have moved from rather simplistic linear models to an appreciation of disease
categories as multiply understood. Despite these shifts, we argue that a genetic imaginary
persists, which plays a performative role in driving investments in new gene-based
developments. Understanding the enduring power of this genetic imaginary and its
consequences remains a key task for the social sciences, one which treats ongoing genetic
expectations and predictions in a sceptical yet open way
Interplay between magnetism and superconductivity and appearance of a second superconducting transition in alpha-FeSe at high pressure
We synthesized tetragonal alpha-FeSe by melting a powder mixture of iron and
selenium at high pressure. Subsequent annealing at normal pressure results in
removing traces of hexagonal beta- FeSe, formation of a rather sharp transition
to superconducting state at Tc ~ 7 K, and the appearance of a magnetic
transition near Tm = 120 K. Resistivity and ac-susceptibility were measured on
the annealed sample at hydrostatic pressure up to 4.5 GPa. A magnetic
transition visible in ac-susceptibility shifts down under pressure and the
resistive anomaly typical for a spin density wave (SDW) antiferromagnetic
transition develops near the susceptibility anomaly. Tc determined by the
appearance of a diamagnetic response in susceptibility, increases linearly
under pressure at a rate dTc/dP = 3.5 K/GPa. Below 1.5 GPa, the resistive
superconducting transition is sharp; the width of transition does not change
with pressure; and, Tc determined by a peak in drho/dT increases at a rate ~
3.5 K/GPa. At higher pressure, a giant broadening of the resistive transition
develops. This effect cannot be explained by possible pressure gradients in the
sample and is inherent to alpha-FeSe. The dependences drho(T)/dT show a
signature for a second peak above 3 GPa which is indicative of the appearance
of another superconducting state in alpha-FeSe at high pressure. We argue that
this second superconducting phase coexists with SDW antiferromagnetism in a
partial volume fraction and originates from pairing of charge carriers from
other sheets of the Fermi surface
Gap structure in the electron-doped Iron-Arsenide Superconductor Ba(Fe0.92Co0.08)2As2: low-temperature specific heat study
We report the field and temperature dependence of the low-temperature
specific heat down to 400 mK and in magnetic fields up to 9 T of the
electron-doped Ba(Fe0.92Co0.08)2As2 superconductor. Using the phonon specific
heat obtained from pure BaFe2As2 we find the normal state Sommerfeld
coefficient to be 18 mJ/mol.K^2 and a condensation energy of 1.27 J/mol. The
temperature dependence of the electronic specific heat clearly indicate the
presence of the low-energy excitations in the system. The magnetic field
variation of field-induced specific heat cannot be described by single clean s-
or d-wave models. Rather, the data require an anisotropic gap scenario which
may or may not have nodes. We discuss the implications of these results.Comment: New Journal of Physics in press, 10 pages, 5 figure
Multilevel Gender-Equitable Norms and Risk of HIV and Herpes Simplex Virus Type 2 Acquisition Among Young South African Women: A Longitudinal Analysis of the HIV Prevention Trials Network 068 Cohort
Purpose: Adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) in South Africa experience a disproportionately high burden of HIV acquisition. National HIV prevalence among AGYW increases nearly three-fold during the transition from late teenage years to their early twenties. We investigated whether beliefs about gender equity influence subsequent HIV acquisition among AGYW in South Africa. Methods: We used data from the HIV Prevention Trials Network 068, a longitudinal conditional cash transfer study of AGYW in Mpumalanga Province, South Africa. Gender-equitable beliefs were measured at the level of the individual and summarized among school peers and adults in the community using the Gender Equitable Men's Scale (GEMS). Generalized estimating equation regression was used to assess the association between individual, peer and community GEMS and HIV incidence, herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) incidence, and other HIV risk factors while accounting for repeated observations and clustering. Results: A total of 2,533 AGYW were followed up for up to 5 years. Adjusting for potential confounders, a unit increase in peer GEMS scores (i.e. more equitable) were significantly protective against subsequent HIV acquisition (risk difference = â.019; 95% confidence interval: â.032, â.006) and subsequent HSV-2 acquisition (risk difference = â.020; 95% confidence interval: â.040, â.000). Low individual and community GEMS scores were associated with multiple HIV risk factors but not with HIV or HSV-2 incidence directly. Conclusion: School-level peer endorsement of gender equity may be protective against HIV and HSV-2 incidence among AGYW. Interventions that increase gender equity at the individual level and at the level of the social environment, particularly among school peers, have the potential for protective effects on the health of AGYW
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