Attenuation in Rectangular Waveguides with Finite Conductivity Walls

We present a fundamental and accurate approach to compute the attenuation of electromagnetic waves propagating in rectangular waveguides with finite conductivity walls. The wavenumbers kx and ky in the x and y directions respectively, are obtained as roots of a set of transcendental equations derived by matching the tangential component of the electric field (E) and the magnetic field (H) at the surface of the waveguide walls. The electrical properties of the wall material are determined by the complex permittivity ε, permeability μ, and conductivity σ. We have examined the validity of our model by carrying out measurements on the loss arising from the fundamental TE10 mode near the cutoff frequency. We also found good agreement between our results and those obtained by others including Papadopoulos’ perturbation method across a wide range of frequencies, in particular in the vicinity of cutoff. In the presence of degenerate modes however, our method gives higher losses, which we attribute to the coupling between modes as a result of dispersion

Wave Propagation in Lossy and Superconducting Circular Waveguides

We present an accurate approach to compute the attenuation of waves, propagating in circular waveguides with lossy and superconducting walls. A set of transcendental equation is developed by matching the fields at the surface of the wall with the electrical properties of the wall material. The propagation constant kz is found by numerically solving for the root of the equation. The complex conductivity of the superconductor is obtained from the Mattis-Bardeen equations. We have compared the loss of TE11 mode computed using our technique with that using the perturbation and Stratton’s methods. The results from the three methods agree very well at a reasonable range of frequencies above the cutoff. The curves, however, deviate below cutoff and at millimeter wave frequencies. We attribute the discrepancies to the dispersive effect and the presence of the longitudinal fields in a lossy waveguide. At frequencies below the gap, the superconducting waveguide exhibits lossless transmission behavior. Above the gap frequency, Cooper-pair breaking becomes dominant and the loss increases significantly

Recent Update on Radiation Dose Assessment for the State-of-the-Art Coronary Computed Tomography Angiography Protocols

Objectives: This study aimed to measure the absorbed doses in selected organs for prospectively ECG-triggered coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) using five different generations CT scanners in a female adult anthropomorphic phantom and to estimate the effective dose (HE). Materials and Methods: Prospectively ECG-triggered CCTA was performed using five commercially available CT scanners: 64-detector-row single source CT (SSCT), 2 × 32-detector-row-dual source CT (DSCT), 2 × 64-detector-row DSCT and 320-detector-row SSCT scanners. Absorbed doses were measured in 34 organs using pre-calibrated optically stimulated luminescence dosimeters (OSLDs) placed inside a standard female adult anthropomorphic phantom. HE was calculated from the measured organ doses and compared to the HE derived from the air kerma-length product (PKL) using the conversion coefficient of 0.014 mSv_mGy-1_cm-1 for the chest region. Results: Both breasts and lungs received the highest radiation dose during CCTA examination. The highest HE was received from 2 × 32-detector-row DSCT scanner (6.06 ± 0.72 mSv), followed by 64-detector-row SSCT (5.60 ± 0.68 and 5.02 ± 0.73 mSv), 2 × 64-detector-row DSCT (1.88 ± 0.25 mSv) and 320-detector-row SSCT (1.34 ± 0.48 mSv) scanners. HE calculated from the measured organ doses were about 38 to 53% higher than the HE derived from the PKL-to-HE conversion factor. Conclusion: The radiation doses received from a prospectively ECG-triggered CCTA are relatively small and are depending on the scanner technology and imaging protocols. HE as low as 1.34 and 1.88 mSv can be achieved in prospectively ECG-triggered CCTA using 320-detectorrow SSCT and 2 × 64-detector-row DSCT scanners

Separable Structure of Many-Body Ground-State Wave Function

We have investigated a general structure of the ground-state wave function for the Schr\"odinger equation for $N$ identical interacting particles (bosons or fermions) confined in a harmonic anisotropic trap in the limit of large $N$. It is shown that the ground-state wave function can be written in a separable form. As an example of its applications, this form is used to obtain the ground-state wave function describing collective dynamics for $N$ trapped bosons interacting via contact forces.Comment: J. Phys. B: At. Mol. Opt. Phys. 33 (2000) (accepted for publication

Carbon fibre tips for scanning probe microscopy based on quartz tuning fork force sensors

We report the fabrication and the characterization of carbon fibre tips for their use in combined scanning tunnelling and force microscopy based on piezoelectric quartz tuning fork force sensors. We find that the use of carbon fibre tips results in a minimum impact on the dynamics of quartz tuning fork force sensors yielding a high quality factor and consequently a high force gradient sensitivity. This high force sensitivity in combination with high electrical conductivity and oxidation resistance of carbon fibre tips make them very convenient for combined and simultaneous scanning tunnelling microscopy and atomic force microscopy measurements. Interestingly, these tips are quite robust against occasionally occurring tip crashes. An electrochemical fabrication procedure to etch the tips is presented that produces a sub-100 nm apex radius in a reproducible way which can yield high resolution images.Comment: 14 pages, 10 figure

Analysis of Reflector Antennas in Radio Telescopes

We present an analysis on the performance of the Cassegrain and Gregorian on-axis, off-axis and offset antennas. In our study, we have adopted the design parameters for the Cassegrain configuration used in the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) project. Modifications on the original parameters are made so as to meet the design requirement for the off-axis and offset configurations. To reduce spillover loss in the offset antennas, we have adjusted the angle between the axis of the primary reflector and that of the sub-reflector, so that the feed horn is placed right next to the edge of the primary reflector. This is to allow the offset antennas to receive the highest power at the feed horn. The results obtained from the physical optics simulation show that the radiation characteristics of both Cassegrain and Gregorian antennas are similar. The offset designs exhibit the best performance, followed by the on-axis, and, finally, the off-axis designs. Our analysis also shows that the performance of both offset Cassegrain and Gregorian antennas are comparable to each other

Sirtuin Inhibition and Anti-Cancer Activities of Ethyl 2-benzimidazole-5-carboxylate Derivatives

New benzimidazoles were synthesized based on the previously identified sirtuin inhibitor BZD9L1. The compounds were screened for their sirtuin (SIRT1, SIRT2 and SIRT3) inhibitory activities. Compound BZD9Q1 was determined to be a pan-SIRT1–3 inhibitor. Furthermore, the proliferation of various cancer cells was inhibited by BZD9Q1. It was shown that BZD9Q1 elicits a cytostatic effect by inducing cell cycle arrest at the G2/M phase while also showing a prominent induction of apoptosis against oral cancer cells

Correction to: Circulating exosomes from patients with systemic lupus erythematosus induce an proinflammatory immune response

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via the original article

Mesoscale magnetism at the grain boundaries in colossal magnetoresistive films

We report the discovery of mesoscale regions with distinctive magnetic properties in epitaxial La$_{1-x}$Sr$_{x}$MnO$_{3}$ films which exhibit tunneling-like magnetoresistance across grain boundaries. By using temperature-dependent magnetic force microscopy we observe that the mesoscale regions are formed near the grain boundaries and have a different Curie temperature (up to 20 K {\it higher}) than the grain interiors. Our images provide direct evidence for previous speculations that the grain boundaries in thin films are not magnetically and electronically sharp interfaces. The size of the mesoscale regions varies with temperature and nature of the underlying defect.Comment: 4 pages of text, 4 figure

Organ doses from hepatic radioembolization with 90Y, 153Sm, 166Ho and 177Lu: a Monte Carlo simulation study using Geant4

90Y-radioembolization is a palliative treatment for liver cancer. 90Y decays via beta emission, making imaging difficult due to absence of gamma radiation. Since post-procedure imaging is crucial, several theranostic radionuclides have been explored as alternatives. However, exposures to gamma radiation throughout the treatment caused concern for the organs near the liver. Geant4 Monte Carlo simulation using MIRD Pamphlet 5 reference phantom was carried out. A spherical tumour with 4.3cm radius was modelled within the liver. 1.82GBq of 90Y sources were isotropically distributed within the tumour, with no extrahepatic shunting. The simulation was repeated with 153Sm, 166Ho and 177Lu. The estimated tumour doses for all radionuclides were 262.9Gy. Tumour dose equivalent to 1.82GBq 90Y can be achieved with 8.32, 5.83, and 4.44GBq for 153Sm, 166Ho and 177Lu, respectively. Normal liver doses by the other radionuclides were lower than 90Y, hence beneficial for normal tissue sparing. The organ doses from 153Sm and 177Lu were relatively higher due to higher gamma energy, but were still well below 1Gy. 166Ho, 177Lu and 153Sm offer useful gamma emission for post-procedure imaging. They show potential as 90Y substitutes, delivering comparable tumour doses, lower normal liver doses and other organs doses far below the tolerance limit