380 research outputs found
Testing the validity of the ray-tracing code GYOTO
In the next few years, the near-infrared interferometer GRAVITY will be able
to observe the Galactic center. Astrometric data will be obtained with an
anticipated accuracy of 10 as. To analyze these future data, we have
developed a code called GYOTO to compute orbits and images. We want to assess
the validity and accuracy of GYOTO in a variety of contexts, in particular for
stellar astrometry in the Galactic center. Furthermore, we want to tackle and
complete a study made on the astrometric displacements that are due to lensing
effects of a star of the central parsec with GYOTO. We first validate GYOTO in
the weak-deflection limit (WDL) by studying primary caustics and primary
critical curves obtained for a Kerr black hole. We compare GYOTO results to
available analytical approximations and estimate GYOTO errors using an
intrinsic estimator. In the strong-deflection limit (SDL), we choose to compare
null geodesics computed by GYOTO and the ray-tracing code named Geokerr.
Finally, we use GYOTO to estimate the apparent displacements of a star for
different angles from Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*). We have demonstrated that GYOTO
is accurate to a very high level, orders of magnitude better than the GRAVITY
requirements. GYOTO is also valid in weak- and strong-deflection regimes and
for very long integrations. At the astrometric precision that GRAVITY is aiming
for, lensing effects must always be taken into account when fitting stellar
orbits in the central parsec of the Galaxy.Comment: 11 pages, 12 figure
Associated relaps factors in Le Fort I osteotomy. A retrospective study of 54 cases
PURPOSE: The Le Fort I osteotomy (LFI) procedure is commonly used to restore morpho-functional balance. The goal of maxillofacial surgeons with this procedure is to achieve occlusal stability. To identify factors associated with relapse after maxillary advancement in cleft lip and palate patients, the one-year post-operative stability of Le Fort I osteotomy was evaluated.
METHODS: Horizontal and vertical relapse were analysed on lateral cephalograms by retrospectively using tracing paper in an orthonormal landmark in 54 patients undergoing unilateral cleft lip and palate surgery who were monitored at Nantes University Hospital. The lateral cephalograms were performed pre-operatively, immediately post-operatively, and after one year. Several variables were studied such as population data, intra-operative and post-operative surgical treatment, and surgical movement.
RESULTS: At point A, the subspinale point, the mean advancement during surgery was 4.2 mm, with a relapse of 0.8 mm (20.1%). The mean downward movement was 2.0 mm in 26 patients who had a clockwise rotation of the maxilla, with a relapse of 0.6 mm (28.4%). The mean upward movement was 2.3 mm in 27 patients who had a counterclockwise rotation, with a deterioration of 0.2 mm (7%). A 7-millimetre surgical advancement corresponded to the threshold value beyond which relapse appeared to be significantly greater but still less than two millimetres in 75% of cases.
CONCLUSION: The degree of advancement appears to be the only variable correlated with the amplitude of the relapse
The Significance of Energy Storage for Renewable Energy Generation and the Role of Instrumentation and Measurement
International audienceEnergy storage is not a new concept but is currently getting increasing importance in the context of energy transition paradigm. Indeed, it is expected to play a key role as an enabling technology for lowering the carbon footprint of the electric power system. In fact, the growing development of renewable energy resources and their increasing share in the energy mix, are introducing significant challenges to the existing power grid due to the high variability of these sources/loads. In particular, maintaining the generation-consumption balance of the electric power in real time, as well as the overall power system security, when these special energy sources/loads are present at a significant scale is a major concern. With competitive energy storage, it will be possible to introduce more flexibility in the electrical system thus helping it to better manage the overall energy balance with better system response in case of severe contingencies. Energy storage technologies were historically used for managing the load curve while observing generation dynamic constraints. The most well-known storage technology is the pumped hydro storage where the energy is stored in a hydraulic form (water potential energy). With the event of open access and the corresponding unbundling of electric power industry segments, valorizing energy storage options under market conditions has become tricky. The major present barriers for deploying energy storage systems (ESS) are high cost, competitive economic value, efficiency and energy density, together with energy policies. The new energy paradigm has put a new emphasis on energy storage, and many research roadmaps have pointed out the need for overcoming the current barriers. The decision makers' awareness of the importance of energy storage is also on the rise. However, adequate incentives for encouraging massive deployment of ESS and storage technology within the electric power system are still lacking. Currently, most of the effort is dedicated to in situ demonstration projects in striving for smarter grids and support of innovations with the corresponding proofs of concept and feedback experience. Additionally, different grid applications are assessed for both centralized to decentralized uses. Various energy storage applications for frequency regulation, voltage support, investment optimization, or peak shaving are under consideration. In this article, some of the main energy storage technologies will be reviewed according to their main application domains. That will be followed by a focus on battery energy storage. Some key elements of battery management system (BMS) technologies and ESS architecture and characterization will be addressed. Then some aspects of ESS protection will be presented and the key trends and indications of emerging concepts for energy storage will be identified
Influence of lasers propagation delay on the sensitivity of atom interferometers
In atom interferometers based on two photon transitions, the delay induced by
the difference of the laser beams paths makes the interferometer sensitive to
the fluctuations of the frequency of the lasers. We first study, in the general
case, how the laser frequency noise affects the performance of the
interferometer measurement. Our calculations are compared with the measurements
performed on our cold atom gravimeter based on stimulated Raman transitions. We
finally extend this study to the case of cold atom gradiometers.Comment: 17 pages, 6 figure
Complex nature of apparently balanced chromosomal rearrangements in patients with autism spectrum disorder
Background:
Apparently balanced chromosomal rearrangements can be associated with an abnormal phenotype, including intellectual disability and autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Genome-wide microarrays reveal cryptic genomic imbalances, related or not to the breakpoints, in 25% to 50% of patients with an abnormal phenotype carrying a microscopically balanced chromosomal rearrangement. Here we performed microarray analysis of 18 patients with ASD carrying balanced chromosomal abnormalities to identify submicroscopic imbalances implicated in abnormal neurodevelopment.
Methods:
Eighteen patients with ASD carrying apparently balanced chromosomal abnormalities were screened using single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) arrays. Nine rearrangements were de novo, seven inherited, and two of unknown inheritance. Genomic imbalances were confirmed by fluorescence in situ hybridization and quantitative PCR.
Results:
We detected clinically significant de novo copy number variants in four patients (22%), including three with de novo rearrangements and one with an inherited abnormality. The sizes ranged from 3.3 to 4.9 Mb; three were related to the breakpoint regions and one occurred elsewhere. We report a patient with a duplication of the Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome critical region, contributing to the delineation of this rare genomic disorder. The patient has a chromosome 4p inverted duplication deletion, with a 0.5 Mb deletion of terminal 4p and a 4.2 Mb duplication of 4p16.2p16.3. The other cases included an apparently balanced de novo translocation t(5;18)(q12;p11.2) with a 4.2 Mb deletion at the 18p breakpoint, a subject with de novo pericentric inversion inv(11)(p14q23.2) in whom the array revealed a de novo 4.9 Mb deletion in 7q21.3q22.1, and a patient with a maternal inv(2)(q14.2q37.3) with a de novo 3.3 Mb terminal 2q deletion and a 4.2 Mb duplication at the proximal breakpoint. In addition, we identified a rare de novo deletion of unknown significance on a chromosome unrelated to the initial rearrangement, disrupting a single gene, RFX3.
Conclusions:
These findings underscore the utility of SNP arrays for investigating apparently balanced chromosomal abnormalities in subjects with ASD or related neurodevelopmental disorders in both clinical and research settings
Demographics of Protoplanetary Disks: A Simulated Population of Edge-on Systems
The structure of protoplanetary disks plays an essential role in planet
formation. Disks that are highly inclined, or ''edge-on'', are of particular
interest since their geometry provides a unique opportunity to study the disk's
vertical structure and radial extent. Candidate edge-on protoplanetary disks
are typically identified via their unique spectral energy distribution and
subsequently confirmed through high-resolution imaging. However, this selection
process is likely biased toward the largest, most massive disks, and the
resulting sample may not accurately represent the underlying disk population.
To investigate this, we generated a grid of protoplanetary disk models using
radiative transfer simulations and determined which sets of disk parameters
produce edge-on systems that could be recovered by aforementioned detection
techniques--i.e., identified by their spectral energy distribution and
confirmed through follow-up imaging with HST. In doing so, we adopt a
quantitative working definition of "edge-on disks" that is observation-driven
and agnostic about the disk inclination or other properties. Folding in
empirical disk demographics, we predict an occurrence rate of 6.2% for edge-on
disks and quantify biases towards highly inclined, massive disks. We also find
that edge-on disks are under-represented in samples of Spitzer-studied young
stellar objects, particularly for disks with M 0.5 .
Overall, our analysis suggests that several dozen edge-on disks remain
undiscovered in nearby star-forming regions, and provides a universal selection
process to identify edge-on disks for consistent, population-level demographic
studies.Comment: 20 pages, 6 figure
The Anatomy of an Unusual Edge-on Protoplanetary Disk. II. Gas temperature and a warm outer region
We present high-resolution CO and CO 2-1 ALMA observations, as
well as optical and near-infrared spectroscopy, of the highly-inclined
protoplanetary disk around SSTC2D J163131.2-242627. The spectral type we derive
for the source is consistent with a star inferred from
the ALMA observations. Despite its massive circumstellar disk, we find little
to no evidence for ongoing accretion on the star. The CO maps reveal a disk
that is unusually compact along the vertical direction, consistent with its
appearance in scattered light images. The gas disk extends about twice as far
away as both the submillimeter continuum and the optical scattered light. CO is
detected from two surface layers separated by a midplane region in which CO
emission is suppressed, as expected from freeze-out in the cold midplane. We
apply a modified version of the Topographically Reconstructed Distribution
method presented by Dutrey et al. 2017 to derive the temperature structure of
the disk. We find a temperature in the CO-emitting layers and the midplane of
33 K and 20 K at au, respectively. Outside of au, the disk's midplane temperature increases to 30 K, with a
nearly vertically isothermal profile. The transition in CO temperature
coincides with a dramatic reduction in the sub-micron and sub-millimeter
emission from the disk. We interpret this as interstellar UV radiation
providing an additional source of heating to the outer part of the disk.Comment: 27 pages, 18 figures, 1 tabl
Intracellular microrheology of motile Amoeba proteus
The motility of motile Amoeba proteus was examined using the technique of
passive particle tracking microrheology, with the aid of newly-developed
particle tracking software, a fast digital camera and an optical microscope. We
tracked large numbers of endogeneous particles in the amoebae, which displayed
subdiffusive motion at short time scales, corresponding to thermal motion in a
viscoelastic medium, and superdiffusive motion at long time scales due to the
convection of the cytoplasm. Subdiffusive motion was characterised by a
rheological scaling exponent of 3/4 in the cortex, indicative of the
semiflexible dynamics of the actin fibres. We observed shear-thinning in the
flowing endoplasm, where exponents increased with increasing flow rate; i.e.
the endoplasm became more fluid-like. The rheology of the cortex is found to be
isotropic, reflecting an isotropic actin gel. A clear difference was seen
between cortical and endoplasmic layers in terms of both viscoelasticity and
flow velocity, where the profile of the latter is close to a Poiseuille flow
for a Newtonian fluid
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