ABSTRACT
In the era of big data, radio astronomical image reconstruction algorithms are challenged to estimate clean images given limited computing resources and time. This article is driven by the ...need for large-scale image reconstruction for the future Square Kilometre Array (SKA), which will become in the next decades the largest low and intermediate frequency radio telescope in the world. This work proposes a scalable wide-band deconvolution algorithm called MUFFIN, which stands for ‘MUlti Frequency image reconstruction For radio INterferometry’. MUFFIN estimates the sky images in various frequency bands, given the corresponding dirty images and point spread functions. The reconstruction is achieved by minimizing a data fidelity term and joint spatial and spectral sparse analysis regularization terms. It is consequently non-parametric w.r.t. the spectral behaviour of radio sources. MUFFIN algorithm is endowed with a parallel implementation and an automatic tuning of the regularization parameters, making it scalable and well suited for big data applications such as SKA. Comparisons between MUFFIN and the state-of-the-art wide-band reconstruction algorithm are provided.
The paper report the results of the first European prospective nonrandomized trial dedicated to pediatric synovial sarcoma. The study included 138 patients treated from 2005 to 2012 with a multimodal ...therapeutic approach. The overall treatment results were higher than those previously published by pediatric groups.
To report the results of the first European prospective nonrandomized trial dedicated to pediatric synovial sarcoma.
From August 2005 to August 2012, 138 patients <21 years old with nonmetastatic synovial sarcoma were registered in 9 different countries (and 60 centers). Patients were treated with a multimodal therapy including ifosfamide–doxorubicin chemotherapy and radiotherapy, according to a risk stratification based on surgical stage, tumor size and site, and nodal involvement.
With a median follow-up of 52.1 months (range 13.8–104.4 months), event-free survival (EFS) was 81.9% and 80.7%, and overall survival (OS) was 97.2% and 90.7%, at 3 and 5 years, respectively. The only significant prognostic variable at univariate analysis was the risk group: 3-year EFS was 91.7% for low-risk, 91.2% for intermediate-risk, and 74.4% for high-risk cases. In 24 low-risk patients (completely resected tumor ≤5 cm in size) treated with surgery alone, there were two local relapses and no metastatic recurrences. Among 67 high-risk patients (unresected, or axial tumor or nodal involvement), 66 underwent surgery after neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Response to chemotherapy was 55.2%, including 22.4% cases with complete or major partial remissions, and 32.8% with minor partial remissions.
This study demonstrates that collaborative prospective studies on rare pediatric sarcomas are feasible even on a European scale, with excellent treatment compliance. The overall results of treatment were satisfactory, with higher survival rates than those previously published by pediatric groups. Nonetheless, larger, international projects are needed, based on a cooperative effort of pediatric and adult oncologists.
European Union Drug Regulating Authorities Clinical Trials No. 2005-001139-31.
Electron pairing in the vast majority of superconductors follows the Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer theory of superconductivity, which describes the condensation of electrons into pairs with antiparallel ...spins in a singlet state with an s-wave symmetry. Unconventional superconductivity was predicted in single-layer graphene (SLG), with the electrons pairing with a p-wave or chiral d-wave symmetry, depending on the position of the Fermi energy with respect to the Dirac point. By placing SLG on an electron-doped (non-chiral) d-wave superconductor and performing local scanning tunnelling microscopy and spectroscopy, here we show evidence for a p-wave triggered superconducting density of states in SLG. The realization of unconventional superconductivity in SLG offers an exciting new route for the development of p-wave superconductivity using two-dimensional materials with transition temperatures above 4.2 K.
Graphene is emerging as a viable alternative to conventional optoelectronic, plasmonic and nanophotonic materials. The interaction of light with charge carriers creates an out-of-equilibrium ...distribution, which relaxes on an ultrafast timescale to a hot Fermi-Dirac distribution, that subsequently cools emitting phonons. Although the slower relaxation mechanisms have been extensively investigated, the initial stages still pose a challenge. Experimentally, they defy the resolution of most pump-probe setups, due to the extremely fast sub-100 fs carrier dynamics. Theoretically, massless Dirac fermions represent a novel many-body problem, fundamentally different from Schrödinger fermions. Here we combine pump-probe spectroscopy with a microscopic theory to investigate electron-electron interactions during the early stages of relaxation. We identify the mechanisms controlling the ultrafast dynamics, in particular the role of collinear scattering. This gives rise to Auger processes, including charge multiplication, which is key in photovoltage generation and photodetectors.
The equilibrium optical phonons of graphene are well characterized in terms of anharmonicity and electron-phonon interactions; however, their non-equilibrium properties in the presence of hot charge ...carriers are still not fully explored. Here we study the Raman spectrum of graphene under ultrafast laser excitation with 3 ps pulses, which trade off between impulsive stimulation and spectral resolution. We localize energy into hot carriers, generating non-equilibrium temperatures in the ~1700-3100 K range, far exceeding that of the phonon bath, while simultaneously detecting the Raman response. The linewidths of both G and 2D peaks show an increase as function of the electronic temperature. We explain this as a result of the Dirac cones' broadening and electron-phonon scattering in the highly excited transient regime, important for the emerging field of graphene-based photonics and optoelectronics.
Modelling the kinked jet of the Crab nebula Mignone, A.; Striani, E.; Tavani, M. ...
Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society,
12/2013, Volume:
436, Issue:
2
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
We investigate the dynamical propagation of the South-East jet from the Crab pulsar interacting with supernova ejecta by means of three-dimensional relativistic magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) numerical ...simulations with the pluto code. The initial jet structure is set up from the inner regions of the Crab nebula. We study the evolution of hot, relativistic hollow outflows initially carrying a purely azimuthal magnetic field. Our jet models are characterized by different choices of the outflow magnetization (σ parameter) and the bulk Lorentz factor (γj). We show that the jet is heavily affected by the growth of current-driven kink instabilities causing considerable deflection throughout its propagation length. This behaviour is partially stabilized by the combined action of larger flow velocities and/or reduced magnetic field strengths. We find that our best jet models are characterized by relatively large values of σ ( 1) and small values of γj 2. Our results are in good agreement with the recent X-ray (Chandra) data of the Crab nebula South-East jet indicating that the jet changes direction of propagation on a time-scale of the order of few years. The 3D models presented here may have important implications in the investigation of particle acceleration in relativistic outflows.
We exfoliate graphite in both aqueous and non‐aqueous environments through mild sonication followed by centrifugation. The dispersions are enriched with monolayers. We mix them with polymers, ...followed by slow evaporation to produce optical quality composites. Nonlinear optical measurements show ∼5% saturable absorption. The composites are then integrated into fiber laser cavities to generate 630 fs pulses at 1.56 µm. This shows the viability of solution phase processing for graphene based photonic devices.
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