Evolution of active region outflows throughout an active region lifetime

We have shown previously that SOHO/UVCS data allow us to detect active region (AR) outflows at coronal altitudes higher than those reached by other instrumentation. These outflows are thought to be a component of the slow solar wind. Our purpose is to study the evolution of the outflows in the intermediate corona from AR 8100, from the time the AR first forms until it dissolves, after several transits at the solar limb. Data acquired by SOHO/UVCS at the time of the AR limb transits, at medium latitudes and at altitudes ranging from 1.5 to 2.3 R_sun, were used to infer the physical properties of the outflows through the AR evolution. To this end, we applied the Doppler dimming technique to UVCS spectra. These spectra include the H I Lyman alpha line and the O VI doublet lines at 1031.9 and 1037.6 A. Plasma speeds and electron densities of the outflows were inferred over several rotations of the Sun. AR outflows are present in the newly born AR and persist throughout the entire AR life. Moreover, we found two types of outflows at different latitudes, both possibly originating in the same negative polarity area of the AR. We also analyzed the behavior of the Si XII 520 A line along the UVCS slit in an attempt to reveal changes in the Si abundance when different regions are traversed. Although we found some evidence for a Si enrichment in the AR outflows, alternative interpretations are also plausible. Our results demonstrate that outflows from ARs are detectable in the intermediate corona throughout the whole AR lifetime. This confirms that outflows contribute to the slow wind.Comment: 13 pages, Astronomy and Astrophysics accepte

Reslizumab in patients with inadequately controlled late-onset asthma and elevated blood eosinophils

INTRODUCTION: Asthma with adult onset and elevated blood eosinophils is a difficult-to-treat subgroup. This post hoc analysis evaluated reslizumab, an anti-interleukin-5 monoclonal antibody, in patients with late-onset eosinophilic asthma. METHODS: Data from two 52-week placebo-controlled trials of reslizumab IV 3 mg/kg every 4 weeks in patients aged 12-75 years with inadequately controlled asthma, ≥1 asthma exacerbation within 12 months, and screening blood eosinophils ≥400/μL (NCT01287039/NCT01285323) were stratified by age of asthma onset (<40 or ≥40 years). Annual clinical asthma exacerbation rates, change in lung function, and patient-reported outcomes were analyzed. RESULTS: 273 patients with late-onset asthma (placebo, n = 130; reslizumab, n = 143) and 658 with early-onset asthma (placebo, n = 336; reslizumab, n = 322) were included. Baseline demographics were similar between groups. The interaction between age at onset of asthma and effect of reslizumab on asthma exacerbations was statistically significant (p = 0.0083). Compared with placebo, reslizumab produced a 75% relative reduction in asthma exacerbations in patients with late-onset asthma (rate ratio [RR] 0.25; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.16, 0.40), substantially larger than the reduction in earlier onset patients (RR 0.58; 95% CI, 0.44, 0.76). Similar findings were observed for other measures of asthma, including forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1). The adverse event profile of reslizumab was similar in patients with early- or late-onset asthma. CONCLUSIONS: Compared with placebo, reslizumab produced larger reductions in asthma exacerbations and larger improvements in lung function in patients with late versus early-onset asthma

Il pirandellismo di Buzzati (Seconda parte)

Pirandello&rsquo;s influence on contemporary writers is impossible to measure. Pirandellismo is evident in Buzzati&rsquo;s short stories, novels and plays. Buzzati operates with a pirandellian humour which underlines the tragic aspects of life. Many characters in Buzzati&rsquo;s works, including the image of the mother depicted in Il deserto dei Tartari, show a vivd pirandellian personality, and they are entroped in a continuous process of the distintegration of the &ldquo;I&rdquo;. Buzzati treats many pirandellian themes, for example the impossibility to communicate with the others, the contrast between life and art, the relativismof reality, with fantastic tools. The originality of Buzzati&rsquo;s pirandellismo can be seen in &ldquo;L&rsquo;errneo fu&rdquo; which, like Il fu Mattia Pascal, presents an individual who sees the flux of life from the world of death, or in &ldquo;Sette messaggeri&rdquo; where, as in Enrico IV, a complex discussion takes place regarding the function of language in time and in space.Article text in Italia

Tommaso Pincio y el mundo de papel

Ottavio Tondi, el protagonista de la última novela de Tommaso Pincio, Panorama (NN Editore, 2015), ejerce como consultor literario de prestigiosas editoriales. Persona aislada, epítome del intelectual-escritor capaz de ver su propia crisis y, especialmente, la crisis del momento histórico en que vive, se debate entre una distante relación con una mujer, Ligeia, a la que no conoce personalmente, y su resignado rechazo a la vida en sociedad, intentando mantenerse, cual nuevo Don Quijote, como “lector puro”. Crítica a los escritores de moda, a esos divos vanidosos y egoístas siempre en el centro de los medios de comunicación, la narración planea a partir multitud de temas que van desde la reflexión de la lectura como ritual mítico, íntimo y sagrado; hasta los límites de la traducción, pasando por una incisiva sátira sobre la situación del periodismo en los medios de comunicación de masas o la condición misma de la decadente sociedad misma, en manos de una tecnología alienante e impersonal que ha cambiado las relaciones personales por meros contactos a través de redes sociales

Pincio y los Estados Unidos que no son los Estados Unidos

Lo neofantástico en Tommaso Pincio se distingue de lo fantástico posmoderno de nuestros escritores. Se basa en la realidad estadounidense contemporánea; la introduce en un proceso de elaboraciones enfáticas, mezclas, transfiguraciones, y la convierte en el símbolo de otro mundo, de un planeta extraño. Pincio llega a esta operación creativa gracias a su conocimiento de las tradiciones y de las costumbres, de la historia, de la cultura y de la literatura de los Estados Unidos. De todo eso quiere darse una idea en este ensayo, analizando la segunda novela de Pincio, Spazio sfinito, en la que se representa a unos Estados Unidos que no son Estados Unidos

Multiscale Implications of Stress-Induced Ionic Polymer Transducer Sensing

Ionic Polymer Transducers (IPTs) can act as both actuators and sensors. As actuators, the energy density values are much better than PZT or PVDF materials. As sensors, IPTs are extraordinarily sensitive and have the potential to be used in any mode of deformation. However, application of IPT sensors is limited because of a lack of understanding of their fundamental physics. In this work, the main focus will be to explore and develop a better understanding of how IPTs function with respect to shear deformation. In turn, the results developed here will improve upon the state of understanding of IPT sensors in general and potentially expand meaningful application opportunities. Because IPT active response is a multiscale phenomenon, this study adopts a multiscale modeling framework. Of interest are the interplay among the polymeric backbone of the ionic polymer, the diluent present in the hydrophilic regions of the polymer and the interspersed electrode particulate. To begin, this work improves upon a past multiscale modeling framework for the polymer backbone based upon Rotational Isomeric State Theory such that the effects of material anisotropy may be considered. This is potentially significant in light of the polymer manufacturing process. These modeling results are then incorporated into a model of the diluent movement within the ionic transport regions of the IPT. The electrical current predictions are based upon streaming potential theories. Finally, this model incorporates viscoelastic behavior in order to develop a better understanding of the coupling of these two systems (the polymer and the diluent) and how this coupling influence affects the expected current output over time

Passive available bandwidth: Applying self -induced congestion analysis of application-generated traffic

Monitoring end-to-end available bandwidth is critical in helping applications and users efficiently use network resources. Because the performance of distributed systems is intrinsically linked to the performance of the network, applications that have knowledge of the available bandwidth can adapt to changing network conditions and optimize their performance. A well-designed available bandwidth tool should be easily deployable and non-intrusive. While several tools have been created to actively measure the end-to-end available bandwidth of a network path, they require instrumentation at both ends of the path, and the traffic injected by these tools may affect the performance of other applications on the path.;We propose a new passive monitoring system that accurately measures available bandwidth by applying self-induced congestion analysis to traces of application-generated traffic. The Watching Resources from the Edge of the Network (Wren) system transparently provides available bandwidth information to applications without having to modify the applications to make the measurements and with negligible impact on the performance of applications. Wren produces a series of real-time available bandwidth measurements that can be used by applications to adapt their runtime behavior to optimize performance or that can be sent to a central monitoring system for use by other or future applications.;Most active bandwidth tools rely on adjustments to the sending rate of packets to infer the available bandwidth. The major obstacle with using passive kernel-level traces of TCP traffic is that we have no control over the traffic pattern. We demonstrate that there is enough natural variability in the sending rates of TCP traffic that techniques used by active tools can be applied to traces of application-generated traffic to yield accurate available bandwidth measurements.;Wren uses kernel-level instrumentation to collect traces of application traffic and analyzes the traces in the user-level to achieve the necessary accuracy and avoid intrusiveness. We introduce new passive bandwidth algorithms based on the principles of the active tools to measure available bandwidth, investigate the effectiveness of these new algorithms, implement a real-time system capable of efficiently monitoring available bandwidth, and demonstrate that applications can use Wren measurements to adapt their runtime decisions

BCL-2 Genotypes and Outcomes After Traumatic Brain Injury

Background: Mortality and morbidity of patients following traumatic brain injury (TBI) remains extremely high. TBI sets into motion a cascade of apoptotic events that includes bcl-2, which inhibits apoptosis. Patients with higher levels of bcl-2 protein after TBI appear to have smaller areas of ischemia and better functional outcomes as measured by Glasgow Outcome Scores (GOS). Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between BCL-2 genotypes in patients with severe TBI and global functional outcomes, cognitive-behavioral outcomes, mortality, and biological/clinical data. Methods: This pilot study was an ancillary study that examined biological/clinical markers in TBI patients and global functional and cognitive-behavioral outcomes after severe TBI (n=230). Nuclear DNA was extracted from CSF or blood. Based on HapMap, the DNA was analyzed for the genotypes of 17 high priority tagging single nucleotide polymorphisms (tSNPs) with a minor allele frequency ≥0.3 via TaqMan® allele discrimination. Biological/clinical data (bcl-2 protein levels, neurometabolites (lactate, pyruvate, and lactate pyruvate (LP) ratio) and cerebral blood flow (CBF) were analyzed following the first five to six (protein only) days post injury. Mortality and global functional outcomes [GOS & Disability Rating Scale (DRS)], analyzed at 3, 6, 12, and 24 months. The cognitive behavioral outcomes [Neurobehavioral Rating Scale -Revised (NRS-R), Trails A, and Trails B] were analyzed at 3, 6, and 12 months post injury. Statistical analysis for BCL-2's relationship with neuropsychological outcomes and biological/ clinical data overtime utilized was mixed modeling, (mortality utilized generalized mixed modeling). Results: There were 3 tSNPs of particular interest: Rs1801018: homozygous variant (GG) significant associated with decreased mortality (p=0.0055; OR=5.01), higher GOS (p=0.0004), lower DRS (p=0.0002), lower Global CBF (p=0.0031), [presence of the variant allele (G)] lower LP ratios (p=0.024); all better outcomes. Rs17756073: presence of variant allele (G) was associated with higher NRS-R (p=0.0331) and longer Trails B times (p=0.0516); both poorer outcomes. Rs7236090: homozygous wild type (CC) was associated with lower bcl-2 protein concentrations when analyzed without outliers (p=0.0056); the literature associates this with poor outcomes.Conclusion: BCL-2 genotypes had a significant relationship with global functional outcomes, cognitive behavioral outcomes, bcl-2 protein concentrations, neurometabolites, and CBF

Entrevista al narrador Tommaso Pincio

El autor Tommaso Pincio, seudónimo di Marco Colapietro (Roma, 1963), es sin lugar a dudas uno de los narradores de mayor proyección en el panorama literario de los últimos tiempos. Iniciada su carrera en 1999 con M., ha publicado títulos como Lo spazio sfinito (2000) y Un amore dell'altro mondo (2002), en el que narra la vida de Kurt Cobain, líder del grupo Nirvana, a través de la visión de un amigo imaginario. A estas dos novelas siguieron La ragazza che non era lei (2005), Gli alieni (2006) o Cinacittà. Memorie del mio delitto efferato (2008), ambientada en una Roma colonizada por los chinos y abandonada por los mismos romanos a causa de problemas medioambientales. Títulos como L'hotel a zero stelle (2011), un ensayo autobiográfico en el que plantea diálogos ficticios con algunos de los grandes nombres de la literatura o la más reciente Panorama (2015), le han hecho valerse un hueco provilegiado entre los nuevos narradores surgidos en estas primeras décadas de siglo. Justamente la publicación de esta última novela, Panorama, ha servido de excusa al profesor Franco Zangrilli, gran conocedor de su obra, a plantearle algunas preguntas sobre temas clave de su producción