2,764 research outputs found
Discovery of spatial periodicities in a coronal loop using automated edge-tracking algorithms
A new method for automated coronal loop tracking, in both spatial and temporal domains, is presented. Applying this technique to TRACE data, obtained using the 171 Ã… filter on 1998 July 14, we detect a coronal loop undergoing a 270 s kink-mode oscillation, as previously found by Aschwanden et al. However, we also detect flare-induced, and previously unnoticed, spatial periodicities on a scale of 3500 km, which occur along the coronal loop edge. Furthermore, we establish a reduction in oscillatory power for these spatial periodicities of 45% over a 222 s interval. We relate the reduction in detected oscillatory power to the physical damping of these loop-top oscillations
Reversible cerebral ischemia in patients with pheochromocytoma
Cerebral ischemia and symptoms of stroke can occur as a rare manifestation in patients with pheochromocytoma. We describe a 45-year-old woman who was admitted because of a right-sided hemiparesis due to an ischemic lesion in the left hypothalamus. The clinical diagnosis of a pheochromocytoma was proven by highly elevated urinary catecholamines and confirmed histologically after operation. The successful removal of the tumor led to the almost complete recovery of the neurological deficiencies. It is of vital importance to know this atypical presentation of pheochromocytoma. The diagnosis of pheochromocytoma should be suspected in patients with focal cerebral symptoms, particularly in the presence of intermittent hypertension or other paroxysmal symptoms suggestive of pheochromocytom
Effects of Intravenous Aspirin on Prostaglandin Synthesis and Kidney Function in Intensive Care Patients
The effects of intravenous acetylsalicylic acid (1.0 g bolus) on renal function and prostaglandin synthesis were evaluated in a prospective, controlled study in eight patients in an intensive care unit. Four of these patients had congestive heart failure. Administration of acetylsalicylic acid caused significant antidiuresis (−56%), antinatriuresis (−82%), renin suppression (−26%) and decreased GFR (−41%). All of these changes were completely reversible within 1-2 hours and tended to be more pronounced in the patients with congestive heart failure. Urinary excretion of prostaglandin E was depressed profoundly (−93%) and did not return to more than 45% of control 6 h after the administration of acetylsalicylic acid. We conclude that intravenous acetylsalicylic acid affects kidney function in a manner similar to other prostaglandin synthesis inhibitors. Its effects are, however, short-lived. The inhibition of urinary PGE2 excretion outlasts GFR depression, antidiuresis, antinatriuresis and renin suppression by several hour
The Importance of Boundary Conditions in Quantum Mechanics
We discuss the role of boundary conditions in determining the physical
content of the solutions of the Schrodinger equation. We study the
standing-wave, the ``in,'' the ``out,'' and the purely outgoing boundary
conditions. As well, we rephrase Feynman's prescription as a
time-asymmetric, causal boundary condition, and discuss the connection of
Feynman's prescription with the arrow of time of Quantum
Electrodynamics. A parallel of this arrow of time with that of Classical
Electrodynamics is made. We conclude that in general, the time evolution of a
closed quantum system has indeed an arrow of time built into the propagators.Comment: Contribution to the proceedings of the ICTP conference "Irreversible
Quantum Dynamics," Trieste, Italy, July 200
In Situ Test Method for the Electrostatic Characterization of Lunar Dust
This paper serves to illustrate the testing methods necessary to classify the electrostatic properties of lunar dust using in situ instrumentation and the required techniques therein. A review of electrostatic classification of lunar simulant materials is provided as is its relevance to the success of future human lunar missions
No alignment of cattle along geomagnetic field lines found
This paper presents a study of the body orientation of domestic cattle on
free pastures in several European states, based on Google satellite
photographs. In sum, 232 herds with 3412 individuals were evaluated. Two
independent groups participated in our study and came to the same conclusion
that, in contradiction to the recent findings of other researchers, no
alignment of the animals and of their herds along geomagnetic field lines could
be found. Several possible reasons for this discrepancy should be taken into
account: poor quality of Google satellite photographs, difficulties in
determining the body axis, selection of herds or animals within herds, lack of
blinding in the evaluation, possible subconscious bias, and, most importantly,
high sensitivity of the calculated main directions of the Rayleigh vectors to
some kind of bias or to some overlooked or ignored confounder. This factor
could easily have led to an unsubstantiated positive conclusion about the
existence of magnetoreception.Comment: Added electronic supplement with source dat
Oscillator neural network model with distributed native frequencies
We study associative memory of an oscillator neural network with distributed
native frequencies. The model is based on the use of the Hebb learning rule
with random patterns (), and the distribution function of
native frequencies is assumed to be symmetric with respect to its average.
Although the system with an extensive number of stored patterns is not allowed
to get entirely synchronized, long time behaviors of the macroscopic order
parameters describing partial synchronization phenomena can be obtained by
discarding the contribution from the desynchronized part of the system. The
oscillator network is shown to work as associative memory accompanied by
synchronized oscillations. A phase diagram representing properties of memory
retrieval is presented in terms of the parameters characterizing the native
frequency distribution. Our analytical calculations based on the
self-consistent signal-to-noise analysis are shown to be in excellent agreement
with numerical simulations, confirming the validity of our theoretical
treatment.Comment: 9 pages, revtex, 6 postscript figures, to be published in J. Phys.
A Note on Domain Walls and the Parameter Space of N=1 Gauge Theories
We study the spectrum of BPS domain walls within the parameter space of N=1
U(N) gauge theories with adjoint matter and a cubic superpotential. Using a low
energy description obtained by compactifying the theory on R^3 x S^1, we
examine the wall spectrum by combining direct calculations at special points in
the parameter space with insight drawn from the leading order potential between
minimal walls, i.e those interpolating between adjacent vacua. We show that the
multiplicity of composite BPS walls -- as characterised by the CFIV index --
exhibits discontinuities on marginal stability curves within the parameter
space of the maximally confining branch. The structure of these marginal
stability curves for large N appears tied to certain singularities within the
matrix model description of the confining vacua.Comment: 33 pages, LaTeX, 6 eps figures; v2: references adde
Mode regularization of the susy sphaleron and kink: zero modes and discrete gauge symmetry
To obtain the one-loop corrections to the mass of a kink by mode
regularization, one may take one-half the result for the mass of a widely
separated kink-antikink (or sphaleron) system, where the two bosonic zero modes
count as two degrees of freedom, but the two fermionic zero modes as only one
degree of freedom in the sums over modes. For a single kink, there is one
bosonic zero mode degree of freedom, but it is necessary to average over four
sets of fermionic boundary conditions in order (i) to preserve the fermionic
Z gauge invariance , (ii) to satisfy the basic principle of
mode regularization that the boundary conditions in the trivial and the kink
sector should be the same, (iii) in order that the energy stored at the
boundaries cancels and (iv) to avoid obtaining a finite, uniformly distributed
energy which would violate cluster decomposition. The average number of
fermionic zero-energy degrees of freedom in the presence of the kink is then
indeed 1/2. For boundary conditions leading to only one fermionic zero-energy
solution, the Z gauge invariance identifies two seemingly distinct `vacua'
as the same physical ground state, and the single fermionic zero-energy
solution does not correspond to a degree of freedom. Other boundary conditions
lead to two spatially separated solutions, corresponding to
one (spatially delocalized) degree of freedom. This nonlocality is consistent
with the principle of cluster decomposition for correlators of observables.Comment: 32 pages, 5 figure
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