769 research outputs found
Proper microsurgical nerve suture may impede Wallerian degeneration of completely transected nerves: an electron microscopic study
Y-12 Site Sustainability Plan
This plan addresses: Greenhouse Gas Reduction and Comprehensive Greenhouse Gas Inventory; Buildings, ESPC Initiative Schedule, and Regional and Local Planning; Fleet Management; Water Use Efficiency and Management; Pollution Prevention and Waste Reduction; Sustainable Acquisition; Electronic Stewardship and Data Centers; Renewable Energy; Climate Change; and Budget and Funding
Surface potential at a ferroelectric grain due to asymmetric screening of depolarization fields
Nonlinear screening of electric depolarization fields, generated by a stripe
domain structure in a ferroelectric grain of a polycrystalline material, is
studied within a semiconductor model of ferroelectrics. It is shown that the
maximum strength of local depolarization fields is rather determined by the
electronic band gap than by the spontaneous polarization magnitude.
Furthermore, field screening due to electronic band bending and due to presence
of intrinsic defects leads to asymmetric space charge regions near the grain
boundary, which produce an effective dipole layer at the surface of the grain.
This results in the formation of a potential difference between the grain
surface and its interior of the order of 1 V, which can be of either sign
depending on defect transition levels and concentrations. Exemplary acceptor
doping of BaTiO3 is shown to allow tuning of the said surface potential in the
region between 0.1 and 1.3 V.Comment: 14 pages, 11 figures, submitted to J. Appl. Phy
Adaptively Refined Hybrid FDM-RBF Meshless Scheme with Applications to Laminar and Turbulent Viscous Fluid Flows
The focus of this work is to demonstrate a novel approach to true CFD automation based on an adaptive Cartesian point distribution process coupled with a Mesh less flow solution algorithm. As Mesh less method solutions require only an underlying nodal distribution, this approach works well even for complex flow geometries with non-aligned domain boundaries. Through the addition of a so-called shadow layer of body-fitted nodes, application of boundary conditions is simplified considerably, eliminating the stair-casing issues of typical Cartesian-based techniques. This paper describes the approach taken to automatically generate the Mesh less nodal distribution, along with the details of an automatic local refinement process. Also, as the primary interest of this automated CFD solver is for aerospace applications, this work includes the development of standard two-equation turbulence models for use in this Mesh less based solver. Finally, results are shown for several relevant compressible, turbulent flows example configurations, demonstrating the benefits of the automatic refinement as well as the quality of the Mesh less solutions in high-speed flow applications
Inhomogeneity of the intrinsic magnetic field in superconducting YBa2Cu3OX compounds as revealed by rare-earth EPR-probe
X-band electron paramagnetic resonance on doped Er3+ and Yb3+ ions in
Y0.99(Yb,Er)0.01Ba2Cu3OX compounds with different oxygen contents in the wide
temperature range (4-120)K have been made. In the superconducting species, the
strong dependencies of the linewidth and resonance line position from the sweep
direction of the applied magnetic field are revealed at the temperatures
significantly below TC. The possible origins of the observed hysteresis are
analyzed. Applicability of the presented EPR approach to extract information
about the dynamics of the flux-line lattice and critical state parameters
(critical current density, magnetic penetration depth, and characteristic
spatial scale of the inhomogeneity) is discussedComment: 17 pages, 5 Figures. Renewed versio
Planning and delivery of intensity modulated bolus electron conformal therapy
PURPOSE: Bolus electron conformal therapy (BECT) is a clinically useful, well-documented, and available technology. The addition of intensity modulation (IM) to BECT reduces volumes of high dose and dose spread in the planning target volume (PTV). This paper demonstrates new techniques for a process that should be suitable for planning and delivering IM-BECT using passive radiotherapy intensity modulation for electrons (PRIME) devices.
METHODS: The IM-BECT planning and delivery process is an addition to the BECT process that includes intensity modulator design, fabrication, and quality assurance. The intensity modulator (PRIME device) is a hexagonal matrix of small island blocks (tungsten pins of varying diameter) placed inside the patient beam-defining collimator (cutout). Its design process determines a desirable intensity-modulated electron beam during the planning process, then determines the island block configuration to deliver that intensity distribution (segmentation). The intensity modulator is fabricated and quality assurance performed at the factory (.decimal, LLC, Sanford, FL). Clinical quality assurance consists of measuring a fluence distribution in a plane perpendicular to the beam in a water or water-equivalent phantom. This IM-BECT process is described and demonstrated for two sites, postmastectomy chest wall and temple. Dose plans, intensity distributions, fabricated intensity modulators, and quality assurance results are presented.
RESULTS: IM-BECT plans showed improved D
CONCLUSION: These results demonstrated the feasibility of translating IM-BECT to the clinic using the techniques presented for treatment planning, intensity modulator design and fabrication, and quality assurance processes
Rapid decrease of malaria morbidity following the introduction of community-based monitoring in a rural area of central Vietnam
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Despite a successful control programme, malaria has not completely disappeared in Vietnam; it remains endemic in remote areas of central Vietnam, where standard control activities seem to be less effective. The evolution of malaria prevalence and incidence over two and half years in a rural area of central Vietnam, after the introduction of community-based monitoring of malaria cases, is presented.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>After a complete census, six cross-sectional surveys and passive detection of malaria cases (by village and commune health workers using rapid diagnostic tests) were carried out between March 2004 and December 2006 in Ninh-Thuan province, in a population of about 10,000 individuals. The prevalence of malaria infection and the incidence of clinical cases were estimated.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Malaria prevalence significantly decreased from 13.6% (281/2,068) in December 2004 to 4.0% (80/2,019) in December 2006. <it>Plasmodium falciparum </it>and <it>Plasmodium vivax </it>were the most common infections with few <it>Plasmodium malariae </it>mono-infections and some mixed infections. During the study period, malaria incidence decreased by more than 50%, from 25.7/1,000 population at risk in the second half of 2004 to 12.3/1,000 in the second half of 2006. The incidence showed seasonal variations, with a yearly peak between June and December, except in 2006 when the peak observed in the previous years did not occur.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Over a 2.5-year follow-up period, malaria prevalence and incidence decreased by more than 70% and 50%, respectively. Possibly, this could be attributed to the setting up of a passive case detection system based on village health workers, indicating that a major impact on the malaria burden can be obtained whenever prompt diagnosis and adequate treatment are available.</p
Knee joint kinetics in response to multiple three-dimensional printed, customised foot orthoses for the treatment of medial compartment knee osteoarthritis
Contributions of point defects, chemical disorder, and thermal vibrations to electronic properties of Cd1-xZnxTe alloys
We present a first-principles study based on density functional theory of thermodynamic and electronic properties of the most important intrinsic defects in the semiconductor alloy Cd1-xZnxTe with x < 0.13. The alloy is represented by a set of supercells with disorder on the Cd/Zn sublattice. Defect formation energies as well as electronic and optical transition levels are analyzed as a function of composition. We show that defect formation energies increase with Zn content with the exception of the neutral Te vacancy. This behavior is qualitatively similar to but quantitatively rather different from the effect of volumetric strain on defect properties in pure CdTe. Finally, the relative carrier scattering strengths of point defects, alloy disorder, and phonons are obtained. It is demonstrated that for realistic defect concentrations, carrier mobilities are limited by phonon scattering for temperatures above approximately 150 K
Exploring CEvNS with NUCLEUS at the Chooz Nuclear Power Plant
Coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering (CENS) offers a unique way
to study neutrino properties and to search for new physics beyond the Standard
Model. Nuclear reactors are promising sources to explore this process at low
energies since they deliver large fluxes of (anti-)neutrinos with typical
energies of a few MeV. In this paper, a new-generation experiment to study
CENS is described. The NUCLEUS experiment will use cryogenic detectors
which feature an unprecedentedly low energy threshold and a time response fast
enough to be operated in above-ground conditions. Both sensitivity to
low-energy nuclear recoils and a high event rate tolerance are stringent
requirements to measure CENS of reactor antineutrinos. A new experimental
site, denoted the Very-Near-Site (VNS) at the Chooz nuclear power plant in
France is described. The VNS is located between the two 4.25 GW
reactor cores and matches the requirements of NUCLEUS. First results of on-site
measurements of neutron and muon backgrounds, the expected dominant background
contributions, are given. In this paper a preliminary experimental setup with
dedicated active and passive background reduction techniques is presented.
Furthermore, the feasibility to operate the NUCLEUS detectors in coincidence
with an active muon-veto at shallow overburden is studied. The paper concludes
with a sensitivity study pointing out the promising physics potential of
NUCLEUS at the Chooz nuclear power plant
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