64 research outputs found
Reduced nonlinear description of Farley-Buneman instability
In the study on nonlinear wave-wave processes in an ionosphere and a
magnetosphere usually the main attention is paid to investigation of plasma
turbulence at well developed stage, when the wide spectrum of plasma wave is
present. On the other side, it is well known that even if the number of
cooperating waves remains small due to a competition of processes of their
instability and attenuation, the turbulence appears in the result of their
stochastic behavior. The regimes of nonlinear dynamics of low frequency waves
excited due to Farley-Buneman instability in weakly ionized and inhomogeneous
ionospheric plasma in the presence of electric current perpendicular to ambient
magnetic field are considered. The problem is essentially three dimensional and
difficult for full numerical simulation, but the strong collisional damping of
waves allow to assume that in this case a perturbed state of plasma can be
described as finite set of interacting waves, some of which are unstable and
other strongly damping. The proposed nonlinear model allow to make full study
of nonlinear stabilization, conditions of stochasticity and to consider the
different regimes and properties of few mode plasma turbulence.Comment: The extended version of work, published in AIP Conf. Proc. 993, 113
(2008
Progress in plasma research at IPJ and IPPLM, Poland
The most important results of theoretical and experimental studies of plasmas, which have been achieved at the IPJ
in Swierk and IPPLM in Warsaw recently, are presented. Studies of physical phenomena in PF discharges, development
of diagnostic techniques and research on new plasma technologies, as performed at IPJ, have been summarized. Studies
of dense magnetized plasmas, investigation of physics and applications of laser-produced plasmas; and research on the
development of advanced diagnostic techniques for the EURATOM fusion program, as performed at IPPLM, are also
described
Does Diabetes Accelerate the Progression of Aortic Stenosis through Enhanced Inflammatory Response within Aortic valves?
Diabetes predisposes to aortic stenosis (AS). We aimed to investigate if diabetes affects the expression of selected coagulation proteins and inflammatory markers in AS valves. Twenty patients with severe AS and concomitant type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) and 40 well-matched patients without DM scheduled for valve replacement were recruited. Valvular tissue factor (TF), TF pathway inhibitor (TFPI), prothrombin, C-reactive protein (CRP) expression were evaluated by immunostaining and TF, prothrombin, and CRP transcripts were analyzed by real-time PCR. DM patients had elevated plasma CRP (9.2 [0.74–51.9] mg/l vs. 4.7 [0.59–23.14] mg/l, p = 0.009) and TF (293.06 [192.32–386.12] pg/ml vs. 140 [104.17–177.76] pg/ml, p = 0.003) compared to non-DM patients. In DM group, TF−, TFPI−, and prothrombin expression within valves was not related to demographics, body mass index, and concomitant diseases, whereas increased expression related to DM was found for CRP on both protein (2.87 [0.5–9]% vs. 0.94 [0–4]%, p = 0.01) and transcript levels (1.3 ± 0.61 vs. 0.22 ± 0.43, p = 0.009). CRP-positive areas were positively correlated with mRNA TF (r = 0.84, p = 0.036). Diabetes mellitus is associated with enhanced inflammation within AS valves, measured by CRP expression, which may contribute to faster AS progression
A Likelihood Method for Measuring the Ultrahigh Energy Cosmic Ray Composition
Air fluorescence detectors traditionally determine the dominant chemical
composit ion of the ultrahigh energy cosmic ray flux by comparing the averaged
slant depth of the shower maximum, , as a function of energy to the
slant depths expect ed for various hypothesized primaries. In this paper, we
present a method to make a direct measurement of the expected mean number of
protons and iron by comparing the shap es of the expected
distributions to the distribution for data. The advantages of this method
includes the use of information of the full distribution and its ability to
calculate a flux for various cosmic ray compositi ons. The same method can be
expanded to marginalize uncertainties due to choice of spectra, hadronic models
and atmospheric parameters. We demonstrate the technique with independent
simulated data samples from a parent sample of protons and iron. We accurately
predict the number of protons and iron in the parent sample and show that the
uncertainties are meaningful.Comment: 11 figures, 22 pages, accepted by Astroparticle Physic
The genetic architecture of the human cerebral cortex
The cerebral cortex underlies our complex cognitive capabilities, yet little is known about the specific genetic loci that influence human cortical structure. To identify genetic variants that affect cortical structure, we conducted a genome-wide association meta-analysis of brain magnetic resonance imaging data from 51,665 individuals. We analyzed the surface area and average thickness of the whole cortex and 34 regions with known functional specializations. We identified 199 significant loci and found significant enrichment for loci influencing total surface area within regulatory elements that are active during prenatal cortical development, supporting the radial unit hypothesis. Loci that affect regional surface area cluster near genes in Wnt signaling pathways, which influence progenitor expansion and areal identity. Variation in cortical structure is genetically correlated with cognitive function, Parkinson's disease, insomnia, depression, neuroticism, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
Quantitative 18F-AV1451 Brain Tau PET Imaging in Cognitively Normal Older Adults, Mild Cognitive Impairment, and Alzheimer's Disease Patients
Recent developments of tau Positron Emission Tomography (PET) allows assessment of regional neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) deposition in human brain. Among the tau PET molecular probes, 18F-AV1451 is characterized by high selectivity for pathologic tau aggregates over amyloid plaques, limited non-specific binding in white and gray matter, and confined off-target binding. The objectives of the study are (1) to quantitatively characterize regional brain tau deposition measured by 18F-AV1451 PET in cognitively normal older adults (CN), mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and AD participants; (2) to evaluate the correlations between cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers or Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and 18F-AV1451 PET standardized uptake value ratio (SUVR); and (3) to evaluate the partial volume effects on 18F-AV1451 brain uptake.Methods: The study included total 115 participants (CN = 49, MCI = 58, and AD = 8) from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI). Preprocessed 18F-AV1451 PET images, structural MRIs, and demographic and clinical assessments were downloaded from the ADNI database. A reblurred Van Cittertiteration method was used for voxelwise partial volume correction (PVC) on PET images. Structural MRIs were used for PET spatial normalization and region of interest (ROI) definition in standard space. The parametric images of 18F-AV1451 SUVR relative to cerebellum were calculated. The ROI SUVR measurements from PVC and non-PVC SUVR images were compared. The correlation between ROI 18F-AV1451 SUVR and the measurements of MMSE, CSF total tau (t-tau), and phosphorylated tau (p-tau) were also assessed.Results:18F-AV1451 prominently specific binding was found in the amygdala, entorhinal cortex, parahippocampus, fusiform, posterior cingulate, temporal, parietal, and frontal brain regions. Most regional SUVRs showed significantly higher uptake of 18F-AV1451 in AD than MCI and CN participants. SUVRs of small regions like amygdala, entorhinal cortex and parahippocampus were statistically improved by PVC in all groups (p < 0.01). Although there was an increasing tendency of 18F-AV-1451 SUVRs in MCI group compared with CN group, no significant difference of 18F-AV1451 deposition was found between CN and MCI brains with or without PVC (p > 0.05). Declined MMSE score was observed with increasing 18F-AV1451 binding in amygdala, entorhinal cortex, parahippocampus, and fusiform. CSF p-tau was positively correlated with 18F-AV1451 deposition. PVC improved the results of 18F-AV-1451 tau deposition and correlation studies in small brain regions.Conclusion: The typical deposition of 18F-AV1451 tau PET imaging in AD brain was found in amygdala, entorhinal cortex, fusiform and parahippocampus, and these regions were strongly associated with cognitive impairment and CSF biomarkers. Although more deposition was observed in MCI group, the 18F-AV-1451 PET imaging could not differentiate the MCI patients from CN population. More tau deposition related to decreased MMSE score and increased level of CSF p-tau, especially in ROIs of amygdala, entorhinal cortex and parahippocampus. PVC did improve the results of tau deposition and correlation studies in small brain regions and suggest to be routinely used in 18F-AV1451 tau PET quantification
Conversion Discriminative Analysis on Mild Cognitive Impairment Using Multiple Cortical Features from MR Images
Neuroimaging measurements derived from magnetic resonance imaging provide important information required for detecting changes related to the progression of mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Cortical features and changes play a crucial role in revealing unique anatomical patterns of brain regions, and further differentiate MCI patients from normal states. Four cortical features, namely, gray matter volume, cortical thickness, surface area, and mean curvature, were explored for discriminative analysis among three groups including the stable MCI (sMCI), the converted MCI (cMCI), and the normal control (NC) groups. In this study, 158 subjects (72 NC, 46 sMCI, and 40 cMCI) were selected from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative. A sparse-constrained regression model based on the l2-1-norm was introduced to reduce the feature dimensionality and retrieve essential features for the discrimination of the three groups by using a support vector machine (SVM). An optimized strategy of feature addition based on the weight of each feature was adopted for the SVM classifier in order to achieve the best classification performance. The baseline cortical features combined with the longitudinal measurements for 2 years of follow-up data yielded prominent classification results. In particular, the cortical thickness produced a classification with 98.84% accuracy, 97.5% sensitivity, and 100% specificity for the sMCI–cMCI comparison; 92.37% accuracy, 84.78% sensitivity, and 97.22% specificity for the cMCI–NC comparison; and 93.75% accuracy, 92.5% sensitivity, and 94.44% specificity for the sMCI–NC comparison. The best performances obtained by the SVM classifier using the essential features were 5–40% more than those using all of the retained features. The feasibility of the cortical features for the recognition of anatomical patterns was certified; thus, the proposed method has the potential to improve the clinical diagnosis of sub-types of MCI and predict the risk of its conversion to Alzheimer's disease
Selected methods of electron-and ion-diagnostics in tokamak scrape-off-layer
This invited paper considers reasons why exact measurements of fast electron and ion losses in tokamaks, and particularly i n a scrape-off-layer and near a divertor region, are necessary in order to master nuclear fusion energy production. Attention is also paid to direct measurements of escaping fusion products from D-D and D-T reactions, and in particular of fast alphas which might be used for plasma heating. The second part describes the generation of so-called runaway and ripple-born electrons which might induce high energy losses and cause severe damages of internal walls in fusion facilities. Advantages and disadvantages of different diagnostic methods applied for studies of such fast electrons are discussed. Particular attention is paid to development of a direct measuring technique based on the Cherenkov effect which might be induced by fast electrons in appropriate radiators. There are presented various versions of Cherenkov-type probes which have been developed by the NCBJ team and applied in different tokamak experiments. The third part is devoted to direct measurements of fast ions (including those produced by the nuclear fusion reactions) which can escape from a high-temperature plasma region. Investigation of fast fusion-produced protons from tokamak discharges is reported. New ion probes, which were developed by the NCBJ team, are also presented. For the first time there is given a detailed description of an ion pinhole camera, which enables irradiation of several nuclear track detectors during a single tokamak discharge, and a miniature Thomson-type mass-spectrometer, which can be used for ion measurements at plasma borders
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