A comparison of Voxel compression mapping & longitudinal Voxel-Based morphometry

Clinical motivation: Serial brain imaging can reveal patterns of change over time with important clinical implications for neurodegenerative disease [1]. We investigate the performance of four analysis methods, in terms of a comparison of 20 patients with probable AD to 20 age- and sex-matched controls, characterising differences in change from baseline to later scans

Spheromak formation and sustainment studies at the sustained spheromak physics experiment using high-speed imaging and magnetic diagnostics

A high-speed imaging system with shutter speeds as fast as 2 ns and double frame capability has been used to directly image the formation and evolution of the sustained spheromak physics experiment (SSPX) [E. B. Hooper et al., Nucl. Fusion 39, 863 (1999)]. Reproducible plasma features have been identified with this diagnostic and divided into three groups, according to the stage in the discharge at which they occur: (i) breakdown and ejection, (ii) sustainment, and (iii) decay. During the first stage, plasma descends into the flux conserver shortly after breakdown and a transient plasma column is formed. The column then rapidly bends and simultaneously becomes too dim to photograph a few microseconds after formation. It is conjectured here that this rapid bending precedes the transfer of toroidal to poloidal flux. During sustainment, a stable plasma column different from the transient one is observed. It has been possible to measure the column diameter and compare it to CORSICA [A. Tarditi et al., Contrib. Plasma Phys. 36, 132 (1996)], a magnetohydrodynamic equilibrium reconstruction code which showed good agreement with the measurements. Elongation and velocity measurements were made of cathode patterns also seen during this stage, possibly caused by pressure gradients or E×B drifts. The patterns elongate in a toroidal-only direction which depends on the magnetic-field polarity. During the decay stage the column diameter expands as the current ramps down, until it eventually dissolves into filaments. With the use of magnetic probes inserted in the gun region, an X point which moved axially depending on current level and toroidal mode number was observed in all the stages of the SSPX plasma discharge

Long lasting instabilities in granular mixtures

We have performed experiments of axial segregation in the Oyama's drum. We have tested binary granular mixtures during very long times. The segregation patterns have been captured by a CCD camera and spatio-temporal graphs are created. We report the occurence of instabilities which can last several hours. We stress that those instabilities originate from the competition between axial and radial segregations. We put into evidence the occurence of giant fluctuations in the fraction of grain species along the surface during the unstable periods.Comment: 10 pages, 10 figures, (2002

Length Scales of Acceleration for Locally Isotropic Turbulence

Length scales are determined that govern the behavior at small separations of the correlations of fluid-particle acceleration, viscous force, and pressure gradient. The length scales and an associated universal constant are quantified on the basis of published data. The length scale governing pressure spectra at high wave numbers is discussed. Fluid-particle acceleration correlation is governed by two length scales; one arises from the pressure gradient, the other from the viscous force.Comment: 2 figures, 4 pages. Physical Review Letters, accepted August 200

Commensurate Dy magnetic ordering associated with incommensurate lattice distortion in orthorhombic DyMnO3

Synchrotron x-ray diffraction and resonant magnetic scattering experiments on single crystal DyMnO3 have been carried out between 4 and 40 K. Below TN(Dy) = 5K, the Dy magnetic moments order in a commensurate structure with propagation vector 0.5 b*. Simultaneous with the Dy magnetic ordering, an incommensurate lattice modulation with propagation vector 0.905 b* evolves while the original Mn induced modulation is suppressed and shifts from 0.78 b* to 0.81 b*. This points to a strong interference of Mn and Dy induced structural distortions in DyMnO3 besides a magnetic coupling between the Mn and Dy magnetic moments.Comment: submitted to Phys. Rev. B Rapid Communication

Opportunities for use of exact statistical equations

Exact structure function equations are an efficient means of obtaining asymptotic laws such as inertial range laws, as well as all measurable effects of inhomogeneity and anisotropy that cause deviations from such laws. "Exact" means that the equations are obtained from the Navier-Stokes equation or other hydrodynamic equations without any approximation. A pragmatic definition of local homogeneity lies within the exact equations because terms that explicitly depend on the rate of change of measurement location appear within the exact equations; an analogous statement is true for local stationarity. An exact definition of averaging operations is required for the exact equations. Careful derivations of several inertial range laws have appeared in the literature recently in the form of theorems. These theorems give the relationships of the energy dissipation rate to the structure function of acceleration increment multiplied by velocity increment and to both the trace of and the components of the third-order velocity structure functions. These laws are efficiently derived from the exact velocity structure function equations. In some respects, the results obtained herein differ from the previous theorems. The acceleration-velocity structure function is useful for obtaining the energy dissipation rate in particle tracking experiments provided that the effects of inhomogeneity are estimated by means of displacing the measurement location.Comment: accepted by Journal of Turbulenc

Chapter 05: Vulnerability of marine microbes on the Great Barrier Reef to climate change

Global climate change will have a direct effect on the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) as discussed in previous and subsequent chapters. The primary effect of climate change will be a 1 to 3°C increase in global sea surface temperature along with sea level rises as predicted by Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) models. Other associated effects include increased acidity and increased terrestrial inputs. The effects of climate change will have a significant impact on marine microbes, potentially altering microbial diversity, function and community dynamics. Although microbes constitute by far the largest diversity and biomass of all marine organisms, they are often ignored in discussions about the impacts of climate change. This is despite the fact that the vast microbial life on our planet plays a central role in either accentuating or mitigating the effects of climate change. Since microbes are central to the global cycles (including carbon, nitrogen and trace gases), changes to temperature, nutrient availability and environmental pH will have major impacts on microbial processes central to the climate debate. This chapter will discuss the exposure, sensitivity and impacts of climate change on marine microbes at global, regional and local scales, providing examples of observed impacts in marine ecosystems. In doing so, the adaptive capacity and vulnerability of marine microbes to climate change will be assessed. The background provided in this chapter emphasises the importance of marine microbes and outlines why they require greater appreciation in research effort and consideration in predictive climate models.This is Chapter 5 of Climate change and the Great Barrier Reef: a vulnerability assessment. The entire book can be found at http://hdl.handle.net/handle/11017/13