Fast and slow light in zig-zag microring resonator chains

We analyze fast and slow light transmission in a zig-zag microring resonator chain. This novel device permits the operation in both regimes. In the superluminal case, a new ubiquitous light transmission effect is found whereby the input optical pulse is reproduced in an almost simultaneous manner at the various system outputs. When the input carrier is tuned to a different frequency, the system permits to slow down the propagating optical signal. Between these two extreme cases, the relative delay can be tuned within a broad range

Expansion of pinched hypersurfaces of the Euclidean and hyperbolic space by high powers of curvature

We prove convergence results for expanding curvature flows in the Euclidean and hyperbolic space. The flow speeds have the form $F^{-p}$, where $p>1$ and $F$ is a positive, strictly monotone and 1-homogeneous curvature function. In particular this class includes the mean curvature $F=H$. We prove that a certain initial pinching condition is preserved and the properly rescaled hypersurfaces converge smoothly to the unit sphere. We show that an example due to Andrews-McCoy-Zheng can be used to construct strictly convex initial hypersurfaces, for which the inverse mean curvature flow to the power $p>1$ loses convexity, justifying the necessity to impose a certain pinching condition on the initial hypersurface.Comment: 18 pages. We included an example for the loss of convexity and pinching. In the third version we dropped the concavity assumption on F. Comments are welcom

Statistical Estimation Procedures for the ''burn-in'' Process

Statistical estimation procedures for identifying and eliminating poor quality or defective item

Radiation induced force between two planar waveguides

We study the electromagnetic force exerted on a pair of parallel slab waveguides by the light propagating through them. We have calculated the dependence of the force on the slab separation by means of the Maxwell--Stress tensor formalism and we have discussed its main features for the different propagation modes: spatially symmetric (antisymmetric) modes give rise to an attractive (repulsive) interaction. We have derived the asymptotic behaviors of the force at small and large separation and we have quantitatively estimated the mechanical deflection induced on a realistic air-bridge structure.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figure

Tropospheric reactive odd nitrogen over the South Pacific in austral springtime

The distribution of reactive nitrogen species over the South Pacific during austral springtime appears to be dominated by biomass burning emissions and possibly lightning and stratospheric inputs. The absence of robust correlations of reactive nitrogen species with source-specific tracers (e.g., C2H2 [combustion], CH3Cl [biomass burning], C2Cl4 [industrial],210Pb [continental], and 7Be [stratospheric]) suggests significant aging and processing of the sampled air parcels due to losses by surface deposition, OH attack, and dilution processes. Classification of the air parcels based on CO enhancements indicates that the greatest influence was found in plumes at 3–8 km altitude in the distributions of HNO3 and peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN). Here mixing ratios of these species reached 600 parts per trillion by volume (pptv), values surprisingly large for a location several thousand kilometers removed from the nearest continental areas. The mixing ratio of total reactive nitrogen (the NOy sum), operationally defined in this paper as measured (NO + HNO3 + PAN + CH3ONO2 + C2H5ONO2) + modeled (NO2), had a median value of 285 pptv within these plumes compared with 120 pptv in nonplume air parcels. Particle NO−3 was not included in this analysis of the NOy sum due to its 10- to 15-min sampling time resolution, but, in general, it was \u3c10% of the NOy sum. Comparison of the two air parcel classifications for NOy and alkyl nitrate distributions showed no perceivable plume influence, but recycling of reactive nitrogen may have masked this direct effect. In the marine boundary layer, the NOy sum averaged 50 pptv in both air parcel classifications, being somewhat isolated from the polluted conditions above it by the trade wind inversion. In this region, however, alkyl nitrates appear to have an important marine source where they comprise 20–80% of the NOy sum in equatorial and high-latitude regions over the South Pacific

How do children learn how to write?: the conceptions of parents and teachers of educational communities in middle and excluded sociocultural environments

Se presenta un estudio de casos de las con-cepciones de padres y maestros de comunidades educativas en entornos socioculturales medios y marginados en Bariloche, Argentina, acerca de cómo los niños aprenden a escribir. En particular, se describe y analiza cómo suponen que los niños aprenden a escribir, qué hacen cuando aprenden, cómo los niños se dan cuenta de sus aprendizajes y cómo padres y maestros se dan cuenta de los aprendizajes de los niños. El relevamiento de los datos se llevó a cabo mediante entrevistas individuales. Las respuestas verbales de los sujetos se ana-lizaron mediante el método lexicométrico o análisis de datos textuales, que diferenció tres grupos que asocian palabras características y modalidades de la variable combinada posición educativa (padre/maestro) - sector sociocultural (medio/marginado). Sobre esta base, describimos tres concepciones de aprendizaje y de enseñanza de la escritura: a) aprendizaje basado en la verificación de lo aprendido por parte del maestro y enseñanza basada en la impresión de conocimientos (característica de maestros de sectores marginados); b) aprendizaje basado en la activación y conexión de los conocimientos previos y enseñanza basada en el encauzamiento y ampliación de los conocimientos previos (maestros de sectores medios); c) aprendizaje basado en la “natural” orientación de los niños hacia el aprendizaje y enseñanza basada en provisión de modelos y respuesta a demandas de los niños (padres de ambos sectores). Se plantea que la primera concepción se vincula con una teoría directa o de la copia de la mente del aprendiz, en tanto las otras dos serían versiones de una teoría interpretativa de la mente. Se discuten las implicancias educativas de esta situaciónWe present a case study of the conceptions teachers and parents hold about the children’s learning of writing, in educational communities in middle and excluded sociocultural environments in Bariloche, Argentina. In particular, their ideas about the following issues are described: how children learn to write, what children do when they learn, how children realize they learn, how teachers and parents realize children learn. Data collection consisted in individual interviews. Verbal responses were analysed with the lexicometric method, allowing to distinguish three groups, by associating characteristic words and modalities of the combined variable educational position (teacher vs. parent) - sociocultural environment (middle vs. excluded). On this basis, we described three conceptions of learning and teaching of writ-ing: a) learning based on teacher’s verification of learning results, and teaching based on the impression of knowledge (characteristic of teachers working in excluded environments); b) learning based on the activation and connection of prior knowledge, and teaching based on channelling and enlarging prior knowledge (teachers working in middle sociocultural en-vironments) and c) learning based on children’s natural orientation to learn, and teaching based on the provision of models and on the response to children’s demands (parents from both environments). We propose that the first conception is related to a director copy theory of mind, whereas the other two are versions of an interpretative theory of mind. Educational implications are discussedEsta investigación ha sido apoyada por la Universidad Nacional del Comahue (subsidio B-093) y por el CONICET de Argentina (PEI 017

An automated pattern recognition system for the quantification of inflammatory cells in hepatitis-C-infected liver biopsies

This paper presents an automated system for the quantification of inflammatory cells in hepatitis-C-infected liver biopsies. Initially, features are extracted from colour-corrected biopsy images at positions of interest identified by adaptive thresholding and clump decomposition. A sequential floating search method and principal component analysis are used to reduce dimensionality. Manually annotated training images allow supervised training. The performance of Gaussian parametric and mixture models is compared when used to classify regions as either inflammatory or healthy. The system is optimized using a response surface method that maximises the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve. This system is then tested on images previously ranked by a number of observers with varying levels of expertise. These results are compared to the automated system using Spearman rank correlation. Results show that this system can rank 15 test images, with varying degrees of inflammation, in strong agreement with five expert pathologists

Spectral aerosol extinction (SpEx): a new instrument for in situ ambient aerosol extinction measurements across the UV/visible wavelength range

We introduce a new instrument for the measurement of in situ ambient aerosol extinction over the 300– 700 nm wavelength range, the spectral aerosol extinction (SpEx) instrument. This measurement capability is envisioned to complement existing in situ instrumentation, allowing for simultaneous measurement of the evolution of aerosol optical, chemical, and physical characteristics in the ambient environment. In this work, a detailed description of the instrument is provided along with characterization tests performed in the laboratory. Measured spectra of NO2 and polystyrene latex spheres (PSLs) agreed well with theoretical calculations. Good agreement was also found with simultaneous aerosol extinction measurements at 450, 530, and 630 nm using CAPS PMex instruments in a series of 22 tests including nonabsorbing compounds, dusts, soot, and black and brown carbon analogs. SpEx measurements are expected to help identify the presence of ambient brown carbon due to its 300 nm lower wavelength limit compared to measurements limited to longer UV and visible wavelengths. Extinction spectra obtained with SpEx contain more information than can be conveyed by a simple power law fit (typically represented by Ångström exponents). Planned future improvements aim to lower detection limits and ruggedize the instrument for mobile operation

Observations of heterogeneous reactions between Asian pollution and mineral dust over the Eastern North Pacific during INTEX-B

In-situ airborne measurements of trace gases, aerosol size distributions, chemistry and optical properties were conducted over Mexico and the Eastern North Pacific during MILAGRO and INTEX-B. Heterogeneous reactions between secondary aerosol precursor gases and mineral dust lead to sequestration of sulfur, nitrogen and chlorine in the supermicrometer particulate size range. Simultaneous measurements of aerosol size distributions and weak-acid soluble calcium result in an estimate of 11 wt% of CaCO_3 for Asian dust. During transport across the North Pacific, ~5–30% of the CaCO_3 is converted to CaSO_4 or Ca(NO_3)_2 with an additional ~4% consumed through reactions with HCl. The 1996 to 2008 record from the Mauna Loa Observatory confirm these findings, indicating that, on average, 19% of the CaCO_3 has reacted to form CaSO_4 and 7% has reacted to form Ca(NO_3)_2 and ~2% has reacted with HCl. In the nitrogen-oxide rich boundary layer near Mexico City up to 30% of the CaCO_3 has reacted to form Ca(NO_3)_2 while an additional 8% has reacted with HCl. These heterogeneous reactions can result in a ~3% increase in dust solubility which has an insignificant effect on their optical properties compared to their variability in-situ. However, competition between supermicrometer dust and submicrometer primary aerosol for condensing secondary aerosol species led to a 25% smaller number median diameter for the accumulation mode aerosol. A 10–25% reduction of accumulation mode number median diameter results in a 30–70% reduction in submicrometer light scattering at relative humidities in the 80–95% range. At 80% RH submicrometer light scattering is only reduced ~3% due to a higher mass fraction of hydrophobic refractory components in the dust-affected accumulation mode aerosol. Thus reducing the geometric mean diameter of the submicrometer aerosol has a much larger effect on aerosol optical properties than changes to the hygroscopic:hydrophobic mass fractions of the accumulation mode aerosol. In the presence of dust, nitric acid concentrations are reduced to 85% to 60–80% in the presence of dust. These observations support previous model studies which predict irreversible sequestration of reactive nitrogen species through heterogeneous reactions with mineral dust during long-range transport