WorldWideScience

Sample records for acute zonal occult

  1. Photoreceptor atrophy in acute zonal occult outer retinopathy

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Zibrandtsen, N.; Munch, I.C.; Klemp, K.

    2006-01-01

    Purpose: To assess retinal morphology in acute zonal occult outer retinopathy (AZOOR). Methods: Three patients with a normal ophthalmoscopic fundus appearance, a history of photopsia, and visual field loss compatible with AZOOR were examined using optical coherence tomography, automated perimetry...

  2. Acute Zonal Occult Outer Retinopathy with Atypical Findings

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dimitrios Karagiannis

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Background. To report a case of acute zonal occult outer retinopathy (AZOOR with atypical electrophysiology findings. Case Presentation. A 23-year-old-female presented with visual acuity deterioration in her right eye accompanied by photopsia bilaterally. Corrected distance visual acuity at presentation was 20/50 in the right eye and 20/20 in the left eye. Fundus examination was unremarkable. Visual field (VF testing revealed a large scotoma. Pattern and full-field electroretinograms (PERG and ERG revealed macular involvement associated with generalized retinal dysfunction. Electrooculogram (EOG light rise and the Arden ratio were within normal limits bilaterally. The patient was diagnosed with AZOOR due to clinical findings, visual field defect, and ERG findings. Conclusion. This is a case of AZOOR with characteristic VF defects and clinical symptoms presenting with atypical EOG findings.

  3. ULTRA-WIDE-FIELD FUNDUS AUTOFLUORESCENCE FINDINGS IN PATIENTS WITH ACUTE ZONAL OCCULT OUTER RETINOPATHY.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shifera, Amde Selassie; Pennesi, Mark E; Yang, Paul; Lin, Phoebe

    2017-06-01

    To determine whether ultra-wide-field fundus autofluorescence (UWFFAF) findings in acute zonal occult outer retinopathy correlated well with perimetry, optical coherence tomography, and electroretinography findings. Retrospective observational study on 16 eyes of 10 subjects with AZOOR seen at a single referral center from October 2012 to March 2015 who had UWFFAF performed. Chi-square analysis was performed to compare categorical variables, and Mann-Whitney U test used for comparisons of nonparametric continuous variables. All eyes examined within 3 months of symptom onset (five of the five eyes) had diffusely hyperautofluorescent areas on UWFFAF. The remaining eyes contained hypoautofluorescent lesions with hyperautofluorescent borders. In 11/16 (68.8%) eyes, UWFFAF showed the full extent of lesions that would not have been possible with standard fundus autofluorescence centered on the fovea. There were 3 patterns of spread: centrifugal spread (7/16, 43.8%), centripetal spread (5/16, 31.3%), and centrifugal + centripetal spread (4/16, 25.0%). The UWFFAF lesions corresponded well with perimetric, optical coherence tomography, and electroretinography abnormalities. The UWFFAF along with optical coherence tomography can be useful in the evaluation and monitoring of acute zonal occult outer retinopathy patients.

  4. ACUTE ZONAL OCCULT OUTER RETINOPATHY: Structural and Functional Analysis Across the Transition Zone Between Healthy and Diseased Retina.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duncker, Tobias; Lee, Winston; Jiang, Fan; Ramachandran, Rithambara; Hood, Donald C; Tsang, Stephen H; Sparrow, Janet R; Greenstein, Vivienne C

    2018-01-01

    To assess structure and function across the transition zone (TZ) between relatively healthy and diseased retina in acute zonal occult outer retinopathy. Six patients (6 eyes; age 22-71 years) with acute zonal occult outer retinopathy were studied. Spectral-domain optical coherence tomography, fundus autofluorescence, near-infrared reflectance, color fundus photography, and fundus perimetry were performed and images were registered to each other. The retinal layers of the spectral-domain optical coherence tomography scans were segmented and the thicknesses of two outer retinal layers, that is, the total receptor and outer segment plus layers, and the retinal nerve fiber layer were measured. All eyes showed a TZ on multimodal imaging. On spectral-domain optical coherence tomography, the TZ was in the nasal retina at varying distances from the fovea. For all eyes, it was associated with loss of the ellipsoid zone band, significant thinning of the two outer retinal layers, and in three eyes with thickening of the retinal nerve fiber layer. On fundus autofluorescence, all eyes had a clearly demarcated peripapillary area of abnormal fundus autofluorescence delimited by a border of high autofluorescence; the latter was associated with loss of the ellipsoid zone band and with a change from relatively normal to markedly decreased or nonrecordable visual sensitivity on fundus perimetry. The results of multimodal imaging clarified the TZ in acute zonal occult outer retinopathy. The TZ was outlined by a distinct high autofluorescence border that correlated with loss of the ellipsoid zone band on spectral-domain optical coherence tomography. However, in fundus areas that seemed healthy on fundus autofluorescence, thinning of the outer retinal layers and thickening of the retinal nerve fiber layer were observed near the TZ. The TZ was also characterized by a decrease in visual sensitivity.

  5. Acute Zonal Cone Photoreceptor Outer Segment Loss.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aleman, Tomas S; Sandhu, Harpal S; Serrano, Leona W; Traband, Anastasia; Lau, Marisa K; Adamus, Grazyna; Avery, Robert A

    2017-05-01

    The diagnostic path presented narrows down the cause of acute vision loss to the cone photoreceptor outer segment and will refocus the search for the cause of similar currently idiopathic conditions. To describe the structural and functional associations found in a patient with acute zonal occult photoreceptor loss. A case report of an adolescent boy with acute visual field loss despite a normal fundus examination performed at a university teaching hospital. Results of a complete ophthalmic examination, full-field flash electroretinography (ERG) and multifocal ERG, light-adapted achromatic and 2-color dark-adapted perimetry, and microperimetry. Imaging was performed with spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT), near-infrared (NIR) and short-wavelength (SW) fundus autofluorescence (FAF), and NIR reflectance (REF). The patient was evaluated within a week of the onset of a scotoma in the nasal field of his left eye. Visual acuity was 20/20 OU, and color vision was normal in both eyes. Results of the fundus examination and of SW-FAF and NIR-FAF imaging were normal in both eyes, whereas NIR-REF imaging showed a region of hyporeflectance temporal to the fovea that corresponded with a dense relative scotoma noted on light-adapted static perimetry in the left eye. Loss in the photoreceptor outer segment detected by SD-OCT co-localized with an area of dense cone dysfunction detected on light-adapted perimetry and multifocal ERG but with near-normal rod-mediated vision according to results of 2-color dark-adapted perimetry. Full-field flash ERG findings were normal in both eyes. The outer nuclear layer and inner retinal thicknesses were normal. Localized, isolated cone dysfunction may represent the earliest photoreceptor abnormality or a distinct entity within the acute zonal occult outer retinopathy complex. Acute zonal occult outer retinopathy should be considered in patients with acute vision loss and abnormalities on NIR-REF imaging, especially if

  6. Fundus autofluorescence and optical coherence tomographic findings in acute zonal occult outer retinopathy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fujiwara, Takamitsu; Imamura, Yutaka; Giovinazzo, Vincent J; Spaide, Richard F

    2010-09-01

    The purpose of this study was to investigate the fundus autofluorescence and optical coherence tomography findings in eyes with acute zonal occult outer retinopathy (AZOOR). A retrospective observational case series of the fundus autofluorescence and spectral domain optical coherence tomography in a series of patients with AZOOR. There were 19 eyes of 11 patients (10 women), who had a mean age of 49.1 +/- 13.9 years. Fundus autofluorescence abnormalities were seen in 17 of the 19 eyes, were more common in the peripapillary area, and were smaller in extent than the optical coherence tomography abnormalities. Nine eyes showed progression of hypoautofluorescence area during the mean follow-up of 69.7 months. The mean thickness of the photoreceptor layer at fovea was 177 microm in eyes with AZOOR, which was significantly thinner than controls (193 microm, P = 0.049). Abnormal retinal laminations were found in 12 eyes and were located over areas of loss of the photoreceptors. The subfoveal choroidal thickness was 243 microm, which is normal. Fundus autofluorescence abnormalities in AZOOR showed distinct patterns of retinal pigment epithelial involvement, which may be progressive. Thinning of photoreceptor cell layer with loss of the outer segments and abnormal inner retinal lamination in the context of a normal choroid are commonly found in AZOOR.

  7. Quantitative Autofluorescence Intensities in Acute Zonal Occult Outer Retinopathy vs Healthy Eyes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boudreault, Katherine; Schuerch, Kaspar; Zhao, Jin; Lee, Winston; Cabral, Thiago; Yannuzzi, Lawrence A.; Tsang, Stephen H.; Sparrow, Janet R.

    2018-01-01

    IMPORTANCE Acute zonal occult outer retinopathy (AZOOR) remains a challenging diagnosis. Early recognition of the disease depends on advances in imaging modalities that can improve phenotyping and contribute to the understanding of the underlying pathogenesis. OBJECTIVES To expand the range of approaches available to assist in the identification of AZOOR by multimodal imaging and to analyze the fundus lesions by quantifying short-wavelength fundus autofluorescence (quantitative fundus autofluorescence [qAF]) and spectral-domain optical coherence tomography. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS In this observational study, patients underwent imaging at Columbia University Medical Center between November 2010 and March 2016 and were analyzed between September 2015 and August 2016. Six patients diagnosed as having AZOOR were studied by qAF and spectral-domain optical coherence tomography and were compared with 30 age and race/ethnicity–matched controls from a database of 277 healthy control eyes. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES In unaffected regions of the macula, qAF was calculated within predetermined circularly arranged segments (qAF8). In addition, qAF was measured within specified regions of interest positioned at the autofluorescent lesion border (AZOOR line). Electroretinograms and electro-oculograms were recorded in 5 of 6 patients. RESULTS Among 6 patients (age range, 26–61 years; 4 female; 4 of white race/ethnicity, 1 Asian, and 1 Hispanic), 5 exhibited an autofluorescent AZOOR line in short-wavelength fundus autofluorescence images, delineating the peripapillary lesion. The mean (SD) region-of-interest qAF measured on the AZOOR line was 60 (26) times higher than in healthy control eyes (P = .03) at equivalent fundus locations. The qAF8 within nondiseased macular regions were within the normal range. At the lesion border, spectral-domain optical coherence tomography revealed a loss of outer retinal integrity in all patients. Single-flash cone b-wave latency and

  8. When the bell tolls on Bell's palsy: finding occult malignancy in acute-onset facial paralysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Quesnel, Alicia M; Lindsay, Robin W; Hadlock, Tessa A

    2010-01-01

    This study reports 4 cases of occult parotid malignancy presenting with sudden-onset facial paralysis to demonstrate that failure to regain tone 6 months after onset distinguishes these patients from Bell's palsy patients with delayed recovery and to propose a diagnostic algorithm for this subset of patients. A case series of 4 patients with occult parotid malignancies presenting with acute-onset unilateral facial paralysis is reported. Initial imaging on all 4 patients did not demonstrate a parotid mass. Diagnostic delays ranged from 7 to 36 months from time of onset of facial paralysis to time of diagnosis of parotid malignancy. Additional physical examination findings, especially failure to regain tone, as well as properly protocolled radiologic studies reviewed with dedicated head and neck radiologists, were helpful in arriving at the diagnosis. An algorithm to minimize diagnostic delays in this subset of acute facial paralysis patients is presented. Careful attention to facial tone, in addition to movement, is important in the diagnostic evaluation of acute-onset facial paralysis. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  9. Ozone zonal asymmetry and planetary wave characterization during Antarctic spring

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    I. Ialongo

    2012-03-01

    Full Text Available A large zonal asymmetry of ozone has been observed over Antarctica during winter-spring, when the ozone hole develops. It is caused by a planetary wave-driven displacement of the polar vortex. The total ozone data by OMI (Ozone Monitoring Instrument and the ozone profiles by MLS (Microwave Limb Sounder and GOMOS (Global Ozone Monitoring by Occultation of Stars were analysed to characterize the ozone zonal asymmetry and the wave activity during Antarctic spring. Both total ozone and profile data have shown a persistent zonal asymmetry over the last years, which is usually observed from September to mid-December. The largest amplitudes of planetary waves at 65° S (the perturbations can achieve up to 50% of zonal mean values is observed in October. The wave activity is dominated by the quasi-stationary wave 1 component, while the wave 2 is mainly an eastward travelling wave. Wave numbers 1 and 2 generally explain more than the 90% of the ozone longitudinal variations. Both GOMOS and MLS ozone profile data show that ozone zonal asymmetry covers the whole stratosphere and extends up to the altitudes of 60–65 km. The wave amplitudes in ozone mixing ratio decay with altitude, with maxima (up to 50% below 30 km.

    The characterization of the ozone zonal asymmetry has become important in the climate research. The inclusion of the polar zonal asymmetry in the climate models is essential for an accurate estimation of the future temperature trends. This information might also be important for retrieval algorithms that rely on ozone a priori information.

  10. Magnetic field orientations in Saturn's upper ionosphere inferred from Voyager radio occultations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hinson, D. P.

    1984-01-01

    The radio scintillations observed during occultations of Voyagers 1 and 2 by Saturn are analyzed to determine the morphology of plasma irregularities and hence the magnetic field orientation in Saturn's upper atmosphere. The measurement techniques, the weak scattering theory, and the method used to relate the observed radio scintillations to physical properties of the ionospheric irregularities are briefly described. Results on the spatial characteristics of the irregularities are presented, and the magnetic field orientation in Saturn's ionosphere is inferred. Although the occultation measurements generally confirm the accuracy of the Saturnian magnetic field model of Connerney et al. (1982), it is found that a small adjustment of the coefficients in that model's zonal harmonic expansion would remove the discrepancy between the model predictions and the measurements. A strategy for obtaining improved measurements of Saturn's magnetic field from radio occultation observations of scintillations and Faraday rotation using an orbiting spacecraft is briefly discussed.

  11. Local time dependence of the thermal structure in the Venusian equatorial region revealed by Akatsuki radio occultation measurements

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ando, H.; Fukuhara, T.; Takagi, M.; Imamura, T.; Sugimoto, N.; Sagawa, H.

    2017-12-01

    The radio occultation technique is one of the most useful methods to retrieve vertical temperature profiles in planetary atmospheres. Ultra-Stable Oscillator (USO) onboard Venus Climate Orbiter, Akatsuki, enables us to investigate the thermal structure of the Venus atmosphere between about 40-90 km levels. It is expected that 35 temperature profiles will be obtained by the radio occultation measurements of Akatsuki until August 2017. Static stability derived from the temperature profiles shows its local time dependence above the cloud top level at low-latitudes equatorward of 25˚. The vertical profiles of the static stability in the dawn and dusk regions have maxima at 77 km and 82 km levels, respectively. A general circulation model (GCM) for the Venus atmosphere (AFES-Venus) reproduced the thermal structures above the cloud top qualitatively consistent with the radio occultation measurements; the maxima of the static stability are seen both in the dawn and dusk regions, and the local maximum of the static stability in the dusk region is located at a highler level than in the dawn region. Comparing the thermal structures between the radio occultation measurements and the GCM results, it is suggested that the distribution of the static stability above the cloud top could be strongly affected by the diurnal tide. The thermal tide influences on the thermal structure as well as atmospheric motions above the cloud level. In addition, it is shown that zonally averaged zonal wind at about 80 km altitude could be roughly estimated from the radio occultation measurements using the dispersion relation of the internal gravity wave.

  12. Photoreceptor atrophy in acute zonal occult outer retinopathy

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Zibrandtsen, N.; Munch, I.C.; Klemp, K.

    2008-01-01

    appearance were examined using optical coherence tomography (OCT), automated perimetry and electroretinography (ERG). RESULTS: Both patients demonstrated photoreceptor atrophy corresponding to partial or complete scotomata with reduced or extinct electroretinographic responses. Attenuation or complete loss...... of all the segments composing the photoreceptor layer was found by OCT. Full-field ERG revealed affection of the 30 Hz flicker responses and subnormal photopic responses in both patients and subnormal scotopic responses in case 1. Multifocal electroretinography (mERG) revealed localized outer retinal...

  13. Photoreceptor atrophy in acute zonal occult outer retinopathy

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Zibrandtsen, N.; Munch, I.C.; Klemp, K.

    2008-01-01

    examined using optical coherence tomography (OCT), automated perimetry and electroretinography (ERG). Both patients demonstrated photoreceptor atrophy corresponding to partial or complete scotomata with reduced or extinct electroretinographic responses. Attenuation or complete loss of all the segments...... composing the photoreceptor layer was found by OCT. Full-field ERG revealed affection of the 30 Hz flicker responses and subnormal photopic responses in both patients and subnormal scotopic responses in case 1. Multifocal electroretinography (mERG) revealed localized outer retinal dysfunction. The field...

  14. Magellan radio occultation measurements of atmospheric waves on Venus

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hinson, David P.; Jenkins, J. M.

    1995-01-01

    Radio occultation experiments were conducted at Venus on three consecutive orbits of the Magellan spacecraft in October 1991. Each occultation occurred over the same topography (67 deg N, 127 deg E) and at the same local time (22 hr 5 min), but the data are sensitive to zonal variations because the atmosphere rotates significantly during one orbit. Through comparisons between observations and predictions of standard wave theory, we have demonstrated that small-scale oscillations in retrieved temperature profiles as well as scintillations in received signal intensity are caused by a spectrum of vertically propagating internal gravity waves. There is a strong similarity between the intensity scintillations observed here and previous measurements, which pertain to a wide range of locations and experiment dates. This implies that the same basic phenomenon underlies all the observations and hence that gravity waves are a persistent, global feature of Venus' atmosphere. We obtained a fairly complete characterization of a gravity wave that appears above the middle cloud in temperature measurements on all three orbits. The amplitude and vertical wavelength are about 4 K and 2.5 km respectively, at 65 km. A model for radiative damping implies that the wave intrinsic frequency is approximately 2 x 10(exp 4) rad/sec, the corresponding ratio between horizontal and vertical wavelengths is approximately 100. The wave is nearly stationary relative to the surface or the Sun. Radiative attenuation limits the wave amplitude at altitudes above approximately 65 km, leading to wave drag on the mean zonal winds of about +0.4 m/sec per day (eastward). The sign, magnitude, and location of this forcing suggest a possible role in explaining the decrease with height in the zonal wind speed that is believed to occur above the cloud tops. Temperature oscillations with larger vertical wavelengths (5-10 km) were also observed on all three orbits, but we are able unable to interpret these

  15. Review of zonal flows

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Diamond, P.H.; Itoh, S.-I.; Itoh, K.; Hahm, T.S.

    2004-10-01

    A comprehensive review of zonal flow phenomena in plasmas is presented. While the emphasis is on zonal flows in laboratory plasmas, zonal flows in nature are discussed as well. The review presents the status of theory, numerical simulation and experiments relevant to zonal flows. The emphasis is on developing an integrated understanding of the dynamics of drift wave - zonal flow turbulence by combining detailed studies of the generation of zonal flows by drift waves, the back-interaction of zonal flows on the drift waves, and the various feedback loops by which the system regulates and organizes itself. The implications of zonal flow phenomena for confinement in, and the phenomena of fusion devices are discussed. Special attention is given to the comparison of experiment with theory and to identifying direction for progress in future research. (author)

  16. Acute paraparesis as presentation of an occult follicular thyroid carcinoma: A case report

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    José Miguel Baião

    Full Text Available Introduction: Follicular thyroid carcinoma is the second most frequent type of well differentiated thyroid tumours. It is usually confined to the thyroid gland, however it can metastasize in a later stage of the disease. Signs and symptoms associated with bone metastasis are rare as first clinical manifestations. Case report: An 84-year-old female complained with acute paraparesis. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed an extensive intraosseous infiltrating lesion compatible with a bone metastasis from an occult tumour. Biopsy samples were compatible with bone metastasis from a follicular thyroid carcinoma. The patient was submitted to total thyroidectomy followed by iodine ablative therapy. Discussion: Follicular thyroid carcinoma presentation with symptoms related to bone metastasis is rare. Patients with bone lesions, such as pathological fractures or compressive symptoms should be studied since they may have clinically unapparent lesions from an unknown tumour. Patients with FTC should be submitted to total thyroidectomy. Bone lesions may be addressed to improve quality of life however this decision depends on disease extent. Conclusion: Acute paraparesis is a rare form of presentation of thyroid carcinoma. These neoplasms must be taken into account when investigating metastasis to the bone from unknown neoplasms. Keywords: Acute paraparesis, Follicular thyroid carcinoma, Bone metastasis, Case report

  17. The value of MR imaging of PDFASAT sequence in the diagnosis of extremities occult fractures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lu Lingquan; Xu Mingshen; Wu Qianzhi; Mao Chunnan; Wang Shuzi; Zhou Xingfan; Wang Liping

    2004-01-01

    Objective: To investigate the value of MR imaging of proton density weighted-fat saturated (PDFASAT) sequence in detecting the occult fracture of extremities. Methods: Thirty-one patients with acute trauma were studied using radiography and MR imaging within 45 days. MR sequences included FSE T 1 WI, T 2 WI, and PDFASAT. 21 occult fractures occurred in the knee joint, 6 in the hip joint, 1 in the elbow joint, 2 in the shoulder, and 1 in the ankle. Results: All 31 cases had normal radiographic results. 10 cases with proximal fibula, 4 with proximal tibia and 7 with femur condyle occult fractures were found in 21 knee joint acute trauma cases. 2 cases with intertrochanteric, 2 with femoral neck and 2 with cotyle occult fractures were found in 6 hip joint trauma cases. 2 proximal humerus occult fractures were found in 2 shoulder cases. 1 distal humerus and 1 distal fibula occult fracture was found in elbow and ankle cases. MR imaging demonstrated irregular linear low signal in the subcortical region on both T 1 WI and T 2 WI, and high signal changes around low signal were seen on T 2 WI in some cases. The high signal in PDFASAT sequence was more remarkable and wider than that on both T 1 WI and T 2 WI. Conclusion: MR imaging could determine the diagnosis of acute and chronic occult fractures. MRI should be the next choice when plain films fail to reveal suspected fractures in setting of suggestive symptoms and positive physical examination. PDFASAT would be the best effective sequence among the T 1 WI, T 2 WI, and PDFASAT. (author)

  18. Neurogenic bladder from occult herpes zoster.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rothrock, J F; Walicke, P A; Swenson, M R

    1986-11-01

    Active infection with herpes zoster may cause acute urinary retention, especially when it involves sacral dermatomes. Although frank retention usually develops days to weeks after eruption of the typical rash, bladder incompetence infrequently develops first, raising concern over other, more ominous etiologies. In the case presented, rash appearance was delayed until six weeks after the initial onset of urinary retention, a much longer interval than previously reported. Occult herpes zoster infection should be considered in patients presenting with an acute neurogenic bladder of obscure cause.

  19. Physics of zonal flows

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Itoh, K.; Fujisawa, A.; Itoh, S.-I.; Yagi, M.; Nagashima, Y.; Diamond, P.H.; Tynan, G.R.; Hahm, T.S.

    2006-01-01

    Zonal flows, which means azimuthally symmetric band-like shear flows, are ubiquitous phenomena in nature and the laboratory. It is now widely recognized that zonal flows are a key constituent in virtually all cases and regimes of drift wave turbulence, indeed, so much so that this classic problem is now frequently referred to as ''drift wave-zonal flow turbulence.'' In this review, new viewpoints and unifying concepts are presented, which facilitate understanding of zonal flow physics, via theory, computation and their confrontation with the results of laboratory experiment. Special emphasis is placed on identifying avenues for further progress. (author)

  20. Physics of zonal flows

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Itoh, K.; Itoh, S.-I.; Diamond, P.H.; Hahm, T.S.; Fujisawa, A.; Tynan, G.R.; Yagi, M.; Nagashima, Y.

    2006-01-01

    Zonal flows, which means azimuthally symmetric band-like shear flows, are ubiquitous phenomena in nature and the laboratory. It is now widely recognized that zonal flows are a key constituent in virtually all cases and regimes of drift wave turbulence, indeed, so much so that this classic problem is now frequently referred to as 'drift wave-zonal flow turbulence'. In this review, new viewpoints and unifying concepts are presented, which facilitate understanding of zonal flow physics, via theory, computation and their confrontation with the results of laboratory experiment. Special emphasis is placed on identifying avenues for further progress

  1. Reflective Occultation Mask for Evaluation of Occulter Designs for Planet Finding

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hagopian, John; Lyon, Richard; Shiri, Shahram; Roman, Patrick

    2011-01-01

    Advanced formation flying occulter designs utilize a large occulter mask flying in formation with an imaging telescope to block and null starlight to allow imaging of faint planets in exosolar systems. A paper describes the utilization of subscale reflective occultation masks to evaluate formation flying occulter designs. The use of a reflective mask allows mounting of the occulter by conventional means and simplifies the test configuration. The innovation alters the test set-up to allow mounting of the mask using standard techniques to eliminate the problems associated with a standard configuration. The modified configuration uses a reflective set-up whereby the star simulator reflects off of a reflective occulting mask and into an evaluation telescope. Since the mask is sized to capture all rays required for the imaging test, it can be mounted directly to a supporting fixture without interfering with the beam. Functionally, the reflective occultation mask reflects light from the star simulator instead of transmitting it, with a highly absorptive carbon nanotube layer simulating the occulter blocking mask. A subscale telescope images the star source and companion dim source that represents a planet. The primary advantage of this is that the occulter can be mounted conventionally instead of using diffractive wires or magnetic levitation.

  2. Overview of zonal flow physics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Diamond, P.H.; Itoh, K.; Itoh, S.-I.; Hahm, T.S.

    2005-01-01

    Zonal flows, by which we mean azimuthally symmetric band-like shear flows, are ubiquitous phenomena in nature and the laboratory. It is now widely recognized that zonal flows are a key constituent in virtually all cases and regimes of drift wave turbulence, indeed, so much so that this classic problem is now frequently referred to as 'drift wave-zonal flow turbulence'. In this theory overview, we present new viewpoints and unifying concepts which facilitate understanding of zonal flow physics, via theory, computation and their confrontation with the results of laboratory experiment. Special emphasis is placed on identifying avenues for further progress. (author)

  3. ON THE VARIATION OF ZONAL GRAVITY COEFFICIENTS OF A GIANT PLANET CAUSED BY ITS DEEP ZONAL FLOWS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kong Dali; Zhang Keke; Schubert, Gerald

    2012-01-01

    Rapidly rotating giant planets are usually marked by the existence of strong zonal flows at the cloud level. If the zonal flow is sufficiently deep and strong, it can produce hydrostatic-related gravitational anomalies through distortion of the planet's shape. This paper determines the zonal gravity coefficients, J 2n , n = 1, 2, 3, ..., via an analytical method taking into account rotation-induced shape changes by assuming that a planet has an effective uniform density and that the zonal flows arise from deep convection and extend along cylinders parallel to the rotation axis. Two different but related hydrostatic models are considered. When a giant planet is in rigid-body rotation, the exact solution of the problem using oblate spheroidal coordinates is derived, allowing us to compute the value of its zonal gravity coefficients J-bar 2n , n=1,2,3,..., without making any approximation. When the deep zonal flow is sufficiently strong, we develop a general perturbation theory for estimating the variation of the zonal gravity coefficients, ΔJ 2n =J 2n -J-bar 2n , n=1,2,3,..., caused by the effect of the deep zonal flows for an arbitrarily rapidly rotating planet. Applying the general theory to Jupiter, we find that the deep zonal flow could contribute up to 0.3% of the J 2 coefficient and 0.7% of J 4 . It is also found that the shape-driven harmonics at the 10th zonal gravity coefficient become dominant, i.e., ΔJ 2n >=J-bar 2n for n ≥ 5.

  4. GAMBARAN RADIOLOGIS PADA OCCULT PNEUMOTHORAKS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Putu Aditha Satya Putra

    2013-02-01

    Full Text Available Pneumothorax is a recognized cause of death in chest wall trauma. Radiological examination is the key factor to establish the existence of a pneumothorax. Occult pneumothorax is pneumothorax that undiagnosed clinically and with thoracic x-ray, but it can be tolerated while other more urgent trauma. Occult pneumothorax can be detected by CT (Computed tomography. Occult pneumothorax may progress to tension pneumothorax in certain circumstances. Missing in diagnosed pneumothorax will cause death. This literature will discuss radiological examination for diagnosing, early detection, and management of occult pneumothorax. If thoracic x-ray examination did not reveal the occult pneumothorax, it can be dangerous if existence of pneumothorax was not known. In this case, the examination of thoracic CT-Scan is gold standard for determining the presence of occult pneumothorax and can provide appropriate care.

  5. Measurement of stellar occultations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eberle, Andreas

    2008-09-01

    Whenever an asteroid occults a star, we have the opportunity to study that asteroid in great detail. As frequently shown in the past, amateur astronomers1 have the necessary equipment to measure such events successfully2. Combined with the dense net of amateur observatories and online coordination tools3 for movable stations, they can create fine grids to detect even small bodies. The analysis of these events gives us the possibility to receive high precision astrometry data, to determine the asteroids size and shape (and therefore its albedo), and even to collect information on the star itself.4 While usually a set of several light curves is required to do so, a single recording5 of (10734) Wieck's occultation of HIP 22157 on 2008 Feb 08 was sufficient to retrieve the necessary data6. 1 Observation campaigns are organized by the International Occultation Timing Association (IOTA), http://www.iota-es.de/ 2 for results see e.g. euraster.net by E. Frappa, http://www.euraster.net/ 3 Occult Watcher by H. Pavlov, http://www.hristopavlov.net/OccultWatcher/OccultWatcher.html 4 see K. Miyashita's analysis of the observation of the occultation of TYC 1886-01206-1 by Kalliope and Linus, http://www005.upp.so-net.ne.jp/k miyash/occ02/kalliope/doublestar en.html 5 recording obtained by H. Michels, MPC Station Code 240 6 using Limovie by K. Miyashita

  6. Outcome of Concurrent Occult Hemothorax and Pneumothorax in Trauma Patients Who Required Assisted Ventilation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ismail Mahmood

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Background. The management and outcomes of occult hemopneumothorax in blunt trauma patients who required mechanical ventilation are not well studied. We aimed to study patients with occult hemopneumothorax on mechanical ventilation who could be carefully managed without tube thoracostomy. Methods. Chest trauma patients with occult hemopneumothorax who were on mechanical ventilation were prospectively evaluated. The presence of hemopneumothorax was confirmed by CT scanning. Hospital length of stay, complications, and outcome were recorded. Results. A total of 56 chest trauma patients with occult hemopneumothorax who were on ventilatory support were included with a mean age of 36 ± 13 years. Hemopneumothorax was managed conservatively in 72% cases and 28% underwent tube thoracostomy as indicated. 29% of patients developed pneumonia, 16% had Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS, and 7% died. Thickness of hemothorax, duration of mechanical ventilation, and development of ARDS were significantly associated with tube thoracostomy in comparison to no-chest tube group. Conclusions. The majority of occult hemopneumothorax can be carefully managed without tube thoracostomy in patients who required positive pressure ventilation. Tube thoracotomy could be restricted to those who had evidence of increase in the size of the hemothorax or pneumothorax on follow-up chest radiographs or developed respiratory compromise.

  7. Dynamics of zonal flows in helical systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sugama, H; Watanabe, T-H

    2005-03-25

    A theory for describing collisionless long-time behavior of zonal flows in helical systems is presented and its validity is verified by gyrokinetic-Vlasov simulation. It is shown that, under the influence of particles trapped in helical ripples, the response of zonal flows to a given source becomes weaker for lower radial wave numbers and deeper helical ripples while a high-level zonal-flow response, which is not affected by helical-ripple-trapped particles, can be maintained for a longer time by reducing their bounce-averaged radial drift velocity. This implies a possibility that helical configurations optimized for reducing neoclassical ripple transport can simultaneously enhance zonal flows which lower anomalous transport.

  8. Detection of single-phase CTA occult vessel occlusions in acute ischemic stroke using CT perfusion-based wavelet-transformed angiography

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kunz, Wolfgang G.; Sommer, Wieland H.; Meinel, Felix G.; Ertl-Wagner, Birgit; Thierfelder, Kolja M. [Ludwig-Maximilian-University Hospital Munich, Institute for Clinical Radiology, Munich (Germany); Havla, Lukas; Dietrich, Olaf [Ludwig-Maximilian-University Hospital Munich, Josef Lissner Laboratory for Biomedical Imaging of the Institute for Clinical Radiology, Munich (Germany); Dorn, Franziska [Ludwig-Maximilian-University Hospital Munich, Department of Neuroradiology, Munich (Germany); Buchholz, Grete [Ludwig-Maximilian-University Hospital Munich, Department of Neurology, Munich (Germany)

    2017-06-15

    To determine the detection rate of intracranial vessel occlusions using CT perfusion-based wavelet-transformed angiography (waveletCTA) in acute ischemic stroke patients, in whom single-phase CTA (spCTA) failed to detect an occlusion. Subjects were selected from a cohort of 791 consecutive patients who underwent multiparametric CT including whole-brain CT perfusion. Inclusion criteria were (1) significant cerebral blood flow (CBF) deficit, (2) no evidence of vessel occlusion on spCTA and (3) follow-up-confirmed acute ischemic infarction. waveletCTA was independently analysed by two readers regarding presence and location of vessel occlusions. Logistic regression analysis was performed to identify predictors of waveletCTA-detected occlusions. Fifty-nine patients fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Overall, an occlusion was identified using waveletCTA in 31 (52.5 %) patients with negative spCTA. Out of 47 patients with middle cerebral artery infarction, 27 occlusions (57.4 %) were detected by waveletCTA, mainly located in the M2 (15) and M3 segments (8). The presence of waveletCTA-detected occlusions was associated with larger CBF deficit volumes (odds ratio (OR) = 1.335, p = 0.010) and shorter times from symptom onset (OR = 0.306, p = 0.041). waveletCTA is able to detect spCTA occult vessel occlusions in about half of acute ischemic stroke patients and may potentially identify more patients eligible for endovascular therapy. (orig.)

  9. Zonal methods and computational fluid dynamics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Atta, E.H.

    1985-01-01

    Recent advances in developing numerical algorithms for solving fluid flow problems, and the continuing improvement in the speed and storage of large scale computers have made it feasible to compute the flow field about complex and realistic configurations. Current solution methods involve the use of a hierarchy of mathematical models ranging from the linearized potential equation to the Navier Stokes equations. Because of the increasing complexity of both the geometries and flowfields encountered in practical fluid flow simulation, there is a growing emphasis in computational fluid dynamics on the use of zonal methods. A zonal method is one that subdivides the total flow region into interconnected smaller regions or zones. The flow solutions in these zones are then patched together to establish the global flow field solution. Zonal methods are primarily used either to limit the complexity of the governing flow equations to a localized region or to alleviate the grid generation problems about geometrically complex and multicomponent configurations. This paper surveys the application of zonal methods for solving the flow field about two and three-dimensional configurations. Various factors affecting their accuracy and ease of implementation are also discussed. From the presented review it is concluded that zonal methods promise to be very effective for computing complex flowfields and configurations. Currently there are increasing efforts to improve their efficiency, versatility, and accuracy

  10. Progress on the occulter experiment at Princeton

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cady, Eric; Balasubramanian, Kunjithapatham; Carr, Michael; Dickie, Matthew; Echternach, Pierre; Groff, Tyler; Kasdin, Jeremy; Laftchiev, Christian; McElwain, Michael; Sirbu, Dan; Vanderbei, Robert; White, Victor

    2009-08-01

    An occulter is used in conjunction with a separate telescope to suppress the light of a distant star. To demonstrate the performance of this system, we are building an occulter experiment in the laboratory at Princeton. This experiment will use an etched silicon mask as the occulter, with some modifications to try to improve the performance. The occulter is illuminated by a diverging laser beam to reduce the aberrations from the optics before the occulter. We present the progress of this experiment and expectations for future work.

  11. GAMBARAN RADIOLOGIS PADA OCCULT PNEUMOTHORAKS

    OpenAIRE

    Putu Aditha Satya Putra; Nyoman Srie Laksminingsih

    2013-01-01

    Pneumothorax is a recognized cause of death in chest wall trauma. Radiological examination is the key factor to establish the existence of a pneumothorax. Occult pneumothorax is pneumothorax that undiagnosed clinically and with thoracic x-ray, but it can be tolerated while other more urgent trauma. Occult pneumothorax can be detected by CT (Computed tomography). Occult pneumothorax may progress to tension pneumothorax in certain circumstances. Missing in diagnosed pneumothorax will cause deat...

  12. Do X-ray-occult fractures play a role in chronic pain following a whiplash injury?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hertzum-Larsen, Rasmus; Petersen, Henrik; Kasch, Helge

    2014-01-01

    symptoms following an MVA was invited to have a cervical SPECT shortly post injury and again 6 months later. Associations between occult fractures and pain levels at baseline, 6 and 12 months of follow-up were analyzed. Eighty-eight patients had baseline SPECT performed at median 15 days (range 3-28) post......Whiplash trauma in motor vehicle accidents (MVA) may involve various painful soft tissue damages, but weeks/months later a minority of victims still suffers from various long-lasting and disabling symptoms, whiplash-associated disorders (WAD). The etiology is currently unknown, but X......-ray-occult fractures may be one cause in some cases. The purpose of this prospective study was to examine the association between occult fractures, as seen on bone single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), with neck-, head- and arm pain. An inception cohort of 107 patients presenting with acute whiplash...

  13. Sonographic swelling of pronator quadratus muscle in patients with occult bone injury

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sato, Junko; Ishii, Yoshinori; Noguchi, Hideo; Toyabe, Shin-ichi

    2015-01-01

    The disarranged fat stripe of the pronator quadratus muscle (PQ) on radiographs (the PQ sign) is reported to be predictive of subtle bone fractures. This study aimed to report the results of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) study in the patients in whom bone injury was not radiographically detected around the wrist joint, and the PQ was sonographically swollen following acute trauma. We evaluated sonographically the PQ of 55 patients who showed normal radiographs following acute trauma. The sonographic appearance of the PQ was checked on both longitudinal and transverse images. On the longitudinal image, the probe was positioned along the flexor carpi radialis tendon. For the transverse image, we adopted the image of the same level in which the PQ of the unaffected hand showed maximal thickness. The PQ was considered to be swollen with disproportionate hyperechogenicity and/or thickening compared with the unaffected side at least in one of the two images. Of the 55 patients, 25 patients whose PQ was considered to be swollen underwent MRI study. PQ thickness in millimeters was retrospectively measured on longitudinal and transverse sonographic images. Twenty-three patients (92.0%) had occult bone injury, and two adult patients (8.0%) showed only wrist joint effusion on MRI. Among these 23, the distal radius was the most frequent location of the occult bone injury (20 patients; 9 [36.0%] with an occult fracture line and 11 [44.0%] with bone bruising). In longitudinal image, the mean value of the PQ thickness of affected hands was 6.2 (3.7–9.6 mm; standard deviation [SD], 1.5) and that of unaffected hands was 4.5 (2.3–6.7 mm; SD, 1.2), respectively. In transverse image, that of dominant and nondominant hands was 7.6 (4.6–13.2 mm; SD, 2.0) and 5.5 (3.6–7.5 mm; SD, 1.1), respectively. The mean difference in PQ thickness between affected and unaffected hands was 1.7 (0.1–5.0 mm; SD, 1.1) in longitudinal image and 2.0 (0.3–6.8 mm; SD, 1.7) in transverse image

  14. Regulation of ETG turbulence by TEM driven zonal flows

    Science.gov (United States)

    Asahi, Yuuichi; Ishizawa, Akihiro; Watanabe, Tomohiko; Tsutsui, Hiroaki; Tsuji-Iio, Shunji

    2013-10-01

    Anomalous heat transport driven by electron temperature gradient (ETG) turbulence is investigated by means of gyrokinetic simulations. It is found that the ETG turbulence can be suppressed by zonal flows driven by trapped electron modes (TEMs). The TEMs appear in a statistically steady state of ETG turbulence and generate zonal flows, while its growth rate is much smaller than those of ETGs. The TEM-driven zonal flows with lower radial wave numbers are more strongly generated than those driven by ETG modes, because of the higher zonal flow response to a density source term. An ExB shearing rate of the TEM-driven zonal flows is strong enough to suppress the long-wavelength ETG modes which make the main contribution to the turbulent transport.

  15. OCCULT POWER AND AFRICA'S SOCIO-ECONOMIC PROBLEMS ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Dr Ike

    people believe in the existence of occult powers and this belief affects their ... make use of occult powers to solve their problems. For example, ... existence and influence of paranormal and occult powers, argues that ..... and friends.

  16. The residual zonal dynamics in a toroidally rotating tokamak

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhou Deng

    2015-01-01

    Zonal flows, initially driven by ion-temperature-gradient turbulence, may evolve due to the neoclassic polarization in a collisionless tokamak plasma. In this presentation, the form of the residual zonal flow is presented for tokamak plasmas rotating toroidally at arbitrary velocity. The gyro-kinetic equation is analytically solved to give the expression of residual zonal flows with arbitrary rotating velocity. The zonal flow level decreases as the rotating velocity increases. The numerical evaluation is in good agreement with the previous simulation result for high aspect ratio tokamaks. (author)

  17. Zonal flows and turbulence in fluids and plasmas

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parker, Jeffrey Bok-Cheung

    In geophysical and plasma contexts, zonal flows are well known to arise out of turbulence. We elucidate the transition from statistically homogeneous turbulence without zonal flows to statistically inhomogeneous turbulence with steady zonal flows. Starting from the Hasegawa--Mima equation, we employ both the quasilinear approximation and a statistical average, which retains a great deal of the qualitative behavior of the full system. Within the resulting framework known as CE2, we extend recent understanding of the symmetry-breaking 'zonostrophic instability'. Zonostrophic instability can be understood in a very general way as the instability of some turbulent background spectrum to a zonally symmetric coherent mode. As a special case, the background spectrum can consist of only a single mode. We find that in this case the dispersion relation of zonostrophic instability from the CE2 formalism reduces exactly to that of the 4-mode truncation of generalized modulational instability. We then show that zonal flows constitute pattern formation amid a turbulent bath. Zonostrophic instability is an example of a Type I s instability of pattern-forming systems. The broken symmetry is statistical homogeneity. Near the bifurcation point, the slow dynamics of CE2 are governed by a well-known amplitude equation, the real Ginzburg-Landau equation. The important features of this amplitude equation, and therefore of the CE2 system, are multiple. First, the zonal flow wavelength is not unique. In an idealized, infinite system, there is a continuous band of zonal flow wavelengths that allow a nonlinear equilibrium. Second, of these wavelengths, only those within a smaller subband are stable. Unstable wavelengths must evolve to reach a stable wavelength; this process manifests as merging jets. These behaviors are shown numerically to hold in the CE2 system, and we calculate a stability diagram. The stability diagram is in agreement with direct numerical simulations of the quasilinear

  18. Sociology of religion and the occult revival

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lennart Ejerfeldt

    1975-01-01

    Full Text Available The "new" that makes the cults of the occult revival to "new religions" of the Western world, is their recently increased social significance. Historically most of modern occultism is anything but new. From the research and theorizing about the occult revival we have picked up some main themes. The first is the social diffusion of the new occultism. In this field, we find some studies of superstition, especially astrology. These illuminate the differences in social connotation between the consumers of superstition and the followers of institutional religion. Secondly the study of the occult revival has made valuable contributions to the conceptualizing of "cult" and the cultic phenomenon. Thirdly, we will look upon the connection between the occult revival and the counter-culture. The problem of the rise of cults as a symptom of socio-cultural change will be briefly discussed with reference to Bell's thesis of "the disjuntion of culture and social structure". Lastly, we proffer some reflections on the occult revival and the new spiritual trends in the churches, which so sharply contrast with the theology and churchmanship of the sixties.

  19. Occult Phenomena in Sherlock Holmes the Movie

    OpenAIRE

    NAMAZCARRA, CHRIESHER

    2014-01-01

    Keywords: Occult phenomena, Sherlock Holmes, movie. Lately, it is not difficult for people to find occult practices. There are many television programs and movie which air mystical programme aggressively to raise the rating and attract the viewers. A movie that raise occultism theme is Sherlock Holmes, the Movie. This movie tells about the struggle of detective Sherlock Holmes to fight the black magic power of Lord Blackwood.To carry out the study, the theories of Occultism such as the secrec...

  20. Occultations for probing atmosphere and climate

    CERN Document Server

    Foelsche, Ulrich; Steiner, Andrea

    2004-01-01

    Use of occultation methodology for observing the Earth's atmosphere and climate has become so broad as to comprise solar, lunar, stellar, navigation and satellite­ crosslink occultation methods. The atmospheric parameters obtained extend from the fundamental variables temperature, density, pressure, water vapor, and ozone via a multitude of trace gas species to particulate species such as aerosols and cloud liquid water. Ionospheric electron density is sensed as well. The methods all share the key properties of self-calibration, high accuracy and vertical resolution, global coverage, and (if using radio signals) all-weather capability. Occultation data are thus of high value in a wide range of fields including climate monitoring and research, atmospheric physics and chemistry, operational meteorology, and other fields such as space weather and planetary science. This wide area of variants and uses of the occultation method has led to a diversi­ fication of the occultation-related scientific community into a...

  1. Transport in zonal flows in analogous geophysical and plasma systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    del-Castillo-Negrete, Diego

    1999-11-01

    Zonal flows occur naturally in the oceans and the atmosphere of planets. Important examples include the zonal flows in Jupiter, the stratospheric polar jet in Antarctica, and oceanic jets like the Gulf Stream. These zonal flows create transport barriers that have a crucial influence on mixing and confinement (e.g. the ozone depletion in Antarctica). Zonal flows also give rise to long-lasting vortices (e.g. the Jupiter red spot) by shear instability. Because of this, the formation and stability of zonal flows and their role on transport have been problems of great interest in geophysical fluid dynamics. On the other hand, zonal flows have also been observed in fusion plasmas and their impact on the reduction of transport has been widely recognized. Based on the well-known analogy between Rossby waves in quasigeostrophic flows and drift waves in magnetically confined plasmas, I will discuss the relevance to fusion plasmas of models and experiments recently developed in geophysical fluid dynamics. Also, the potential application of plasma physics ideas to geophysical flows will be discussed. The role of shear in the suppression of transport and the effect of zonal flows on the statistics of transport will be studied using simplified models. It will be shown how zonal flows induce large particle displacements that can be characterized as Lévy flights, and that the trapping effect of vortices combined with the zonal flows gives rise to anomalous diffusion and Lévy (non-Gaussian) statistics. The models will be compared with laboratory experiments and with atmospheric and oceanographic qualitative observations.

  2. Transport hysteresis and zonal flow stimulation in magnetized plasmas

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gravier, E.; Lesur, M.; Reveille, T.; Drouot, T.; Médina, J.

    2017-12-01

    A hysteresis in the relationship between zonal flows and electron heating is observed numerically by using gyrokinetic simulations in fusion plasmas. As the electron temperature increases, a first transition occurs, at a given electron/ion temperature ratio, above which zonal flows are much weaker than before the transition, leading to a poorly confined plasma. Beyond this transition, even if the electron temperature is lowered to a moderate value, the plasma fails to recover a dynamic state with strong zonal flows. Then, as the electron temperature decreases further, a new transition appears, at a temperature lower than the first transition, below which the zonal flows are stronger than they were initially. The confinement of the plasma and the heat flux are thus found to be sensitive to the history of the magnetized plasma. These transitions are associated with large exchanges of energy between the modes corresponding to instabilities ( m> 0 ) and zonal flows ( m = 0 ). We also observe that up to the first transition it is possible to use a control method to stimulate the appearance of zonal flows and therefore the confinement of the plasma. Beyond that transition, this control method is no longer effective.

  3. The role of zonal flows in disc gravito-turbulence

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vanon, R.

    2018-04-01

    The work presented here focuses on the role of zonal flows in the self-sustenance of gravito-turbulence in accretion discs. The numerical analysis is conducted using a bespoke pseudo-spectral code in fully compressible, non-linear conditions. The disc in question, which is modelled using the shearing sheet approximation, is assumed to be self-gravitating, viscous, and thermally diffusive; a constant cooling timescale is also considered. Zonal flows are found to emerge at the onset of gravito-turbulence and they remain closely linked to the turbulent state. A cycle of zonal flow formation and destruction is established, mediated by a slow mode instability (which allows zonal flows to grow) and a non-axisymmetric instability (which disrupts the zonal flow), which is found to repeat numerous times. It is in fact the disruptive action of the non-axisymmetric instability to form new leading and trailing shearing waves, allowing energy to be extracted from the background flow and ensuring the self-sustenance of the gravito-turbulent regime.

  4. The role of zonal flows in disc gravito-turbulence

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vanon, R.

    2018-07-01

    The work presented here focuses on the role of zonal flows in the self-sustenance of gravito-turbulence in accretion discs. The numerical analysis is conducted using a bespoke pseudo-spectral code in fully compressible, non-linear conditions. The disc in question, which is modelled using the shearing sheet approximation, is assumed to be self-gravitating, viscous, and thermally diffusive; a constant cooling time-scale is also considered. Zonal flows are found to emerge at the onset of gravito-turbulence and they remain closely linked to the turbulent state. A cycle of zonal flow formation and destruction is established, mediated by a slow mode instability (which allows zonal flows to grow) and a non-axisymmetric instability (which disrupts the zonal flow), which is found to repeat numerous times. It is in fact the disruptive action of the non-axisymmetric instability to form new leading and trailing shearing waves, allowing energy to be extracted from the background flow and ensuring the self-sustenance of the gravito-turbulent regime.

  5. Theory, simulation, and experimental studies of zonal flows

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hahm, T. S.; Burrell, K.H.; Lin, Z.; Nazikian, R.; Synakowski, E.J.

    2000-01-01

    The authors report on current theoretical understanding of the characteristics of self-generated zonal flows as observed in nonlinear gyrokinetic simulations of toroidal ITG turbulence [Science 281, 1835 (1998)], and discuss various possibilities for experimental measurements of signature of zonal flows

  6. ASTEROID SIZING BY RADIOGALAXY OCCULTATION AT 5 GHZ

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lehtinen, K.; Muinonen, K.; Poutanen, M. [Finnish Geospatial Research Institute FGI, Geodeetinrinne 2, FI-02430 Masala (Finland); Bach, U. [Max-Planck-Institut für Radioastronomie, Radioobservatorium Effelsberg, Max-Planck-Str. 28, D-53902 Bad Münstereifel-Effelsberg (Germany); Petrov, L., E-mail: kimmo.lehtinen@nls.fi [Astrogeo Center, Falls Church, VA 22043 (United States)

    2016-05-10

    Stellar occultations by asteroids observed at visual wavelengths have been an important tool for studying the size and shape of asteroids and for revising the orbital parameters of asteroids. At radio frequencies, a shadow of an asteroid on the Earth is dominated by diffraction effects. Here, we show, for the first time, that a single observation of an occultation of a compact radio source at a frequency of 5 GHz can be used to derive the effective size of the occulting object and to derive the distance between the observer and the center of the occultation path on the Earth. The derived diameter of the occulting object, asteroid (115) Thyra, is 75 ± 6 km. The observed occultation profile shows features that cannot be explained by diffraction of a single asteroid.

  7. Optical performance of the New Worlds Occulter

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arenberg, Jonathan W.; Lo, Amy S.; Glassman, Tiffany M.; Cash, Webster

    2007-04-01

    The New Worlds Observer (NWO) is a multiple spacecraft mission that is capable of detecting and characterizing extra-solar planets and planetary systems. NWO consists of an external occulter and a generic space telescope, flying in tandem. The external occulter has specific requirements on its shape and size, while the telescope needs no special modification beyond that required to do high-quality astrophysical observations. The occulter is a petal-shaped, opaque screen that creates a high-suppression shadow large enough to accommodate the telescope. This article reports on the optical performance of the novel New Worlds occulter design. It also introduces two new aspects of its optical performance which enhance the detectability of extra-solar planets. We also include a brief discussion of the buildability and the tolerances of the occulter. It is also shown that an occulter design can be found for any set of science requirements. We show that NWO is a viable mission concept for the study of extra-solar planets. To cite this article: J.W. Arenberg et al., C. R. Physique 8 (2007).

  8. Zonal Flows Driven by Small-Scale Drift-Alfven Modes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li Dehui; Zhou Deng

    2011-01-01

    Generation of zonal flows by small-scale drift-Alfven modes is investigated by adopting the approach of parametric instability with the electron polarization drift included. The zonal mode can be excited by primary modes propagating at both electron and ion diamagnetic drift directions in contrast to the assertion in previous studies that only primary modes propagating in the ion diamagnetic drift directions can drive zonal instabilities. Generally, the growth rate of the driven zonal mode is in the same order as that in previous study. However, different from the previous work, the growth rate is no longer proportional to the difference between the diamagnetic drift frequencies of electrons and ions. (magnetically confined plasma)

  9. Dynamics of zonal flows and self-regulating drift-wave turbulence

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Diamond, P.H.; Fleischer, J.; Rosenbluth, M.N.; Hinton, F.L.; Malkov, M.; Smolyakov, A.

    1999-01-01

    We present a theory of zonal flow - drift wave dynamics. Zonal flows are generated by modulational instability of a drift wave spectrum, and are damped by collisions. Drift waves undergo random shearing-induced refraction, resulting in increased mean square radial wavenumber. Drift waves and zonal flows together form a simple dynamical system, which has a single stable fixed point. In this state, the fluctuation intensity and turbulent diffusivity are ultimately proportional to the collisional zonal flow damping. The implications of these results for transport models is discussed. (author)

  10. Dynamics of zonal flows and self-regulating drift-wave turbulence

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Diamond, P.H.; Fleischer, J.; Rosenbluth, M.; Hinton, F.L.; Malkov, M.; Smolyakov, A.

    2001-01-01

    We present a theory of zonal flow - drift wave dynamics. Zonal flows are generated by modulational instability of a drift wave spectrum, and are damped by collisions. Drift waves undergo random shearing-induced refraction, resulting in increased mean square radial wavenumber. Drift waves and zonal flows together form a simple dynamical system, which has a single stable fixed point. In this state, the fluctuation intensity and turbulent diffusivity are ultimately proportional to the collisional zonal flow damping. The implications of these results for transport models is discussed. (author)

  11. Solar-cycle variation of zonal and meridional flow

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Komm, R; Howe, R; Hill, F; Hernandez, I Gonzalez; Haber, D

    2011-01-01

    We study the variation with the solar cycle of the zonal and meridional flows in the near-surface layers of the solar convection zone. We have analyzed MDI Dynamics-Program data with ring-diagram analysis covering the rising phase of cycle 23, while the analyzed GONG high-resolution data cover the maximum and declining phase of cycle 23. For the zonal flow, the migration with latitude of the flow pattern is apparent in the deeper layers, while for the meridional flow, a migration with latitude is apparent only in the layers close to the surface. The faster-than-average bands of the zonal flow associated with the new cycle are clearly visible. Similarly, a pattern related to the new cycle appears in the residual meridional flow. We also study the flow differences between the hemispheres during the course of the solar cycle. The difference pattern of the meridional flow is slanted in latitude straddling the faster-than-average band of the torsional oscillation pattern in the zonal flow. The difference pattern of the zonal flow, on the other hand, resembles the cycle variation of the meridional flow. In addition, the meridional flow during the minimum of cycle 23/24 appears to be slightly stronger than during the previous minimum of cycle 22/23.

  12. A comprehensive spectral theory of zonal-mode dynamics in trapped electron mode turbulence

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Terry, P.W.; Gatto, R.; Baver, D.A.; Fernandez, E.

    2005-01-01

    A comprehensive, self-consistent theory for spectral dynamics in trapped electron mode (TEM) turbulence offers critical new understanding and insights into zonal-mode physics. This theory shows that 1) zonal mode structure, anisotropy, excitation, and temporal behavior arise at and from the interface of nonlinear advection and linear wave properties; 2) waves induce a marked spectral energy-transfer anisotropy that preferentially drives zonal modes relative to non zonal modes; 3) triplet correlations involving density (as opposed to those involving only flow) mediate the dominant energy transfer at long wavelengths; 4) energy transfer becomes inverse in the presence of wave anisotropy, where otherwise it is forward; 5) zonal-mode excitation is accompanied by excitation of a spectrum of damped eigenmodes, making zonal modes nonlinearly damped; and 6) the combination of anisotropic transfer to zonal modes and their nonlinear damping make this the dominant saturation mechanism for TEM turbulence. This accounts for the reduction of turbulence level by zonal modes, not zonal-flow ExB shearing. (author)

  13. Rethinking wave-kinetic theory applied to zonal flows

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parker, Jeffrey

    2017-10-01

    Over the past two decades, a number of studies have employed a wave-kinetic theory to describe fluctuations interacting with zonal flows. Recent work has uncovered a defect in this wave-kinetic formulation: the system is dominated by the growth of (arbitrarily) small-scale zonal structures. Theoretical calculations of linear growth rates suggest, and nonlinear simulations confirm, that this system leads to the concentration of zonal flow energy in the smallest resolved scales, irrespective of the numerical resolution. This behavior results from the assumption that zonal flows are extremely long wavelength, leading to the neglect of key terms responsible for conservation of enstrophy. A corrected theory, CE2-GO, is presented; it is free of these errors yet preserves the intuitive phase-space mathematical structure. CE2-GO properly conserves enstrophy as well as energy, and yields accurate growth rates of zonal flow. Numerical simulations are shown to be well-behaved and not dependent on box size. The steady-state limit simplifies into an exact wave-kinetic form which offers the promise of deeper insight into the behavior of wavepackets. The CE2-GO theory takes its place in a hierarchy of models as the geometrical-optics reduction of the more complete cumulant-expansion statistical theory CE2. The new theory represents the minimal statistical description, enabling an intuitive phase-space formulation and an accurate description of turbulence-zonal flow dynamics. This work was supported by an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship, a US DOE Fusion Energy Sciences Fellowship, and US DOE Contract Nos. DE-AC52-07NA27344 and DE-AC02-09CH11466.

  14. Identification of zonal flows and their characteristics on transport barrier in CHS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fujisawa, A.; Shimizu, A.; Nakano, H.; Ohshima, S.; Iguchi, H.; Yoshimura, Y.; Minami, T.; Itoh, K.; Isobe, M.; Suzuki, C.; Nishimura, S.; Akiyama, T.; Nagaoka, K.; Takahashi, C.; Ida, K.; Toi, K.; Okamura, S.; Matsuoka, K.; Itoh, S.-I.; Diamond, P.H.

    2005-01-01

    Relation between turbulence and electric field has been one of the central issues related to the transport physics of toroidal plasmas. Recently, zonal flow, axi-symmetric band-like structure (m=n=0) with a finite radial wavelength, has just come up the third element responsible for the plasma transport. Theories and simulations have expected that the zonal flow should be a mechanism to control the saturation level of turbulence and the resultant transport. In CHS, dual heavy ion beam probes (HIBP) succeeded to prove the presence of the zonal flow and to show the dynamics and structure of the zonal flows. The experiment shows a long-distance correlation between radial electric field (or plasma flow) in low frequency range (< ∼1 kHz), together with radial structure of the zonal flow; characteristic radial length of ∼1.5 cm and life time of ∼1.5 ms. Different characteristics of the zonal flow and turbulence was found in states with and without a transport barrier; the zonal flow activity shrinks with an increase in turbulence level after the barrier breaks down. The recent HIBP experiments have just provided further insight into the system of zonal flow and turbulence. A wavelet analysis is performed on the fluctuation on the barrier position in the state with the transport barrier. The analysis reveals a causal relationship between the zonal flow evolution and turbulence level; the zonal flow is found to increase toward the mean flow direction as turbulence level decreases in the frequency range of 100-150kHz. The observation shows the presence of a nonlinear interaction between zonal flow and the turbulence, or a process of the zonal flow to affect the turbulence level. This paper presents surveys on zonal flow, particularly the recent experiments to demonstrate a causal relationship between zonal flow component and turbulence. Besides, other results obtained with a wavelet analysis are presented on the transport barrier; e.g., density and potential

  15. Strong scintillations during atmospheric occultations Theoretical intensity spectra. [radio scattering during spacecraft occultations by planetary atmospheres

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hinson, D. P.

    1986-01-01

    Each of the two Voyager spacecraft launched in 1977 has completed a reconnaissance of the Jovian and Saturnian systems. In connection with occultation experiments, strong scintillations were observed. Further theoretical work is required before these scintillations can be interpreted. The present study is, therefore, concerned with the derivation of a theory for strong scattering during atmospheric occultation experiments, taking into account as fundamental quantity of interest the spatial spectrum (or spectral density) of intensity fluctuations. Attention is given to a theory for intensity spectra, and numerical calculations. The new formula derived for Phi-i accounts for strong scattering of electromagnetic waves during atmospheric occultations.

  16. OCCULT-ORSER complete conversational user-language translator

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ramapriyan, H. K.; Young, K.

    1981-01-01

    Translator program (OCCULT) assists non-computer-oriented users in setting up and submitting jobs for complex ORSER system. ORSER is collection of image processing programs for analyzing remotely sensed data. OCCULT is designed for those who would like to use ORSER but cannot justify acquiring and maintaining necessary proficiency in Remote Job Entry Language, Job Control Language, and control-card formats. OCCULT is written in FORTRAN IV and OS Assembler for interactive execution.

  17. Collisionless kinetic-fluid model of zonal flows in toroidal plasmas

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sugama, H.; Watanabe, T.-H.; Horton, W.

    2006-12-01

    A novel kinetic-fluid model is presented, which describes collisionless time evolution of zonal flows in tokamaks. In the new zonal-flow closure relations, the parallel heat fluxes are written by the sum of short- and long-time-evolution parts. The former part is given in the dissipative form of the parallel heat diffusion and relates to collisionless damping processes. The latter is derived from the long-time-averaged gyrocenter distribution and plays a major role in describing low-frequency or stationary zonal flows, for which the parallel heat fluxes are expressed in terms of the parallel flow as well as the nonlinear-source and initial-condition terms. It is shown analytically and numerically that, when applied to the zonal flow driven by either ion or electron temperature gradient turbulence, the kinetic-fluid equations including the new closure relations can reproduce the same long-time zonal-flow responses to the initial condition and to the turbulence source as those obtained from the gyrokinetic model. (author)

  18. Occult pneumomediastinum in blunt chest trauma: clinical significance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rezende-Neto, J B; Hoffmann, J; Al Mahroos, M; Tien, H; Hsee, L C; Spencer Netto, F; Speers, V; Rizoli, S B

    2010-01-01

    Thoracic injuries are potentially responsible for 25% of all trauma deaths. Chest X-ray is commonly used to screen patients with chest injury. However, the use of computed tomography (CT) scan for primary screening is increasing, particularly for blunt trauma. CT scans are more sensitive than chest X-ray in detecting intra-thoracic abnormalities such as pneumothoraces and pneumomediastinums. Pneumomediastinum detected by chest X-ray or "overt pneumomediastinum", raises the concern of possible aerodigestive tract injuries. In contrast, there is scarce information on the clinical significance of pneumomediastinum diagnosed by CT scan only or "occult pneumomediastinum". Therefore we investigated the clinical consequences of occult pneumomediastinum in our blunt trauma population. A 2-year retrospective chart review of all blunt chest trauma patients with initial chest CT scan admitted to a level I trauma centre. Data extracted from the medical records include; demographics, occult, overt, or no pneumomediastinum, the presence of intra-thoracic aerodigestive tract injuries (trachea, bronchus, and/or esophagus), mechanism and severity of injury, endotracheal intubation, chest thoracostomy, operations and radiological reports by an attending radiologist. All patients with intra-thoracic aerodigestive tract injuries from 1994 to 2004 were also investigated. Of 897 patients who met the inclusion criteria 839 (93.5%) had no pneumomediastinum. Five patients (0.6%) had overt pneumomediastinum and 53 patients (5.9%) had occult pneumomediastinum. Patients with occult pneumomediastinum had significantly higher ISS and AIS chest (pchest thoracostomy tube was more common (ppneumothorax. None of the patients with occult pneumomediastinum had aerodigestive tract injuries (95%CI 0-0.06). Follow up CT scan of patients with occult pneumomediastinum showed complete resolution in all cases, in average 3 h after the initial exam. Occult pneumomediastinum occurred in approximately 6% of

  19. Coherent Structure Phenomena in Drift Wave-Zonal Flow Turbulence

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Smolyakov, A. I.; Diamond, P. H.; Malkov, M.

    2000-01-01

    Zonal flows are azimuthally symmetric plasma potential perturbations spontaneously generated from small-scale drift-wave fluctuations via the action of Reynolds stresses. We show that, after initial linear growth, zonal flows can undergo further nonlinear evolution leading to the formation of long-lived coherent structures which consist of self-bound wave packets supporting stationary shear layers. Such coherent zonal flow structures constitute dynamical paradigms for intermittency in drift-wave turbulence that manifests itself by the intermittent distribution of regions with a reduced level of anomalous transport. (c) 2000 The American Physical Society

  20. Numerical Simulation on Zonal Disintegration in Deep Surrounding Rock Mass

    OpenAIRE

    Xuguang Chen; Yuan Wang; Yu Mei; Xin Zhang

    2014-01-01

    Zonal disintegration have been discovered in many underground tunnels with the increasing of embedded depth. The formation mechanism of such phenomenon is difficult to explain under the framework of traditional rock mechanics, and the fractured shape and forming conditions are unclear. The numerical simulation was carried out to research the generating condition and forming process of zonal disintegration. Via comparing the results with the geomechanical model test, the zonal disintegration p...

  1. Sonography of occult rib and costal cartilage fractures: a case series.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mattox, Ross; Reckelhoff, Kenneth E; Welk, Aaron B; Kettner, Norman W

    2014-06-01

    The purpose of this case series is to describe the use of diagnostic ultrasound (US) in the detection of occult rib and costal cartilage fractures presenting as chest wall pain to a chiropractic clinic. Three patients presented with chest wall pain and tenderness. Two of the patients presented with acute chest wall injury and 1 carried a previous diagnosis of rib fracture after trivial trauma 2 months earlier. Diagnostic US was selected as a non-ionizing imaging tool for these patients after negative digital radiography studies. All fractures were considered isolated as there was no associated injury, such as pneumothorax. Both of the acute cases were followed up to complete healing (evidence of osseous union) using US. All patients eventually achieved pain-free status. In these cases, US was more sensitive than radiography for diagnosing these cases of acute rib and costal cartilage fractures. Early recognition of rib injury could avoid potential complications from local manipulative therapy.

  2. The use of MRI and CT in Imaging Occult Hip Fractures

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Obadă B.

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available Diagnosis of hip fractures is particularly important due to the high dependence on the integrity of this structure for people to function in their daily lives. Left unrecognized, patients face increasing morbidity and mortality as time from the original injury lengthens. A delay of just 2 days in surgical treatment for an acute hip fracture doubles mortality. In addition, an unrecognized non-displaced fracture may displace, requiring surgery of much higher risk. This may be part of the reason that the most frequent lawsuit against Emergency Physicians is for missed orthopedic injury. We reviewed the use of MRI and CT for occult hip fractures (OHF detection at a major urban trauma unit. Our study is a retrospective review. Inclusion criteria: all patients presenting to the Emergency Clinical Hospital of Constanta with a suspected, posttraumatic, occult hip fracture, over a 5 years period were included. All patients had negative initial radiographs and underwent further imaging with either CT or MRI. A total of 185 cases meeting the inclusion criteria were identified. 72 occult hip fractures were detected with both imaging modalities. Although MRI certainly enables greater image detail, in our experience both modalities are able to provide satisfactory fracture characterization. The choice of imaging should be determined by availability and indication. MRI provides superior imaging of soft tissue but is less sensitive for degenerative changes in presence of bone edema.

  3. Thermospheric zonal mean winds and tides revealed by CHAMP

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lieberman, R.S.; Akmaev, R.A.; Fuller-Rowell, T.J.; Doornbos, E.

    2013-01-01

    We present direct, global observations of longitudinally averaged CHAMP zonal winds gathered between 2003 and 2007. A diurnal variation dominates the global zonal wind. Westward flows are observed from the early morning through afternoon hours, while eastward flows peak in the evening. A semidiurnal

  4. Oligometastasis as a predictor for occult disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kendal, Wayne S

    2014-05-01

    Oligometastasis can be defined as a state of limited metastases that is potentially amenable to ablative local therapy; the success of such therapy depends on whether or not additional occult metastases exist. A model is presented here to predict occult metastases given detectable oligometastases. Predictions were based on Bayes' theorem, in conjunction with descriptions of the statistical distributions for the sizes and numbers of hematogenous metastases. The background probability for occult metastases in individuals with oligometastases increased markedly with relatively minor increases in metastatic potential. With each additional metastasis detected the chance of further occult metastases increased. These latter increases were incremental and proportionately smaller with the more metastatic tumors. Long disease free intervals had a major effect to decrease in the probability of further occult disease. Demonstration of oligometastases depends heavily upon the sensitivity of radiological imaging techniques, where the proportion of detectable metastases relates to the position of the distribution of metastasis growth times with respect to the detection threshold. Given the limitations of radiological methods, and the possibility that the oligometastases detected may be the only disease, an aggressive approach appears indicated. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  5. Estimating zonal electricity supply curves in transmission-constrained electricity markets

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sahraei-Ardakani, Mostafa; Blumsack, Seth; Kleit, Andrew

    2015-01-01

    Many important electricity policy initiatives would directly affect the operation of electric power networks. This paper develops a method for estimating short-run zonal supply curves in transmission-constrained electricity markets that can be implemented quickly by policy analysts with training in statistical methods and with publicly available data. Our model enables analysis of distributional impacts of policies affecting operation of electric power grid. The method uses fuel prices and zonal electric loads to determine piecewise supply curves, identifying zonal electricity price and marginal fuel. We illustrate our methodology by estimating zonal impacts of Pennsylvania's Act 129, an energy efficiency and conservation policy. For most utilities in Pennsylvania, Act 129 would reduce the influence of natural gas on electricity price formation and increase the influence of coal. The total resulted savings would be around 267 million dollars, 82 percent of which would be enjoyed by the customers in Pennsylvania. We also analyze the impacts of imposing a $35/ton tax on carbon dioxide emissions. Our results show that the policy would increase the average prices in PJM by 47–89 percent under different fuel price scenarios in the short run, and would lead to short-run interfuel substitution between natural gas and coal. - Highlights: • We develop a method to estimate of zonal supply curves in electricity markets. • The model estimates zonal electricity prices and zonal fuel utilization. • The model implicitly captures the average impacts of transmission constraints. • Using the method, we project supply curves for the seventeen utility zones of PJM. • We use the estimated supply curves to study the impacts of Pennsylvania's Act 129 and a carbon tax of $35 per ton

  6. Change of Zonal Flow Spectra in the JIPP T-IIU Tokamak Plasmas

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hamada, Y.; Watari, T.; Yamagishi, O.; Nishizawa, A.; Narihara, K.; Kawasumi, Y.; Ido, T.; Kojima, M.; Toi, K.

    2007-01-01

    When Ohmically heated low-density plasmas are additionally heated by higher-harmonics ion-cyclotron-range-of frequency heating, heated by neutral beam injection, or strongly gas puffed, the intensity of zonal flows in the geodesic acoustic mode frequency range in the tokamak core plasma decreases sharply and that of low-frequency zonal flow grows drastically. This is accompanied by a damping of the drift wave propagating in the electron diamagnetic drift direction, turbulence by trapped electron mode (TEM), and the increase of the mode propagating to ion diamagnetic drift direction (ITG). In the half-radius region, TEM and high-frequency zonal flows remain intense in both OH and heated phases. ITG and low-frequency zonal flows grow in heated plasmas, suggesting a strong coupling between ITG and low-frequency zonal flow

  7. The Role of Reversed Equatorial Zonal Transport in Terminating an ENSO Event

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, H. C.; Hu, Z. Z.; Huang, B.; Sui, C. H.

    2016-02-01

    In this study, we demonstrate that a sudden reversal of anomalous equatorial zonal current at the peaking ENSO phase triggers the rapid termination of an ENSO event. Throughout an ENSO cycle, the anomalous equatorial zonal current is strongly controlled by the concavity of the anomalous thermocline meridional structure near the equator. During the ENSO developing phase, the anomalous zonal current in the central and eastern Pacific generally enhances the ENSO growth through its zonal SST advection. In the mature phase of ENSO, however, the equatorial thermocline depth anomalies are reflected in the eastern Pacific and slowly propagate westward off the equator in both hemispheres. As a result, the concavity of the thermocline anomalies near the equator is reversed, i.e., the off-equatorial thermocline depth anomalies become higher than that on the equator for El Niño events and lower for La Niño events. This meridional change of thermocline structure reverses zonal transport rapidly in the central-to-eastern equatorial Pacific, which weakens the ENSO SST anomalies by reversed advection. More importantly, the reversed zonal mass transport weakens the existing zonal tilting of equatorial thermocline and suppresses the thermocline feedback. Both processes are concentrated in the eastern equatorial Pacific and can be effective on subseasonal time scales. These current reversal effects are built-in to the ENSO peak phase and independent of the zonal wind effect on thermocline slope. It functions as an oceanic control on ENSO evolution during both El Niño and La Niña events.

  8. Global characteristics of zonal flows generated by ion temperature gradient driven turbulence in tokamak plasmas

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Miyato, Naoaki; Kishimoto, Yasuaki; Li, Jiquan

    2004-08-01

    Global structure of zonal flows driven by ion temperature gradient driven turbulence in tokamak plasmas is investigated using a global electromagnetic Landau fluid code. Characteristics of the coupled system of the zonal flows and the turbulence change with the safety factor q. In a low q region stationary zonal flows are excited and suppress the turbulence effectively. Coupling between zonal flows and poloidally asymmetric pressure perturbations via a geodesic curvature makes the zonal flows oscillatory in a high q region. Also we identify energy transfer from the zonal flows to the turbulence via the poloidally asymmetric pressure perturbations in the high q region. Therefore in the high q region the zonal flows cannot quench the turbulent transport completely. (author)

  9. Generation of zonal flow in the Earth's dissipative ionospheric F-layer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kaladze, T.D.; Shad, M.; Tsamalashvili, L.V.

    2011-01-01

    Generation of zonal flow in the Earth's dissipative ionospheric F-layer is considered. Dissipation arises due to Pedersen conductivity acting as an inductive (magnetic) inhibition. It is shown that in contrast to previous investigations the zonal flow growth rate does not depend on small wave vector component of zonal flow mode, needs no instability condition and the spectral energy transferring (inverse cascade) process unconditionally takes place. -- Highlights: → Generation of zonal flow in the Earth's dissipative ionospheric F-layer is considered. → Dissipation arises due to Pedersen conductivity acting as inductive (magnetic) inhibition. → It is shown that such generation doesn't need any instability condition. → Energy transferring (inverse cascade) process takes place even for the small values of pumping intensity.

  10. Diagnostic strategy for occult hepatitis B virus infection

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ocana, Sara; Casas, Maria Luisa; Buhigas, Ingrid; Lledo, Jose Luis

    2011-01-01

    In 2008, the European Association for the study of the liver (EASL) defined occult hepatitis B virus infection (OBI) as the “presence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA in the liver (with detectable or undetectable HBV DNA in the serum) of individuals testing hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) negative by currently available assays”. Several aspects of occult HBV infection are still poorly understood, including the definition itself and a standardized approach for laboratory-based detection, which is the purpose of this review. The clinical significance of OBI has not yet been established; however, in terms of public health, the clinical importance arises from the risk of HBV transmission. Consequently, it is important to detect high-risk groups for occult HBV infection to prevent transmission. The main issue is, perhaps, to identify the target population for screening OBI. Viremia is very low or undetectable in occult HBV infection, even when the most sensitive methods are used, and the detection of the viral DNA reservoir in hepatocytes would provide the best evaluation of occult HBV prevalence in a defined set of patients. However, this diagnostic approach is obviously unsuitable: blood detection of occult hepatitis B requires assays of the highest sensitivity and specificity with a lower limit of detection < 10 IU/mL for HBV DNA and < 0.1 ng/mL for HBsAg. PMID:21472120

  11. First results from stellar occultations in the "GAIA era"

    Science.gov (United States)

    Benedetti-Rossi, G.; Vieira-Martins, R.; Sicardy, B.

    2017-09-01

    Stellar occultation is a powerful technique to study distant solar system bodies. It allows high angular resolution of the occulting body from the analysis of a light curve acquired with high temporal resolution with uncertainties comparable as probes. In the "GAIA era", stellar occultations is now able to obtain even more impressive results such as the presence of atmosphere, rings and topographic features.

  12. Numerical Simulation on Zonal Disintegration in Deep Surrounding Rock Mass

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xuguang Chen

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Zonal disintegration have been discovered in many underground tunnels with the increasing of embedded depth. The formation mechanism of such phenomenon is difficult to explain under the framework of traditional rock mechanics, and the fractured shape and forming conditions are unclear. The numerical simulation was carried out to research the generating condition and forming process of zonal disintegration. Via comparing the results with the geomechanical model test, the zonal disintegration phenomenon was confirmed and its mechanism is revealed. It is found to be the result of circular fracture which develops within surrounding rock mass under the high geostress. The fractured shape of zonal disintegration was determined, and the radii of the fractured zones were found to fulfill the relationship of geometric progression. The numerical results were in accordance with the model test findings. The mechanism of the zonal disintegration was revealed by theoretical analysis based on fracture mechanics. The fractured zones are reportedly circular and concentric to the cavern. Each fracture zone ruptured at the elastic-plastic boundary of the surrounding rocks and then coalesced into the circular form. The geometric progression ratio was found to be related to the mechanical parameters and the ground stress of the surrounding rocks.

  13. Numerical simulation on zonal disintegration in deep surrounding rock mass.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Xuguang; Wang, Yuan; Mei, Yu; Zhang, Xin

    2014-01-01

    Zonal disintegration have been discovered in many underground tunnels with the increasing of embedded depth. The formation mechanism of such phenomenon is difficult to explain under the framework of traditional rock mechanics, and the fractured shape and forming conditions are unclear. The numerical simulation was carried out to research the generating condition and forming process of zonal disintegration. Via comparing the results with the geomechanical model test, the zonal disintegration phenomenon was confirmed and its mechanism is revealed. It is found to be the result of circular fracture which develops within surrounding rock mass under the high geostress. The fractured shape of zonal disintegration was determined, and the radii of the fractured zones were found to fulfill the relationship of geometric progression. The numerical results were in accordance with the model test findings. The mechanism of the zonal disintegration was revealed by theoretical analysis based on fracture mechanics. The fractured zones are reportedly circular and concentric to the cavern. Each fracture zone ruptured at the elastic-plastic boundary of the surrounding rocks and then coalesced into the circular form. The geometric progression ratio was found to be related to the mechanical parameters and the ground stress of the surrounding rocks.

  14. Boundary diffraction wave integrals for diffraction modeling of external occulters

    OpenAIRE

    Cady, E.

    2012-01-01

    An occulter is a large diffracting screen which may be flown in conjunction with a telescope to image extrasolar planets. The edge is shaped to minimize the diffracted light in a region beyond the occulter, and a telescope may be placed in this dark shadow to view an extrasolar system with the starlight removed. Errors in position, orientation, and shape of the occulter will diffract additional light into this region, and a challenge of modeling an occulter system is to accurately and quickly...

  15. 21 CFR 864.6550 - Occult blood test.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-01

    ... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Occult blood test. 864.6550 Section 864.6550 Food and Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) MEDICAL DEVICES HEMATOLOGY AND PATHOLOGY DEVICES Manual Hematology Devices § 864.6550 Occult blood test. (a...

  16. Changes in Jupiter's Zonal Wind Profile Preceding and During the Juno Mission

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tollefson, Joshua; Wong, Michael H.; de Pater, Imke; Simon, Amy A.; Orton, Glenn S.; Rogers, John H.; Atreya, Sushil K.; Cosentino, Richard G.; Januszewski, William; Morales-Juberias, Raul; hide

    2017-01-01

    We present five epochs of WFC3 HST Jupiter observations taken between 2009-2016 and extract global zonal wind profiles for each epoch. Jupiter's zonal wind field is globally stable throughout these years, but significant variations in certain latitude regions persist. We find that the largest uncertainties in the wind field are due to vortices or hot-spots, and show residual maps which identify the strongest vortex flows. The strongest year-to-year variation in the zonal wind profiles is the 24 deg N jet peak. Numerous plume outbreaks have been observed in the Northern Temperate Belt and are associated with decreases in the zonal velocity and brightness. We show that the 24 deg N jet peak velocity and brightness decreased in 2012 and again in late 2016, following outbreaks during these years. Our February 2016 zonal wind profile was the last highly spatially resolved measurement prior to Juno s first science observations. The final 2016 data were taken in conjunction with Juno's perijove 3 pass on 11 December 2016, and show the zonal wind profile following the plume outbreak at 24 deg N in October 2016.

  17. Effect of mean flow on the interaction between turbulence and zonal flow

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Uzawa, Ken; Kishimoto, Yasuaki; Li Jiquan

    2006-01-01

    The effects of an external mean flow on the generation of zonal flow in drift wave turbulence are theoretically studied in terms of a modulational instability analysis. A dispersion relation for the zonal flow instability having complex frequency ω q =Ω q +iγ q is derived, which depends on the external mean flow's amplitude |φ f | and radial wave number k f . As an example, we chose an ion temperature gradient (ITG) turbulence-driven zonal flow as the mean flow acting on an electron temperature gradient (ETG) turbulence-zonal flow system. The growth rate of the zonal flow γ q is found to be suppressed, showing a relation γ q =γ q0 (1 - α|φ f | 2 k f 2 ), where γ q0 is the growth rate in the absence of mean flow and α is a positive numerical constant. This formula is applicable to a strong shearing regime where the zonal flow instability is stabilized at α|φ f 2 |k f 2 ≅ 1. Meanwhile, the suppression is accompanied by an increase of the real frequency |Ω q |. The underlying physical mechanism of the suppression is discussed. (author)

  18. Right upper-quadrant pain in a patient with drug abuse, secondary syphilis and occult hepatitis B virus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fielding, Cory M; Angulo, Paul

    2014-01-01

    To describe the etiology of hepatitis and identify occult hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. A 40-year-old man presented with severe abdominal pain and jaundice, a history of acute HBV infection that had cleared as well as the use of acetaminophen, methamphetamine, buprenorphine and marijuana. He admitted to having had unprotected sex with multiple partners of both genders. A thorough skin examination revealed papulosquamous lesions on his penis, scrotum, upper and lower extremities and feet. Transaminases and bilirubin were elevated. His rapid plasma reagin was reactive, and hepatitis serologies showed occult HBV. Liver biopsy showed severe hepatitis, but the stains for hepatitis B surface antigen and hepatitis B core antigen were negative. The pathological findings were highly indicative of drug-induced hepatitis without evidence of chronic hepatitis, reactivation of HBV or syphilitic hepatitis. With supportive management and abstinence from drugs, his condition improved. This case describes a patient with multiple potential causes for hepatitis and highlights the importance of obtaining a detailed social history. Further, one should consider the presence of occult HBV and recognize the serologic pattern. © 2014 S. Karger AG, Basel.

  19. Occult spinal dysraphism

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    paediatricians, paediatric neurosurgeons, urologists, orthopaedic surgeons, occupational ... Occult spinal dysraphism refers to a diverse group of congenital abnormalities resulting from varying degrees of disordered neuro- embryogenesis. Several terms have .... can image the whole spine. T1-weighted sagittal and axial ...

  20. First light of an external occulter testbed at flight Fresnel numbers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Yunjong; Sirbu, Dan; Hu, Mia; Kasdin, Jeremy; Vanderbei, Robert J.; Harness, Anthony; Shaklan, Stuart

    2017-01-01

    Many approaches have been suggested over the last couple of decades for imaging Earth-like planets. One of the main candidates for creating high-contrast for future Earth-like planets detection is an external occulter. The external occulter is a spacecraft flown along the line-of-sight of a space telescope to suppress starlight and enable high-contrast direct imaging of exoplanets. The occulter is typically tens of meters in diameter and the separation from the telescope is of the order of tens of thousands of kilometers. Optical testing of a full-scale external occulter on the ground is impossible because of the long separations. Therefore, laboratory verification of occulter designs is necessary to validate the optical models used to design and predict occulter performance. At Princeton, we have designed and built a testbed that allows verification of scaled occulter designs whose suppressed shadow is mathematically identical to that of space occulters. The goal of this experiment is to demonstrate a pupil plane suppression of better than 1e-9 with a corresponding image plane contrast of better than 1e-11. The occulter testbed uses a 77.2 m optical propagation distance to realize the flight Fresnel number of 14.5. The scaled mask is placed at 27.2 m from the artificial source and the camera is located 50.0 m from the scaled mask. We will use an etched silicon mask, manufactured by the Microdevices Lab(MDL) of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory(JPL), as the occulter. Based on conversations with MDL, we expect that 0.5 μm feature size is an achievable resolution in the mask manufacturing process and is therefore likely the indicator of the best possible performance. The occulter is illuminated by a diverging laser beam to reduce the aberrations from the optics before the occulter. Here, we present first light result of a sample design operating at a flight Fresnel number and the experimental setup of the testbed. We compare the experimental results with simulations

  1. Possible occultation by Pluto from US East Coast

    Science.gov (United States)

    Waagen, Elizabeth O.

    2012-06-01

    We have been asked to help disseminate the news of a possible occultation by Pluto visible to observers on the US East coast. Although the AAVSO does not ordinarily issue announcements of upcoming occultations, in this case the object is Pluto and the NASA New Horizons mission (http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/newhorizons/main/index.html) will be visiting Pluto in 2015. The information below has been supplied by Dr. Leslie Young (Southwest Research Institute), who is coordinating this observing campaign on Pluto. Dr. Young is also Deputy Project Scientist for the New Horizons mission. ALERT: Possible Pluto occultation Wednesday night (2012/06/14 03:28 UT) from US East coast. CONTACT: Leslie Young (layoung@boulder.swri.edu; work: 303-546-6057; skype: drpluto). Also see our planning pages in progress at http://wiki.boulder.swri.edu/mediawiki/index.php/2012-06-14_Pluto_occultation. Pluto's thin, nitrogen atmosphere is in vapor-pressure equilibrium with the surface ice, and changes seasonally. We've seen it double since 1988, and now we measure its pressure once or twice a year. The technique we use is stellar occultation, when a star passes behind Pluto's atmosphere. The atmosphere defocuses the starlight. By the timing of the fading of the star, we measure the pressure and temperature in Pluto's atmosphere at ~10 km resolution. MORE INFORMATION: See http://wiki.boulder.swri.edu/mediawiki/index.php/2012-06-14_Pluto_occultation.

  2. Turbulence, transport, and zonal flows in the Madison symmetric torus reversed-field pinch

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williams, Z. R.; Pueschel, M. J.; Terry, P. W.; Hauff, T.

    2017-12-01

    The robustness and the effect of zonal flows in trapped electron mode (TEM) turbulence and Ion Temperature Gradient (ITG) turbulence in the reversed-field pinch (RFP) are investigated from numerical solutions of the gyrokinetic equations with and without magnetic external perturbations introduced to model tearing modes. For simulations without external magnetic field perturbations, zonal flows produce a much larger reduction of transport for the density-gradient-driven TEM turbulence than they do for the ITG turbulence. Zonal flows are studied in detail to understand the nature of their strong excitation in the RFP and to gain insight into the key differences between the TEM- and ITG-driven regimes. The zonal flow residuals are significantly larger in the RFP than in tokamak geometry due to the low safety factor. Collisionality is seen to play a significant role in the TEM zonal flow regulation through the different responses of the linear growth rate and the size of the Dimits shift to collisionality, while affecting the ITG only minimally. A secondary instability analysis reveals that the TEM turbulence drives zonal flows at a rate that is twice that of the ITG turbulence. In addition to interfering with zonal flows, the magnetic perturbations are found to obviate an energy scaling relation for fast particles.

  3. Tokamak residual zonal flow level in near-separatrix region

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bing-Ren, Shi

    2010-01-01

    Residual zonal flow level is calculated for tokamak plasmas in the near-separatrix region of a diverted tokamak. A recently developed method is used to construct an analytic divertor tokamak configuration. It is shown that the residual zonal flow level becomes smaller but still keeps finite near the separatrix because the neoclassical polarisation mostly due to the trapped particles goes larger in this region. (fluids, plasmas and electric discharges)

  4. Zonal flow generation in collisionless trapped electron mode turbulence

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anderson, J; Nordman, H; Singh, R; Weiland, J

    2006-01-01

    In the present work the generation of zonal flows in collisionless trapped electron mode (TEM) turbulence is studied analytically. A reduced model for TEM turbulence is utilized based on an advanced fluid model for reactive drift waves. An analytical expression for the zonal flow growth rate is derived and compared with the linear TEM growth, and its scaling with plasma parameters is examined for typical tokamak parameter values

  5. Occult carbon monoxide poisoning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kirkpatrick, J N

    1987-01-01

    A syndrome of headache, fatigue, dizziness, paresthesias, chest pain, palpitations and visual disturbances was associated with chronic occult carbon monoxide exposure in 26 patients in a primary care setting. A causal association was supported by finding a source of carbon monoxide in a patient's home, workplace or vehicle; results of screening tests that ruled out other illnesses; an abnormally high carboxyhemoglobin level in 11 of 14 patients tested, and abatement or resolution of symptoms when the source of carbon monoxide was removed. Exposed household pets provided an important clue to the diagnosis in some cases. Recurrent occult carbon monoxide poisoning may be a frequently overlooked cause of persistent or recurrent headache, fatigue, dizziness, paresthesias, abdominal pain, diarrhea and unusual spells.

  6. Nongeostrophic theory of zonally averaged circulation. I - Formulation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tung, Ka Kit

    1986-01-01

    A nongeostrophic theory of zonally averaged circulation is formulated using the nonlinear primitive equations (mass conservation, thermodynamics, and zonal momentum) on a sphere. The relationship between the mean meridional circulation and diabatic heating rate is studied. Differences between results of nongeostropic theory and the geostrophic formulation concerning the role of eddy forcing of the diabatic circulation and the nonlinear nearly inviscid limit versus the geostrophic limit are discussed. Consideration is given to the Eliassen-Palm flux divergence, the Eliassen-Palm pseudodivergence, the nonacceleration theorem, and the nonlinear nongeostrophic Taylor relationship.

  7. Radio Occultation Bending Angle Anomalies During Tropical Cyclones

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Biondi, Riccardo; Neubert, Torsten; Syndergaard, Stig

    signature in radio occultation profiles in the tropical tropopause layer. Using tropical cyclone best track database and data from the Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere and Climate (COSMIC), we show that the bending angle anomaly of a GPS radio occultation signal is typically larger...

  8. Zonal Flow Dynamics and Size-scaling of Anomalous Transport

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu Chen; White, Roscoe B.; Zonca, F.

    2003-01-01

    Nonlinear equations for the slow space-time evolution of the radial drift wave envelope and zonal flow amplitude have been self-consistently derived for a model nonuniform tokamak equilibrium within the coherent 4-wave drift wave-zonal flow modulation interaction model of Chen, Lin, and White [Phys. Plasmas 7 (2000) 3129]. Solutions clearly demonstrate turbulence spreading due to nonlinearly enhanced dispersiveness and, consequently, the device-size dependence of the saturated wave intensities and transport coefficients

  9. Occult spondyloarthritis in inflammatory bowel disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bandinelli, Francesca; Manetti, Mirko; Ibba-Manneschi, Lidia

    2016-02-01

    Spondyloarthritis (SpA) is a frequent extra-intestinal manifestation in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), although its real diffusion is commonly considered underestimated. Abnormalities in the microbioma and genetic predisposition have been implicated in the link between bowel and joint inflammation. Otherwise, up to date, pathogenetic mechanisms are still largely unknown and the exact influence of the bowel activity on rheumatic manifestations is not clearly explained. Due to evidence-based results of clinical studies, the interest on clinically asymptomatic SpA in IBD patients increased in the last few years. Actually, occult enthesitis and sacroiliitis are discovered in high percentages of IBD patients by different imaging techniques, mainly enthesis ultrasound (US) and sacroiliac joint X-ray examinations. Several diagnostic approaches and biomarkers have been proposed in an attempt to correctly classify and diagnose clinically occult joint manifestations and to define clusters of risk for patient screening, although definitive results are still lacking. The correct recognition of occult SpA in IBD requires an integrated multidisciplinary approach in order to identify common diagnostic and therapeutic strategies. The use of inexpensive and rapid imaging techniques, such as US and X-ray, should be routinely included in daily clinical practice and trials to correctly evaluate occult SpA, thus preventing future disability and worsening of quality of life in IBD patients.

  10. Occult Macular Dystrophy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Işıl Sayman Muslubaş

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available Occult macular dystrophy is an inherited macular dystrophy characterized by a progressive decline of bilateral visual acuity with normal fundus appearance, fluorescein angiogram and full-field electroretinogram. This case report presents a 20-year-old female patient with bilateral progressive decline of visual acuity for six years. Her visual acuity was 3-4/10 in both eyes. Anterior segment and fundus examination, fluorescein angiogram and full-field electroretinogram were normal. She could read all Ishihara pseudoisochromatic plates. Fundus autofluorescence imaging was normal. There was a mild central hyporeflectance on fundus infrared reflectance imaging in both eyes. Reduced foveal thickness and alterations of the photoreceptor inner and outer segment junction were observed by optical coherence tomography in both eyes. Central scotoma was also found by microperimetry and reduced central response was revealed by multifocal electroretinogram in both eyes. These findings are consistent with the clinical characteristics of occult macular dystrophy

  11. Building an Anisotropic Meniscus with Zonal Variations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Higashioka, Michael M.; Chen, Justin A.; Hu, Jerry C.

    2014-01-01

    Toward addressing the difficult problems of knee meniscus regeneration, a self-assembling process has been used to re-create the native morphology and matrix properties. A significant problem in such attempts is the recapitulation of the distinct zones of the meniscus, the inner, more cartilaginous and the outer, more fibrocartilaginous zones. In this study, an anisotropic and zonally variant meniscus was produced by self-assembly of the inner meniscus (100% chondrocytes) followed by cell seeding the outer meniscus (coculture of chondrocytes and meniscus cells). After 4 weeks in culture, the engineered, inner meniscus exhibited a 42% increase in both instantaneous and relaxation moduli and a 62% increase in GAG/DW, as compared to the outer meniscus. In contrast, the circumferential tensile modulus and collagen/DW of the outer zone was 101% and 129% higher, respectively, than the values measured for the inner zone. Furthermore, there was no difference in the radial tensile modulus between the control and zonal engineered menisci, suggesting that the inner and outer zones of the engineered zonal menisci successfully integrated. These data demonstrate that not only can biomechanical and biochemical properties be engineered to differ by the zone, but they can also recapitulate the anisotropic behavior of the knee meniscus. PMID:23931258

  12. The stellar occultation by the dwarf planet Haumea

    Science.gov (United States)

    Santos-Sanz, Pablo; Ortiz, Jose Luis; Sicardy, Bruno; Rossi, Gustavo; Berard, Diane; Morales, Nicolas; Duffard, Rene; Braga-Ribas, Felipe; Hopp, Ulrich; Ries, Christoph; Nascimbeni, Valerio; Marzari, Francesco; Granata, Valentina; Pál, András; Kiss, Csaba; Pribulla, Theodor; Milan Komzík, Richard; Hornoch, Kamil; Pravec, Petr; Bacci, Paolo; Maestripieri, Martina; Nerli, Luca; Mazzei, Leonardo; Bachini, Mauro; Martinelli, Fabio; Succi, Giacomo; Ciabattari, Fabrizio; Mikuz, Herman; Carbognani, Albino; Gaehrken, Bernd; Mottola, Stefano; Hellmich, Stephan; Rommel, Flavia; Fernández-Valenzuela, Estela; Campo Bagatin, Adriano; Haumea occultation international Collaboration: https://cloud.iaa.csic.es/public.php?service=files&t=d9276f8ab1a316cef13bee28bef75add

    2017-10-01

    The dwarf planet Haumea is a very peculiar Trans-Neptunian Object (TNO) with unique and exotic characteristics. It is currently classified as one of the five dwarf planets of the solar system, and it is the only one for which size, shape, albedo, density and other basic properties were not accurately known. To solve that we predicted an occultation of the star GaiaDR1 1233009038221203584 by Haumea and organized observations within the expected shadow path. Medium/large telescopes were needed to record the occultation with enough signal to noise ratio because the occulted star is of similar brightness as Haumea (R~17.7 mag). We will report results derived from this successful stellar occultation by Haumea on 2017 January 21st. The occultation was positive from 12 telescopes at 10 observing stations in Europe: the Asiago Observatory 1.8m telescope (Italy), the Mount Agliale Observatory 0.5m telescope (Italy), the Lajatico Astronomical Centre 0.5m telescope (Italy), the S.Marcello Pistoiese Observatory 0.6m telescope (Italy), the Crni Vrh Observatory 0.6m telescope (Slovenia), the Ondrejov Observatory 0.65m telescope (Czech Republic), the Bavarian Public Observatory 0.81m telescope (Germany), the Konkoly Observatory 1m and 0.6m telescopes (Hungary), the Skalnate Pleso Observatory 1.3m telescope (Slovakia), and the Wendelstein Observatory 2m and 0.4m telescopes (Germany). This is the occultation by a TNO with the largest number of chords ever recorded.Part of this work has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under Grant Agreement No. 687378.

  13. Occult diaphragmatic injuries caused by stab wounds.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leppäniemi, Ari; Haapiainen, Reijo

    2003-10-01

    Missed diaphragmatic perforation caused by penetrating trauma can lead to subsequent strangulation of a hollow viscus, which has prompted the use of invasive diagnostic procedures to exclude occult diaphragmatic injuries in asymptomatic, high-risk patients. The objective of this study was to determine the incidence of occult diaphragmatic injuries caused by stab wounds of the lower chest and upper abdomen, and to examine the natural history and consequences of missed diaphragmatic injuries. On the basis of patient data from two previous randomized studies from our institution, a retrospective analysis was performed on 97 patients treated for anterior stab wounds located between the nipple line, the umbilical level, and the posterior axillary lines not having indications for immediate surgical exploration. The patients were divided into two groups on the basis of their initial randomized management (open or laparoscopic exploration vs. expectant observation). In the exploration group (n = 47), four diaphragmatic injuries (9%) were detected (three left-sided and one right-sided). Excluding patients with associated injuries requiring surgical repair, the incidence of occult diaphragmatic injuries was 3 of 43 (7%). In the observation group (n = 50), there were two patients (4%) with delayed presentation of missed left-sided diaphragmatic injury 2 and 23 months later, respectively. Both injuries resulted from stab wounds of the left flank and presented with herniation of the stomach or small bowel and colon. The overall incidence of occult diaphragmatic injuries in left-sided thoracoabdominal stab wounds was 4 of 24 (17%), and was much lower after stab wounds of left epigastrium (0%), right lower chest (0%), and right epigastrium (4%). In asymptomatic patients with anterior or flank stab wounds of the lower chest or upper abdominal area, the risk of an occult diaphragmatic injury is approximately 7% which, if undetected, is associated with a high risk of subsequent

  14. Characterization and evolution of distant planetary atmospheres using stellar occultations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Young, L. A.

    2008-09-01

    Ground-based or near-Earth (e.g., HST) stellar occultations of every atmosphere in our solar system has been observed: Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Titan, Uranus, Neptune, Triton, and Pluto [1]. These observations probe the atmospheres at roughly 0.1 to 100 microbar. I will talk about three aspects of stellar occultations: one-dimensional vertical profiles of the atmosphere, two- or three-dimensional atmospheric states, and the time evolution of atmosphere. In all three, I will draw on recent observations, with an emphasis on Pluto. Occultations are particularly important for the study of Pluto's atmosphere, which is impossible to study with imaging, and extremely difficult to study with spectroscopy. It was discovered by stellar occultation in 1988 [2]. No subsequent Pluto occultations were observed until two events in 2002 [3]. Pluto is now crossing the galactic plane, and there have been several additional occultations observed since 2006. These include a high signal-to-noise observation from the Anglo Australian Observatory in 2006 [4] (Fig 1), densely spaced visible and infrared observations of Pluto's upper atmosphere from telescopes in the US and Mexico in March, 2007 [5] (Fig. 2), and a dualwavelength central flash observation from Mt. John in July, 2007 [6] (Fig 3). The flux from a star occulted by an atmosphere diminishes primarily due to the increase in refraction with depth in the atmosphere, defocusing the starlight, although absorption and tangential focusing can also contribute. Because the atmospheric density, to first order, follows an exponential, it is feasible to derive a characteristic pressure and temperature from isothermal fits to even low-quality occultation light curves. Higher quality light curves allow fits with more flexible models, or light curve inversions that derive temperatures limited by the resolution of the data. These allow the derivation of one-dimensional profiles of temperature and pressure vs. altitude, which are critical

  15. Fecal Occult Blood Test and Gastrointestinal Parasitic Infection

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Majed H. Wakid

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Stool specimens of 1238 workers in western region of Saudi Arabia were examined for infection with intestinal parasites and for fecal occult blood (FOB to investigate the possibility that enteroparasites correlate to occult intestinal bleeding. Direct smears and formal ether techniques were used for detection of diagnostic stages of intestinal parasites. A commercially available guaiac test was used to detect fecal occult blood. 47.01% of the workers were infected with intestinal parasites including eight helminthes species and eight protozoan species. The results provided no significant evidence (P-value=0.143 that intestinal parasitic infection is in association with positive guaiac FOB test.

  16. CT detection of occult pneumothorax in head trauma

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tocino, I.M.; Miller, M.H.; Frederick, P.R.; Bahr, A.L.; Thomas, F.

    1984-01-01

    A prospective evaluation for occult pneumothorax was performed in 25 consecutive patients with serious head trauma by combining a limited chest CT examination with the emergency head CT examination. Of 21 pneuomothoraces present in 15 patients, 11 (52%) were found only by chest CT and were not identified clinically or by supine chest radiograph. Because of pending therapeutic measures, chest tubes were placed in nine of the 11 occult pneumothoraces, regardless of the volume. Chest CT proved itself as the most sensitive method for detection of occult pneumothorax, permitting early chest tube placement to prevent transition to a tension pneumothorax during subsequent mechanical ventilation or emergency surgery under general anesthesia

  17. CT detection of occult pneumothorax in head trauma

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tocino, I.M.; Miller, M.H.; Frederick, P.R.; Bahr, A.L.; Thomas, F.

    1984-11-01

    A prospective evaluation for occult pneumothorax was performed in 25 consecutive patients with serious head trauma by combining a limited chest CT examination with the emergency head CT examination. Of 21 pneuomothoraces present in 15 patients, 11 (52%) were found only by chest CT and were not identified clinically or by supine chest radiograph. Because of pending therapeutic measures, chest tubes were placed in nine of the 11 occult pneumothoraces, regardless of the volume. Chest CT proved itself as the most sensitive method for detection of occult pneumothorax, permitting early chest tube placement to prevent transition to a tension pneumothorax during subsequent mechanical ventilation or emergency surgery under general anesthesia.

  18. Wave propagation simulation of radio occultations based on ECMWF refractivity profiles

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    von Benzon, Hans-Henrik; Høeg, Per

    2015-01-01

    This paper describes a complete radio occultation simulation environment, including realistic refractivity profiles, wave propagation modeling, instrument modeling, and bending angle retrieval. The wave propagator is used to simulate radio occultation measurements. The radio waves are propagated...... of radio occultations. The output from the wave propagator simulator is used as input to a Full Spectrum Inversion retrieval module which calculates geophysical parameters. These parameters can be compared to the ECMWF atmospheric profiles. The comparison can be used to reveal system errors and get...... a better understanding of the physics. The wave propagation simulations will in this paper also be compared to real measurements. These radio occultations have been exposed to the same atmospheric conditions as the radio occultations simulated by the wave propagator. This comparison reveals that precise...

  19. Model test of anchoring effect on zonal disintegration in deep surrounding rock masses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Xu-Guang; Zhang, Qiang-Yong; Wang, Yuan; Liu, De-Jun; Zhang, Ning

    2013-01-01

    The deep rock masses show a different mechanical behavior compared with the shallow rock masses. They are classified into alternating fractured and intact zones during the excavation, which is known as zonal disintegration. Such phenomenon is a great disaster and will induce the different excavation and anchoring methodology. In this study, a 3D geomechanics model test was conducted to research the anchoring effect of zonal disintegration. The model was constructed with anchoring in a half and nonanchoring in the other half, to compare with each other. The optical extensometer and optical sensor were adopted to measure the displacement and strain changing law in the model test. The displacement laws of the deep surrounding rocks were obtained and found to be nonmonotonic versus the distance to the periphery. Zonal disintegration occurs in the area without anchoring and did not occur in the model under anchoring condition. By contrasting the phenomenon, the anchor effect of restraining zonal disintegration was revealed. And the formation condition of zonal disintegration was decided. In the procedure of tunnel excavation, the anchor strain was found to be alternation in tension and compression. It indicates that anchor will show the nonmonotonic law during suppressing the zonal disintegration.

  20. Model Test of Anchoring Effect on Zonal Disintegration in Deep Surrounding Rock Masses

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xu-Guang Chen

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available The deep rock masses show a different mechanical behavior compared with the shallow rock masses. They are classified into alternating fractured and intact zones during the excavation, which is known as zonal disintegration. Such phenomenon is a great disaster and will induce the different excavation and anchoring methodology. In this study, a 3D geomechanics model test was conducted to research the anchoring effect of zonal disintegration. The model was constructed with anchoring in a half and nonanchoring in the other half, to compare with each other. The optical extensometer and optical sensor were adopted to measure the displacement and strain changing law in the model test. The displacement laws of the deep surrounding rocks were obtained and found to be nonmonotonic versus the distance to the periphery. Zonal disintegration occurs in the area without anchoring and did not occur in the model under anchoring condition. By contrasting the phenomenon, the anchor effect of restraining zonal disintegration was revealed. And the formation condition of zonal disintegration was decided. In the procedure of tunnel excavation, the anchor strain was found to be alternation in tension and compression. It indicates that anchor will show the nonmonotonic law during suppressing the zonal disintegration.

  1. Zonal flow excitation by Shukla-Varma modes in a nonuniform dusty magnetoplasma

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shukla, P.K.; Stenflo, L.

    2002-01-01

    The nonlinear coupling between the Shukla-Varma (SV) modes and the zonal flows in a nonuniform dusty magnetoplasma is considered. By using a two-fluid model and the guiding center particle drifts, a pair of coupled mode equations is obtained. The latter are Fourier analyzed to obtain a nonlinear dispersion relation, which exhibits the excitation of zonal flows by the ponderomotive force of the SV modes. The increment of the parametrically excited zonal flows is presented. The relevance of our investigation to laboratory and space plasmas is discussed

  2. Pluto-Charon Stellar Occultation Candidates: 1990-1995

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dunham, E. W.; McDonald, S. W.; Elliot, J. L.

    1991-01-01

    We have carried out a search to identify stars that might be occulted by Pluto or Charon during the period 1990-1995 and part of 1996. This search was made with an unfiltered CCD camera operated in the strip scanning mode, and it reaches an R magnitude of approximately 17.5-about 1.5 mag fainter than previous searches. Circumstances for each of the 162 potential occultations are given, including an approximate R magnitude of the star, which allows estimation of the signal-to-noise ratio (S/N) for observation of each occultation. The faintest stars in our list would yield an S/N of about 20 for a 1 S integration when observed with a CCD detector on an 8 m telescope under a dark sky. Our astrometric precision (+/- 0.2 arcsec, with larger systematic errors possible for individual cases) is insufficient to serve as a final prediction for these potential occultations, but is sufficient to identify stars deserving of further, more accurate, astrometric observations. Statistically, we expect about 32 of these events to be observable somewhere on Earth. The number of events actually observed will be substantially smaller because of clouds and the sparse distribution of large telescopes. Finder charts for each of the 91 stars involved are presented.

  3. Predictions of stellar occultations by TNOs/Centaurs using Gaia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Desmars, Josselin; Camargo, Julio; Berard, Diane; Sicardy, Bruno; Leiva, Rodrigo; Vieira-Martins, Roberto; Braga-Ribas, Felipe; Assafin, Marcelo; Rossi, Gustavo; Chariklo occultations Team, Rio Group, Lucky Star Occultation Team, Granada Occultation Team

    2017-10-01

    Stellar occultations are the unique technique from the ground to access physical parameters of the distant solar system objects, such as the measure of the size and the shape at kilometric level, the detection of tenuous atmospheres (few nanobars), and the investigation of close vicinity (satellites, rings, jets).Predictions of stellar occultations require accurate positions of the star and the object.The Gaia DR1 catalog now allows to get stellar position to the milliarcsecond (mas) level. The main uncertainty in the prediction remains in the position of the object (tens to hundreds of mas).Now, we take advantage of the NIMA method for the orbit determination that uses the most recent observations reduced by the Gaia DR1 catalog and the astrometric positions derived from previous positive occultations.Up to now, we have detected nearly 50 positive occultations for about 20 objects that provide astrometric positions of the object at the time of the occultation. The uncertainty of these positions only depends on the uncertainty on the position of the occulted stars, which is a few mas with the Gaia DR1 catalog. The main limitation is now on the proper motion of the star which is only given for bright stars in the Tycho-Gaia Astrometric Solution. This limitation will be solved with the publicationof the Gaia DR2 expected on April 2018 giving proper motions and parallaxes for the Gaia stars. Until this date, we use hybrid stellar catalogs (UCAC5, HSOY) that provide proper motions derived from Gaia DR1 and another stellar catalog.Recently, the Gaia team presented a release of three preliminary Gaia DR2 stellar positions involved in the occultations by Chariklo (22 June and 23 July 2017) and by Triton (5 October 2017).Taking the case of Chariklo as an illustration, we will present a comparison between the proper motions of DR2 and the other catalogs and we will show how the Gaia DR2 will lead to a mas level precision in the orbit and in the prediction of stellar

  4. Intermittent characteristics in coupling between turbulence and zonal flows

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fujisawa, A; Shimizu, A; Nakano, H; Ohshima, S; Itoh, K; Nagashima, Y; Itoh, S-I; Iguchi, H; Yoshimura, Y; Minami, T; Nagaoka, K; Takahashi, C; Kojima, M; Nishimura, S; Isobe, M; Suzuki, C; Akiyama, T; Ido, T; Matsuoka, K; Okamura, S; Diamond, P H

    2007-01-01

    An extended application of Gabour's wavelet to bicoherence analysis succeeds in resolving the instantaneous structure of three wave couplings between disparate scale electric field fluctuations in the high temperature core in a toroidal plasma device named the compact helical system. The obtained results quantify an intermittent linkage between turbulence and zonal flows-a highlighted issue in the present plasma research. This is the first demonstration that the intermittent nature of the three wave coupling should underlie the turbulence power modulation due to zonal flows

  5. Nonlinear entropy transfer in ETG-TEM turbulence via TEM driven zonal flows

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Asahi, Yuuichi; Tsutsui, Hiroaki; Tsuji-Iio, Shunji; Ishizawa, Akihiro; Sugama, Hideo; Watanabe, Tomohiko

    2015-01-01

    Nonlinear interplay of the electron temperature gradient (ETG) modes and the trapped electron modes (TEMs) was investigated by means of gyrokinetic simulation. Focusing on the situation where both TEMs and ETG modes are linearly unstable, the effects of TEM-driven zonal flows on ETG turbulence were examined by means of entropy transfer analysis. In a statistically steady turbulence where the TEM driven zonal flows are dominant, it turned out that the zonal flows meditate the entropy transfer of the ETG modes from the low to high radial wavenumber regions. The successive entropy transfer broadens the potential fluctuation spectrum in the radial wavenumber direction. In contrast, in the situation where ETG modes are unstable but TEMs are stable, the pure ETG turbulence does not produce strong zonal flows, leading to a rather narrow spectrum in the radial wavenumber space and a higher transport level. (author)

  6. OCCULTISM AND MEDIUMSHIP IN FERNANDO PESSOA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alisson Diêgo Dias de Medeiros

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available This work is the result of a research on the influence that the occultism had on the work of the Portuguese poet Fernando Pessoa. To delimitate the study, we selected papers of Fernando Pessoa, which  suggested that the poet considered himself medium, and hence influenced his work, building his depersonalization. This work presents, thus, as main objectiveto analyze personal papers of Fernando Pessoa, whose outstanding characteristic is the presence of occultism and the supposed mediumship defended by him in response to non-literary and heteronymic manifestations. To this end, I focused on specific objectives, which are: a to study the speech of Fernando Pessoa on his supposed mediumship / occultism b to analyze specific texts that are, for the poet, mediumistic manifestations c to study excerpts from a set of personal letters in which Fernando Pessoa suggested being a medium. It is true that this dissertation will address many discussions already made by scholars and specialists in Fernando Pessoa, but we consider the possibility to deepen issues and contribute to the critical fortune of the poet.

  7. Exploring small bodies in the outer solar system with stellar occultations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elliot, Jim L.; Dunham, Edward W.; Olkin, C. B.

    1995-01-01

    Stellar occultation observations probe the atmospheric structure and extinction of outer solar system bodies with a spatial resolution of a few kilometers, and an airborne platform allows the observation of occultations by small bodies that are not visible from fixed telescopes. Results from occultations by Triton, Pluto, and Chiron observed with KAO are discussed, and future directions for this program are presented.

  8. Diffraction-based analysis of tunnel size for a scaled external occulter testbed

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sirbu, Dan; Kasdin, N. Jeremy; Vanderbei, Robert J.

    2016-07-01

    For performance verification of an external occulter mask (also called a starshade), scaled testbeds have been developed to measure the suppression of the occulter shadow in the pupil plane and contrast in the image plane. For occulter experiments the scaling is typically performed by maintaining an equivalent Fresnel number. The original Princeton occulter testbed was oversized with respect to both input beam and shadow propagation to limit any diffraction effects due to finite testbed enclosure edges; however, to operate at realistic space-mission equivalent Fresnel numbers an extended testbed is currently under construction. With the longer propagation distances involved, diffraction effects due to the edge of the tunnel must now be considered in the experiment design. Here, we present a diffraction-based model of two separate tunnel effects. First, we consider the effect of tunnel-edge induced diffraction ringing upstream from the occulter mask. Second, we consider the diffraction effect due to clipping of the output shadow by the tunnel downstream from the occulter mask. These calculations are performed for a representative point design relevant to the new Princeton occulter experiment, but we also present an analytical relation that can be used for other propagation distances.

  9. Overview of edge turbulence and zonal flow studies on TEXTOR

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Xu, Y.; Kraemer-Flecken, A.; Reiser, D.

    2008-01-01

    In the TEXTOR tokamak, the edge turbulence properties and turbulence-associated zonal flows have been systematically investigated both experimentally and theoretically. The experimental results include the investigation of self-organized criticality (SOC) behavior, the intermittent blob transport and the geodesic acoustic mode (GAM) zonal flows. During the Dynamic Ergodic Divertor (DED) operation in TEXTOR, the impact of an ergodized plasma boundary on edge turbulence, turbulent transport and the fluctuation propagation has also been studied in detail. The results show substantial influence by the DED on edge turbulence. The theoretical simulations for TEXTOR parameters show characteristic features of the GAM flows and strong reduction of the blob transport by the DED at the plasma periphery. Moreover, the modelling reveals the importance of the Reynolds stress in driving mean (or zonal) flows at the plasma edge in the ohmic discharge phase in TEXTOR. (author)

  10. GRAVOTURBULENT PLANETESIMAL FORMATION: THE POSITIVE EFFECT OF LONG-LIVED ZONAL FLOWS

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dittrich, K.; Klahr, H.; Johansen, A.

    2013-01-01

    Recent numerical simulations have shown long-lived axisymmetric sub- and super-Keplerian flows in protoplanetary disks. These zonal flows are found in local as well as global simulations of disks unstable to the magnetorotational instability. This paper covers our study of the strength and lifetime of zonal flows and the resulting long-lived gas over- and underdensities as functions of the azimuthal and radial size of the local shearing box. We further investigate dust particle concentrations without feedback on the gas and without self-gravity. The strength and lifetime of zonal flows increase with the radial extent of the simulation box, but decrease with the azimuthal box size. Our simulations support earlier results that zonal flows have a natural radial length scale of 5-7 gas pressure scale heights. This is the first study that combines three-dimensional MHD simulations of zonal flows and dust particles feeling the gas pressure. The pressure bumps trap particles with St = 1 very efficiently. We show that St = 0.1 particles (of some centimeters in size if at 5 AU in a minimum mass solar nebula) reach a hundred-fold higher density than initially. This opens the path for particles of St = 0.1 and dust-to-gas ratio of 0.01 or for particles of St ≥ 0.5 and dust-to-gas ratio 10 –4 to still reach densities that potentially trigger the streaming instability and thus gravoturbulent formation of planetesimals.

  11. Cost-Optimal ATCs in Zonal Electricity Markets

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Tue Vissing; Kazempour, Jalal; Pinson, Pierre

    2017-01-01

    from the physical ATCs based on security indices only typically used in zonal electricity markets today. Determining cost-optimal ATCs requires viewing ATCs as an endogenous market construct, and leads naturally to the definition of a market entity whose responsibility is to optimize ATCs....... The optimization problem which this entity solves is a stochastic bilevel problem, which we decompose to yield a computationally tractable formulation. We show that cost-optimal ATCs depend non-trivially on the underlying network structure, and the problem of finding a setof cost-optimal ATCs is in general non...... by a factor of 2 or more, and ATCs which are zero between well-connected areas.Our results indicate that the perceived efficiency gap between zonal and nodal markets may be exagerrated if non-optimal ATCs are used....

  12. Disturbance zonal and vertical plasma drifts in the Peruvian sector during solar minimum phases

    Science.gov (United States)

    Santos, A. M.; Abdu, M. A.; Souza, J. R.; Sobral, J. H. A.; Batista, I. S.

    2016-03-01

    In the present work, we investigate the behavior of the equatorial F region zonal plasma drifts over the Peruvian region under magnetically disturbed conditions during two solar minimum epochs, one of them being the recent prolonged solar activity minimum. The study utilizes the vertical and zonal components of the plasma drifts measured by the Jicamarca (11.95°S; 76.87°W) incoherent scatter radar during two events that occurred on 10 April 1997 and 24 June 2008 and model calculation of the zonal drift in a realistic ionosphere simulated by the Sheffield University Plasmasphere-Ionosphere Model-INPE. Two main points are focused: (1) the connection between electric fields and plasma drifts under prompt penetration electric field during a disturbed periods and (2) anomalous behavior of daytime zonal drift in the absence of any magnetic storm. A perfect anticorrelation between vertical and zonal drifts was observed during the night and in the initial and growth phases of the magnetic storm. For the first time, based on a realistic low-latitude ionosphere, we will show, on a detailed quantitative basis, that this anticorrelation is driven mainly by a vertical Hall electric field induced by the primary zonal electric field in the presence of an enhanced nighttime E region ionization. It is shown that an increase in the field line-integrated Hall-to-Pedersen conductivity ratio (∑H/∑P), which can arise from precipitation of energetic particles in the region of the South American Magnetic Anomaly, is capable of explaining the observed anticorrelation between the vertical and zonal plasma drifts. Evidence for the particle ionization is provided from the occurrence of anomalous sporadic E layers over the low-latitude station, Cachoeira Paulista (22.67°S; 44.9°W)—Brazil. It will also be shown that the zonal plasma drift reversal to eastward in the afternoon two hours earlier than its reference quiet time pattern is possibly caused by weakening of the zonal wind

  13. Occult hepatitis B infection: an evolutionary scenario

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lukashov Vladimir V

    2008-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Occult or latent hepatitis B virus (HBV infection is defined as infection with detectable HBV DNA and undetectable surface antigen (HBsAg in patients' blood. The cause of an overt HBV infection becoming an occult one is unknown. To gain insight into the mechanism of the development of occult infection, we compared the full-length HBV genome from a blood donor carrying an occult infection (d4 with global genotype D genomes. Results The phylogenetic analysis of polymerase, core and X protein sequences did not distinguish d4 from other genotype D strains. Yet, d4 surface protein formed the evolutionary outgroup relative to all other genotype D strains. Its evolutionary branch was the only one where accumulation of substitutions suggests positive selection (dN/dS = 1.3787. Many of these substitutiions accumulated specifically in regions encoding the core/surface protein interface, as revealed in a 3D-modeled protein complex. We identified a novel RNA splicing event (deleting nucleotides 2986-202 that abolishes surface protein gene expression without affecting polymerase, core and X-protein related functions. Genotype D strains differ in their ability to perform this 2986-202 splicing. Strains prone to 2986-202 splicing constitute a separate clade in a phylogenetic tree of genotype D HBVs. A single substitution (G173T that is associated with clade membership alters the local RNA secondary structure and is proposed to affect splicing efficiency at the 202 acceptor site. Conclusion We propose an evolutionary scenario for occult HBV infection, in which 2986-202 splicing generates intracellular virus particles devoid of surface protein, which subsequently accumulates mutations due to relaxation of coding constraints. Such viruses are deficient of autonomous propagation and cannot leave the host cell until it is lysed.

  14. Beamsteerable GNSS Radio Occultation ASIC

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — We will develop an integrated RF ASIC to enable high quality radio occultation (RO) weather observations using the Global Navigations System Satellite (GNSS)...

  15. Partially Transparent Petaled Mask/Occulter for Visible-Range Spectrum

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shiri, Ron Shahram; Wasylkiwskyj, Wasyl

    2013-01-01

    The presence of the Poisson Spot, also known as the spot of Arago, has been known since the 18th century. This spot is the consequence of constructive interference of light diffracted by the edge of the obstacle where the central position can be determined by symmetry of the object. More recently, many NASA missions require the suppression of this spot in the visible range. For instance, the exoplanetary missions involving space telescopes require telescopes to image the planetary bodies orbiting central stars. For this purpose, the starlight needs to be suppressed by several orders of magnitude in order to image the reflected light from the orbiting planet. For the Earth-like planets, this suppression needs to be at least ten orders of magnitude. One of the common methods of suppression involves sharp binary petaled occulters envisioned to be placed many thousands of miles away from the telescope blocking the starlight. The suppression of the Poisson Spot by binary sharp petal tips can be problematic when the thickness of the tips becomes smaller than the wavelength of the incident beam. First they are difficult to manufacture and also it invalidates the laws of physical optics. The proposed partially transparent petaled masks/occulters compensate for this sharpness with transparency along the surface of the petals. Depending on the geometry of the problem, this transparency can be customized such that only a small region of the petal is transparent and the remaining of the surface is opaque. This feature allows easy fabrication of this type of occultation device either as a mask or occulter. A partially transparent petaled mask/ occulter has been designed for the visible spectrum range. The mask/occulter can suppress the intensity along the optical axis up to ten orders of magnitude. The design process can tailor the mask shape, number of petals, and transparency level to the near-field and farfield diffraction region. The mask/occulter can be used in space

  16. Occult hepatitis B virus infection in immunocompromised patients

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ruth Nogueira Cordeiro Moraes Jardim

    Full Text Available Occult hepatitis B infection is characterized by hepatitis B virus (HBV DNA in the serum in the absence of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg. We assessed occult HBV infection prevalence in two groups of immunocompromised patients (maintenance hemodialysis patients and HIV-positive patients presenting HBsAg-negative and anti-HBc positive serological patterns, co-infected or not by HCV. Thirty-four hemodialysis anti-HIV negative patients, 159 HIV-positive patients and 150 blood donors who were anti-HBc positive (control group were selected. HBV-DNA was detected by nested-PCR. Occult hepatitis B infection was not observed in the hemodialysis patients group but was found in 5% of the HIV-patients and in 4% of the blood donors. Immunosuppression in HIV positive patients was not a determining factor for occult HBV infection. In addition, no significant relationship between HBV-DNA and HCV co-infection in the HIV-positive patient group was found. A lack of significant associations was also observed between positivity for HBV-DNA and CD4 count, viral load and previous lamivudine treatment in these HIV-positive patients.

  17. Occult Hepatitis B Virus in Gezira State Sudan | Gasmelseed ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Background: Occult hepatitis B infection (OBI) is simply defined as serologically undetectable hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg-ve), despite the presence of circulating HBV DNA. Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of occult HBV among Screened HBsAg subjects in Gezira State, Sudan.

  18. Retrieval of Electron Density Profile for KOMPSAT-5 GPS Radio Occultation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Woo-Kyoung Lee

    2007-12-01

    Full Text Available The AOPOD (Atmosphere Occultation and Precision Orbit Determination system, the secondary payload of KOMPSAT (KOrea Multi-Purpose SATellite-5 scheduled to be launched in 2010, shall provide GPS radio occultation data. In this paper, we simulated the GPS radio occultation characteristic of KOMPSAT-5 and retrieved electron density profiles using KROPS (KASI Radio Occultation Processing Software. The electron density retrieved from CHAMP (CHAllenging Minisatellite Payload GPS radio occultation data on June 20, 2004 was compared with IRI (International Reference Ionosphere - 2001, PLP (Planar Langmuir Probe, and ionosonde measurements. When the result was compared with ionosonde measurements, the discrepancies were 5 km on the F_2 peak height (hmF_2 and 3×10^{10} el/m^3 on the electron density of the F_2 peak height (NmF_2. By comparing with the Langmuir Probe measurements of CHAMP satellite (PLP, both agrees with 1.6×10^{11} el/m^3 at the height of 365.6 km.

  19. Currents, Geostrophic, Aviso, 0.25 degrees, Global, Zonal

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — Aviso Zonal Geostrophic Current is inferred from Sea Surface Height Deviation, climatological dynamic height, and basic fluid mechanics.

  20. Comparisons of the tropospheric specific humidity from GPS radio occultations with ERA-Interim, NASA MERRA, and AIRS data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vergados, Panagiotis; Mannucci, Anthony J.; Ao, Chi O.; Verkhoglyadova, Olga; Iijima, Byron

    2018-03-01

    We construct a 9-year data record (2007-2015) of the tropospheric specific humidity using Global Positioning System radio occultation (GPS RO) observations from the Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere, and Climate (COSMIC) mission. This record covers the ±40° latitude belt and includes estimates of the zonally averaged monthly mean specific humidity from 700 up to 400 hPa. It includes three major climate zones: (a) the deep tropics (±15°), (b) the trade winds belts (±15-30°), and (c) the subtropics (±30-40°). We find that the RO observations agree very well with the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts Re-Analysis Interim (ERA-Interim), the Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA), and the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) by capturing similar magnitudes and patterns of variability in the monthly zonal mean specific humidity and interannual anomaly over annual and interannual timescales. The JPL and UCAR specific humidity climatologies differ by less than 15 % (depending on location and pressure level), primarily due to differences in the retrieved refractivity. In the middle-to-upper troposphere, in all climate zones, JPL is the wettest of all data sets, AIRS is the driest of all data sets, and UCAR, ERA-Interim, and MERRA are in very good agreement, lying between the JPL and AIRS climatologies. In the lower-to-middle troposphere, we present a complex behavior of discrepancies, and we speculate that this might be due to convection and entrainment. Conclusively, the RO observations could potentially be used as a climate variable, but more thorough analysis is required to assess the structural uncertainty between centers and its origin.

  1. The relevance of grid expansion under zonal markets

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bertsch, Joachim; Hagspiel, Simeon; Just, Lisa [ewi Energy Research and Scenarios gGmbH, Cologne (Germany); Cologne Univ. (Germany). Dept. of Economics; Brown, Tom [Frankfurt Institute of Advanced Studies (Germany)

    2015-12-15

    The European electricity market design is based on zonal markets with uniform prices. Locational price signals within these zones - necessary to ensure long-term efficiency - are not provided. Specifically, if intra-zonal congestion occurs due to missing grid expansion, the market design is revealed as inherently incomplete. This might lead to severe, unwanted distortions of the electricity market, both in the short- and in the long-term. In this paper, we study these distortions with a specific focus on the impact of restricted grid expansion under zonal markets. For this, we use a long term fundamental dispatch and investment model of the European electricity system and gradually restrict the allowed expansion of the transmission grid per decade. We find that the combination of an incomplete market design and restricted grid expansion leads to a misallocation of generation capacities and the inability to transport electricity to where it is needed. Consequences are severe and lead to load curtailment of up to 2-3 %. Moreover, missing grid expansion makes it difficult and costly to reach envisaged energy targets in the power sector. Hence, we argue that in the likely event of restricted grid expansion, either administrative measures or - presumably more efficient - an adaptation of the current market design to include locational signals will become necessary.

  2. The relevance of grid expansion under zonal markets

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bertsch, Joachim; Hagspiel, Simeon; Just, Lisa

    2015-01-01

    The European electricity market design is based on zonal markets with uniform prices. Locational price signals within these zones - necessary to ensure long-term efficiency - are not provided. Specifically, if intra-zonal congestion occurs due to missing grid expansion, the market design is revealed as inherently incomplete. This might lead to severe, unwanted distortions of the electricity market, both in the short- and in the long-term. In this paper, we study these distortions with a specific focus on the impact of restricted grid expansion under zonal markets. For this, we use a long term fundamental dispatch and investment model of the European electricity system and gradually restrict the allowed expansion of the transmission grid per decade. We find that the combination of an incomplete market design and restricted grid expansion leads to a misallocation of generation capacities and the inability to transport electricity to where it is needed. Consequences are severe and lead to load curtailment of up to 2-3 %. Moreover, missing grid expansion makes it difficult and costly to reach envisaged energy targets in the power sector. Hence, we argue that in the likely event of restricted grid expansion, either administrative measures or - presumably more efficient - an adaptation of the current market design to include locational signals will become necessary.

  3. Recent progress on external occulter technology for imaging exosolar planets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kasdin, N. J.; Vanderbei, R. J.; Sirbu, D.; Samuels, J.; Shaklan, S.; Lisman, D.; Thomson, M.; Cady, E.; Martin, S.

    Imaging planets orbiting nearby stars requires a system for suppressing the host starlight by at least ten orders of magnitude. One such approach uses an external occulter, a satellite flying far from the telescope and employing a large screen, or starshade, to suppress the incoming starlight. This trades the added complexity of building the precisely shaped starshade and flying it in formation against simplifications in the telescope since extremely precise wavefront control is no longer necessary. Much progress has been made recently in designing, testing and manufacturing starshade technology. In this paper we describe the design of starshades and report on recent accomplishments in manufacturing and measuring a prototype occulter petal as part of NASA's first Technology Development for Exoplanet Missions (TDEM) program. We demonstrate that the as-built petal is consistent with a full-size occulter achieving better than 10-10 contrast. We also discuss laboratory testing at the Princeton Occulter Testbed. These experiments use sub-scale, long-distance beam propagation to verify the diffraction analysis associated with occulter starlight suppression. We demonstrate roughly 10-10 suppression in the laboratory and discuss the important challenges and limitations.

  4. Crosslink Radio Occultation for the Remote Sensing of Planetary Atmospheres

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mannucci, A. J.; Ao, C. O.; Asmar, S.; Edwards, C. D.; Kahan, D. S.; Paik, M.; Pi, X.; Williamson, W.

    2015-12-01

    Radio occultation utilizing deep space telecommunication signals has been used with great success in the profiling of planetary atmospheres and ionospheres since the 1960s. A shortcoming of this technique, however, is the limited temporal and spatial sampling that it provides. We consider a different approach where radio occultation measurements are taken between two spacecraft orbiting an extra-terrestrial body. Such "crosslink" radio occultations between the Global Positioning System satellites and low-earth orbiting spacecraft have been routinely acquired to provide global observations of the Earth's atmosphere and ionosphere that are used for weather forecast, climate analysis, and space weather applications. The feasibility of applying this concept to other planets has recently been demonstrated for the first time, where crosslink occultation measurements have been acquired between the Mars Odyssey and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft. These measurements leverage the proximity link telecommunication payloads on each orbiter, which are nominally used to provide relay communication and navigation services to Mars landers and rovers. In this presentation, we will describe the Mars crosslink experiments and the corresponding data analysis in detail. In addition, we will discuss how the crosslink occultation concepts can be effectively applied in future space exploration missions.

  5. Simulations of Tokamak Edge Turbulence Including Self-Consistent Zonal Flows

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cohen, Bruce; Umansky, Maxim

    2013-10-01

    Progress on simulations of electromagnetic drift-resistive ballooning turbulence in the tokamak edge is summarized in this mini-conference talk. A more detailed report on this work is presented in a poster at this conference. This work extends our previous work to include self-consistent zonal flows and their effects. The previous work addressed the simulation of L-mode tokamak edge turbulence using the turbulence code BOUT. The calculations used realistic single-null geometry and plasma parameters of the DIII-D tokamak and produced fluctuation amplitudes, fluctuation spectra, and particle and thermal fluxes that compare favorably to experimental data. In the effect of sheared ExB poloidal rotation is included with an imposed static radial electric field fitted to experimental data. In the new work here we include the radial electric field self-consistently driven by the microturbulence, which contributes to the sheared ExB poloidal rotation (zonal flow generation). We present simulations with/without zonal flows for both cylindrical geometry, as in the UCLA Large Plasma Device, and for the DIII-D tokamak L-mode cases in to quantify the influence of self-consistent zonal flows on the microturbulence and the concomitant transport. This work was performed under the auspices of the US Department of Energy under contract DE-AC52-07NA27344 at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

  6. Fluid simulation of tokamak ion temperature gradient turbulence with zonal flow closure model

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yamagishi, Osamu, E-mail: yamagisi@nifs.ac.jp; Sugama, Hideo [National Institute for Fusion Science, Toki, Gifu 509-5292 (Japan)

    2016-03-15

    Nonlinear fluid simulation of turbulence driven by ion temperature gradient modes in the tokamak fluxtube configuration is performed by combining two different closure models. One model is a gyrofluid model by Beer and Hammett [Phys. Plasmas 3, 4046 (1996)], and the other is a closure model to reproduce the kinetic zonal flow response [Sugama et al., Phys. Plasmas 14, 022502 (2007)]. By including the zonal flow closure, generation of zonal flows, significant reduction in energy transport, reproduction of the gyrokinetic transport level, and nonlinear upshift on the critical value of gradient scale length are observed.

  7. Fluid simulation of tokamak ion temperature gradient turbulence with zonal flow closure model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yamagishi, Osamu; Sugama, Hideo

    2016-03-01

    Nonlinear fluid simulation of turbulence driven by ion temperature gradient modes in the tokamak fluxtube configuration is performed by combining two different closure models. One model is a gyrofluid model by Beer and Hammett [Phys. Plasmas 3, 4046 (1996)], and the other is a closure model to reproduce the kinetic zonal flow response [Sugama et al., Phys. Plasmas 14, 022502 (2007)]. By including the zonal flow closure, generation of zonal flows, significant reduction in energy transport, reproduction of the gyrokinetic transport level, and nonlinear upshift on the critical value of gradient scale length are observed.

  8. Molecular and serological detection of occult hepatitis B virus ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Background: Occult hepatitis B infections are becoming a major global threat, but the available data on its prevalence in various parts of the world are often divergent. Objective: This study aimed to detect occult hepatitis B virus in hepatitis B surface antigen-negative serum using anti-HBc as a marker of previous infection.

  9. Structure and variances of equatorial zonal circulation in a multimodel ensemble

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yu, B. [Environment Canada, Climate Data and Analysis Section, Climate Research Division, Toronto, ON (Canada); Zwiers, F.W. [University of Victoria, Pacific Climate Impacts Consortium, Victoria, BC (Canada); Boer, G.J. [Environment Canada, Canadian Centre for Climate Modeling and Analysis, Climate Research Division, Victoria, BC (Canada); Ting, M.F. [Columbia University, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Palisades, NY (United States)

    2012-11-15

    The structure and variance of the equatorial zonal circulation, as characterized by the atmospheric mass flux in the equatorial zonal plane, is examined and inter-compared in simulations from 9 CMIP3 coupled climate models with multiple ensemble members and the NCEP-NCAR and ERA-40 reanalyses. The climate model simulations analyzed here include twentieth century (20C3M) and twenty-first century (SRES A1B) simulations. We evaluate the 20C3M modeled zonal circulations by comparing them with those in the reanalyses. We then examine the variability of the circulation, its changes with global warming, and the associated thermodynamic maintenance. The tropical zonal circulation involves three major components situated over the Pacific, Indian, and Atlantic oceans. The three cells are supported by the corresponding diabatic heating extending deeply throughout the troposphere, with heating centers apparent in the mid-troposphere. Seasonal features appear in the zonal circulation, including variations in its intensity and longitudinal migration. Most models, and hence the multi-model mean, represent the annual and seasonal features of the circulation and the associated heating reasonably well. The multi-model mean reproduces the observed climatology better than any individual model, as indicated by the spatial pattern correlation and mean square difference of the mass flux and the diabatic heating compared to the reanalysis based values. Projected changes in the zonal circulation under A1B forcing are dominated by mass flux changes over the Pacific and Indian oceans. An eastward shift of the Pacific Walker circulation is clearly evident with global warming, with anomalous rising motion apparent over the equatorial central Pacific and anomalous sinking motions in the west and east, which favors an overall strengthening of the Walker circulation. The zonal circulation weakens and shifts westwards over the Indian Ocean under external forcing, whereas it strengthens and shifts

  10. Low-frequency variation of a zonally localized jet stream: Observation and theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cai, M.

    1994-01-01

    The climatological mean circulation in the extratropics of the Northern Hemisphere is characterized by two zonally localized jet streams over the east coasts of the two major continents. The zonal inhomogeneity of the climatological mean circulation is believed to be a primary factor determining the geographical locations of the maximum activity centers of the atmospheric transients, such as storm tracks over the east coasts of the two major continents and frequent blocking episodes occurring over the central regions of the two oceans. The impact of the transients on the zonally localized jet streams is studied mostly in the linear dynamics framework in terms of so-called open-quotes feedbackclose quotes diagnosis. This study investigates nonlinear instability of a zonally localized jet stream. The emphasis is on the nonlinear adjustment of a zonally localized jet stream associated with the development of the transients via local instability. The adjustment of a zonally localized jet stream would naturally consists of two parts: One is the time-invariant part and the other is the transient part (temporal variation of the adjustment). In conjunction with the observation, the time-mean adjustment is part of the climatological mean flow and hence is open-quotes invisible.close quotes The transient part of the adjustment is evidenced by the changes of the jet streams in terms of both location and intensity. In this study, we tend to relate the transient part of the adjustment of the jet stream to the maximum activity centers of low-frequency variability. The underlying mechanisms that are responsible for the temporal variation of the adjustment will be investigated. The time-mean adjustment will be also studied to better understand the temporal variation of the adjustment

  11. Occult hepatitis B among Iranian hepatitis C patients

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ahmad shavakhi

    2009-02-01

    Full Text Available

    • BACKGROUND: Occult hepatitis B is defined as presence of HBV DNA in tissue or serum without hepatitis B surface antigen. The aim of this study is to determine frequency of occult hepatitis B among hepatitis C patients in Tehran and compare the route of transmission and liver enzymes between positive and negative HBV DNA patients.
    • METHODS: In a cross sectional study, serum of 103 hepatitis C cases (79.6% men and 20.4% women were analyzed for s, x and core genes via a nested polymerase chain reaction technique.
    • RESULTS: HBV DNA was detectable in serum of 20 patients (19.4%. No significant difference in age, sex and route of transmission were seen in HBV DNA positive and negative patients. In HBV DNA positive and negative groups, mean of AST was 73, 47 (p < 0.05 and mean of ALT was 76 and 36 respectively (p < 0.05.
    • CONCLUSION: Occult hepatitis B was observed in a considerable number of hepatitis C patients in Tehran. It was associated with elevation in liver enzyme but was not related to route of transmission.
    • KEY WORD: Occult hepatitis B, hepatitis C, cirrhosis.

  12. Occult Pneumothoraces in Acute Trauma Patients

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chad Berryman

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: Many traumatic pneumothoraces (PTX are not seen on initial chest radiograph (CR(occult PTX but are detected only on computed tomography (CT. Although CR remains the first toolfor detecting PTX, most trauma patients with significant thoracoabdominal injuries will receive both CTand CR. The primary objective of this study was to retrospectively determine the effectiveness of CR fordetecting PTX in trauma patients. Our hypotheses were that CR is a sensitive indicator of PTX on CT,that chest pain and shortness of breath are good predictors of PTX on CR, and that we could determineother predictors of PTX on CR.Methods: All trauma patients presenting to our Level I trauma center with a CT-diagnosed PTX over a2-year period who had both a CR and a chest CT were included. The CT reading was considered thegold standard for PTX diagnosis. Electronic medical records were searched using key words fordiagnoses, symptoms, demographics, and radiologic results. We recorded the official radiologistreadings for both CR and CT (positive or negative and the size of the PTX on CT (large, moderate,small, or tiny. The outcome variable was dichotomized based on presence or absence of PTXdetected on CR. Descriptive statistics and v2 tests were used for univariate analysis. A regressionanalysis was performed to determine characteristics predictive of a PTX on CR, and 1 variable wasadded to the model for every 10 positive CRs. With equal-size groups, this study has the power of 80%to detect a 10% absolute difference in single predictors of PTX on CR with 45 subjects in each group.Results: There were 134 CT-documented PTXs included in the study. Mean age was 42, and 74%were men. For 66 (49% patients, PTX was detected on CR (sensitivity¼50%. The CR detected 30%of small PTX, 35% of moderate PTX, and 33% of large PTX. Comparing patients with and without PTXon CR, there were no significant differences in shortness of breath or chest pain. There no

  13. Occult pneumothoraces in acute trauma patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ernst, Amy A; McIntyre, William A; Weiss, Steven J; Berryman, Chad

    2012-11-01

    Many traumatic pneumothoraces (PTX) are not seen on initial chest radiograph (CR) (occult PTX) but are detected only on computed tomography (CT). Although CR remains the first tool for detecting PTX, most trauma patients with significant thoracoabdominal injuries will receive both CT and CR. The primary objective of this study was to retrospectively determine the effectiveness of CR for detecting PTX in trauma patients. Our hypotheses were that CR is a sensitive indicator of PTX on CT, that chest pain and shortness of breath are good predictors of PTX on CR, and that we could determine other predictors of PTX on CR. All trauma patients presenting to our Level I trauma center with a CT-diagnosed PTX over a 2-year period who had both a CR and a chest CT were included. The CT reading was considered the gold standard for PTX diagnosis. Electronic medical records were searched using key words for diagnoses, symptoms, demographics, and radiologic results. We recorded the official radiologist readings for both CR and CT (positive or negative) and the size of the PTX on CT (large, moderate, small, or tiny). The outcome variable was dichotomized based on presence or absence of PTX detected on CR. Descriptive statistics and χ(2) tests were used for univariate analysis. A regression analysis was performed to determine characteristics predictive of a PTX on CR, and 1 variable was added to the model for every 10 positive CRs. With equal-size groups, this study has the power of 80% to detect a 10% absolute difference in single predictors of PTX on CR with 45 subjects in each group. There were 134 CT-documented PTXs included in the study. Mean age was 42, and 74% were men. For 66 (49%) patients, PTX was detected on CR (sensitivity = 50%). The CR detected 30% of small PTX, 35% of moderate PTX, and 33% of large PTX. Comparing patients with and without PTX on CR, there were no significant differences in shortness of breath or chest pain. There no relationships between PTX detected

  14. The role of zonal flows in the saturation of multi-scale gyrokinetic turbulence

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Staebler, G. M.; Candy, J. [General Atomics, San Diego, California 92186 (United States); Howard, N. T. [Oak Ridge Institute for Science Education (ORISE), Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831 (United States); Holland, C. [University of California San Diego, San Diego, California 92093 (United States)

    2016-06-15

    The 2D spectrum of the saturated electric potential from gyrokinetic turbulence simulations that include both ion and electron scales (multi-scale) in axisymmetric tokamak geometry is analyzed. The paradigm that the turbulence is saturated when the zonal (axisymmetic) ExB flow shearing rate competes with linear growth is shown to not apply to the electron scale turbulence. Instead, it is the mixing rate by the zonal ExB velocity spectrum with the turbulent distribution function that competes with linear growth. A model of this mechanism is shown to be able to capture the suppression of electron-scale turbulence by ion-scale turbulence and the threshold for the increase in electron scale turbulence when the ion-scale turbulence is reduced. The model computes the strength of the zonal flow velocity and the saturated potential spectrum from the linear growth rate spectrum. The model for the saturated electric potential spectrum is applied to a quasilinear transport model and shown to accurately reproduce the electron and ion energy fluxes of the non-linear gyrokinetic multi-scale simulations. The zonal flow mixing saturation model is also shown to reproduce the non-linear upshift in the critical temperature gradient caused by zonal flows in ion-scale gyrokinetic simulations.

  15. Day-ahead optimal dispatch for wind integrated power system considering zonal reserve requirements

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu, Fan; Bie, Zhaohong; Liu, Shiyu; Ding, Tao

    2017-01-01

    Highlights: • Analyzing zonal reserve requirements for wind integrated power system. • Modeling day-ahead optimal dispatch solved by chance constrained programming theory. • Determining optimal zonal reserve demand with minimum confidence interval. • Analyzing numerical results on test and large-scale real-life power systems. - Abstract: Large-scale integration of renewable power presents a great challenge for day-ahead dispatch to manage renewable resources while provide available reserve for system security. Considering zonal reserve is an effective way to ensure reserve deliverability when network congested, a random day-ahead dispatch optimization of wind integrated power system for a least operational cost is modeled including zonal reserve requirements and N − 1 security constraints. The random model is transformed into a deterministic one based on the theory of chance constrained programming and a determination method of optimal zonal reserve demand is proposed using the minimum confidence interval. After solving the deterministic model, the stochastic simulation is conducted to verify the validity of solution. Numerical tests and results on the IEEE 39 bus system and a large-scale real-life power system demonstrate the optimal day-ahead dispatch scheme is available and the proposed method is effective for improving reserve deliverability and reducing load shedding after large-capacity power outage.

  16. Sub-seasonal temperature variability in the tropical upper troposphere and lower stratosphere observed with GPS radio occultation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scherllin-Pirscher, Barbara; Randel, William J.; Kim, Joowan

    2017-04-01

    We investigate sub-seasonal temperature variability in the tropical upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (UTLS) region using daily gridded fields of GPS radio occultation measurements. The unprecedented vertical resolution (from about 100 m in the troposphere to about 1.5 km in the stratosphere) and high accuracy and precision (0.7 K to 1 K between 8 km and 25 km) make these data ideal for characterizing temperature oscillations with short vertical wavelengths. Long-term behavior of sub-seasonal temperature variability is investigated using the entire RO record from January 2002 to December 2014 (13 years of data). Transient sub-seasonal waves including eastward-propagating Kelvin waves (isolated with space-time spectral analysis) dominate large-scale zonal temperature variability in the tropical tropopause region and in the lower stratosphere. Above 20 km, Kelvin waves are strongly modulated by the quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO). Enhanced wave activity can be found during the westerly shear phase of the QBO. In the tropical tropopause region, however, sub-seasonal waves are highly transient in time. Several peaks of Kelvin-wave activity coincide with short-term fluctuations in tropospheric deep convection, but other episodes are not evidently related. Also, there are no obvious relationships with zonal winds or stability fields near the tropical tropopause. Further investigations of convective forcing and atmospheric background conditions along the waves' trajectories are needed to better understand sub-seasonal temperature variability near the tropopause. For more details, see Scherllin-Pirscher, B., Randel, W. J., and Kim, J.: Tropical temperature variability and Kelvin-wave activity in the UTLS from GPS RO measurements, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 793-806, doi:10.5194/acp-17-793-2017, 2017. http://www.atmos-chem-phys.net/17/793/2017/acp-17-793-2017.html

  17. [Occultism, parapsychology and the esoteric from the perspective of psychopathology].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scharfetter, C

    1998-10-01

    The concepts and main themes of occultism, parapsychology and esoterics are set in comparison to religion, spirituality, mysticism. The cultural relativity of these concepts is emphasised. Occultism means dealing with phenomena, processes, and/or powers which are not accessible to "normal perception". The manipulation of such powers is effected via (white, black, grey) magic. Parapsychology, in its popular sense, deals with occult phenomena, whereas scientific parapsychology investigates them empirically. Esoterics is a complex of beliefs within a hermetic tradition about occult processes and about desting after death. Transpersonal psychology deals with these issues while calling them "spiritual". Effects of paranormal experiences and actions on the side of the actor as well as the adept are discussed: personality types, interpersonal effects, crises and psychoses (mediumistic psychoses). The concept of dissociation of subpersonalities (subselves) appears to be a viable perspective to explain these phenomena. In mediumistic psychoses, the splitting of non-ego parts of the psyche leads to a manifestation of schizophrenic symptoms. Dangers for mental health are an ego inflation by self-attribution of "superhuman" power. A personality disposition for parapsychological perception and/or action may be seen in schizotypia and similar near-psychotic "personalities up the border". Adepts of occultism may present with a "false self" in the sense of Winnicott.

  18. Regulation of electron temperature gradient turbulence by zonal flows driven by trapped electron modes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Asahi, Y.; Ishizawa, A.; Watanabe, T.-H.; Tsutsui, H.; Tsuji-Iio, S.

    2014-05-01

    Turbulent transport caused by electron temperature gradient (ETG) modes was investigated by means of gyrokinetic simulations. It was found that the ETG turbulence can be regulated by meso-scale zonal flows driven by trapped electron modes (TEMs), which are excited with much smaller growth rates than those of ETG modes. The zonal flows of which radial wavelengths are in between the ion and the electron banana widths are not shielded by trapped ions nor electrons, and hence they are effectively driven by the TEMs. It was also shown that an E × B shearing rate of the TEM-driven zonal flows is larger than or comparable to the growth rates of long-wavelength ETG modes and TEMs, which make a main contribution to the turbulent transport before excitation of the zonal flows.

  19. Zonally averaged model of dynamics, chemistry and radiation for the atmosphere

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tung, K. K.

    1985-01-01

    A nongeostrophic theory of zonally averaged circulation is formulated using the nonlinear primitive equations on a sphere, taking advantage of the more direct relationship between the mean meridional circulation and diabatic heating rate which is available in isentropic coordinates. Possible differences between results of nongeostrophic theory and the commonly used geostrophic formulation are discussed concerning: (1) the role of eddy forcing of the diabatic circulation, and (2) the nonlinear nearly inviscid limit vs the geostrophic limit. Problems associated with the traditional Rossby number scaling in quasi-geostrophic formulations are pointed out and an alternate, more general scaling based on the smallness of mean meridional to zonal velocities for a rotating planet is suggested. Such a scaling recovers the geostrophic balanced wind relationship for the mean zonal flow but reveals that the mean meridional velocity is in general ageostrophic.

  20. McDonald's and the Occult.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Singer, Barry

    1979-01-01

    Discusses "occult" and "paranormal" literature which is often mistaken for nonfiction. Suggests that most publishers are unwilling to publish scientific perspectives on the paranormal because such writings would be unmarketable. Journal availability: see SO 507 190. (KC)

  1. Characterization of zonal flow generation in weak electrostatic turbulence

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Negrea, M; Petrisor, I; Weyssow, B

    2008-01-01

    The influence of the diamagnetic Kubo number, which is proportional to the diamagnetic drift velocity, on the zonal flow generation by an anisotropic stochastic electrostatic potential is considered from a semi-analytic point of view. The analysis is performed in the weak turbulence limit and as an analytical tool the decorrelation trajectory method is used. It is shown that the fragmentation of the drift wave structures (a signature of the zonal flow generation) is influenced not only by the anisotropy parameter and the electrostatic Kubo number as expected, but also by the diamagnetic Kubo number. Global Lagrangian averages of characteristic quantities are calculated and interpreted

  2. Multi-scale-nonlinear interactions among micro-turbulence, double tearing instability and zonal flows

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ishizawa, A.; Nakajima, N.

    2007-01-01

    Micro-turbulence and macro-magnetohydrodynamic (macro-MHD) instabilities can appear in plasma at the same time and interact with each other in a plasma confinement. The multi-scale-nonlinear interaction among micro-turbulence, double tearing instability and zonal flow is investigated by numerically solving a reduced set of two-fluid equations. It is found that the double tearing instability, which is a macro-MHD instability, appears in an equilibrium formed by a balance between micro-turbulence and zonal flow when the double tearing mode is unstable. The roles of the nonlinear and linear terms of the equations in driving the zonal flow and coherent convective cell flow of the double tearing mode are examined. The Reynolds stress drives zonal flow and coherent convective cell flow, while the ion diamagnetic term and Maxwell stress oppose the Reynolds stress drive. When the double tearing mode grows, linear terms in the equations are dominant and they effectively release the free energy of the equilibrium current gradient

  3. Atmospheric statistical dynamic models. Model performance: the Lawrence Livermore Laboratoy Zonal Atmospheric Model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Potter, G.L.; Ellsaesser, H.W.; MacCracken, M.C.; Luther, F.M.

    1978-06-01

    Results from the zonal model indicate quite reasonable agreement with observation in terms of the parameters and processes that influence the radiation and energy balance calculations. The model produces zonal statistics similar to those from general circulation models, and has also been shown to produce similar responses in sensitivity studies. Further studies of model performance are planned, including: comparison with July data; comparison of temperature and moisture transport and wind fields for winter and summer months; and a tabulation of atmospheric energetics. Based on these preliminary performance studies, however, it appears that the zonal model can be used in conjunction with more complex models to help unravel the problems of understanding the processes governing present climate and climate change. As can be seen in the subsequent paper on model sensitivity studies, in addition to reduced cost of computation, the zonal model facilitates analysis of feedback mechanisms and simplifies analysis of the interactions between processes

  4. Observations of Hot-Jupiter occultations combining Spitzer and Kepler photometry

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Knutson H.

    2011-02-01

    Full Text Available We present the status of an ongoing program which aim at measuring occultations by their parent stars of transiting hot giant exoplanets discovered recently by Kepler. The observations are obtained in the near infrared with WarmSpitzer Space Telescope and at optical wavelengths by combining more than a year of Kepler photometry. The investigation consists of measuring the mid-occultation times and the relative occultation depths in each band-passes. Our measurements of occultations depths in the Kepler bandpass is turned into the determination of the optical geometric albedo Ag in this wavelength domain. The brightness temperatures of these planets are deduced from the infrared observations. We combine the optical and near infrared planetary emergent fluxes to obtain broad band emergent spectra of individual planet. We finally compare these spectra to hot Jupiter atmospheric models in order broadly distinguishing these atmospheres between different classes of models.

  5. Prevalence of occult inflammatory bowel disease in ankylosing spondylitis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Costello, P B; Alea, J A; Kennedy, A C; McCluskey, R T; Green, F A

    1980-10-01

    Fifty-five patients with ankylosing spondylitis and 16 control patients matched for sex and age were examined for evidence of occult inflammatory bowel disease. In all patients evaluation included history and physical examination, barium enema, sigmoidoscopy, and rectal biopsy. The results of this study suggest that there is no increased prevalence of occult inflammatory bowel disease in patients with ankylosing spondylitis.

  6. Operation of the Radio Occultation Mission in KOMPSAT-5

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mansoo Choi

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available Korea multi-purpose satellite-5 (KOMPSAT-5 is a low earth orbit (LEO satellite scheduled to be launched in 2010. To satisfy the precision orbit determination (POD requirement for a high resolution synthetic aperture radar image of KOMPSAT-5, KOMPSAT-5 has atmosphere occultation POD (AOPOD system which consists of a space-borne dual frequency global positioning system (GPS receiver and a laser retro reflector array. A space-borne dual frequency GPS receiver on a LEO satellite provides position data for the POD and radio occultation data for scientific applications. This paper describes an overview of AOPOD system and operation concepts of the radio occultation mission in KOMPSAT-5. We showed AOPOD system satisfies the requirements of KOMPSAT-5 in performance and stability.

  7. Lunar occultation of Saturn. IV - Astrometric results from observations of the satellites

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dunham, D. W.; Elliot, J. L.

    1978-01-01

    The method of determining local lunar limb slopes, and the consequent time scale needed for diameter studies, from accurate occultation timings at two nearby telescopes is described. Results for photoelectric observations made at Mauna Kea Observatory during the occultation of Saturn's satellites on March 30, 1974, are discussed. Analysis of all observations of occultations of Saturn's satellites during 1974 indicates possible errors in the ephemerides of Saturn and its satellites.

  8. Statistical properties of Charney-Hasegawa-Mima zonal flows

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anderson, Johan; Botha, G. J. J.

    2015-01-01

    A theoretical interpretation of numerically generated probability density functions (PDFs) of intermittent plasma transport events in unforced zonal flows is provided within the Charney-Hasegawa-Mima (CHM) model. The governing equation is solved numerically with various prescribed density gradients that are designed to produce different configurations of parallel and anti-parallel streams. Long-lasting vortices form whose flow is governed by the zonal streams. It is found that the numerically generated PDFs can be matched with analytical predictions of PDFs based on the instanton method by removing the autocorrelations from the time series. In many instances, the statistics generated by the CHM dynamics relaxes to Gaussian distributions for both the electrostatic and vorticity perturbations, whereas in areas with strong nonlinear interactions it is found that the PDFs are exponentially distributed

  9. Precise pointing knowledge for SCIAMACHY solar occultation measurements

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    K. Bramstedt

    2012-11-01

    Full Text Available We present a method to precisely determine the viewing direction for solar occultation instruments from scans over the solar disk. Basic idea is the fit of the maximum intensity during the scan, which corresponds to the center of the solar disk in the scanning direction. We apply this method to the solar occultation measurements of the satellite instrument SCIAMACHY, which scans the Sun in elevation direction. The achieved mean precision is 0.46 mdeg, which corresponds to an tangent height error of about 26 m for individual occultation sequences. The deviation of the derived elevation angle from the geolocation information given along with the product has a seasonal cycle with an amplitude of 2.26 mdeg, which is in tangent height an amplitude of about 127 m. The mean elevation angle offset is −4.41 mdeg (249 m. SCIAMACHY's sun follower device controls the azimuth viewing direction during the occultation measurements. The derived mean azimuth direction has an standard error of 0.65 mdeg, which is about 36 m in horizontal direction at the tangent point. We observe also a seasonal cycle of the azimuth mispointing with an amplitude of 2.3 mdeg, which is slightly increasing with time. The almost constant mean offset is 88 mdeg, which is about 5.0 km horizontal offset at the tangent point.

  10. Scaled model guidelines for solar coronagraphs' external occulters with an optimized shape.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Landini, Federico; Baccani, Cristian; Schweitzer, Hagen; Asoubar, Daniel; Romoli, Marco; Taccola, Matteo; Focardi, Mauro; Pancrazzi, Maurizio; Fineschi, Silvano

    2017-12-01

    One of the major challenges faced by externally occulted solar coronagraphs is the suppression of the light diffracted by the occulter edge. It is a contribution to the stray light that overwhelms the coronal signal on the focal plane and must be reduced by modifying the geometrical shape of the occulter. There is a rich literature, mostly experimental, on the appropriate choice of the most suitable shape. The problem arises when huge coronagraphs, such as those in formation flight, shall be tested in a laboratory. A recent contribution [Opt. Lett.41, 757 (2016)OPLEDP0146-959210.1364/OL.41.000757] provides the guidelines for scaling the geometry and replicate in the laboratory the flight diffraction pattern as produced by the whole solar disk and a flight occulter but leaves the conclusion on the occulter scale law somehow unjustified. This paper provides the numerical support for validating that conclusion and presents the first-ever simulation of the diffraction behind an occulter with an optimized shape along the optical axis with the solar disk as a source. This paper, together with Opt. Lett.41, 757 (2016)OPLEDP0146-959210.1364/OL.41.000757, aims at constituting a complete guide for scaling the coronagraphs' geometry.

  11. Frank hematuria as the presentation feature of acute leukemia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Suriya Owais

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Muco-cutaneous bleeding is a common presenting feature of acute leukemias. Mucosal bleeding usually manifests as gum bleeding and/or epistaxis but may occur in any mucosal surface of the body. Hematuria as an isolated or main presenting feature of acute leukemia is rare. We describe two cases of acute leukemia, a 19 year old male with acute lymphoblastic leukemia and a 52 year old male with acute myeloid leukemia, both presenting with gross hematuria. There was no demonstrable leukemic infiltration of the urinary tract on imaging studies. Hematuria in these patients was likely to be due to occult leukemic infiltration of the urinary system, aggravated by thrombocytopenia, as it subsided after starting chemotherapy. Our cases highlight that hematuria should be remembered as a rare presenting feature of acute leukemia.

  12. Diagnostic accuracy of oblique chest radiograph for occult pneumothorax: comparison with ultrasonography

    OpenAIRE

    Matsumoto, Shokei; Sekine, Kazuhiko; Funabiki, Tomohiro; Orita, Tomohiko; Shimizu, Masayuki; Hayashida, Kei; Kazamaki, Taku; Suzuki, Tatsuya; Kishikawa, Masanobu; Yamazaki, Motoyasu; Kitano, Mitsuhide

    2016-01-01

    Backgraound An occult pneumothorax is a pneumothorax that is not seen on a supine chest X-ray but is detected by computed tomography scanning. However, critical patients are difficult to transport to the computed tomography suite. We previously reported a method to detect occult pneumothorax using oblique chest radiography (OXR). Several authors have also reported that ultrasonography is an effective technique for detecting occult pneumothorax. The aim of this study was to evaluate the useful...

  13. Occult HBV infection in HIV-infected adults and evaluation of pooled NAT for HBV.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dinesha, T R; Boobalan, J; Sivamalar, S; Subashini, D; Solomon, S S; Murugavel, K G; Balakrishnan, P; Smith, D M; Saravanan, S

    2018-01-06

    The study aimed to determine the prevalence of occult hepatitis B virus infection among HIV-infected persons and to evaluate the use of a pooling strategy to detect occult HBV infection in the setting of HIV infection. Five hundred and two HIV-positive individuals were tested for HBV, occult HBV and hepatitis C and D with serologic and nucleic acid testing (NAT). We also evaluated a pooled NAT strategy for screening occult HBV infection among the HIV-positive individuals. The prevalence of HBV infection among HIV-positive individuals was 32 (6.4%), and occult HBV prevalence was 10%. The pooling HBV NAT had a sensitivity of 66.7% and specificity of 100%, compared to HBV DNA NAT of individual samples. In conclusion, this study found a high prevalence of occult HBV infection among our HIV-infected population. We also demonstrated that pooled HBV NAT is highly specific, moderately sensitive and cost-effective. As conventional HBV viral load assays are expensive in resource-limited settings such as India, pooled HBV DNA NAT might be a good way for detecting occult HBV infection and will reduce HBV-associated complications. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  14. David Levy's Guide to Eclipses, Transits, and Occultations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Levy, David H.

    2010-08-01

    Introduction; Part I. The Magic and History of Eclipses: 1. Shakespeare, King Lear, and the Great Eclipse of 1605; 2. Three centuries later: Einstein, relativity, and the solar eclipse of 1919; 3. What causes solar and lunar eclipses; Part II. Observing Solar Eclipses: 4. Safety considerations; 5. What to expect during a partial eclipse; 6. Annular eclipses and what to see in them; 7. Total eclipse of the Sun: introduction to the magic; 8. The onset: temperature drop, Baily's Beads, Diamond Ring; 9. Totality: Corona, Prominences, Chromosphere, and surrounding area; 10. Photographing and imaging a solar eclipse; Part III. Observing Lunar Eclipses: 11. Don't forget the penumbral eclipses!; 12. Partial lunar eclipses; 13. Total lunar eclipses; 14. Photographing and imaging lunar eclipses; Part IV. Occultations: 15. When the Moon occults a star; Part V. Transits: 16. When planets cross the Sun; Part VI. My Favorite Eclipses: 17. A personal canon of eclipses, occultations, and transits I have seen; Appendices; Index.

  15. Zonal NePhRO scoring system: a superior renal tumor complexity classification model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hakky, Tariq S; Baumgarten, Adam S; Allen, Bryan; Lin, Hui-Yi; Ercole, Cesar E; Sexton, Wade J; Spiess, Philippe E

    2014-02-01

    Since the advent of the first standardized renal tumor complexity system, many subsequent scoring systems have been introduced, many of which are complicated and can make it difficult to accurately measure data end points. In light of these limitations, we introduce the new zonal NePhRO scoring system. The zonal NePhRO score is based on 4 anatomical components that are assigned a score of 1, 2, or 3, and their sum is used to classify renal tumors. The zonal NePhRO scoring system is made up of the (Ne)arness to collecting system, (Ph)ysical location of the tumor in the kidney, (R)adius of the tumor, and (O)rganization of the tumor. In this retrospective study, we evaluated patients exhibiting clinical stage T1a or T1b who underwent open partial nephrectomy performed by 2 genitourinary surgeons. Each renal unit was assigned both a zonal NePhRO score and a RENAL (radius, exophytic/endophytic properties, nearness of tumor to the collecting system or sinus in millimeters, anterior/posterior, location relative to polar lines) score, and a blinded reviewer used the same preoperative imaging study to obtain both scores. Additional data points gathered included age, clamp time, complication rate, urine leak rate, intraoperative blood loss, and pathologic tumor size. One hundred sixty-six patients underwent open partial nephrectomy. There were 37 perioperative complications quantitated using the validated Clavien-Dindo system; their occurrence was predicted by the NePhRO score on both univariate and multivariate analyses (P = .0008). Clinical stage, intraoperative blood loss, and tumor diameter were all correlated with the zonal NePhRO score on univariate analysis only. The zonal NePhRO scoring system is a simpler tool that accurately predicts the surgical complexity of a renal lesion. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  16. Sensing Water Vapon via Spacecraft Radio Occultation Observations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kursinski, E. Robert; Hajj, George A.

    2000-01-01

    The radio occultation technique has been used to characterize planetary atmospheres since the 1960's spanning atmospheric pressures from 16 microbars to several bars. In 1988, the use of GPS signals to make occultation observations of Earth's atmosphere was realized by Tom Yunck and Gunnar Lindal at JPL. In the GPS to low-Earth-orbiter limb- viewing occultation geometry, Fresnel diffraction yield a unique combination of high vertical resolution of 100 m to 1 km at long wavelengths (approx. 20 cm) insensitive to particulate scattering which allows routine limb sounding from the lower mesosphere through the troposphere. A single orbiting GPS/GLONASS receiver can observe - 1000 to 1400 daily occultations providing as many daily, high vertical resolution soundings as the present global radiosonde network, but with far more evenly distributed, global coverage. The occultations yield profiles of refractivity as a function of height. In the cold, dry conditions of the upper troposphere and above (T less than 240 K), profiles of density, pressure (geopotential), and temperature can be derived. Given additional temperature information, water vapor can be derived in the midddle and lower troposphere with a unique combination of vertical resolution, global distribution and insensitivity to clouds and precipitation to an accuracy of approx. 0.2 g/kg. At low latitudes, moisture profiles will be accurate to 1-5% within the convective boundary layer and better than 20% below 6 to 7 km. Accuracies of climatological averages should be approx. 0. 1 g/kg limited by the biases in the temperature estimates. To use refractivity to constrain water vapor, knowledge of temperature is required. The simplest approach is to use the temperature field from an analysis such as the 6 hour ECMWF global analysis interpolated to the locations of each occultation. A better approach is to combine the temperature and moisture fields from such an analysis with the occultation refractivity in a weighting

  17. Detection of radiographically occult-ankle fractures. Positive predictive value of post-traumatic soft-tissue swelling

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kumar, M.; Caruana, E.

    2000-01-01

    The objective of this study was to assess the value of soft-tissue swelling on plain radiographs as a predictor of radiographically occult fracture, after acute ankle injury (trauma). Patients with acute ankle trauma and plain radiographic evidence of soft-tissue swelling were included in this study. Patients were excluded if ankle trauma was sustained more than 48 hours previously or if fracture was visible on plain radiographs. All subjects (n=25) underwent computed tomography (CT) of the ankle in sagittal and coronal planes. Size of soft-tissue swelling was measured from initial Antero-posterior (AP) radiographs. The subjects in the study were placed into two groups according to whether a fracture was identified on CT or not. The results identified that those subjects without a fracture demonstrated by CT, had a soft-tissue swelling of less than 12.6 mm, while those with over 17.1mm swelling, showed a fracture on CT. Twelve patients (48 per cent) had radiographically occult fractures identified with CT. Fracture sites included: Talus/Talar Dome (n=9), posterior or lateral malleolos (n=2), distal tibia/fibula (n=1). CT detected significant soft-tissue injuries in six patients (24 per cent), composed of damaged anterior talo-fibular ligament (n=4), torn flexor tendons (n=1), and damaged fibular calcaneal ligament (n=1). One patient also showed gas in the talar dome. This study concludes that presence of a large soft-tissue swelling on plain radiographs after acute ankle trauma suggests an underlying fracture. A soft-tissue swelling of >15 mm is a reasonable threshold to prompt further imaging. Helical computed tomography provides good visualisation of subtle bone injuries and may detect clinically important soft-tissue injuries. While the study has a small sample, there is clear evidence that there is a trend worth investigating. Future research will seek to investigate a larger sample. Copyright (1999) Australian Institute of Radiography

  18. Occult pneumothorax, revisited

    OpenAIRE

    Mangar Devanand; Abdelmalak Hany; Omar Hesham R; Rashad Rania; Helal Engy; Camporesi Enrico M

    2010-01-01

    Abstract Pneumothorax is a recognized cause of preventable death following chest wall trauma where a simple intervention can be life saving. In cases of trauma patients where cervical spine immobilization is mandatory, supine AP chest radiograph is the most practical initial study. It is however not as sensitive as CT chest for early detection of a pneumothorax. "Occult" pneumothorax is an accepted definition of an existing but usually a clinically and radiologically silent disturbance that i...

  19. Occurrence of occult CSF leaks during standard FESS procedures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bucher, S; Kugler, A; Probst, E; Epprecht, L; Stadler, R S; Holzmann, D; Soyka, M B

    2018-03-18

    To determine the incidence of occult cerebrospinal fluid leaks (CSF) after functional endoscopic sinus surgery (FESS) and to evaluate the diagnostic performance of beta2-transferrin in blood-contaminated conditions. Prospective cohort study. An analysis of 57 intraoperative samples using hydrogel 6 beta2-transferrin assay after FESS was undertaken. In case of CSF positive samples and continuing rhinorrhea, reanalysis after more than 1 year was conducted. In-vivo analysis of a primary spontaneous CSF leak sample took place to verify difficulties in detecting beta2-transferrin in blood-contaminated settings. Own titrations were performed to evaluate detection limits of CSF by beta2-transferrin and beta-trace protein assays in these settings. An incidence of 13% for occult CSF leaks after FESS was found. In blood-contaminated conditions, routine beta2-transferrin assays showed low sensitivity. In over 1 year follow-up, all samples were negative for CSF and none of them developed clinical relevant CSF leaks or meningitis. Occult and clinically irrelevant CSF leaks do occur in a significant proportion of patients during and shortly after FESS. Intra- and postoperatively, routine beta2-transferrin assays show low sensitivity. They should not be used in these settings. The clinical course of patients with occult CSF leaks indicated possibility of an uneventful follow-up.

  20. Optimization of the occulter for the Solar Orbiter/METIS coronagraph

    Science.gov (United States)

    Landini, Federico; Vivès, Sébastien; Romoli, Marco; Guillon, Christophe; Pancrazzi, Maurizio; Escolle, Clement; Focardi, Mauro; Antonucci, Ester; Fineschi, Silvano; Naletto, Giampiero; Nicolini, Gianalfredo; Nicolosi, Piergiorgio; Spadaro, Daniele

    2012-09-01

    METIS (Multi Element Telescope for Imaging and Spectroscopy investigation), selected to fly aboard the Solar Orbiter ESA/NASA mission, is conceived to perform imaging (in visible, UV and EUV) and spectroscopy (in EUV) of the solar corona, by means of an integrated instrument suite located on a single optical bench and sharing the same aperture on the satellite heat shield. As every coronagraph, METIS is highly demanding in terms of stray light suppression. Coronagraphs history teaches that a particular attention must be dedicated to the occulter optimization. The METIS occulting system is of particular interest due to its innovative concept. In order to meet the strict thermal requirements of Solar Orbiter, METIS optical design has been optimized by moving the entrance pupil at the level of the external occulter on the S/C thermal shield, thus reducing the size of the external aperture. The scheme is based on an inverted external-occulter (IEO). The IEO consists of a circular aperture on the Solar Orbiter thermal shield. A spherical mirror rejects back the disk-light through the IEO. A breadboard of the occulting assembly (BOA) has been manufactured in order to perform stray light tests in front of two solar simulators (in Marseille, France and in Torino, Italy). A first measurement campaign has been carried on at the Laboratoire d'Astrophysique de Marseille. In this paper we describe the BOA design, the laboratory set-up and the preliminary results.

  1. Radioimmune localization of occult carcinoma

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Duda, R.B.; Zimmer, A.M.; Rosen, S.T.; Gilyon, K.A.; Webber, D.; Spies, S.; Spies, W.; Merchant, B.

    1990-01-01

    Patients with a rising serum carcinoembryonic antigen level and no clinical or roentgenographic evidence of recurrent or metastatic cancer present a treatment dilemma. Eleven such patients, 10 with a previously treated colorectal carcinoma and 1 with a previously treated breast carcinoma, received an injection of the anticarcinoembryonic antigen monoclonal antibody ZCE-025 labeled with the radioisotope indium 111. Nuclear scintigraphy was performed on days 3 and 5 through 7 to detect potential sites of tumor recurrence. The monoclonal antibody scan accurately predicted the presence or absence of occult malignancy in 7 (64%) patients. Second-look laparotomy confirmed the monoclonal antibody scan results in the patients with colorectal cancer, and magnetic resonance imaging confirmed metastatic breast cancer. This study demonstrates that In-ZCE-025 can localize occult carcinoma and may assist the surgeon in facilitating the operative exploration. In-ZCE-025 assisted in the initiation of adjuvant therapy for the patient with breast cancer

  2. Zonal wind observations during a geomagnetic storm

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miller, N. J.; Spencer, N. W.

    1986-01-01

    In situ measurements taken by the Wind and Temperature Spectrometer (WATS) onboard the Dynamics Explorer 2 spacecraft during a geomagnetic storm display zonal wind velocities that are reduced in the corotational direction as the storm intensifies. The data were taken within the altitudes 275 to 475 km in the dusk local time sector equatorward of the auroral region. Characteristic variations in the value of the Dst index of horizontal geomagnetic field strength are used to monitor the storm evolution. The detected global rise in atmospheric gas temperature indicates the development of thermospheric heating. Concurrent with that heating, reductions in corotational wind velocities were measured equatorward of the auroral region. Just after the sudden commencement, while thermospheric heating is intense in both hemispheres, eastward wind velocities in the northern hemisphere show reductions ranging from 500 m/s over high latitudes to 30 m/s over the geomagnetic equator. After 10 hours storm time, while northern thermospheric heating is diminishing, wind velocity reductions, distinct from those initially observed, begin to develop over southern latitudes. In the latter case, velocity reductions range from 300 m/s over the highest southern latitudes to 150 m/s over the geomagnetic equator and extend into the Northern Hemisphere. The observations highlight the interhemispheric asymmetry in the development of storm effects detected as enhanced gas temperatures and reduced eastward wind velocities. Zonal wind reductions over high latitudes can be attributed to the storm induced equatorward spread of westward polar cap plasma convection and the resulting plasma-neutral collisions. However, those collisions are less significant over low latitudes; so zonal wind reductions over low latitudes must be attributed to an equatorward extension of a thermospheric circulation pattern disrupted by high latitude collisions between neutrals transported via eastward winds and ions

  3. Linear zonal atmospheric prediction for adaptive optics

    Science.gov (United States)

    McGuire, Patrick C.; Rhoadarmer, Troy A.; Coy, Hanna A.; Angel, J. Roger P.; Lloyd-Hart, Michael

    2000-07-01

    We compare linear zonal predictors of atmospheric turbulence for adaptive optics. Zonal prediction has the possible advantage of being able to interpret and utilize wind-velocity information from the wavefront sensor better than modal prediction. For simulated open-loop atmospheric data for a 2- meter 16-subaperture AO telescope with 5 millisecond prediction and a lookback of 4 slope-vectors, we find that Widrow-Hoff Delta-Rule training of linear nets and Back- Propagation training of non-linear multilayer neural networks is quite slow, getting stuck on plateaus or in local minima. Recursive Least Squares training of linear predictors is two orders of magnitude faster and it also converges to the solution with global minimum error. We have successfully implemented Amari's Adaptive Natural Gradient Learning (ANGL) technique for a linear zonal predictor, which premultiplies the Delta-Rule gradients with a matrix that orthogonalizes the parameter space and speeds up the training by two orders of magnitude, like the Recursive Least Squares predictor. This shows that the simple Widrow-Hoff Delta-Rule's slow convergence is not a fluke. In the case of bright guidestars, the ANGL, RLS, and standard matrix-inversion least-squares (MILS) algorithms all converge to the same global minimum linear total phase error (approximately 0.18 rad2), which is only approximately 5% higher than the spatial phase error (approximately 0.17 rad2), and is approximately 33% lower than the total 'naive' phase error without prediction (approximately 0.27 rad2). ANGL can, in principle, also be extended to make non-linear neural network training feasible for these large networks, with the potential to lower the predictor error below the linear predictor error. We will soon scale our linear work to the approximately 108-subaperture MMT AO system, both with simulations and real wavefront sensor data from prime focus.

  4. Radiotherapy of the central nervous system in acute leukemia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Novak, L.J.

    1989-01-01

    The central nervous system (CNS) is a site of occult and overt involvement with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in children. Prophylactic treatment of the cranial and spinal meninges can significantly reduce the incidence of CNS relapse. This review addresses the issues associated with the role of radiation therapy in the treatment of the CNS in ALL.20 references

  5. Zonal flows in tokamaks with anisotropic pressure

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ren, Haijun

    2014-01-01

    Zonal flows (ZFs) in a tokamak plasma with anisotropic pressure are investigated. The dynamics of perpendicular and parallel pressures are determined by the Chew-Goldberger-Low double equations and low-β condition is adopted, where β is the ratio of plasma pressure to the magnetic field pressure. The dispersion relation is analytically derived and illustrates two branches of ZFs. The low frequency zonal flow (LFZF) branch becomes unstable when χ, the ratio of the perpendicular pressure to the parallel one, is greater than a threshold value χ c , which is about 3.8. In the stable region, its frequency increases first and then decreases with increasing χ. For χ = 1, the frequency of LFZF agrees well with the experimental observation. For the instability, the growth rate of LFZF increases with χ. The geodesic acoustic mode branch is shown to be always stable with a frequency increasing with χ. The safety factor is shown to diminish the frequencies of both branches or the growth rate of LFZF

  6. Blob/hole formation and zonal-flow generation in the edge plasma of the JET tokamak

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Xu, G.S.; Naulin, Volker; Fundamenski, W.

    2009-01-01

    The first experimental evidence showing the connection between blob/hole formation and zonal-flow generation was obtained in the edge plasma of the JET tokamak. Holes as well as blobs are observed to be born in the edge shear layer, where zonal-flows shear off meso-scale coherent structures......, leading to disconnection of positive and negative pressure perturbations. The newly formed blobs transport azimuthal momentum up the gradient of the azimuthal flow and drive the zonal-flow shear while moving outwards. During this process energy is transferred from the meso-scale coherent structures...

  7. Analysis of zonal flow bifurcations in 3D drift wave turbulence simulations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kammel, Andreas

    2012-01-01

    The main issue of experimental magnetic fusion devices lies with their inherently high turbulent transport, preventing long-term plasma confinement. A deeper understanding of the underlying transport processes is therefore desirable, especially in the high-gradient tokamak edge which marks the location of the drift wave regime as well as the outer boundary of the still badly understood high confinement mode. One of the most promising plasma features possibly connected to a complete bifurcation theory for the transition to this H-mode is found in large-scale phenomena capable of regulating radial transport through vortex shearing - i.e. zonal flows, linearly stable large-scale poloidal vector E x vector B-modes based on radial flux surface averages of the potential gradient generated through turbulent self-organization. Despite their relevance, few detailed turbulence studies of drift wave-based zonal flows have been undertaken, and none of them have explicitly targeted bifurcations - or, within a resistive sheared-slab environment, observed zonal flows at all. In this work, both analytical means and the two-fluid code NLET are used to analyze a reduced set of Hasegawa-Wakatani equations, describing a sheared collisional drift wave system without curvature. The characteristics of the drift waves themselves, as well as those of the drift wave-based zonal flows and their retroaction on the drift wave turbulence are examined. The single dimensionless parameter ρ s proposed in previous analytical models is examined numerically and shown to divide the drift wave scale into two transport regimes, the behavioral characteristics of which agree perfectly with theoretical expectations. This transport transition correlates with a transition from pure drift wave turbulence at low ρ s into the high-ρ s zonal flow regime. The associated threshold has been more clearly identified by tracing it back to a tipping of the ratio between a newly proposed frequency gradient length at

  8. Dynamics of zonal shear collapse with hydrodynamic electrons

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hajjar, R. J.; Diamond, P. H.; Malkov, M. A.

    2018-06-01

    This paper presents a theory for the collapse of the edge zonal shear layer, as observed at the density limit at low β. This paper investigates the scaling of the transport and mean profiles with the adiabaticity parameter α, with special emphasizes on fluxes relevant to zonal flow (ZF) generation. We show that the adiabaticity parameter characterizes the strength of production of zonal flows and so determines the state of turbulence. A 1D reduced model that self-consistently describes the spatiotemporal evolution of the mean density n ¯ , the azimuthal flow v¯ y , and the turbulent potential enstrophy ɛ=⟨(n˜ -∇2ϕ˜ ) 2/2 ⟩ —related to fluctuation intensity—is presented. Quasi-linear analysis determines how the particle flux Γn and vorticity flux Π=-χy∇2vy+Πre s scale with α, in both hydrodynamic and adiabatic regimes. As the plasma response passes from adiabatic (α > 1) to hydrodynamic (α y=Πre s/χy —representative of the strength of the shear—also drops. The shear layer then collapses and turbulence is enhanced. The collapse is due to a decrease in ZF production, not an increase in damping. A physical picture for the onset of collapse is presented. The findings of this paper are used to motivate an explanation of the phenomenology of low β density limit evolution. A change from adiabatic ( α=kz2vth 2/(|ω|νei)>1 ) to hydrodynamic (α < 1) electron dynamics is associated with the density limit.

  9. Anisotropic turbulence and zonal jets in rotating flows with a β-effect

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    B. Galperin

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available Numerical studies of small-scale forced, two-dimensional turbulent flows on the surface of a rotating sphere have revealed strong large-scale anisotropization that culminates in the emergence of quasi-steady sets of alternating zonal jets, or zonation. The kinetic energy spectrum of such flows also becomes strongly anisotropic. For the zonal modes, a steep spectral distribution, E(n=CZ (Ω/R2 n-5, is established, where CZ=O(1 is a non-dimensional coefficient, Ω is the angular velocity, and R is the radius of the sphere, respectively. For other, non-zonal modes, the classical, Kolmogorov-Batchelor-Kraichnan, spectral law is preserved. This flow regime, referred to as a zonostrophic regime, appears to have wide applicability to large-scale planetary and terrestrial circulations as long as those are characterized by strong rotation, vertically stable stratification and small Burger numbers. The well-known manifestations of this regime are the banded disks of the outer planets of our Solar System. Relatively less known examples are systems of narrow, subsurface, alternating zonal jets throughout all major oceans discovered in state-of-the-art, eddy-permitting simulations of the general oceanic circulation. Furthermore, laboratory experiments recently conducted using the Coriolis turntable have basically confirmed that the lateral gradient of ''planetary vorticity'' (emulated via the topographic β-effect is the primary cause of the zonation and that the latter is entwined with the development of the strongly anisotropic kinetic energy spectrum that tends to attain the same zonal and non-zonal distributions, −5 and , respectively, in both the slope and the magnitude, as the corresponding spectra in other environmental conditions. The non-dimensional coefficient CZ in the −5 spectral law appears to be invariant, , in a variety of simulated and natural flows. This paper provides a brief review of the zonostrophic regime. The review includes the

  10. James Webb Space Telescope Observations of Stellar Occultations by Solar System Bodies and Rings

    Science.gov (United States)

    Santos-Sanz, P.; French, R. G.; Pinilla-Alonso, N.; Stansberry, J.; Lin, Z-Y.; Zhang, Z-W.; Vilenius, E.; Mueller, Th.; Ortiz, J. L.; Braga-Ribas, F.; hide

    2016-01-01

    In this paper, we investigate the opportunities provided by the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) for significant scientific advances in the study of Solar System bodies and rings using stellar occultations. The strengths and weaknesses of the stellar occultation technique are evaluated in light of JWST's unique capabilities. We identify several possible JWST occultation events by minor bodies and rings and evaluate their potential scientific value. These predictions depend critically on accurate a priori knowledge of the orbit of JWST near the Sun–Earth Lagrange point 2 (L2). We also explore the possibility of serendipitous stellar occultations by very small minor bodies as a byproduct of other JWST observing programs. Finally, to optimize the potential scientific return of stellar occultation observations, we identify several characteristics of JWST's orbit and instrumentation that should be taken into account during JWST's development.

  11. Longitudinal variability in Jupiter's zonal winds derived from multi-wavelength HST observations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnson, Perianne E.; Morales-Juberías, Raúl; Simon, Amy; Gaulme, Patrick; Wong, Michael H.; Cosentino, Richard G.

    2018-06-01

    Multi-wavelength Hubble Space Telescope (HST) images of Jupiter from the Outer Planets Atmospheres Legacy (OPAL) and Wide Field Coverage for Juno (WFCJ) programs in 2015, 2016, and 2017 are used to derive wind profiles as a function of latitude and longitude. Wind profiles are typically zonally averaged to reduce measurement uncertainties. However, doing this destroys any variations of the zonal-component of winds in the longitudinal direction. Here, we present the results derived from using a "sliding-window" correlation method. This method adds longitudinal specificity, and allows for the detection of spatial variations in the zonal winds. Spatial variations are identified in two jets: 1 at 17 ° N, the location of a prominent westward jet, and the other at 7 ° S, the location of the chevrons. Temporal and spatial variations at the 24°N jet and the 5-μm hot spots are also examined.

  12. Recurring sets of recurring starspot occultations on exoplanet host Qatar-2

    Science.gov (United States)

    Močnik, T.; Southworth, J.; Hellier, C.

    2017-10-01

    We announce the detection of recurring sets of recurring starspot occultation events in the short-cadence K2 light curve of Qatar-2, a K dwarf star transited every 1.34 d by a hot Jupiter. In total, we detect 34 individual starspot occultation events, caused by five different starspots, occulted in up to five consecutive transits or after a full stellar rotation. The longest recurring set of recurring starspot occultations spans over three stellar rotations, setting a lower limit for the longest starspot lifetime of 58 d. Starspot analysis provided a robust stellar rotational period measurement of 18.0 ± 0.2 d and indicates that the system is aligned, having a sky-projected obliquity of 0° ± 8°. A pronounced rotational modulation in the light curve has a period of 18.2 ± 1.6 d, in agreement with the rotational period derived from the starspot occultations. We tentatively detect an ellipsoidal modulation in the phase curve, with a semi-amplitude of 18 ppm, but cannot exclude the possibility that this is the result of red noise or imperfect removal of the rotational modulation. We detect no transit-timing and transit-duration variations with upper limits of 15 s and 1 min, respectively. We also reject any additional transiting planets with transit depths above 280 ppm in the orbital period region 0.5-30 d.

  13. A method to detect occult pneumothorax with chest radiography.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matsumoto, Shokei; Kishikawa, Masanobu; Hayakawa, Koichi; Narumi, Atsushi; Matsunami, Katsutoshi; Kitano, Mitsuhide

    2011-04-01

    Small pneumothoraces are often not visible on supine screening chest radiographs because they develop anteriorly to the lung. These pneumothoraces are termed occult. Occult pneumothoraces account for an astonishingly high 52% to 63% of all traumatic pneumothoraces. A 19-year-old obese woman was involved in a head-on car accident. The admission anteroposterior chest radiographs were unremarkable. Because of the presence of right chest tenderness and an abrasion, we suspected the presence of a pneumothorax. Thus, we decided to take a supine oblique chest radiograph of the right side of the thorax, which clearly revealed a visceral pleural line, consistent with a diagnosis of traumatic pneumothorax. A pneumothorax may be present when a supine chest radiograph reveals either an apparent deepening of the costophrenic angle (the "deep sulcus sign") or the presence of 2 diaphragm-lung interfaces (the "double diaphragm sign"). However, in practice, supine chest radiographs have poor sensitivity for occult pneumothoraces. Oblique chest radiograph is a useful and fast screening tool that should be considered for cases of blunt chest trauma, especially when transport of critically ill patients to the computed tomographic suite is dangerous or when imminent transfer to another hospital is being arranged and early diagnosis of an occult pneumothorax is essential. Copyright © 2010 American College of Emergency Physicians. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

  14. Ultrasound detection of nonpalpable mammographically occult malignancy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Simpson, W.L.; Hermann, G.; Rausch, D.R.; Sherman, J.; Feig, S.A.; Bleiweiss, I.J.; Jaffer, S.

    2008-01-01

    To evaluate the prevalence of occult malignancy with screening breast ultrasound. All ultrasound-guided core needle breast biopsies performed between January 1, 1999, and June 30, 2001, were retrospectively reviewed. Lesions were identified during screening breast ultrasound in high-risk women with no mammographic or palpable abnormality in either breast, a unilateral mammographic or palpable abnormality in the contralateral breast, or a unilateral mammographic or palpable abnormality in a different quadrant of the same breast. All ultrasound-detected lesions were histologically verified. Six hundred and fifty-two women with a mean age of 49 years underwent 698 biopsies during the study period. Three hundred and forty-nine of these lesions were detected at screening breast ultrasound. Out of 349, 11 (3.2%) had a mammographically and clinically occult malignancy. Nine cancers were found in women with no mammographic or palpable abnormality. Two cancers were found in the same breast as the mammographic or palpable abnormality. None were found in the breast contralateral to a palpable or mammographic abnormality. Screening breast ultrasound of high-risk women has a similar detection rate for occult carcinoma as screening mammography, but has a low positive predictive value in cases where biopsy is performed. (author)

  15. Presentation of Axillary Metastases from Occult Breast Carcinoma

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Xin Wang

    2007-01-01

    Axillary presentation from occult breast cancer is uncommon and continues to be a diagnostic and therapeutic challenge to physicians.Once the diagnosis of adenocarcinoma metastatic to an axillary lymph node has been confirmed,a preoperative workup should be done.The current experience is based on several relatively small retrospective reviews and case reports.It is difficult to determine the best management of occult breast cancer.However,treatmenl of axillary Iymph node dissection is recommended for local control and complete staging information.Treatment of breast should be a choice between breast conservation with whole-breast radiotherapy and mastectomy.Adjuvant systemic treatment should be offered.

  16. Developing an Optical Lunar Occultation Measurement Reduction System for Observations at Kaau Observatory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Malawi, Abdulrahman A.

    2013-06-01

    We present here a detailed explanation of the reduction method that we use to determine the angular diameters of the stars occulted by the dark limb of the moon. This is a main part of the lunar occultation observation program running at King Abdul Aziz University observatory since late 1993. The process is based on the least square model fitting method of analyzing occultation data, first introduced by Nather et al. (Astron. J. 75:963, 1970).

  17. [Surgical Diagnosis and Treatment of Primary Hyperthyroidism Complicated with Occult Thyroid Carcinoma].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Xin; Yu, Jian-chun; Kang, Wei-ming; Ma, Zhi-qiang; Ye, Xin

    2015-08-01

    To evaluate the surgical diagnosis and treatment of primary hyperthyroidism complicated with occult thyroid carcinoma. Data of 51 cases of primary hyperthyroidism complicated with occult thyroid carcinoma admitted during January 2004 to November 2014 were analyzed retrospectively. The incidence of occult thyroid carcinoma was 5.03% in hyperthyroidism,and 47 cases (92.16%) were female. The preoperative diagnosis of all these 51 cases was primary hyperthyroidism and 11 cases were diagnosed thyroid carcinoma at the same time;25 cases were diagnosed thyroid carcinoma by frozen section and the remaining 26 cases were diagnosed by postoperative pathology. Finally,26 cases underwent subtotal thyroidectomy,4 cases underwent total thyroidectomy, and 21 cases underwent total thyroidectomy with lymphadenectomy. The tumor size ranged from 0.1 to 1.0 cm [mean:(0.63 ± 0.35) cm]. The lesions were less than or equal to 0.5 cm in 28 cases (54.9%). The follow-up lasted from 1 to 121 months [mean:(28.6 ± 22.7)months] in 43 patients,and all of them survived. Primary hyperthyroidism complicated with occult thyroid carcinoma is commonly found in female patients. Preoperative diagnosis is difficult. Ultrasound is the major examining method. Frozen section can increase the detection rate. The postoperative prognosis of hyperthyroidism complicated with occult thyroid carcinoma is satisfactory.

  18. Occult fractures of the knee: tomographic evaluation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Apple, J.S.; Martinez, S.; Allen, N.B.; Caldwell, D.S.; Rice, J.R.

    1983-01-01

    Seven adults with painful effusions of the knee were examined for occult fractures using pluridirectional tomograph in the coronal and lateral planes. Six patients (ages 50 to 82 years) were osteopenic and gave histories ranging from none to mild trauma; one 26-year-old man was not osteopenic and had severe trauma. In all cases, routine radiographs were interpreted as negative, but tomography demonstrated a fracture. Five fractures were subchondral. Bone scans in 2 patients were positive. The authors conclude that osteopenic patients with a painful effusion of the knee should be considered to have an occult fracture. While bone scans may be helpful, tomography is recommended as the procedure of choice to define the location and extent of the fracture

  19. Simulations of Turbulence in Tokamak Edge and Effects of Self-Consistent Zonal Flows

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cohen, Bruce; Umansky, Maxim

    2013-10-01

    Progress is reported on simulations of electromagnetic drift-resistive ballooning turbulence in the tokamak edge. This extends previous work to include self-consistent zonal flows and their effects. The previous work addressed simulation of L-mode tokamak edge turbulence using the turbulence code BOUT that solves Braginskii-based plasma fluid equations in tokamak edge domain. The calculations use realistic single-null geometry and plasma parameters of the DIII-D tokamak and produce fluctuation amplitudes, fluctuation spectra, and particle and thermal fluxes that compare favorably to experimental data. In the effect of sheared ExB poloidal rotation is included with an imposed static radial electric field fitted to experimental data. In the new work here we include the radial electric field self-consistently driven by the microturbulence, which contributes to the sheared ExB poloidal rotation (zonal flow generation). We present simulations with/without zonal flows for both cylindrical geometry, as in the UCLA Large Plasma Device, and for the DIII-D tokamak L-mode cases in to quantify the influence of self-consistent zonal flows on the microturbulence and the concomitant transport. This work was performed under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy under contract DE-AC52-07NA27344 at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

  20. [Occult rupture of the spleen in a patient with infectious mononucleosis].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bonsignore, A; Grillone, G; Soliera, M; Fiumara, F; Pettinato, M; Calarco, G; Angiò, L G; Licursi, M

    2010-03-01

    Rupture of the spleen can be secondary to abdominal traumas (usually closed trauma) or spontaneous, can interest an organ normal or with morphological alterations secondary to various pathologies. Among the diseases responsible of occult rupture, infectious diseases are the most frequent and, among these, infectious mononucleosis, that is complicated with splenic rupture in 0.5% of the cases, with 30% of mortality. P.M., 16 years old female, admitted with acute abdomen, progressive anaemia and incipient cardiovascular instability, associated with suggestive clinical diagnosis of infectious mononucleosis, confirmed by serological findings and histological examination. Because of the imaging of subcapsular splenic haematoma, probably ruptured and with peritoneal bleeding we opt for emergency laparotomy intraoperative findings allows to splenectomy. Splenic rupture in infectious mononucleosis often presents as left hypochondrial pain, rare in uncomplicated cases; its occurrence in a patient with a recent diagnosis of infectious mononucleosis or with clinical or laboratory features suggestive of acute EBV infection, should always be investigated with an urgent abdominal ultrasound scan or CT. This approach is mandatory when hypochondrial pain is associated with pain referred to the left shoulder (Kehr's sign), peritoneal irritation and haemodynamic instability. Patients with splenic rupture in infectious mononucleosis generally undergo emergency splenectomy.

  1. Dusty Dwarfs Galaxies Occulting A Bright Background Spiral

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holwerda, Benne

    2017-08-01

    The role of dust in shaping the spectral energy distributions of low mass disk galaxies remains poorly understood. Recent results from the Herschel Space Observatory imply that dwarf galaxies contain large amounts of cool (T 20K) dust, coupled with very modest optical extinctions. These seemingly contradictory conclusions may be resolved if dwarfs harbor a variety of dust geometries, e.g., dust at larger galactocentric radii or in quiescent dark clumps. We propose HST observations of six truly occulting dwarf galaxies drawn from the Galaxy Zoo catalog of silhouetted galaxy pairs. Confirmed, true occulting dwarfs are rare as most low-mass disks in overlap are either close satellites or do not have a confirmed redshift. Dwarf occulters are the key to determining the spatial extent of dust, the small scale structure introduced by turbulence, and the prevailing dust attenuation law. The recent spectroscopic confirmation of bona-fide low mass occulting dwarfs offers an opportunity to map dust in these with HST. What is the role of dust in the SED of these dwarf disk galaxies? With shorter feedback scales, how does star-formation affect their morphology and dust composition, as revealed from their attenuation curve? The resolution of HST allows us to map the dust disks down to the fine scale structure of molecular clouds and multi-wavelength imaging maps the attenuation curve and hence dust composition in these disks. We therefore ask for 2 orbits on each of 6 dwarf galaxies in F275W, F475W, F606W, F814W and F125W to map dust from UV to NIR to constrain the attenuation curve.

  2. Estimation and evaluation of COSMIC radio occultation excess phase using undifferenced measurements

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xia, Pengfei; Ye, Shirong; Jiang, Kecai; Chen, Dezhong

    2017-05-01

    In the GPS radio occultation technique, the atmospheric excess phase (AEP) can be used to derive the refractivity, which is an important quantity in numerical weather prediction. The AEP is conventionally estimated based on GPS double-difference or single-difference techniques. These two techniques, however, rely on the reference data in the data processing, increasing the complexity of computation. In this study, an undifferenced (ND) processing strategy is proposed to estimate the AEP. To begin with, we use PANDA (Positioning and Navigation Data Analyst) software to perform the precise orbit determination (POD) for the purpose of acquiring the position and velocity of the mass centre of the COSMIC (The Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere and Climate) satellites and the corresponding receiver clock offset. The bending angles, refractivity and dry temperature profiles are derived from the estimated AEP using Radio Occultation Processing Package (ROPP) software. The ND method is validated by the COSMIC products in typical rising and setting occultation events. Results indicate that rms (root mean square) errors of relative refractivity differences between undifferenced and atmospheric profiles (atmPrf) provided by UCAR/CDAAC (University Corporation for Atmospheric Research/COSMIC Data Analysis and Archive Centre) are better than 4 and 3 % in rising and setting occultation events respectively. In addition, we also compare the relative refractivity bias between ND-derived methods and atmPrf profiles of globally distributed 200 COSMIC occultation events on 12 December 2013. The statistical results indicate that the average rms relative refractivity deviation between ND-derived and COSMIC profiles is better than 2 % in the rising occultation event and better than 1.7 % in the setting occultation event. Moreover, the observed COSMIC refractivity profiles from ND processing strategy are further validated using European Centre for Medium

  3. Occult Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

    OpenAIRE

    Kirkpatrick, John N.

    1987-01-01

    A syndrome of headache, fatigue, dizziness, paresthesias, chest pain, palpitations and visual disturbances was associated with chronic occult carbon monoxide exposure in 26 patients in a primary care setting. A causal association was supported by finding a source of carbon monoxide in a patient's home, workplace or vehicle; results of screening tests that ruled out other illnesses; an abnormally high carboxyhemoglobin level in 11 of 14 patients tested, and abatement or resolution of symptoms ...

  4. Detection of occult abscesses with 111In-labeled leukocytes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Martin, W.R.; Gurevich, N.; Goris, M.L.; McDougall, I.R.

    1979-01-01

    Clinicians are frequently faced with the problem of a patient in whom they suspect an occult abscess. In such a situation, there may be no clinical signs to localize the site of the abscess and often extensive investigations do not provide additional useful information. This report illustrates the efficacy of autologous leukocytes labeled with 111 In oxine in detecting the site and extent of occult abscesses in two patients. The technique of in vitro lebeling of leukocytes is simple and has been mastered by all of our nuclear medicine technologists

  5. A prospective evaluation of occult disorders in obstructed defecation using the 'iceberg diagram'.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pescatori, M; Spyrou, M; Pulvirenti d'Urso, A

    2007-06-01

    Surgical treatment of constipation and obstructed defecation (OD) carries frequent recurrences, as OD is an 'iceberg syndrome' characterized by 'underwater rocks' or occult diseases which may affect the outcome of surgery. The aim of this study was to evaluate occult disorders, in order to alert the clinician of these and minimize failures. One hundred consecutive constipated patients with OD symptoms, 81 women, median age 52 years, underwent perineal examination, proctoscopy, anorectal manometry and anal/vaginal ultrasound (US). Anorectal physiology and imaging tests were also carried out when indicated, as well as psychological and urogynaecological consultations. Symptoms were graded using a modified 1-20 constipation score. Both evident (e.g. rectocele) and occult (e.g. anismus) diseases were prospectively evaluated using a novel 'iceberg diagram'. The type of treatment, whether conservative or surgical, was also recorded. Fifty-four (54%) patients had both mucosal prolapse and rectocele. All patients had at least two occult OD-related diseases, 66 patients had at least three of them: anxiety-depression, anismus and rectal hyposensation were the most frequent (66%, 44% and 33%, respectively). The median constipation score was 11 (range 2-20), the median number of 'occult disorders' was 5 (range 2-8). Conservative treatment was carried out in most cases. Surgery was carried out in 14 (14%) patients. The novel 'iceberg diagram' allowed the adequate evaluation of OD-related occult diseases and better selection of patients for treatment. Most were managed conservatively, and only a minority were treated by surgery.

  6. Characteristics and Mechanisms of Zonal Oscillation of Western Pacific Subtropical High in Summer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guan, W.; Ren, X.; Hu, H.

    2017-12-01

    The zonal oscillation of the western Pacific subtropical high (WPSH) influences the weather and climate over East Asia significantly. This study investigates the features and mechanisms of the zonal oscillation of the WPSH during summer on subseasonal time scales. The zonal oscillation index of the WPSH is defined by normalized subseasonal geopotential height anomaly at 500hPa averaged over the WPSH's western edge (110° - 140°E, 10° - 30°N). The index shows a predominant oscillation with a period of 10-40 days. Large positive index indicates a strong anticyclonic anomaly over East Asia and its coastal region south of 30°N at both 850hPa and 500hPa. The WPSH stretches more westward accompanied by warmer SST anomalies beneath the western edge of the WPSH. Meanwhile, above-normal precipitation is seen over the Yangtze-Huaihe river basin and below-normal precipitation over the south of the Yangtze River. Negative index suggests a more eastward position of WPSH. The anomalies in circulation and SST for negative index are almost the mirror image of those for the positive index. In early summer, the zonal shift of the WPSH is affected by both the East Asia/Pacific (EAP) teleconnection pattern and the Silk road pattern (SRP). The positive (negative) phase of the EAP pattern is characterized by a low-level anticyclonic (cyclonic) anomaly over the subtropical western Pacific, indicating the western extension (eastward retreat) of the WPSH. Comparing with the EAP pattern, the SRP forms an upper-level anticyclonic (cyclonic) anomaly in mid-latitudes of East Asia, and then leads to the westward (eastward) movement of the WPSH. In late summer, the zonal shift of the WPSH is mainly affected by the EAP pattern, because the EAP pattern in late summer is stronger than that in early summer. The zonal shift of the WPSH is also influenced by the subseasonal air-sea interaction locally. During the early stage of WPSH's westward stretch, the local SST anomaly in late summer is

  7. Error analysis for mesospheric temperature profiling by absorptive occultation sensors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. J. Rieder

    Full Text Available An error analysis for mesospheric profiles retrieved from absorptive occultation data has been performed, starting with realistic error assumptions as would apply to intensity data collected by available high-precision UV photodiode sensors. Propagation of statistical errors was investigated through the complete retrieval chain from measured intensity profiles to atmospheric density, pressure, and temperature profiles. We assumed unbiased errors as the occultation method is essentially self-calibrating and straight-line propagation of occulted signals as we focus on heights of 50–100 km, where refractive bending of the sensed radiation is negligible. Throughout the analysis the errors were characterized at each retrieval step by their mean profile, their covariance matrix and their probability density function (pdf. This furnishes, compared to a variance-only estimation, a much improved insight into the error propagation mechanism. We applied the procedure to a baseline analysis of the performance of a recently proposed solar UV occultation sensor (SMAS – Sun Monitor and Atmospheric Sounder and provide, using a reasonable exponential atmospheric model as background, results on error standard deviations and error correlation functions of density, pressure, and temperature profiles. Two different sensor photodiode assumptions are discussed, respectively, diamond diodes (DD with 0.03% and silicon diodes (SD with 0.1% (unattenuated intensity measurement noise at 10 Hz sampling rate. A factor-of-2 margin was applied to these noise values in order to roughly account for unmodeled cross section uncertainties. Within the entire height domain (50–100 km we find temperature to be retrieved to better than 0.3 K (DD / 1 K (SD accuracy, respectively, at 2 km height resolution. The results indicate that absorptive occultations acquired by a SMAS-type sensor could provide mesospheric profiles of fundamental variables such as temperature with

  8. Error analysis for mesospheric temperature profiling by absorptive occultation sensors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. J. Rieder

    2001-01-01

    Full Text Available An error analysis for mesospheric profiles retrieved from absorptive occultation data has been performed, starting with realistic error assumptions as would apply to intensity data collected by available high-precision UV photodiode sensors. Propagation of statistical errors was investigated through the complete retrieval chain from measured intensity profiles to atmospheric density, pressure, and temperature profiles. We assumed unbiased errors as the occultation method is essentially self-calibrating and straight-line propagation of occulted signals as we focus on heights of 50–100 km, where refractive bending of the sensed radiation is negligible. Throughout the analysis the errors were characterized at each retrieval step by their mean profile, their covariance matrix and their probability density function (pdf. This furnishes, compared to a variance-only estimation, a much improved insight into the error propagation mechanism. We applied the procedure to a baseline analysis of the performance of a recently proposed solar UV occultation sensor (SMAS – Sun Monitor and Atmospheric Sounder and provide, using a reasonable exponential atmospheric model as background, results on error standard deviations and error correlation functions of density, pressure, and temperature profiles. Two different sensor photodiode assumptions are discussed, respectively, diamond diodes (DD with 0.03% and silicon diodes (SD with 0.1% (unattenuated intensity measurement noise at 10 Hz sampling rate. A factor-of-2 margin was applied to these noise values in order to roughly account for unmodeled cross section uncertainties. Within the entire height domain (50–100 km we find temperature to be retrieved to better than 0.3 K (DD / 1 K (SD accuracy, respectively, at 2 km height resolution. The results indicate that absorptive occultations acquired by a SMAS-type sensor could provide mesospheric profiles of fundamental variables such as temperature with

  9. Influence of misalignments on the performance of externally occulted solar coronagraphs. Application to PROBA-3/ASPIICS

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shestov, S. V.; Zhukov, A. N.

    2018-05-01

    Context. The ASPIICS instrument is a novel externally occulted coronagraph that will be launched on board the PROBA-3 mission of the European Space Agency. The external occulter will be placed on one satellite 150 m ahead of the second satellite that will carry an optical instrument. During 6 h out of 19.38 h of orbit, the satellites will fly in a precise (accuracy around a few millimeters) formation, constituting a giant externally occulted coronagraph. The large distance between the external occulter and the primary objective will allow observations of the white-light solar corona starting from extremely low heights 1.1R⊙. Aims: We intend to analyze influence of shifts of the satellites and misalignments of optical elements on the ASPIICS performance in terms of diffracted light. Based on the quantitative influence of misalignments on diffracted light, we provide a recipe for choosing the size of the internal occulter (IO) to achieve a trade-off between the minimal height of observations and sustainability to possible misalignments. Methods: We considered different types of misalignments and analyzed their influence from optical and computational points of view. We implemented a numerical model of the diffracted light and its propagation through the optical system and computed intensities of diffracted light throughout the instrument. Our numerical approach is based on a model from the literature that considered the axisymmetrical case. Here we extend the model to include nonsymmetrical cases and possible misalignments. Results: The numerical computations fully confirm the main properties of the diffracted light that we obtained from semi-analytical consideration. We obtain that relative influences of various misalignments are significantly different. We show that the internal occulter with RIO = 1.694 mm = 1.1R⊙ is large enough to compensate possible misalignments expected to occur in PROBA-3/ASPIICS. Besides that we show that apodizing the edge of the

  10. Parapsychology on the couch: the psychology of occult belief in Germany, c. 1870-1939.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wolffram, Heather

    2006-01-01

    This article considers the attempts of academic psychologists and critical occultists in Germany during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries to construct a psychology of occult belief. While they claimed that the purpose of this new subdiscipline was to help evaluate the work of occult researchers, the emergence of a psychology of occult belief in Germany served primarily to pathologize parapsychology and its practitioners. Not to be outdone, however, parapsychologists argued that their adversaries suffered from a morbid inability to accept the reality of the paranormal. Unable to resolve through experimental means the dispute over who should be allowed to mold the public's understanding of the occult, both sides resorted to defaming their opponent. (c) 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  11. Categorizing the Occult: Vodun, Sorcery and Religious Beliefs In Benin

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Strandsbjerg, Camilla

    2011-01-01

    In everyday life in Benin as well as in academic research on the topic, the terms of vodun, witchcraft and the occult are often used in a non distinct way covering quite similar phenomena while at the same time referring to different kinds of beliefs and practices. The problem of understanding...... confronted with this difficulty. Both because the vodun, as a recognized religion in the country - equal to Islam and Christianity - , plays an important role in society as well as in individual life, but also because all area of social life are on one level or another influenced by beliefs and practices...... characterized as witchcraft or occult. Reflecting upon earlier research and particularly on the choice of terminology of the occult in writing on religion and political change in Benin (PhD thesis 2008), this paper seeks to clarify some of the epistemological, academic and historical reasons that have formed...

  12. Profiles of zonal flows and turbulence mode numbers and probe system in the HL-2A tokamak

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hong Wenyu; Zhao Kaijun; Yan Longwen; Dong Jiaqi; Cheng Jun; Qian Jun

    2009-01-01

    The toroidal and poloidal symmetries (m-0, n-0) of the measured low frequency zonal flows (f=0-5 kHz) and geodesic acoustic mode zonal flow (f=16 kHz) electric potential and radial promulgate features were unambiguously identified with displaced Langmuir probe arrays in the edge plasma of the HL-2A tokamak for the first time. The finite radial wave vector (K r-LF =0.6 cm -1 , K r-GAM =2 cm -1 ) of the flows was simultaneously estimated. The formation mechanism of the flows is identified to be nonlinear three wave coupling between high frequency turbulent fluctuations and the flows. Changes of zonal flow amplitude bring by ECRH power and the boundary safety factors were simply studied. Moreover, change of zonal flow amplitude in radial direction was too observed. (authors)

  13. Diffusion of Zonal Variables Using Node-Centered Diffusion Solver

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yang, T B

    2007-08-06

    Tom Kaiser [1] has done some preliminary work to use the node-centered diffusion solver (originally developed by T. Palmer [2]) in Kull for diffusion of zonal variables such as electron temperature. To avoid numerical diffusion, Tom used a scheme developed by Shestakov et al. [3] and found their scheme could, in the vicinity of steep gradients, decouple nearest-neighbor zonal sub-meshes leading to 'alternating-zone' (red-black mode) errors. Tom extended their scheme to couple the sub-meshes with appropriate chosen artificial diffusion and thereby solved the 'alternating-zone' problem. Because the choice of the artificial diffusion coefficient could be very delicate, it is desirable to use a scheme that does not require the artificial diffusion but still able to avoid both numerical diffusion and the 'alternating-zone' problem. In this document we present such a scheme.

  14. Zonally averaged chemical-dynamical model of the lower thermosphere

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kasting, J.F.; Roble, R.G.

    1981-01-01

    A zonally averaged numerical model of the thermosphere is used to examine the coupling between neutral composition, including N 2 , O 2 and O, temperature, and winds at solstice for solar minimum conditions. The meridional circulation forced by solar heating results in a summer-to-winter flow, with a winter enhancement in atomic oxygen density that is a factor of about 1.8 greater than the summer hemisphere at 160 km. The O 2 and N 2 variations are associated with a latitudinal gradient in total number density, which is required to achieve pressure balance in the presence of large zonal jets. Latitudinal profiles OI (5577A) green line emission intensity are calculated by using both Chapman and Barth mechanisms. Composition of the lower thermosphere is shown to be strongly influenced by circulation patterns initiated in the stratosphere and lower mesosphere, below the lower boundary used in the model

  15. Household/Zonal Socioeconomic Characteristics and Tour Making: Case of Richmond/Tri-Cities Model Region in Virginia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xueming CHEN

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available This paper statistically assesses the impacts of household/zonal socio economic characteristics on tour making within the Richmond/Tri-Cities Model Region, Virginia, United States, based on the dataset made available through the 2009 Virginia National Household Travel Survey (NHTS Add-On Program. The tour analysis distinguishes nine tour types (three simple tours and six complex tours stratified by aggregate tour purposes of work (including school and other subsistence activities, maintenance and discretionary. A series of regression model runs have yielded the following conclusions: First, at aggregate level, the number of drivers, median household income, household size, number of workers, and zonal walking modal share are statistically significant and positively impact tour frequency. Tour length and complexity are positively related to household income and number of vehicles, but negatively related to zonal walking modal share. Second, at an individual tour type level, each tour type’s frequency/length/complexity is impacted by a different set of household/zonal socioeconomic characteristics. Zonal socioeconomic characteristics have little or no impacts on household tour making. It is recognized that many unknown factors may also have impacted tour activities, which require further in-depth studies in order to better explain complex tours.

  16. Multiple zonal jets and convective heat transport barriers in a quasi-geostrophic model of planetary cores

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guervilly, C.; Cardin, P.

    2017-10-01

    We study rapidly rotating Boussinesq convection driven by internal heating in a full sphere. We use a numerical model based on the quasi-geostrophic approximation for the velocity field, whereas the temperature field is 3-D. This approximation allows us to perform simulations for Ekman numbers down to 10-8, Prandtl numbers relevant for liquid metals (˜10-1) and Reynolds numbers up to 3 × 104. Persistent zonal flows composed of multiple jets form as a result of the mixing of potential vorticity. For the largest Rayleigh numbers computed, the zonal velocity is larger than the convective velocity despite the presence of boundary friction. The convective structures and the zonal jets widen when the thermal forcing increases. Prograde and retrograde zonal jets are dynamically different: in the prograde jets (which correspond to weak potential vorticity gradients) the convection transports heat efficiently and the mean temperature tends to be homogenized; by contrast, in the cores of the retrograde jets (which correspond to steep gradients of potential vorticity) the dynamics is dominated by the propagation of Rossby waves, resulting in the formation of steep mean temperature gradients and the dominance of conduction in the heat transfer process. Consequently, in quasi-geostrophic systems, the width of the retrograde zonal jets controls the efficiency of the heat transfer.

  17. Mean shear flows, zonal flows, and generalized Kelvin-Helmholtz modes in drift wave turbulence: A minimal model for L→H transition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Eun-jin; Diamond, P.H.

    2003-01-01

    The dynamics of and an interplay among structures (mean shear flows, zonal flows, and generalized Kelvin-Helmholtz modes) are studied in drift wave turbulence. Mean shear flows are found to inhibit the nonlinear generation of zonal flows by weakening the coherent modulation response of the drift wave spectrum. Based on this result, a minimal model for the L→H (low- to high-confinement) transition is proposed, which involves the amplitude of drift waves, zonal flows, and the density gradient. A transition to quiescent H-mode sets in as the profile becomes sufficiently steep to completely damp out drift waves, following an oscillatory transition phase where zonal flows regulate drift wave turbulence. The different roles of mean flows and zonal flows are elucidated. Finally, the effect of poloidally nonaxisymmetric structures (generalized Kelvin-Helmholtz mode) on anomalous transport is investigated, especially in reference to damping of collisionless zonal flows. Results indicate that nonlinear excitation of this structure can be potentially important in enhancing anomalous transport as well as in damping zonal flows

  18. Zonal structure of unbounded external-flow and aerodynamics

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Liu, L Q; Kang, L L; Wu, J Z, E-mail: lqliu@pku.edu.cn [State Key Laboratory of Turbulence and Complex System, Center for Applied Physics and Technology, College of Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871 (China)

    2017-08-15

    This paper starts from the far-field behaviors of velocity field in externally unbounded flow. We find that the well-known algebraic decay of disturbance velocity as derived kinematically is too conservative. Once the kinetics are taken into account by working on the fundamental solutions of far-field linearized Navier–Stokes equations, it is proven that the furthest far-field zone adjacent to the uniform fluid at infinity must be unsteady, viscous and compressible, where all disturbances degenerate to sound waves that decay exponentially. But this optimal rate does not exist in some commonly used simplified flow models, such as steady flow, incompressible flow and inviscid flow, because they actually work in true subspaces of the unbounded free space, which are surrounded by further far fields of different nature. This finding naturally leads to a zonal structure of externally unbounded flow field. The significance of the zonal structure is demonstrated by its close relevance to existing theories of aerodynamic force and moment in external flows, including the removal of the difficulties or paradoxes inherent in the simplified models. (paper)

  19. NOAA Climate Data Record (CDR) of Zonal Mean Ozone Binary Database of Profiles (BDBP), version 1.0

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — This NOAA Climate Data Record (CDR) of Zonal Mean Ozone Binary Database of Profiles (BDBP) dataset is a vertically resolved, global, gap-free and zonal mean dataset...

  20. Convectively driven decadal zonal accelerations in Earth's fluid core

    Science.gov (United States)

    More, Colin; Dumberry, Mathieu

    2018-04-01

    Azimuthal accelerations of cylindrical surfaces co-axial with the rotation axis have been inferred to exist in Earth's fluid core on the basis of magnetic field observations and changes in the length-of-day. These accelerations have a typical timescale of decades. However, the physical mechanism causing the accelerations is not well understood. Scaling arguments suggest that the leading order torque averaged over cylindrical surfaces should arise from the Lorentz force. Decadal fluctuations in the magnetic field inside the core, driven by convective flows, could then force decadal changes in the Lorentz torque and generate zonal accelerations. We test this hypothesis by constructing a quasi-geostrophic model of magnetoconvection, with thermally driven flows perturbing a steady, imposed background magnetic field. We show that when the Alfvén number in our model is similar to that in Earth's fluid core, temporal fluctuations in the torque balance are dominated by the Lorentz torque, with the latter generating mean zonal accelerations. Our model reproduces both fast, free Alfvén waves and slow, forced accelerations, with ratios of relative strength and relative timescale similar to those inferred for the Earth's core. The temporal changes in the magnetic field which drive the time-varying Lorentz torque are produced by the underlying convective flows, shearing and advecting the magnetic field on a timescale associated with convective eddies. Our results support the hypothesis that temporal changes in the magnetic field deep inside Earth's fluid core drive the observed decadal zonal accelerations of cylindrical surfaces through the Lorentz torque.

  1. Naturally occurring mutations in large surface genes related to occult infection of hepatitis B virus genotype C.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hong Kim

    Full Text Available Molecular mechanisms related to occult hepatitis B virus (HBV infection, particularly those based on genotype C infection, have rarely been determined thus far in the ongoing efforts to determine infection mechanisms. Therefore, we aim to elucidate the mutation patterns in the surface open reading frame (S ORF underlying occult infections of HBV genotype C in the present study. Nested PCRs were applied to 624 HBV surface antigen (HBsAg negative Korean subjects. Cloning and sequencing of the S ORF gene was applied to 41 occult cases and 40 control chronic carriers. Forty-one (6.6% of the 624 Korean adults with HBsAg-negative serostatus were found to be positive for DNA according to nested PCR tests. Mutation frequencies in the three regions labeled here as preS1, preS2, and S were significantly higher in the occult subjects compared to the carriers in all cases. A total of two types of deletions, preS1 deletions in the start codon and preS2 deletions as well as nine types of point mutations were significantly implicated in the occult infection cases. Mutations within the "a" determinant region in HBsAg were found more frequently in the occult subjects than in the carriers. Mutations leading to premature termination of S ORF were found in 16 occult subjects (39.0% but only in one subject from among the carriers (2.5%. In conclusion, our data suggest that preS deletions, the premature termination of S ORF, and "a" determinant mutations are associated with occult infections of HBV genotype C among a HBsAg-negative population. The novel mutation patterns related to occult infection introduced in the present study can help to broaden our understanding of HBV occult infections.

  2. Numerical simulation of phenomenon on zonal disintegration in deep underground mining in case of unsupported roadway

    Science.gov (United States)

    Han, Fengshan; Wu, Xinli; Li, Xia; Zhu, Dekang

    2018-02-01

    Zonal disintegration phenomenon was found in deep mining roadway surrounding rock. It seriously affects the safety of mining and underground engineering and it may lead to the occurrence of natural disasters. in deep mining roadway surrounding rock, tectonic stress in deep mining roadway rock mass, horizontal stress is much greater than the vertical stress, When the direction of maximum principal stress is parallel to the axis of the roadway in deep mining, this is the main reasons for Zonal disintegration phenomenon. Using ABAQUS software to numerical simulation of the three-dimensional model of roadway rupture formation process systematically, and the study shows that when The Direction of maximum main stress in deep underground mining is along the roadway axial direction, Zonal disintegration phenomenon in deep underground mining is successfully reproduced by our numerical simulation..numerical simulation shows that using ABAQUA simulation can reproduce Zonal disintegration phenomenon and the formation process of damage of surrounding rock can be reproduced. which have important engineering practical significance.

  3. Three-pattern decomposition of global atmospheric circulation: part II—dynamical equations of horizontal, meridional and zonal circulations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hu, Shujuan; Cheng, Jianbo; Xu, Ming; Chou, Jifan

    2018-04-01

    The three-pattern decomposition of global atmospheric circulation (TPDGAC) partitions three-dimensional (3D) atmospheric circulation into horizontal, meridional and zonal components to study the 3D structures of global atmospheric circulation. This paper incorporates the three-pattern decomposition model (TPDM) into primitive equations of atmospheric dynamics and establishes a new set of dynamical equations of the horizontal, meridional and zonal circulations in which the operator properties are studied and energy conservation laws are preserved, as in the primitive equations. The physical significance of the newly established equations is demonstrated. Our findings reveal that the new equations are essentially the 3D vorticity equations of atmosphere and that the time evolution rules of the horizontal, meridional and zonal circulations can be described from the perspective of 3D vorticity evolution. The new set of dynamical equations includes decomposed expressions that can be used to explore the source terms of large-scale atmospheric circulation variations. A simplified model is presented to demonstrate the potential applications of the new equations for studying the dynamics of the Rossby, Hadley and Walker circulations. The model shows that the horizontal air temperature anomaly gradient (ATAG) induces changes in meridional and zonal circulations and promotes the baroclinic evolution of the horizontal circulation. The simplified model also indicates that the absolute vorticity of the horizontal circulation is not conserved, and its changes can be described by changes in the vertical vorticities of the meridional and zonal circulations. Moreover, the thermodynamic equation shows that the induced meridional and zonal circulations and advection transport by the horizontal circulation in turn cause a redistribution of the air temperature. The simplified model reveals the fundamental rules between the evolution of the air temperature and the horizontal, meridional

  4. Theoretical and experimental zonal drift velocities of the ionospheric plasma bubbles over the Brazilian region

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arruda, Daniela C. S.; Sobral, J. H. A.; Abdu, M. A.; Castilho, Vivian M.; Takahashi, H.; Medeiros, A. F.; Buriti, R. A.

    2006-01-01

    This work presents equatorial ionospheric plasma bubble zonal drift velocity observations and their comparison with model calculations. The bubble zonal velocities were measured using airglow OI630 nm all-sky digital images and the model calculations were performed taking into account flux-tube integrated Pedersen conductivity and conductivity weighted neutral zonal winds. The digital images were obtained from an all-sky imaging system operated over the low-latitude station Cachoeira Paulista (Geogr. 22.5S, 45W, dip angle 31.5S) during the period from October 1998 to August 2000. Out of the 138 nights of imager observation, 29 nights with the presence of plasma bubbles are used in this study. These 29 nights correspond to geomagnetically rather quiet days (∑K P hours, the calculated zonal drift velocities were found to be larger than the experimental values. The best matching between the calculated and observed zonal velocities were seen to be for a few hours around midnight. The model calculation showed two humps around 20 LT and 24 LT that were not present in the data. Average decelerations obtained from linear regression between 20 LT and 24 LT were found to be: (a) Spring 1998, -8.61 ms -1 h -1; (b) Summer 1999, -0.59 ms -1 h -1; (c) Spring 1999, -11.72 ms -1 h -1; and (d) Summer 2000, -8.59 ms -1 h -1. Notice that Summer and Winter here correspond to southern hemisphere Summer and Winter, not northern hemisphere.

  5. Changes in equatorial zonal circulations and precipitation in the context of the global warming and natural modes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, B. H.; Ha, K. J.

    2017-12-01

    The strengthening and westward shift of Pacific Walker Circulation (PWC) is observed during the recent decades. However, the relative roles of global warming and natural variability on the change in PWC unclearly remain. By conducting numerical atmospheric general circulation model (AGCM) experiments using the spatial SST patterns in the global warming and natural modes which are obtained by the multi-variate EOF analysis from three variables including precipitation, sea surface temperature (SST), and divergent zonal wind, we indicated that the westward shift and strengthening of PWC are caused by the global warming SST pattern in the global warming mode and the negative Interdecadal Pacific Oscillation-like SST pattern in the natural mode. The SST distribution of the Pacific Ocean (PO) has more influence on the changes in equatorial zonal circulations and tropical precipitation than that of the Indian Ocean (IO) and Atlantic Ocean (AO). The change in precipitation is also related to the equatorial zonal circulations variation through the upward and downward motions of the circulations. The IO and AO SST anomalies in the global warming mode can affect on the changes in equatorial zonal circulations, but the influence of PO SST disturbs the Indian Walker circulation and Atlantic Walker circulation changes by the IO and AO. The zonal shift of PWC is found to be highly associated with a zonal gradient of SST over the PO through the idealized numerical AGCM experiments and predictions of CMIP5 models.

  6. Heparin as a pharmacologic intervention to induce positive scintiscan in occult gastrointestinal bleeding

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chaudhuri, T.K.; Brantly, M.

    1984-01-01

    The value of using heparin as a pharmacologic intervention to induce a positive scintiscan was studied in a patient with chronic occult gastrointestinal bleeding. When all standard diagnostic tests (upper and lower gastrointestinal series, upper and lower endoscopy, and conventional noninterventional Tc-99m RBC imaging) fail to detect and localize gastrointestinal bleeding in a patient who has definite clinical evidence (guaiac positive stool and dropping hemoglobin, hematocrit) of chronic occult gastrointestinal oozing, heparin may be used (with proper precaution) as a last resort to aid in the scintigraphic detection and localization of chronic occult gastrointestinal bleeding

  7. Prevalence of occult hepatitis B virus infection in haemodialysis patients from central Greece

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mina, Paraskevi; Georgiadou, Sarah P; Rizos, Christos; Dalekos, George N; Rigopoulou, Eirini I

    2010-01-01

    AIM: To assess the hepatitis B virus (HBV)-DNA and the prevalence of occult HBV infection in end-stage renal failure (ESRF) patients from Central Greece. METHODS: Sera from 366 ESRF patients attending five out of six dialysis units from Central Greece were investigated for HBV-DNA by real-time polymerase chain reaction. Only serum samples with repeatedly detectable HBV-DNA were considered positive. IgG antibodies to hepatitis C virus (anti-HCV) were tested by a third generation enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), while IgG antibodies to hepatitis E virus (anti-HEV) were tested by two commercially available ELISAs. RESULTS: HBV-DNA was detected in 15/366 patients (4.1%) and HBsAg in 20/366 (5.5%). The prevalence of occult HBV infection was 0.9% (3/346 HBsAg-negative patients). Occult HBV was not associated with a specific marker of HBV infection or anti-HCV or anti-HEV reactivity. There was no significant difference in HBV-DNA titres, demographic and biochemical features, between patients with occult HBV infection and those with HBsAg-positive chronic HBV infection. CONCLUSION: In central Greece, 4% of ESRF patients had detectable HBV-DNA, though in this setting, the prevalence of occult HBV seems to be very low (0.9%). PMID:20066742

  8. Currents, HF Radio-derived, Monterey Bay, Normal Model, Zonal, EXPERIMENTAL

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The data is the zonal component of ocean surface currents derived from High Frequency Radio-derived measurements, with missing values filled in by a normal model....

  9. Currents, HF Radio-derived, Monterey Bay, 25 hr, Zonal, EXPERIMENTAL

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The data is the 25 hour running average of the zonal component of ocean surface currents derived from High Frequency Radio-derived measurements. THIS IS AN...

  10. Currents, HF Radio-derived, Ano Nuevo, 25 hr, Zonal, EXPERIMENTAL

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The data is the 25 hour running average of the zonal component of ocean surface currents derived from High Frequency Radio-derived measurements. THIS IS AN...

  11. Currents, HF Radio-derived, SF Bay, 25 hr, Zonal, EXPERIMENTAL

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The data is the 25 hour running average of the zonal component of ocean surface currents derived from High Frequency Radio-derived measurements. THIS IS AN...

  12. Currents, HF Radio-derived, SF Bay, 1 hr, Zonal, EXPERIMENTAL

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The data is the 1 hour average of the zonal component of ocean surface currents derived from High Frequency Radio-derived measurements. THIS IS AN EXPERIMENTAL...

  13. Currents, HF Radio-derived, Bodega Bay, 1 hr, Zonal, EXPERIMENTAL

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The data is the 1 hour average of the zonal component of ocean surface currents derived from High Frequency Radio-derived measurements. THIS IS AN EXPERIMENTAL...

  14. On the wave forcing of the semi-annual zonal wind oscillation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nagpal, O. P.; Raghavarao, R.

    1991-01-01

    Observational evidence of rather large period waves (23-60 d) in the troposphere/stratosphere, particularly during the winter months, is presented. Wind data collected on a regular basis employing high-altitude balloons and meteorological rockets over the past few years are used. Maximum entropy methods applied to the time series of zonal wind data indicate the presence of 23-60-waves more prominently than shorter-period waves. The waves have substantial amplitudes in the stratosphere and lower mesosphere, often larger than those noted in the troposphere. The mean zonal wind in the troposphere (5-15 km altitude) during December, January, and February exhibits the presence of strong westerlies at latitudes between 8 and 21 deg N.

  15. GOZCARDS Source Data for Temperature Monthly Zonal Averages on a Geodetic Latitude and Pressure Grid V1.00

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The GOZCARDS Source Data for Temperature Monthly Zonal Averages on a Geodetic Latitude and Pressure Grid product (GozSmlpT) contains zonal means and related...

  16. First Ionospheric Results From the MAVEN Radio Occultation Science Experiment (ROSE)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Withers, Paul; Felici, M.; Mendillo, M.; Moore, L.; Narvaez, C.; Vogt, M. F.; Jakosky, B. M.

    2018-05-01

    Radio occultation observations of the ionosphere of Mars can span the full vertical extent of the ionosphere, in contrast to in situ measurements that rarely sample the main region of the ionosphere. However, most existing radio occultation electron density profiles from Mars were acquired without clear context for the solar forcing or magnetospheric conditions, which presents challenges for the interpretation of these profiles. Here we present 48 ionospheric electron density profiles acquired by the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN mission (MAVEN) Radio Occultation Science Experiment (ROSE) from 5 July 2016 to 27 June 2017 at solar zenith angles of 54° to 101°. Latitude coverage is excellent, and comprehensive context for the interpretation of these profiles is provided by other MAVEN instruments. The profiles show a 9-km increase in ionospheric peak altitude in January 2017 that is associated with a lower atmospheric dust storm, variations in electron densities in the M1 layer that cannot be explained by variations in the solar soft X-ray flux, and topside electron densities that are larger in strongly magnetized regions than in weakly magnetized regions. MAVEN Radio Occultation Science Experiment electron density profiles are publicly available on the NASA Planetary Data System.

  17. Occult hepatitis B virus among the patients with abnormal alanine transaminase.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Makvandi, Manoochehr; Neisi, Niloofar; Khalafkhany, Davod; Makvandi, Kamyar; Hajiani, Eskandar; Shayesteh, Ali Akbar; Masjedi Zadeh, Abdolrahim; Sina, Amir Hosein; Hamidifard, Mojtaba; Rasti, Mojtaba; Aryan, Ehsan; Ahmadi, Kambiz; Yad Yad, Mohammad Jafar

    2014-08-01

    The occult hepatitis B infection (OBI) is defined as the presence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA in the sera or in the liver biopsy and the absence of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) by serological test. The current study aimed to evaluate the occult HBV infection by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and determine HBV genotyping among the patients with abnormal alanine transaminase (ALT) in Ahvaz city, Iran. The sera of 120 patients, 54 (45%) females and 66 (55%) males, with abnormal ALT 40-152 IU were collected. All the patients were negative for HBsAg for more than one year. The patients` sera were tested by PCR using primers specified for the S region of HBV. Then the positive PCR products were sequenced to determine HBV genotyping and phylogenic tree. Of these 120 subjects, 12 (10%) patients including 6 (5%) males and 6 (5%) females were found positive for HBV DNA by PCR, which indicated the presence of occult HBV infection among these patients. The sequencing results revealed that genotype D was predominant with sub-genotyping D1 among OBI patients. Occult hepatitis B infection is remarkably prevalent in Ahvaz, Iran, and should be considered as a potential risk factor for the transmission of Hepatitis B Virus throughout the community by the carriers.

  18. GOZCARDS Source Data for Ozone Monthly Zonal Means on a Geodetic Latitude and Pressure Grid V1.01

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The GOZCARDS Source Data for Ozone Monthly Zonal Averages on a Geodetic Latitude and Pressure Grid product (GozSmlpO3) contains zonal means and related information...

  19. GOZCARDS Merged Data for Ozone Monthly Zonal Means on a Geodetic Latitude and Pressure Grid V1.01

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The GOZCARDS Merged Data for Ozone Monthly Zonal Averages on a Geodetic Latitude and Pressure Grid product (GozMmlpO3) contains zonal means and related information...

  20. MPIRUN: A Portable Loader for Multidisciplinary and Multi-Zonal Applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fineberg, Samuel A.; Woodrow, Thomas S. (Technical Monitor)

    1994-01-01

    Multidisciplinary and multi-zonal applications are an important class of applications in the area of Computational Aerosciences. In these codes, two or more distinct parallel programs or copies of a single program are utilized to model a single problem. To support such applications, it is common to use a programming model where a program is divided into several single program multiple data stream (SPMD) applications, each of which solves the equations for a single physical discipline or grid zone. These SPMD applications are then bound together to form a single multidisciplinary or multi-zonal program in which the constituent parts communicate via point-to-point message passing routines. One method for implementing the message passing portion of these codes is with the new Message Passing Interface (MPI) standard. Unfortunately, this standard only specifies the message passing portion of an application, but does not specify any portable mechanisms for loading an application. MPIRUN was developed to provide a portable means for loading MPI programs, and was specifically targeted at multidisciplinary and multi-zonal applications. Programs using MPIRUN for loading and MPI for message passing are then portable between all machines supported by MPIRUN. MPIRUN is currently implemented for the Intel iPSC/860, TMC CM5, IBM SP-1 and SP-2, Intel Paragon, and workstation clusters. Further, MPIRUN is designed to be simple enough to port easily to any system supporting MPI.

  1. Sensitivity of GPS occultation to the stratopause height

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Schrøder, Thomas Morville; Ao, Chi; de la Torre Juárez, Manuel

    2007-01-01

    We scrutinize temperature profiles collected with radio occultation measurement for an imprint of the stratopause. In the retrieval step that integrates bending angle data to atmospheric refractivity, the falloff toward infinite altitude is constrained in a boundary condition with statistical opt...... rate, not isothermal conditions. Keeping the model seed for temperature conversion to subsequent retrieval steps eliminates external information from the deconvolved refractivity. It will help argue for radio occultation as independent vehicle for climate monitoring....... height gradient. On the basis of noise free simulation using a climatology covering all latitudes, seasons, and hours and on the basis of validation against data collected with weather balloons, laser imaging, and limb sounding, we find that adaptation to the fluctuating stratopause is crucial...

  2. Predicting temperature and moisture distributions in conditioned spaces using the zonal approach

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mendonca, K.C. [Parana Pontifical Catholic Univ., Curitiba (Brazil); Wurtz, E.; Inard, C. [La Rochelle Univ., La Rochelle, Cedex (France). LEPTAB

    2005-07-01

    Moisture interacts with building elements in a number of different ways that impact upon building performance, causing deterioration of building materials, as well as contributing to poor indoor air quality. In humid climates, moisture represents one of the major loads in conditioned spaces. It is therefore important to understand and model moisture transport accurately. This paper discussed an intermediate zonal approach to building a library of data in order to predict whole hygrothermal behavior in conditioned rooms. The zonal library included 2 models in order to consider building envelope moisture buffering effects as well as taking into account the dynamic aspect of jet airflow in the zonal method. The zonal library was then applied to a case study to show the impact of external humidity on the whole hygrothermal performance of a room equipped with a vertical fan-coil unit. The proposed theory was structured into 3 groups representing 3 building domains: indoor air; envelope; and heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems. The indoor air sub-model related to indoor air space, where airflow speed was considered to be low. The envelope sub-model related to the radiation exchanges between the envelope and its environment as well as to the heat and mass transfers through the envelope material. The HVAC system sub-model referred to the whole system including equipment, control and specific airflow from the equipment. All the models were coupled into SPARK, where the resulting set of non-linear equations were solved simultaneously. A case study of a large office conditioned by a vertical fan-coil unit with a rectangular air supply diffuser was presented. Details of the building's external and internal environment were provided, as well as convective heat and mass transfer coefficients and temperature distributions versus time. Results of the study indicated that understanding building material moisture buffering effects is as important as

  3. Lunar occultation observation of μ Sgr: A progress report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jatmiko, A. T. P. [Bosscha Observatory, Institut Teknologi Bandung (Indonesia); Puannandra, G. P.; Hapsari, R. D.; Putri, R. A.; Arifin, Z. M.; Haans, G. K.; Hadiputrawan, I. P. W. [Bosscha Observatory, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Indonesia and Astronomy Study Program, Institut Teknologi Bandung (Indonesia)

    2014-03-24

    Lunar Occultation (LO) is an event where limb of the Moon passing over a particular heavenly bodies such as stars, asteroids, or planets. In other words, during the event, stars, asteroids and planets are occulted by the Moon. When occulted objects contact the lunar limb, there will be a diffraction fringe(s) which can be measured photometrically, until the signal vanishes into noise. This event will give us a valuable information about binarities (of stars) and/or angular diameters estimation (of stars, planets, asteroids) in milliarcsecond resolution, by fitting with theoretical LO pattern. CCDs are common for LO observation because of its fast read out, and recently are developed for sub-meter class telescope. In this paper, our LO observation attempt of μ Sgr and its progress report are presented. The observation was conducted on July 30{sup th}, 2012 at Bosscha Observatory, Indonesia, using 45cm f/12 GOTO telescope combined with ST-9 XE CCD camera and Bessel B filter. We used drift-scan method to obtain light curve of the star as it was disappearing behind Moon's dark limb. Our goal is to detect binarity (or multiplicity) of this particular object.

  4. Gyrokinetic simulations in general geometry and applications to collisional damping of zonal flows

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lin, Z.; Hahm, T.S.; Lee, W.W.; Tang, W.M.; White, R.B.

    2000-01-01

    A fully three-dimensional gyrokinetic particle code using magnetic coordinates for general geometry has been developed and applied to the investigation of zonal flows dynamics in toroidal ion-temperature-gradient turbulence. Full torus simulation results support the important conclusion that turbulence-driven zonal flows significantly reduce the turbulent transport. Linear collisionless simulations for damping of an initial poloidal flow perturbation exhibit an asymptotic residual flow. The collisional damping of this residual causes the dependence of ion thermal transport on the ion-ion collision frequency even in regimes where the instabilities are collisionless

  5. Self-generated zonal flows in the plasma turbulence driven by trapped-ion and trapped-electron instabilities

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Drouot, T.; Gravier, E.; Reveille, T.; Collard, M. [Institut Jean Lamour, UMR 7198 CNRS - Université de Lorraine, 54 506 Vandoeuvre-lès-Nancy Cedex (France)

    2015-10-15

    This paper presents a study of zonal flows generated by trapped-electron mode and trapped-ion mode micro turbulence as a function of two plasma parameters—banana width and electron temperature. For this purpose, a gyrokinetic code considering only trapped particles is used. First, an analytical equation giving the predicted level of zonal flows is derived from the quasi-neutrality equation of our model, as a function of the density fluctuation levels and the banana widths. Then, the influence of the banana width on the number of zonal flows occurring in the system is studied using the gyrokinetic code. Finally, the impact of the temperature ratio T{sub e}/T{sub i} on the reduction of zonal flows is shown and a close link is highlighted between reduction and different gyro-and-bounce-average ion and electron density fluctuation levels. This reduction is found to be due to the amplitudes of gyro-and-bounce-average density perturbations n{sub e} and n{sub i} gradually becoming closer, which is in agreement with the analytical results given by the quasi-neutrality equation.

  6. Occult pneumothorax in trauma patients: should this be sought in the focused assessment with sonography for trauma examination?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tam, Michael M K

    2005-01-01

    At present, CT scan is the gold standard for detecting occult traumatic pneumothorax not apparent on supine chest X-ray radiograph. Recently there were suggestions to expand focused assessment with sonography for trauma (FAST) to include thoracic ultrasound for detecting pneumothorax. The aim of the present study is to determine the incidence of occult pneumothorax (as shown by CT) in the subgroup of trauma patients undergoing FAST. Review of all trauma patients with FAST done from 1 June 2001 to 31 October 2002. Incidence of occult pneumothorax as diagnosed by CT was determined. Patients were not counted as having true occult pneumothorax if they had chest drains inserted before arrival or imaging studies. Selected clinical findings were tested for association with occult pneumothorax. In total, 143 patients underwent FAST, of whom 137 (95.8%) had chest X-ray examination performed. Of the 137 patients 59 required CT abdomen and/or thorax. Occult pneumothorax was found in three patients (2.1%). A history of thorax and/or abdominal injury plus one or more of: (i) mechanisms potentially causing major trauma; (ii) abnormal chest examination; and (iii) chest X-ray radiograph abnormality in the absence of pneumothorax, was significantly associated with the presence of occult pneumothorax (P = 0.03, Fisher's exact test; sensitivity: 100%; specificity: 71%; likelihood ratio: 3.42). The incidence of occult pneumothorax in the subgroup of trauma patients undergoing FAST is low. It implies that routine screening for its presence by adding thoracic ultrasound to FAST is unnecessary. Identifying those at risk of occult pneumothorax for further investigation appeared feasible.

  7. Nonlinear saturation of the slab ITG instability and zonal flow generation with fully kinetic ions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miecnikowski, Matthew T.; Sturdevant, Benjamin J.; Chen, Yang; Parker, Scott E.

    2018-05-01

    Fully kinetic turbulence models are of interest for their potential to validate or replace gyrokinetic models in plasma regimes where the gyrokinetic expansion parameters are marginal. Here, we demonstrate fully kinetic ion capability by simulating the growth and nonlinear saturation of the ion-temperature-gradient instability in shearless slab geometry assuming adiabatic electrons and including zonal flow dynamics. The ion trajectories are integrated using the Lorentz force, and the cyclotron motion is fully resolved. Linear growth and nonlinear saturation characteristics show excellent agreement with analogous gyrokinetic simulations across a wide range of parameters. The fully kinetic simulation accurately reproduces the nonlinearly generated zonal flow. This work demonstrates nonlinear capability, resolution of weak gradient drive, and zonal flow physics, which are critical aspects of modeling plasma turbulence with full ion dynamics.

  8. A zonal wavefront sensor with multiple detector planes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pathak, Biswajit; Boruah, Bosanta R.

    2018-03-01

    A conventional zonal wavefront sensor estimates the wavefront from the data captured in a single detector plane using a single camera. In this paper, we introduce a zonal wavefront sensor which comprises multiple detector planes instead of a single detector plane. The proposed sensor is based on an array of custom designed plane diffraction gratings followed by a single focusing lens. The laser beam whose wavefront is to be estimated is incident on the grating array and one of the diffracted orders from each grating is focused on the detector plane. The setup, by employing a beam splitter arrangement, facilitates focusing of the diffracted beams on multiple detector planes where multiple cameras can be placed. The use of multiple cameras in the sensor can offer several advantages in the wavefront estimation. For instance, the proposed sensor can provide superior inherent centroid detection accuracy that can not be achieved by the conventional system. It can also provide enhanced dynamic range and reduced crosstalk performance. We present here the results from a proof of principle experimental arrangement that demonstrate the advantages of the proposed wavefront sensing scheme.

  9. Amplification and protein overexpression of cyclin D1: Predictor of occult nodal metastasis in early oral cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Noorlag, Rob; Boeve, Koos; Witjes, Max J H; Koole, Ronald; Peeters, Ton L M; Schuuring, Ed; Willems, Stefan M; van Es, Robert J J

    2017-02-01

    Accurate nodal staging is pivotal for treatment planning in early (stage I-II) oral cancer. Unfortunately, current imaging modalities lack sensitivity to detect occult nodal metastases. Chromosomal region 11q13, including genes CCND1, Fas-associated death domain (FADD), and CTTN, is often amplified in oral cancer with nodal metastases. However, evidence in predicting occult nodal metastases is limited. In 158 patients with early tongue and floor of mouth (FOM) squamous cell carcinomas, both CCND1 amplification and cyclin D1, FADD, and cortactin protein expression were correlated with occult nodal metastases. CCND1 amplification and cyclin D1 expression correlated with occult nodal metastases. Cyclin D1 expression was validated in an independent multicenter cohort, confirming the correlation with occult nodal metastases in early FOM cancers. Cyclin D1 is a predictive biomarker for occult nodal metastases in early FOM cancers. Prospective research on biopsy material should confirm these results before implementing its use in routine clinical practice. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck 39: 326-333, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  10. Changes to Saturn's zonal-mean tropospheric thermal structure after the 2010-2011 northern hemisphere storm

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Achterberg, R. K.; Hesman, B. E. [Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742 (United States); Gierasch, P. J.; Conrath, B. J. [Department of Astronomy, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853 (United States); Fletcher, L. N. [Atmospheric Oceanic and Planetary Physics, University of Oxford, Clarenden Laboratory, Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PU (United Kingdom); Bjoraker, G. L.; Flasar, F. M., E-mail: Richard.K.Achterberg@nasa.gov [Planetary Systems Laboratory NASA/GSFC, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (United States)

    2014-05-10

    We use far-infrared (20-200 μm) data from the Composite Infrared Spectrometer on the Cassini spacecraft to determine the zonal-mean temperature and hydrogen para-fraction in Saturn's upper troposphere from observations taken before and after the large northern hemisphere storm in 2010-2011. During the storm, zonal mean temperatures in the latitude band between approximately 25°N and 45°N (planetographic latitude) increased by about 3 K, while the zonal mean hydrogen para-fraction decreased by about 0.04 over the same latitudes, at pressures greater than about 300 mbar. These changes occurred over the same latitude range as the disturbed cloud band seen in visible images. The observations are consistent with low para-fraction gas being brought up from the level of the water cloud by the strong convective plume associated with the storm, while being heated by condensation of water vapor, and then advected zonally by the winds near the plume tops in the upper troposphere.

  11. Occult Pelvic Lymph Node Involvement in Bladder Cancer: Implications for Definitive Radiation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Goldsmith, Benjamin; Baumann, Brian C.; He, Jiwei; Tucker, Kai; Bekelman, Justin; Deville, Curtiland; Vapiwala, Neha [Department of Radiation Oncology, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (United States); Vaughn, David; Keefe, Stephen M. [Department of Medical Oncology, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (United States); Guzzo, Thomas; Malkowicz, S. Bruce [Department of Urology, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (United States); Christodouleas, John P., E-mail: christojo@uphs.upenn.edu [Department of Radiation Oncology, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (United States)

    2014-03-01

    Purpose: To inform radiation treatment planning for clinically staged, node-negative bladder cancer patients by identifying clinical factors associated with the presence and location of occult pathologic pelvic lymph nodes. Methods and Materials: The records of patients with clinically staged T1-T4N0 urothelial carcinoma of the bladder undergoing radical cystectomy and pelvic lymphadenectomy at a single institution were reviewed. Logistic regression was used to evaluate associations between preoperative clinical variables and occult pathologic pelvic or common iliac lymph nodes. Percentages of patient with involved lymph node regions entirely encompassed within whole bladder (perivesicular nodal region), small pelvic (perivesicular, obturator, internal iliac, and external iliac nodal regions), and extended pelvic clinical target volume (CTV) (small pelvic CTV plus common iliac regions) were calculated. Results: Among 315 eligible patients, 81 (26%) were found to have involved pelvic lymph nodes at the time of surgery, with 38 (12%) having involved common iliac lymph nodes. Risk of occult pathologically involved lymph nodes did not vary with clinical T stage. On multivariate analysis, the presence of lymphovascular invasion (LVI) on preoperative biopsy was significantly associated with occult pelvic nodal involvement (odds ratio 3.740, 95% confidence interval 1.865-7.499, P<.001) and marginally associated with occult common iliac nodal involvement (odds ratio 2.307, 95% confidence interval 0.978-5.441, P=.056). The percentages of patients with involved lymph node regions entirely encompassed by whole bladder, small pelvic, and extended pelvic CTVs varied with clinical risk factors, ranging from 85.4%, 95.1%, and 100% in non-muscle-invasive patients to 44.7%, 71.1%, and 94.8% in patients with muscle-invasive disease and biopsy LVI. Conclusions: Occult pelvic lymph node rates are substantial for all clinical subgroups, especially patients with LVI on biopsy. Extended

  12. Multi-scale-nonlinear interactions among macro-MHD mode, micro-turbulence, and zonal flow

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ishizawa, Akihiro; Nakajima, Noriyoshi

    2007-01-01

    This is the first numerical simulation demonstrating that macro-magnetohydrodynamic (macro-MHD) mode is exited as a result of multi-scale interaction in a quasi-steady equilibrium formed by a balance between zonal flow and micro-turbulence via reduced-two-fluid simulation. Only after obtaining the equilibrium which includes zonal flow and the turbulence caused by kinetic ballooning mode is this simulation of macro-MHD mode, double tearing mode, accomplished. In the quasi-steady equilibrium a macro-fluctuation which has the same helicity as that of double tearing mode is a part of the turbulence until it grows as a macro-MHD mode finally. When the macro-MHD grows it effectively utilize free energy of equilibrium current density gradient because of positive feedback loop between suppression of zonal flow and growth of the macro-fluctuation causing magnetic reconnection. Thus once the macro-MHD grows from the quasi-equilibrium, it does not go back. This simulation is more comparable with experimental observation of growing macro-fluctuation than traditional MHD simulation of linear instabilities in a static equilibrium. (author)

  13. Occult Hepatitis B Virus Among the Patients With Abnormal Alanine Transaminase

    Science.gov (United States)

    Makvandi, Manoochehr; Neisi, Niloofar; Khalafkhany, Davod; Makvandi, Kamyar; Hajiani, Eskandar; Shayesteh, Ali Akbar; Masjedi Zadeh, Abdolrahim; Sina, Amir Hosein; Hamidifard, Mojtaba; Rasti, Mojtaba; Aryan, Ehsan; Ahmadi, Kambiz; Yad Yad, Mohammad Jafar

    2014-01-01

    Background: The occult hepatitis B infection (OBI) is defined as the presence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) DNA in the sera or in the liver biopsy and the absence of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) by serological test. Objectives: The current study aimed to evaluate the occult HBV infection by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and determine HBV genotyping among the patients with abnormal alanine transaminase (ALT) in Ahvaz city, Iran. Patients and Methods: The sera of 120 patients, 54 (45%) females and 66 (55%) males, with abnormal ALT 40-152 IU were collected. All the patients were negative for HBsAg for more than one year. The patients` sera were tested by PCR using primers specified for the S region of HBV. Then the positive PCR products were sequenced to determine HBV genotyping and phylogenic tree. Results: Of these 120 subjects, 12 (10%) patients including 6 (5%) males and 6 (5%) females were found positive for HBV DNA by PCR, which indicated the presence of occult HBV infection among these patients. The sequencing results revealed that genotype D was predominant with sub-genotyping D1 among OBI patients. Conclusions: Occult hepatitis B infection is remarkably prevalent in Ahvaz, Iran, and should be considered as a potential risk factor for the transmission of Hepatitis B Virus throughout the community by the carriers. PMID:25485052

  14. Zonal Detached-Eddy Simulation of Turbulent Unsteady Flow over Iced Airfoils

    KAUST Repository

    Zhang, Yue

    2015-07-23

    This paper presentsamultiscale finite-element formulation for the second modeofzonal detached-eddy simulation. The multiscale formulation corrects the lack of stability of the standard Galerkin formulation by incorporating the effect of unresolved scales to the grid (resolved) scales. The stabilization terms arise naturally and are free of userdefined stability parameters. Validation of the method is accomplished via the turbulent flow over tandem cylinders. The boundary-layer separation, free shear-layer rollup, vortex shedding from the upstream cylinder, and interaction with the downstream cylinder are well reproduced. Good agreement with experimental measurements gives credence to the accuracy of zonal detached-eddy simulation in modeling turbulent separated flows. A comprehensive study is then conducted on the performance degradation of ice-contaminated airfoils. NACA 23012 airfoil with a spanwise ice ridge and Gates Learjet Corporation-305 airfoil with a leading-edge horn-shape glaze ice are selected for investigation. Appropriate spanwise domain size and sufficient grid density are determined to enhance the reliability of the simulations. A comparison of lift coefficient and flowfield variables demonstrates the added advantage that the zonal detached-eddy simulation model brings to the Spalart-Allmaras turbulence model. Spectral analysis and instantaneous visualization of turbulent structures are also highlighted via zonal detached-eddy simulation. Copyright © 2015 by the CFD Lab of McGill University. Published by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc.

  15. GOZCARDS Merged Data for Hydrogen Chloride Monthly Zonal Means on a Geodetic Latitude and Pressure Grid V1.01

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The GOZCARDS Merged Data for Hydrogen Chloride Monthly Zonal Averages on a Geodetic Latitude and Pressure Grid product (GozMmlpHCl) contains zonal means and related...

  16. Histopathological Parameters predicting Occult Nodal Metastases in Tongue Carcinoma Cases: An Indian Perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jacob, Tina Elizabeth; Malathi, N; Rajan, Sharada T; Augustine, Dominic; Manish, N; Patil, Shankargouda

    2016-01-01

    It is a well-established fact that in squamous cell carcinoma cases, the presence of lymph node metastases decreased the 5-year survival rate by 50% and also caused the recurrence of the primary tumor with development of distant metastases. Till date, the predictive factors for occult cervical lymph nodes metastases in cases of tongue squamous cell carcinoma remain inconclusive. Therefore, it is imperative to identify patients who are at the greatest risk for occult cervical metastases. This study was thus performed with the aim to identify various histopathologic parameters of the primary tumor that predict occult nodal metastases. The clinicopathologic features of 56 cases of lateral tongue squamous cell carcinoma with cT1NoMo/cT2NoMo as the stage and without prior radiotherapy or chemotherapy were considered. The surgical excision of primary tumor was followed by elective neck dissection. The glossectomy specimen along with the neck nodes were fixed in formalin and 5 urn thick sections were obtained. The hematoxylin & eosin stained sections were then subjected to microscopic examination. The primary tumor characteristics that were analyzed include tumor grade, invading front, depth of tumor, lymphovascular invasion, perineural invasion and inflammatory response. The nodes were examined for possible metastases using hematoxylin & eosin followed by cytokeratin immunohistochemistry. A total of 12 cases were found with positive occult nodal metastases. On performing univariate analysis, the histopathologic parameters that were found to be statistically significant were lymphovascular invasion (p = 0.004) and perineural invasion (p = 0.003) along with a cut-off depth of infiltration more than 5 mm (p = 0.01). Histopathologic assessment of the primary tumor specimen therefore continues to provide information that is central to guide clinical management, particularly in cases of occult nodal metastases. Clinical significance The study highlights the importance of

  17. Representation of the tropical stratospheric zonal wind in global atmospheric reanalyses

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Y. Kawatani

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available This paper reports on a project to compare the representation of the monthly-mean zonal wind in the equatorial stratosphere among major global atmospheric reanalysis data sets. The degree of disagreement among the reanalyses is characterized by the standard deviation (SD of the monthly-mean zonal wind and this depends on latitude, longitude, height, and the phase of the quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO. At each height the SD displays a prominent equatorial maximum, indicating the particularly challenging nature of the reanalysis problem in the low-latitude stratosphere. At 50–70 hPa the geographical distributions of SD are closely related to the density of radiosonde observations. The largest SD values are over the central Pacific, where few in situ observations are available. At 10–20 hPa the spread among the reanalyses and differences with in situ observations both depend significantly on the QBO phase. Notably the easterly-to-westerly phase transitions in all the reanalyses except MERRA are delayed relative to those directly observed in Singapore. In addition, the timing of the easterly-to-westerly phase transitions displays considerable variability among the different reanalyses and this spread is much larger than for the timing of the westerly-to-easterly phase changes. The eddy component in the monthly-mean zonal wind near the Equator is dominated by zonal wavenumber 1 and 2 quasi-stationary planetary waves propagating from midlatitudes in the westerly phase of the QBO. There generally is considerable disagreement among the reanalyses in the details of the quasi-stationary waves near the Equator. At each level, there is a tendency for the agreement to be best near the longitude of Singapore, suggesting that the Singapore observations act as a strong constraint on all the reanalyses. Our measures of the quality of the reanalysis clearly show systematic improvement over the period considered (1979–2012. The SD among the reanalysis

  18. GOZCARDS Source Data for Nitric Acid Monthly Zonal Means on a Geodetic Latitude and Pressure Grid V1.01

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The GOZCARDS Source Data for Nitric Acid Monthly Zonal Averages on a Geodetic Latitude and Pressure Grid product (GozSmlpHNO3) contains zonal means and related...

  19. GOZCARDS Merged Data for Nitric Acid Monthly Zonal Means on a Geodetic Latitude and Pressure Grid V1.01

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The GOZCARDS Merged Data for Nitric Acid Monthly Zonal Averages on a Geodetic Latitude and Pressure Grid product (GozMmlpHNO3) contains zonal means and related...

  20. Treatment for occult hepatocellular carcinoma: does it offer survival advantages over symptom-driven treatment?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Kwang Min; Kim, Jiyu; Sinn, Dong Hyun; Kim, Hye Seung; Kim, Kyunga; Kang, Wonseok; Gwak, Geum-Youn; Paik, Yong-Han; Choi, Moon Seok; Lee, Joon Hyeok; Koh, Kwang Cheol; Paik, Seung Woon

    2018-04-03

    In order to claim a benefit of screen-based diagnosis for asymptomatic individuals, treatment of occult disease needs to offer survival advantages compared to the treatment of symptomatic disease, yet information on this issue is scarce with regard to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) screening. A total of 3353 treatment-naïve, consecutive, newly diagnosed HCC patients [age: 57.9 ± 10.3, male: 2,689 (80.2%), hepatitis B virus: 2555 (76.2%)], diagnosed between 2010 and 2013 were analyzed. Data on the mode of detection was prospectively collected at the time of HCC diagnosis and was used to group patients into occult or symptomatic cases. Overall, 643 (19.2%) patients were symptomatic cases. The proportion of patients undergoing resection, radiofrequency ablation or transplantation were lower in symptomatic cases than occult cases (20.8 vs. 56.2%, p offered a survival benefit to patients over symptomatic cases. These data support screening practices for asymptomatic individuals to diagnose occult HCC.

  1. TOMS/EP UV Reflectivity Daily and Monthly Zonal Means V008

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — This data product contains TOMS/EP UV Reflectivity Daily and Monthly Zonal Means Version 8 data in ASCII format. (The shortname for this Level-3 Earth Probe TOMS...

  2. Parasitic Diseases of Ruminants Brought to Two Zonal Veterinary ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    A five years study (2003-2007) of parasitic diseases of ruminants brought to two Zonal Veterinary clinics located in the Southern part of Niger State, Central Nigeria was carried out to establish disease patterns in cattle, sheep and goats. The study was based on the data extracted from the monthly records of parasitic disease ...

  3. Predictive factors of occult neck metastasis in patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Renato Fortes Bittar

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT INTRODUCTION: It is well established that cervical lymph node metastasis is the most important prognostic factor in patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma of the upper aerodigestive tract. The definition of parameters and classifications that could separate patients in groups of low, intermediate and high-risk is being attempted for several years. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to determine possible predictive factors related to the occurrence of occult cervical lymph node metastasis through the analysis of histopathological reports of surgical specimens obtained after oral squamous cell carcinoma resection and selective neck dissections of patients initially classified as N0. METHODS: This was a primary, retrospective, observational, case-control study. Histopathological reports were reviewed to determine if some findings were related to the occurrence of occult lymph node metastasis. The events analyzed were oral cavity subsites, pT-stage, muscular infiltration, desmoplasia, vascular emboli, perineural infiltration, tumor thickness and compromised margins. RESULTS: Occult cervical metastasis accounted for 19.10 percent of the cases. Desmoplasia, perineural infiltration, tumor thickness and pT4a stage are predictive factors of occult neck metastasis (p-value = 0.0488, 0.0326, 0.0395, 0.0488, respectively. CONCLUSION: The accurate definition of predictive factors of occult cervical metastasis may guide the selection of patients that should be referred to radiotherapy, avoiding the unnecessary exposure of low-risk patients to radiation and allowing a better regional control of the disease in those of moderate or high risk.

  4. GOZCARDS Source Data for Nitrous Oxide Monthly Zonal Means on a Geodetic Latitude and Pressure Grid V1.01

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The GOZCARDS Source Data for Nitrous Oxide Monthly Zonal Averages on a Geodetic Latitude and Pressure Grid product (GozSmlpN2O) contains zonal means and related...

  5. GOZCARDS Merged Data for Nitrous Oxide Monthly Zonal Means on a Geodetic Latitude and Pressure Grid V1.01

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The GOZCARDS Merged Data for Nitrous Oxide Monthly Zonal Averages on a Geodetic Latitude and Pressure Grid product (GozMmlpN2O) contains zonal means and related...

  6. GOZCARDS Merged Data for Water Vapor Monthly Zonal Means on a Geodetic Latitude and Pressure Grid V1.01

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The GOZCARDS Merged Data for Water Vapor Monthly Zonal Averages on a Geodetic Latitude and Pressure Grid product (GozMmlpH2O) contains zonal means and related...

  7. Cassini UVIS solar occultations by Saturn's F ring and the detection of collision-produced micron-sized dust

    Science.gov (United States)

    Becker, Tracy M.; Colwell, Joshua E.; Esposito, Larry W.; Attree, Nicholas O.; Murray, Carl D.

    2018-05-01

    We present an analysis of eleven solar occultations by Saturn's F ring observed by the Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrograph (UVIS) on the Cassini spacecraft. In four of the solar occultations we detect an unambiguous signal from diffracted sunlight that adds to the direct solar signal just before or after the occultations occur. The strongest detection was a 10% increase over the direct signal that was enabled by the accidental misalignment of the instrument's pointing. We compare the UVIS data with images of the F ring obtained by the Cassini Imaging Science Subsystem (ISS) and find that in each instance of an unambiguous diffraction signature in the UVIS data, the ISS data shows that there was a recent disturbance in that region of the F ring. Similarly, the ISS images show a quiescent region of the F ring for all solar occultations in which no diffraction signature was detected. We therefore conclude that collisions in the F ring produce a population of small ring particles that can produce a detectable diffraction signal immediately interior or exterior to the F ring. The clearest example of this connection comes from the strong detection of diffracted light in the 2007 solar occultation, when the portion of the F ring that occulted the Sun had suffered a large collisional event, likely with S/2004 S 6, several months prior. This collision was observed in a series of ISS images (Murray et al., 2008). Our spectral analysis of the data shows no significant spectral features in the F ring, indicating that the particles must be at least 0.2 μm in radius. We apply a forward model of the solar occultations, accounting for the effects of diffracted light and the attenuated direct solar signal, to model the observed solar occultation light curves. These models constrain the optical depth, radial width, and particle size distribution of the F ring. We find that when the diffraction signature is present, we can best reproduce the occultation data using a particle population

  8. Atmospheric stability index using radio occultation refractivity profiles

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    A new stability index based on atmospheric refractivity at ∼500 hPa level and surface measurements of temperature ... able at different heights rather than pressure levels. However ..... the radio occultation technique being a limb sound-.

  9. Prediction of occult hepatitis B virus infection in liver transplant donors through hepatitis B virus blood markers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tandoi, Francesco; Caviglia, Gian Paolo; Pittaluga, Fabrizia; Abate, Maria Lorena; Smedile, Antonina; Romagnoli, Renato; Salizzoni, Mauro

    2014-11-01

    Occult hepatitis B virus infection is defined as detectable HBV-DNA in liver of HBsAg-negative individuals, with or without detectable serum HBV-DNA. In deceased liver donors, results of tissue analysis cannot be obtained prior to allocation for liver transplantation. we investigated prevalence and predictability of occult hepatitis B using blood markers of viral exposure/infection in deceased liver donors. In 50 consecutive HBsAg-negative/anti-HBc-positive and 20 age-matched HBsAg-negative/anti-HBc-negative donors, a nested-PCR assay was employed in liver biopsies for diagnosis of occult hepatitis B according to Taormina criteria. All donors were characterized for plasma HBV-DNA and serum anti-HBs/anti-HBe. In liver tissue, occult hepatitis B was present in 30/50 anti-HBc-positive (60%) and in 0/20 anti-HBc-negative donors (pdonors with detectable HBV-DNA in plasma (n=5) or anti-HBs>1,000 mIU/mL (n=5) eventually showed occult infection, i.e, 10/30 occult hepatitis B-positive donors which could have been identified prior to transplantation. In the remaining 40 anti-HBc-positive donors, probability of occult infection was 62% for anti-HBe-positive and/or anti-HBs ≥ 58 mIU/mL; 29% for anti-HBe-negative and anti-HBsdonors, combining anti-HBc with other blood markers of hepatitis B exposure/infection allows to predict occult hepatitis B with certainty and speed in one third of cases. These findings might help refine the allocation of livers from anti-HBc-positive donors. Copyright © 2014 Editrice Gastroenterologica Italiana S.r.l. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. [Prevalence of occult hepatitis B virus infection and its phylogenetic features among mother-teenager pairs].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dong, Xiao-lian; Yao, Qing-qing; Wang, Xue-cai; Xu, Hai-tao; Wang, Xiao-li; Chen, Sheng-yu; Tang, Zhi-feng; Zheng, Ying-Jie

    2013-03-01

    Prevalence of occult hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection (OBI) was investigated in a paired mother-teenager population and HBV S gene variation including overt and occult HBV, was determined. A follow-up study based on an initial survey of 135 mother-teenager pairs was carried out through collection of questionnaires and blood samples HBsAg were detected by ELISA method, viral load by PCR amplification and HBV S gene by phylogenetic analysis. 102 pairs of subjects were followed-up. Blood samples from 94 mothers and 101 children were collected. OBI prevalence in mothers was 10.0% (6/60), significantly higher than 2.0% (2/101) in teenagers. Medians of viral load were 399.9 IU/ml and 247.6 IU/ml in overt and occult HBV strains, but without significant difference. 1 occult HBV strain belonged to genotype B with serotype adw while the other 7 were genotype C with serotype adr. 15 of the overt HBV strains belonged to genotype B with serotype adw and the other 8 were genotype C with serotype adr. Proportions of genotype-C strains were significantly higher in occult HBV strains than in overt HBV strains. OBI was seen in teenage-mother population.

  11. Current management of occult bacteremia in infants

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eduardo Mekitarian Filho

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available Objectives: To summarize the main clinical entities associated with fever without source (FWS in infants, as well as the clinical management of children with occult bacteremia, emphasizing laboratory tests and empirical antibiotics. Sources: A non-systematic review was conducted in the following databases – PubMed, EMBASE, and SciELO, between 2006 and 2015. Summary of the findings: The prevalence of occult bacteremia has been decreasing dramatically in the past few years, due to conjugated vaccination against Streptococcus pneumoniae and Neisseria meningitidis. Additionally, fewer requests for complete blood count and blood cultures have been made for children older than 3 months presenting with FWS. Urinary tract infection is the most prevalent bacterial infection in children with FWS. Some known algorithms, such as Boston and Rochester, can guide the initial risk stratification for occult bacteremia in febrile infants younger than 3 months. Conclusions: There is no single algorithm to estimate the risk of occult bacteremia in febrile infants, but pediatricians should strongly consider outpatient management in fully vaccinated infants older than 3 months with FWS and good general status. Updated data about the incidence of occult bacteremia in this environment after conjugated vaccination are needed. Resumo: Objetivos: Listar as principais entidades clínicas associadas a quadros de febre sem sinais localizatórios (FSSL em lactentes, bem como o manejo dos casos de bacteremia oculta com ênfase na avaliação laboratorial e na antibioticoterapia empírica. Fonte dos dados: Foi realizada revisão não sistemática da literatura nas bases de dados PubMed, EMBASE e Scielo no período de 2006 a 2015. Síntese dos dados: A ocorrência de bacteremia oculta vem diminuindo sensivelmente em lactentes com FSSL, principalmente devido à introdução da vacinação conjugada contra Streptococcus pneumoniae e Neisseria meningitidis nos últimos anos

  12. [Results of conservative treatment in patients with occult pneumothorax].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Llaquet Bayo, Heura; Montmany Vioque, Sandra; Rebasa, Pere; Navarro Soto, Salvador

    2016-04-01

    An occult pneumothorax is found in 2-15% trauma patients. Observation (without tube thoracostomy) in these patients presents still some controversies in the clinical practice. The objective of the study is to evaluate the efficacy and the adverse effects when observation is performed. A retrospective observational study was undertaken in our center (university hospital level II). Data was obtained from a database with prospective registration. A total of 1087 trauma patients admitted in the intensive care unit from 2006 to 2013 were included. In this period, 126 patients with occult pneumothorax were identified, 73 patients (58%) underwent immediate tube thoracostomy and 53 patients (42%) were observed. Nine patients (12%) failed observation and required tube thoracostomy for pneumothorax progression or hemothorax. No patient developed a tension pneumothorax or experienced another adverse event related to the absence of tube thoracostomy. Of the observed patients 16 were under positive pressure ventilation, in this group 3 patients (19%) failed observation. There were no differences in mortality, hospital length of stay or intensive care length of stay between the observed and non-observed group. Observation is a safe treatment in occult pneumothorax, even in pressure positive ventilated patients. Copyright © 2014 AEC. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

  13. Occult injuries of the femoral neck in osteoporosis of aged patients

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Reichelt, H.G.

    1985-01-01

    Fractures of the femoral neck in elderly patients are often a complication in osteoporosis. Diagnosis of fractures with displacement and compression of fragments is quite easy. The negative radiograph in old patients complaining of hip pain is generally considered a characteristic feature of presensile osteoporotic pain. Clinical examples present patients with hip pain caused by occult injuries of the femoral neck. They should be regarded as imminent fractures and adequately treated. Bone scan is very helpful in the early detection of such occult osteroporotic injuries. (orig.) [de

  14. Trio of Stellar Occultations by Pluto One Year Prior to New Horizons’ Arrival

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-04-02

    stellar signal, both with 20 s exposures with our frame-transfer Portable Occultation, Eclipse, and Transit System. Since Pluto had a geocentric velocity...and for New Horizons’s 2015 approach . For the July 31 event, though for our atmospheric studies we are glad to have detected the occultation of this

  15. A 2017 stellar occultation by Orcus/Vanth

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sickafoose, Amanda A.; Bosh, Amanda S.; Levine, Stephen; Zuluaga, Carlos A.; Genade, Anja; Schindler, Karsten; Lister, Tim; Person, Michael J.

    2017-10-01

    (90482) Orcus is a large trans-Neptunian object (TNO) of diameter ~900 km, located in the 3:2 orbital resonance with Neptune. This plutino has a satellite, Vanth, approximately 280 km in diameter. Vanth orbits roughly 9000 km from Orcus in a ~9.5-day period. This system is particularly interesting, as Orcus falls between the small, spectrally-bland TNOs and the large TNOs having spectra rich in volatile features, while Vanth might have resulted from either collision or capture.A stellar occultation by Orcus was predicted to occur on 07 March 2017. Observations were made from five sites: the 0.6-m Astronomical Telescope of the University of Stuttgart (ATUS) at Sierra Remote Observatories (SRO), California; Las Cumbres Observatory’s 1-m telescope (ELP) at McDonald Observatory, Fort Davis, Texas; NASA’s 3-m InfraRed Telescope Facility (IRTF) on Mauna Kea, Hawaii; the 4.1-m Southern Astrophysical Research telescope (SOAR) on Cerro Pachón, Chile; and the 0.6-m Southeastern Association for Research in Astronomy telescope (SARA-CT) at Cerro Tololo, Chile. High-speed, visible-wavelength images were taken at all sites, in addition to simultaneous K-band images at the IRTF. A solid-body occultation was observed at both ELP and the IRTF. Offset midtimes and incompatible light ratios suggest that two different stars were occulted by two different bodies, likely Orcus and Vanth. See Bosh et al. this conference for details of the astrometry for the event. Here, we present results from the observations, including light curves, size and albedo estimates, and upper limits on a possible atmosphere.

  16. Biomimetic multidirectional scaffolds for zonal osteochondral tissue engineering via a lyophilization bonding approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clearfield, Drew; Nguyen, Andrew; Wei, Mei

    2018-04-01

    The zonal organization of osteochondral tissue underlies its long term function. Despite this, tissue engineering strategies targeted for osteochondral repair commonly rely on the use of isotropic biomaterials for tissue reconstruction. There exists a need for a new class of highly biomimetic, anisotropic scaffolds that may allow for the engineering of new tissue with zonal properties. To address this need, we report the facile production of monolithic multidirectional collagen-based scaffolds that recapitulate the zonal structure and composition of osteochondral tissue. First, superficial and osseous zone-mimicking scaffolds were fabricated by unidirectional freeze casting collagen-hyaluronic acid and collagen-hydroxyapatite-containing suspensions, respectively. Following their production, a lyophilization bonding process was used to conjoin these scaffolds with a distinct collagen-hyaluronic acid suspension mimicking the composition of the transition zone. Resulting matrices contained a thin, highly aligned superficial zone that interfaced with a cellular transition zone and vertically oriented calcified cartilage and osseous zones. Confocal microscopy confirmed a zone-specific localization of hyaluronic acid, reflecting the depth-dependent increase of glycosaminoglycans in the native tissue. Poorly crystalline, carbonated hydroxyapatite was localized to the calcified cartilage and osseous zones and bordered the transition zone. Compressive testing of hydrated scaffold zones confirmed an increase of stiffness with scaffold depth, where compressive moduli of chondral and osseous zones fell within or near ranges conducive for chondrogenesis or osteogenesis of mesenchymal stem cells. With the combination of these biomimetic architectural and compositional cues, these multidirectional scaffolds hold great promise for the engineering of zonal osteochondral tissue. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part A: 106A: 948-958, 2018. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals

  17. Clinical value of the Ottawa ankle rules for diagnosis of fractures in acute ankle injuries.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xin Wang

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: The Ottawa ankle rules (OAR are clinical decision guidelines used to identify whether patients with ankle injuries need to undergo radiography. The OAR have been proven that their application reduces unnecessary radiography. They have nearly perfect sensitivity for identifying clinically significant ankle fractures. OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to assess the applicability of the OAR in China, to examine their accuracy for the diagnosis of fractures in patients with acute ankle sprains, and to assess their clinical utility for the detection of occult fractures. METHODS: In this prospective study, patients with acute ankle injuries were enrolled during a 6-month period. The eligible patients were examined by emergency orthopedic specialists using the OAR, and then underwent ankle radiography. The results of examination using the OAR were compared with the radiographic results to assess the accuracy of the OAR for ankle fractures. Patients with OAR results highly suggestive of fracture, but no evidence of a fracture on radiographs, were advised to undergo 3-dimensional computed tomography (3D-CT. RESULTS: 183 patients with ankle injuries were enrolled in the study and 63 of these injuries involved fractures. The pooled sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value of the OAR for detection of fractures of the ankle were 96.8%, 45.8%, 48.4% and 96.5%, respectively. Our results suggest that clinical application of the OAR could decrease unnecessary radiographs by 31.1%. Of the 21 patients with positive OAR results and negative radiographic findings who underwent 3D-CT examination, five had occult fractures of the lateral malleolus. CONCLUSIONS: The OAR are applicable in the Chinese population, and have high sensitivity and modest specificity for the diagnosis of fractures associated with acute ankle injury. They may detect some occult fractures of the malleoli that are not visible on

  18. Multiple surface antigen mutations in five blood donors with occult hepatitis B virus infection

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Zaaijer, H. L.; Torres, P.; Ontañón, A.; Ponte, L. González; Koppelman, M. H. G. M.; Lelie, P. N.; Hemert, F. J. van; Boot, H. J.

    2008-01-01

    Occult hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is characterized by the presence of HBV DNA while the HBV surface antigen (HBsAg) remains undetectable. The HBV genomes in five asymptomatic blood donors with occult HBV infection and low viremia ( <10 to 1,000 HBV DNA copies/mL, genotype D) were studied. An

  19. Three-dimensional assembly of tissue-engineered cartilage constructs results in cartilaginous tissue formation without retainment of zonal characteristics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schuurman, W; Harimulyo, E B; Gawlitta, D; Woodfield, T B F; Dhert, W J A; van Weeren, P R; Malda, J

    2016-04-01

    Articular cartilage has limited regenerative capabilities. Chondrocytes from different layers of cartilage have specific properties, and regenerative approaches using zonal chondrocytes may yield better replication of the architecture of native cartilage than when using a single cell population. To obtain high seeding efficiency while still mimicking zonal architecture, cell pellets of expanded deep zone and superficial zone equine chondrocytes were seeded and cultured in two layers on poly(ethylene glycol)-terephthalate-poly(butylene terephthalate) (PEGT-PBT) scaffolds. Scaffolds seeded with cell pellets consisting of a 1:1 mixture of both cell sources served as controls. Parallel to this, pellets of superficial or deep zone chondrocytes, and combinations of the two cell populations, were cultured without the scaffold. Pellet cultures of zonal chondrocytes in scaffolds resulted in a high seeding efficiency and abundant cartilaginous tissue formation, containing collagen type II and glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) in all groups, irrespective of the donor (n = 3), zonal population or stratified scaffold-seeding approach used. However, whereas total GAG production was similar, the constructs retained significantly more GAG compared to pellet cultures, in which a high percentage of the produced GAGs were secreted into the culture medium. Immunohistochemistry for zonal markers did not show any differences between the conditions. We conclude that spatially defined pellet culture in 3D scaffolds is associated with high seeding efficiency and supports cartilaginous tissue formation, but did not result in the maintenance or restoration of the original zonal phenotype. The use of pellet-assembled constructs leads to a better retainment of newly produced GAGs than the use of pellet cultures alone. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  20. Zonal wavefront sensing using a grating array printed on a polyester film

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pathak, Biswajit; Boruah, Bosanta R., E-mail: brboruah@iitg.ernet.in [Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati, Guwahati, Assam 781039 (India); Kumar, Suraj [Department of Applied Sciences, Gauhati University, Guwahati, Assam 781014 (India)

    2015-12-15

    In this paper, we describe the development of a zonal wavefront sensor that comprises an array of binary diffraction gratings realized on a transparent sheet (i.e., polyester film) followed by a focusing lens and a camera. The sensor works in a manner similar to that of a Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor. The fabrication of the array of gratings is immune to certain issues associated with the fabrication of the lenslet array which is commonly used in zonal wavefront sensing. Besides the sensing method offers several important advantages such as flexible dynamic range, easy configurability, and option to enhance the sensing frame rate. Here, we have demonstrated the working of the proposed sensor using a proof-of-principle experimental arrangement.

  1. Zonal wavefront sensing using a grating array printed on a polyester film

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pathak, Biswajit; Kumar, Suraj; Boruah, Bosanta R.

    2015-12-01

    In this paper, we describe the development of a zonal wavefront sensor that comprises an array of binary diffraction gratings realized on a transparent sheet (i.e., polyester film) followed by a focusing lens and a camera. The sensor works in a manner similar to that of a Shack-Hartmann wavefront sensor. The fabrication of the array of gratings is immune to certain issues associated with the fabrication of the lenslet array which is commonly used in zonal wavefront sensing. Besides the sensing method offers several important advantages such as flexible dynamic range, easy configurability, and option to enhance the sensing frame rate. Here, we have demonstrated the working of the proposed sensor using a proof-of-principle experimental arrangement.

  2. Theoretical performance of serrated external occulters for solar coronagraphy. Application to ASPIICS

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rougeot, R.; Aime, C.

    2018-04-01

    Context. This study is made in the context of the future solar coronagraph ASPIICS of the ESA formation-flying mission Proba-3. Aims: In the context of solar coronagraphy, we provide a comparative study of the theoretical performance of serrated (or toothed) external occulters by varying the number and size of the teeth, which we compare to the sharp-edged and apodized disks. The tooth height is small (a few centimeters), to avoid hindering the observation of the solar corona near the limb. We first analyze the diffraction pattern produced by such occulters. In a second step, we compute the umbra profile by integration over the Sun. Methods: We explored a few methods to compute the diffraction pattern. Two of them were implemented. The first is based on 2D fast Fourier transformation (FFT) routines and a multiplication by the Fresnel filter of the form exp(-iπλzu2). Simple rules were derived and discussed to set the sampling conditions. The Maggi-Rubinowicz representation is then proposed as an alternative method, and is proven to be very efficient for this study. Results: Serrated occulters tend to create a two-level intensity pattern, the inner being the darker, which perfectly matches a previously reported geometrical prediction. The diffraction in this central region is lower by two to four orders of magnitude when compared to the sharp-edged disk. The achieved umbra level at the center ranges from 10-4 to below 10-7, depending on the geometry of the teeth. Conclusions: Our study shows that serrated occulters can achieve a high rejection and can almost reach the performance of the apodized disk when very many teeth are used. We prove that shaped occulters must be preferred to simple disks in solar and stellar coronagraphy.

  3. The transformation of vegetation vertical zonality affected by anthropogenic impact in East Fennoscandia (Russia)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sidorik, Vadim; Miulgauzen, Daria

    2017-04-01

    Ecosystems of East Fennoscandia have been affected by intensive anthropogenic influence that resulted in their significant transformation. Study of ecosystems in the framework of vegetation vertical zonality disturbance as well as its recovery allows to understand the trends of anthropogenically induced changes. The aim of the present research is the comparative analysis of vegetation vertical zonality of the two uplands in East Fennoscandia which may be considered as unaffected and affected by anthropogenic impact. The objects of key studies carried out in the north-west of Kola Peninsula in the vicinity of the Pechenganikel Mining and Metallurgical Plant are represented by ecosystems of Kalkupya (h 357 m) and Hangaslachdenvara (h 284 m) uplands. They are characterized by the similarity in sequence of altitudinal belts due to the position on the northern taiga - forest-tundra boundary. Plant communities of Kalkupya upland have no visible signs of anthropogenic influence, therefore, they can be considered as model ecosystems of the area. The sequence of altitudinal belts is the following: - up to 200 m - pine subshrub and green moss ("zonal") forest replaced by mixed pine and birch forest near the upper boundary; - 200-300 m - birch crooked subshrub wood; - above 300 m - tundra subshrub and lichen communities. Ecosystems of Hangaslachdenvara upland have been damaged by air pollution (SO2, Ni, Cu emissions) of the Pechenganikel Plant. This impact has led to plant community suppression and formation of barren lands. Besides the soil cover was significantly disturbed, especially upper horizons. Burying of soil profiles, represented by Podzols (WRB, 2015), also manifested itself in the exploited part of the area. The vegetation cover of Hangaslachdenvara upland is the following: - up to 130 m - birch and aspen subshrub and grass forest instead of pine forest ("zonal"); - 130-200 m - barren lands instead of pine forest ("zonal"); - above 200 m - barren lands instead of

  4. Pole dynamics for the Flierl-Petvishvili equation and zonal flow

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Spineanu, F.; Vlad, M.; Itoh, K.; Sanuki, H.; Itoh, S.-I.

    2003-09-01

    We use a systematic method which allows us to identify a class of exact solutions of the Flierl-Petvishvili equation. The solutions are periodic and have one dimensional geometry. We examine the physical properties and find that these structures can have a significant effect on the zonal flow generation. (author)

  5. TITAN’S UPPER ATMOSPHERE FROM CASSINI/UVIS SOLAR OCCULTATIONS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Capalbo, Fernando J.; Bénilan, Yves [Laboratoire Inter-Universitaire des Systèmes Atmosphériques (LISA), UMR 7583 du CNRS, Universités Paris Est Créteil (UPEC) and Paris Diderot - UPD, 61 avenue du Général de Gaulle, F-94010, Créteil Cédex (France); Yelle, Roger V.; Koskinen, Tommi T., E-mail: fernando.capalbo@lisa.u-pec.fr [Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, University of Arizona, 1629 E. University Blvd., Tucson, AZ 85721 (United States)

    2015-12-01

    Titan’s atmosphere is composed mainly of molecular nitrogen, methane being the principal trace gas. From the analysis of 8 solar occultations measured by the Extreme Ultraviolet channel of the Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrograph (UVIS) on board Cassini, we derived vertical profiles of N{sub 2} in the range 1100–1600 km and vertical profiles of CH{sub 4} in the range 850–1300 km. The correction of instrument effects and observational effects applied to the data are described. We present CH{sub 4} mole fractions, and average temperatures for the upper atmosphere obtained from the N{sub 2} profiles. The occultations correspond to different times and locations, and an analysis of variability of density and temperature is presented. The temperatures were analyzed as a function of geographical and temporal variables, without finding a clear correlation with any of them, although a trend of decreasing temperature toward the north pole was observed. The globally averaged temperature obtained is (150 ± 1) K. We compared our results from solar occultations with those derived from other UVIS observations, as well as studies performed with other instruments. The observational data we present confirm the atmospheric variability previously observed, add new information to the global picture of Titan’s upper atmosphere composition, variability, and dynamics, and provide new constraints to photochemical models.

  6. L-H bifurcations as phase transitions, the role of zonal flows and the spectral energy transfer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shats, M.G.; Punzmann, H.; Xia, H.; Solomon, W.M.

    2003-01-01

    An overview of new results related to the physics of confinement bifurcations in the H-1 heliac is presented. A macroscopic description of the transport modifications across L-H transitions in H-1 suggests several analogies between these bifurcations and phase transitions. Among them is the nucleation in phase transitions which is manifested in the plasma both in time and in space. A microscopic picture reveals the importance of zonal flows, or time-varying shear radial electric field in the spatio-temporal structure of confinement bifurcations. In particular, the effect of zonal flows on the fluctuation-driven transport in H-1 is discussed. Finally, new results on the mechanism of generation of large coherent structures and zonal flows are reviewed. It is shown that inverse energy cascades in turbulent spectra are responsible for the structure generation in H-1. (orig.)

  7. UARS Halogen Occultation Experiment (HALOE) Level 2 V001

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The HALOE home page on the WWW is http://haloe.gats-inc.com/home/index.php The Halogen Occultation Experiment (HALOE) on NASA's Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite...

  8. Detection of an occult transclival cerebrospinal fluid fistula by CT and MRI

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schick, B.; Brors, D.; Draf, W.; Goedecke, A.; Prescher, A.

    1998-01-01

    We describe an unusual occult transclival cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) fistula to the sphenoid sinus demonstrated by MRI. CT was performed because of a posterior cerebral infarct caused by cardiac arrhythmia. Axial sections showed fluid in the sphenoid sinus. High-resolution scans revealed a bony defect 3 mm in diameter of the posterior wall of the sphenoid sinus, and MRI showed a transclival CSF fistula. This occult lesion was confirmed by surgery and duraplasty was successfully performed via an endonasal approach. (orig.)

  9. Lunar occultation observations of the Crab Nebula

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Maloney, F.P.

    1977-01-01

    Three lunar of occultations of the Crab Nebula were observed, two at 114 MHz and one at 26.3 MHz, during the 1974 series of events. The higher frequency observations were deconvolved of diffraction effects to yield four strip integrated brightness profiles of the Nebula, with an effective resolution of 30 arc-seconds. These four profiles were Fourier inverted and cleaned of sidelobe structure to synthesize a two-dimensional map of the Nebula. At 114 MHz, the Nebula is composed of a broad envelope of emission which contains several smaller sources. The attenuation of the low radio frequency radiation by the thermal hydrogen in the filaments is considered as a possible mechanism to explain these new data. The 26.3 MHz observations indicate the presence of a bright, localized source containing greater than 80% of the flux of the Nebula. The position of the source is confined by the data to a narrow strip centered at the pulsar position. Both sets of data are compared with past occultation observations

  10. High prevalence of occult left heart disease in scleroderma-pulmonary hypertension.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fox, Benjamin D; Shimony, Avi; Langleben, David; Hirsch, Andrew; Rudski, Lawrence; Schlesinger, Robert; Eisenberg, Mark J; Joyal, Dominique; Hudson, Marie; Boutet, Kim; Serban, Alexandrina; Masetto, Ariel; Baron, Murray

    2013-10-01

    Our study aimed to determine the prevalence of occult left-heart disease in patients with scleroderma and pulmonary hypertension. In patients with pulmonary hypertension (mean pulmonary artery pressure (mean PAP)≥25 mmHg), differentiation between pre- and post-capillary pulmonary hypertension has been made according to pulmonary artery wedge pressure (PAWP) less than or more than 15 mmHg, respectively. We performed a retrospective chart review of 107 scleroderma patients. All patients with suspected pulmonary hypertension had routine right or left heart catheterisation with left ventricular end-diastolic pressure (LVEDP) measurement pre-/post-fluid challenge. We extracted demographic, haemodynamic and echocardiographic data. Patients were classified into one of four groups: haemodynamically normal (mean PAP15 mmHg); occult PVH (mean PAP≥25 mmHg, PAWP≤15 mmHg, LVEDP>15 mmHg before or after fluid challenge); and pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) (mean PAP≥25 mmHg, PAWP≤15 mmHg and LVEDP≤15 mmHg before or after fluid challenge). 53 out of 107 patients had pulmonary hypertension. Based on the PAWP-based definition, 29 out of 53 had PAH and 24 out of 53 had PVH. After considering the resting and post-fluid-challenge LVEDP, 11 PAH patients were reclassified as occult PVH. The occult PVH group was haemodynamically, echocardiographically and demographically closer to the PVH group than the PAH group. PVH had high prevalence in our scleroderma-pulmonary hypertension population. Distinguishing PAH from PVH with only PAWP may result in some PVH patients being misclassified as having PAH.

  11. A theory of self-organized zonal flow with fine radial structure in tokamak

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Y. Z.; Liu, Z. Y.; Xie, T.; Mahajan, S. M.; Liu, J.

    2017-12-01

    The (low frequency) zonal flow-ion temperature gradient (ITG) wave system, constructed on Braginskii's fluid model in tokamak, is shown to be a reaction-diffusion-advection system; it is derived by making use of a multiple spatiotemporal scale technique and two-dimensional (2D) ballooning theory. For real regular group velocities of ITG waves, two distinct temporal processes, sharing a very similar meso-scale radial structure, are identified in the nonlinear self-organized stage. The stationary and quasi-stationary structures reflect a particular feature of the poloidal group velocity. The equation set posed to be an initial value problem is numerically solved for JET low mode parameters; the results are presented in several figures and two movies that show the spatiotemporal evolutions as well as the spectrum analysis—frequency-wave number spectrum, auto power spectrum, and Lissajous diagram. This approach reveals that the zonal flow in tokamak is a local traveling wave. For the quasi-stationary process, the cycle of ITG wave energy is composed of two consecutive phases in distinct spatiotemporal structures: a pair of Cavitons growing and breathing slowly without long range propagation, followed by a sudden decay into many Instantons that carry negative wave energy rapidly into infinity. A spotlight onto the motion of Instantons for a given radial position reproduces a Blob-Hole temporal structure; the occurrence as well as the rapid decay of Caviton into Instantons is triggered by zero-crossing of radial group velocity. A sample of the radial profile of zonal flow contributed from 31 nonlinearly coupled rational surfaces near plasma edge is found to be very similar to that observed in the JET Ohmic phase [J. C. Hillesheim et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 116, 165002 (2016)]. The theory predicts an interior asymmetric dipole structure associated with the zonal flow that is driven by the gradients of ITG turbulence intensity.

  12. An integration time adaptive control method for atmospheric composition detection of occultation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ding, Lin; Hou, Shuai; Yu, Fei; Liu, Cheng; Li, Chao; Zhe, Lin

    2018-01-01

    When sun is used as the light source for atmospheric composition detection, it is necessary to image sun for accurate identification and stable tracking. In the course of 180 second of the occultation, the magnitude of sun light intensity through the atmosphere changes greatly. It is nearly 1100 times illumination change between the maximum atmospheric and the minimum atmospheric. And the process of light change is so severe that 2.9 times per second of light change can be reached. Therefore, it is difficult to control the integration time of sun image camera. In this paper, a novel adaptive integration time control method for occultation is presented. In this method, with the distribution of gray value in the image as the reference variable, and the concepts of speed integral PID control, the integration time adaptive control problem of high frequency imaging. The large dynamic range integration time automatic control in the occultation can be achieved.

  13. Stellar Occultations by TNOs and Centaurs: first results in the “Gaia era”

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rossi, Gustavo; Vieira-Martins, Roberto; Sicardy, Bruno; Ortiz, Jose Luis; Rio Group, Lucky Star Occultation Team, Granada Occultation Team

    2017-10-01

    After the first release of the GAIA catalog (in September/2016), stellar positions are now known with unprecedented accuracy, reaching values of the order of milliarcseconds. This improvement reflected into a stunning accuracy on the astrometry of moving objects, such as TNOs. Unfortunately, Gaia stars proper motions will be only available on the second data release (DR2) next year, so there is still a need to use hybrid stellar catalogs for occultation predictions until then. Despite that, stellar occultations predictions are now much more accurate, and the biggest uncertainties comes mainly from the object ephemerides. This issue will be overcome by large surveys such as the LSST, which will provide positions for the known TNOs and it is expected to increase the number of known TNOs by nearly 40,000, with an unprecedent amount of acquired information.This huge amount of data also poses a new era in stellar occultations: predictions will be very accurate and the participation of professional astronomers, laboratories, and the amateur community will be crucial to observe the predicted events; observation campaigns will need to be selected according to a specific scientific purpose such as the probability to detect rings or archs around a body, the presence of atmosphere or even the detection of topographic features; the development of softwares capable of reducing the data more efficiently and an easier method to coordinate observation campaigns are needed.Here we present some impressive results obtained from predictions and observed occultations in 2017 (among them we have Pluto, Chariklo and Haumea), the problems we are starting to face in the beginning of the “Gaia era” and the future challenges of stellar occultation.

  14. Wind Stress, METOP ASCAT, 0.25 degrees, Global, Near Real Time, Zonal

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NOAA CoastWatch distributes near real time wind stress data in zonal, meridional, modulus, and wind stress curl sets. This data begins with wind velocity...

  15. Helios-1 Faraday rotation experiment - Results and interpretations of the solar occultations in 1975

    Science.gov (United States)

    Volland, H.; Bird, M. K.; Levy, G. S.; Stelzried, C. T.; Seidel, B. L.

    1977-01-01

    The first of two solar occultations of the satellite Helios-1 in 1975 occurred in April when the satellite's ray path approached the west limb of the sun to a minimum distance of 1.63 solar radii. The second occultation took place in late August/early September when Helios-1 was totally eclipsed by the photosphere. Measurements of the polarization angle of the linearly polarized telemetry signal were performed with automatic tracking polarimeters at the 64 m Goldstone Tracking Station in California and also at the 100 m radio telescope in Effelsberg, West Germany. The coronal Faraday rotation as a function of the solar offset for both occultations is shown in graphs. The theoretical significance of the observations is investigated.

  16. Disparities in the receipt of fecal occult blood test versus endoscopy among Filipino American immigrants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maxwell, Annette E; Danao, Leda L; Crespi, Catherine M; Antonio, Cynthia; Garcia, Gabriel M; Bastani, Roshan

    2008-08-01

    This report examines disparities associated with the type of colorectal screening test, fecal occult blood test versus endoscopy, within a particular racial/ethnic group, Filipino American immigrants. Between July 2005 and October 2006, Filipino Americans aged 50 to 75 years from 31 community organizations in Los Angeles completed a 15-minute survey in English (65%) or Filipino (35%). Of the 487 respondents included in this analysis, 257 (53%) had never received any type of colorectal cancer screening. Among the 230 subjects who had ever received a routine screening test, 78 had fecal occult blood test only (16% of the total sample), and 152 had endoscopy with or without fecal occult blood test (31% of the total sample). After controlling for access to care and key demographic variables in a multivariate analysis, only two characteristics distinguished between respondents who had fecal occult blood test only versus those who had endoscopy: acculturation, assessed by percent lifetime in the United States and language of interview, and income. Our data suggest a two-tier system, fecal occult blood test for less acculturated Filipino Americans with lower income versus endoscopy for Filipino immigrants with higher levels of acculturation and income. The disparity persists after adjusting for access to care. Instead of treating minority groups as monolithic, differences within groups need to be examined so that interventions can be appropriately targeted.

  17. Detection of an occult transclival cerebrospinal fluid fistula by CT and MRI

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Schick, B.; Brors, D.; Draf, W. [Department of Ear, Nose and Throat Diseases, Head, Neck and Facial Plastic Surgery, Marburg Univ. (Germany); Goedecke, A. [Department of Radiology, Academic Teaching Hospital, Fulda (Germany); Prescher, A. [Department of Anatomy and Embryology, University Medical School, RWTH, Aachen (Germany)

    1998-12-01

    We describe an unusual occult transclival cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) fistula to the sphenoid sinus demonstrated by MRI. CT was performed because of a posterior cerebral infarct caused by cardiac arrhythmia. Axial sections showed fluid in the sphenoid sinus. High-resolution scans revealed a bony defect 3 mm in diameter of the posterior wall of the sphenoid sinus, and MRI showed a transclival CSF fistula. This occult lesion was confirmed by surgery and duraplasty was successfully performed via an endonasal approach. (orig.) With 3 figs., 19 refs.

  18. Effects of plasma current on nonlinear interactions of ITG turbulence, zonal flows and geodesic acoustic modes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Angelino, P; Bottino, A; Hatzky, R; Jolliet, S; Sauter, O; Tran, T M; Villard, L

    2006-01-01

    The mutual interactions of ion temperature gradient (ITG) driven modes, zonal flows and geodesic acoustic modes (GAM) in tokamak plasmas are investigated using a global nonlinear gyrokinetic formulation with totally unconstrained evolution of temperature gradient and profile. A series of numerical simulations with the same initial temperature and density profile specifications is performed using a sequence of ideal MHD equilibria differing only in the value of the total plasma current, in particular with identical magnetic shear profiles and shapes of magnetic surfaces. On top of a bursty or quasi-steady state behaviour the zonal flows oscillate at the GAM frequency. The amplitude of these oscillations increases with the value of the safety factor q, resulting in a less effective suppression of ITG turbulence by zonal flows at a lower plasma current. The turbulence-driven volume-averaged radial heat transport is found to scale inversely with the total plasma current

  19. The 4-5 day mode oscillation in zonal winds of Indian middle atmosphere during MONEX-79

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reddy, R. S.; Mukherjee, B. K.; Indira, K.; Murty, B. V. R.

    1985-12-01

    In the early studies based on time series of balloon observations, the existence of 4 to 5 day period waves and 10 to 20 day wind fluctuations were found in the tropical lower stratosphere, and they are identified theoretically as the mixed Rossby-gravity wave and the Kelvin wave, respectively. On the basis of these studies, it was established that the vertically propagating equatorial waves play an important role in producing the QBO (quasi-biennial oscillation) in the mean zonal wind through the mechanism of wave-zonal interaction. These studies are mainly concentrated over the equatorial Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. Similar prominent wave disturbances have been observed over the region east of the Indian Ocean during a quasi-biennial oscillation. Zonal winds in upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (10 to 20) km of the middle atmosphere over the Indian subcontinent may bear association with the activity of summer monsoon (June-September). Monsoon Experiment (MONEX-79) has provided upper air observations at Balasore (21 deg. 30 min.N; 85 deg. 56 min.E), during the peak of monsoon months July and August. A unique opportunity has, therefore, been provided to study the normal oscillations present in the zonal winds of lower middle atmosphere over India, which may have implication on large scale wave dynamics. This aspect is examined in the present study.

  20. Occultism in an African context: a case for the Vhavenda-speaking people of the Limpopo Province

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    T. D. Mashau

    2007-07-01

    Full Text Available Occultism in Africa is as old as the primal religion itself, or what came to be known as African Traditional Religion (ATR in mo- dern times. It dates back to time immemorial. Occultism in Africa has taken various forms and has manifested in different ways over the ages, i.e. spiritism, divination, witchcraft and ma- gic. The underlying premise of African occultism is the belief in a spiritual world with spiritual forces that have power to inflict harm on the living. In the traditional African worldview suffering of every sort – illness, barrenness, drought and death – is nor- mally explained in personal terms: “there is always somebody”. This “somebody” often belongs to the world of the occult: a “spirit” has brought pain to human beings and must therefore be repelled or accommodated. This is very common among the Vhavenda-speaking people of the Limpopo Province. This ar- ticle seeks to investigate how occultism is practised among these people and to provide a reformed perspective as to how people who are suffering under demonic attacks can be helped. Contrary to other Christian traditions that see exorcism as the only way out, reformed theology suggests a missio-pastoral approach in dealing with the problem.

  1. Incidence of occult leiomyosarcoma in presumed morcellation cases: a database study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodriguez, Ana M; Asoglu, Mehmet R; Sak, Muhammet Erdal; Tan, Alai; Borahay, Mostafa A; Kilic, Gokhan S

    2016-02-01

    Our objective was to estimate the incidence of uterine leiomyosarcoma in patients with leiomyomas following laparoscopic supracervical hysterectomy and myomectomy procedures. For this study, we analyzed records of 13,964 women aged 25-64 years who underwent laparoscopic supracervical hysterectomies or myomectomies for leiomyomas from 2002 to 2011 using Clinformatics DataMart. Patient records were divided into two groups: history of laparoscopic supracervical hysterectomy and history of myomectomy. Subjects were tracked to identify diagnosis of leiomyosarcoma within 1 year of the procedure. We analyzed data from the 25-39, 40-49, and 50-64 age brackets. Evidence was obtained from a cohort study from national private insurance claims in the US. Our results showed the incidence of occult leiomyosarcoma developing within 1 year following supracervical hysterectomy using a laparoscopic-assisted approach are 9.8, 10.7, and 33.4 per 10,000 for the 25-39, 40-49, and 50-64 age brackets, respectively; the overall incidence rate is 13.1 per 10,000. The incidence rate of occult leiomyosarcoma developing within 1 year following myomectomy using a laparoscopic-assisted approach are 0.0, 33.8, and 90.1 per 10,000 for the 25-39, 40-49, and 50-64 age brackets, respectively; the overall incidence rate is 17.3 per 10,000. Our analysis shows the overall risk of being diagnosed with occult leiomyosarcoma is 12.9 per 10,000 in laparoscopic-assisted supracervical hysterectomy and myomectomy for patients younger than 49. There is no evidence of occult leiomyosarcoma 1 year after operation for patients younger than 40 who underwent laparoscopic myomectomy. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

  2. Lowest-order average effect of turbulence on atmospheric profiles derived from radio occultation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Eshleman, V.R.; Haugstad, B.S.

    1977-01-01

    Turbulence in planetary atmospheres and ionospheres causes changes in angles of refraction of radio waves used in occultation experiments. Atmospheric temperature and pressure profiles, and ionospheric electron concentration profiles, derived from radio occultation measurements of Doppler frequency contain errors due to such angular offsets. The lowest-order average errors are derived from a geometrical-optics treatment of the radio-wave phase advance caused by the addition of uniform turbulence to an initially homogeneous medium. It is concluded that the average profile errors are small and that precise Doppler frequency measurements at two or more wavelengths could be used to help determine characteristics of the turbulence, as well as accuracy limits and possible correction terms for the profiles. However, a more detailed study of both frequency and intensity characteristics in radio and optical occultation measurements of turbulent planetary atmospheres and ionospheres is required to realize the full potential of such measurements

  3. Occult hepatitis B virus coinfection in HIV-positive African migrants to the UK: a point prevalence study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chadwick, D; Doyle, T; Ellis, S; Price, D; Abbas, I; Valappil, M; Geretti, A M

    2014-03-01

    Occult (surface antigen-negative/DNA-positive) hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is common in areas of the world where HBV is endemic. The main objectives of this study were to determine the prevalence of occult HBV infection in HIV-infected African migrants to the UK and to determine factors associated with occult coinfection. This anonymized point-prevalence study identified Africans attending three HIV clinics, focussing on patients naïve to antiretroviral therapy (ART). Stored blood samples were tested for HBV DNA. Prevalence was calculated in the entire cohort, as well as in subpopulations. Risk factors for occult HBV coinfection were identified using logistic regression analysis. Among 335 HIV-positive African migrants, the prevalence of occult HBV coinfection was 4.5% [95% confidence interval (CI) 2.8-7.4%] overall, and 6.5% (95% CI 3.9-10.6%) and 0.8% (95% CI 0.2-4.6%) in ART-naïve and ART-experienced patients, respectively. Among ART-naïve anti-HBV core (anti-HBc)-positive patients, the prevalence was 16.4% (95% CI 8.3-25.6%). The strongest predictor of occult coinfection was anti-HBc positivity [odds ratio (OR) 7.4; 95% CI 2.0-27.6]. Median HBV DNA and ALT levels were 54 IU/mL [interquartile range (IQR) 33-513 IU/mL] and 22 U/L (IQR 13-27 U/L), respectively. Occult HBV coinfection remains under-diagnosed in African HIV-infected patients in the UK. Given the range of HBV DNA levels observed, further studies are warranted to determine its clinical significance and to guide screening strategies and ART selection in these patients. © 2013 British HIV Association.

  4. Astrometry of the Orcus/Vanth occultation on UT 7 March 2017

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bosh, Amanda S.; Zuluaga, Carlos; Levine, Stephen; Sickafoose, Amanda A.; Genade, Anja; Schindler, Karsten; Lister, Tim; Person, Michael J.

    2017-10-01

    On UT 7 March 2017, Orcus was predicted to occult a star with m=14.3. Observations were made at five observatories: the 0.6-m Astronomical Telescope of the University of Stuttgart (ATUS) at Sierra Remote Observatories (SRO), California; Las Cumbres Observatory’s 1-m telescope (ELP) at McDonald Observatory, Fort Davis, Texas; NASA’s 3-m InfraRed Telescope Facility (IRTF) on Mauna Kea, Hawaii; the 4.1-m Southern Astrophysical Research telescope (SOAR) on Cerro Pachón, Chile; and the 0.6-m Southeastern Association for Research in Astronomy telescope (SARA-CT) at Cerro Tololo, Chile. While observations at all sites were successful, only two—ELP and IRTF—observed solid-body occultation signatures. We will discuss the various predictions for this event and the reasons for the differences among them, including an offset of 130 mas for the star position from the position in the Gaia catalog. The sum of the positive and negative detections place constraints on the geometry of the Orcus/Vanth system, and we present our astrometric results for the geometric solution for this occultation. The implications of the light curve analyses are presented by Sickafoose et al., this conference.

  5. A Method for Optimal Load Dispatch of a Multi-zone Power System with Zonal Exchange Constraints

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hazarika, Durlav; Das, Ranjay

    2018-04-01

    This paper presented a method for economic generation scheduling of a multi-zone power system having inter zonal operational constraints. For this purpose, the generator rescheduling for a multi area power system having inter zonal operational constraints has been represented as a two step optimal generation scheduling problem. At first, the optimal generation scheduling has been carried out for the zone having surplus or deficient generation with proper spinning reserve using co-ordination equation. The power exchange required for the deficit zones and zones having no generation are estimated based on load demand and generation for the zone. The incremental transmission loss formulas for the transmission lines participating in the power transfer process among the zones are formulated. Using these, incremental transmission loss expression in co-ordination equation, the optimal generation scheduling for the zonal exchange has been determined. Simulation is carried out on IEEE 118 bus test system to examine the applicability and validity of the method.

  6. Radio occultation bending angle anomalies during tropical cyclones

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Biondi, Riccardo; Neubert, Torsten; Syndergaard, S.

    2011-01-01

    -located radiosondes, climatology of tropopause altitudes and GOES analyses are also shown to support the hypothesis that the bending angle anomaly can be used as an indicator of convective towers. The results are discussed in connection to the GPS radio occultation receiver which will be part of the Atomic Clock...

  7. MRI evaluation of acute articular cartilage injury of knee

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang Jun; Wu Zhenhua; Fan Guoguang; Pan Shinong; Guo Qiyong

    2003-01-01

    Objective: To study the MRI manifestation of acute articular cartilage injury of knee for evaluating the extension and degree of the injury and guiding treatment. Methods: MRI of 34 patients with acute articular cartilage injury of knee within one day to fifteen days confirmed by arthroscopy and arthrotomy was reviewed and analyzed, with emphasis on articular cartilage and subchondral lesion. And every manifestation on MRI and that of arthroscopy and operation was compared. Results: The articular cartilage injury was diagnosed on MRI in 29 of 34 cases. Cartilage signal changes were found only in 4. The changes of cartilage shape were variable. Thinning of focal cartilage was showed in 3, osteochondral impaction in 3, creases of cartilage in 3, disrupted cartilage with fissuring in 13, cracks cartilage in 2, and cracks cartilage with displaced fragment in 1. Bone bruise and occult fracture were found only on MRI. Conclusion: The assessment of MRI and arthroscopy in acute articular cartilage injury are consistent. Combined with arthroscopy, MRI can succeed in assessing the extension and degree of acute articular injury and allowing treatment planning

  8. Low-Cost Small Satellite Atmospheric Rotating Solar Occultation Imager (ROI)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Utilizing a unique, new occultation technique involving imaging, the ROI concept will meet or exceed the quality of SAGE measurements at a small fraction of the...

  9. The effect of the equatorially symmetric zonal winds of Saturn on its gravitational field

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kong, Dali; Zhang, Keke; Schubert, Gerald; Anderson, John D.

    2018-04-01

    The penetration depth of Saturn’s cloud-level winds into its interior is unknown. A possible way of estimating the depth is through measurement of the effect of the winds on the planet’s gravitational field. We use a self-consistent perturbation approach to study how the equatorially symmetric zonal winds of Saturn contribute to its gravitational field. An important advantage of this approach is that the variation of its gravitational field solely caused by the winds can be isolated and identified because the leading-order problem accounts exactly for rotational distortion, thereby determining the irregular shape and internal structure of the hydrostatic Saturn. We assume that (i) the zonal winds are maintained by thermal convection in the form of non-axisymmetric columnar rolls and (ii) the internal structure of the winds, because of the Taylor-Proundman theorem, can be uniquely determined by the observed cloud-level winds. We calculate both the variation ΔJn , n = 2, 4, 6 … of the axisymmetric gravitational coefficients Jn caused by the zonal winds and the non-axisymmetric gravitational coefficients ΔJnm produced by the columnar rolls, where m is the azimuthal wavenumber of the rolls. We consider three different cases characterized by the penetration depth 0.36, R S, 0.2, R S and 0.1, R S, where R S is the equatorial radius of Saturn at the 1-bar pressure level. We find that the high-degree gravitational coefficient (J 12 + ΔJ 12) is dominated, in all the three cases, by the effect of the zonal flow with |ΔJ 12/J 12| > 100% and that the size of the non-axisymmetric coefficients ΔJ mn directly reflects the depth and scale of the flow taking place in the Saturnian interior.

  10. Wind Stress, QuikSCAT SeaWinds, 0.25 degrees, Global, Science Quality, Zonal

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NOAA CoastWatch distributes science quality wind stress data in zonal, meridional, modulus, and wind stress curl sets. This data begins with wind velocity...

  11. Digital solar edge tracker for the Halogen Occultation Experiment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mauldin, L. E., III; Moore, A. S.; Stump, C. W.; Mayo, L. S.

    1987-01-01

    The optical and electronic design of the Halogen Occultation Experiment (Haloe) elevation sun sensor is described. The Haloe instrument is a gas-correlation radiometer now being developed at NASA Langley for the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite. The system uses a Galilean telescope to form a solar image on a linear silicon photodiode array. The array is a self-scanned monolithic CCD. The addresses of both solar edges imaged on the array are used by the control/pointing system to scan the Haloe science instantaneous field of view (IFOV) across the vertical solar diameter during instrument calibration and then to maintain the science IFOV 4 arcmin below the top edge during the science data occultation event. Vertical resolution of 16 arcsec and a radiometric dynamic range of 100 are achieved at the 700-nm operating wavelength. The design provides for loss of individual photodiode elements without loss of angular tracking capability.

  12. T1rho and T2 relaxation times of the normal adult knee meniscus at 3T: analysis of zonal differences.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Takao, Shoichiro; Nguyen, Tan B; Yu, Hon J; Hagiwara, Shigeo; Kaneko, Yasuhito; Nozaki, Taiki; Iwamoto, Seiji; Otomo, Maki; Schwarzkopf, Ran; Yoshioka, Hiroshi

    2017-05-18

    Prior studies describe histological and immunohistochemical differences in collagen and proteoglycan content in different meniscal zones. The aim of this study is to evaluate horizontal and vertical zonal differentiation of T1rho and T2 relaxation times of the entire meniscus from volunteers without symptom and imaging abnormality. Twenty volunteers age between 19 and 38 who have no knee-related clinical symptoms, and no history of prior knee surgeries were enrolled in this study. Two T1rho mapping (b-FFE T1rho and SPGR T1rho) and T2 mapping images were acquired with a 3.0-T MR scanner. Each meniscus was divided manually into superficial and deep zones for horizontal zonal analysis. The anterior and posterior horns of each meniscus were divided manually into white, red-white and red zones for vertical zonal analysis. Zonal differences of average relaxation times among each zone, and both inter- and intra-observer reproducibility were statistically analyzed. In horizontal zonal analysis, T1rho relaxation times of the superficial zone tended to be higher than those of the deep zone, and this difference was statistically significant in the medial meniscal segments (84.3 ms vs 76.0 ms on b-FFE, p meniscus (88.4 ms vs 77.1 ms on b-FFE, p meniscus, p = 0.011). T2 relaxation times of the white zone were significantly higher than those of the red zone in the medial meniscus posterior horn (96.8 ms vs 84.3 ms, p meniscus anterior horn (104.6 ms vs 84.2 ms, p 0.74) or good (0.60-0.74) in all meniscal segments on both horizontal and vertical zonal analysis, except for inter-class correlation coefficients of the lateral meniscus on SPGR. Compared with SPGR T1rho images, b-FFE T1rho images demonstrated more significant zonal differentiation with higher inter- and intra-observer reproducibility. There are zonal differences in T1rho and T2 relaxation times of the normal meniscus.

  13. Significance of occult hbv infection in patients with chronic hepatitis c

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anwar, W.; Sarwar, M.; Saif, M.; Hussain, A.B.; Tariq, W.Z.

    2006-01-01

    Objective: To determine the frequency of occurrence of occult Hepatitis B infection in chronic hepatitis C patients and its impact (if any) on the effectivity of standard chronic hepatitis C treatment. Design: Quasi-experimental study. Place and Duration of Study: The study was conducted at the Department of Medicine, Military Hospital, Rawalpindi, and Virology Department, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, Rawalpindi, for a period of nine months from January 2003 to September 2003. Patients and Methods: This study was conducted on 30 HBsAg negative patients with chronic hepatitis C liver disease who were receiving combination therapy with interferon and ribavirin. Occult hepatitis B infection was assessed by carrying out HBV DNA by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in the sera of these patients. Markers of previous hepatitis B infection Le; anti-HBs and total anti-HBc antibodies were also tested. Response to treatment for hepatitis C (with interferon and ribavirin) was assessed at the end of six months of therapy by measuring ALT levels and HCV RNA by PCR in the serum. Results: In our study only one patient (3.33%) was found to be harbouring HBV DNA in the serum detectable by PCR, with markers of previous HBV infection (both anti HBc antibodies and anti HBs antibodies were positive). A total 14 patients (46.67%) had markers of previous HBV infection, while 16 patients (53.33%) had no such sero markers. Twenty five out of 30 patients (83.33%) responded to treatment and 5 (16.66%) turned out to be non-responders. The single case of occult hepatitis B detected in this study responded to hepatitis C treatment. Conclusion: Occult hepatitis B is not a common occurrence in chronic hepatitis C patients and it did not alter the outcome of treatment for hepatitis C in our study. (author)

  14. Wind Diffusivity Current, METOP ASCAT, 0.25 degrees, Global, Near Real Time, Zonal

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NOAA CoastWatch distributes near real time Ekman current (in zonal, meridional, and modulus sets) and Ekman upwelling data. This data begins with wind velocity...

  15. Fecal Occult Blood Test (FOBT): MedlinePlus Lab Test Information

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... caused by a variety of conditions, including: Polyps Hemorrhoids Diverticulosis Ulcers Colitis , a type of inflammatory bowel ... on a fecal occult blood test include ulcers, hemorrhoids, polyps, and benign tumors. If your test results ...

  16. Occult spontaneous lateral intrasphenoidal encephalocele: A rare presentation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shahina Bano

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Basal encephaloceles are extremely rare congenital malformations. Advanced cross-sectional imaging modalities like computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging are necessary for diagnosing the asymptomatic, occult basal encephalocele and planning the surgical approach. We present an interesting case of clinically silent right-sided lateral intrasphenoidal encephalocele through a large bony defect.

  17. Instabilities of continuously stratified zonal equatorial jets in a periodic channel model

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. Masina

    2002-05-01

    Full Text Available Several numerical experiments are performed in a nonlinear, multi-level periodic channel model centered on the equator with different zonally uniform background flows which resemble the South Equatorial Current (SEC. Analysis of the simulations focuses on identifying stability criteria for a continuously stratified fluid near the equator. A 90 m deep frontal layer is required to destabilize a zonally uniform, 10° wide, westward surface jet that is symmetric about the equator and has a maximum velocity of 100 cm/s. In this case, the phase velocity of the excited unstable waves is very similar to the phase speed of the Tropical Instability Waves (TIWs observed in the eastern Pacific Ocean. The vertical scale of the baroclinic waves corresponds to the frontal layer depth and their phase speed increases as the vertical shear of the jet is doubled. When the westward surface parabolic jet is made asymmetric about the equator, in order to simulate more realistically the structure of the SEC in the eastern Pacific, two kinds of instability are generated. The oscillations that grow north of the equator have a baroclinic nature, while those generated on and very close to the equator have a barotropic nature.  This study shows that the potential for baroclinic instability in the equatorial region can be as large as at mid-latitudes, if the tendency of isotherms to have a smaller slope for a given zonal velocity, when the Coriolis parameter vanishes, is compensated for by the wind effect.Key words. Oceanography: general (equatorial oceanography; numerical modeling – Oceanography: physics (fronts and jets

  18. Results from occultations by minor planets

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Taylor, G.E.

    1982-01-01

    Since the minor planets are believed to consist of primordial matter dating from the time of the formation of the solar system there is great interest in determining their composition. It is therefore necessary to calculate their densities, for which we need accurate masses and sizes. On the rare occasions when a minor planet occults a star, timed observations of the event from a number of observing sites enable an accurate size of the minor planet to be determined. (Auth.)

  19. Generation of zonal flows by ion-temperature-gradient and related modes in the presence of neoclassical viscosity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mikhailovskii, A.B.; Smolyakov, A.I.; Kovalishen, E.A.; Shirokov, M.S.; Tsypin, V.S.; Galvao, R.M.O.

    2006-01-01

    Generation of zonal flows by primary waves that are more complex than those considered in the standard drift-wave model is studied. The effects of parallel ion velocity and ion perturbed temperature and the part of the nonlinear mode interaction proportional to the ion pressure are taken into account. This generalization of the standard model allows the analysis of generation of zonal flows by a rather wide variety of primary modes, including ion temperature gradients, ion sound, electron drift, and drift-sound modes. All the listed effects, which are present in the slab geometry model, are complemented by effects of neoclassical viscosity inherent to toroidal geometry. We show that the electrostatic potential of secondary small-scale modes is expressed in terms of a nonlinear shift of the mode frequency and interpret this shift in terms of the perpendicular and parallel Doppler, nonlinear Kelvin-Helmholtz (KH), and nonlinear ion-pressure-gradient effects. A basic assumption of our model is that the primary modes form a nondispersive monochromatic wave packet. The analysis of zonal-flow generation is performed following an approach similar to that of convective-cell theory. Neoclassical zonal-flow instabilities are separated into fast and slow ones, and these are divided into two varieties. The first of them is independent of the nonlinear KH effect, while the second one is sensitive to it

  20. CALL FOR PAPERS: Special cluster issue on `Experimental studies of zonal flow and turbulence'

    Science.gov (United States)

    Itoh, S.-I.

    2005-07-01

    Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion (PPCF) invites submissions on the topic of `Experimental studies of zonal flow and turbulence', for consideration for a special topical cluster of articles to be published early in 2006. The topical cluster will be published in an issue of PPCF, combined with regular articles. The Guest Editor for the special cluster will be S-I Itoh, Kyushu University, Japan. There has been remarkable progress in the area of structure formation by turbulence. One of the highlights has been the physics of zonal flow and drift wave turbulence in toroidal plasmas. Extensive theoretical as well as computational studies have revealed the various mechanisms in turbulence and zonal flows. At the same time, experimental research on the zonal flow, geodesic acoustic modes and generation of global electric field by turbulence has evolved rapidly. Fast growth in reports of experimental results has stimulated further efforts to develop increased knowledge and systematic understanding. Each paper considered for the special cluster should describe the present research status and new scientific knowledge/results from the authors on experimental studies of zonal flow, geodesic acoustic modes and generation of electric field by turbulence (including studies of Reynolds-Maxwell stresses, etc). Manuscripts submitted to this special cluster in Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion will be refereed according to the normal criteria and procedures of the journal. The Guest Editor guides the progress of the cluster from the initial open call, through the standard refereeing process, to publication. To be considered for inclusion in the special cluster, articles must be submitted by 2 September 2005 and must clearly state `for inclusion in the Turbulent Plasma Cluster'. Articles submitted after this deadline may not be included in the cluster issue but may be published in a later issue of the journal. Please submit your manuscript electronically via our web site at www

  1. Progress in turbulence detection via GNSS occultation data

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    L. B. Cornman

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available The increased availability of radio occultation (RO data offers the ability to detect and study turbulence in the Earth's atmosphere. An analysis of how RO data can be used to determine the strength and location of turbulent regions is presented. This includes the derivation of a model for the power spectrum of the log-amplitude and phase fluctuations of the permittivity (or index of refraction field. The bulk of the paper is then concerned with the estimation of the model parameters. Parameter estimators are introduced and some of their statistical properties are studied. These estimators are then applied to simulated log-amplitude RO signals. This includes the analysis of global statistics derived from a large number of realizations, as well as case studies that illustrate various specific aspects of the problem. Improvements to the basic estimation methods are discussed, and their beneficial properties are illustrated. The estimation techniques are then applied to real occultation data. Only two cases are presented, but they illustrate some of the salient features inherent in real data.

  2. Analysis of equatorial plasma bubble zonal drift velocities in the Pacific sector by imaging techniques

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    D. Yao

    2007-03-01

    Full Text Available Using 1024 nights of data from 2002–2005 taken by the Cornell Narrow Field Imager (CNFI, we examine equatorial plasma bubble (EPB zonal drift velocity characteristics. CNFI is located at the Maui Space Surveillance Site on the Haleakala Volcano (geographic: 20.71° N, 203.83° E; geomagnetic: 21.03° N, 271.84° E on the island of Maui, Hawaii. The imager is set up to view in a magnetic field-aligned geometry in order to maximize its resolution. We calculate the zonal drift velocities using two methods: a correlation routine and an EPB west-wall intensity gradient tracking routine. These two methods yield sizeable differences in the evenings, suggesting strong pre-local midnight EPB development. An analysis of the drift velocities is also performed based on the three influencing factors of season, geomagnetic activity, and solar activity. In general, our data match published trends and drift characteristics from past studies. However, we find that the drift magnitudes are much lower than results from other imagers at similar latitude sectors but at different longitude sectors, suggesting that zonal drift velocities have a longitudinal dependence.

  3. Non-Migrating Tides, with Zonally Symmetric Component, Generated in the Mesosphere

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mayr, H. G.; Mengel, J. G.; Talaat, E. R.; Porter, H. S.; Hines, C. O.

    2003-01-01

    For comparison with measurements from the TIMED satellite and coordinated ground based observations, we discuss results from our Numerical Spectral Model (NSM) that incorporates the Doppler Spread Parameterization (Hines, 1997) for small-scale gravity waves (GWs). The NSM extends from the ground into the thermosphere and describes the major dynamical features of the atmosphere including the wave driven equatorial oscillations (QBO and SAO), and the seasonal variations of tides and planetary waves. With emphasis on the non-migrating tides, having periods of 24 and 12 hours, we discuss our modeling results that account for the classical migrating solar excitation sources only. As reported earlier, the NSM reproduces the observed seasonal variations and in particular the large equinoctial maxima in the amplitude of the migrating diurnal tide at altitudes around 90 km. Filtering of the tide by the zonal circulation and GW momentum deposition was identified as the cause. The GWs were also shown to produce a strong non-linear interaction between the diurnal and semi-diurnal tides. Confined largely to the mesosphere, the NSM produces through dynamical interactions a relatively large contribution of non-migrating tides. A striking feature is seen in the diurnal and semi-diurnal oscillations of the zonal mean (m = 0). Eastward propagating tides are also generated for zonal wave numbers m = 1 to 4. When the NSM is run without GWs, the amplitudes for the non-migrating tides, including m = 0, are generally small. Planetary wave interaction and non-linear coupling that involves the filtering of GWs and related height integration of dynamical features are discussed as possible mechanisms for generating these non-migrating tides in the NSM. As is the case for the solar migrating tides, the non-migrating tides reveal persistent seasonal variations. Under the influence of the QBO and SAO, interannual variations are produced.

  4. Sizes of the Smallest Particles at Saturn Ring Edges from Diffraction in UVIS Stellar Occultations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eckert, S.; Colwell, J. E.; Becker, T. M.; Esposito, L. W.

    2017-12-01

    Cassini's Ultraviolet Imaging Spectrograph (UVIS) has observed more than 150 ring stellar occultations since its arrival at Saturn in 2004. We use stellar occultation data from the UVIS High Speed Photometer (HSP) to identify diffraction signals at ring edges caused by small particles diffracting light into the detector and consequently increasing the signal above that of the unocculted star. The shape of a diffraction signal is indicative of the particle size distribution at the ring edge, which may be a dynamically perturbed region. Becker et al. (2015 Icarus doi:10.1016/j.icarus.2015.11.001) analyzed diffraction signals at the outer edge of the A Ring and the edges of the Encke Gap. We apply the Becker et al. (2015) model to the outer edge of the B Ring as well as the edges of ringlets within the C Ring and Cassini Division. In addition, we analyze diffraction signatures at the A Ring outer edge in 2 new occultations. The best-fit model signals to these occultations are consistent with the findings of Becker et al. (2015) who found an average minimum particle size amin =4.5 mm and average power law slope q=3.2. At the B Ring outer edge, we detect a diffraction signal in 10 of 28 occultations in which the diffraction signal would be observable according to our criteria for star brightness and observation geometry. We find a mean amin =11 mm and a mean q=3.0. At both edges of the so-called "Strange" ringlet (R6) we find a mean amin = 20 mm and mean q values of 3.0 and 2.8 at the inner and outer edges, respectively. In contrast, we do not observe any clear diffraction signals at either edge of the wider Huygens ringlet. This could imply an absence of cm-scale or smaller particles and indicates that collisions here may be less vigorous than at the other ring edges analyzed in this study. We detect diffraction in a small fraction ( 10%) of occultations at 3 ringlets within the Cassini Division: the Herschel ringlet, the Laplace ringlet, and the Barnard ringlet. We

  5. Vaginal prolapse repair with or without a midurethral sling in women with genital prolapse and occult stress urinary incontinence: a randomized trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van der Ploeg, J Marinus; Oude Rengerink, Katrien; van der Steen, Annemarie; van Leeuwen, Jules H Schagen; van der Vaart, C Huub; Roovers, Jan-Paul W R

    2016-07-01

    We compared pelvic organ prolapse (POP) repair with and without midurethral sling (MUS) in women with occult stress urinary incontinence (SUI). This was a randomized trial conducted by a consortium of 13 teaching hospitals assessing a parallel cohort of continent women with symptomatic stage II or greater POP. Women with occult SUI were randomly assigned to vaginal prolapse repair with or without MUS. Women without occult SUI received POP surgery. Main outcomes were the absence of SUI at the 12-month follow-up based on the Urogenital Distress Inventory and the need for additional treatment for SUI. We evaluated 231 women, of whom 91 randomized as follows: 43 to POP surgery with and 47 without MUS. A greater number of women in the MUS group reported absence of SUI [86 % vs. 48 %; relative risk (RR) 1.79; 95 % confidence interval (CI) 1.29-2.48]. No women in the MUS group received additional treatment for postoperative SUI; six (13 %) in the control group had a secondary MUS. Women with occult SUI reported more urinary symptoms after POP surgery and more often underwent treatment for postoperative SUI than women without occult SUI. Women with occult SUI had a higher risk of reporting SUI after POP surgery compared with women without occult SUI. Adding a MUS to POP surgery reduced the risk of postoperative SUI and the need for its treatment in women with occult SUI. Of women with occult SUI undergoing POP-only surgery, 13 % needed additional MUS. We found no differences in global impression of improvement and quality of life.

  6. Comparison of Global Distributions of Zonal-Mean Gravity Wave Variance Inferred from Different Satellite Instruments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Preusse, Peter; Eckermann, Stephen D.; Offermann, Dirk; Jackman, Charles H. (Technical Monitor)

    2000-01-01

    Gravity wave temperature fluctuations acquired by the CRISTA instrument are compared to previous estimates of zonal-mean gravity wave temperature variance inferred from the LIMS, MLS and GPS/MET satellite instruments during northern winter. Careful attention is paid to the range of vertical wavelengths resolved by each instrument. Good agreement between CRISTA data and previously published results from LIMS, MLS and GPS/MET are found. Key latitudinal features in these variances are consistent with previous findings from ground-based measurements and some simple models. We conclude that all four satellite instruments provide reliable global data on zonal-mean gravity wave temperature fluctuations throughout the middle atmosphere.

  7. RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN ZONAL WIND ANOMALIES IN HIGH AND LOW TROPOSPHERE AND ANNUAL FREQUENCY OF NW PACIFIC TROPICAL CYCLONES

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    GONG Zhen-song; HE Min

    2007-01-01

    Relationships between large-scale zonal wind anomalies and annual frequency of NW Pacific tropical cyclones and possible mechanisms are investigated with the methods of correlation and composition.It is indicated that when △ U200-△U850 >0 in the eastern tropical Pacific and △ U200- △U850 <0 in western tropical Pacific, the Walker cell is stronger in the Pacific tropical region and the annual frequency of NW Pacific tropical cyclone are above normal. In the years with zonal wind anomalies, the circulation of high and low troposphere and the vertical motions in the troposphere have significant characteristics. In the time scale of short-range climate prediction, zonal wind anomalies in high and low troposphere are useful as a preliminary signal of the annual frequency prediction of NW Pacific tropical cyclones.

  8. On the long-term variability of Jupiter and Saturn zonal winds

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sanchez-Lavega, A.; Garcia-Melendo, E.; Hueso, R.; Barrado-Izagirre, N.; Legarreta, J.; Rojas, J. F.

    2012-12-01

    We present an analysis of the long-term variability of Jupiter and Saturn zonal wind profiles at their upper cloud level as retrieved from cloud motion tracking on images obtained at ground-based observatories and with different spacecraft missions since 1979, encompassing about three Jovian and one Saturn years. We study the sensitivity and variability of the zonal wind profile in both planets to major planetary-scale disturbances and to seasonal forcing. We finally discuss the implications that these results have for current model efforts to explain the global tropospheric circulation in these planets. Acknowledgements: This work has been funded by Spanish MICIIN AYA2009-10701 with FEDER support, Grupos Gobierno Vasco IT-464-07 and UPV/EHU UFI11/55. [1] Sánchez-Lavega A., et al., Icarus, 147, 405-420 (2000). [2] García-Melendo E., Sánchez LavegaA., Icarus, 152, 316-330 (2001) [3] Sánchez-Lavega A., et al., Nature, 423, 623-625 (2003). [4] García-Melendo E., et al., Geophysical Research Letters, 37, L22204 (2010).

  9. Generation of Zonal Flow and Magnetic Field by Electromagnetic Planetary Waves in the Ionospheric E-Layer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kahlon, L. Z.; Kaladze, T. D.

    2017-12-01

    We review the excitation of zonal flow and magnetic field by coupled electromagnetic (EM) ULF planetary waves in the Earth's ionospheric E layer. Coupling of different planetary low-frequency electromagnetic waves under the typical ionospheric E-layer conditions is revealed. Propagation of coupled internal-gravity-Alfvén (CIGA), coupled Rossby-Khantadze (CRK) and coupled Rossby-Alfvén-Khantadze (CRAK) waves is shown and studied. A set of appropriate nonlinear equations describing the interaction of such waves with sheared zonal flow is derived. The conclusion on the instability of short wavelength turbulence of such coupled waves with respect to the excitation of low-frequency and large-scale perturbation of the sheared zonal flow and sheared magnetic field is inferred. This nonlinear instability's mechanism is depended on the parametric excitation of triple finite-amplitude coupled waves leading to the inverse energy cascade towards the longer wavelength. The possibility of generation of the intense mean magnetic field is shown. Obtained growth rates are discussed for each considered coupled waves.

  10. Direct evidence of stationary zonal flows and critical gradient behavior for Er during formation of the edge pedestal in JET

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hillesheim, Jon

    2015-11-01

    High spatial resolution measurements with Doppler backscattering in JET have provided new insights into the development of the edge radial electric field during pedestal formation. The characteristics of Er have been studied as a function of density at 2.5 MA plasma current and 3 T toroidal magnetic field. We observe fine-scale spatial structure in the edge Er well prior to the LH transition, consistent with stationary zonal flows. Zonal flows are a fundamental mechanism for the saturation of turbulence and this is the first direct evidence of stationary zonal flows in a tokamak. The radial wavelength of the zonal flows systematically decreases with density. The zonal flows are clearest in Ohmic conditions, weaker in L-mode, and absent in H-mode. Measurements also show that after neutral beam heating is applied, the edge Er builds up at a constant gradient into the core during L-mode, at radii where Er is mainly due to toroidal velocity. The local stability of velocity shear driven turbulence, such as the parallel velocity gradient mode, will be assessed with gyrokinetic simulations. This critical Er shear persists across the LH transition into H-mode. Surprisingly, a reduction in the apparent magnitude of the Er well depth is observed directly following the LH transition at high densities. Establishing the physics basis for the LH transition is important for projecting scalings to ITER and these observations challenge existing models based on increased Er shear or strong zonal flows as the trigger for the transition. This work has been carried out within the framework of the EUROfusion Consortium and has received funding from the Euratom research and training programme 2014-2018 under grant agreement No 633053. The views and opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect those of the European Commission.

  11. Angiographically occult vascular malformation of the brain: MR imaging at 1.5 T

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Patel, S.C.; Sanders, W.P.; Fuentes, J.; Haggar, A.M.; Mehta, B.A.; Boulos, R.S.; Froelich, J.W.

    1986-01-01

    MR imaging was performed in nine patients with 12 angiographically occult arteriovenous malformations using a 1.5-T superconducting magnet; four additional patients were imaged using a 0.3-T system. All images were reviewed in conjunction with CT scans. The following observations were made. (1) Eleven of 14 supratentorial lesions were located at the junction of gray and white matter. (2) Exclusing acute hemorrhage, only two lesions displayed mild mass effect. (3) All lesions displayed central foci of high signal intensity, probably representing subacute hemorrhage. (4) All lesions but one showed a peripheral rim of low signal intensity which progressively lost signal with increasing T2 weighting. This most likely represents iron-containing hemosiderin deposition. (5) Lesions were best demonstrated with long repetition times and moderate T2 weighting (TR = 2,500 msec, TE = 25-100 msec). (6) All lesions but one were hyperdense on non-contrast-enhanced CT, although only three had unequivocal calcification. The possibility of hyperdensity due to blood or iron deposition is discussed

  12. A global perspective on atmospheric blocking using GPS radio occultation – one decade of observations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    L. Brunner

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Atmospheric blocking represents a weather pattern where a stationary high-pressure system weakens or reverses the climatological westerly flow at mid-latitudes for up to several weeks. It is closely connected to strong anomalies in key atmospheric variables such as geopotential height, temperature, and humidity. Here we provide, for the first time, a comprehensive, global perspective on atmospheric blocking and related impacts by using an observation-based data set from Global Positioning System (GPS radio occultation (RO from 2006 to 2016. The main blocking regions in both hemispheres and seasonal variations are found to be represented well in RO data. The effect of blocking on vertically resolved temperature and humidity anomalies in the troposphere and lower stratosphere is investigated for blocking regions in the Northern and Southern hemispheres, respectively. We find a statistically significant correlation of blocking with positive temperature anomalies, exceeding 3 K in the troposphere, and a reversal above the tropopause with negative temperature anomalies below −3 K in the lower stratosphere. Specific humidity is positively correlated with temperature throughout the troposphere with larger anomalies revealed in the Southern Hemisphere. At the eastern and equatorward side of the investigated blocking regions, a band of tropospheric cold anomalies reveals advection of cold air by anticyclonic motion around blocking highs, which is less distinct in the Southern Hemisphere due to stronger zonal flow. We find GPS RO to be a promising new data set for blocking research that gives insight into the vertical atmospheric structure, especially in light of the expected increase in data coverage that future missions will provide.

  13. Factoring in Factor VIII With Acute Ischemic Stroke.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Siegler, James E; Samai, Alyana; Albright, Karen C; Boehme, Amelia K; Martin-Schild, Sheryl

    2015-10-01

    There is growing research interest into the etiologies of cryptogenic stroke, in particular as it relates to hypercoagulable states. An elevation in serum levels of the procoagulant factor VIII is recognized as one such culprit of occult cerebral infarctions. It is the objective of the present review to summarize the molecular role of factor VIII in thrombogenesis and its clinical use in the diagnosis and prognosis of acute ischemic stroke. We also discuss the utility of screening for serum factor VIII levels among patients at risk for, or those who have experienced, ischemic stroke. © The Author(s) 2015.

  14. Verifying occulter deployment tolerances as part of NASA's technology development for exoplanet missions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kasdin, N. J.; Lisman, D.; Shaklan, S.; Thomson, M.; Webb, D.; Cady, E.; Marks, G. W.; Lo, A.

    2013-09-01

    An external occulter is a satellite employing a large screen, or starshade, that flies in formation with a spaceborne telescope to provide the starlight suppression needed for detecting and characterizing exoplanets. Among the advantages of using an occulter are the broadband allowed for characterization and the removal of light before entering the observatory, greatly relaxing the requirements on the telescope and instrument. In support of NASA's Exoplanet Exploration Program and the Technology Development for Exoplanet Missions (TDEM), we recently completed a 2 year study of the manufacturability and metrology of starshade petals. In this paper we review the results of that successful first TDEM which demonstrated an occulter petal could be built and measured to an accuracy consistent with close to 10-10 contrast. We then present the results of our second TDEM to demonstrate the next critical technology milestone: precision deployment of the central truss and petals to the necessary accuracy. We show the deployment of an existing deployable truss outfitted with four sub-scale petals and a custom designed central hub.

  15. Paraneoplastic retinopathy associated with occult bladder cancer

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nivean, M; Muttuvelu, Danson V; Afzelius, Pia Maria Tullia

    2016-01-01

    (ERG), serology including serum antibodies for CAR, and positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET-CT) scan. The patient was diagnosed with bladder carcinoma revealed by PET-CT. Timely recognition of this entity may be crucial for an increased patient survival thus adult onset progressive...... photoreceptor dysfunction, confirmed by ERG, should alert to a possible remote effect of known or occult malignancy. In the latter, PET-CT may be exploited as a powerful diagnostic tool....

  16. Instabilities of continuously stratified zonal equatorial jets in a periodic channel model

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. Masina

    Full Text Available Several numerical experiments are performed in a nonlinear, multi-level periodic channel model centered on the equator with different zonally uniform background flows which resemble the South Equatorial Current (SEC. Analysis of the simulations focuses on identifying stability criteria for a continuously stratified fluid near the equator. A 90 m deep frontal layer is required to destabilize a zonally uniform, 10° wide, westward surface jet that is symmetric about the equator and has a maximum velocity of 100 cm/s. In this case, the phase velocity of the excited unstable waves is very similar to the phase speed of the Tropical Instability Waves (TIWs observed in the eastern Pacific Ocean. The vertical scale of the baroclinic waves corresponds to the frontal layer depth and their phase speed increases as the vertical shear of the jet is doubled. When the westward surface parabolic jet is made asymmetric about the equator, in order to simulate more realistically the structure of the SEC in the eastern Pacific, two kinds of instability are generated. The oscillations that grow north of the equator have a baroclinic nature, while those generated on and very close to the equator have a barotropic nature. 

    This study shows that the potential for baroclinic instability in the equatorial region can be as large as at mid-latitudes, if the tendency of isotherms to have a smaller slope for a given zonal velocity, when the Coriolis parameter vanishes, is compensated for by the wind effect.

    Key words. Oceanography: general (equatorial oceanography; numerical modeling – Oceanography: physics (fronts and jets

  17. Boundary layers affected by different pressure gradients investigated computationally by a zonal RANS-LES method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Roidl, B.; Meinke, M.; Schröder, W.

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • Reformulated synthetic turbulence generation method (RSTGM) is applied. • Zonal RANS-LES method is applied to boundary layers at pressure gradients. • Good agreement with the pure LES and other reference data is obtained. • The RSTGM is applicable to pressure gradient flows without modification. • RANS-to-LES boundary should be located where -1·10 6 6 is satisfied. -- Abstract: The reformulated synthetic turbulence generation (RSTG) method is used to compute by a fully coupled zonal RANS-LES approach turbulent non-zero-pressure gradient boundary layers. The quality of the RSTG method, which is based on the same shape functions and length scale distributions as in zero-pressure gradient flow, is discussed by comparing the zonal RANS-LES findings with pure LES, pure RANS, direct numerical simulation (DNS), and experimental data. For the favorable pressure gradient (FPG) simulation the RANS-to-LES transition occurs in the accelerated flow region and for the adverse pressure gradient (APG) case it is located in the decelerated flow region. The results of the time and spanwise averaged skin-friction distributions, velocity profiles, and Reynolds stress distributions of the zonal RANS-LES simulation show a satisfactory to good agreement with the pure LES, reference DNS, and experimental data. The quality of the findings shows that the rigorous formulation of the synthetic turbulence generation makes the RSTG method applicable without a priori knowledge of the flow properties but those determined by the RANS solution and without using additional control planes to regulate the shear stress budget to a wide range of Reynolds numbers and pressure gradients. The method is a promising approach to formulate embedded RANS-to-LES boundaries in flow regions where the Pohlhausen or acceleration parameter satisfies -1·10 -6 ⩽K⩽2·10 -6

  18. Occult microscopic endometriosis: undetectable by laparoscopy in normal peritoneum.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khan, Khaleque Newaz; Fujishita, Akira; Kitajima, Michio; Hiraki, Koichi; Nakashima, Masahiro; Masuzaki, Hideaki

    2014-03-01

    Is there any occurrence of hidden (occult) endometriotic lesions in normal peritoneum of women with and without visible endometriosis? We detected a slightly higher occurrence of occult microscopic endometriosis (OME) in normal peritoneum of women with visible endometriosis than in control women. Based on a small number of cases, the concept of invisible microscopic endometriosis in visually normal peritoneum has been reported for more than a decade but there is controversy regarding their tissue activity and clinical significance. This case-controlled research study was conducted with prospectively collected normal peritoneal samples from 151 women with and 62 women without visible endometriosis. Normal peritoneal biopsy specimens from different pelvic sites of were collected during laparoscopy. A histological search of all peritoneal biopsy specimens for the detection of invisible endometriosis was done by immunoreaction to Ber-EP4 (epithelial cell marker), CD10 (stromal cell marker) and Calretinin (mesothelial cell marker). Tissue expression of estrogen/progesterone receptors (ER/PR) and cell proliferation marker, Ki-67, was performed by immunohistochemistry to identify tissue activity. Three different patterns of OME were detected based on (I) the presence of typical gland/stroma, (II) reactive hyperplastic change of endometrioid epithelial cells with surrounding stroma and (III) single-layered epithelium-lined cystic lesions with surrounding stroma. A higher tendency toward the occurrence of OME was found in women with visible endometriosis (15.2%, 23/151) compared with control women (6.4%, 4/62) (P = 0.06, χ(2) test). The epithelial cells and/or stromal cells of OME lesions were immunoreactive to Ber-EP4 and CD10 but not reactive to Calretinin. ER and PR expression was observed in all patterns of OME lesions. Ki-67 index was significantly higher in pattern I/II OME lesions than in pattern III OME lesions (Pendometriosis due to the presence of adhesions in

  19. Male occult triple-negative breast cancer with dermatomyositis: a case report and review of the literature

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhang L

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Le Zhang,1 Chenghua Zhang,2 Zhaoying Yang,1 Miao He,3 Lijuan Zhang,1 Shereen Ezzat,4 Xi Liang5 1Department of Breast Surgery, China-Japan Union Hospital, Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin, China; 2Endoscopy Department, Jilin Cancer Hospital, Changchun, Jilin,China; 3Department of Anesthesia, The Second Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin, China; 4Ontario Cancer Institute and The Endocrine Oncology Site Group, Princess Margaret Hospital, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario, Canada; 5Department of Breast Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Dalian Medical University, Dalian, Liaoning, China Abstract: Occult breast cancer is defined by the presence of axillary metastases without an identifiable primary breast tumor. Here, we report a rare case of a male occult breast cancer with dermatomyositis. We performed a modified radical mastectomy consisting of whole breast mastectomy and axillary lymph node dissection. Immunohistochemistry and fluorescent in situ hybridization analyses demonstrated an adenocarcinoma likely of breast origin, which was an occult triple-negative breast cancer. Interestingly, the patient’s previously noted periorbital dermatomyositis resolved promptly following surgical excision. Keywords: male breast cancer, occult breast cancer, triple-negative breast cancer, dermato­myositis 

  20. Wind Diffusivity Current, QuikSCAT SeaWinds, 0.25 degrees, Global, Science Quality, Zonal

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NOAA CoastWatch distributes science quality Ekman current (in zonal, meridional, and modulus sets) and Ekman upwelling data. This data begins with wind velocity...

  1. Occult Metabolic Bone Disease in Chronic Pancreatitis | Hari Kumar ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Background: Chronic pancreatitis (CP) leads to malabsorption and metabolic bone disease (MBD). Alcoholic CP (ACP) and tropical CP (TCP) are the two common types of CP. Objective: We investigated the presence of occult MBD in patients with CP and compared the same between ACP and TCP. Materials and Methods: ...

  2. The paramo vegetation of Ramal de Guaramacal, Trujillo State, Venezuela. 1. Zonal communities

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Cuello, A.N.L.; Cleef, A.M.

    2009-01-01

    Zonal paramo vegetation communities present on top of Ramal de Guaramacal, Trujillo state, Venezuela, have been studied with the aim to provide a syntaxonomic scheme or classification, based oil analysis of the physiognomy, floristic composition, ecological relations and spatial distribution of the

  3. Climatology of mesopause region nocturnal temperature, zonal wind, and sodium density observed by sodium lidar over Hefei, China (32°N, 117°E)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, T.; Ban, C.; Fang, X.; Li, J.; Wu, Z.; Xiong, J.; Feng, W.; Plane, J. M. C.

    2017-12-01

    The University of Science and Technology of China narrowband sodium temperature/wind lidar, located in Hefei, China (32°N, 117°E), was installed in November 2011 and have made routine nighttime measurements since January 2012. We obtained 154 nights ( 1400 hours) of vertical profiles of temperature, sodium density, and zonal wind, and 83 nights ( 800 hours) of vertical flux of gravity wave (GW) zonal momentum in the mesopause region (80-105 km) during the period of 2012 to 2016. In temperature, it is likely that the diurnal tide dominates below 100 km in spring, while the semidiurnal tide dominates above 100 km throughout the year. A clear semiannual variation in temperature is revealed near 90 km, likely related to the tropical mesospheric semiannual oscillation (MSAO). The variability of sodium density is positively correlated with temperature, suggesting that in addition to dynamics, the chemistry may also play an important role in the formation of sodium atoms. The observed sodium peak density is 1000 cm-3 higher than that simulated by the model. In zonal wind, the diurnal tide dominates in both spring and fall, while semidiurnal tide dominates in winter. The observed semiannual variation in zonal wind near 90 km is out-of-phase with that in temperature, consistent with tropical MSAO. The GW zonal momentum flux is mostly westward in fall and winter, anti-correlated with eastward zonal wind. The annual mean flux averaged over 87-97 km is -0.3 m2/s2 (westward), anti-correlated with eastward zonal wind of 10 m/s. The comparisons of lidar results with those observed by satellite, nearby radar, and simulated by model show generally good agreements.

  4. The ionosphere of Europa from Galileo radio occultations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kliore, A. J.; Hinson, D. P.; Flasar, F. M.; Nagy, A. F.; Cravens, T. E.

    1997-01-01

    The Galileo spacecraft performed six radio occultation observations of Jupiter's Galilean satellite Europa during its tour of the jovian system. In five of the six instances, these occultations revealed the presence of a tenuous ionosphere on Europa, with an average maximum electron density of nearly 10(4) per cubic centimeter near the surface and a plasma scale height of about 240 +/- 40 kilometers from the surface to 300 kilometers and of 440 +/- 60 kilometers above 300 kilometers. Such an ionosphere could be produced by solar photoionization and jovian magnetospheric particle impact in an atmosphere having a surface density of about 10(8) electrons per cubic centimeter. If this atmosphere is composed primarily of O2, then the principal ion is O2+ and the neutral atmosphere temperature implied by the 240-kilometer scale height is about 600 kelvin. If it is composed of H2O, the principal ion is H3O+ and the neutral temperature is about 340 kelvin. In either case, these temperatures are much higher than those observed on Europa's surface, and an external heating source from the jovian magnetosphere is required.

  5. Observing Tropospheric Water Vapor by Radio Occultation using the Global Positioning System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kursinski, E. R.; Hajj, G. A.; Hardy, K. R.; Romans, L. J.; Schofield, J. T.

    1995-01-01

    Given the importance of water vapor to weather, climate and hydrology, global humidity observations from satellites are critical. At low latitudes, radio occultation observations of Earth's atmosphere using the Global Positioning System (GPS) satellites allow water vapor profiles to be retrieved with accuracies of 10 to 20% below 6 to 7 km altitude and approx. 5% or better within the boundary layer. GPS observations provide a unique combination of accuracy, vertical resolution (less than or equal to 1 km) and insensitivity to cloud and aerosol particles that is well suited to observations of the lower troposphere. These characteristics combined with the inherent stability of radio occultation observations make it an excellent candidate for the measurement of long term trends.

  6. Photometry of occultation candidate stars. I - Uranus 1985 and Saturn 1985-1991

    Science.gov (United States)

    French, L. M.; Morales, G.; Dalton, A. S.; Klavetter, J. J.; Conner, S. R.

    1985-01-01

    Photometric observations of five stars to be occulted by the rings around Uranus are presented. The four stars to be occulted by Saturn or its rings during the period 1985-1991 were also observed. The observations were carried out with a CCD detector attached to the Kitt Peak McGraw-Hill 1.30-m telescope. Landolt standards of widely ranging V-I color indices were used to determine the extinction coefficients, transformation coefficients, and zero points of the stars. Mean extinction coefficients are given for each night of observation. K magnitudes for each star were estimated on the basis of the results of Johnson (1967). The complete photometric data set is given in a series of tables.

  7. Molecular and serological detection of occult hepatitis B virus ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    hepatitis B surface antigen-negative blood donors in Malaysia. ... Objective: This study aimed to detect occult hepatitis B virus in hepatitis B surface .... of the standard HBV-positive serum and the detection ... in general population ranges from 1.5 to 9.8% but report- .... Putra, Malaysia for their financial support of this research.

  8. A Simulation Model for Drift Resistive Ballooning Turbulence Examining the Influence of Self-consistent Zonal Flows

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cohen, Bruce; Umansky, Maxim; Joseph, Ilon

    2015-11-01

    Progress is reported on including self-consistent zonal flows in simulations of drift-resistive ballooning turbulence using the BOUT + + framework. Previous published work addressed the simulation of L-mode edge turbulence in realistic single-null tokamak geometry using the BOUT three-dimensional fluid code that solves Braginskii-based fluid equations. The effects of imposed sheared ExB poloidal rotation were included, with a static radial electric field fitted to experimental data. In new work our goal is to include the self-consistent effects on the radial electric field driven by the microturbulence, which contributes to the sheared ExB poloidal rotation (zonal flow generation). We describe a model for including self-consistent zonal flows and an algorithm for maintaining underlying plasma profiles to enable the simulation of steady-state turbulence. We examine the role of Braginskii viscous forces in providing necessary dissipation when including axisymmetric perturbations. We also report on some of the numerical difficulties associated with including the axisymmetric component of the fluctuating fields. This work was performed under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy under contract DE-AC52-07NA27344 at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL-ABS-674950).

  9. The climatology of low-latitude ionospheric densities and zonal drifts from IMAGE-FUV.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Immel, T. J.; Sagawa, E.; Frey, H. U.; Mende, S. B.; Patel, J.

    2004-12-01

    The IMAGE satellite was the first dedicated to magnetospheric imaging, but has also provided numerous images of the nightside ionosphere with its Far-Ultraviolet (FUV) spectrographic imager. Nightside emissions of O I at 135.6-nm originating away from the aurora are due to recombination of ionospheric O+, and vary in intensity with (O+)2. IMAGE-FUV, operating in a highly elliptical orbit with apogee at middle latitudes and >7 Re altitude, measures this emission globally with 100-km resolution. During each 14.5 hour orbit, IMAGE-FUV is able to monitor nightside ionospheric densities for up to 6-7 hours. Hundreds of low-latitude ionospheric bubbles, their development and drift speed, and a variety of other dynamical variations in brightness and morphology of the equatorial anomalies have been observed during this mission. Furthermore, the average global distribution of low-latitude ionospheric plasma densities can be determined in 3 days. Imaging data collected from February through June of 2002 are used to compile a dataset containing a variety of parameters (e.g., latitude and brightness of peak plasma density, zonal bubble drift speed) which can be drawn from for climatological studies. Recent results indicate that the average ground speed of low-latitude zonal plasma drifts vary with longitude by up to 50%, and that a periodic variation in ionospheric densities with longitude suggests the influence of a lower-thermospheric non-migrating tide with wave number = 4 on ionospheric densities. An excellent correlation between zonal drift speed and the magnetic storm index Dst is also found.

  10. HIRDLS/Aura Level 3 Extinction at 12.1 Microns Zonal Fourier Coefficients V007

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The "HIRDLS/Aura Level 3 Extinction at 12.1 Microns Zonal Fourier Coefficients" version 7 data product (H3ZFC12MEXT) contains the entire mission (~3 years) of HIRDLS...

  11. Whole spine MRI in the assessment of acute vertebral body trauma

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Green, R.A.R.; Saifuddin, A.

    2004-01-01

    To determine the incidence and types of multilevel vertebral body injury in association with acute spinal trauma as assessed by whole spine MRI. All acute admissions to a regional spinal injury unit had whole spine MRI carried out, to detect occult vertebral body injury. Two radiologists assessed 127 cases prospectively, over a period of 3 years. All cases had T2-weighted sagittal imaging of the whole spine (where possible using a T2-weighted fat-suppressed sequence), with T1-weighted imaging in both sagittal and axial planes covering the primary injury. The incidence of secondary injury (defined as either bone bruising, wedge compression fracture or burst fracture) was determined and defined by type, site and relationship to the primary injury. Seventy-seven per cent of cases had a secondary injury level. Of these, bone bruising was the commonest but often occurred in combination with secondary wedge compression fracture or burst fracture. MRI detected 27 non-contiguous wedge compression fractures and 16 non-contiguous burst fractures, giving an incidence of secondary level, non-contiguous fracture of approximately 34%. A higher frequency of secondary vertebral body injury may be defined by MRI than has been described in previous studies based on radiographic evaluation of the whole spine. Whole spine MRI in assessment for occult vertebral body fracture enables increased confidence in the conservative or surgical management of patients with severe spinal injury. (orig.)

  12. [Management of occult malformations at the lateral skull base].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bryson, E; Draf, W; Hofmann, E; Bockmühl, U

    2005-12-01

    Occult malformations of the lateral skull base are rare anomalies, but can cause severe complications such as recurrent meningitis. Therefore, they need to be precisely delineated and sufficient surgical closure is mandatory. Between 1986 and 2004 twenty patients (10 children and 10 adults) with occult malformations at the lateral skull base were treated surgically at the ENT-Department of the Hospital Fulda gAG. Of these 3 Mondini-malformations, 11 defects of the tegmen tympani or the mastoidal roof, 2 dural lesions to the posterior fossa and 4 malformations within the pyramidal apex have been found. Four patients have had multiple anomalies. Routing symptom was in all cases at least one previous meningitis. Radiological diagnostics included high-resolution computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) as well as CT- or MR-cisternography. Depending on type and localisation of the defect the following surgical algorithm was carried out: The trans-mastoidal approach was used in all cases of Mondini-malformation (including obliteration of the ear), in case of lesions to the posterior fossa as well as partly in anomalies at the tegmen tympani and mastoidal roof, respectively. Defects of the pyramidal apex should be explored via the trans-mastoidal way if the lesion is located caudally to the inner auditory canal (IAC), whereas the trans-temporal approach should be used if the lesion is situated ventral to the IAC and dorso-medially to the internal carotid artery (ICA). The trans-temporal approach was also performed in large defects of the tegmen tympani and mastoidal roof as well as in recurrences. In all cases of recurrent meningitis caused by agents of the upper airway tract the basic principle should be to search for occult skull base malformations radiologically as well as by sodium fluorescein endoscopy as long as the anomaly is detected.

  13. Zonal flow dynamics and control of turbulent transport in stellarators.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xanthopoulos, P; Mischchenko, A; Helander, P; Sugama, H; Watanabe, T-H

    2011-12-09

    The relation between magnetic geometry and the level of ion-temperature-gradient (ITG) driven turbulence in stellarators is explored through gyrokinetic theory and direct linear and nonlinear simulations. It is found that the ITG radial heat flux is sensitive to details of the magnetic configuration that can be understood in terms of the linear behavior of zonal flows. The results throw light on the question of how the optimization of neoclassical confinement is related to the reduction of turbulence.

  14. Prevalence of Visible and Occult Blood on the Surfaces of Fiberoptic Bronchoscopes

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    McKamey, Jeffrey

    2000-01-01

    .... This study was conducted to determine if current cleaning, disinfection and sterilization procedures used at one medical center was adequate to remove visible and occult blood from fiberoptic bronchoscopes...

  15. Occult Invasive Lobular Carcinoma of Breast Detected by Stomach Metastasis: A Case Report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    KIm, So Jung; Jung, Hae Kyoung; Ko, Kyung Hee; Yoon, Jung Hyun

    2012-01-01

    Gastric metastasis from primary breast cancer is a rare phenomenon that is more prevalent in the invasive lobular type of breast cancer. We describe a very rare case of occult invasive lobular cancer of the breast detected by the initial presentation of gastric metastasis in a patient without a history of breast cancer. A 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron-emission tomography/computed tomography (FDG PET/CT) which showed increased FDG uptake in the stomach, abdominal mesentery and the right breast, and played pivotal roles in the detection of occult primary breast cancer and a diagnosis of gastric metastasis as an ancillary method for obtaining histological results and immunohistochemical stains.

  16. Occult Invasive Lobular Carcinoma of Breast Detected by Stomach Metastasis: A Case Report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    KIm, So Jung; Jung, Hae Kyoung; Ko, Kyung Hee; Yoon, Jung Hyun [Dept. of Radiology, Bundang CHA general Hospital, CHA University College of Medicine, Seongnam (Korea, Republic of)

    2012-02-15

    Gastric metastasis from primary breast cancer is a rare phenomenon that is more prevalent in the invasive lobular type of breast cancer. We describe a very rare case of occult invasive lobular cancer of the breast detected by the initial presentation of gastric metastasis in a patient without a history of breast cancer. A 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron-emission tomography/computed tomography (FDG PET/CT) which showed increased FDG uptake in the stomach, abdominal mesentery and the right breast, and played pivotal roles in the detection of occult primary breast cancer and a diagnosis of gastric metastasis as an ancillary method for obtaining histological results and immunohistochemical stains.

  17. Numerical study of unsteady flows past oscillating airfoils using direct zonal coupling method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang, F.; Khalid, M.

    2005-01-01

    A direct zonal coupling method was proposed for solving the flows past oscillating airfoils in this study. The entire computational domain was divided into inner and outer zones. The grid in the inner zone is moving with the oscillation of the airfoil, whereas the grid in the outer zone is artificially adjusted to the position consistent with the inner zone grid. The governing equations in the moving frame (the rotation potential energy is included) and those under the stationary frame were applied to inner and outer zones, respectively. By using this kind of treatment, the grid on the zonal interface is 1-to-1 matched. The coupling between the two zones is direct. Both the geometric and flow conservations are entirely satisfied. The NACA0012 and NLR7301 airfoils with oscillations were used as the test cases. The accuracy of the proposed method was demonstrated by the computational results compared with the experimental data.(author)

  18. Image guidance improves localization of sonographically occult colorectal liver metastases

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leung, Universe; Simpson, Amber L.; Adams, Lauryn B.; Jarnagin, William R.; Miga, Michael I.; Kingham, T. Peter

    2015-03-01

    Assessing the therapeutic benefit of surgical navigation systems is a challenging problem in image-guided surgery. The exact clinical indications for patients that may benefit from these systems is not always clear, particularly for abdominal surgery where image-guidance systems have failed to take hold in the same way as orthopedic and neurosurgical applications. We report interim analysis of a prospective clinical trial for localizing small colorectal liver metastases using the Explorer system (Path Finder Technologies, Nashville, TN). Colorectal liver metastases are small lesions that can be difficult to identify with conventional intraoperative ultrasound due to echogeneity changes in the liver as a result of chemotherapy and other preoperative treatments. Interim analysis with eighteen patients shows that 9 of 15 (60%) of these occult lesions could be detected with image guidance. Image guidance changed intraoperative management in 3 (17%) cases. These results suggest that image guidance is a promising tool for localization of small occult liver metastases and that the indications for image-guided surgery are expanding.

  19. Acute injury of the ankle joint

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Breitenseher, M.J.

    1999-01-01

    The diagnosis of lateral collateral ankle ligament trauma is based on patient history, clinical examination, and clinical stress tests. If the clinical stress test is positive, stress radiography could be performed. There is no consensus about the usefulness of stress radiography in acute ankle sprain, particularly about the cut-off talar tilt angle beyond which a two-ligament rupture would be certain, ranging from 5 to 30 . Today MRI is not used for this indication, although it allows, with controlled positioning of the foot and with defined sections, visualization of injured lateral collateral ankle ligaments. In ankle injuries, plain radiographs form the established basis of diagnostic imaging and can provide definitive answers in most cases. CT is used in complex fractures for complete visualization. MRI is the method of choice for several diagnostic problem cases, including occult fractures and post-traumatic avascular necrosis. In tendon injuries, MRI is important if ultrasound is not diagnostic. Generally, for the evaluation of acute ankle injuries, MRI is the most important second-step procedure when radiographs are nondiagnostic. (orig.) [de

  20. Tidal signatures of the thermospheric mass density and zonal wind at midlatitude: CHAMP and GRACE observations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    C. Xiong

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available By using the accelerometer measurements from CHAMP and GRACE satellites, the tidal signatures of the thermospheric mass density and zonal wind at midlatitudes have been analyzed in this study. The results show that the mass density and zonal wind at southern midlatitudes are dominated by a longitudinal wave-1 pattern. The most prominent tidal components in mass density and zonal wind are the diurnal tides D0 and DW2 and the semidiurnal tides SW1 and SW3. This is consistent with the tidal signatures in the F region electron density at midlatitudes as reported by Xiong and Lühr (2014. These same tidal components are observed both in the thermospheric and ionospheric quantities, supporting a mechanism that the non-migrating tides in the upper atmosphere are excited in situ by ion–neutral interactions at midlatitudes, consistent with the modeling results of Jones Jr. et al. (2013. We regard the thermospheric dynamics as the main driver for the electron density tidal structures. An example is the in-phase variation of D0 between electron density and mass density in both hemispheres. Further research including coupled atmospheric models is probably needed for explaining the similarities and differences between thermospheric and ionospheric tidal signals at midlatitudes.

  1. Spatial patterns of whole brain grey and white matter injury in patients with occult spastic diplegic cerebral palsy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mu, Xuetao; Nie, Binbin; Wang, Hong; Duan, Shaofeng; Zhang, Zan; Dai, Guanghui; Ma, Qiaozhi; Shan, Baoci; Ma, Lin

    2014-01-01

    Spastic diplegic cerebral palsy (SDCP) is a common type of cerebral palsy (CP), which presents as a group of motor-impairment syndromes. Previous conventional MRI studies have reported abnormal structural changes in SDCP, such as periventricular leucomalacia. However, there are roughly 27.8% SDCP patients presenting normal appearance in conventional MRI, which were considered as occult SDCP. In this study, sixteen patients with occult SDCP and 16 age- and sex-matched healthy control subjects were collected and the data were acquired on a 3T MR system. We applied voxel-based morphometry (VBM) and tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) analysis to investigate whole brain grey and white matter injury in occult SDCP. By using VBM method, the grey matter volume reduction was revealed in the bilateral basal ganglia regions, thalamus, insula, and left cerebral peduncle, whereas the white matter atrophy was found to be located in the posterior part of corpus callosum and right posterior corona radiata in the occult SDCP patients. By using TBSS, reduced fractional anisotropy (FA) values were detected in multiple white matter regions, including bilateral white matter tracts in prefrontal lobe, temporal lobe, internal and external capsule, corpus callosum, cingulum, thalamus, brainstem and cerebellum. Additionally, several regions of white matter tracts injury were found to be significantly correlated with motor dysfunction. These results collectively revealed the spatial patterns of whole brain grey and white matter injury in occult SDCP.

  2. Occulting Light Concentrators in Liquid Scintillator Neutrino Detectors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buizza Avanzini, Margherita; Cabrera, Anatael; Dusini, Stefano; Grassi, Marco; He, Miao; Wu, Wenjie

    2017-09-01

    The experimental efforts characterizing the era of precision neutrino physics revolve around collecting high-statistics neutrino samples and attaining an excellent energy and position resolution. Next generation liquid-based neutrino detectors, such as JUNO, HyperKamiokande, etc, share the use of a large target mass, and the need of pushing light collection to the edge for maximal calorimetric information. Achieving high light collection implies considerable costs, especially when considering detector masses of several kt. A traditional strategy to maximize the effective photo-coverage with the minimum number of PMTs relies on Light Concentrators (LC), such as Winston Cones. In this paper, the authors introduce a novel concept called Occulting Light Concentrators (OLC), whereby a traditional LC gets tailored to a conventional PMT, by taking into account its single-photoelectron collection efficiency profile and thus occulting the worst performing portion of the photocathode. Thus, the OLC shape optimization takes into account not only the optical interface of the PMT, but also the maximization of the PMT detection performances. The light collection uniformity across the detector is another advantage of the OLC system. By considering the case of JUNO, we will show OLC capabilities in terms of light collection and energy resolution.

  3. Ex Luna Scientia: The Lunar Occultation Explorer (LOX)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miller, Richard

    2017-01-01

    The Lunar Occultation Explorer (LOX) is a next-generation mission concept that provides new capabilities for time-domain astrophysics and established the Moon as a platform for nuclear astrophysics. Performance requirements are driven by Type-Ia supernova (SNeIa) science goals that seek to revel details of these profoundly radioactive objects, including their diversity. Primary science objectives include, but are not limited to, probing the fundamental thermonuclear physics processes, performing a census of progenitors and their explosion mechanisms, and evaluating the environmental conditions and intrinsic systematics of these enigmatic objects. LOX provides new capabilities for all-sky, continuous monitoring in the MeV regime (0.1-10 MeV) by leveraging the Lunar Occultation Technique (LOT). Key benefits of the LOX/LOT approach include maximizing the ratio of sensitive-to-total deployed mass, low implementation risk, and demonstrated operational simplicity that leverages extensive experience with planetary orbital geochemistry investigations; LOX also enables long-term monitoring of MeV gamma-ray sources, a critical capability for SNeIa science. Proof-of-principle efforts validated all aspects of the mission using previously deployed lunar science assets, and led to the first high-energy gamma-ray source detected at the Moon. LOX mission performance, development progress, and expectations for science investigations will be presented.

  4. Relation of zonal plasma drift and wind in the equatorial F region as derived from CHAMP observations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. Park

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available In this paper we estimate zonal plasma drift in the equatorial ionospheric F region without counting on ion drift meters. From June 2001 to June 2004 zonal plasma drift velocity is estimated from electron, neutral, and magnetic field observations of Challenging Mini-satellite Payload (CHAMP in the 09:00–20:00 LT sector. The estimated velocities are validated against ion drift measurements by the Republic of China Satellite-1/Ionospheric Plasma and Electrodynamics Instrument (ROCSAT-1/IPEI during the same period. The correlation between the CHAMP (altitude ~ 400 km estimates and ROCSAT-1 (altitude ~ 600 km observations is reasonably high (R ≈ 0.8. The slope of the linear regression is close to unity. However, the maximum westward drift and the westward-to-eastward reversal occur earlier for CHAMP estimates than for ROCSAT-1 measurements. In the equatorial F region both zonal wind and plasma drift have the same direction. Both generate vertical currents but with opposite signs. The wind effect (F region wind dynamo is generally larger in magnitude than the plasma drift effect (Pedersen current generated by vertical E field, thus determining the direction of the F region vertical current.

  5. Detection of occult HBV infection by nested PCR assay among ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Occult hepatitis B virus infection (OBI) has been reported among patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of OBI in chronic hepatitis C patients with and without hepatocellular carcinoma. A total of 40 chronic hepatitis C patients ...

  6. THE 2011 JUNE 23 STELLAR OCCULTATION BY PLUTO: AIRBORNE AND GROUND OBSERVATIONS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Person, M. J.; Bosh, A. S.; Levine, S. E.; Gulbis, A. A. S.; Zangari, A. M.; Zuluaga, C. A.; Sallum, S. [Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, MA 02139-4307 (United States); Dunham, E. W.; Collins, P.; Bida, T.; Bright, L. [Lowell Observatory, Flagstaff, AZ (United States); Pasachoff, J. M.; Babcock, B. A.; Pandey, S.; Amrhein, D. [Williams College-Hopkins Observatory, Williamstown, MA (United States); Tholen, D. J. [Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawaii, Manoa, HI (United States); Taylor, B. [Boston University, Boston, MA (United States); Wolf, J.; Pfueller, E. [Deutsches SOFIA Institut, Universitaet Stuttgart, Pfaffenwaldring 29, D-70569 Stuttgart (Germany); Meyer, A., E-mail: mjperson@mit.edu [SOFIA Science Center, NASA Ames Research Center, MS 211-1, Moffett Field, CA 94035 (United States); and others

    2013-10-01

    On 2011 June 23, stellar occultations by both Pluto (this work) and Charon (future analysis) were observed from numerous ground stations as well as the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA). This first airborne occultation observation since 1995 with the Kuiper Airborne Observatory resulted in the best occultation chords recorded for the event, in three visible wavelength bands. The data obtained from SOFIA are combined with chords obtained from the ground at the IRTF, the U.S. Naval Observatory Flagstaff Station, and Leeward Community College to give the detailed state of the Pluto-Charon system at the time of the event with a focus on Pluto's atmosphere. The data show a return to the distinct upper and lower atmospheric regions with a knee or kink in the light curve separating them as was observed in 1988, rather than the smoothly transitioning bowl-shaped light curves of recent years. The upper atmosphere is analyzed by fitting a model to all of the light curves, resulting in a half-light radius of 1288 {+-} 1 km. The lower atmosphere is analyzed using two different methods to provide results under the differing assumptions of particulate haze and a strong thermal gradient as causes for the lower atmospheric diminution of flux. These results are compared with those from past occultations to provide a picture of Pluto's evolving atmosphere. Regardless of which lower atmospheric structure is assumed, results indicate that this part of the atmosphere evolves on short timescales with results changing the light curve structures between 1988 and 2006, and then reverting these changes in 2011 though at significantly higher pressures. Throughout these changes, the upper atmosphere remains remarkably stable in structure, again except for the overall pressure changes. No evidence of onset of atmospheric collapse predicted by frost migration models is seen, and the atmosphere appears to be remaining at a stable pressure level, suggesting it

  7. Forces on zonal flows in tokamak core turbulence

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hallatschek, K.; Itoh, K.

    2005-01-01

    The saturation of stationary zonal flows (ZF) in the core of a tokamak has been analyzed in numerical fluid turbulence computer studies. The model was chosen to properly represent the kinetic global plasma flows, i.e., undamped stationary toroidal or poloidal flows and Landau damped geodesic acoustic modes. Reasonable agreement with kinetic simulations in terms of magnitude of transport and occurrence of the Dimits shift was verified. Contrary to common perception, in the final saturated state of turbulence and ZFs, the customary perpendicular Reynolds stress continues to drive the ZFs. The force balance is established by the essentially quasilinear parallel Reynolds stress acting on the parallel return flows required by incompressibility. (author)

  8. Verify Occulter Deployment Tolerances as Part of NASA's Technology Development for Exoplanet Missions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kasdin, N. J.; Shaklan, S.; Lisman, D.; Thomson, M.; Webb, D.; Cady, E.; Marks, G. W.; Lo, A.

    2013-01-01

    In support of NASA's Exoplanet Exploration Program and the Technology Development for Exoplanet Missions (TDEM), we recently completed a 2 year study of the manufacturability and metrology of starshade petals. An external occult is a satellite employing a large screen, or starshade, that flies in formation with a spaceborne telescope to provide the starlight suppression needed for detecting and characterizing exoplanets. Among the advantages of using an occulter are the broadband allowed for characterization and the removal of light before entering the observatory, greatly relaxing the requirements on the telescope and instrument. This poster presents the results of our successful first TDEM that demonstrated an occulter petal could be built and measured to an accuracy consistent with close to 10^-10 contrast. We also present the progress in our second TDEM to demonstrate the next critical technology milestone: precision deployment of the central truss and petals to the necessary accuracy. We have completed manufacture of four sub-scale petals and a central hub to fit with an existing deployable truss. We show the plans for repeated stow and deploy tests of the assembly and the metrology to confirm that each deploy repeatably meets the absolute positioning requirements of the petals (better than 1.0 mm).

  9. Metastatic Squamous Neck Cancer with Occult Primary Treatment (PDQ®)—Patient Version

    Science.gov (United States)

    Metastatic squamous neck cancer with occult primary (unknown primary) treatment options include surgery, radiation therapy, or a combination of both. Learn more about the diagnosis and treatment of these tumors in this expert-reviewed summary.

  10. Lunar occultation of the Galactic center at 2.2 microns

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Adams, D. J.; Becklin, E. E.; Jameson, R. F.; Longmore, A. J.; Sandqvist, Aa.; Valentijn, E.

    1988-01-01

    Results of the lunar occultation of IRS 16 on 1986 September 11 are reported. Sixty percent of the observed flux in a 6arcsec.5 beam comes from four discrete sources. Three sources are unresolved pointlike objects (<0arcsec.05) and are assumed to be individual stars. The fourth object is well

  11. Past and future of radio occultation studies of planetary atmospheres

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eshleman, Von R.; Hinson, David P.; Tyler, G. Leonard; Lindal, Gunnar F.

    1987-01-01

    Measurements of radio waves that have propagated through planetary atmospheres have provided exploratory results on atmospheric constituents, structure, dynamics, and ionization for Venus, Mars, Titan, Jupiter, Saturn, and Uranus. Highlights of past results are reviewed in order to define and illustrate the potential of occultation and related radio studies in future planetary missions.

  12. 'Trick', 'manipulation' and 'farce': Albert Moll's critique of occultism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wolffram, Heather

    2012-04-01

    In July 1925, the psychiatrist Albert Moll appeared before the district court in Berlin-Schöneberg charged with having defamed the medium Maria Vollhardt (alias Rudloff) in his 1924 book Der Spiritismus [Spiritism]. Supported by some of Berlin's most prominent occultists, the plaintiff--the medium's husband--argued that Moll's use of terms such as 'trick', 'manipulation' and 'farce' in reference to Vollhardt's phenomena had been libellous. In the three-part trial that followed, however, Moll's putative affront to the medium--of which he was eventually acquitted--was overshadowed, on the one hand, by a debate over the scientific status of parapsychology, and on the other, by the question of who--parapsychologists, occultists, psychiatrists or jurists--was entitled to claim epistemic authority over the occult. This paper will use the Rudloff-Moll trial as a means of examining Moll's critique of occultism, not only as it stood in the mid-1920s, but also as it had developed since the 1880s. It will also provide insight into the views of Germany's occultists and parapsychologists, who argued that their legitimate bid for scientific credibility was hindered by Dunkelmänner [obscurantists] such as Albert Moll.

  13. The floating cardiac fat pad-sign of occult pneumothorax.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaufman, Claire; Bokhari, S A Jamal

    2016-08-01

    Pneumothoraces are a possible sequela of chest trauma with potential morbidity and mortality if not recognized and treated promptly. A portable supine chest radiograph is frequently the first radiologic study performed in the setting of trauma. While large pneumothoraces can be readily recognized on these radiographs, smaller pneumothoraces are missed in up to 15 % of trauma patients. There are many radiographic signs of occult pneumothoraces, and we are presenting a new radiographic sign of occult pneumothorax. The floating cardiac fat pad sign occurs when pleural air collects anteriorly and superiorly in the most non-dependent portion of the chest lifting the pericardial fat pad off the diaphragm. Lung markings are still seen surrounding the pericardial fat pad due to the inflated lower lobe of the lung resting dependently. Rapid and accurate identification of pneumothoraces is critical but often difficult on chest radiographs. Although there are many existing radiographic signs for identification of pneumothorax, prospective identification of small pneumothoraces is still relatively poor. Here, we describe an additional sign which aides in the detection of pneumothoraces, the floating cardiac fat pad. When present, this should prompt further evaluation with chest CT or upright chest radiograph.

  14. Esophageal Metastasis From Occult Lung Cancer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Po-Kuei Hsu

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available A 66-year-old man with dysphagia was found to have a poorly differentiated esophageal carcinoma by incision biopsy. Following esophagectomy, reconstruction with a gastric tube was performed. Pathological examination and immunohisto-chemistry showed infiltration of adenocarcinoma cells with positive thyroid transcription factor 1-staining in the submucosal layer, which indicated metastatic esophageal carcinoma. Although no pulmonary lesion could be visualized by imaging or bronchoscopy, pulmonary origin was highly suspected as a result of positive thyroid transcription factor 1-staining. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported case of metastatic esophageal carcinoma from occult lung cancer (AJCC TNM stage TX.

  15. Dual-energy computed tomographic virtual noncalcium algorithm for detection of bone marrow edema in acute fractures: early experiences.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reagan, Adrian C; Mallinson, Paul I; O'Connell, Timothy; McLaughlin, Patrick D; Krauss, Bernhard; Munk, Peter L; Nicolaou, Savvas; Ouellette, Hugue A

    2014-01-01

    Computed tomography (CT) is often used to assess the presence of occult fractures when plain radiographs are equivocal in the acute traumatic setting. While providing increased spatial resolution, conventional computed tomography is limited in the assessment of bone marrow edema, a finding that is readily detectable on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).Dual-energy CT has recently been shown to demonstrate patterns of bone marrow edema similar to corresponding MRI studies. Dual-energy CT may therefore provide a convenient modality for further characterizing acute bony injury when MRI is not readily available. We report our initial experiences of 4 cases with imaging and clinical correlation.

  16. Assessment of NOAA NUCAPS upper air temperature profiles using COSMIC GPS radio occultation and ARM radiosondes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feltz, M. L.; Borg, L.; Knuteson, R. O.; Tobin, D.; Revercomb, H.; Gambacorta, A.

    2017-09-01

    The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) recently began operational processing to derive vertical temperature profiles from two new sensors, Cross-Track Infrared Sounder and Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder, which were developed for the next generation of U.S. weather satellites. The NOAA-Unique Combined Atmospheric Processing System (NUCAPS) has been developed by NOAA to routinely process data from future Joint Polar Satellite System operational satellites and the preparatory Suomi-NPP satellite. This paper assesses the NUCAPS vertical temperature profile product from the upper troposphere into the middle stratosphere using radiosonde and GPS radio occultation (RO) data. Radiosonde data from the Department of Energy Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) program are=] compared to both the NUCAPS and GPS RO temperature products to evaluate bias and RMS errors. At all three fixed ARM sites for time periods investigated the NUCAPS temperature in the 100-40 hPa range is found to have an average bias to the radiosondes of less than 0.45 K and an RMS error of less than 1 K when temperature averaging kernels are applied. At a 95% confidence level, the radiosondes and RO were found to agree within 0.4 K at the North Slope of Alaska site and within 0.83 K at Southern Great Plains and Tropical Western Pacific. The GPS RO-derived dry temperatures, obtained from the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere, and Climate (COSMIC) mission, are used as a common reference for the intercomparison of NUCAPS temperature products to similar products produced by NASA from Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) and by European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites from MetOp-B Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI). For seasonal and zonal scales, the NUCAPS agreement with AIRS and IASI is less than 0.5 K after application of averaging kernels.

  17. External occulter edge scattering control using metamaterials for exoplanet detection

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bendek, Eduardo A.; Sirbu, Dan; Liu, Zhaowei; Martin, Stefan; Lu, Dylan

    2015-09-01

    Direct imaging of earth-like exoplanets in the Habitable Zone of sun-like stars requires image contrast of ~10^10 at angular separations of around a hundred milliarcseconds. One approach for achieving this performance is to fly a starshade at a long distance in front of the telescope, shading the telescope from the direct starlight, but allowing planets around the star to be seen. The starshade is positioned so that sunlight falls on the surface away from the telescope, so the sun does not directly illuminate it. However, sunlight scattered from the starshade edge can enter the telescope, raising the background light level and potentially preventing the starshade from delivering the required contrast. As a result, starshade edge design has been identified as one of the highest priority technology gaps for external occulter missions in the NASAs Exoplanet Exploration Program Technology Plan 2013. To reduce the sunlight edge scatter to an acceptable level, the edge Radius Of Curvature (ROC) should be 1μm or less (commercial razor blades have ROC of a few hundred nanometer). This poses a challenging manufacturing requirement and may make the occulter difficult to handle. In this paper we propose an alternative approach to controlling the edge scattering by applying a flexible metamaterial to the occulter edge. Metamaterials are artificially structured materials, which have been designed to display properties not found in natural materials. Metamaterials can be designed to direct the scatter at planned incident angles away from the space telescope, thereby directly decreasing the contaminating background light. Reduction of the background light translates into shorter integration time to characterize a target planet and therefore improves the efficiency of the observations. As an additional benefit, metamaterials also have potential to produce increased tolerance to edge defects.

  18. Measuring Zonal Transport Variability of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current Using GRACE Ocean Bottom Pressure

    Science.gov (United States)

    Makowski, J.; Chambers, D. P.; Bonin, J. A.

    2012-12-01

    Previous studies have suggested that ocean bottom pressure (OBP) can be used to measure the transport variability of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC). Using OBP data from the JPL ECCO model and the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE), we examine the zonal transport variability of the ACC integrated between the major fronts between 2003-2010. The JPL ECCO data are used to determine average front positions for the time period studies, as well as where transport is mainly zonal. Statistical analysis will be conducted to determine the uncertainty of the GRACE observations using a simulated data set. We will also begin looking at low frequency changes and how coherent transport variability is from region to region of the ACC. Correlations with bottom pressure south of the ACC and the average basin transports will also be calculated to determine the probability of using bottom pressure south of the ACC as a means for describing the ACC dynamics and transport.

  19. Polydimethylsiloxane: a new contrast material for localization of occult breast lesions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vitral, Geraldo Sérgio Farinazzo; Raposo, Nádia Rezende Barbosa

    2011-01-01

    The radioguided localization of occult breast lesions (ROLL) technique often utilizes iodinated radiographic contrast to assure that the local injection of 99m Tc-MAA corresponds to the location of the lesion under investigation. However, for this application, this contrast has several shortcomings. The objective of this study was to evaluate the safety, effectiveness and technical feasibility of the use of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) as radiological contrast and tissue marker in ROLL. The safety assessment was performed by the acute toxicity study in Wistar rats (n = 50). The radiological analysis of breast tissue (n = 32) from patients undergoing reductive mammoplasty was used to verify the effectiveness of PDMS as contrast media. The technical feasibility was evaluated through the scintigraphic and histologic analysis. We found no toxic effects of PDMS for this use during the observational period. It has been demonstrated in human breast tissue that the average diameter of the tissue marked by PDMS was lower than when marked by the contrast medium (p <0.001). PDMS did not interfere with the scintigraphic uptake (p = 0.528) and there was no injury in histological processing of samples. This study demonstrated not only the superiority of PDMS as radiological contrast in relation to the iodinated contrast, but also the technical feasibility for the same applicability in the ROLL

  20. Retrieval of temperature and pressure using broadband solar occultation: SOFIE approach and results

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    B. T. Marshall

    2011-05-01

    Full Text Available Measurement of atmospheric temperature as a function of pressure, T(P, is key to understanding many atmospheric processes and a prerequisite for retrieving gas mixing ratios and other parameters from solar occultation measurements. This paper gives a brief overview of the solar occultation measurement technique followed by a detailed discussion of the mechanisms that make the measurement sensitive to temperature. Methods for retrieving T(P using both broadband transmittance and refraction are discussed. Investigations using measurements of broadband transmittance in two CO2 absorption bands (the 4.3 and 2.7 μm bands and refractive bending are then presented. These investigations include sensitivity studies, simulated retrieval studies, and examples from SOFIE.

  1. The Centaur Chariklo and its rings system from stellar occultations in 2017

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leiva, Rodrigo; Sicardy, Bruno; Camargo, Julio; Ortiz, Jose Luis; Berard, Diane; Desmars, Josselin; Chariklo Occultations Team; Rio Group; Lucky Star Occultation Team; Granada Occultation Team

    2017-10-01

    A stellar occultation in June 3, 2013 revealed the presence of a dense ring system around the Centaur object (10199) Chariklo (Braga-Ribas et al., Nature 2014). Subsequent analysis of occultation data and long-term photometric variations indicate that Chariklo's body is elongated (Leiva et al. 2017, submitted) and that the main ring exhibits significant longitudinal variations of the radial width (Bérard et al. 2017, in press). We report three multi-chord high-quality stellar occultation by Chariklo on April 9, 2017 and June 22, 2017 from Namibia, and July 23 2017 from South America. The analysis of this new data set is underway, but preliminary results are consistent with triaxial ellipsoidal models. From this analysis we will:-present refined models for the size and shape of Chariklo's main body andevaluate the heights and slopes of its topographic features.-give constraints on the longitudinal width variations of Chariklo's rings andexplore the possibility to obtain the rings apsidal precession rate.Chariklo's shape and topography have strong consequences on the dynamics of the rings through Lindblad-type resonances between mean motion of the ring particles and the spin of the main body, while the rings precession rate gives constraints on the dynamical oblateness of the main body.**Part of the research leading to these results has received funding from the European Research Council under the European Community’s H2020 (2014-2020/ ERC Grant Agreement n 669416 ”LUCKY STAR”).

  2. Combining zonal refractive and diffractive aspheric multifocal intraocular lenses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Muñoz, Gonzalo; Albarrán-Diego, César; Javaloy, Jaime; Sakla, Hani F; Cerviño, Alejandro

    2012-03-01

    To assess visual performance with the combination of a zonal refractive aspheric multifocal intraocular lens (MIOL) (Lentis Mplus, Oculentis GmbH) and a diffractive aspheric MIOL (Acri.Lisa 366, Acri.Tech GmbH). This prospective interventional cohort study comprised 80 eyes from 40 cataract patients (mean age: 65.5±7.3 years) who underwent implantation of the Lentis Mplus MIOL in one eye and Acri.Lisa 366 MIOL in the fellow eye. The main outcome measures were refraction; monocular and binocular uncorrected and corrected distance, intermediate, and near visual acuities; monocular and binocular defocus curves; binocular photopic contrast sensitivity function compared to a monofocal intraocular lens (IOL) control group (40 age-matched pseudophakic patients implanted with the AR-40e [Abbott Medical Optics]); and quality of vision questionnaire. Binocular uncorrected visual acuities were 0.12 logMAR (0.76 decimal) or better at all distances measured between 6 m and 33 cm. The Lentis Mplus provided statistically significant better vision than the Acri.Lisa at distances between 2 m and 40 cm, and the Acri.Lisa provided statistically significant better vision than the Lentis Mplus at 33 cm. Binocular defocus curve showed little drop-off at intermediate distances. Photopic contrast sensitivity function for distance and near were similar to the monofocal IOL control group except for higher frequencies. Moderate glare (15%), night vision problems (12.5%), and halos (10%) were reported. Complete independence of spectacles was achieved by 92.5% of patients. The combination of zonal refractive aspheric and diffractive aspheric MIOLs resulted in excellent uncorrected binocular distance, intermediate, and near vision, with low incidence of significant photic phenomena and high patient satisfaction. Copyright 2012, SLACK Incorporated.

  3. Implementation of immunochemical faecal occult blood test in general practice

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Juul, Jakob Søgaard; Bro, Flemming; Hornung, Nete

    2016-01-01

    anvendelsen af immunochemical faecal occult blood test (iFOBT) i almen praksis. iFOBT detekterer humant globin i fæces og indikerer gastrointestinal blødning. Studiet udgør en del af et ph.d.-studie, der bidrager med ny viden til at optimere udredningen af patienter med tarmkræft. Der er et stort behov...

  4. Occult HBV among Anti-HBc Alone: Mutation Analysis of an HBV Surface Gene and Pre-S Gene.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Myeong Hee; Kang, So Young; Lee, Woo In

    2017-05-01

    The aim of this study is to investigate the molecular characteristics of occult hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in 'anti-HBc alone' subjects. Twenty-four patients with 'anti-HBc alone' and 20 control patients diagnosed with HBV were analyzed regarding S and pre-S gene mutations. All specimens were analyzed for HBs Ag, anti-HBc, and anti-HBs. For specimens with an anti-HBc alone, quantitative analysis of HBV DNA, as well as sequencing and mutation analysis of S and pre-S genes, were performed. A total 24 were analyzed for the S gene, and 14 were analyzed for the pre-S gene through sequencing. A total of 20 control patients were analyzed for S and pre-S gene simultaneously. Nineteen point mutations of the major hydrophilic region were found in six of 24 patients. Among them, three mutations, S114T, P127S/T, M133T, were detected in common. Only one mutation was found in five subjects of the control group; this mutation was not found in the occult HBV infection group, however. Pre-S mutations were detected in 10 patients, and mutations of site aa58-aa100 were detected in 9 patients. A mutation on D114E was simultaneously detected. Although five mutations from the control group were found at the same location (aa58-aa100), no mutations of occult HBV infection were detected. The prevalence of occult HBV infection is not low among 'anti-HBc alone' subjects. Variable mutations in the S gene and pre-S gene were associated with the occurrence of occult HBV infection. Further larger scale studies are required to determine the significance of newly detected mutations. © Copyright: Yonsei University College of Medicine 2017

  5. HBV vaccination of HCV-infected patients with occult HBV infection and anti-HBc-positive blood donors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J.S.F. Pereira

    2006-04-01

    Full Text Available Anti-HBc positivity is a frequent cause of donation rejection at blood banks. Hepatitis B virus (HBV infection may also occur in HBsAg-negative patients, a situation denoted occult infection. Similarly, very low levels of HBV-DNA have also been found in the sera of patients with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV infection, even in the absence of serum HBsAg. Initially we searched for HBV-DNA in serum of 100 blood donors and 50 HCV-infected patients who were HBsAg negative/anti-HBc positive by nested-PCR and by an HBV monitor commercial test for HBV-DNA. Anti-HBs seroconversion rates were measured in 100 blood donors and in 22 patients with chronic HCV infection after HBV vaccination to determine if the HBV vaccination could eliminate an occult HBV infection in these individuals. Occult HBV infection was detected in proportionally fewer blood donors (6/100 = 6% than chronic hepatitis C patients (12/50 = 24% (P 0.05. All subjects who were HBV-DNA(+ before the first dose of HBV vaccine (D1, became HBV-DNA(- after D1, D2, and D3. Among 22 HCV-positive patients, 10 HBV-DNA(+ and 12 HBV-DNA(-, seroconversion was observed in 9/10 (90% HBV-DNA(+ and in 9/12 (75% HBV-DNA(- subjects (P > 0.05. The disappearance of HBV-DNA in the majority of vaccinated patients suggests that residual HBV can be eliminated in patients with occult infection.

  6. Using a Zonal Model To Assess the Effect of a Heated Floor on Thermal Comfort Quality

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Boukhris, Yosr; Gharbi, Leila; Ghrab-Morcos, Nadia

    2009-01-01

    People s perceptions of indoor air quality and thermal comfort are affected by air speed and temperature. We have extended the three-dimensional zonal model, ZAER, to be able to predict the temperature fields and the air distributions between and within rooms in the case of natural convection. This paper presents an application of the new zonal model dealing with the influence of a heated floor of one room upon the winter thermal comfort of an unconditioned Tunisian dwelling. Coupling ZAER with a thermal comfort model allows the assessment of the thermal quality of the dwelling through the prediction of a comfort indicator. The obtained results show that a heated floor can be a useful component to improve thermal comfort in the Tunisian context, even in another room

  7. Detection of occult hepatitis B virus among chronic hepatitis C patients

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Background: Concurrent infections with hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) are increasingly recognized in patients with chronic hepatitis. In Egypt, the last decade showed a remarkable decline in HBV infection associated with remarkable rise in HCV infection. The probable impact of occult HBV in patients ...

  8. [Occult pneumothorax: Does it take drain before elective surgery?].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bensghir, M; Moutaoukil, M; Meziane, M; Jaafari, A; Hemmaoui, B; Haimeur, C

    2016-08-01

    Pneumothorax occult is defined by the presence of a non-visible to standard asymptomatic pneumothorax and pulmonary diagnosed only by X-ray computed tomography. The presence of this type of pneumothorax before planned surgery is a rare situation. What to do remains non-consensual. Through two clinic cases and a literature review, the authors discuss the modalities of management of this entity. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

  9. Cone beam CT with zonal filters for simultaneous dose reduction, improved target contrast and automated set-up in radiotherapy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moore, C J; Marchant, T E; Amer, A M

    2006-01-01

    Cone beam CT (CBCT) using a zonal filter is introduced. The aims are reduced concomitant imaging dose to the patient, simultaneous control of body scatter for improved image quality in the tumour target zone and preserved set-up detail for radiotherapy. Aluminium transmission diaphragms added to the CBCT x-ray tube of the Elekta Synergy TM linear accelerator produced an unattenuated beam for a central 'target zone' and a partially attenuated beam for an outer 'set-up zone'. Imaging doses and contrast noise ratios (CNR) were measured in a test phantom for transmission diaphragms 12 and 24 mm thick, for 5 and 10 cm long target zones. The effect on automatic registration of zonal CBCT to conventional CT was assessed relative to full-field and lead-collimated images of an anthropomorphic phantom. Doses along the axis of rotation were reduced by up to 50% in both target and set-up zones, and weighted dose (two thirds surface dose plus one third central dose) was reduced by 10-20% for a 10 cm long target zone. CNR increased by up to 15% in zonally filtered CBCT images compared to full-field images. Automatic image registration remained as robust as that with full-field images and was superior to CBCT coned down using lead-collimation. Zonal CBCT significantly reduces imaging dose and is expected to benefit radiotherapy through improved target contrast, required to assess target coverage, and wide-field edge detail, needed for robust automatic measurement of patient set-up error

  10. The prevalence of visible and/or occult blood on anesthesia and monitoring equipment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Perry, S M; Monaghan, W P

    2001-02-01

    The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have attempted to stop the spread of blood-borne pathogens by issuing several recommendations and regulations. However, unless healthcare workers comply with these standards, they are not effective. In the anesthesia care environment, the anesthetist is responsible for ensuring that the equipment is clean, and disinfected, before use. We studied the prevalence of visible and occult blood on 6 types of anesthesia and monitoring equipment identified as ready for use in 28 operating suites, in 2 facilities. The sample consisted of 336 observations of the 6 types of equipment. The equipment was inspected for visible blood and then tested for occult blood using a 3-stage phenolphthalein test. Of the 336 observations, 110 (32.7%), were positive for occult blood with only 6 showing visible blood. The presence of blood on this equipment may be in direct violation of the OSHA Blood-borne Pathogen Standard and the infection control guidelines of the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists. Furthermore, the presence of blood on this equipment may increase the risk for nosocomial and occupational exposure to viral and bacterial pathogens. Recommendations were made to decrease the risks from this contamination by redesigning equipment, increasing the use of disposable equipment, and ensuring compliance with effective infection control practices.

  11. Light microscopical demonstration and zonal distribution of parasinusoidal cells (Ito cells) in normal human liver

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Horn, T; Junge, Jette; Nielsen, O

    1988-01-01

    The parasinusoidal cells of the liver (Ito cells) were demonstrated light microscopically in autopsy specimens fixed in formalin and stained with Oil red O after dichromate treatment. The method allows examination of large samples containing numerous acini. Quantitative assessment showed a zonal ...

  12. Light microscopical demonstration and zonal distribution of parasinusoidal cells (Ito cells) in normal human liver

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Horn, T; Junge, Jette; Nielsen, O

    1988-01-01

    The parasinusoidal cells of the liver (Ito cells) were demonstrated light microscopically in autopsy specimens fixed in formalin and stained with Oil red O after dichromate treatment. The method allows examination of large samples containing numerous acini. Quantitative assessment showed a zonal...

  13. Astr 101 Students' Attitudes Towards Essays On Transits, Eclipses And Occultations

    Science.gov (United States)

    D'Cruz, Noella L.

    2012-05-01

    Joliet Junior College, Joliet, IL offers a one semester introductory astronomy course each semester. We teach over 110 primarily non-science major students each semester. We use proven active learning strategies such lecture tutorials, think-pair-share questions and small group discussions to help these students develop and retain a good understanding of astrophysical concepts. Occasionally, we offer projects that allow students to explore course topics beyond the classroom. We hope that such projects will increase students' interest in astronomy. We also hope that these assignments will help students to improve their critical thinking and writing skills. In Spring 12, we are offering three short individual essay assignments in our face-to-face sections. The essays focus on transits, eclipses and occultations to highlight the 2012 transit of Venus. For the first essay, students will find images of transit and occultation events using the Astronomy Picture of the Day website and describe their chosen events. In addition, students will predict how variations in certain physical and orbital parameters would alter their particular events. The second essay involves transits, eclipses and occultations observed by spacecraft. Students will describe their transit event, their spacecraft's mission, orbital path, how the orbital path was achieved, etc. The third essay deals with transiting exoplanets. Students will choose at least two exoplanets from an exoplanet database, one of which has been discovered through the transit method. This essay will enable students to learn about detecting exoplanets and how they compare with our solar system. Details of the essay assignments and students' reactions to them will be presented at the meeting.

  14. Occultations of Astrophysical Radio Sources as Probes of Planetary Environments: A Case Study of Jupiter and Possible Applications to Exoplanets

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Withers, Paul [Astronomy Department, Boston University, 725 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA 02215 (United States); Vogt, Marissa F. [Center for Space Physics, Boston University, 725 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA 02215 (United States)

    2017-02-10

    Properties of planetary atmospheres, ionospheres, and magnetospheres are difficult to measure from Earth. Radio occultations are a common method for measuring these properties, but they traditionally rely on radio transmissions from a spacecraft near the planet. Here, we explore whether occultations of radio emissions from a distant astrophysical radio source can be used to measure magnetic field strength, plasma density, and neutral density around planets. In a theoretical case study of Jupiter, we find that significant changes in polarization angle due to Faraday rotation occur for radio signals that pass within 10 Jupiter radii of the planet and that significant changes in frequency and power occur from radio signals that pass through the neutral atmosphere. There are sufficient candidate radio sources, such as pulsars, active galactic nuclei, and masers, that occultations are likely to occur at least once per year. For pulsars, time delays in the arrival of their emitted pulses can be used to measure plasma density. Exoplanets, whose physical properties are very challenging to observe, may also occult distant astrophysical radio sources, such as their parent stars.

  15. Profiling Saturn's rings by radio occultation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Marouf, E.A.; Tyler, G.L.; Rosen, P.A.

    1986-01-01

    The development of reconstruction algorithms that correct for diffraction effects in radio occultation measurements is described. The reciprocal Fresnel transform relationship between the complex amplitude of the observed coherent signal and the complex microwave transmittance of the rings is derived using the Huygens-Fresnel formulation of the diffraction problem. The effects of the finite data segment width, the uncertainties in the Fresnel scale, systematic phase errors in the kernel of the inverse transform, reference oscillator instabilities, and random noise measurements on the resolution of the reconstructed transmittance are analyzed. Examples of reconstructed opacity profiles for some regions of Saturn's rings derived by applying the reconstruction theory to Voyager 1 at Saturn data are presented. 35 references

  16. Investigation of particle sizes in Pluto's atmosphere from the 29 June 2015 occultation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sickafoose, Amanda A.; Bosh, A. S.; Person, M. J.; Zuluaga, C. A.; Levine, S. E.; Pasachoff, J. M.; Babcock, B. A.; Dunham, E. W.; McLean, I.; Wolf, J.; Abe, F.; Bida, T. A.; Bright, L. P.; Brothers, T.; Christie, G.; Collins, P. L.; Durst, R. F.; Gilmore, A. C.; Hamilton, R.; Harris, H. C.; Johnson, C.; Kilmartin, P. M.; Kosiarek, M. R.; Leppik, K.; Logsdon, S.; Lucas, R.; Mathers, S.; Morley, C. J. K.; Natusch, T.; Nelson, P.; Ngan, H.; Pfüller, E.; de, H.-P.; Sallum, S.; Savage, M.; Seeger, C. H.; Siu, H.; Stockdale, C.; Suzuki, D.; Thanathibodee, T.; Tilleman, T.; Tristam, P. J.; Van Cleve, J.; Varughese, C.; Weisenbach, L. W.; Widen, E.; Wiedemann, M.

    2015-11-01

    The 29 June 2015 observations of a stellar occultation by Pluto, from SOFIA and ground-based sites in New Zealand, indicate that haze was present in the lower atmosphere (Bosh et al., this conference). Previously, slope changes in the occultation light curve profile of Pluto’s lower atmosphere have been attributed to haze, a steep thermal gradient, and/or a combination of the two. The most useful diagnostic for differentiating between these effects has been observing occultations over a range of wavelengths: haze scattering and absorption are functions of particle size and are wavelength dependent, whereas effects due to a temperature gradient should be largely independent of observational wavelength. The SOFIA and Mt. John data from this event exhibit obvious central flashes, from multiple telescopes observing over a range of wavelengths at each site (Person et al. and Pasachoff et al., this conference). SOFIA data include Red and Blue observations from the High-speed Imaging Photometer for Occultations (HIPO, at ~ 500 and 850 nm), First Light Infrared Test Camera (FLITECAM, at ~1800 nm), and the Focal Plan Imager (FPI+, at ~ 600 nm). Mt. John data include open filter, g', r', i', and near infrared. Here, we analyze the flux at the bottom of the light curves versus observed wavelength. We find that there is a distinct trend in flux versus wavelength, and we discuss applicable Mie scattering models for different particle size distributions and compositions (as were used to characterize haze in Pluto's lower atmosphere in Gulbis et al. 2015).SOFIA is jointly operated by the Universities Space Research Association, Inc. (USRA), under NASA contract NAS2-97001, and the Deutsches SOFIA Institut (DSI) under DLR contract 50 OK 0901 to the University of Stuttgart. Support for this work was provided by the National Research Foundation of South Africa, NASA SSO grants NNX15AJ82G (Lowell Observatory), PA NNX10AB27G (MIT), and PA NNX12AJ29G (Williams College), and the NASA

  17. Elaboration of generalized criterion for zonality determination of the Chernobyl' NPP working spaces

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Simakov, A.V.; Bad'in, V.I.; Nosovskij, A.V.

    1992-01-01

    Analysis of the features of radioactive dose rating, regularities of their formation and dosimetry allows suggesting generalized criterion for assess zonality of compartments and territories, combining all factors and their action on operators. This criterion may be used during design of the new objects, development of programs and pursuance of work on removal of atomic power plants from operation. 6 refs.; 1 fig

  18. Nonlinear generation of zonal flows by ion-acoustic waves in a uniform magnetoplasma

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shukla, Nitin; Shukla, P.K.

    2010-01-01

    It is shown that large-scale zonal flows (ZFs) can be excited by Reynolds stress of nonlinearly interacting random phase ion-acoustic waves (EIAWs) in a uniform magnetoplasma. Since ZFs are associated with poloidal sheared flows, they can tear apart short scale EIAW turbulence eddies, and hence contribute to the reduction of the cross-field turbulent transport in a magnetized plasma.

  19. Advanced Electrocardiography Can Identify Occult Cardiomyopathy in Doberman Pinschers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spiljak, M.; Petric, A. Domanjko; Wilberg, M.; Olsen, L. H.; Stepancic, A.; Schlegel, T. T.; Starc, V.

    2011-01-01

    Recently, multiple advanced resting electrocardiographic (A-ECG) techniques have improved the diagnostic value of short-duration ECG in detection of dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) in humans. This study investigated whether 12-lead A-ECG recordings could accurately identify the occult phase of DCM in dogs. Short-duration (3-5 min) high-fidelity 12-lead ECG recordings were obtained from 31 privately-owned, clinically healthy Doberman Pinschers (5.4 +/- 1.7 years, 11/20 males/females). Dogs were divided into 2 groups: 1) 19 healthy dogs with normal echocardiographic M-mode measurements: left ventricular internal diameter in diastole (LVIDd . 47mm) and in systole (LVIDs . 38mm) and normal 24-hour ECG recordings (100 VPCs/24h; 1/12 dogs had only abnormal 24-hour ECG recordings (>100 VPCs/24h). ECG recordings were evaluated via custom software programs to calculate multiple parameters of high-frequency (HF) QRS ECG, heart rate variability, QT variability, waveform complexity and 3-D ECG. Student's t-tests determined 19 ECG parameters that were significantly different (P canine DCM as five selected ECG parameters can with reasonable accuracy identify occult DCM in Doberman Pinschers. Future extensive clinical studies need to clarify if 12-lead A-ECG could be useful as an additional screening test for canine DCM.

  20. Atmospheric deposition of heavy metals due to dry, wet and occult deposition at the altitude profile Achenkirch

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stopper, S.

    2001-12-01

    The goal of this work was to determine the height dependence of the three types of deposition throughout a one year time period to be able to get information about their elevational and seasonal behavior. In the time period from October 1998 to November 1999 measurements of Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, V and Zn in aerosol, rain and cloud water were conducted in the Achenkirch-Valley in Tyrol, Austria. Afterwards the dry and occult deposition were modeled. The estimated annual inputs of metals at the two measurement sites Christlumkopf (1758 m a.s.l.) Mueeggerkoel (940 m a.s.l.) and the limits of the national law for protection of forest are shown. The measured depositions at both sites were far below the legal regulations. Due to the much higher occult deposition ratio at the top of the mountain the total annual input at the Christlumkopf was higher than at the Mueeggerkoel. This indicates the potential importance of occult deposition. (author)

  1. ZONAL TOROIDAL HARMONIC EXPANSIONS OF EXTERNAL GRAVITATIONAL FIELDS FOR RING-LIKE OBJECTS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fukushima, Toshio, E-mail: Toshio.Fukushima@nao.ac.jp [National Astronomical Observatory, Ohsawa, Mitaka, Tokyo 181-8588 (Japan)

    2016-08-01

    We present an expression of the external gravitational field of a general ring-like object with axial and plane symmetries such as oval toroids or annular disks with an arbitrary density distribution. The main term is the gravitational field of a uniform, infinitely thin ring representing the limit of zero radial width and zero vertical height of the object. The additional term is derived from a zonal toroidal harmonic expansion of a general solution of Laplace’s equation outside the Brillouin toroid of the object. The special functions required are the point value and the first-order derivative of the zonal toroidal harmonics of the first kind, namely, the Legendre function of the first kind of half integer degree and an argument that is not less than unity. We developed a recursive method to compute them from two pairs of seed values explicitly expressed by some complete elliptic integrals. Numerical experiments show that appropriately truncated expansions converge rapidly outside the Brillouin toroid. The truncated expansion can be evaluated so efficiently that, for an oval toroid with an exponentially damping density profile, it is 3000–10,000 times faster than the two-dimensional numerical quadrature. A group of the Fortran 90 programs required in the new method and their sample outputs are available electronically.

  2. Metastatic Squamous Neck Cancer with Occult Primary Treatment (PDQ®)—Health Professional Version

    Science.gov (United States)

    Metastatic squamous neck cancer with occult primary treatment options include surgery, radiation therapy or a combination of both. Get detailed information about newly diagnosed or recurrent metastatic squamous neck cancer in this summary for clinicians.

  3. SPI Conformance Gel Applications in Geothermal Zonal Isolation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Burns, Lyle [Clean Tech Innovations, Bartlesville, OK (United States)

    2017-08-08

    Zonal isolation in geothermal injection and producing wells is important while drilling the wells when highly fractured geothermal zones are encountered and there is a need to keep the fluids from interfering with the drilling operation. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) objectives are to advance technologies to make it more cost effective to develop, produce, and monitor geothermal reservoirs and produce geothermal energy. Thus, zonal isolation is critical to well cost, reservoir evaluation and operations. Traditional cementing off of the lost circulation or thief zones during drilling is often done to stem the drilling mud losses. This is an expensive and generally unsuccessful technique losing the potential of the remaining fracture system. Selective placement of strong SPI gels into only the offending fractures can maintain and even improve operational efficiency and resource life. The SPI gel system is a unique silicate based gel system that offers a promising solution to thief zones and conformance problems with water and CO2 floods and potentially geothermal operations. This gel system remains a low viscosity fluid until an initiator (either internal such as an additive or external such as CO2) triggers gelation. This is a clear improvement over current mechanical methods of using packers, plugs, liners and cementing technologies that often severely damage the highly fractured area that is isolated. In the SPI gels, the initiator sets up the fluid into a water-like (not a precipitate) gel and when the isolated zone needs to be reopened, the SPI gel may be removed with an alkaline solution without formation damage occurring. In addition, the SPI gel in commercial quantities is expected to be less expensive than competing mechanical systems and has unique deep placement possibilities. This project seeks to improve upon the SPI gel integrity by modifying the various components to impart temperature stability for use in

  4. Significance of mammographic signs in clinically occult disease

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Waal, J.C. de; Steil, B.; Baltzer, J.; Vaillant, W.; Zander, J.

    1987-10-01

    The significance of various radiographic signs in 183 patients with clinically occult breast disease is described. 30.6% hat a carcinoma of the breast or a carcinoma in situ. The radiological features have varying predictive values and there is variation in the incidence of lymph node metastases. It is considered useful to classify the radiological appearances under the headings of round foci, star-shaped opacities, diffuse opacities, opacities with calcification and groups of micro-calcification. Despite the early diagnosis, 24% of patients already had lymph node metastases.

  5. Ultrasound Diagnosis of Either an Occult or Missed Fracture of an Extremity in Pediatric-Aged Children

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cho, Kil Ho [Yeungnam University, Daegu (Korea, Republic of); Lee, Sung Moon [Keimyung University Dongsan Hospital, Daegu (Korea, Republic of); Lee, Young Hwan [Daegu Catholic University, Daegu (Korea, Republic of); Suh, Kyung Jin [Dongkuk University, Kyungju (Korea, Republic of)

    2010-02-15

    To report and assess the usefulness of ultrasound (US) findings for occult fractures of growing bones. For six years, US scans were performed in children younger than 15 years who were referred with trauma-related local pain and swelling of the extremities. As a routine US examination, the soft tissue, bones, and adjacent joints were examined in the area of discomfort, in addition to the asymptomatic contralateral extremity for comparison. Twenty-five occult fractures in 25 children (age range, five months-15 years; average age, 7.7 years) were confirmed by initial and follow-up radiograms, additional imaging studies, and clinical observation longer than three weeks. The most common site of occult fractures was the elbow (n = 9, 36%), followed by the knee (n = 7, 28%), ischium (n = 4, 16%), distal fibula (n = 3, 12%), proximal femur (n = 1, 4%), and humeral shaft (n = 1, 4%). On the retrograde review of the routine radiographs, 13 out of the 25 cases showed no bone abnormalities except for various soft tissue swelling. For the US findings, cortical discontinuity (direct sign of a fracture) was clearly visualized in 23 cases (92%) and was questionable in two (8%). As auxiliary US findings (indirect signs of a fracture), step-off deformities, tiny avulsed bone fragments, double-line appearance of cortical margins, and diffuse irregularity of the bone surfaces were identified. Performing US for soft tissue and bone surfaces with pain and swelling, with or without trauma history in the extremities, is important for diagnosing occult or missed fractures of immature bones in pediatric-aged children.

  6. Earlier stages of colorectal cancer detected with immunochemical faecal occult blood tests

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Rossum, L. G. M.; van Rijn, A. F.; van Munster, I. P.; Jansen, J. B. M. J.; Fockens, P.; Laheij, R. J. F.; Dekker, E.

    2009-01-01

    Background: The aim of colorectal cancer screening is to improve prognosis by the detection of early cancer and precursor stages. We compared the stage distribution of asymptomatic colorectal cancer patients detected by a positive immunochemical or guaiac-based faecal occult blood test (FOBT) with

  7. PREVALENCE OF OCCULT DEPRESSION IN ELDERLY WITH CHRONIC CO - MORBIDS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sachin

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Growth in elderly population has led to an increase in age related diseases and mainly depression which is affecting the quality of life. Depression is more prevalent amongst elderly individuals with medical illnesses and emerging public health problem leading to increased morbidity and disability worldwide. AIMS AND OBJE CTIVES: To assess the prevalence of occult depression in elderly patients with chronic co - morbid medical conditions. MATERIALS AND METHODS: It was a cross - sectional study conducted in tertiary hospital. Total 100 elderly patients with underlying chronic me dical illnesses were included. Depression in study population was assessed by geriatric depression scale and analyzed. RESULT: Out of 100 patients 23(23% had depression. Females 12/39(30.76% were affected more than males 11/61 (18.03%. Depression was mo re prevalent among patients with 3 or more co - morbid conditions (45.4% as compared to <3 (11.9%. CONCLUSION: Elderly patients with multiple chronic medical illnesses may have associated occult depression. Screening of these patients for depression couple d with appropriate psychiatric referral should be an integral part of Geriatric service

  8. Waves in the Martian Atmosphere: Results from MGS Radio Occultations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Flasar, F. M.; Hinson, D. P.; Tyler, G. L.

    1999-01-01

    Temperatures retrieved from Mars Global Surveyor radio occultations have been searched for evidence of waves. Emphasis has been on the initial series of occultations between 29 deg N and 64 deg S, obtained during the early martian southern summer, L(sub s) = 264 deg - 308 deg. The profiles exhibit an undulatory behavior that is suggestive of vertically propagating waves. wavelengths approximately 10 km are often dominant, but structure on smaller scales is evident. The undulatory structure is most pronounced between latitudes 29 deg N and 10 deg S, usually in regions of "interesting" topography, e.g., in the Tharsis region and near the edge of Syrtis Major. Several temperature profiles, particularly within 30 deg of the equator, exhibit lapse rates that locally become superadiabatic near the 0.4-mbar level or at higher altitudes. This implies that the waves are "breaking" and depositing horizontal momentum into the atmosphere. Such a deposition may play an important role in modulating the atmospheric winds, and characterizing the spatial and temporal distribution of these momentum transfers can provide important clues to understanding how the global circulation is maintained.

  9. Spatio-temporal structure of turbulent Reynolds stress zonal flow drive in 3D magnetic configuration

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schmid, B; Ramisch, M; Manz, P; Stroth, U

    2017-01-01

    The poloidal dependence of the zonal flow drive and the underlying Reynolds stress structure are studied at the stellarator experiment TJ-K by means of a poloidal Langmuir-probe array. This gives the unique possibility to study the locality of the Reynolds stress in a complex toroidal magnetic geometry. It is found that the Reynolds stress is not homogeneously distributed along the flux surface but has a strong poloidal asymmetry where it is concentrated on the outboard side with a maximum above the midplane. The average tilt of the turbulent structures is thereby reflected in the anisotropy of the bivariant velocity distribution. Using a conditional averaging technique the temporal dynamics reveal that the zonal flow drive is also maximal in this particular region. The results suggest an influence of the magnetic field line curvature, which controls the underlying plasma turbulence. The findings are a basis for further comparison with turbulence simulations in 3D geometry and demonstrate the need for a global characterisation of plasma turbulence. (paper)

  10. An Explanation of Jupiter's Equatorially Symmetric Gravitational Field using a Four-layer, Non-spheroidal Model with Zonal Flow

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kong, Dali; Zhang, Keke; Schubert, Gerald; Anderson, John

    2017-10-01

    The structure/amplitude of the Jovian equatorially symmetric gravitational field is affected by both rotational distortion and the fast equatorially symmetric zonal flow. We construct a fully self-consistent, four-layer, non-spheroidal (i.e, the shape is irregular) model of Jupiter that comprises an inner core, a metallic region, an outer molecular envelope and a thin transition layer between the metallic and molecular regions. While the core is assumed to have a uniform density, three different equations of state are adopted for the metallic, molecular and transition regions. We solve the governing equations via a perturbation approach. The leading-order problem accounts for the full effect of rotational distortion, and determines the density, size and shape of the core, the location and thickness of the transition layer, and the shape of the 1-bar pressure level; it also produces the mass, the equatorial and polar radii of Jupiter, and the even zonal gravitational coefficients caused by the rotational distortion. The next-order problem determines the corrections caused by the zonal flow which is assumed to be confined within the molecular envelope and on cylinders parallel to the rotation axis. Our model provides the total even gravitational coefficients that can be compared with those acquired by the Juno spacecraft.

  11. Zonal flow shear amplification by depletion of anisotropic potential eddies in a magnetized plasma: idealized models and laboratory experiment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fedorczak, N; Manz, P; Chakraborty Thakur, S; Xu, M; Tynan, G R

    2013-01-01

    The consequences of vorticity conservation on the spatio-temporal interaction of a E × B zonal shear with a generic pattern of plasma potential modes are investigated in a magnetized plasma environment. Eddies organized on a chain along the zonal direction are locally depleted, resulting in what appears to be a radial decorrelation by the shear flow in the absence of dissipation. The eddy depletion occurs due to a transfer of enstrophy from the chain to the shear flow during the progressive growth in the chain anisotropy. The rate of zonal shear acceleration is derived analytically and its expression is validated by numerical simulations. The rate is proportional to the chain amplitude in the weak shear regime and to the shearing rate in the strong shear regime. Basic properties of the model are validated with fast visible imaging data collected on a magnetized plasma column experiment. A characteristic vorticity flux across the edge shear layer of tokamak plasmas is associated with the model predictions. The dependence of the interaction rate with turbulence amplitude and shearing rate could be an important ingredient of the low to high confinement mode transition. (paper)

  12. The Psychological Status of Patients with Acute Mandibular Injury

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. N. Pudov

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Objective: to define the specific features of the psychological status of patients with acute mandibular injury, to compare a psychological reaction to injury in different age groups and in persons with signs of alcohol addiction. Subjects and methods. The study enrolled 37 patients of both sexes over 15 years of age. The patients were distributed by age and chronic alcohol intoxication. Psychological parameters were determined using personality questionnaires: Spielberg-Hanin, Zung, GHQ-28, and Wein ones. Results. The patients with mandibular injury were found to have higher levels of situational and personality anxiety. A state of depression as a response to acute mandibular injury of reactive genesis was found in 29.8% of cases. Autonomic dysfunction occurred in 62.2% of the patients with mandibular fractures. Occult pathopsychological states were detected in 35.1% of the study group patients. Conclusion. The main found peculiarities of the psychological status of the patients with acute mandibular injury were high anxiety and the considerable incidence of autonomic dysfunction syndrome. There were no great age differences in psychological status and the direction of reactions. The patients with chronic alcohol intoxication more frequently developed a depressive state, but the autonomic dysfunction syndrome was just less often encountered and pathopsychological states were less frequently found. Key words: acute low anxiety depression alcohol abuse, psychological status.

  13. Ionospheric Remote Sensing using GPS Radio Occultation and Ultraviolet Photometry aboard the ISS

    Science.gov (United States)

    Budzien, S. A.; Powell, S. P.; O'Hanlon, B.; Humphreys, T.; Bishop, R. L.; Stephan, A. W.; Gross, J.; Chakrabarti, S.

    2017-12-01

    The GPS Radio Occultation and Ultraviolet Photometer Co-located (GROUP-C) experiment launched to the International Space Station (ISS) on February 19, 2017 as part of the Space Test Program Houston #5 payload (STP-H5). After early orbit testing, GROUP-C began routine science operations in late April. GROUP-C includes a high-sensitivity far-ultraviolet photometer measuring horizontal nighttime ionospheric gradients and an advanced software-defined GPS receiver providing ionospheric electron density profiles, scintillation measurements, and lower atmosphere profiles. GROUP-C and a companion experiment, the Limb-Imaging Ionospheric and Thermospheric Extreme-Ultraviolet Spectrograph (LITES), offer a unique capability to study spatial and temporal variability of the thermosphere and ionosphere using multi-sensor approaches, including ionospheric tomography. Data are collected continuously across low- and mid-latitudes as the ISS orbit precesses through all local times every 60 days. The GROUP-C GPS sensor routinely collects dual-frequency GPS occultations, makes targeted raw signal captures of GPS and Galileo occultations, and includes multiple antennas to characterize multipath in the ISS environment. The UV photometer measures the 135.6 nm ionospheric recombination airglow emision along the nightside orbital track. We present the first analysis of ionospheric observations, discuss the challenges and opportunities of remote sensing from the ISS platform, and explore how these new data help address questions regarding the complex and dynamic features of the low and middle latitude ionosphere-thermosphere relevant to the upcoming GOLD and ICON missions.

  14. Usefullness of routine use of fecal occult blood test in a hospital setting

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Simona Ravnik

    2006-12-01

    Full Text Available Background: Fecal occult blood test, hematest, is a well excepted non-invasive method used for detecting different diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. It was proven in different randomized studies that usage of this simple method may facilitate further diagnostic and therapeutic treatment.Patients and methods: The retrospective analysis includes patients, which were admitted to the gastroenterological and endoscopy department of the General hospital Maribor in the last quarter of the year 2005. In all patients fecal occult blood test was performed.Results: We examined 200 patients, 104 women and 96 men, average age 63.9 years, SD±16.9, ranging from 21 to 97 years. Positive hematest was discovered in 76 patients (38 %. The source of hemorrhage from the upper digestive tract was confirmed in 37 patients (48.6 % of all positive tests and from the lower digestive tract in 34 patients (46 % of all positive tests. The most frequent causes of hemorrhage from the lower digestive tract were chronic inflammatory bowel disease (13.1 % of all positive tests, colorectal cancer (10.5 % and polyps (6.6 %. The source of hemorrhage was not located in five patients (6.6 % of all positive tests despite the accurate diagnostic procedure.Conclusions: By performing a fecal occult blood screening in non-symptomatic patients, we can make an essential step towards discovering different gastrointestinal diseases, even colorectal cancer in its early, limited form, when the effect of treatment is greatest.

  15. Final binary star results from the ESO VLT Lunar occultations program

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Richichi, A. [National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand, 191 Siriphanich Bldg., Huay Kaew Road, Suthep, Muang, Chiang Mai 50200 (Thailand); Fors, O. [Departament Astronomia i Meteorologia and Institut de Ciències del Cosmos (ICC), Universitat de Barcelona (UB/IEEC), Martí i Franqués 1, E-08028 Barcelona (Spain); Cusano, F. [INAF-Osservatorio Astronomico di Bologna, Via Ranzani 1, I-40127 Bologna (Italy); Ivanov, V. D., E-mail: andrea4work@gmail.com [European Southern Observatory, Ave. Alonso de Cordova 3107, Casilla 19001, Santiago 19 (Chile)

    2014-03-01

    We report on 13 subarcsecond binaries, detected by means of lunar occultations in the near-infrared at the ESO Very Large Telescope (VLT). They are all first-time detections except for the visual binary HD 158122, which we resolved for the first time in the near-infrared. The primaries have magnitudes in the range K = 4.5-10.0, and companions in the range K = 6.8-11.1. The magnitude differences have a median value of 2.4, with the largest being 4.6. The projected separations are in the range of 4-168 mas, with a median of 13 mas. We discuss and compare our results with the available literature. With this paper, we conclude the mining for binary star detections in the 1226 occultations recorded at the VLT with the ISAAC instrument. We expect that the majority of these binaries may be unresolvable by adaptive optics on current telescopes, and they might be challenging for long-baseline interferometry. However, they constitute an interesting sample for future larger telescopes and for astrometric missions such as GAIA.

  16. Lunar occultation of Saturn. II - The normal reflectance of Rhea, Titan, and Iapetus

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elliot, J. L.; Dunham, E. W.; Veverka, J.; Goguen, J.

    1978-01-01

    An inversion procedure to obtain the reflectance of the central region of a satellite's disk from lunar occultation data is presented. The scheme assumes that the limb darkening of the satellite depends only on the radial distance from the center of the disk. Given this assumption, normal reflectances can be derived that are essentially independent of the limb darkening and the diameter of the satellite. The procedure has been applied to our observations of the March 1974 lunar occultation of Tethys, Dione, Rhea, Titan, and Iapetus. In the V passband we derive the following normal reflectances: Rhea (0.97 plus or minus 0.20), Titan (0.24 plus or minus 0.03), Iapetus, bright face (0.60 plus or minus 0.14). For Tethys and Dione the values derived have large uncertainties, but are consistent with our result for Rhea.

  17. Occult Radiographically Evident Port-Site Hernia After Robot-Assisted Urologic Surgery: Incidence and Risk Factors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Christie, Matthew C; Manger, Jules P; Khiyami, Abdulaziz M; Ornan, Afshan A; Wheeler, Karen M; Schenkman, Noah S

    2016-01-01

    Laparoscopic trocar-site hernias (TSH) are rare, with a reported incidence of 1% or less. The incidence of occult radiographically evident hernias has not been described after robot-assisted urologic surgery. We evaluated the incidence and risk factors of this problem. A single-institution retrospective review of robot-assisted urologic surgery was performed from April 2009 to December 2012. Patients with preoperative and postoperative CT were included for analysis. Imaging was reviewed by two radiologists and one urologist. One hundred four cases were identified, including 60 partial nephrectomy, 38 prostatectomy, and 6 cystectomy. Mean age was 58 years and mean body mass index (BMI) was 29 kg/m(2). The cohort was 77% male. Ten total hernias were identified by CT in 8 patients, 2 of which were clinically evident hernias. Excluding these two hernias, occult port-site hernias were identified radiographically in seven patients. Per-patient incidence of occult TSH was 6.7% (7/104), and per-port incidence was 1.4% (8/564). All hernias were midline and 30% contained bowel. Eight of the 10 occurred at 12 mm sites (p = 0.0065) and 3 of the 10 occurred at extended incisions. Age, gender, BMI, smoking status, diabetes mellitus, immunosuppressive drug therapy, ASA score, procedure, blood loss, prior abdominal surgery, and history of hernia were not significant risk factors. Specimen size >40 g (p = 0.024) and wound infection (p = 0.0052) were significant risk factors. While the incidence of clinically evident port-site hernia remains low in robot-assisted urologic surgery, the incidence of CT-detected occult hernia was 6.7% in this series. These occurred most often in sites extended for specimen extraction and at larger port sites. This suggests more attention should be paid to fascial closure at these sites.

  18. Efficacy of benazepril hydrochloride to delay the progression of occult dilated cardiomyopathy in Doberman Pinschers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Grady, M R; O'Sullivan, M L; Minors, S L; Horne, R

    2009-01-01

    Angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs) are recommended in people to treat asymptomatic (occult) dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). Efficacy of therapy in occult DCM in dogs is unknown. ACEIs, specifically benazepril hydrochloride (BH), will delay the onset of overt DCM in Doberman Pinschers. Ninety-one Doberman Pinschers were studied, 57 dogs received BH, and 34 dogs no ACEI. Retrospective study of the medical records of all Doberman Pinschers with occult DCM that received BH or no ACEI between April 1989 and February 2003. Two criteria of left ventricular enlargement were used for enrollment: one independent of body weight (BW) (C1) and the other indexed to BW (C2). Cox proportional hazards analyses were used to identify variables associated with the onset of overt DCM. On univariate analysis the median time to onset of overt DCM was significantly longer for the benazepril group (for C1: 425 days for BH, 95% confidence interval [CI] 264-625 days; 339 days for no ACEI, CI 172-453 days, P= .02; for C2: 454 days for BH, CI 264-628 days; 356 days for no ACEI, CI 181-547 days, P= .02). The hazard ratio (HR) (benazepril/no ACEI) was 0.57, CI 0.35-0.94, P= .03 for C1; HR = 0.56, CI 0.34-0.93, P= .02 for C2. On multivariate analysis, BH significantly delayed onset of overt DCM (HR [benazepril/no ACEI] = 0.45, CI 0.26-0.78, P < .01, for C1; HR = 0.36, CI 0.21-0.63, P < .01, for C2). BH in particular and ACEIs in general might delay the progression of occult DCM. Prospective studies are warranted to test this theory.

  19. Engineering zonal cartilage through bioprinting collagen type II hydrogel constructs with biomimetic chondrocyte density gradient.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ren, Xiang; Wang, Fuyou; Chen, Cheng; Gong, Xiaoyuan; Yin, Li; Yang, Liu

    2016-07-20

    Cartilage tissue engineering is a promising approach for repairing and regenerating cartilage tissue. To date, attempts have been made to construct zonal cartilage that mimics the cartilaginous matrix in different zones. However, little attention has been paid to the chondrocyte density gradient within the articular cartilage. We hypothesized that the chondrocyte density gradient plays an important role in forming the zonal distribution of extracellular matrix (ECM). In this study, collagen type II hydrogel/chondrocyte constructs were fabricated using a bioprinter. Three groups were created according to the total cell seeding density in collagen type II pre-gel: Group A, 2 × 10(7) cells/mL; Group B, 1 × 10(7) cells/mL; and Group C, 0.5 × 10(7) cells/mL. Each group included two types of construct: one with a biomimetic chondrocyte density gradient and the other with a single cell density. The constructs were cultured in vitro and harvested at 0, 1, 2, and 3 weeks for cell viability testing, reverse-transcription quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR), biochemical assays, and histological analysis. We found that total ECM production was positively correlated with the total cell density in the early culture stage, that the cell density gradient distribution resulted in a gradient distribution of ECM, and that the chondrocytes' biosynthetic ability was affected by both the total cell density and the cell distribution pattern. Our results suggested that zonal engineered cartilage could be fabricated by bioprinting collagen type II hydrogel constructs with a biomimetic cell density gradient. Both the total cell density and the cell distribution pattern should be optimized to achieve synergistic biological effects.

  20. Pediatric Sepsis Secondary to an Occult Dental Abscess: A Case Report.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holmberg, Peter; Hellmich, Thomas; Homme, James

    2017-05-01

    In general, hematogenous spread of bacteria in children is uncommon. Bacteremia, however, is a known complication of dental procedures and severe caries, but is infrequently associated with primary, asymptomatic, non-procedural-related, dentoalveolar infection. The patient is a 7-year-old previously healthy boy who presented to the Emergency Department (ED) with "fever, mottling, and shaking chills." In the ED, he appeared systemically ill with fever, mottling, delayed capillary refill, and rigors. Physical examination by three different physicians failed to reveal any focus of infection. Laboratory evaluation, including blood cultures, was obtained. The patient later developed unilateral facial swelling and pain, and a dentoalveolar abscess was found. He was started on antibiotics, underwent pulpectomy and eventually, extraction, prior to improvement in symptoms. Blood cultures grew two separate anaerobic bacteria (Veillonella and Lactobacillus). This is, to our knowledge, one of the first reported cases of pediatric sepsis with two different anaerobic organisms secondary to occult dentoalveolar abscess in a pediatric patient. WHY SHOULD AN EMERGENCY PHYSICIAN BE AWARE OF THIS?: It is imperative for emergency physicians to recognize the possibility of pediatric sepsis in the setting of acute maxillary or mandibular pain, as well as in patients for whom no clear focus of infection can be found. This is particularly important for those who appear ill at presentation or meet systemic inflammatory response syndrome criteria and would benefit from further laboratory evaluation, including blood cultures, and possibly antibiotic therapy. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  1. Surveillance for Enteric Pathogens in a Case-Control Study of Acute Diarrhea in Western Kenya

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-11-01

    2002;185:497–502. 7 Mugoya I, Kariuki S, Galgalo T et al. Rapid spread of Vibrio cholerae O1 throughout Kenya, 2005. Am J Trop Med Hyg 2008;78:527–33. 8...based assay using occult blood detection cards for detection of diarrheagenic Escherichia coli in specimens from U.S. travelers to Mexico with acute...resistant cholera in Kenya and East Africa. Am J Trop Med Hyg 1988;39:484–90. 38 WHO. The treatment of diarrhoea: A manual for physicians and other senior

  2. Influence of Ionospheric Weather on GNSS Radio Occultation Signals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yue, X.; Schreiner, W. S.; Pedatella, N. M.; Kuo, Y. H.

    2016-12-01

    Transient loss of lock (LOL) is one of the key space weather effects on the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS). Based on the Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere, and Climate (COSMIC) Global Positioning System (GPS) radio occultation (RO) observations during 2007-2011, we have analyzed the signal cycle slip (CS) occurrence comprehensively and its correlation to the ionospheric weather phenomena such as sporadic E (Es), equatorial F region irregularity (EFI), and the ionospheric equatorial ionization anomaly (EIA). The high vertical resolution of RO observations enables us to distinguish the CS resulting from different ionospheric layers clearly on a global scale. In the E layer, the CS is dominated by the Es occurrence, while in the F layer, the CS is mainly related to the EIA and EFI at low and equatorial latitudes. In the polar region, the CS is primarily related to polar cap electron density gradients. The overall average CS (> 6 cycles) occurrence is 23% per occultation, with the E (50-150 km) and F (150-600 km) layers contributing 8.3% and 14.7%, respectively. Awareness of the effect of the ionospheric weather on the CS of the low-Earth-orbit (LEO)-based GNSS signal could be beneficial to a variety of applications, including the LEO-based GNSS data processing and the corresponding hardware/firmware design.

  3. The effect of solar radio bursts on the GNSS radio occultation signals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yue, Xinan; Schreiner, William S.; Kuo, Ying-Hwa; Zhao, Biqiang; Wan, Weixing; Ren, Zhipeng; Liu, Libo; Wei, Yong; Lei, Jiuhou; Solomon, Stan; Rocken, Christian

    2013-09-01

    radio burst (SRB) is the radio wave emission after a solar flare, covering a broad frequency range, originated from the Sun's atmosphere. During the SRB occurrence, some specific frequency radio wave could interfere with the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) signals and therefore disturb the received signals. In this study, the low Earth orbit- (LEO-) based high-resolution GNSS radio occultation (RO) signals from multiple satellites (COSMIC, CHAMP, GRACE, SAC-C, Metop-A, and TerraSAR-X) processed in University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) were first used to evaluate the effect of SRB on the RO technique. The radio solar telescope network (RSTN) observed radio flux was used to represent SRB occurrence. An extreme case during 6 December 2006 and statistical analysis during April 2006 to September 2012 were studied. The LEO RO signals show frequent loss of lock (LOL), simultaneous decrease on L1 and L2 signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) globally during daytime, small-scale perturbations of SNR, and decreased successful retrieval percentage (SRP) for both ionospheric and atmospheric occultations during SRB occurrence. A potential harmonic band interference was identified. Either decreased data volume or data quality will influence weather prediction, climate study, and space weather monitoring by using RO data during SRB time. Statistically, the SRP of ionospheric and atmospheric occultation retrieval shows ~4% and ~13% decrease, respectively, while the SNR of L1 and L2 show ~5.7% and ~11.7% decrease, respectively. A threshold value of ~1807 SFU of 1415 MHz frequency, which can result in observable GNSS SNR decrease, was derived based on our statistical analysis.

  4. Occult progression by Apc-deficient intestinal crypts as a target for chemoprevention

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liskay, R.Michael

    2014-01-01

    Although Apc mutation is widely considered an initiating event in colorectal cancer, little is known about the earliest stages of tumorigenesis following sporadic Apc loss. Therefore, we have utilized a novel mouse model that facilitates the sporadic inactivation of Apc via frameshift reversion of Cre in single, isolated cells and subsequently tracks the fates of Apc-deficient intestinal cells. Our results suggest that consistent with Apc being a ‘gatekeeper’, loss of Apc early in life during intestinal growth leads to adenomas or increased crypt fission, manifested by fields of mutant but otherwise normal-appearing crypts. In contrast, Apc loss occurring later in life has minimal consequences, with mutant crypts being less prone to either increased crypt fission or adenoma formation. Using the stem cell-specific Lgr5-CreER mouse, we generated different sized fields of Apc-deficient crypts via independent recombination events and found that field size correlates with progression to adenoma. To evaluate this early stage prior to adenoma formation as a therapeutic target, we examined the chemopreventive effects of sulindac on Apc-deficient occult crypt fission. We found that sulindac treatment started early in life inhibits the morphologically occult spread of Apc-deficient crypts and thus reduces adenoma numbers. Taken together these results suggest that: (i) earlier Apc loss promotes increased crypt fission, (ii) a field of Apc-deficient crypts, which can form via occult crypt fission or independent neighboring events, is an important intermediate between loss of Apc and adenoma formation and (iii) normal-appearing Apc-deficient crypts are potential unappreciated targets for cancer screening and chemoprevention. PMID:23996931

  5. Radioguided breast surgery for occult lesion localization – correlation between two methods

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gutfilen Bianca

    2008-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The detection of sub-clinical breast lesions has increased with screening mammography. Biopsy techniques can offer precision and agility in its execution, as well as patient comfort. This trial compares radioguided occult lesion localization (ROLL and wire-guided localization (WL of breast lesions. We investigate if a procedure at the ambulatorial level (ROLL could lead to a better aesthetic result and less postoperative pain. In addition, we intend to demonstrate the efficacy of radioguided localization and removal of occult breast lesions using radiopharmaceuticals injected directly into the lesions and correlate radiological and histopathological findings. Methods One hundred and twenty patients were randomized into two groups (59 WL and 61 ROLL. The patients were requested to score the cosmetic appearance of their breast after surgery, and a numerical rating scale was used to measure pain on the first postoperative day. Clearance margins were considered at ≥ 10 mm for invasive cancer, ≥ 5 mm for ductal carcinoma in situ, and ≥ 1 mm for benign disease. Patients were subsequently treated according to the definitive histological result. When appropriate, different statistical tests were used in order to test the significance between the two groups, considering a P value Results WL and ROLL located all the occult breast lesions successfully. In the ROLL group, the specimen volume was smaller and there were more cases with clear margins (P Conclusion ROLL is an effective method for the excision of non-palpable breast lesions. It enables more careful planning of the cutaneous incision, leading to better aesthetic results, less postoperative symptoms, and smaller volumes of excised tissue.

  6. Integration of singularity and zonality methods for prospectivity map of blind mineralization

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    samaneh safari

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Singularity based on fractal and multifractal is a technique for detection of depletion and enrichment for geochemical exploration, while the index of vertical geochemical zonality (Vz of Pb.Zn/Cu.Ag is a practical method for exploration of blind porphyry copper mineralization. In this study, these methods are combined for recognition, delineation, and enrichment of Vz in Jebal- Barez in the south of Iran. The studied area is located in the Shar-E-Babak–Bam ore field in the southern part of the Central Iranian volcano–plutonic magmatic arc. The region has a semiarid climate, mountainous topography, and poor vegetation cover. Seven hundreds samples of stream sedimentary were taken from the region. Geochemical data subset represent a total drainage basin area. Samples are analyzed for Cu, Zn, Ag, Pb, Au, W, As, Hg, Ba, Bi by atomic absorption method. Prospectivity map for blind mineralization is represented in this area. The results are in agreement with previous studies which have been focused in this region. Kerver is detected as the main blind mineralization in Jebal- Barz which had been previously intersected by drilled borehole for exploration purposes. In this research, it has been demonstrated that employing the singularity of geochemical zonality anomalies method, as opposed to using singularity of elements, improves mapping of mineral prospectivity.

  7. Atmospheric gravity wave detection following the 2011 Tohoku earthquakes combining COSMIC occultation and GPS observations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yan, X.; Tao, Y.; Xia, C.; Qi, Y.; Zuo, X.

    2017-12-01

    Several studies have reported the earthquake-induced atmospheric gravity waves detected by some new technologies such as airglow (Makela et al., 2011), GOCE (Garcia et al., 2013), GRACE (Yang et al., 2014), F3/C radio occultation sounding (Coïsson et al., 2015). In this work, we collected all occultation events on 11 March, and selected four events to analyze at last. The original and filtered podTEC is represented as function of the altitude of the impact parameter and UT of the four events. Then, the travel time diagrams of filtered podTEC derived from the events were analyzed. The occultation signal from one event (marked as No.73) is consistent with the previous results reported by Coïsson. 2015, which is corresponds to the ionospheric signal induced from tsunami gravity wave. What is noticeable, in this work, is that three occultation events of No.403, 77 and 118 revealed a disturbance of atmospheric gravity wave with velocity 300m/s, preceding the tsunami. It would probably be correspond to the gravity waves caused by seismic rupture but not tsunami. In addition, it can be seen that the perturbation height of occultation observation TEC is concentrated at 200-400km, corresponding ionosphere F region. The signals detected above are compared with GPS measurements of TEC from GEONET and IGS. From GPS data, traveling ionospheric disturbances were observed spreading out from the epicenter as a quasi-circular propagation pattern with the time. Exactly, we observed an acoustic wave coupled with Rayleigh wave starting from the epicenter with a speed of 3.0km/s and a superimposed acoustic-gravity wave moving with a speed of 800m/s. The acoustic-gravity wave generated at the epicenter and gradually attenuated 800km away, then it is replaced by a gravity wave coupled with the tsunami that moves with a speed of between 100 and 300m/s. It is necessary to confirm the propagation process of the waves if we attempt to evaluate the use of ionospheric seismology as a

  8. A variational regularization of Abel transform for GPS radio occultation

    OpenAIRE

    T.-K. Wee

    2018-01-01

    In the Global Positioning System (GPS) radio occultation (RO) technique, the inverse Abel transform of measured bending angle (Abel inversion, hereafter AI) is the standard means of deriving the refractivity. While concise and straightforward to apply, the AI accumulates and propagates the measurement error downward. The measurement error propagation is detrimental to the refractivity in lower altitudes. In particular, it builds up negative refractivity bias in the tropical ...

  9. A zonal Galerkin-free POD model for incompressible flows

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bergmann, Michel; Ferrero, Andrea; Iollo, Angelo; Lombardi, Edoardo; Scardigli, Angela; Telib, Haysam

    2018-01-01

    A domain decomposition method which couples a high and a low-fidelity model is proposed to reduce the computational cost of a flow simulation. This approach requires to solve the high-fidelity model in a small portion of the computational domain while the external field is described by a Galerkin-free Proper Orthogonal Decomposition (POD) model. We propose an error indicator to determine the extent of the interior domain and to perform an optimal coupling between the two models. This zonal approach can be used to study multi-body configurations or to perform detailed local analyses in the framework of shape optimisation problems. The efficiency of the method to perform predictive low-cost simulations is investigated for an unsteady flow and for an aerodynamic shape optimisation problem.

  10. "I Can't Walk!" Acute Thrombosis of Descending Aorta Causing Paraplegia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Matthew L Mitchell

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available A 50-year-old man presented to the emergency department (ED with acute, bilateral lower extremity weakness and loss of sensation, as well as absent pulses bilaterally. Computed tomography angiography showed complete occlusion of the aorta below the inferior mesenteric artery, extending to the iliac bifurcations. Echocardiographic findings showed severe systolic dysfunction (ejection fraction of 15% and cryptic cardiogenic shock in spite of stable vital signs. Prior to early operative intervention, an early goal-oriented hemodynamic strategy of shock management resulted in the resolution of motor and sensory deficits. After definitive surgical intervention, the patient was discharged neurologically intact. Acute aortic occlusion is frequently accompanied by myocardial dysfunction, which can be from mild to severe. The most severe form can even occur with normalvital signs or occult cardiogenic shock. Early detection and goal-directed preoperative hemodynamic optimization, along with surgical intervention in the ED, is required to optimize outcomes. [West JEmerg Med. 2013;14(5:424–427.

  11. A reformulated synthetic turbulence generation method for a zonal RANS–LES method and its application to zero-pressure gradient boundary layers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Roidl, B.; Meinke, M.; Schröder, W.

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: • A synthetic turbulence generation method (STGM) is presented. • STGM is applied to sub and supersonic flows at low and moderate Reynolds numbers. • STGM shows a convincing quality in zonal RANS–LES for flat-plate boundary layers (BLs). • A good agreement with the pure LES and reference DNS findings is obtained. • RANS-to-LES transition length is reduced to less than four boundary-layer thicknesses. -- Abstract: A synthetic turbulence generation (STG) method for subsonic and supersonic flows at low and moderate Reynolds numbers to provide inflow distributions of zonal Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) – large-eddy simulation (LES) methods is presented. The STG method splits the LES inflow region into three planes where a local velocity signal is decomposed from the turbulent flow properties of the upstream RANS solution. Based on the wall-normal position and the local flow Reynolds number, specific length and velocity scales with different vorticity content are imposed at the inlet plane of the boundary layer. The quality of the STG method for incompressible and compressible zero-pressure gradient boundary layers is shown by comparing the zonal RANS–LES data with pure LES, pure RANS, and direct numerical simulation (DNS) solutions. The distributions of the time and spanwise wall-shear stress, Reynolds stress distributions, and two point correlations of the zonal RANS–LES simulations are smooth in the transition region and in good agreement with the pure LES and reference DNS findings. The STG approach reduces the RANS-to-LES transition length to less than four boundary-layer thicknesses

  12. TOMS EP UV Aerosol Index Daily and Monthly Zonal Means V008 (TOMSEPL3zaer) at GES DISC

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — This data product contains TOMS/EP UV Aerosol Index Daily and Monthly Zonal Means Version 8 data in ASCII format.The Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) Version...

  13. Fluctuations of radio occultation signals in sounding the Earth's atmosphere

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    V. Kan

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available We discuss the relationships that link the observed fluctuation spectra of the amplitude and phase of signals used for the radio occultation sounding of the Earth's atmosphere, with the spectra of atmospheric inhomogeneities. Our analysis employs the approximation of the phase screen and of weak fluctuations. We make our estimates for the following characteristic inhomogeneity types: (1 the isotropic Kolmogorov turbulence and (2 the anisotropic saturated internal gravity waves. We obtain the expressions for the variances of the amplitude and phase fluctuations of radio occultation signals as well as their estimates for the typical parameters of inhomogeneity models. From the GPS/MET observations, we evaluate the spectra of the amplitude and phase fluctuations in the altitude interval from 4 to 25 km in the middle and polar latitudes. As indicated by theoretical and experimental estimates, the main contribution into the radio signal fluctuations comes from the internal gravity waves. The influence of the Kolmogorov turbulence is negligible. We derive simple relationships that link the parameters of internal gravity waves and the statistical characteristics of the radio signal fluctuations. These results may serve as the basis for the global monitoring of the wave activity in the stratosphere and upper troposphere.

  14. Prevalence, risk factors, and impact of isolated antibody to hepatitis B core antigen and occult hepatitis B virus infection in HIV-1-infected pregnant women.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khamduang, Woottichai; Ngo-Giang-Huong, Nicole; Gaudy-Graffin, Catherine; Jourdain, Gonzague; Suwankornsakul, Weerapong; Jarupanich, Tapnarong; Chalermpolprapa, Veeradate; Nanta, Sirisak; Puarattana-Aroonkorn, Noossara; Tonmat, Sakchai; Lallemant, Marc; Goudeau, Alain; Sirirungsi, Wasna

    2013-06-01

    Prevalence and risk factors for isolated antibody to hepatitis B core antigen (anti-HBc) and occult hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection are not well known in human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1)-infected pregnant women. It is unclear if women with occult infections are at risk of transmitting HBV to their infants. HIV-1-infected and HBV surface antigen (HBsAg)-negative pregnant women were tested for antibody to HBsAg (anti-HBs) and anti-HBc using enzyme immunoassay. Women with isolated anti-HBc were assessed for occult HBV infection, defined as HBV DNA levels >15 IU/mL, using the Abbott RealTime HBV DNA assay. Infants born to women with isolated anti-HBc and detectable HBV DNA were tested at 4 months of age for HBV DNA. Logistic regression analysis was used to identify factors associated with isolated anti-HBc and occult HBV infection. Among 1812 HIV-infected pregnant women, 1682 were HBsAg negative. Fourteen percent (95% confidence interval [CI], 12%-15%) of HBsAg-negative women had an isolated anti-HBc that was independently associated with low CD4 count, age >35 years, birth in northern Thailand, and positive anti-hepatitis C virus serology. Occult HBV infection was identified in 24% (95% CI, 18%-30%) of women with isolated anti-HBc, representing 2.6% (95% CI, 1.9%-3.5%) of HIV-1-infected pregnant women, and was inversely associated with HIV RNA levels. None of the women with isolated anti-HBc and occult HBV infection transmitted HBV to their infants. HIV-1-infected pregnant women with isolated anti-HBc and occult HBV infection have very low HBV DNA levels and are thus at very low risk to transmit HBV to their infants.

  15. Combined parathyroid adenoma and an occult papillary carcinoma

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Meshikhes, Abdul-Wahid N.; Al-Saihati, Basima A.; Butt, Mohammad S.

    2004-01-01

    Although the pathological association of thyroid and parathyroid disease is common, the association of both parathyroid adenoma and thyroid cancer is rare. We report here a case of a 45-year-old saudi women who diagnosed to have primary hyperparathyrodism due to single parathyroid adenoma as confirmed biochemically and radiologically. At operation, the adenoma was found to be an intrathyroid and therefore a thyroid lobectomy was performed. Histology of the excised lobe revealed in addition to the intrathyroid parathyroid adenoma a concurrent occult thyroid papillary carcinoma. The interesting association is discussed based on a literature review. (author)

  16. MR imaging of occult fractures of the knee

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mink, J.H.; Deutsch, A.L.

    1988-01-01

    The authors encountered 65 radiographically occult fractures that they classified into five types. Bone bruises were a result of direct trauma or were associated with ligamentous injury. They were characterized by geographic foci of decreased signal on short repetition time (TR), short echo time (TE) sequences. Stress fractures were linear or globular foci of low signal on short TR, short TE sequences. Osteochondral fractures were displaced or impacted types; the latter were often associated with an anterior cruciate ligament tear. Tibial fractures were minimally displaced, vertically oriented fractures extending into the plateaus. Femoral fractures were Y-shaped, extending across the supracondylar region

  17. Zonal asymmetry of daytime 150-km echoes observed by Equatorial Atmosphere Radar in Indonesia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    T. Yokoyama

    2009-03-01

    Full Text Available Multi-beam observations of the daytime ionospheric E-region irregularities and the so-called 150-km echoes with the 47-MHz Equatorial Atmosphere Radar (EAR in West Sumatra, Indonesia (0.20° S, 100.32° E, 10.36° S dip latitude are presented. 150-km echoes have been frequently observed by the EAR, and their characteristics are basically the same as the equatorial ones, except for an intriguing zonal asymmetry; stronger echoes in lower altitudes in the east directions, and weaker echoes in higher altitudes in the west. The highest occurrence is seen at 5.7° east with respect to the magnetic meridian, and the altitude gradually increases as viewing from the east to west. Arc structures which return backscatter echoes are proposed to explain the asymmetry. While the strength of radar echoes below 105 km is uniform within the wide coverage of azimuthal directions, the upper E-region (105–120 km echoes also show a different type of zonal asymmetry, which should be generated by an essentially different mechanism from the lower E-region and 150-km echoes.

  18. Pronounced zonal heterogeneity in Eocene southern high-latitude sea surface temperatures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Douglas, Peter M J; Affek, Hagit P; Ivany, Linda C; Houben, Alexander J P; Sijp, Willem P; Sluijs, Appy; Schouten, Stefan; Pagani, Mark

    2014-05-06

    Paleoclimate studies suggest that increased global warmth during the Eocene epoch was greatly amplified at high latitudes, a state that climate models cannot fully reproduce. However, proxy estimates of Eocene near-Antarctic sea surface temperatures (SSTs) have produced widely divergent results at similar latitudes, with SSTs above 20 °C in the southwest Pacific contrasting with SSTs between 5 and 15 °C in the South Atlantic. Validation of this zonal temperature difference has been impeded by uncertainties inherent to the individual paleotemperature proxies applied at these sites. Here, we present multiproxy data from Seymour Island, near the Antarctic Peninsula, that provides well-constrained evidence for annual SSTs of 10-17 °C (1σ SD) during the middle and late Eocene. Comparison of the same paleotemperature proxy at Seymour Island and at the East Tasman Plateau indicate the presence of a large and consistent middle-to-late Eocene SST gradient of ∼7 °C between these two sites located at similar paleolatitudes. Intermediate-complexity climate model simulations suggest that enhanced oceanic heat transport in the South Pacific, driven by deep-water formation in the Ross Sea, was largely responsible for the observed SST gradient. These results indicate that very warm SSTs, in excess of 18 °C, did not extend uniformly across the Eocene southern high latitudes, and suggest that thermohaline circulation may partially control the distribution of high-latitude ocean temperatures in greenhouse climates. The pronounced zonal SST heterogeneity evident in the Eocene cautions against inferring past meridional temperature gradients using spatially limited data within given latitudinal bands.

  19. Occult posterolateral rotatory dislocation of the elbow with olecranon fracture in a child: a case report

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fujimori Takahito

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Introduction Acute posterolateral rotator elbow dislocation in a child is rare and can be easily misdiagnosed due to immaturity of the epiphysis. This is the first case of occult posterolateral rotator elbow dislocation in combination with an olecranon fracture. We report our experience with this case, which was not diagnosed correctly by plain radiographs. Case presentation An 11-year-old Asian boy suffered severe pain and swelling of his right elbow after his outstretched arm hit a car dashboard in a motor vehicle accident. Plain radiographs showed only a minimally displaced olecranon fracture and a tiny lateral epicondylar avulsion fracture. However, stress radiographs under general anesthesia revealed severe posterolateral rotatory instability. During surgery, we found that the cartilaginous lateral epicondylar apophysis was much larger than the epicondylar fragment on the radiographs. After the lateral epicondylar osteochondral fragment and lateral collateral ligament complex were fixed, the instability disappeared. Conclusion Our experience with this case shows that it is important to check for instability with pediatric elbow fractures, because a tiny avulsion fracture was able to cause severe posterolateral rotatory instability in a child.

  20. Inverted Meckel's diverticulum as a cause of occult lower gastrointestinal hemorrhage

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Omar M Rashid; Joseph K Ku; Masayuki Nagahashi; Akimitsu Yamada; Kazuaki Takabe

    2012-01-01

    Meckel's diverticulum is a common asymptomatic congenital gastrointestinal anomaly,but rarely it can present with hemorrhage.Over the last few years inverted Meckel's diverticulum has been reported in the literature with increasing frequency as an occult source of lower gastrointestinal hemorrhage.Here,we report a case of a 54-year-old male,who was referred for surgical evaluation with persistent anemia and occult blood per rectum after a work up which failed to localize the source over 12 mo,including upper and capsule endoscopy,colonoscopy,enteroclysis,Meckel scan,and tagged nuclear red blood cell scan.An abdominal computed tomography scan showed a possible mid-ileal intussusception and intraluminal mass.During the abdominal exploration,inverted Meckel's diverticulum was diagnosed and resected.We review the literature,discuss the forms in which the disease presents,the diagnostic modalities utilized,pathological findings,and treatment.Although less than 40 cases have been reported in the English literature from 1978 to 2005,19 cases have been reported in the last 6 years alone (2006-2012) due to improved diagnostic modalities.Successful diagnosis and treatment of this disease requires a high index of clinical suspicion,which is becoming increasingly relevant to general gastroenterologists.

  1. The use of 111In-labelled platelets for scintigraphic localization of gastrointestinal bleeding with special reference to occult bleeding

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gjerloeff Schmidt, K.; Waever Rasmussen, J.; Grove, O.; Andersen, D.

    1986-01-01

    Gamma-camera imaging of the abdomen after injection of autologous 111 In-labelled platelets was applied for localization of gastrointestinal bleeding in a study of 22 patients. In 15 studies showing scintigraphic signs of bleeding, the clinical presentation included occult bleeding in 6, melaena in 4, and bloody stools in 5 patients. Scintigraphy could be done repeatedly for up to 1 week after a single tracer injection. The time interval between the injection and scintigraphic visualization of bleeding ranged from 10 min to 68 h, being longest in cases of occult bleeding. In most cases the scintigraphic findings were supported by other diagnostic modalities, including surgical removal of presumed sources of bleeding. In seven studies without scintigraphic signs of bleeding, a probable source of bleeding was identified by other means in one patient. The 111 In-platelet method seems to be a promising method for localization of gastrointestinal bleeding which may prove particularly useful in cases of occult or recurrent bleeding

  2. Fundus autofluorescence imaging of the white dot syndromes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yeh, Steven; Forooghian, Farzin; Wong, Wai T; Faia, Lisa J; Cukras, Catherine; Lew, Julie C; Wroblewski, Keith; Weichel, Eric D; Meyerle, Catherine B; Sen, Hatice Nida; Chew, Emily Y; Nussenblatt, Robert B

    2010-01-01

    To characterize the fundus autofluorescence (FAF) findings in patients with white dot syndromes (WDSs). Patients with WDSs underwent ophthalmic examination, fundus photography, fluorescein angiography, and FAF imaging. Patients were categorized as having no, minimal, or predominant foveal hypoautofluorescence. The severity of visual impairment was then correlated with the degree of foveal hypoautofluorescence. Fifty-five eyes of 28 patients with WDSs were evaluated. Visual acuities ranged from 20/12.5 to hand motions. Diagnoses included serpiginous choroidopathy (5 patients), birdshot retinochoroidopathy (10), multifocal choroiditis (8), relentless placoid chorioretinitis (1), presumed tuberculosis-associated serpiginouslike choroidopathy (1), acute posterior multifocal placoid pigment epitheliopathy (1), and acute zonal occult outer retinopathy (2). In active serpiginous choroidopathy, notable hyperautofluorescence in active disease distinguished it from the variegated FAF features of tuberculosis-associated serpiginouslike choroidopathy. The percentage of patients with visual acuity impairment of less than 20/40 differed among eyes with no, minimal, and predominant foveal hypoautofluorescence (P < .001). Patients with predominant foveal hypoautofluorescence demonstrated worse visual acuity than those with minimal or no foveal hypoautofluorescence (both P < .001). Fundus autofluorescence imaging is useful in the evaluation of the WDS. Visual acuity impairment is correlated with foveal hypoautofluorescence. Further studies are needed to evaluate the precise role of FAF imaging in the WDSs.

  3. Radio scintillations observed during atmospheric occultations of Voyager: Internal gravity waves at Titan and magnetic field orientations at Jupiter and Saturn. Ph.D. Thesis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hinson, D. P.

    1983-01-01

    The refractive index of planetary atmospheres at microwave frequencies is discussed. Physical models proposed for the refractive irregularities in the ionosphere and neutral atmosphere serve to characterize the atmospheric scattering structures, and are used subsequently to compute theoretical scintillation spectra for comparison with the Voyager occultation measurements. A technique for systematically analyzing and interpreting the signal fluctuations observed during planetary occultations is presented and applied to process the dual-wavelength data from the Voyager radio occultations by Jupiter, Saturn, and Titan. Results concerning the plasma irregularities in the upper ionospheres of Jupiter and Saturn are reported. The measured orientation of the irregularities is used to infer the magnetic field direction at several locations in the ionospheres of these two planets; the occultation measurements conflict with the predictions of Jovian magnetic field models, but generally confirm current models of Saturn's field. Wave parameters, including the vertical fluxes of energy and momentum, are estimated, and the source of the internal gravity waves discovered in Titan's upper atmosphere is considered.

  4. Clinical relevance of occult tumor cells in lymph nodes from gastric cancer patients.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Doekhie, F.S.; Mesker, W.H.; Krieken, J.H.J.M. van; Kok, N.F.; Hartgrink, H.H.; Kranenbarg, E.K.; Putter, H.; Kuppen, P.J.; Tanke, H.J.; Tollenaar, R.A.E.M.; Velde, C.J. van de

    2005-01-01

    The current method for staging in gastric cancer is not sufficient as even after a complete primary tumor resection, patients with node-negative gastric cancer suffer from disease recurrence. In this study, the relation between disease recurrence and the presence of occult tumor cells (OTC) in lymph

  5. Evaluation of Refractivity Profiles from CHAMP and SAC-C GPS Radio Occultation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Poli, Paul; Ao, Chi On; Joiner, Joanna; delaTorreJuarez, Manuel; Hoff, Raymond

    2002-01-01

    The GeoForschungsZentrum's Challenging Minisatellite Payload for Geophysical Research and Application (CHAMP, Germany-US) and the Comision Nacional de Actividades Especiales' Satelite de Aplicaciones Cientificas-C (SAC-C, Argentina-US) missions are the first missions to carry a second-generation Blackjack Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver. One of the new features of this receiver is its ability to sense the lower troposphere closer to the surface than the proof-of-concept GPS Meteorology experiment (GPS/MET). Since their launch, CHAMP and SAC-C have collected thousands of GPS radio occultations, representing a wealth of measurements available for data assimilation and Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP). In order to evaluate the refractivity data derived by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) from raw radio occultation measurements, we use Data Assimilation Office (DAO) 6-hour forecasts as an independent state of the atmosphere. We compare CHAMP and SAC-C refractivity (processed by JPL) with refractivity calculated from the DAO global fields of temperature, water vapor content and humidity. We show statistics of the differences as well as histograms of the differences.

  6. Clues to occult cancer in patients with ischemic stroke.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Suk Jae Kim

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: We hypothesized that hidden malignancy could be detected in patients with cryptogenic stroke without active cancer when they showed the distinctive characteristics of cancer-related stroke. METHODS AND FINDINGS: Among 2,562 consecutive patients with acute ischemic stroke, patients with cryptogenic stroke were analyzed and categorized into two groups according to the presence of active cancer: cryptogenic stroke with active cancer (cancer-related stroke, CA-stroke group and without active cancer (CR-stroke group. Patients with active lung cancer without stroke were also recruited for comparison purposes (CA-control. Clinical factors, lesion patterns on diffusion-weighted MRI (DWI, and laboratory findings were analyzed among groups. A total of 348 patients with cryptogenic stroke were enrolled in this study. Among them, 71 (20.4% patients had active cancer at the time of stroke. The D-dimer levels were significantly higher in patients with CA-stroke than those with CR-stroke or CA-control (both p<0.001. Regarding lesion patterns, patients with CA-stroke mostly had multiple lesions in multiple vascular territories, while more than 80% of patients with CR-stroke had single/multiple lesions in a single vascular territory (P<0.001. D-dimer levels (OR 1.11 per 1 µg/mL increase; 95% CI 1.06-1.15; P<0.001 and DWI lesion patterns (OR 7.13; 95% CI 3.42-14.87; P<0.001 were independently associated with CA-stroke. Workup for hidden malignancy was performed during hospitalization in 10 patients who showed elevated D-dimer levels and multiple infarcts involving multiple vascular territories but had no known cancer, and it revealed hidden malignancies in all the patients. CONCLUSION: Patients with CA-stroke have distinctive D-dimer levels and lesion patterns. These characteristics can serve as clues to occult cancer in patients with cryptogenic stroke.

  7. Endoscopic Follow-Up of Positive Fecal Occult Blood Testing in the Ontario FOBT Project

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lawrence Paszat

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: The Ontario FOBT Project is a pilot study of fecal occult blood testing (FOBT for colorectal cancer screening conducted among age-eligible volunteers (50 to 75 years in 12 of 37 public health regions in Ontario.

  8. Excitation of macromagnetohydrodynamic mode due to multiscale interaction in a quasi-steady equilibrium formed by a balance between microturbulence and zonal flow

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ishizawa, A.; Nakajima, N.

    2007-01-01

    This is the first numerical simulation demonstrating that a macromagnetohydrodynamic (macro-MHD) mode is excited as a result of multi-scale interaction in a quasi-steady equilibrium formed by a balance between microturbulence and zonal flow based on a reduced two-fluid model. This simulation of a macro-MHD mode, a double tearing mode, is accomplished in a reversed shear equilibrium that includes zonal flow and turbulence due to kinetic ballooning modes. In the quasi-steady equilibrium, a macroscale fluctuation that has the same helicity as the double tearing mode is a part of the turbulence. After a certain period of time, the macro-MHD mode begins to grow. It effectively utilizes free energy of the equilibrium current density gradient and is destabilized by a positive feedback loop between zonal flow suppression and magnetic island growth. Thus, once the macro-MHD appears from the quasi-equilibrium, it continues to grow steadily. This simulation is more comparable with experimental observations of growing macro-MHD activity than earlier MHD simulations starting from linear macroinstabilities in a static equilibrium

  9. Influence of large-scale zonal flows on the evolution of stellar and planetary magnetic fields

    Science.gov (United States)

    Petitdemange, Ludovic; Schrinner, Martin; Dormy, Emmanuel; ENS Collaboration

    2011-10-01

    Zonal flows and magnetic field are present in various objects as accretion discs, stars and planets. Observations show a huge variety of stellar and planetary magnetic fields. Of particular interest is the understanding of cyclic field variations, as known from the sun. They are often explained by an important Ω-effect, i.e., by the stretching of field lines because of strong differential rotation. We computed the dynamo coefficients for an oscillatory dynamo model with the help of the test-field method. We argue that this model is of α2 Ω -type and here the Ω-effect alone is not responsible for its cyclic time variation. More general conditions which lead to dynamo waves in global direct numerical simulations are presented. Zonal flows driven by convection in planetary interiors may lead to secondary instabilities. We showed that a simple, modified version of the MagnetoRotational Instability, i.e., the MS-MRI can develop in planteray interiors. The weak shear yields an instability by its constructive interaction with the much larger rotation rate of planets. We present results from 3D simulations and show that 3D MS-MRI modes can generate wave pattern at the surface of the spherical numerical domain. Zonal flows and magnetic field are present in various objects as accretion discs, stars and planets. Observations show a huge variety of stellar and planetary magnetic fields. Of particular interest is the understanding of cyclic field variations, as known from the sun. They are often explained by an important Ω-effect, i.e., by the stretching of field lines because of strong differential rotation. We computed the dynamo coefficients for an oscillatory dynamo model with the help of the test-field method. We argue that this model is of α2 Ω -type and here the Ω-effect alone is not responsible for its cyclic time variation. More general conditions which lead to dynamo waves in global direct numerical simulations are presented. Zonal flows driven by convection

  10. Noninvasive Prenatal Testing and Incidental Detection of Occult Maternal Malignancies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bianchi, Diana W; Chudova, Darya; Sehnert, Amy J; Bhatt, Sucheta; Murray, Kathryn; Prosen, Tracy L; Garber, Judy E; Wilkins-Haug, Louise; Vora, Neeta L; Warsof, Stephen; Goldberg, James; Ziainia, Tina; Halks-Miller, Meredith

    2015-07-14

    Understanding the relationship between aneuploidy detection on noninvasive prenatal testing (NIPT) and occult maternal malignancies may explain results that are discordant with the fetal karyotype and improve maternal clinical care. To evaluate massively parallel sequencing data for patterns of copy-number variations that might prospectively identify occult maternal malignancies. Case series identified from 125,426 samples submitted between February 15, 2012, and September 30, 2014, from asymptomatic pregnant women who underwent plasma cell-free DNA sequencing for clinical prenatal aneuploidy screening. Analyses were conducted in a clinical laboratory that performs DNA sequencing. Among the clinical samples, abnormal results were detected in 3757 (3%); these were reported to the ordering physician with recommendations for further evaluation. NIPT for fetal aneuploidy screening (chromosomes 13, 18, 21, X, and Y). Detailed genome-wide bioinformatics analysis was performed on available sequencing data from 8 of 10 women with known cancers. Genome-wide copy-number changes in the original NIPT samples and in subsequent serial samples from individual patients when available are reported. Copy-number changes detected in NIPT sequencing data in the known cancer cases were compared with the types of aneuploidies detected in the overall cohort. From a cohort of 125,426 NIPT results, 3757 (3%) were positive for 1 or more aneuploidies involving chromosomes 13, 18, 21, X, or Y. From this set of 3757 samples, 10 cases of maternal cancer were identified. Detailed clinical and sequencing data were obtained in 8. Maternal cancers most frequently occurred with the rare NIPT finding of more than 1 aneuploidy detected (7 known cancers among 39 cases of multiple aneuploidies by NIPT, 18% [95% CI, 7.5%-33.5%]). All 8 cases that underwent further bioinformatics analysis showed unique patterns of nonspecific copy-number gains and losses across multiple chromosomes. In 1 case, blood was

  11. Post traumatic urinary extravasation in occult urinary obstruction: Report of three cases

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jyoti Bothra

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Urinary extravastion after blunt abdominal trauma is seen often and generally treated conservatively. However a blunt renal trauma causing huge amount of extravasations and symptoms disproportionate to the severity of trauma should alarm the surgeon towards an underlying occult renal pathology usually an obstruction. In this case series, we share three such experiences and their management.

  12. GPS radio occultation technique for measurement of the atmosphere above tropical cyclones

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Biondi, Riccardo; Neubert, Torsten; Syndergaard, Stig

    2009-01-01

    Water vapour transport to the upper troposphere (UT) and lower stratosphere (LS) by deep convective storms affects the radiation balance of the atmosphere and has been proposed as an important component of climate change. The aim of the work presented here is to understand if the GPS Radio Occult...... 2008 and reached a maximum intensity of Category 3....

  13. Pluto occultation on 2015 June 29 UTC with central flash and atmospheric spikes just before the New Horizons flyby

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pasachoff, Jay M.; Babcock, Bryce A.; Durst, Rebecca F.; Seeger, Christina H.; Levine, Stephen E.; Bosh, Amanda S.; Person, Michael J.; Sickafoose, Amanda A.; Zuluaga, Carlos A.; Kosiarek, Molly R.; Abe, Fumio; Nagakane, Masayuki; Suzuki, Daisuke; Tristram, Paul J.; Arredondo, Anicia

    2017-11-01

    We observed the occultation by Pluto of a 12th magnitude star, one of the two brightest occultation stars ever in our dozen years of continual monitoring of Pluto's atmosphere through such studies, on 2015 June 29 UTC. At the Univ. of Canterbury Mt. John Observatory (New Zealand), under clear skies throughout, we used a POETS frame-transfer CCD at 10 Hz with GPS timing on the 1-m McLellan telescope as well as an infrared camera on an 0.6-m telescope and three-color photometry at a slower cadence on a second 0.6-m telescope. At the Auckland Observatory, we used a POETS and a PICO on 0.5-m and 0.4-m telescopes, with 0.4 s and 2 s cadences, respectively, obtaining ingress observations before clouds moved in. The Mt. John light curves show a central flash, indicating that we were close to the center of the occultation path. Analysis of our light curves show that Pluto's atmosphere remains robust. The presence of spikes at both sites in the egress and ingress shows atmospheric layering. We coordinated our observations with aircraft observations (Bosh et al., 2017) with the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA). Our chords helped constrain the path across Pluto that SOFIA saw. Our ground-based and airborne stellar-occultation effort came only just over two weeks of Earth days and two Pluto days before the flyby of NASA's New Horizons spacecraft.

  14. Localized excitations in a nonlinearly coupled magnetic drift wave-zonal flow system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shukla, Nitin; Shukla, P.K.

    2010-01-01

    We consider the amplitude modulation of the magnetic drift wave (MDW) by zonal flows (ZFs) in a nonuniform magnetoplasma. For this purpose, we use the two-fluid model to derive a nonlinear Schroedinger equation for the amplitude modulated MDWs in the presence of the ZF potential, and an evolution equation for the ZF potential which is reinforced by the nonlinear Lorentz force of the MDWs. Our nonlinearly coupled MDW-ZFs system of equations admits stationary solutions in the form of a localized MDW envelope and a shock-like ZF potential profile.

  15. Morpho-anatomy of stypopodium zonale (phaeophycota) from the coast of karachi, pakistan

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Abbas, A.; Shameel, M.

    2014-01-01

    A brown alga Stypopodium zonale (Lamouroux) Papenfuss (Dictyotales) was collected from Manora and Buleji, the coastal areas near Karachi (Pakistan) during March 2006-April 2009 and investigated for its morphology, anatomy and reproductive structures. This is the first detailed study on the Pakistani specimens of this species from these points of view, where presence or absence of intercellular spaces, cell-wall thickness of different cells and structure of surface cells were examined. In this connection the apical, middle and basal parts of the thallus were investigated anatomically. (author)

  16. Drug policing assemblages: Repressive drug policies and the zonal banning of drug users in Denmark’s club land

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Søgaard, Thomas F.; Houborg, Esben; Pedersen, Michael M.

    2017-01-01

    in local ‘drug policing assemblages’ characterized by inter-agency relation-building, the creative combination of public and private (legal) resources and internal power struggles. It also provides evidence of how drug policing assemblages give rise to many different, and often surprising, forms...... how zonal banning is also used to target drug-using clubbers in Denmark. Methods: Based on ethnographic observations and interviews with nightlife control agents in two Danish cities, the article aims to provide new insights into how the enforcement of national drug policies on drug-using clubbers......, is shaped by plural nightlife policing complexes. Results: The paper demonstrates how the policing of drug-using clubbers is a growing priority for both police and private security agents. The article also demonstrates how the enforcement of zonal bans on drug-using clubbers involves complex collaborative...

  17. Immunochemical faecal occult blood tests have superior stability and analytical performance characteristics over guaiac-based tests in a controlled in vitro study.

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    Lee, Chun Seng

    2011-06-01

    The aims of this study were (1) to determine the measurement accuracy of a widely used guaiac faecal occult blood test (gFOBT) compared with an immunochemical faecal occult blood test (iFOBT) during in vitro studies, including their analytical stability over time at ambient temperature and at 4°C; and (2) to compare analytical imprecision and other characteristics between two commercially available iFOBT methods.

  18. Indeling occulte tumorcellen in de lymfklieren bij patiënten met darmkanker onvoldoende betrouwbaar

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van der Zaag, E. S.; Welling, L.; Peters, H. M.; van de Vijver, M. J.; Bemelman, W. A.; Buskens, C. J.

    2011-01-01

    OBJECTIVE: To assess interobserver agreement between pathologists in judging photographs of lymph node preparations of occult tumour cells of patients with colon cancer. DESIGN: Descriptive and comparative study of interobserver variability. METHODS: All lymph nodes of 82 pN0 patients with colon

  19. Inclusion of inhomogeneous deformation and strength characteristics in the problem on zonal disintegration of rocks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chanyshev, AI; Belousova, OE

    2018-03-01

    The authors determine stress and deformation in a heterogeneous rock mass at the preset displacement and Cauchy stress vector at the boundary of an underground excavation. The influence of coordinates on Young’s modulus, shear modulus and ultimate strength is shown. It is found that regions of tension and compression alternate at the excavation boundary—i.e. zonal rock disintegration phenomenon is observed.

  20. Diagnosis of occult abdominal abscesses using radioisotopes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Koch, B.; Schroth, H.J.; Wolf, N.; Wilhelm, H.; Universitaet des Saarlandes, Homburg/Saar

    1983-01-01

    Occult intraperitoneal abscesses are difficult to localize and dispose of. Therefore, a method of examination is needed that is specific, can be used at any time, is not expensive, and yields early results within 2-3 h. This seems possible with a new method of examination. sup(99m)Tc-Sn-colloid was used to label autologous polymorphonuclear leukocytes which, when reinjected, emigrate to the site of the suspected abscess. Standard scintigraphy localizes the labeled inflammatory cells. Scans were performed in 57 surgical patients with good results. 23 (40,4%) patients had true negative results; 28 (49,1%) scans represented intraperitoneal abscesses; 5 (8,8%) scans demonstrated true positive extraperitoneal inflammations. Only 1 (1,7%) scan was false positive. (orig.) [de

  1. Three-dimensional assembly of tissue-engineered cartilage constructs results in cartilaginous tissue formation without retainment of zonal characteristics

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Schuurman, W; Harimulyo, E B; Gawlitta, D; Woodfield, T B F; Dhert, Wouter J A; van Weeren, P. René; Malda, J

    Articular cartilage has limited regenerative capabilities. Chondrocytes from different layers of cartilage have specific properties, and regenerative approaches using zonal chondrocytes may yield better replication of the architecture of native cartilage than when using a single cell population. To

  2. Diagnosis of an isolated occult fracture of the posterior margin of the tibia with the SPECT/CT; Diagnostic d'une fracture occulte isolee de la marge posterieure du tibia par la TEMP-TDM

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bourdon, A.; Granier, P.; Mourad, M. [Centre Hospitalier de Carcassonne Antoine-Gayraud, Service de Medecine Nucleaire, 11 - Carcassonne (France)

    2007-12-15

    We report the case of a 56-year-old woman, investigated for pains of the right ankle related to a trauma of an unspecified mechanism. The radiographic assessment was negative. The {sup 99m}Tc-HDP 3-phase bone scintigraphy highlighted, on the blood pool and the delayed images, a located lesion on the right ankle. The single photon emission computerized tomography guided by computerized tomography (SPECT-CT) showed a focused uptake on the posterior margin of the right tibia and a sharp lucent line within the tomo-scintigraphy spot of uptake. The diagnosis accepted was an isolated occult fracture of the posterior margin of the right tibia. The contribution of the {sup 99m}Tc-HDP 3-phase bone scintigraphy combined with the SPECT-CT in the diagnosis of the occult fractures is discussed. (N.C.)

  3. Atmospheric Drag, Occultation ‘N’ Ionospheric Scintillation (ADONIS mission proposal

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hettrich Sebastian

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available The Atmospheric Drag, Occultation ‘N’ Ionospheric Scintillation mission (ADONIS studies the dynamics of the terrestrial thermosphere and ionosphere in dependency of solar events over a full solar cycle in Low Earth Orbit (LEO. The objectives are to investigate satellite drag with in-situ measurements and the ionospheric electron density profiles with radio occultation and scintillation measurements. A constellation of two satellites provides the possibility to gain near real-time data (NRT about ionospheric conditions over the Arctic region where current coverage is insufficient. The mission shall also provide global high-resolution data to improve assimilative ionospheric models. The low-cost constellation can be launched using a single Vega rocket and most of the instruments are already space-proven allowing for rapid development and good reliability. From July 16 to 25, 2013, the Alpbach Summer School 2013 was organised by the Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG, the European Space Agency (ESA, the International Space Science Institute (ISSI and the association of Austrian space industries Austrospace in Alpbach, Austria. During the workshop, four teams of 15 students each independently developed four different space mission proposals on the topic of “Space Weather: Science, Missions and Systems”, supported by a team of tutors. The present work is based on the mission proposal that resulted from one of these teams’ efforts.

  4. Outcome of early detection and radiotherapy for occult spinal cord compression

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Venkitaraman, Ramachandran; Barbachano, Yolanda; Dearnaley, David P.; Parker, Christopher C.; Khoo, Vincent; Huddart, Robert A.; Eeles, Rosalind; Horwich, Alan; Aslam Sohaib, S.

    2007-01-01

    Retrospective analysis in 150 patients with metastatic prostate cancer was conducted to determine whether early detection with MRI spine and treatment of clinically occult spinal cord compromise (SCC) facilitate preservation of neurologic function. Our results suggest that prophylactic radiotherapy for patients with back pain or radiological SCC without neurologic deficit may facilitate preservation of neurologic function. Thus MRI surveillance for SCC may be important for prostate cancer patients with bone metastases

  5. Clinical features of secondary glaucoma caused by lens suspensory ligament laxity or occult subluxation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yi Ma

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available AIM: To investigate the clinical characteristics of secondary glaucoma caused by lens suspensory ligament laxity or occult subluxation, and to analyze the influence of operation on visual acuity and intraocular pressure(IOP. METHODS: Totally 38 cases(38 eyesof the secondary glaucoma caused by lens suspensory ligament laxity or occult subluxation in ophthalmology department of our hospital from December 2014 to December 2016 were enrolled and their medical records were analyzed retrospectively to observe the clinical characteristics of glaucoma. Preoperative mydriasis was carried out and surgical methods were chosen according to the lenses location and extent of suspensory ligament. Preoperative and postoperative anterior chamber depth, corneal endothelial cell density, IOP, visual field, visual acuity and complications were analyzed. RESULTS: The average intraocular pressure was 18.17±1.43mmHg at postoperatively 10d, which was significantly lower than 38.77±2.45mmHg before operation, the difference had statistical significance(PP>0.05. The postoperative anterior chamber depth was 2.45±0.44mm, which was significantly higher than 1.23±0.35mm before operation, the difference had statistical significance(P2 and decreased significantly, compared with 1735.32±340.32/mm2 before operation, the difference had statistical significance(PCONCLUSION: Clinical symptoms and signs of secondary glaucoma in patients with lens suspensory ligament laxity or occult subluxation are more complex, which needs to be distinguished with other types of glaucoma in clinical treatment, and its surgical methods shall be chosen according to different suspensory ligament site and lens subluxation scope.

  6. Detection of acute gastrointestinal bleeding by intra-arterial scintigraphy: an experimental study and preliminary clinical experience

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Oh, Joo Hyeong; Kim, Duk Yoon; Yi, Bum Ha; Lee, Dong Ho; Yoon, Yup [Kyunghee Univ. College of Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Song, Mi Jin [Sungkyunkwan Univ. College of Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

    1998-10-01

    The purpose of this animal and clinical study was to compare intra-arterial (IA) scintigraphy with angiography in the localization of gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding. After sedation with intramuscularly administered ketamine, lower GI bleeding was induced in ten rabbits. Using inguinal cut-down, an arterial femoral 3F catheter was placed in the proximal mesenteric artery. Following abdominal incision to expose the bowel, lower GI bleeding was caused by incising the antimesenteric border of the small bowel wall. Initial angiography was performed, and this was followede by Tc-99m pertechnetate IA scintigarphy. Tc-99m RBC IA scintigraphy involved two patients who had undergone selective mesenteric arterial catheterizaion for the evaluation of acute lower GI bleeding. Ten rabbits, bleeding at a mean rate of 0.7g/min, were studied. IA scintigraphy was superior to angiography in four cases and equal in six. The sensitivity of angiography was 40%(4/10), and IA scintigraphy 80%(8/10). In one patient, Tc-99m RBC was administered directly into the superior mesenteric artery and ulcer bleeding in the transverse colon was identified. PRior to conventional angiography, the bleeding had been occult. In a second patient, in whom angiography had revealed a hypervascular mass, selective injection of Tc-99m RBC into the superior mesenteric artery revealed tumor(leiomyoma) bleeding in the jejunum. Selective IA scintigraphy was valuable for detecting intestinal bleeding, occult during conventional studies and may be useful for detecting acute bleeding at the time of negative angiography.=20.

  7. Design and Verification of External Occulters for Direct Imaging of Extrasolar Planets

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cady, Eric

    2011-01-01

    An occulter is an optical element which is placed in front of the telescope to block most of the light from a star before it reaches the optics inside, without blocking the planet.In our case, we use two spacecraft ying in formation: First has its edge shaped to cancel the starlight Second is the telescope which images the star and planet

  8. Selection for production-related traits in Pelargonium zonale: improved design and analysis make all the difference.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Molenaar, Heike; Glawe, Martin; Boehm, Robert; Piepho, Hans-Peter

    2017-01-01

    Ornamental plant variety improvement is limited by current phenotyping approaches and neglected use of experimental designs. The present study was conducted to show the benefits of using an experimental design and corresponding analysis in ornamental breeding regarding simulated response to selection in Pelargonium zonale for production-related traits. This required establishment of phenotyping protocols for root formation and stem cutting counts, with which 974 genotypes were assessed in a two-phase experimental design. The present paper evaluates this protocol. The possibility of varietal improvement through indirect selection on secondary traits such as branch count and flower count was assessed by genetic correlations. Simulated response to selection varied greatly, depending on the genotypic variances of the breeding population and traits. A varietal improvement of over 20% is possible for stem cutting count, root formation, branch count and flower count. In contrast, indirect selection of stem cutting count by branch count or flower count was found to be ineffective. The established phenotypic protocols and two-phase experimental designs are valuable tools for breeding of P. zonale .

  9. First lunar occultation results from the 2.4 m Thai national telescope equipped with ULTRASPEC

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Richichi, A.; Irawati, P.; Soonthornthum, B. [National Astronomical Research Institute of Thailand, 191 Siriphanich Building, Huay Kaew Road, Suthep, Muang, Chiang Mai 50200 (Thailand); Dhillon, V. S. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S3 7RH (United Kingdom); Marsh, T. R., E-mail: andrea4work@gmail.com [Department of Physics, University of Warwick, Gibbet Hill Road, Coventry CV4 7AL (United Kingdom)

    2014-11-01

    The recently inaugurated 2.4 m Thai National Telescope (TNT) is equipped with, among other instruments, the ULTRASPEC low-noise, frame-transfer EMCCD camera. At the end of its first official observing season, we report on the use of this facility to record high time resolution imaging using small detector subarrays with a sampling as fast as several 10{sup 2} Hz. In particular, we have recorded lunar occultations of several stars that represent the first contribution to this area of research made from Southeast Asia with a telescope of this class. Among the results, we discuss an accurate measurement of α Cnc, which has been reported previously as a suspected close binary. Attempts by several authors to resolve this star have so far met with a lack of unambiguous confirmation. With our observation we are able to place stringent limits on the projected angular separation (<0.''003) and brightness (Δm > 5) of a putative companion. We also present a measurement of the binary HR 7072, which extends considerably the time coverage available for its yet undetermined orbit. We discuss our precise determination of the flux ratio and projected separation in the context of other available data. We conclude by providing an estimate of the performance of ULTRASPEC at TNT for lunar occultation work. This facility can help to extend the lunar occultation technique in a geographical area where no comparable resources were available until now.

  10. Occult Hepatitis B Virus infection in ART-Naive HIV-Infected Patients seen at a Tertiary Care Centre in North India

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Singh Sarman

    2010-03-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Co-infections of hepatitis B and C viruses are frequent with HIV due to shared routes of transmission. In most of the tertiary care health settings, HIV reactive patients are routinely tested for HBsAg and anti-HCV antibodies to rule out these co-infections. However, using the routine serological markers one can only detect active HBV infection while the occult HBV infection may be missed. There is insufficient data from India on HIV-HBV co-infection and even scarce on occult HBV infection in this group. Methods We estimated the burden of HBV infection in patients who were tested positive for HIV at a tertiary care centre in north India. We also attempted to determine the prevalence and clinical characteristics of occult HBV infection among these treatment-naïve patients and compare their demographic features with other HIV patients. During a period of 6 years between January 2002 to December 2007, 837 HIV positive patients (631 males and 206 females (M: F :: 3.06:1 were tested for serological markers of HBV (HBsAg and HCV (anti-HCV antibodies infections in our laboratory. For comparison 1000 apparently healthy, HIV-negative organ donors were also included in the study. Data on demographics, sexual behaviour, medical history, laboratory tests including the serum ALT and CD4 count of these patients were recorded. A sub-group of 53 HBsAg negative samples from HIV positive patients were assessed for anti-HBs, anti-HBc total (IgG+IgM and HBV-DNA using a highly sensitive qualitative PCR and analysed retrospectively. Results Overall, 7.28% of HIV positive patients showed presence of HBsAg as compared to 1.4% in the HIV negative control group. The prevalence of HBsAg was higher (8.55% in males than females (3.39%. The study revealed that occult HBV infection with detectable HBV-DNA was prevalent in 24.5% of patients positive for anti-HBc antibodies; being 45.5% in HBsAg negative patients. Most importantly the occult infection was

  11. Novel use of gamma correction for precise 99mTc-HDP pinhole bone scan diagnosis and classification of knee occult fractures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bahk, Yong-Whee; Jeon, Ho-Seung; Kim, Jang Min; Park, Jung Mee; Kim, Sung-Hoon; Chung, Soo-Kyo; Chung, Yong-An; Kim, E.E.

    2010-01-01

    The aim of this study was to introduce gamma correction pinhole bone scan (GCPBS) to depict specific signs of knee occult fractures (OF) on 99m Tc-hydroxydiphosphonate (HDP) scan. Thirty-six cases of six different types of knee OF in 27 consecutive patients (male = 20, female = 7, and age = 18-86 years) were enrolled. The diagnosis was made on the basis of a history of acute or subacute knee trauma, local pain, tenderness, cutaneous injury, negative conventional radiography, and positive magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Because of the impracticability of histological verification of individual OF, MRI was utilized as a gold standard of diagnosis and classification. All patients had 99m Tc-HDP bone scanning and supplementary GCPBS. GCPBS signs were correlated and compared with those of MRI. The efficacy of gamma correction of ordinary parallel collimator and pinhole collimator scans were collated. Gamma correction pinhole bone scan depicted the signs characteristic of six different types of OF. They were well defined stuffed globular tracer uptake in geographic I fractures (n = 9), block-like uptake in geographic II fractures (n = 7), simple or branching linear uptake in linear cancellous fractures (n = 4), compression in impacted fractures (n = 2), stippled-serpentine uptake in reticular fractures (n = 11), and irregular subcortical uptake in osteochondral fractures (n = 3). All fractures were equally well or more distinctly depicted on GCPBS than on MRI except geographic II fracture, the details of which were not appreciated on GCPBS. Parallel collimator scan also yielded to gamma correction, but the results were inferior to those of the pinhole scan. Gamma correction pinhole bone scan can depict the specific diagnostic signs in six different types of knee occult fractures. The specific diagnostic capability along with the lower cost and wider global availability of bone scanning would make GCPBS an effective alternative. (orig.)

  12. A game of two discs: a case of non-contiguous and occult cervical spine injury in a rugby player.

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Sullivan, Michael D; Piggot, Robert; Jaddan, Mutaz; McCabe, John P

    2016-03-14

    The aim of this case report was to highlight the application of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in elucidating serious and occult injuries in a single case of hyperflextion injury of a patient cervical spine (C-Spine). A chart and radiology review was performed to establish the sequence of care and how the results of imaging studies influenced the clinical management in this trauma case. Plain radiographs and computed tomography (CT) imaging modalities of the C-Spine revealed bilateral C4/C5 facetal subluxation with no obvious fractures; however, the MR imaging of the C-Spine revealed a non-contiguous and occult injury to C6/C7 disc with a posterior annular tear and associated disc extrusion. This altered the operative intervention that was initially planned. MR imaging proved an invaluable diagnostic addition in this particular case of cervical trauma in a rugby player following a hyperflextion injury, by revealing a serious non-contiguous and occult injury of the C-Spine. Published by Oxford University Press and JSCR Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved. © The Author 2016.

  13. [Occult medicine in the 20th century: pharmacotherapy by Demeter Georgievitz-Weitzer, known as Surya (1873 - 1949)].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Helmstädter, Axel

    2011-01-01

    Demeter Georgievitz-Weitzer (1873-1949), called "Surya", Sanskrit for "sun", was an important representative of medical occultism in the first half of the 20th century. He worked as a journal editor and published a 13-volume book series about occult medicine, mainly written by himself. His hypotheses were closely related to the "Lebensreform" movement around 1900. Regarding diagnostics, he relied on astrology, cheiromancy, and clairvoyance, while therapeutics were dominated by diet and spagyric remedies according to Cesare Mattei (1809-1896) and Carl-Friedrich Zimpel (1801-1879). In his later years, he developed his own healing system, initially comprising eight, later only two preparations. Surya remedies were commercially available until the end of the 20th century,

  14. Effects of stratospheric aerosol surface processes on the LLNL two-dimensional zonally averaged model

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Connell, P.S.; Kinnison, D.E.; Wuebbles, D.J.; Burley, J.D.; Johnston, H.S.

    1992-01-01

    We have investigated the effects of incorporating representations of heterogeneous chemical processes associated with stratospheric sulfuric acid aerosol into the LLNL two-dimensional, zonally averaged, model of the troposphere and stratosphere. Using distributions of aerosol surface area and volume density derived from SAGE 11 satellite observations, we were primarily interested in changes in partitioning within the Cl- and N- families in the lower stratosphere, compared to a model including only gas phase photochemical reactions

  15. The prototype cameras for trans-Neptunian automatic occultation survey

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Shiang-Yu; Ling, Hung-Hsu; Hu, Yen-Sang; Geary, John C.; Chang, Yin-Chang; Chen, Hsin-Yo; Amato, Stephen M.; Huang, Pin-Jie; Pratlong, Jerome; Szentgyorgyi, Andrew; Lehner, Matthew; Norton, Timothy; Jorden, Paul

    2016-08-01

    The Transneptunian Automated Occultation Survey (TAOS II) is a three robotic telescope project to detect the stellar occultation events generated by TransNeptunian Objects (TNOs). TAOS II project aims to monitor about 10000 stars simultaneously at 20Hz to enable statistically significant event rate. The TAOS II camera is designed to cover the 1.7 degrees diameter field of view of the 1.3m telescope with 10 mosaic 4.5k×2k CMOS sensors. The new CMOS sensor (CIS 113) has a back illumination thinned structure and high sensitivity to provide similar performance to that of the back-illumination thinned CCDs. Due to the requirements of high performance and high speed, the development of the new CMOS sensor is still in progress. Before the science arrays are delivered, a prototype camera is developed to help on the commissioning of the robotic telescope system. The prototype camera uses the small format e2v CIS 107 device but with the same dewar and also the similar control electronics as the TAOS II science camera. The sensors, mounted on a single Invar plate, are cooled to the operation temperature of about 200K as the science array by a cryogenic cooler. The Invar plate is connected to the dewar body through a supporting ring with three G10 bipods. The control electronics consists of analog part and a Xilinx FPGA based digital circuit. One FPGA is needed to control and process the signal from a CMOS sensor for 20Hz region of interests (ROI) readout.

  16. Between occultism and drama. Henrik Ibsen and Aleister Crowley

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Giuliano D' Amico

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available The article investigates the references to the works of Henrik Ibsen that the writer and occultist Aleister Crowley scattered in his writings around the turn of the 20th century, in the early phase of his career as a writer and occultist. Crowley’s reading of Ibsen has a marked a socio-political bent, especially in his interpretation of the work of the Norwegian playwright as an act of rebellion against the bourgeois (and for Crowley, Victorian system of values. Also, such view is enriched by a spiritual and individualistic interpretation of Ibsen as an “Artist”, i.e., in the light of Crowley’s occult doctrine, Thelema, of an individual who has found his own “Will” and can inspire others to do so. Such social and spiritual interpretations of Ibsen on Crowley’s part found their literary realization in his one-act play The Mother’s Tragedy (1899. The article claims that Crowley’s reading of Ibsen can give some new insight in the mechanisms of reception of the Norwegian playwright, by opening up for a reading of some of his plays within an occult discourse. Also, it is an occasion to treat Crowley – a figure that was constantly present in the European cultural and literary life of the last decade of the 19th century and of the first five decades of the 20th – with a different attitude than the irony and disdain to which he is often exposed.

  17. The Effect of Early Detection of Occult Brain Metastases in HER2-Positive Breast Cancer Patients on Survival and Cause of Death

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Niwinska, Anna; Tacikowska, Malgorzata; Murawska, Magdalena

    2010-01-01

    Purpose: The aim of the study is to evaluate disease-free survival, survival from the detection of brain metastases, overall survival, and cause of death in patients with occult brain metastases (Group I) vs. patients with symptomatic brain metastases (Group II). Methods and Materials: In 80 HER2-positive breast cancer patients, treated with trastuzumab and cytostatic agents for metastatic disease, magnetic resonance imaging screening of the brain was performed, and in 29 patients (36%) occult brain metastasis was detected (Group I). Whole-brain radiotherapy was delivered to Group I. This first group was compared with 52 patients who had symptomatic brain metastases (Group II) and was treated the same way, at the same clinic, during the same time period. Results: Median disease-free survival was 17 months in Group I and 19.9 months in Group II (p = 0.58). The median time interval between the dissemination of the disease and the detection of occult or symptomatic brain metastases was 9 and 15 months, respectively (p = 0.11). When the brain metastases were detected, the median survival was 9 and 8.78 months, respectively (p = 0.80). The median overall survival was 53 and 51 months, respectively (p = 0.94). In the group with occult brain metastases (Group I) 16% of patients died because of progression within the brain. In the group with symptomatic brain metastases (Group II) the rate of cerebral death was 48% (p = 0.009). Conclusions: Whole-brain radiotherapy of occult brain metastases in HER2-positive breast cancer patients with visceral dissemination produces a three-fold decrease in cerebral deaths but does not prolong survival.

  18. Detecting Poor Cement Bonding and Zonal Isolation Problems Using Magnetic Cement Slurries

    KAUST Repository

    Nair, Sriramya D.; Patzek, Tadeusz; van Oort, Eric

    2017-01-01

    There has been growing interest in the use of magnetorheological fluids to improve displacement efficiency of fluids (drilling fluids, spacer fluids, cement slurries) in the eccentric casing annuli. When magnetic particles are mixed with the cement slurry for improved displacement, they provide an excellent opportunity for sensing the presence and quality of cement in the annulus. This work focuses on using sophisticated 3D computational electromagnetics to simulate the use of a magnetic cement slurry for well cement monitoring. The main goal is to develop a new tool, which is capable of locating magnetic cement slurry that is placed behind a stainless steel casing. An electromagnetic coil was used to generate a magnetic field inside the borehole. It was found that when a current was passed through the electric coils, magnetic field lines passed through the stainless steel casing, the cement annulus and the rock formation. Three sensors were placed inside the cased borehole and the magnetic field strength variations were observed at these locations. Various factors that have a significant influence on zonal isolation were considered. These include, effect of debonding between casing and cement annulus, effect of changing annuli thickness, influence of a fracture in the rock formation, effect of changing magnetic permeability of cement and finally influence of annuli eccentricity. Based on the results shown in the paper along with the next generation of supersensitive magnetic sensors that are being developed, the magnetic approach appears to be a viable alternative for evaluating the quality of the cement annulus to ensure good zonal isolation.

  19. Detecting Poor Cement Bonding and Zonal Isolation Problems Using Magnetic Cement Slurries

    KAUST Repository

    Nair, Sriramya D.

    2017-10-02

    There has been growing interest in the use of magnetorheological fluids to improve displacement efficiency of fluids (drilling fluids, spacer fluids, cement slurries) in the eccentric casing annuli. When magnetic particles are mixed with the cement slurry for improved displacement, they provide an excellent opportunity for sensing the presence and quality of cement in the annulus. This work focuses on using sophisticated 3D computational electromagnetics to simulate the use of a magnetic cement slurry for well cement monitoring. The main goal is to develop a new tool, which is capable of locating magnetic cement slurry that is placed behind a stainless steel casing. An electromagnetic coil was used to generate a magnetic field inside the borehole. It was found that when a current was passed through the electric coils, magnetic field lines passed through the stainless steel casing, the cement annulus and the rock formation. Three sensors were placed inside the cased borehole and the magnetic field strength variations were observed at these locations. Various factors that have a significant influence on zonal isolation were considered. These include, effect of debonding between casing and cement annulus, effect of changing annuli thickness, influence of a fracture in the rock formation, effect of changing magnetic permeability of cement and finally influence of annuli eccentricity. Based on the results shown in the paper along with the next generation of supersensitive magnetic sensors that are being developed, the magnetic approach appears to be a viable alternative for evaluating the quality of the cement annulus to ensure good zonal isolation.

  20. First observation of a new zonal-flow cycle state in the H-mode transport barrier of the experimental advanced superconducting Tokamak

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Xu, G.S.; Wang, H. Q.; Wan, B. N.

    2012-01-01

    A new turbulence-flow cycle state has been discovered after the formation of a transport barrier in the H-mode plasma edge during a quiescent phase on the EAST superconducting tokamak. Zonal-flow modulation of high-frequency-broadband (0.05-1MHz) turbulence was observed in the steep-gradient region...... leading to intermittent transport events across the edge transport barrier. Good confinement (H-98y,H-2 similar to 1) has been achieved in this state, even with input heating power near the L-H transition threshold. A novel model based on predator-prey interaction between turbulence and zonal flows...... reproduced this state well. © 2012 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4769852]...

  1. Laser fluorescence bronchoscope for localization of occult lung tumors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Profio, A.E.; Doiron, D.R.; King, E.G.

    1979-01-01

    A system for imaging occult bronchogenic carcinoma by the fluorescence of previously-injected, tumor-specific compound hematoporphyrin-derivative has been assembled and successfully used to locate a tumor l mm thick. The violet excitation source is a krypton ion laser coupled to fused quartz fiber light conductor. An electrostatic image intensifier attached to a standard flexible fiberoptic bronchoscope provides a bright image even at relatively low irradiance. A red secondary filter rejects most reflected background and autofluorescence. Sensitivity and contrast capability of the system should permit detection of a tumor less than 0.1 mm thick

  2. The autopsy-correlation of computed tomography in acute severe head injuries

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tomita, Shin; Kim, Hong; Mikabe, Toshio; Karasawa, Hideharu; Watanabe, Saburo

    1981-01-01

    We discuss the importance of Contrast-Enhanced CT (C.E.CT) in establishing the variety of the intracranial pathological process in acute severe head injuries. During a two-and-a-half-year period (June, 1977 - December, 1979) thirty-three patients with acute severe head injuries were autopsied, all of whom had been scanned on admission. Among them, 14 patients had undergone both plain CT and C.E.CT on admission. Brain slices were examined macroscopically in three categories; brain contusion, subarachnoid hemorrhage, and intracerebral hemorrhage. Each category was then compared retrospectively with the plain CT and C.E.CT findings. C.E.CT was found to correspond much better to the autopsy finding than plain CT in the following three points: (1) C.E.CT clearly enhances the contusion areas and reveals occult contusion areas. (2) C.E.CT enhances the areas corresponding to the subarachnoid space due to the breakdown of brain-surface blood vessels. (3) C.E.CT reveals the enlargement and formation of the intracerebral hematoma by the extravasation of the intravenous contrast material from injured arterial vessels. (author)

  3. Lunar occultations for gamma-ray source measurements

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koch, David G.; Hughes, E. B.; Nolan, Patrick L.

    1990-01-01

    The unambiguous association of discrete gamma-ray sources with objects radiating at other wavelengths, the separation of discrete sources from the extended emission within the Galaxy, the mapping of gamma-ray emission from nearby galaxies and the measurement of structure within a discrete source cannot presently be accomplished at gamma-ray energies. In the past, the detection processes used in high-energy gamma-ray astronomy have not allowed for good angular resolution. This problem can be overcome by placing gamma-ray detectors on the moon and using the horizon as an occulting edge to achieve arcsec resolution. For purposes of discussion, this concept is examined for gamma rays above 100 MeV for which pair production dominates the detection process and locally-generated nuclear gamma rays do not contribute to the background.

  4. Air-cooling mathematical analysis as inferred from the air-temperature observation during the 1st total occultation of the Sun of the 21st century at Lusaka, Zambia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peñaloza-Murillo, Marcos A.; Pasachoff, Jay M.

    2015-04-01

    We analyze mathematically air temperature measurements made near the ground by the Williams College expedition to observe the first total occultation of the Sun [TOS (commonly known as a total solar eclipse)] of the 21st century in Lusaka, Zambia, in the afternoon of June 21, 2001. To do so, we have revisited some earlier and contemporary methods to test their usefulness for this analysis. Two of these methods, based on a radiative scheme for solar radiation modeling and that has been originally applied to a morning occultation, have successfully been combined to obtain the delay function for an afternoon occultation, via derivation of the so-called instantaneous temperature profiles. For this purpose, we have followed the suggestion given by the third of these previously applied methods to calculate this function, although by itself it failed to do so at least for this occultation. The analysis has taken into account the limb-darkening, occultation and obscuration functions. The delay function obtained describes quite fairly the lag between the solar radiation variation and the delayed air temperature measured. Also, in this investigation, a statistical study has been carried out to get information on the convection activity produced during this event. For that purpose, the fluctuations generated by turbulence has been studied by analyzing variance and residuals. The results, indicating an irreversible steady decrease of this activity, are consistent with those published by other studies. Finally, the air temperature drop due to this event is well estimated by applying the empirical scheme given by the fourth of the previously applied methods, based on the daily temperature amplitude and the standardized middle time of the occultation. It is demonstrated then that by using a simple set of air temperature measurements obtained during solar occultations, along with some supplementary data, a simple mathematical analysis can be achieved by applying of the four

  5. Aplastic crisis in occult hereditary spherocytosis caused by human parvovirus (HPV B19).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rappaport, E S; Quick, G; Ransom, D; Helbert, B; Frankel, L S

    1989-02-01

    We have reported a case of aplastic crisis occurring in an 11-year-old black boy with occult hereditary spherocytosis. An etiologic diagnosis of human parvovirus (HPV) B19 infection was confirmed serologically. The Coulter Model S + IV proved useful for both diagnosis and treatment monitoring through serial histograms. The relationship of HPV infection and aplastic crisis is discussed.

  6. Prognosis for Mammographically Occult, Early-Stage Breast Cancer Patients Treated With Breast-Conservation Therapy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yang, Tzu-I. J.; Yang Qifeng; Haffty, Bruce G.; Moran, Meena S.

    2010-01-01

    Purpose: To compare mammographically occult (MamOcc) and mammographically positive (MamPos) early-stage breast cancer patients treated with breast-conservation therapy (BCT), to analyze differences between the two cohorts. Methods and Materials: Our two cohorts consisted of 214 MamOcc and 2168 MamPos patients treated with BCT. Chart reviews were conducted to assess mammogram reports and method of detection. All clinical-pathologic and outcome parameters were analyzed to detect differences between the two cohorts. Results: Median follow-up was 7 years. There were no differences in final margins, T stage, nodal status, estrogen/progesterone receptor status, or 'triple-negative' status. Significant differences included younger age at diagnosis (p o histology (p < 0.0001). At 10 years, the differences in overall survival, cause-specific survival, and distant relapse between the two groups did not differ significantly. The MamOcc cohort had more breast relapses (15% vs. 8%; p = 0.0357), but on multivariate analysis this difference was not significant (hazard ratio 1.0, 95% confidence interval 0.993-1.007, p = 0.9296). Breast relapses were mammographically occult in 32% of the MamOcc and 12% of the MamPos cohorts (p = 0.0136). Conclusions: Although our study suggests that there are clinical-pathologic variations for the MamOcc cohort vs. MamPos patients that may ultimately affect management, breast relapse after BCT was not significantly different. Breast recurrences were more often mammographically occult in the MamOcc cohort; consideration should be given to closer follow-up and alternative imaging strategies (ultrasound, breast MRI) for routine posttreatment examination. To our knowledge, this represents the largest series addressing the prognostic significance of MamOcc cancers treated with BCT.

  7. Prediction of Occult Invasive Disease in Ductal Carcinoma in Situ Using Deep Learning Features.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shi, Bibo; Grimm, Lars J; Mazurowski, Maciej A; Baker, Jay A; Marks, Jeffrey R; King, Lorraine M; Maley, Carlo C; Hwang, E Shelley; Lo, Joseph Y

    2018-03-01

    The aim of this study was to determine whether deep features extracted from digital mammograms using a pretrained deep convolutional neural network are prognostic of occult invasive disease for patients with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) on core needle biopsy. In this retrospective study, digital mammographic magnification views were collected for 99 subjects with DCIS at biopsy, 25 of which were subsequently upstaged to invasive cancer. A deep convolutional neural network model that was pretrained on nonmedical images (eg, animals, plants, instruments) was used as the feature extractor. Through a statistical pooling strategy, deep features were extracted at different levels of convolutional layers from the lesion areas, without sacrificing the original resolution or distorting the underlying topology. A multivariate classifier was then trained to predict which tumors contain occult invasive disease. This was compared with the performance of traditional "handcrafted" computer vision (CV) features previously developed specifically to assess mammographic calcifications. The generalization performance was assessed using Monte Carlo cross-validation and receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. Deep features were able to distinguish DCIS with occult invasion from pure DCIS, with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.70 (95% confidence interval, 0.68-0.73). This performance was comparable with the handcrafted CV features (area under the curve = 0.68; 95% confidence interval, 0.66-0.71) that were designed with prior domain knowledge. Despite being pretrained on only nonmedical images, the deep features extracted from digital mammograms demonstrated comparable performance with handcrafted CV features for the challenging task of predicting DCIS upstaging. Copyright © 2017 American College of Radiology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  8. The Return of Congenital Rickets, Are We Missing Occult Cases?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elidrissy, Abdelwahab T H

    2016-09-01

    Congenital rickets is the term given to fetus born with clinical features of rickets, but those born with biochemical evidence of rickets without obvious clinical features still can be considered occult congenital rickets. Some of the affected babies with this disease have the intrauterine rachitic environment, but a calcium trans-placental pump prevents the fetus from having clinical features of rickets. They may present with hypocalcemia few days after birth or later with more florid features of rickets. Congenital rickets cases born with florid features reported over the last 40 years are few and can be divided into two groups. The first due to severe maternal osteomalacia in which their bones were so decalcified to have enough calcium to be pumped to their fetus. Another group in which newborn babies were hypocalcemic due to other maternal diseases as malabsorption, celiac disease, pre-eclampsia, and prematurity. All inherited rickets cases per se, or as part of other syndromes can be considered congenital rickets. Most cases seen in our region are due to maternal vitamin D deficiency with symptoms becoming obvious when the infants are breastfed, or may present with hypocalcemic convulsions or craniotabes. This is a review of congenital rickets with the aim of shedding light on this potentially acute disease that needs more attention and awareness in the neonatal period to avoid rare serious complications as cardiomyopathy or myelofibrosis and the complications of hypocalcemic convulsions. Congenital rickets cases seen simulate a tip of an ice-burg and its prevention is an important issue, especially with the tremendous urbanization with tall buildings living in sun-deprived flats as the commonest type of residence leading to the increasing incidence of maternal osteomalacia and rickets.

  9. Novel use of gamma correction for precise {sup 99m}Tc-HDP pinhole bone scan diagnosis and classification of knee occult fractures

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bahk, Yong-Whee [Sung Ae General Hospital, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Seoul (Korea); Jeon, Ho-Seung [Sung Ae General Hospital, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Seoul (Korea); Kim, Jang Min [Sung Ae General Hospital, Department of Radiology, Seoul (Korea); Park, Jung Mee; Kim, Sung-Hoon; Chung, Soo-Kyo [The Catholic University of Korea, Department of Radiology, College of Medicine, Seoul (Korea); Chung, Yong-An [The Catholic University of Korea, Department of Radiology, College of Medicine, Seoul (Korea); Incheon St. Mary' s Hospital, Institute of Catholic Integrative Medicine (ICIM), Incheon (Korea); Incheon St. Mary' s Hospital, The Catholic University of Korea, Department of Radiology, Incheon (Korea); Kim, E.E. [University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Houston, TX (United States)

    2010-08-15

    The aim of this study was to introduce gamma correction pinhole bone scan (GCPBS) to depict specific signs of knee occult fractures (OF) on {sup 99m}Tc-hydroxydiphosphonate (HDP) scan. Thirty-six cases of six different types of knee OF in 27 consecutive patients (male = 20, female = 7, and age = 18-86 years) were enrolled. The diagnosis was made on the basis of a history of acute or subacute knee trauma, local pain, tenderness, cutaneous injury, negative conventional radiography, and positive magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Because of the impracticability of histological verification of individual OF, MRI was utilized as a gold standard of diagnosis and classification. All patients had {sup 99m}Tc-HDP bone scanning and supplementary GCPBS. GCPBS signs were correlated and compared with those of MRI. The efficacy of gamma correction of ordinary parallel collimator and pinhole collimator scans were collated. Gamma correction pinhole bone scan depicted the signs characteristic of six different types of OF. They were well defined stuffed globular tracer uptake in geographic I fractures (n = 9), block-like uptake in geographic II fractures (n = 7), simple or branching linear uptake in linear cancellous fractures (n = 4), compression in impacted fractures (n = 2), stippled-serpentine uptake in reticular fractures (n = 11), and irregular subcortical uptake in osteochondral fractures (n = 3). All fractures were equally well or more distinctly depicted on GCPBS than on MRI except geographic II fracture, the details of which were not appreciated on GCPBS. Parallel collimator scan also yielded to gamma correction, but the results were inferior to those of the pinhole scan. Gamma correction pinhole bone scan can depict the specific diagnostic signs in six different types of knee occult fractures. The specific diagnostic capability along with the lower cost and wider global availability of bone scanning would make GCPBS an effective alternative. (orig.)

  10. Thermal structure of intense convective clouds derived from GPS radio occultations

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Biondi, Riccardo; Randel, W. J.; Ho, S. -P.

    2012-01-01

    Thermal structure associated with deep convective clouds is investigated using Global Positioning System (GPS) radio occultation measurements. GPS data are insensitive to the presence of clouds, and provide high vertical resolution and high accuracy measurements to identify associated temperature...... behavior. Deep convective systems are identified using International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP) satellite data, and cloud tops are accurately measured using Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIPSO) lidar observations; we focus on 53 cases of near-coincident GPS...

  11. Thermal structure of intense convective clouds derived from GPS radio occultations

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Biondi, Riccardo; Randel, W. J.; Ho, S.-P.

    2011-01-01

    Thermal structure associated with deep convective clouds is investigated using Global Positioning System (GPS) radio occultation measurements. GPS data are insensitive to the presence of clouds, and provide high vertical resolution and high accuracy measurements to identify associated temperature...... behavior. Deep convective systems are identified using International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP) satellite data, and cloud tops are accurately measured using Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIPSO) lidar observations; we focus on 53 cases of near-coincident GPS...

  12. Is an inefficient transmission market better than none at all? On zonal and nodal pricing in electricity systems

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bertsch, Joachim

    2015-09-15

    In this paper, the trade-off between inefficient transmission forward markets (in nodal pricing regimes) and the inefficiency induced by hiding transmission constraints from the market (in zonal pricing regimes) is analyzed. First, a simple two node model formalizing the general trade-off is developed. Then, comparative statics are performed with a stochastic equilibrium model including more nodes, loop flows and an energy and transmission forward market. Inefficiency in the transmission forward market is introduced via a bid-ask-spread and risk aversion of market participants. The welfare impacts for a broad range of supply, demand, grid and inefficiency parameters are analyzed numerically. For efficient spot and forward markets, the results of the literature of nodal pricing being the efficient benchmark are confirmed. With inefficient transmission forward markets, however, zonal pricing proves advantageous in situations with little congestion and low costs. The results imply that the trade-off between the pricing regimes should be considered carefully when defining the geographical scope of bidding zones.

  13. Acute eosinophilic pneumonia: Thin-section CT findings in 29 patients

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Daimon, Tadahisa; Johkoh, Takeshi; Sumikawa, Hiromitsu; Honda, Osamu; Fujimoto, Kiminori; Koga, Takeharu; Arakawa, Hiroaki; Yanagawa, Masahiro; Inoue, Atsuo; Mihara, Naoki; Tomiyama, Noriyuki

    2008-01-01

    Purpose: To determine thin-section computed tomography (CT) characteristics of acute eosinophilic pneumonia (AEP). Materials and methods: Thin-section CT scans of 29 patients (14 males, 15 females; mean age, 26 ± 15 years; age range, 15-72 years) with AEP were included this retrospective study. The clinical diagnosis of AEP was established by Allen's criteria. Each thin-section CT was reviewed by two observers. Results: Bilateral areas with ground-glass attenuation were observed on thin-section CT in all patients. Areas of air-space consolidation were present in 16 (55%) of 29 patients. Poorly defined centrilobular nodules were present in 9 patients (31%). Interlobular septal thickening was present in 26 patients (90%). Thickening of bronchovascular bundles was present in 19 patients (66%). Pleural effusions were present in 23 patients (79%) (bilateral = 22, right side = 1, left side = 0). The predominant overall anatomic distribution was central in only 2 (7%) of 29 patients, peripheral in 9 patients (31%), and random in 18 patients (62%). The overall zonal predominance was upper in 4 patients (14%), lower in 8 patients (28%), and random in 17 patients (58%). Conclusion: CT findings in AEP patients consisted mainly of bilateral areas of ground-glass attenuation, interlobular septal thickening, thickening of bronchovascular bundles, and the presence of a pleural effusion without cardiomegaly. The most common overall anatomic distribution and zonal predominance of the abnormal CT findings were random

  14. Acute eosinophilic pneumonia: Thin-section CT findings in 29 patients

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Daimon, Tadahisa [Department of Radiology, Osaka University Medical School, 2-2 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871 (Japan); Department of Medicine, Division of Pulmonary Medicine, Jichi Medical University, Yakushiji 3311-1, Shimotsuke, Tochigi 329-0498 (Japan)], E-mail: t-daimon@radiol.med.osaka-u.ac.jp; Johkoh, Takeshi [Department of Radiology, Osaka University Medical School, 2-2 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871 (Japan)], E-mail: johkoh@sahs.med.osaka-u.ac.jp; Sumikawa, Hiromitsu [Department of Radiology, Osaka University Medical School, 2-2 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871 (Japan)], E-mail: h-sumikawa@radiol.med.osaka-u.ac.jp; Honda, Osamu [Department of Radiology, Osaka University Medical School, 2-2 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871 (Japan)], E-mail: ohonda@radiol.med.osaka-u.ac.jp; Fujimoto, Kiminori [Department of Radiology, Kurume University School of Medicine, 67 Asahi-machi, Kurume 830-0011 (Japan)], E-mail: kimichan@med.kurume-u.ac.jp; Koga, Takeharu [Department of Medicine, Division of Respirology and Neurology, Kurume University School of Medicine, 67 Asahi-machi, Kurume 830-0011 (Japan)], E-mail: kogat@med.kurume-u.ac.jp; Arakawa, Hiroaki [Department of Radiology, Dokkyo University School of Medicine, 880 Kita-Kobayashi, Mibu, Tochigi 321-0293 (Japan)], E-mail: arakawa@dokkyomed.ac.jp; Yanagawa, Masahiro [Department of Radiology, Osaka University Medical School, 2-2 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871 (Japan)], E-mail: m-yanagawa@radiol.med.osaka-u.ac.jp; Inoue, Atsuo [Department of Radiology, Osaka University Medical School, 2-2 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871 (Japan)], E-mail: ainoue@radiol.med.osaka-u.ac.jp; Mihara, Naoki [Department of Radiology, Osaka University Medical School, 2-2 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871 (Japan)], E-mail: nmihara@radiol.med.osaka-u.ac.jp; Tomiyama, Noriyuki [Department of Radiology, Osaka University Medical School, 2-2 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871 (Japan)], E-mail: tomiyama@radiol.med.osaka-u.ac.jp (and others)

    2008-03-15

    Purpose: To determine thin-section computed tomography (CT) characteristics of acute eosinophilic pneumonia (AEP). Materials and methods: Thin-section CT scans of 29 patients (14 males, 15 females; mean age, 26 {+-} 15 years; age range, 15-72 years) with AEP were included this retrospective study. The clinical diagnosis of AEP was established by Allen's criteria. Each thin-section CT was reviewed by two observers. Results: Bilateral areas with ground-glass attenuation were observed on thin-section CT in all patients. Areas of air-space consolidation were present in 16 (55%) of 29 patients. Poorly defined centrilobular nodules were present in 9 patients (31%). Interlobular septal thickening was present in 26 patients (90%). Thickening of bronchovascular bundles was present in 19 patients (66%). Pleural effusions were present in 23 patients (79%) (bilateral = 22, right side = 1, left side = 0). The predominant overall anatomic distribution was central in only 2 (7%) of 29 patients, peripheral in 9 patients (31%), and random in 18 patients (62%). The overall zonal predominance was upper in 4 patients (14%), lower in 8 patients (28%), and random in 17 patients (58%). Conclusion: CT findings in AEP patients consisted mainly of bilateral areas of ground-glass attenuation, interlobular septal thickening, thickening of bronchovascular bundles, and the presence of a pleural effusion without cardiomegaly. The most common overall anatomic distribution and zonal predominance of the abnormal CT findings were random.

  15. Zonal Wave Number 2 Rossby Wave (3.5-day oscillation) Over The Martian Lower Atmosphere

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ghosh, P.; Thokuluwa, R. K.

    2013-12-01

    Over the Mars, height (800-50 Pascal pressure coordinate) profiles of temperature (K), measured by radio occultation technique during the MGS (Mars Global Surveyor) mission, obtained for the period of 1-10 January 2006 at the Martian latitude of ~63N in almost all the longitudes are analyzed to study the characteristics of the 3.5-day oscillation. To avoid significant data gaps in a particular longitude sector, we selected a set of 7 Mars longitude regions with ranges of 0-30E, 35-60E, 65-95E, 190-230E, 250-280E, 290-320E, and 325-360E to study the global characteristics of the 3.5-day oscillation. The 3.5-day oscillation is not selected as a-priori but observed as a most significant oscillation during this period of 1-10 January 2006. It is observed that in the longitude of 0-30E, the 3.5-day oscillation shows statistically significant power (above the 95% confidence level white noise) from the lowest height (800 Pascal, 8 hPa) itself and up to the height of 450 Pascal level with the maximum power of ~130 K^2 at the 600 & 650 Pascal levels. It started to grow from the power of ~ 50 K^2 at the lowest height of 800 Pascal level and reached the maximum power in the height of 600-650 Pascal level and then it started to get lessened monotonously up to the height of 450 Pascal level where its power is ~ 20 K^2. Beyond this height and up to the height of 50 Pascal level, the wave amplitude is below the white noise level. As the phase of the wave is almost constant at all the height levels, it seems that the observed 3.5-day oscillation is a stationary wave with respect to the height. In the 35-60 E longitude sector, the vertical structure of the 3.5-day oscillation is similar to what observed for the 0-30 E longitude region but the power is statistically insignificant at all the heights. However in the 65-95E longitude sector, the wave grows from the lowest level (70 K^2) of 800 Pascal to its maximum power of 280 K^2 in the height of 700 Pascal level and then it started

  16. Tropical cyclone cloud‐top height and vertical temperature structure detection using GPS radio occultation measurements

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Biondi, Riccardo; Ho, Shu‐Peng; Randel, William

    2013-01-01

    The accurate determination of tropical cyclone (TC) cloud-top height and its vertical thermal structure using the GPS radio occultation (RO) technique is demonstrated in this study. Cloud-top heights are determined by using the bending angle anomaly and the temperature anomaly profiles during...

  17. The “communication line” suggests occult posterior malleolar fracture associated with a spiral tibial shaft fracture

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hou Zhiyong; Zhang Liping; Zhang Qi; Yao Shuangquan; Pan Jinshe; Irgit, Kaan; Zhang Yingze

    2012-01-01

    Objectives: To demonstrate radiographical characteristics of the relationship between distal spiral tibial shaft fractures and associated occult posterior malleolar fractures (PMF) that confirmed by CT and MRI. Materials and methods: X-rays for a ninety-six patients with spiral tibia fracture and associated PMF were reviewed. All patients additionally had an ankle CT. Patients with a negative CT scans underwent an ankle MRI. Radiographic observations included fracture location, characteristics, and a presence of a fracture line between the two injuries. Results: The spiral tibia fracture line was contiguous with PMF in 89 of 96 cases after evaluation with the CT and MRI. The line connecting the two injuries, which occurs between the medial inferior apex of the spiral tibia fracture line and the posterior superior apex of the PMF was identified as the “communication line”. In 47 of the 89 conjunction fractures, the “communication line” was detectable preoperatively and in 12 cases postoperatively by anteroposterior radiograph. By using the CT and MRI scans, we found that no “communication line” was present in only 7 cases. Conclusion: It is important to understand the nature of the association between distal spiral tibial shaft fractures and occult posterior malleolar fractures for optimal stabilization of the fracture and for appropriate rehabilitation. The “communication line” is a useful diagnostic clue for early recognition the occult PMF and alerts a closer evaluation of the lateral view and further CT examination.

  18. Zonally asymmetric response of the Southern Ocean mixed-layer depth to the Southern Annular Mode

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sallée, J. B.; Speer, K. G.; Rintoul, S. R.

    2010-04-01

    Interactions between the atmosphere and ocean are mediated by the mixed layer at the ocean surface. The depth of this layer is determined by wind forcing and heating from the atmosphere. Variations in mixed-layer depth affect the rate of exchange between the atmosphere and deeper ocean, the capacity of the ocean to store heat and carbon and the availability of light and nutrients to support the growth of phytoplankton. However, the response of the Southern Ocean mixed layer to changes in the atmosphere is not well known. Here we analyse temperature and salinity data from Argo profiling floats to show that the Southern Annular Mode (SAM), the dominant mode of atmospheric variability in the Southern Hemisphere, leads to large-scale anomalies in mixed-layer depth that are zonally asymmetric. From a simple heat budget of the mixed layer we conclude that meridional winds associated with departures of the SAM from zonal symmetry cause anomalies in heat flux that can, in turn, explain the observed changes of mixed-layer depth and sea surface temperature. Our results suggest that changes in the SAM, including recent and projected trends attributed to human activity, drive variations in Southern Ocean mixed-layer depth, with consequences for air-sea exchange, ocean sequestration of heat and carbon, and biological productivity.

  19. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) Computations With Zonal Navier-Stokes Flow Solver (ZNSFLOW) Common High Performance Computing Scalable Software Initiative (CHSSI) Software

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Edge, Harris

    1999-01-01

    ...), computational fluid dynamics (CFD) 6 project. Under the project, a proven zonal Navier-Stokes solver was rewritten for scalable parallel performance on both shared memory and distributed memory high performance computers...

  20. MR imaging-guided sonography followed by fine-needle aspiration cytology in occult carcinoma of the breast

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    A.I.M. Obdeijn (Inge-Marie); Brouwers-Kuyper, E.M.; M.M.A. Tilanus-Linthorst (Madeleine); T. Wiggers (Theo); M. Oudkerk (Matthijs)

    2000-01-01

    markdownabstractOBJECTIVE. In patients with axillary metastases as clinical evidence of possible occult breast cancer, a combined approach of MR imaging, sonography, and aspiration biopsy cytology was evaluated. SUBJECTS AND METHODS. Thirty-one women with metastatic adenocarcinoma in their

  1. Evidence of long-term change in zonal wind in the tropical lower mesosphere: Observations and model simulations

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Ratnam, M. V.; Kumar, G. K.; Rao, N. V.; Murthy, B. V. K.; Laštovička, Jan; Qian, L.

    2013-01-01

    Roč. 40, č. 2 (2013), s. 397-401 ISSN 0094-8276 R&D Projects: GA ČR GAP209/10/1792 Institutional support: RVO:68378289 Keywords : mesosphere * zonal wind * long-term trends * TIME-GCM * climate change Subject RIV: DG - Athmosphere Sciences, Meteorology Impact factor: 4.456, year: 2013 http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/grl.50158/abstract

  2. Inappropriate use of the faecal occult blood test in a university hospital in the Netherlands

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Rijn, Anne F.; Stroobants, An K.; Deutekom, Marije; Lauppe, Corinne; Sturk, Auguste; Bossuyt, Patrick M. M.; Fockens, Paul; Dekker, Evelien

    2012-01-01

    Objectives Although all international guidelines state that there is no indication to perform a faecal occult blood test (FOBT) in symptomatic patients, we believe the test is frequently used as a diagnostic test. The objective of this study was to investigate whether the current guidelines for FOBT

  3. Zonal velocity and texture in the jovian atmosphere inferred from Voyager images

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ingersoll, A.P.; Beebe, R.F.; Collins, S.A.; Hunt, G.E.; Mitchell, J.L.; Muller, P.; Smith, B.A.; Terrile, R.J.

    1979-01-01

    The first report (Smith et al. Science; 204: 951 (1979)) of the Voyager imaging science team following the 5 March 1979 encounter described Jupiter's changing appearance at resolutions down to 10 km, over intervals as small as 1 h. Examples of small-scale convection, rapid variations of features, and complex interactions of closed vortices were presented. This article extends these results in two ways. First, measurements of the latitudinal profile of zonal (eastward) velocity are presented, from which the absolute vorticity gradient is estimated. Second, a classification scheme based on texture ie the patterns of small features visible at resolutions of 100 km or better, is presented. (UK)

  4. The Acute Risks of Exercise in Apparently Healthy Adults and Relevance for Prevention of Cardiovascular Events.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goodman, Jack M; Burr, Jamie F; Banks, Laura; Thomas, Scott G

    2016-04-01

    Increased physical activity (PA) is associated with improved quality of life and reductions in cardiovascular (CV) morbidity and all-cause mortality in the general population in a dose-response manner. However, PA acutely increases the risk of adverse CV event or sudden cardiac death (SCD) above levels expected at rest. We review the likelihood of adverse CV events related to exercise in apparently healthy adults and strategies for prevention, and contextualize our understanding of the long-term risk reduction conferred from PA. A systematic review of the literature was performed using electronic databases; additional hand-picked relevant articles from reference lists and additional sources were included after the search. The incidence of adverse CV events in adults is extremely low during and immediately after PA of varying types and intensities and is significantly lower in those with long-standing PA experience. The risk of SCD and nonfatal events during and immediately after PA remains extremely low (well below 0.01 per 10,000 participant hours); increasing age and PA intensity are associated with greater risk. In most cases of exercise-related SCD, occult CV disease is present and SCD is typically the first clinical event. Exercise acutely increases the risk of adverse CV events, with greater risk associated with vigorous intensity. The risks of an adverse CV event during and immediately after exercise are outweighed by the health benefits of vigorous exercise performed regularly. A key challenge remains the identification of occult structural heart disease and inheritable conditions that increase the chances of lethal arrhythmias during exercise. Copyright © 2016 Canadian Cardiovascular Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  5. Radiographically Occult and Subtle Fractures: A Pictorial Review

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jarraya, M.; Hayashi, D.; Roemer, F.W.; Crema, M.D.; Conlin, J.; Marra, M.D.; Guermazi, A.; Roemer, F.W.; Crema, M.D.; Diaz, L.; Conlin, J.; Jomaah, N.

    2013-01-01

    Radiographically occult and subtle fractures are a diagnostic challenge. They may be divided into (1) high energy trauma fracture, (2) fatigue fracture from cyclical and sustained mechanical stress, and (3) insufficiency fracture occurring in weakened bone (e.g., in osteoporosis and post radiotherapy). Independently of the cause, the initial radiographic examination can be negative either because the findings seem normal or are too subtle. Early detection of these fractures is crucial to explain the patients symptoms and prevent further complications. Advanced imaging tools such as computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, and scintigraphy are highly valuable in this context. Our aim is to raise the awareness of radiologists and clinicians in these cases by presenting illustrative cases and a discussion of the relevant literature.

  6. The Taiwanese-American occultation survey project stellar variability. III. Detection of 58 new variable stars

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ishioka, R.; Wang, S.-Y.; Zhang, Z.-W.; Lehner, M. J.; Cook, K. H.; King, S.-K.; Lee, T.; Marshall, S. L.; Schwamb, M. E.; Wang, J.-H.; Wen, C.-Y. [Institute of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Academia Sinica, 11F of Astronomy-Mathematics Building, National Taiwan University, No. 1, Sec. 4, Roosevelt Road, Taipei 10617, Taiwan (China); Alcock, C.; Protopapas, P. [Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, 60 Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138 (United States); Axelrod, T. [Steward Observatory, 933 North Cherry Avenue, Room N204, Tucson, AZ 85721 (United States); Bianco, F. B. [Center for Cosmology and Particle Physics, New York University, 4 Washington Place, New York, NY 10003 (United States); Byun, Y.-I. [Department of Astronomy and University Observatory, Yonsei University, 134 Shinchon, Seoul 120-749 (Korea, Republic of); Chen, W. P.; Ngeow, C.-C. [Institute of Astronomy, National Central University, No. 300, Jhongda Road, Jhongli City, Taoyuan County 320, Taiwan (China); Kim, D.-W. [Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, Königstuhl 17, D-69117 Heidelberg (Germany); Rice, J. A., E-mail: ishioka@asiaa.sinica.edu.tw [Department of Statistics, University of California Berkeley, 367 Evans Hall, Berkeley, CA 94720 (United States)

    2014-04-01

    The Taiwanese-American Occultation Survey project is designed for the detection of stellar occultations by small-size Kuiper Belt Objects, and it has monitored selected fields along the ecliptic plane by using four telescopes with a 3 deg{sup 2} field of view on the sky since 2005. We have analyzed data accumulated during 2005-2012 to detect variable stars. Sixteen fields with observations of more than 100 epochs were examined. We recovered 85 variables among a total of 158 known variable stars in these 16 fields. Most of the unrecovered variables are located in the fields observed less frequently. We also detected 58 variable stars which are not listed in the International Variable Star Index of the American Association of Variable Star Observers. These variable stars are classified as 3 RR Lyrae, 4 Cepheid, 1 δ Scuti, 5 Mira, 15 semi-regular, and 27 eclipsing binaries based on the periodicity and the profile of the light curves.

  7. Diagnosis of an isolated occult fracture of the posterior margin of the tibia with the SPECT/CT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bourdon, A.; Granier, P.; Mourad, M.

    2007-01-01

    We report the case of a 56-year-old woman, investigated for pains of the right ankle related to a trauma of an unspecified mechanism. The radiographic assessment was negative. The 99m Tc-HDP 3-phase bone scintigraphy highlighted, on the blood pool and the delayed images, a located lesion on the right ankle. The single photon emission computerized tomography guided by computerized tomography (SPECT-CT) showed a focused uptake on the posterior margin of the right tibia and a sharp lucent line within the tomo-scintigraphy spot of uptake. The diagnosis accepted was an isolated occult fracture of the posterior margin of the right tibia. The contribution of the 99m Tc-HDP 3-phase bone scintigraphy combined with the SPECT-CT in the diagnosis of the occult fractures is discussed. (N.C.)

  8. Acute effects of outdoor air pollution on emergency department visits due to five clinical subtypes of coronary heart diseases in shanghai, china.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xie, Juan; He, Mingzhen; Zhu, Weiying

    2014-01-01

    Air pollution can be a contributing cause to the development and exacerbation of coronary heart disease (CHD), but there is little knowledge about the acute effects of air pollution on different clinical subtypes of CHD. We conducted a time-series study to investigate the association of air pollution (particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter effects on sudden cardiac death, moderate effects on acute myocardial infarction and angina, weak effects on ischemic cardiomyopathy, and no effect on occult CHD. The associations were stronger among people aged 65 years or more than in younger individuals and in the cool season versus the warm one. Outdoor air pollution may have different effects of air pollution on 5 subtypes of CHD. Our results might be useful for the primary prevention of various subtypes of CHD exacerbated by air pollution.

  9. Initial Experience of Tomosynthesis-Guided Vacuum-Assisted Biopsies of Tomosynthesis-Detected (2D Mammography and Ultrasound Occult) Architectural Distortions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patel, Bhavika K; Covington, Matthew; Pizzitola, Victor J; Lorans, Roxanne; Giurescu, Marina; Eversman, William; Lewin, John

    2018-03-23

    As experience and aptitude in digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) have increased, radiologists are seeing more areas of architectural distortion (AD) on DBT images compared with standard 2D mammograms. The purpose of this study is to report our experience using tomosynthesis-guided vacuum-assisted biopsies (VABs) for ADs that were occult at 2D mammography and ultrasound and to analyze the positive predictive value for malignancy. We performed a retrospective review of 34 DBT-detected ADs that were occult at mammography and ultrasound. We found a positive predictive value of 26% (nine malignancies in 34 lesions). Eight of the malignancies were invasive and one was ductal carcinoma in situ. The invasive cancers were grade 1 (4/8; 50%), grade 2 (2/8; 25%), or grade 3 (1/8; 13%); information about one invasive cancer was not available. The mean size of the invasive cancers at pathologic examination was 7.5 mm (range, 6-30 mm). Tomosynthesis-guided VAB is a feasible method to sample ADs that are occult at 2D mammography and ultrasound. Tomosynthesis-guided VAB is a minimally invasive method that detected a significant number of carcinomas, most of which were grade 1 cancers. Further studies are needed.

  10. Comparison of entropy production rates in two different types of self-organized flows: Benard convection and zonal flow

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kawazura, Y.; Yoshida, Z.

    2012-01-01

    Two different types of self-organizing and sustaining ordered motion in fluids or plasmas--one is a Benard convection (or streamer) and the other is a zonal flow--have been compared by introducing a thermodynamic phenomenological model and evaluating the corresponding entropy production rates (EP). These two systems have different topologies in their equivalent circuits: the Benard convection is modeled by parallel connection of linear and nonlinear conductances, while the zonal flow is modeled by series connection. The ''power supply'' that drives the systems is also a determinant of operating modes. When the energy flux is a control parameter (as in usual plasma experiments), the driver is modeled by a constant-current power supply, and when the temperature difference between two separate boundaries is controlled (as in usual computational studies), the driver is modeled by a constant-voltage power supply. The parallel (series)-connection system tends to minimize (maximize) the total EP when a constant-current power supply drives the system. This minimum/maximum relation flips when a constant-voltage power supply is connected.

  11. Celestial shadows eclipses, transits, and occultations

    CERN Document Server

    Westfall, John

    2015-01-01

    Much of what is known about the universe comes from the study of celestial shadows—eclipses, transits, and occultations.  The most dramatic are total eclipses of the Sun, which constitute one of the most dramatic and awe-inspiring events of nature.  Though once a source of consternation or dread, solar eclipses now lead thousands of amateur astronomers and eclipse-chasers to travel to remote points on the globe to savor their beauty and the adrenaline-rush of experiencing totality, and were long the only source of information about the hauntingly beautiful chromosphere and corona of the Sun.   Long before Columbus, the curved shadow of the Earth on the Moon during a lunar eclipse revealed that we inhabit a round world. The rare and wonderful transits of Venus, which occur as it passes between the Earth and the Sun, inspired eighteenth century expeditions to measure the distance from the Earth to the Sun, while the recent transits of 2004 and 2012 were the most widely observed ever--and still produced re...

  12. Subfracture insult to the human cadaver patellofemoral joint produces occult injury.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Atkinson, P J; Haut, R C

    1995-11-01

    The current criterion used by the automotive industry for injury to the lower extremity is based on visible bone fracture. Studies suggest, however, that chronic joint degeneration may occur after subfracture impact loads on the knee. We hypothesized that subfracture loading of the patellofemoral joint could result in previously undocumented microtrauma in areas of high contact pressure. In the current study, seven patellofemoral joints from human cadavers were subjected to impact with successively greater energy until visible fracture was noted. Transverse and comminuted fractures of the patella were noted at 6.7 kN of load. Approximately 45% of the impact energy then was delivered to the contralateral joint. Subfracture loads of 5.2 kN resulted in no gross bone fracture in five of seven specimens. Histological examination of the patellae horizontal split fracture in the subchondral bone, at the tidemark, or at the interface of calcified cartilage and subchondral bone. The trauma appeared predominantly on the lateral facet, adjacent to or directly beneath preexisting fibrillation of the articular surface. Surface fibrillation was noted in histological sections of control patellae (not subjected to impact loading), but occult damages were not observed. Although the mechanism of this occult trauma is unknown, similar damage has been shown to occur from direct shear loading. As these microcracks can potentiate a disease process in the joint, this study may suggest that the current criterion for injury, based on bone fracture alone, is not sufficiently conservative.

  13. The occult nature of intramedullary spinal cord metastases from renal cell carcinoma.

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    Zakaria, Zaitun

    2012-01-01

    Renal cell carcinomas (RCC) are characterised by a tendency to metastasise widely, often while remaining occult. Intramedullary spinal cord metastases (ISCM) from RCC may be the presenting feature of the disease or present at any time in the disease course. This case report discusses an ISCM from RCC which became manifested at the time of resection of the primary tumour. We review the literature published on ISCM from RCC from 1990 to date comparing disease characteristics and presentations.

  14. The Evolution and Application of Cardiac Monitoring for Occult Atrial Fibrillation in Cryptogenic Stroke and TIA.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miller, Daniel J; Shah, Kavit; Modi, Sumul; Mahajan, Abhimanyu; Zahoor, Salman; Affan, Muhammad

    2016-04-01

    The evaluation of the stroke and transient ischemic attack (TIA) patient has been historically predominated by the initial evaluation in the hospital setting. As the etiology of stroke has eluded us in approximately one third of all acute events, the medical community has been eager to seek the answer to this mystery. In recent years, we have seen an explosion of innovations and trends allowing for a more detailed post stroke assessment strategy aimed at the identification of occult atrial fibrillation as the etiologic cause for the cryptogenic event. This has been achieved through the evolution and aggressive application and study of prolonged and advanced cardiac monitoring. This review is aimed to clarify and elucidate the standard and novel cardiac monitoring methods that have become available for use by the medical community and expected in the higher level care of cryptogenic stroke and TIA patients. These cardiac monitoring methods and devices are as heterogeneous as our patient population and have their own advantages and disadvantages. Many factors may be taken into consideration in choosing the appropriate cardiac monitoring method and are highlighted for consideration in this review. With a judicious approach to investigating the cryptogenic stroke population, and applying a wealth of novel treatment options, we may move forward into a new era of stroke prevention.

  15. In Vivo Zonal Variation and Liver Cell-Type Specific NF-κB Localization after Chronic Adaptation to Ethanol and following Partial Hepatectomy.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Harshavardhan Nilakantan

    Full Text Available NF-κB is a major inflammatory response mediator in the liver, playing a key role in the pathogenesis of alcoholic liver injury. We investigated zonal as well as liver cell type-specific distribution of NF-κB activation across the liver acinus following adaptation to chronic ethanol intake and 70% partial hepatectomy (PHx. We employed immunofluorescence staining, digital image analysis and statistical distributional analysis to quantify subcellular localization of NF-κB in hepatocytes and hepatic stellate cells (HSCs. We detected significant spatial heterogeneity of NF-κB expression and cellular localization between cytoplasm and nucleus across liver tissue. Our main aims involved investigating the zonal bias in NF-κB localization and determining to what extent chronic ethanol intake affects this zonal bias with in hepatocytes at baseline and post-PHx. Hepatocytes in the periportal area showed higher NF-κB expression than in the pericentral region in the carbohydrate-fed controls, but not in the ethanol group. However, the distribution of NF-κB nuclear localization in hepatocytes was shifted towards higher levels in pericentral region than in periportal area, across all treatment conditions. Chronic ethanol intake shifted the NF-κB distribution towards higher nuclear fraction in hepatocytes as compared to the pair-fed control group. Ethanol also stimulated higher NF-κB expression in a subpopulation of HSCs. In the control group, PHx elicited a shift towards higher NF-κB nuclear fraction in hepatocytes. However, this distribution remained unchanged in the ethanol group post-PHx. HSCs showed a lower NF-κB expression following PHx in both ethanol and control groups. We conclude that adaptation to chronic ethanol intake attenuates the liver zonal variation in NF-κB expression and limits the PHx-induced NF-κB activation in hepatocytes, but does not alter the NF-κB expression changes in HSCs in response to PHx. Our findings provide new

  16. Detection of occult vertebral fractures by quantitative assessment of bone marrow attenuation values at MDCT

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Henes, Frank Oliver, E-mail: f.henes@uke.de [Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Center for Radiology and Endoscopy, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistr. 52, 20246 Hamburg (Germany); Groth, Michael [Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Neuroradiology, Center for Radiology and Endoscopy, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistr. 52, 20246 Hamburg (Germany); Kramer, Harald [Department of Clinical Radiology, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Hospital Munich, Marchioninistr. 15, 81377 Munich (Germany); Department of Radiology, University of Wisconsin – Madison, Clinical Science Center, 600 Highland Avenue, Madison, WI 53792 (United States); Schaefer, Christian [Department of Trauma-, Hand- and Reconstructive Surgery, Spine Center, Center for Surgical Sciences, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistraße 52, 20246 Hamburg (Germany); Regier, Marc; Derlin, Thorsten; Adam, Gerhard; Bannas, Peter [Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, Center for Radiology and Endoscopy, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistr. 52, 20246 Hamburg (Germany)

    2014-01-15

    Objectives: To determine a cut-off value of Hounsfield attenuation units (HU) at multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) for valid and reliable detection of bone marrow oedema (BME) related to occult vertebral fractures. Methods: 36 patients underwent both MDCT and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) for evaluation of vertebral fractures of the thoracolumbar spine and were included in this retrospective study. Two readers independently assessed HU values at MDCT in a total of 196 vertebrae. Reliability was assessed by intraclass correlation coefficient and Bland–Altman analysis. For each patient we determined the vertebra with the lowest HU value and calculated the HU-difference to each other vertebral body. HU-differences were subjected to receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis to determine the diagnostic accuracy for detection of BME as determined by MRI, which served as the reference standard. Results of HU-measurements were compared with standard visual evaluation of MDCT. Results: HU measurements demonstrated a high interrater reliability (ICC = 0.984). ROC curve analysis (AUC = 0.978) exhibited an ideal cut-off value of 29.6 HU for detection of BME associated with vertebral fractures with an accuracy of 97.4% as compared to 93.4% accuracy of visual evaluation. Particularly, HU-measurements increased the sensitivity for detection of vertebral fractures from 78.0% to 92.7% due to the detection of 7 of 9 occult fractures that were missed by visual evaluation alone. Conclusions: Assessing bone marrow density by HU measurements using the cut-off of 29.6 HU is a valid and reliable tool for detection of BME related to occult vertebral fractures in MDCT. The introduced technique may allow more accurate treatment decisions and may make further diagnostic work-up with MRI unnecessary.

  17. Detection of occult vertebral fractures by quantitative assessment of bone marrow attenuation values at MDCT

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Henes, Frank Oliver; Groth, Michael; Kramer, Harald; Schaefer, Christian; Regier, Marc; Derlin, Thorsten; Adam, Gerhard; Bannas, Peter

    2014-01-01

    Objectives: To determine a cut-off value of Hounsfield attenuation units (HU) at multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) for valid and reliable detection of bone marrow oedema (BME) related to occult vertebral fractures. Methods: 36 patients underwent both MDCT and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) for evaluation of vertebral fractures of the thoracolumbar spine and were included in this retrospective study. Two readers independently assessed HU values at MDCT in a total of 196 vertebrae. Reliability was assessed by intraclass correlation coefficient and Bland–Altman analysis. For each patient we determined the vertebra with the lowest HU value and calculated the HU-difference to each other vertebral body. HU-differences were subjected to receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis to determine the diagnostic accuracy for detection of BME as determined by MRI, which served as the reference standard. Results of HU-measurements were compared with standard visual evaluation of MDCT. Results: HU measurements demonstrated a high interrater reliability (ICC = 0.984). ROC curve analysis (AUC = 0.978) exhibited an ideal cut-off value of 29.6 HU for detection of BME associated with vertebral fractures with an accuracy of 97.4% as compared to 93.4% accuracy of visual evaluation. Particularly, HU-measurements increased the sensitivity for detection of vertebral fractures from 78.0% to 92.7% due to the detection of 7 of 9 occult fractures that were missed by visual evaluation alone. Conclusions: Assessing bone marrow density by HU measurements using the cut-off of 29.6 HU is a valid and reliable tool for detection of BME related to occult vertebral fractures in MDCT. The introduced technique may allow more accurate treatment decisions and may make further diagnostic work-up with MRI unnecessary

  18. The size, shape, density and ring of the dwarf planet Haumea from a stellar occultation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ortiz, J L; Santos-Sanz, P; Sicardy, B; Benedetti-Rossi, G; Bérard, D; Morales, N; Duffard, R; Braga-Ribas, F; Hopp, U; Ries, C; Nascimbeni, V; Marzari, F; Granata, V; Pál, A; Kiss, C; Pribulla, T; Komžík, R; Hornoch, K; Pravec, P; Bacci, P; Maestripieri, M; Nerli, L; Mazzei, L; Bachini, M; Martinelli, F; Succi, G; Ciabattari, F; Mikuz, H; Carbognani, A; Gaehrken, B; Mottola, S; Hellmich, S; Rommel, F L; Fernández-Valenzuela, E; Bagatin, A Campo; Cikota, S; Cikota, A; Lecacheux, J; Vieira-Martins, R; Camargo, J I B; Assafin, M; Colas, F; Behrend, R; Desmars, J; Meza, E; Alvarez-Candal, A; Beisker, W; Gomes-Junior, A R; Morgado, B E; Roques, F; Vachier, F; Berthier, J; Mueller, T G; Madiedo, J M; Unsalan, O; Sonbas, E; Karaman, N; Erece, O; Koseoglu, D T; Ozisik, T; Kalkan, S; Guney, Y; Niaei, M S; Satir, O; Yesilyaprak, C; Puskullu, C; Kabas, A; Demircan, O; Alikakos, J; Charmandaris, V; Leto, G; Ohlert, J; Christille, J M; Szakáts, R; Farkas, A Takácsné; Varga-Verebélyi, E; Marton, G; Marciniak, A; Bartczak, P; Santana-Ros, T; Butkiewicz-Bąk, M; Dudziński, G; Alí-Lagoa, V; Gazeas, K; Tzouganatos, L; Paschalis, N; Tsamis, V; Sánchez-Lavega, A; Pérez-Hoyos, S; Hueso, R; Guirado, J C; Peris, V; Iglesias-Marzoa, R

    2017-10-11

    Haumea-one of the four known trans-Neptunian dwarf planets-is a very elongated and rapidly rotating body. In contrast to other dwarf planets, its size, shape, albedo and density are not well constrained. The Centaur Chariklo was the first body other than a giant planet known to have a ring system, and the Centaur Chiron was later found to possess something similar to Chariklo's rings. Here we report observations from multiple Earth-based observatories of Haumea passing in front of a distant star (a multi-chord stellar occultation). Secondary events observed around the main body of Haumea are consistent with the presence of a ring with an opacity of 0.5, width of 70 kilometres and radius of about 2,287 kilometres. The ring is coplanar with both Haumea's equator and the orbit of its satellite Hi'iaka. The radius of the ring places it close to the 3:1 mean-motion resonance with Haumea's spin period-that is, Haumea rotates three times on its axis in the time that a ring particle completes one revolution. The occultation by the main body provides an instantaneous elliptical projected shape with axes of about 1,704 kilometres and 1,138 kilometres. Combined with rotational light curves, the occultation constrains the three-dimensional orientation of Haumea and its triaxial shape, which is inconsistent with a homogeneous body in hydrostatic equilibrium. Haumea's largest axis is at least 2,322 kilometres, larger than previously thought, implying an upper limit for its density of 1,885 kilograms per cubic metre and a geometric albedo of 0.51, both smaller than previous estimates. In addition, this estimate of the density of Haumea is closer to that of Pluto than are previous estimates, in line with expectations. No global nitrogen- or methane-dominated atmosphere was detected.

  19. Histogram Analysis of Apparent Diffusion Coefficients for Occult Tonsil Cancer in Patients with Cervical Nodal Metastasis from an Unknown Primary Site at Presentation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Choi, Young Jun; Lee, Jeong Hyun; Kim, Hye Ok; Kim, Dae Yoon; Yoon, Ra Gyoung; Cho, So Hyun; Koh, Myeong Ju; Kim, Namkug; Kim, Sang Yoon; Baek, Jung Hwan

    2016-01-01

    To explore the added value of histogram analysis of apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values over magnetic resonance (MR) imaging and fluorine 18 ((18)F) fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) for the detection of occult palatine tonsil squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) in patients with cervical nodal metastasis from a cancer of an unknown primary site. The institutional review board approved this retrospective study, and the requirement for informed consent was waived. Differences in the bimodal histogram parameters of the ADC values were assessed among occult palatine tonsil SCC (n = 19), overt palatine tonsil SCC (n = 20), and normal palatine tonsils (n = 20). One-way analysis of variance was used to analyze differences among the three groups. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was used to determine the best differentiating parameters. The increased sensitivity of histogram analysis over MR imaging and (18)F-FDG PET/CT for the detection of occult palatine tonsil SCC was evaluated as added value. Histogram analysis showed statistically significant differences in the mean, standard deviation, and 50th and 90th percentile ADC values among the three groups (P histogram analysis was 52.6% over MR imaging alone and 15.8% over combined conventional MR imaging and (18)F-FDG PET/CT. Adding ADC histogram analysis to conventional MR imaging can improve the detection sensitivity for occult palatine tonsil SCC in patients with a cervical nodal metastasis originating from a cancer of an unknown primary site. © RSNA, 2015.

  20. ‘Trick’, ‘Manipulation’ and ‘Farce’: Albert Moll’s Critique of Occultism

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wolffram, Heather

    2012-01-01

    In July 1925, the psychiatrist Albert Moll appeared before the district court in Berlin-Schöneberg charged with having defamed the medium Maria Vollhardt (alias Rudloff) in his 1924 book Der Spiritismus [Spiritism]. Supported by some of Berlin’s most prominent occultists, the plaintiff – the medium’s husband – argued that Moll’s use of terms such as ‘trick’, ‘manipulation’ and ‘farce’ in reference to Vollhardt’s phenomena had been libellous. In the three-part trial that followed, however, Moll’s putative affront to the medium – of which he was eventually acquitted – was overshadowed, on the one hand, by a debate over the scientific status of parapsychology, and on the other, by the question of who – parapsychologists, occultists, psychiatrists or jurists – was entitled to claim epistemic authority over the occult. This paper will use the Rudloff–Moll trial as a means of examining Moll’s critique of occultism, not only as it stood in the mid-1920s, but also as it had developed since the 1880s. It will also provide insight into the views of Germany’s occultists and parapsychologists, who argued that their legitimate bid for scientific credibility was hindered by Dunkelmänner [obscurantists] such as Albert Moll. PMID:23002297