Magnetized Iron Atmospheres for Neutron Stars

Using a Hartree-Fock formalism, we estimate energy levels and photon cross sections for atomic iron in magnetic fields B ~ 10^13 G. Computing ionization equilibrium and normal mode opacities with these data, we construct LTE neutron star model atmospheres at 5.5 < Log(T_eff) < 6.5 and compute emergent spectra. We examine the dependence of the emergent spectra on T_eff and B. We also show the spectral variation with the angle between the magnetic field and the atmosphere normal and describe the significant limb darkening in the X-ray band. These results are compared with recent detailed computations of neutron star H model atmospheres in high fields and with low field Fe and H model atmospheres constructed from detailed opacities. The large spectral differences for different surface compositions may be discernible with present X-ray data; we also note improvements needed to allow comparison of Fe models with high quality spectra.Comment: 18 pages with 5 eps figures, accepted for publication in ApJ Replaced due to clerical error only: one more author, no new conten

A New Approach for SAR Image Denoising

In synthetic aperture radar (SAR)  imaging, the transmitted pulses from space born antenna interacts with ground objects and returned energy or back scattered energy will be collected  to get backscattered image. In this process, a speckle noise will be added because of the coherent imaging system and  makes the study of SAR images very difficult. For better SAR image processing, the speckle has to be removed in the initial stages of processing  and maintain all texture features efficiently. The BM3D method is generally considered as state of art method in denoising of SAR images. In this paper, it is proposed a technique to despeckle the speckle noise to the maximum extent while maintaining the edge characteristics

Assessment patient satisfaction after total knee replacement in Indian population

Background: We aim to assess the satisfaction of patients after total Knee replacement in Indian population. Tоtаl knee Аrthrорlаsty is most commonly performed for osteoarthritis, and also for other knee diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and psoriatic arthritis. Knee reрlасement surgeries helрs tо restоre nоrmаl meсhаniсs during level wаlking аs well аs mоre demanding аnd соmрlex асtivities suсh аs stаir negоtiаtiоn. Раtient sаtisfасtiоn rаtes fоr the рrосedure hаve been reроrted between 81-97%. However, this leаves а signifiсаnt роrtiоn оf the TKR рорulаtiоn аs dissаtisfied with the оutсоmes оf the reрlасed knee. Methods: Patients were assessed at opd visit or with telephonic conversation and scores are calculated and mentioned in excel sheet. Post surgery satisfaction (PSS) score is the score created to measure the satisfaction after total hip replacement. This score contains different questionnaires. These questions include inquiry about relief of pain, ability to do daily routine activities, requirement of walking aids etc. Score contains total 7 questions. Results: Out of 55 patients we found through this study that about 92.7% were classified as satisfied while 7.3% patients were dissatisfied. Satisfaction rate is more as compared to dissatisfaction rate. Conclusions: In present study we have tried to eliminate other factors responsible for dissatisfaction such as hospital ward cleanliness, hospital administration, patient and hospital staff communication. we recommend total knee replacement surgery for end stage arthritis and it is more beneficial to the patients in terms of improvement in post-operative pain and function

Radiological and functional outcome of conservatively managed middle one third clavicle fractures

Background: We aim to assess radiological and functional outcome of conservatively managed middle one third clavicle fractures in Indian population. Clavicle fractures represent 2% to 10% of all fractures. In middle third clavicle fractures, conservative management is the commonest approach. In uncomplicated non displaced midshaft fractures, patients treated non operatively with these conservative measures have fewer complications and a timely recovery as those treated operatively. Conservative management is a simpler yet effective mode of management in middle one third clavicle fractures. Methods: Patients managed conservatively for clavicle fractures were assessed on OPD basis with follow up chest X-ray with bilateral shoulder AP view for radiological signs of union and assessing percent shortening and two questionnaires. Constant shoulder score which assess pain, degree of function, range of motion and muscular force and, simple shoulder test, self administered questionnaire defining one or more affirmative answers to find the satisfaction after treatment modality which were tabulated in Microsoft excel sheets. Results: Out of the 55 patients enrolled in the study 52 showed signs of union at 6 months follow up with mean fracture union time of 13.9 weeks. At 6 months follow up Mean Constant Shoulder score was 87.1 with excellent outcome in 67.67 percent patients and using Simple Shoulder Test satisfaction rate was found to be 78.18 percent. Conclusions: Solid evidence in favour of non-operative treatment for fractures with remaining contact of the bone fragments. Non-surgical management of middle third clavicle fractures yield excellent results. Clear indications for conservative treatment versus surgical fixation of displaced midshaft fractures have not finally been established yet. We recommend conservative management for uncomplicated middle one third clavicle fractures

Probing the matter term at long baseline experiments

We consider (\nu_\mu --> \nu_e) oscillations in long baseline experiments within a three flavor framework. A non-zero measurement of this oscillation probability implies that the (13) mixing angle `phi' is non-zero. We consider the effect of neutrino propagation through the matter of earth's crust and show that, given the constraints from solar neutrino and CHOOZ data, matter effects enhance the mixing for neutrinos rather than for anti-neutrinos. We need data from two different experiments with different baseline lengths (such as K2K and MINOS) to distinguish matter effects unambiguously.Comment: 9 pages including three figure

Towards a guided atom interferometer based on a superconducting atom chip

We evaluate the realization of a novel geometry of a guided atom interferometer based on a high temperature superconducting microstructure. The interferometer type structure is obtained with a guiding potential realized by two current carrying superconducting wires in combination with a closed superconducting loop sustaining a persistent current. We present the layout and realization of our superconducting atom chip. By employing simulations we discuss the critical parameters of the interferometer guide in particular near the splitting regions of the matter waves. Based on measurements of the relevant chip properties we discuss the application of a compact and reliable on-chip atom interferometer.Comment: 14 pages, 7 figures, accepted for New Journal of Physic

Anisotropic critical currents in FeSe0.5Te0.5 films and the influence of neutron irradiation

We report on measurements of the superconducting properties of FeSe05Te05 thin films grown on lanthanum aluminate. The films have high transition temperatures (above 19 K) and sharp resistive transitions in fields up to 15 T. The temperature dependence of the upper critical field and the irreversibility lines are steep and anisotropic, as recently reported for single crystals. The critical current densities, assessed by magnetization measurements in a vector VSM, were found to be well above 10^9 Am-2 at low temperatures. In all samples, the critical current as a function of field orientation has a maximum, when the field is oriented parallel to the film surface. The maximum indicates the presence of correlated pinning centers. A minimum occurs in three films, when the field is applied perpendicular to the film plane. In the forth film, instead, a local maximum caused by c-axis correlated pinning centers was found at this orientation. The irradiation of two films with fast neutrons did not change the properties drastically, where a maximum enhancement of the critical current by a factor of two was found

Exact Hybrid Covariance Thresholding for Joint Graphical Lasso

This paper considers the problem of estimating multiple related Gaussian graphical models from a $p$-dimensional dataset consisting of different classes. Our work is based upon the formulation of this problem as group graphical lasso. This paper proposes a novel hybrid covariance thresholding algorithm that can effectively identify zero entries in the precision matrices and split a large joint graphical lasso problem into small subproblems. Our hybrid covariance thresholding method is superior to existing uniform thresholding methods in that our method can split the precision matrix of each individual class using different partition schemes and thus split group graphical lasso into much smaller subproblems, each of which can be solved very fast. In addition, this paper establishes necessary and sufficient conditions for our hybrid covariance thresholding algorithm. The superior performance of our thresholding method is thoroughly analyzed and illustrated by a few experiments on simulated data and real gene expression data

Occurrence of extra-ovarian ovules in sunflower plants (Helianthus annuus L.) treated with chlorflurenol

Foliar spray of aqueous chlorflurenol solution induced the development of 1-7 (rarely up to 14) extra-ovarian ovules in the disc florets of sunflower in contrast with a single intra-ovarian ovule found in the controls. The incidence was highest at 3&#215;10-5 M concentration