1,970 research outputs found
The response of the magnetosphere to the passage of a coronal mass ejection on March 20-21 1990
International audienceThe geomagnetic response to the passage of a coronal mass ejection (CME) is studied. The passage of the CME resulted in a storm sudden commencement (SSC) at 2243 UT on March 20 1990 with disturbed magnetic activity during the following 24 h. The auroral, sub-auroral and equatorial magnetic response to the southward turning at 1314 (±5) UT on March 21 and the equatorial response to the southward turning associated with the SSC on 20 March are discussed in terms of existing models. It is found that the auroral and sub-auroral response to the southward turning associated with the SSC is a factor 2 or more quicker than normal due to the shock in the solar wind dynamic pressure. The low-latitude response time to the southward turning, characterised by Dst and the magnetopause current corrected Dst*, is unaffected by the shock. Dst and Dst*, characteristic of the equatorial magnetic field, responded to the 1314 (±5) UT southward turning prior to the first observed substorm expansion phase onset, suggesting that a dayside loading process was responsible for the initial enhancement in the ring current rather than nightside particle injection. The response time of the auroral and sub-auroral magnetic field to the southward turning at 1314 (±5) UT on March 21 is measured at a variety of longitudes and latitudes. The azimuthal propagation velocity of the response to the southward turning varied considerably with latitude, ranging from ~8 km s?1 at 67°N to ~4 km s?1 at 55°N. The southward velocity of the equatorward boundary of the northern polar convection pattern has been measured. This velocity was ~1.2 km s?1 at 1600 MLT, although there was evidence that this may vary at different local times
Metabolic profiling predicts response to anti-tumor necrosis factor α therapy in patients with rheumatoid arthritis
<p>Objective: Anti–tumor necrosis factor (anti-TNF) therapies are highly effective in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and psoriatic arthritis (PsA), but a significant number of patients exhibit only a partial or no therapeutic response. Inflammation alters local and systemic metabolism, and TNF plays a role in this. We undertook this study to determine if the patient's metabolic fingerprint prior to therapy could predict responses to anti-TNF agents.</p>
<p>Methods: Urine was collected from 16 RA patients and 20 PsA patients before and during therapy with infliximab or etanercept. Urine metabolic profiles were assessed using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Discriminating metabolites were identified, and the relationship between metabolic profiles and clinical outcomes was assessed.</p>
<p>Results: Baseline urine metabolic profiles discriminated between RA patients who did or did not have a good response to anti-TNF therapy according to European League Against Rheumatism criteria, with a sensitivity of 88.9% and a specificity of 85.7%, with several metabolites contributing (in particular histamine, glutamine, xanthurenic acid, and ethanolamine). There was a correlation between baseline metabolic profiles and the magnitude of change in the Disease Activity Score in 28 joints from baseline to 12 months in RA patients (P = 0.04). In both RA and PsA, urinary metabolic profiles changed between baseline and 12 weeks of anti-TNF therapy. Within the responders, urinary metabolite changes distinguished between etanercept and infliximab treatment.</p>
<p>Conclusion: The clear relationship between urine metabolic profiles of RA patients at baseline and their response to anti-TNF therapy may allow development of novel approaches to the optimization of therapy. Differences in metabolic profiles during treatment with infliximab and etanercept in RA and PsA may reflect distinct mechanisms of action.</p>
Organic Ring Oscillators with Sub-200 ns Stage Delay Based on a Solution-Processed p-type Semiconductor Blend
High-frequency ring oscillators with sub-microsecond stage delay fabricated from spin-coated films of a specially formulated small-molecule/host-polymer blend are reported. Contacts and interconnects are patterned by photolithography with plasma etching used for creating vias and removing excess material to reduce parasitic effects. The characteristics of transistors with 4.6 μm channel length scale linearly with channel width over the range 60�2160 μm. Model device parameters extracted using Silvaco's Universal Organic Thin Film Transistor (UOTFT) Model yield values of hole mobility increasing from 1.9 to 2.6 cm2 Vs�1 as gate voltage increased. Simulated and fabricated Vgs = 0 inverters predict that the technology is capable of fabricating 5-stage ring oscillators operating above 100 kHz. Initial designs operated mainly at frequencies in the range 250�300 kHz, due to smaller parasitic gate overlap capacitances and higher supply voltages than assumed in the simulations. A design incorporating graded inverter sizes operates at frequencies above 400 kHz with the best reaching 529 kHz. The corresponding stage delay of 189 ns is the shortest reported to date for a solution-processed p-type semiconductor and compares favorably with similar circuits based on evaporated small molecules. Significant further improvements are identified which could lead to the fabrication of digital circuits that operate at much higher bit rates than previously reported
2W/nm Peak-power All-Fiber Supercontinuum Source and its Application to the Characterization of Periodically Poled Nonlinear Crystals
We demonstrate a uniform high spectral brightness and peak power density
all-fiber supercontinuum source. The source consists of a nanosecond Ytterbium
fiber laser and an optimal length PCF producing a continuum with a peak power
density of 2 W/nm and less than 5 dB of spectral variation between 590 to 1500
nm. The Watt level per nm peak power density enables the use of such sources
for the characterization of nonlinear materials. Application of the source is
demonstrated with the characterization of several periodically poled crystals.Comment: 8 pages 4 figures v2 includes revisions to the description of the
continuum formatio
Vacuum polarization in the spacetime of charged nonlinear black hole
Building on general formulas obtained from the approximate renormalized
effective action, the approximate stress-energy tensor of the quantized massive
scalar field with arbitrary curvature coupling in the spacetime of charged
black hole being a solution of coupled equations of nonlinear electrodynamics
and general relativity is constructed and analysed. It is shown that in a few
limiting cases, the analytical expressions relating obtained tensor to the
general renormalized stress-energy tensor evaluated in the geometry of the
Reissner-Nordstr\"{o}m black hole could be derived. A detailed numerical
analysis with special emphasis put on the minimal coupling is presented and the
results are compared with those obtained earlier for the conformally coupled
field. Some novel features of the renormalized stress-energy tensor are
discussed
On the harmonic measure of stable processes
Using three hypergeometric identities, we evaluate the harmonic measure of a
finite interval and of its complementary for a strictly stable real L{\'e}vy
process. This gives a simple and unified proof of several results in the
literature, old and recent. We also provide a full description of the
corresponding Green functions. As a by-product, we compute the hitting
probabilities of points and describe the non-negative harmonic functions for
the stable process killed outside a finite interval
Nonabelian gauge field and dual description of fuzzy sphere
In matrix models, higher dimensional D-branes are obtained by imposing a
noncommutative relation to coordinates of lower dimensional D-branes. On the
other hand, a dual description of this noncommutative space is provided by
higher dimensional D-branes with gauge fields. Fuzzy spheres can appear as a
configuration of lower dimensional D-branes in a constant R-R field strength
background. In this paper, we consider a dual description of higher dimensional
fuzzy spheres by introducing nonabelian gauge fields on higher dimensional
spherical D-branes. By using the Born-Infeld action, we show that a fuzzy
-sphere and spherical D-branes with a nonabelian gauge field whose
Chern character is nontrivial are the same objects when is large. We
discuss a relationship between the noncommutative geometry and nonabelian gauge
fields. Nonabelian gauge fields are represented by noncommutative matrices
including the coordinate dependence. A similarity to the quantum Hall system is
also studied.Comment: 28 page
Effects of Electron-Electron and Electron-Phonon Interactions in Weakly Disordered Conductors and Heterostuctures
We investigate quantum corrections to the conductivity due to the
interference of electron-electron (electron-phonon) scattering and elastic
electron scattering in weakly disordered conductors. The electron-electron
interaction results in a negative -correction in a 3D conductor. In
a quasi-two-dimensional conductor, ( is the thickness, is
the Fermi velocity), with 3D electron spectrum this correction is linear in
temperature and differs from that for 2D electrons (G. Zala et. al., Phys.
Rev.B {\bf 64}, 214204 (2001)) by a numerical factor. In a
quasi-one-dimensional conductor, temperature-dependent correction is
proportional to . The electron interaction via exchange of virtual phonons
also gives -correction. The contribution of thermal phonons interacting
with electrons via the screened deformation potential results in -term and
via unscreened deformation potential results in -term. The interference
contributions dominate over pure electron-phonon scattering in a wide
temperature range, which extends with increasing disorder.Comment: 6 pages, 2figure
The Appearance and Disappearance of Ship Tracks on Large Spatial Scales
The 1-km advanced very high resolution radiometer observations from the morning, NOAA-12, and afternoon,
NOAA-11, satellite passes over the coast of California during June 1994 are used to determine the altitudes,
visible optical depths, and cloud droplet effective radii for low-level clouds. Comparisons are made between
the properties of clouds within 50 km of ship tracks and those farther than 200 km from the tracks in order to
deduce the conditions that are conducive to the appearance of ship tracks in satellite images. The results indicate
that the low-level clouds must be sufficiently close to the surface for ship tracks to form. Ship tracks rarely
appear in low-level clouds having altitudes greater than 1 km. The distributions of visible optical depths and
cloud droplet effective radii for ambient clouds in which ship tracks are embedded are the same as those for
clouds without ship tracks. Cloud droplet sizes and liquid water paths for low-level clouds do not constrain the
appearance of ship tracks in the imagery. The sensitivity of ship tracks to cloud altitude appears to explain why
the majority of ship tracks observed from satellites off the coast of California are found south of 358N. A small
rise in the height of low-level clouds appears to explain why numerous ship tracks appeared on one day in a
particular region but disappeared on the next, even though the altitudes of the low-level clouds were generally
less than 1 km and the cloud cover was the same for both days. In addition, ship tracks are frequent when lowlevel
clouds at altitudes below 1 km are extensive and completely cover large areas. The frequency of imagery
pixels overcast by clouds with altitudes below 1 km is greater in the morning than in the afternoon and explains
why more ship tracks are observed in the morning than in the afternoon. If the occurrence of ship tracks in
satellite imagery data depends on the coupling of the clouds to the underlying boundary layer, then cloud-top
altitude and the area of complete cloud cover by low-level clouds may be useful indices for this coupling.This work was supported in part by the Office of Naval Research and by the National Science Foundation through the Center for Clouds, Chemistry and Climate at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, an NSF Science and Technology Center
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