The R&D activities for the Linear Collider TPC (LCTPC) are currently focused on the adoption of the Micro-Pattern Gaseous Detectors (MPGDs). Different MPGD modules which are commissioned on the ...endplate of a Large Prototype TPC (LPTPC) at DESY, were tested with a 5 GeV electron beam, under a 1 T magnetic field. During the tests, reduced signal sensitivity as well as distortion in the reconstructed track, were observed at the boundary of these modules. We have numerically investigated the origin of the track distortions observed close to the edges of the Micromegas modules. The study clearly shows that the electric field non-uniformity near the inter-modular gaps is responsible for such track distortion. We have been able to simulate the observed patterns and magnitudes of distortion successfully. The obtained agreements with 2015 beam test data encourage us to continue with the study and, to propose module design modifications that can alleviate the problem of electrostatic field distortion at the module boundaries.
This study aims to determine the clinical features and seasonal patterns associated with shigellosis, the antimicrobial resistance frequencies of the isolates obtained during the period 2006–2012 for ...22 antibiotics, and the molecular characterization of multidrug-resistant strains isolated from endemic cases of shigellosis in the remote islands of India, with special reference to fluoroquinolone and third-generation cephalosporins resistance. During the period from January 2006 to December 2011, stool samples were obtained and processed to isolate
Shigella
spp. The isolates were evaluated with respect to their antibiotic resistance pattern and various multidrug resistance determinants, including resistance genes, quinolone resistance determinants, and extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) production. Morbidity for shigellosis was found to be 9.3 % among children in these islands. Cases of shigellosis occurred mainly during the rainy seasons and were found to be higher in the age group 2–5 years. A wide spectrum of resistance was observed among the
Shigella
strains, and more than 50 % of the isolates were multidrug-resistant. The development of multidrug-resistant strains was found to be associated with various drug-resistant genes, multiple mutations in the quinolone resistance-determining region (QRDR), and the presence of plasmid-mediated quinolone-resistant determinants and efflux pump mediators. This report represents the first presentation of the results of long-term surveillance and molecular characterization concerning antimicrobial resistances in clinical
Shigella
strains in these islands. Information gathered as part of the investigations will be instrumental in identifying emerging antimicrobial resistance, for developing treatment guidelines appropriate for that community, and to provide baseline data with which to compare outbreak strains in the future.
The Solar Orbiter magnetometer Horbury, T. S.; O’Brien, H.; Carrasco Blazquez, I. ...
Astronomy and astrophysics (Berlin),
10/2020, Letnik:
642
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
The magnetometer instrument on the Solar Orbiter mission is designed to measure the magnetic field local to the spacecraft continuously for the entire mission duration. The need to characterise not ...only the background magnetic field but also its variations on scales from far above to well below the proton gyroscale result in challenging requirements on stability, precision, and noise, as well as magnetic and operational limitations on both the spacecraft and other instruments. The challenging vibration and thermal environment has led to significant development of the mechanical sensor design. The overall instrument design, performance, data products, and operational strategy are described.
Abstract The functional significance of newly formed granule neurons in the adult mammalian hippocampus remains a mystery. Recently, it was demonstrated that wheel running increases new neuron ...survival and c-Fos expression in new and pre-existing granule cells in an activity-dependent manner. It is currently unknown whether other immediate early genes (IEGs) become expressed in granule neurons from running. Further, it is unknown whether locomotor activity in home cages without wheels can influence neurogenesis and IEG expression similar to running. The purpose of this study was three-fold: (1) to determine if Arc and Zif268 expression are also induced from wheel running in both pre-existing and newly formed neurons (2) to determine if neurogenesis and IEG induction is related to horizontal distance traveled in home cages without wheels, and (3) to determine whether IEG induction is related to acute bouts of running or chronic effects. Adult C57BL/6J female mice were placed in cages with or without running wheels for 31 days. The first 10 days, mice received daily injections of 5-Bromo-2′-deoxyuridine (BrdU) to label dividing cells. On day 1, running and non-running animals were euthanized either 2 h after peak activity, or during a period of relative inactivity. Immunohistochemistry was performed on hippocampal sections with antibodies against BrdU, mature neuron marker NeuN, c-Fos, Arc, and Zif268. Results demonstrate that Arc, Zif268, and c-Fos are induced from wheel running but not movement in cages without wheels. All IEGs were expressed in new neurons from running. Further, IEGs were induced acutely by running, as increased expression did not continue into the light cycle, a period of relative inactivity. The results suggest that robust movements, like running, are necessary to stimulate IEG expression and neurogenesis. Moreover, results suggest new neurons from running may be processing information about running behavior itself.
Accurate prediction of tropical cyclones from very early stages of cyclogenesis has been a great challenge to the operational forecasters. This study examines the impact of evolution of initial ...conditions with time on improvements of track and intensity forecasts for a typical Bay of Bengal super cyclonic storm AMPHAN. For this purpose, the forecasts of various operational Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) models have been analyzed from very early stage of the system. The analysis shows that there was wide variation of track forecasts among NWP models when there was very weak signature of the system in the initial condition. The track forecasts of NWP models gradually became closer to the eventual observed track, with the strengthening of the system in the analysis field. The spread of initial locations were 131.6 km, 49.5 km, 55.4 km, 91 km, and 22 km at the stages depression (D), cyclonic storm (CS), very severe cyclonic storm (VSCS), extremely severe cyclonic storm (ESCS), and super cyclonic storm (SuCS), respectively. The spread of forecast locations at 24 h forecast reduced from 128 km at the stage CS to 51 km at the stage SuCS; at 48 h, from 289 to 42 km from low (L) to SuCS; at 72 h, from 496 to 127 km from L to ESCS; at 96 h, from 736 to 250 km from L to CS, and at 120 h, from 890 to 309 km from the stage L to D as initial conditions. The spread of landfall point(time) forecast errors of NWP models were 445 km (23 h), 520 km (18 h), 177 km (13 h), 118 km (8 h), and 79 km (5 h) for the initial stages D, CS, VSCS, ESCS, and SuCS, respectively. Result shows that small errors in the weaker initial conditions contributed large errors in subsequent track forecasts and impact of initial error minimized at stronger stages. No such trend in error is found in intensity forecast of the models.
We describe a new experimental approach to probabilistic atom-photon (signal) entanglement. Two qubit states are encoded as orthogonal collective spin excitations of an unpolarized atomic ensemble. ...After a programmable delay, the atomic excitation is converted into a photon (idler). Polarization states of both the signal and the idler are recorded and are found to be in violation of the Bell inequality. Atomic coherence times exceeding several microseconds are achieved by switching off all the trapping fields--including the quadrupole magnetic field of the magneto-optical trap--and zeroing out the residual ambient magnetic field.
In the quest of achieving sustainable crop productivity, improved soil health, and increased carbon (C) sequestration in the soil, conservation agriculture (CA) is increasingly being promoted and ...adopted in the Indian subcontinent. However, because some researchers from different regions of the world have reported reduced crop yield under CA relative to agriculture based on conventional tillage (CT), a meta-analysis has been conducted based on published research from India to evaluate the effects of CA on the yield of crops, accumulation of soil organic C as an index of soil health, and C sequestration in the soil in different regions and soil textural groups in the country. The meta-analysis is based on 544 paired observations under CA and CT from 35 publications from India was carried out using Meta Win 2.1 software. The results showed an overall significant (
p
< 0.05) reduction of 1.15% crop yield under CA compared to CT. Yearwise data showed a reduction of yields under CA from 2009 to 2016, but an increase from 2017 to 2020. Yield reduction was observed in the eastern, north-eastern, and southern regions of India but in western, northern, and north-western regions of the country, an increase was observed under CA rather than CT. Sandy loam and clayey soils exhibited higher crop yield under CA than under CT. Compared to CT, soil organic C content and soil C sequestration under CA increased by 8.9% and 7.3%, respectively. Also, in all the regions and soil textural groups both soil organic C accumulation and soil C sequestration were higher under CA than under CT. Factors such as rainfall, soil depth, available nitrogen (N), and total N significantly influenced the extent of yield increase/decrease and soil organic C accumulation under CA. Overall, results of the meta-analysis suggest that the promotion of CA in India will have to be location-specific taking into consideration the crops, soil attributes, and climatic conditions.
Graphical abstract
The disorder inherent to doping by cation substitution in the complex oxides can have profound effects on collective-ordered states. Here, we demonstrate that cation-site ordering achieved through ...digital-synthesis techniques can dramatically enhance the antiferromagnetic ordering temperatures of manganite films. Cation-ordered (LaMnO3)m/(SrMnO3)2m superlattices show Néel temperatures (TN) that are the highest of any La(1-x)Sr(x)MnO3 compound, approximately 70 K greater than compositionally equivalent randomly doped La(1/3)Sr(2/3)MnO3. The antiferromagnetic order is A-type, consisting of in-plane double-exchange-mediated ferromagnetic sheets coupled antiferromagnetically along the out-of-plane direction. Through synchrotron X-ray scattering, we have discovered an in-plane structural modulation that reduces the charge itinerancy and hence the ordering temperature within the ferromagnetic sheets, thereby limiting TN. This modulation is mitigated and driven to long wavelengths by cation ordering, enabling the higher TN values of the superlattices. These results provide insight into how cation-site ordering can enhance cooperative behaviour in oxides through subtle structural phenomena.
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► This research work mainly emphasizes on the removal of oil from oil-in-water (o/w) emulsion using a resin. ► Coalescence is the main phenomenon behind the oil removal from oil in ...water emulsion. ► The stability of o/w emulsion was investigated for different surfactant concentrations (0.25–4%), mixing time (5–60
min) and stirring rate (500–2500
rpm).
The present study reports the removal of oil from oil-in-water (o/w) emulsion using a commercial resin which is a co-polymer of styrene and di-vinyl benzene. The stability of the 0.05% (w/w) o/w emulsion was investigated for different surfactant concentrations (0.25–4%), mixing time (5–60
min) and stirring rate (500–2500
rpm). The emulsion stability was estimated by measuring the relative volume of emulsion after 24
h of the preparation of emulsion and the zeta potential. 1% of surfactant, 18
min of mixing time and 2000
rpm stirring were found to be the optimum conditions for the most stable emulsions. A series of experiments were performed to investigate the effect of such parameters as influent oil concentration (30–500
mg/dm
3), bed height (30–100
mm) and flow rate (10–20
dm
3/h) on the oil removal efficiency of the resin. More than 89% of emulsified oil was removed under optimal operating conditions: 10
dm
3/h flow velocity, 75
mm bed height, and 500
mg/dm
3 influent concentration of oil in the o/w emulsion. SEM and FTIR results indicate that the hydrogen bonding and hydrophilic interaction were the principal driving forces for the adhesion of oil onto the polymeric resin surfaces. The results indicated that the resin is very effective in removing oil from o/w emulsion.
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