4,229 research outputs found
A systematic review of associations between environmental exposures and development of asthma in children aged up to 9 years
Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.Peer reviewedPublisher PD
Room temperature magneto-optic effect in silicon light-emitting diodes
In weakly spin-orbit coupled materials, the spin-selective nature of
recombination can give rise to large magnetic-field effects, for example on
electro-luminescence from molecular semiconductors. While silicon has weak
spin-orbit coupling, observing spin-dependent recombination through
magneto-electroluminescence is challenging due to the inefficiency of emission
due to silicon's indirect band-gap, and to the difficulty in separating
spin-dependent phenomena from classical magneto-resistance effects. Here we
overcome these challenges to measure magneto-electroluminescence in silicon
light-emitting diodes fabricated via gas immersion laser doping. These devices
allow us to achieve efficient emission while retaining a well-defined geometry
thus suppressing classical magnetoresistance effects to a few percent. We find
that electroluminescence can be enhanced by up to 300\% near room temperature
in a seven Tesla magnetic field showing that the control of the spin degree of
freedom can have a strong impact on the efficiency of silicon LEDs
Tectonic control of the Tejo river fluvial incision during the late Cenozoic, in Ródão – central Portugal (Atlantic Iberian border)
Staircases of strath terraces and strongly incised valleys are the most typical landscape features of Portuguese rivers. This
paper examines the incision achieved during the late Cenozoic in an area crossed by the Tejo river between the border with Spain
and the small town of Gavia˜o. In the more upstream reach of this area, the Tejo crosses the Ro´da˜o tectonic depression, where
four levels of terraces are distinguished. During the late Cenozoic fluvial incision stage, the Ro´da˜o depression underwent less
uplift than the adjacent areas along the river. This is reflected by the greater thicknesses and spatial extent of the terraces; terrace
genesis was promoted by impoundment of alluvium behind a quartzitic ridge and the local presence of a soft substratum. Outside
this tectonic depression, the Tejo has a narrow valley incised in the Hercynian basement, with some straight reaches that
probably correspond to NE–SW and NNW–SSE faults, the terraces being nearly absent. Geomorphological evidence of tectonic
displacements affecting the Ro´da˜o dissected terrace remnants is described. Geochronological dating of the two younger and
lower terrace levels of this depression suggests a time-averaged incision rate for the Tejo in the Ro´da˜o area, of ca. 1.0 m/ka over
the last 60 thousand years. A clear discrepancy exists between this rate and the 0.1 m/ka estimated for the longer period since the
end of the Pliocene. Although episodes of valley incision may be conditioned by climate and base-level changes, they may also
have been controlled by local factors such as movement of small fault-bounded blocks, lithology and structure. Regional crustal
uplift is considered to be the main control of the episodes of valley incision identified for this large, long-lived river. A model is
proposed in which successive regional uplift events—tectonic phases—essentially determined the long periods of rapid river
downcutting that were punctuated by short periods of lateral erosion and later by some aggradation, producing strath terraces
Improved understanding of drought controls on seasonal variation in Mediterranean forest canopy CO<sub>2</sub> and water fluxes through combined in situ measurements and ecosystem modelling
Water stress is a defining characteristic of Mediterranean ecosystems, and is likely to become more severe in the coming decades. Simulation models are key tools for making predictions, but our current understanding of how soil moisture controls ecosystem functioning is not sufficient to adequately constrain parameterisations. <br><br> Canopy-scale flux data from four forest ecosystems with Mediterranean-type climates were used in order to analyse the physiological controls on carbon and water flues through the year. Significant non-stomatal limitations on photosynthesis were detected, along with lesser changes in the conductance-assimilation relationship. New model parameterisations were derived and implemented in two contrasting modelling approaches. <br><br> The effectiveness of two models, one a dynamic global vegetation model ("ORCHIDEE"), and the other a forest growth model particularly developed for Mediterranean simulations ("GOTILWA+"), was assessed and modelled canopy responses to seasonal changes in soil moisture were analysed in comparison with in situ flux measurements. <br><br> In contrast to commonly held assumptions, we find that changing the ratio of conductance to assimilation under natural, seasonally-developing, soil moisture stress is not sufficient to reproduce forest canopy CO<sub>2</sub> and water fluxes. However, accurate predictions of both CO<sub>2</sub> and water fluxes under all soil moisture levels encountered in the field are obtained if photosynthetic capacity is assumed to vary with soil moisture. This new parameterisation has important consequences for simulated responses of carbon and water fluxes to seasonal soil moisture stress, and should greatly improve our ability to anticipate future impacts of climate changes on the functioning of ecosystems in Mediterranean-type climates
Advanced information processing system: The Army fault tolerant architecture conceptual study. Volume 1: Army fault tolerant architecture overview
Digital computing systems needed for Army programs such as the Computer-Aided Low Altitude Helicopter Flight Program and the Armored Systems Modernization (ASM) vehicles may be characterized by high computational throughput and input/output bandwidth, hard real-time response, high reliability and availability, and maintainability, testability, and producibility requirements. In addition, such a system should be affordable to produce, procure, maintain, and upgrade. To address these needs, the Army Fault Tolerant Architecture (AFTA) is being designed and constructed under a three-year program comprised of a conceptual study, detailed design and fabrication, and demonstration and validation phases. Described here are the results of the conceptual study phase of the AFTA development. Given here is an introduction to the AFTA program, its objectives, and key elements of its technical approach. A format is designed for representing mission requirements in a manner suitable for first order AFTA sizing and analysis, followed by a discussion of the current state of mission requirements acquisition for the targeted Army missions. An overview is given of AFTA's architectural theory of operation
Advanced information processing system: The Army fault tolerant architecture conceptual study. Volume 2: Army fault tolerant architecture design and analysis
Described here is the Army Fault Tolerant Architecture (AFTA) hardware architecture and components and the operating system. The architectural and operational theory of the AFTA Fault Tolerant Data Bus is discussed. The test and maintenance strategy developed for use in fielded AFTA installations is presented. An approach to be used in reducing the probability of AFTA failure due to common mode faults is described. Analytical models for AFTA performance, reliability, availability, life cycle cost, weight, power, and volume are developed. An approach is presented for using VHSIC Hardware Description Language (VHDL) to describe and design AFTA's developmental hardware. A plan is described for verifying and validating key AFTA concepts during the Dem/Val phase. Analytical models and partial mission requirements are used to generate AFTA configurations for the TF/TA/NOE and Ground Vehicle missions
A high-finesse Fabry-Perot cavity with a frequency-doubled green laser for precision Compton polarimetry at Jefferson Lab
A high-finesse Fabry-Perot cavity with a frequency-doubled continuous wave
green laser (532~nm) has been built and installed in Hall A of Jefferson Lab
for high precision Compton polarimetry. The infrared (1064~nm) beam from a
ytterbium-doped fiber amplifier seeded by a Nd:YAG nonplanar ring oscillator
laser is frequency doubled in a single-pass periodically poled MgO:LiNbO
crystal. The maximum achieved green power at 5 W IR pump power is 1.74 W with a
total conversion efficiency of 34.8\%. The green beam is injected into the
optical resonant cavity and enhanced up to 3.7~kW with a corresponding
enhancement of 3800. The polarization transfer function has been measured in
order to determine the intra-cavity circular laser polarization within a
measurement uncertainty of 0.7\%. The PREx experiment at Jefferson Lab used
this system for the first time and achieved 1.0\% precision in polarization
measurements of an electron beam with energy and current of 1.0~GeV and
50~A.Comment: 20 pages, 22 figures, revised version of arXiv:1601.00251v1,
submitted to NIM
The masses, radii and luminosities of the components of U Geminorum
We present a phase-resolved spectroscopic study of the secondary star in the
cataclysmic variable U Gem. We use our data to measure the radial velocity
semi-amplitude, systemic velocity and rotational velocity of the secondary
star. Combining this with literature data allows us to determine masses and
radii for both the secondary star and white dwarf which are independent of any
assumptions about their structure. We use these to compare their properties
with those of field stars and find that both components follow field
mass-radius relationships. The secondary star has the mass, radius, luminosity
and photometric temperature of an M2 star, but a spectroscopic temperature of
M4. The latter may well be due to a high metallicity. There is a troubling
inconsistency between the radius of the white dwarf inferred from its
gravitational redshift and inclination and that inferred from its temperature,
flux, and astrometric distance.
We find that there are two fundamental limits to the accuracy of the
parameters we can derive. First the radial velocity curve of the secondary star
deviates from a sinusoid, in part because of its asphericity (which can be
modelled) and in part because the line flux is not evenly distributed over its
surface. Second we cannot be certain which spectral type is the best match for
the lines of the secondary star, and the derived rotational velocity is a
function of the spectral type of the template star used.Comment: 12 pages, 10 figures. Accepted for MNRA
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