A Design Of Experiments (DOE) methodology was suggested to define an optimized irradiation test plan. In this paper, the proposed test plan was used to model the degradation of the main performances ...(photo and dark current) of silicon based phototransistors arrays with respect to the Total Ionizing Dose (TID) and to the Displacement Damage Dose (DDD), over a wide range of space-kind environments. The expected performance degradation after an 18-year Low Earth Orbit (LEO) mission was calculated using this model. End-Of-Life (EOL) prediction results were compared to experimental ones obtained on devices irradiated with a proton beam degrader that simulates the 18 year LEO environment. The excellent agreement found between theoretical and experimental data makes this methodology particularly valuable for the space qualification of such devices.
Observations in the UV-regime are very important for exoplanet research, because many diagnostically important lines for studying stellar activity are in this regime. Studying stellar activity is not ...only important because of its negative effects on the determination planetary parameters, but also because the XUV-radiation from the host stars affects the photochemistry and the erosion of planetary atmospheres . Unfortunately, the XUV-region is only accessible from space. However, since the XUV-radiation is correlated with the CaII,HK-lines, we can use these lines to study the XUV radiation indirectly. The CaIIHK lines for relatively bright stars can be observed with PLATOspec, a new high-resolution echelle spectrograph in development for the ESO 1.5m telescope at La Silla. One advantage compared to instruments on larger telescopes will be that large programs can be carried out. There will be two modes for obtaining precise RV-measurements. In the future, the CUBES instrument on the VLT will be able to study the same lines to probe the XUV-radiation in much fainter targets.
Advances in the technologies for labeling and imaging biological samples drive a constant progress in our capability of studying structures and their dynamics within cells and tissues. In the last ...decade, the development of numerous nonlinear optical microscopies has led to a new prospective both in basic research and in the potential development of very powerful noninvasive diagnostic tools. These techniques offer large advantages over conventional linear microscopy with regard to penetration depth, spatial resolution, three-dimensional optical sectioning, and lower photobleaching. Additionally, some of these techniques offer the opportunity for optically probing biological functions directly in living cells, as highlighted, for example, by the application of second harmonic generation to the optical measurement of electrical potential and activity in excitable cells. In parallel with imaging techniques, nonlinear microscopy has been developed into a new area for the selective disruption and manipulation of intracellular structures, providing an extremely useful tool of investigation in cell biology. In this review we present some basic features of nonlinear microscopy with regard both to imaging and manipulation, and show some examples to illustrate the advantages offered by these novel methodologies.
The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential effectiveness of maternal serum pregnancy‐associated plasma protein A (PAPP‐A) and free β‐hCG in combination with nuchal translucency thickness in ...first trimester screening for Down's syndrome. Maternal serum levels of PAPP‐A and free β‐hCG were assayed in stored sera from 32 Down's syndrome and 200 unaffected pregnancies. Fetal nuchal translucency was measured by ultrasound at the time of blood sampling. Screening of Down's syndrome using a combination of maternal age, PAPP‐A, free β‐hCG and nuchal translucency would achieve a detection rate of 75.8% for a false positive rate of 5%.
The present study reports the confirmation of BD-14 3065b, a transiting planet/brown dwarf in a triple-star system, with a mass near the deuterium burning boundary. BD-14 3065b has the largest radius ...observed within the sample of giant planets and brown dwarfs around post-main-sequence stars. Its orbital period is 4.3 days, and it transits a subgiant F-type star with a mass of \(M_\star=1.41 \pm 0.05 M_{\odot}\), a radius of \(R_\star=2.35 \pm 0.08 R_{\odot}\), an effective temperature of \(T_{\rm eff}=6935\pm90\) K, and a metallicity of \(-0.34\pm0.05\) dex. By combining TESS photometry with high-resolution spectra acquired with the TRES and Pucheros+ spectrographs, we measured a mass of \(M_p=12.37\pm0.92 M_J\) and a radius of \(R_p=1.926\pm0.094 R_J\). Our discussion of potential processes that could be responsible for the inflated radius led us to conclude that deuterium burning is a plausible explanation resulting from the heating of BD-14 3065b's interior. Detection of the secondary eclipse with TESS photometry enables a precise determination of the eccentricity \(e_p=0.066\pm0.011\) and reveals BD-14 3065b has a brightness temperature of \(3520 \pm 130\) K. With its unique characteristics, BD-14 3065b presents an excellent opportunity to study its atmosphere through thermal emission spectroscopy.
We measured by ultrasound the spleen, the kidneys, the pancreas in 323 children (age 0-12), the thyroid in 60 children of same age range, and all these organs in 180 adults (in adults we measured ...additionally the testis, the gallbladder and the choledochus). Children and adults were all healthy, without evidence of pathologies potentially involving these organs. The children have been selected looking at clinical and hematological parameters, while the adults have been selected among a military population, that is the most significant sample of healthy young adults. We measured the length, the transversal diameter and the thickness of the spleen, kidneys, pancreas, testis and thyroid, the diameter of the choledochus and the maximum length of the gallbladder (pre and post stimulus). We found a good correlation between age and dimensions for pancreas, kidneys and spleen in children, representing the progressive growth of these organs. Our data represent an assessment of the normal dimensions of these organs in vivo by means of ultrasound, and therefore they are an useful tool to discriminate pathologically enlarged or reduced organs, both in children and in adults.
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