Optimization of a Langmuir-Taylor detector for lithium

This paper describes the construction and optimization of a Langmuir-Taylor detector for lithium, using a rhenium ribbon. The absolute detection probability of this very sensitive detector is measured and the dependence of this probability with oxygen pressure and surface temperature is studied. Sources of background signal and their minimization are also discussed in details. And a comparison between our data concerning the response time of the detector and literature values is given. A theoretical analysis has been made: this analysis supports the validity of the Saha-Langmuir law to relate the ionization probability to the work function. Finally, the rapid variations of the work function with oxygen pressure and temperature are explained by a chemical equilibrium model.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figures, to appear in Rev. Sci. Instru

Heterodyne interferometer with unequal path lengths

Laser interferometry is an extensively used diagnostic for plasma experiments. Existing plasma interferometers are designed on the presumption that the scene and reference beam path lengths have to be equal, a requirement that is costly in both the number of optical components and the alignment complexity. It is shown here that having equal path lengths is not necessary - instead what is required is that the path length difference be an even multiple of the laser cavity length. This assertion has been verified in a heterodyne laser interferometer that measures typical line-average densities of $\sim 10^{21}/\textrm{m}^2$ with an error of $\sim 10^{19}/\textrm{m}^2$.Comment: 15 pages, 9 figures, to be published in Rev. Sci. Instrum. 77 (2006

Mechanisms of hepatic triglyceride accumulation in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is characterized by hepatic lipid accumulation in the absence of excess alcohol intake. NAFLD is the most common chronic liver disease, and ongoing research efforts are focused on understanding the underlying pathobiology of hepatic steatosis with the anticipation that these efforts will identify novel therapeutic targets. Under physiological conditions, the low steady-state triglyceride concentrations in the liver are attributable to a precise balance between acquisition by uptake of non-esterified fatty acids from the plasma and by de novo lipogenesis, versus triglyceride disposal by fatty acid oxidation and by the secretion of triglyceride-rich lipoproteins. In NAFLD patients, insulin resistance leads to hepatic steatosis by multiple mechanisms. Greater uptake rates of plasma non-esterified fatty acids are attributable to increased release from an expanded mass of adipose tissue as a consequence of diminished insulin responsiveness. Hyperinsulinemia promotes the transcriptional upregulation of genes that promote de novo lipogenesis in the liver. Increased hepatic lipid accumulation is not offset by fatty acid oxidation or by increased secretion rates of triglyceride-rich lipoproteins. This review discusses the molecular mechanisms by which hepatic triglyceride homeostasis is achieved under normal conditions, as well as the metabolic alterations that occur in the setting of insulin resistance and contribute to the pathogenesis of NAFLD

Initial POLAR MFE observation of substorm signatures in the polar magnetosphere

This paper studies substorm influences in the polar magnetosphere using data from the POLAR magnetic field experiment (MFE). The POLAR spacecraft remains in the high altitude polar magnetosphere for extended periods around apogee. There it can stay at nearly constant altitude through all phases of a substorm, which was not possible on previous missions. We report such an event on March 28, 1996. Ground magnetometers monitored substorm activity, while the POLAR spacecraft, directly over the pole at (−0.8, −0.6, 8.5) RE in GSM coordinates, observed a corresponding perturbation in the total magnetic field strength. The total magnetic field first increased, then recovered toward quiet levels, consistent with erosion of magnetic flux from the dayside magnetosphere, followed by transport of that flux to the magnetotail, and eventual onset of tail reconnection and the return of that magnetic flux to the dayside magnetosphere

Dispersive Gap Mode of Phonons in Anisotropic Superconductors

We estimate the effect of the superconducting gap anisotropy in the dispersive gap mode of phonons, which is observed by the neutron scattering on borocarbide superconductors. We numerically analyze the phonon spectrum considering the electron-phonon coupling, and examine contributions coming from the gap suppression and the sign change of the pairing function on the Fermi surface. When the sign of the pairing function is changed by the nesting translation, the gap mode does not appear. We also discuss the suppression of the phonon softening of the Kohn anomaly due to the onset of superconductivity. We demonstrate that observation of the gap dispersive mode is useful for sorting out the underlying superconducting pairing function.Comment: 7 pages, 12 figures, to be published in J. Phys. Soc. Jp

Economics knowledge, attitudes and experience of student teachers in Scotland

There is a move away from teaching economics as a separate subject in Scotland. It is now mainly taught within Business Management courses in upper secondary school and is embedded within several subject areas in both primary and early secondary curricula, a move that is in step with broader curricular aims to break down barriers among subjects. This writing discusses the need for clearly situated teaching and learning of economics, provided by teachers provided by teachers who have sufficient background knowledge to devise effective contexts for learning, whether or not it is taught as a discrete subject. The results of a survey of student teachers' levels of economic literacy are analysed and recommendations made for the preparation of teachers to deal effectively with embedded approaches to teaching about economics