Detection of emission in the Si i 1082.7 nm line core in sunspot umbrae

We analyze spectropolarimetric sunspot umbra observations taken in the near-infrared Si i 1082.7 nm line taking NLTE effects into account. The data were obtained with the GRIS instrument installed at the German GREGOR telescope. A point spread function (PSF) was constructed using prior Mercury observations with GRIS and the information provided by the adaptive optics system of the GREGOR telescope. The data were then deconvolved from the PSF using a principal component analysis deconvolution method and were analyzed via the NICOLE inversion code. The Si i 1082.7 nm line seems to be in emission in the umbra of the observed sunspot after the effects of scattered light are removed. We show how the spectral line shape of umbral profiles changes dramatically with the amount of scattered light. Indeed, the continuum levels range, on average, from 44% of the quiet Sun continuum intensity to about 20%. The inferred levels are in line with current model predictions and empirical umbral models. Current umbral empirical models are not able to reproduce the emission in the deconvolved umbral Stokes profiles. The results of the NLTE inversions suggests that to obtain the emission in the Si i 1082.7 nm line, the temperature stratification should first have a hump located at about log tau -2 and start rising at lower heights when moving into the transition region. This is, to our knowledge, the first time the Si i 1082.7 nm line is seen in emission in sunspot umbrae. The results show that the temperature stratification of current umbral models may be more complex than expected with the transition region located at lower heights above sunspot umbrae. Our finding might provide insights into understanding why the sunspot umbra emission in the millimeter spectral range is less than that predicted by current empirical umbral models

Comparison of Post-injection Site Pain Between Technetium Sulfur Colloid and Technetium Tilmanocept in Breast Cancer Patients Undergoing Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy.

BackgroundNo prior studies have examined injection pain associated with Technetium-99m Tilmanocept (TcTM).MethodsThis was a randomized, double-blinded study comparing postinjection site pain between filtered Technetium Sulfur Colloid (fTcSC) and TcTM in breast cancer lymphoscintigraphy. Pain was evaluated with a visual analogue scale (VAS) (0-100 mm) and the short-form McGill Pain Questionnaire (SF-MPQ). The primary endpoint was mean difference in VAS scores at 1-min postinjection between fTcSC and TcTM. Secondary endpoints included a comparison of SF-MPQ scores between the groups at 5 min postinjection and construction of a linear mixed effects model to evaluate the changes in pain during the 5-min postinjection period.ResultsFifty-two patients underwent injection (27-fTcSC, 25-TcTM). At 1-min postinjection, patients who received fTcSC experienced a mean change in pain of 16.8 mm (standard deviation (SD) 19.5) compared with 0.2 mm (SD 7.3) in TcTM (p = 0.0002). At 5 min postinjection, the mean total score on the SF-MPQ was 2.8 (SD 3.0) for fTcSC versus 2.1 (SD 2.5) for TcTM (p = 0.36). In the mixed effects model, injection agent (p < 0.001), time (p < 0.001) and their interaction (p < 0.001) were associated with change in pain during the 5-min postinjection period. The model found fTcSC resulted in significantly more pain of 15.2 mm (p < 0.001), 11.3 mm (p = 0.001), and 7.5 mm (p = 0.013) at 1, 2, and 3 min postinjection, respectively.ConclusionsInjection with fTcSC causes significantly more pain during the first 3 min postinjection compared with TcTM in women undergoing lymphoscintigraphy for breast cancer

Estudio empírico sobre la influencia de recursos heurísticos en la resolución de problemas de probabilidad condicionada L0 y L2

Se ha constatado la dificultad de los estudiantes a la hora de resolver problemas de probabilidad condicionada (Cañadas et al., 2011). En general, la complejidad de estos problemas es debida a varios factores: el formato y el orden en el que se presentan los datos, el contexto en el que se plantea el problema, el lenguaje utilizado para expresar los datos condicionales o las herramientas utilizadas en el proceso de resolución. En nuestro estudio nos centraremos en el uso y la influencia de recursos heurísticos, como tablas de contingencia o diagramas de árbol, durante la resolución de un problema de probabilidad condicionada

Factors influencing the production of recombinant SV40 vectors

Most gene therapy approaches employ viral vectors for gene delivery. Ideally, these vectors should be produced at high titer and purity with well-established protocols. Standardized methods to measure the quality of the vectors produced are imperative, as are techniques that allow reproducible quantitation of viral titer. We devised a series of protocols that achieve high-titer production and reproducible purification and provide for quality control and titering of recombinant simian virus 40 vectors (rSV40s). rSV40s are good candidate vehicles for gene transfer: they are easily modified to be nonreplicative and they are nonimmunogenic. Further, they infect a wide variety of cells and allow long-term transgene expression. We report here these protocols to produce rSV40 vectors in high yields, describe their purification, and characterize viral stocks using quality control techniques that monitor the presence of wild-type SV40 revertants and defective interfering particles. Several methods for reproducible titration of rSV40 viruses have been compared. We believe that these techniques can be widely applied to obtain high concentrations of high-quality rSV40 viruses reproducibly

Effects of texturization due to chemical etching and laser on the optical properties of multicrystalline silicon for applications in solar cells

In this work we carried out the texturization of surfaces of multicrystalline silicon type-p in order to decrease the reflection of light on the surface, using the chemical etching method and then a treatment with laser. In the first method, it was immersed in solutions of HF:HNO3:H2O, HF:HNO3:CH3COOH, HF:HNO3:H3PO4, in the proportion 14:01:05, during 30 seconds, 1, 2 and 3 minutes. Subsequently with a laser (ND:YAG) grids were generated beginning with parallel lines separated 50μm. The samples were analyzed by means of diffuse spectroscopy (UV-VIS) and scanning electron micrograph (SEM) before and after the laser treatment. The lowest result of reflectance obtained by HF:HNO3:H2O during 30 seconds, was of 15.5%. However, after applying the treatment with laser the reflectance increased to 17.27%. On the other hand, the samples treated (30 seconds) with acetic acid and phosphoric acid as diluents gives as a result a decrease in the reflectance values after applying the laser treatment from 21.97% to 17.79% and from 27.73% to 20.03% respectively. The above indicates that in some cases it is possible to decrease the reflectance using jointly the method of chemical etching and then a laser treatment

Avoiding Carbothermal Reduction: Distillation of Alkoxysilanes from Biogenic, Green, and Sustainable Sources

The direct depolymerization of SiO2 to distillable alkoxysilanes has been explored repeatedly without success for 85 years as an alternative to carbothermal reduction (1900 °C) to Simet, followed by treatment with ROH. We report herein the base‐catalyzed depolymerization of SiO2 with diols to form distillable spirocyclic alkoxysilanes and Si(OEt)4. Thus, 2‐methyl‐2,4‐pentanediol, 2,2,4‐trimethyl‐1,3‐pentanediol, or ethylene glycol (EGH2) react with silica sources, such as rice hull ash, in the presence of NaOH (10 %) to form H2O and distillable spirocyclic alkoxysilanes [bis(2‐methyl‐2,4‐pentanediolato) silicate, bis(2,2,4‐trimethyl‐1,3‐pentanediolato) silicate or Si(eg)2 polymer with 5–98 % conversion, as governed by surface area/crystallinity. Si(eg)2 or bis(2‐methyl‐2,4‐pentanediolato) silicate reacted with EtOH and catalytic acid to give Si(OEt)4 in 60 % yield, thus providing inexpensive routes to high‐purity precipitated or fumed silica and compounds with single Si−C bonds.No detours: The base‐catalyzed depolymerization of SiO2 from different sources with diols led directly to distillable alkoxysilanes, including spirocyclic compounds, thus providing inexpensive routes to high‐purity silica and compounds with single Si−C bonds (see scheme): The alkoxysilanes could be converted either into Si(OEt)4 by treatment with EtOH and a catalytic amount of acid or into high‐purity precipitated (ppt) or fumed silica.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/137495/1/anie201506838-sup-0001-misc_information.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/137495/2/anie201506838.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/137495/3/anie201506838_am.pd

A young star-forming galaxy at z = 3.5 with an extended Ly\,α\alpha halo seen with MUSE

Spatially resolved studies of high redshift galaxies, an essential insight into galaxy formation processes, have been mostly limited to stacking or unusually bright objects. We present here the study of a typical (L$^{*}$, M$_\star$ = 6 $\times 10^9$ $M_\odot$) young lensed galaxy at $z=3.5$, observed with MUSE, for which we obtain 2D resolved spatial information of Ly$\alpha$ and, for the first time, of CIII] emission. The exceptional signal-to-noise of the data reveals UV emission and absorption lines rarely seen at these redshifts, allowing us to derive important physical properties (T$_e\sim$15600 K, n$_e\sim$300 cm$^{-3}$, covering fraction f$_c\sim0.4$) using multiple diagnostics. Inferred stellar and gas-phase metallicities point towards a low metallicity object (Z$_{\mathrm{stellar}}$ = $\sim$ 0.07 Z$_\odot$ and Z$_{\mathrm{ISM}}$ $<$ 0.16 Z$_\odot$). The Ly$\alpha$ emission extends over $\sim$10 kpc across the galaxy and presents a very uniform spectral profile, showing only a small velocity shift which is unrelated to the intrinsic kinematics of the nebular emission. The Ly$\alpha$ extension is $\sim$4 times larger than the continuum emission, and makes this object comparable to low-mass LAEs at low redshift, and more compact than the Lyman-break galaxies and Ly$\alpha$ emitters usually studied at high redshift. We model the Ly$\alpha$ line and surface brightness profile using a radiative transfer code in an expanding gas shell, finding that this model provides a good description of both observables.Comment: 19 pages, 15 figures, accepted in MNRA

The Interplay between Child Maltreatment and Stressful Life Events during Adulthood and Cardiovascular Problems—A Representative Study

Psychological stress is a major risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. While the relevance of early life stress, such as that which is due to child maltreatment (CM), is well known to impact individual stress responses in the long-term, and data on the interplay between CM and stressful events in adulthood on cardiovascular health are sparse. Here, we aimed to assess how stressful life events in adulthood are associated with cardiovascular health infarction in later life and whether this association is independent of CM. In a cross-sectional design, a probability sample of the German population above the age of 14 was drawn using different sampling steps. The final sample included 2510 persons (53.3% women, mean age: 48.4 years). Participants were asked about sociodemographic factors, adult life events, CM, and health conditions in adulthood. Results indicate that the number of experienced adverse life events in adulthood is associated with significantly increased odds for obesity (Odds Ration (OR)women = 1.6 [1.3; 2.0], ORmen = 1.4 [1.1; 1.9]), diabetes (ORwomen = 1.5 [1.1; 2.1], ORmen = 1.5 [1.1; 2.3]) and myocardial infarction (ORwomen = 2.1 [1.0; 4.3], ORmen = 1.8 [1.1; 2.8]). This association is not moderated by the experience of CM, which is associated with cardiovascular problems independently. Taken together, adult stressful life events and CM are significantly and independently associated with cardiovascular health in men and women in the German population in a dose-dependent manner. General practitioners, cardiologists and health policy-makers should be aware of this association between psychosocial stressors during childhood and adulthood and cardiovascular health