4,551 research outputs found
Torque magnetometry studies of new low temperature metamagnetic states in ErNi_{2}B_{2}C
The metamagnetic transitions in single-crystal ErNiBC have been
studied at 1.9 K with a Quantum Design torque magnetometer. The critical fields
of the transitions depend crucially on the angle between applied field and the
easy axis [100]. Torque measurements have been made while changing angular
direction of the magnetic field (parallel to basal tetragonal -planes) in a
wide angular range (more than two quadrants). Sequences of metamagnetic
transitions with increasing field are found to be different for the magnetic
field along (or close enough to) the easy [100] axis from that near the hard
[110] axis. The study have revealed new metamagnetic states in ErNiBC
which were not apparent in previous longitudinal-magnetization and neutron
studies.Comment: 3 pages (4 figs. incl.) reported at 52th Magnetism and Magnetic
Materials Conference, Tampa, Florida, USA, November 200
Global spatial optimization with hydrological systems simulation: appliication to land-use allocation and peak runoff minimization
A general methodology is presented to integrate complex simulation models of hydrological systems into optimization models, as an alternative to scenario-based approaches. A gradient-based hill climbing algorithm is proposed to reach locally optimal solutions from distinct starting points. The gradient of the objective function is estimated numerically with the simulation model. A statistical procedure based on the Weibull distribution is used to build a confidence interval for the global optimum. The methodology is illustrated by an application to a small watershed in Ohio, where the decision variables are related to land-use allocations and the objective is to minimize peak runoff. The results suggest that this specific runoff function is convex in terms of the land-use variables, and that the global optimum has been reached. Modeling extensions and areas for further research are discussed
Impact of Sleep Apnea on In-hospital Outcomes After Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement: Insight from National Inpatient Sample Database 2011-2014
BACKGROUND: Sleep apnea is associated with worse outcomes following various kinds of surgeries. There is a paucity of data on the association of sleep apnea with clinical outcomes after transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). METHODS: We used National Inpatient Sample (NIS) data 2011-2014 to identify patients undergoing TAVR. Association between sleep apnea and in-hospital postoperative outcomes were assessed by multivariate logistic regression and 1:1 propensity score matching analyses. RESULTS: Of 42,189 patients who received TAVR, 4,605 patients (10.9%) had sleep apnea. Patients with sleep apnea were more likely to be younger and male with higher prevalences of hypertension, diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, chronic kidney disease, pulmonary hypertension and obesity who less frequently received transapical access than those without sleep apnea. The group with sleep apnea had less bleeding requiring transfusion (8.6% vs. 11.9%, P=0.01) than the counterpart. After adjusting for confounders, the presence of sleep apnea was no longer independently associated with any of the studied outcomes including all-cause mortality (OR 0.95; 95% CI: 0.64-1.42), stroke (OR 1.08; 95% CI: 0.65-1.81), myocardial infarction (OR 0.66; 95% CI: 0.36-1.22), acute respiratory failure (OR 0.94; 95% CI: 0.72-1.23), pneumothorax (OR 0.64; 95% CI: 0.26-1.59), vascular complication (OR 0.91; 95% CI: 0.69-1.22), bleeding requiring transfusion (OR 0.85; 95% CI: 0.65-1.11), acute kidney injury requiring hemodialysis (OR 0.94; 95% CI: 0.53-1.66) and permanent pacemaker implantation (OR 1.12; 95% CI: 0.87-1.43). The length and cost of hospital stay were not affected by sleep apnea, either. CONCLUSIONS: With a prevalence of 10.9%, the presence of sleep apnea was not independently associated with postoperative in-hospital outcomes in patients undergoing TAVR in NIS data 2011 to 2014
Efficient out-coupling of high-purity single photons from a coherent quantum dot in a photonic-crystal cavity
We demonstrate a single-photon collection efficiency of from
a quantum dot in a low-Q mode of a photonic-crystal cavity with a single-photon
purity of recorded above the saturation power. The high
efficiency is directly confirmed by detecting up to kilocounts per
second on a single-photon detector on another quantum dot coupled to the cavity
mode. The high collection efficiency is found to be broadband, as is explained
by detailed numerical simulations. Cavity-enhanced efficient excitation of
quantum dots is obtained through phonon-mediated excitation and under these
conditions, single-photon indistinguishability measurements reveal long
coherence times reaching ns in a weak-excitation regime. Our work
demonstrates that photonic crystals provide a very promising platform for
highly integrated generation of coherent single photons including the efficient
out-coupling of the photons from the photonic chip.Comment: 13 pages, 8 figures, submitte
Simple Ginzburg-Landau Theory for Vortices in a Crystal Lattice
We study the Ginzburg-Landau model with a nonlocal quartic term as a simple
phenomenological model for superconductors in the presence of coupling between
the vortex lattice and the underlying crystal lattice. In mean-field theory,
our model is consistent with a general oblique vortex lattice ranging from a
triangular lattice to a square lattice. This simple formulation enables us to
study the effect of thermal fluctuations in the vortex liquid regime. We
calculate the structure factor of the vortex liquid nonperturbatively and find
Bragg-like peaks with four-fold symmetry appearing in the structure factor even
though there is only a short-range crystalline order.Comment: Revised version with new title and additional results for the vortex
liquid regime, to be published in Phys. Rev. Lett. 5 pages RevTeX, 1 figure
include
The nature of solar brightness variations
The solar brightness varies on timescales from minutes to decades.
Determining the sources of such variations, often referred to as solar noise,
is of importance for multiple reasons: a) it is the background that limits the
detection of solar oscillations, b) variability in solar brightness is one of
the drivers of the Earth's climate system, c) it is a prototype of stellar
variability which is an important limiting factor for the detection of
extra-solar planets. Here we show that recent progress in simulations and
observations of the Sun makes it finally possible to pinpoint the source of the
solar noise. We utilise high-cadence observations from the Solar Dynamic
Observatory and the SATIRE model to calculate the magnetically-driven
variations of solar brightness. The brightness variations caused by the
constantly evolving cellular granulation pattern on the solar surface are
computed with the MURAM code. We find that surface magnetic field and
granulation can together precisely explain solar noise on timescales from
minutes to decades, i.e. ranging over more than six orders of magnitude in the
period. This accounts for all timescales that have so far been resolved or
covered by irradiance measurements. We demonstrate that no other sources of
variability are required to explain the data. Recent measurements of Sun-like
stars by CoRoT and Kepler uncovered brightness variations similar to that of
the Sun but with much wider variety of patterns. Our finding that solar
brightness variations can be replicated in detail with just two well-known
sources will greatly simplify future modelling of existing CoRoT and Kepler as
well as anticipated TESS and PLATO data.Comment: This is the submitted version of the paper published in Nature
Astronom
Automatic Modeling for Modular Reconfigurable Robotic Systems: Theory and Practice
A modular reconfigurable robot consists of a collection of individual link and joint components that can be assembled into a number of different robot ge-ometries. Compared to a conventional industrial robot with fixed geometry, such a system can provide flexibility to the user to cope with a wide spectru
Pattern formation of indirect excitons in coupled quantum wells
Using a nonlinear Schr\"odinger equation including short-range two-body
attraction and three-body repulsion, we investigate the spatial distribution of
indirect excitons in semiconductor coupled quantum wells. The results obtained
can interpret the experimental phenomenon that annular exciton cloud first
contracts then expands when the number of confined excitons is increased in
impurity potential well, as observed by Lai \emph{et al.} [Lai ,
Science \textbf{303}, 503 (2004)]. In particular, the model reconciles the
patterns of exciton rings reported by Butov \emph{et al.} [Butov ,
Nature \textbf{418}, 751 (2002)]. At higher densities, the model predicts much
richer patterns, which could be tested by future experiments.Comment: 5 Revtex4 pages, 3 figure
Ellipsometric measurements of the refractive indices of linear alkylbenzene and EJ-301 scintillators from 210 to 1000 nm
We report on ellipsometric measurements of the refractive indices of LAB-PPO,
Nd-doped LAB-PPO and EJ-301 scintillators to the nearest +/-0.005, in the
wavelength range 210-1000 nm.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figure
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