Super-ASTROD: Probing primordial gravitational waves and mapping the outer solar system

Super-ASTROD (Super Astrodynamical Space Test of Relativity using Optical Devices or ASTROD III) is a mission concept with 3-5 spacecraft in 5 AU orbits together with an Earth-Sun L1/L2 spacecraft ranging optically with one another to probe primordial gravitational-waves with frequencies 0.1 microHz - 1 mHz, to test fundamental laws of spacetime and to map the outer solar system. In this paper we address to its scientific goals, orbit and payload selection, and sensitivity to gravitational waves.Comment: 7 pages, 1 figure, presented to 7th International LISA Symposium, 16-20 June 2008, Barcelona; submitted to Classical and Quantum Gravity; presentation improve

Blood Pressure Measurement Device for Low Resource Settings

ME450 Capstone Design and Manufacturing Experience: Fall 2015The design team spent eight weeks in the Obstetrics and Gynecology Department at a tertiary referral hospital, Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH), in Kumasi, Ghana. During the team’s immersion experience at the hospital, the team observed healthcare providers experiencing difficulty following obstetrics patients’ blood pressure management plans. This occurred largely because of the high volume of patients and the busyness of the wards. The patient's blood pressure measurement strongly influences the treatment especially if she has hypertensive disorders. Hypertensive disorders, mainly preeclampsia and eclampsia, are the second leading cause of maternal mortality worldwide and the leading cause of maternal mortality at KATH. The team identified an opportunity for the development of a blood pressure measurement device to aid the healthcare providers in measuring the patients’ blood pressures every 30 minutes or four hours according to their management plans. This project is in collaboration with clinical mentors and advisors at University of Michigan Hospital and KATH. The final design is an auscultatory device with a microphone stethoscope and headphones to listen to the Korotkoff sounds, a hand pump for manual inflation, an automatic constant rate deflation facilitated by a solenoid valve, a LCD screen to display the current pressure, a slip-on cuff, an aneroid pressure gauge for calibration, a handle, a storage area, and a rechargeable battery. The current prototype follows the design fairly closely however the device is not powered by a rechargeable battery and the electrical components are all on a breadboard which prevents its portability. All validation testing completed so far on the current prototype has been promising including testing the accuracy and ease-of-use of the device when used by three nursing student. This device will be continued to be improved next semester so that it can be taken to KATH for further validation and feedback.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/117349/1/ME450-F15-Project07-FinalReport.pd

Improved Simulation of the Mass Charging for ASTROD I

The electrostatic charging of the test mass in ASTROD I (Astrodynamical Space Test of Relativity using Optical Devices I) mission can affect the quality of the science data as a result of spurious Coulomb and Lorentz forces. To estimate the size of the resultant disturbances, credible predictions of charging rates and the charging noise are required. Using the GEANT4 software toolkit, we present a detailed Monte Carlo simulation of the ASTROD I test mass charging due to exposure of the spacecraft to galactic cosmic-ray (GCR) protons and alpha particles (3He, 4He) in the space environment. A positive charging rate of 33.3 e+/s at solar minimum is obtained. This figure reduces by 50% at solar maximum. Based on this charging rate and factoring in the contribution of minor cosmic-ray components, we calculate the acceleration noise and stiffness associated with charging. We conclude that the acceleration noise arising from Coulomb and Lorentz effects are well below the ASTROD I acceleration noise limit at 0.1 mHz both at solar minimum and maximum. The coherent Fourier components due to charging are investigated, it needs to be studied carefully in order to ensure that these do not compromise the quality of science data in the ASTROD I mission.Comment: 20 pages, 14 figures, submitted to International Journal of Modern Physics

Bone Metabolism in Very Preterm Infants Receiving Total Parenteral Nutrition: do Intravenous Fat Emulsions Have an Impact?

ery preterm infants (<32 weeks' gestation) are at high risk for impaired skeletal development because of factors that limit the provision of extrauterine nutrients. Cumulative net deficiencies of calcium, phosphorus, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), and arachidonic acid (ARA) are evident in these infants after prolonged administration of total parenteral nutrition (TPN). This is significant because minerals as well as metabolites of DHA and ARA are important modulators of bone cell differentiation, lengthening of bone, and bone matrix deposition. Furthermore, diets containing only precursors of DHA and ARA result in suboptimal skeletal growth. With the emergence of new intravenous lipid emulsions, it is important to understand the impact of fatty acids on bone metabolism in the third trimester in order to optimize the provision of TPN in very preterm infants. The purpose of this review is to evaluate current evidence regarding intravenous lipid emulsions and bone metabolism in very preterm infants receiving prolonged TPN and to identify areas of research needed.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Josephson Current between Triplet and Singlet Superconductors

The Josephson effect between triplet and singlet superconductors is studied. Josephson current can flow between triplet and singlet superconductors due to the spin-orbit coupling in the spin-triplet superconductor but it is finite only when triplet superconductor has $L_z=-S_z=\pm 1$, where $L_z$ and $S_z$ are the perpendicular components of orbital angular momentum and spin angular momentum of the triplet Cooper pairs, respectively. The recently observed temperature and orientational dependence of the critical current through a Josephson junction between UPt$_3$ and Nb is investigated by considering a non-unitary triplet state.Comment: 4 pages, no figure

ASTROD, ASTROD I and their gravitational-wave sensitivities

ASTROD (Astrodynamical Space Test of Relativity using Optical Devices) is a mission concept with three spacecraft -- one near L1/L2 point, one with an inner solar orbit and one with an outer solar orbit, ranging coherently with one another using lasers to test relativistic gravity, to measure the solar system and to detect gravitational waves. ASTROD I with one spacecraft ranging optically with ground stations is the first step toward the ASTROD mission. In this paper, we present the ASTROD I payload and accelerometer requirements, discuss the gravitational-wave sensitivities for ASTROD and ASTROD I, and compare them with LISA and radio-wave PDoppler-tracking of spacecraft.Comment: presented to the 5th Edoardo Amaldi Conference (July 6-11, 2003) and submitted to Classical and Quantum Gravit

A theory of new type of heavy-electron superconductivity in PrOs_4Sb_12: quadrupolar-fluctuation mediated odd-parity pairings

It is shown that unconventional nature of superconducting state of PrOs_4Sb_12, a Pr-based heavy electron compound with the filled-Skutterudite structure, can be explained in a unified way by taking into account the structure of the crystalline-electric-field (CEF) level, the shape of the Fermi surface determined by the band structure calculation, and a picture of the quasiparticles in f$^{2}$-configuration with magnetically singlet CEF ground state. Possible types of pairing are narrowed down by consulting recent experimental results. In particular, the chiral "p"-wave states such as p_x+ip_y is favoured under the magnetic field due to the orbital Zeeman effect, while the "p"-wave states with two-fold symmetery such as p_x can be stabilized by a feedback effect without the magnetic field. It is also discussed that the double superconducting transition without the magnetic field is possible due to the spin-orbit coupling of the "triplet" Cooper pairs in the chiral state.Comment: 12 pages, 2 figures, submitted to J. Phys.: Condens. Matter Lette

Biofortification of Sodium Selenate Improves Dietary Mineral Contents and Antioxidant Capacity of Culinary Herb Microgreens

Selenium biofortification of plants has been suggested as a method of enhancing dietary seleniumintake to prevent deficiency and chronic disease in humans, while avoiding toxic levels of intake. Popular herbs such as basil (Ocimum basilicum L.), cilantro (Coriandrum sativum L.), and scallions (Allium fistulosum L.) present an opportunity for biofortification as these plants are used for added flavors to meals and are available as microgreens, young plants with increasing popularity in the consumer marketplace. In this study, basil, cilantro, and scallion microgreens were biofortified with sodium selenate under hydroponic conditions at various selenium concentrations to investigate the effects on yield, selenium content, other mineral contents (i.e., sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, copper, zinc, iron, manganese, sulfur, and boron), total phenol content, and antioxidant capacity [oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC)]. The results showed that the selenium content increased significantly at all concentrations, with scallions demonstrating the largest increase. The effects on other minerals varied among herb species. Antioxidant capacity and total phenol content increased in all herbs at the highest selenium treatments, but basil and scallions demonstrated a decreased crop yield. Overall, these biofortified culinary herbmicrogreens are an ideal functional food for enhancing selenium, other dietary minerals, and antioxidants to benefit human health

Different sources of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids affects apparent digestibility, tissue deposition, and tissue oxidative stability in growing female rats

Background Numerous health benefits associated with increased omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (n-3 PUFA) consumption has lead to an increasing variety of available n-3 PUFA sources. However, sources differ in the type, amount, and structural form of the n-3 PUFAs. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine the effect of different sources of ω-3 PUFAs on digestibility, tissue deposition, eicosanoid metabolism, and oxidative stability. Methods Female Sprague-Dawley rats (age 28 d) were randomly assigned (n = 10/group) to be fed a high fat 12% (wt) diet consisting of either corn oil (CO) or n-3 PUFA rich flaxseed (FO), krill (KO), menhaden (MO), salmon (SO) or tuna (TO) oil for 8 weeks. Rats were individually housed in metabolic cages to determine fatty acid digestibility. Diet and tissue fatty acid composition was analyzed by gas chromatography and lipid classes using thin layer chromatography. Eicosanoid metabolism was determined by measuring urinary metabolites of 2-series prostaglandins (PGs) and thromoboxanes (TXBs) using enzyme immunoassays. Oxidative stability was assessed by measuring thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) using colorimetric assays. Gene expression of antioxidant defense enzymes was determined by real time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). Results Rats fed KO had significantly lower DHA digestibility and brain DHA incorporation than SO and TO-fed rats. Of the n-3 PUFA sources, rats fed SO and TO had the highest n-3 PUFAs digestibility and in turn, tissue accretion. Higher tissue n-3 LC-PUFAs had no significant effect on 2-series PG and TXB metabolites. Despite higher tissue n-3 LC-PUFA deposition, there was no increase in oxidation susceptibility indicated by no significant increase in TBARS or decrease in TAC and gene expression of antioxidant defense enzymes, in SO or TO-fed rats. Conclusions On the basis that the optimal n-3 PUFA sources should provide high digestibility and efficient tissue incorporation with the least tissue lipid peroxidation, TO and SO appeared to be the most beneficial of the n-3 PUFAs sources evaluated in this study

Pseudogap in the Optical Spectra of UPd_2Al_3

The in-plane optical conductivity of UPd_2Al_3 was measured at temperatures $2 {\rm K}<T<300$ K in the spectral range from 1 cm^{-1} to 40 cm^{-1} (0.14 meV to 5 meV). As the temperature decreases below 25 K a well pronounced pseudogap of 0.2 meV develops in the optical response. In addition we observe a narrow conductivity peak at zero frequency which at 2 K is less than 1 cm^{-1} wide but which contains only a fraction of the delocalized carriers. The gap in the electronic excitations might be an inherent feature of the heavy fermioin ground state.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures (submitted to Phys. Rev. Lett.