Some Aspects of the Biology of a Predaceous Anthomyiid Fly, \u3ci\u3eCoenosia Tigrina\u3c/i\u3e

The results of a two-year study in Michigan on the incidence of Coenosia tigrina adults under different onion production practices is presented. In Michigan, C. tigrina has three generations and is more abundant in organic agroecosystems than chemically-intensive onion production systems

Laser-Induced Spall Of Aluminum And Aluminum Alloys At High Strain Rates

We conducted laser-induced spall experiments aimed at studying how a material's microstructure affects the tensile fracture characteristics at high strain rates (> 10(6) s(-1)). We used the Z-Beamlet Laser at Sandia National Laboratory to drive shocks and to measure the spall strength of aluminum targets with various microstructures. The targets were recrystallized, high-purity aluminum (Al-HP RX), recrystallized aluminum + 3 wt.% magnesium (Al-3Mg RX), and cold-worked aluminum + 3 wt.% magnesium (Al-3Mg CW). The Al-3Mg RX and Al-3Mg CW are used to explore the roles that solid-solution alloying and cold-work strengthening play in the spall process. Using a line-VISAR (Velocity Interferometer System for Any Reflector) and analysis of recovered samples, we were able to measure spall strength and determine failure morphology in these targets. We find that the spall strength is highest for Al-HP RX. Analysis reveals that material grain size plays a vital role in the fracture morphology and spall strength results.Mechanical Engineerin

Spall And Dynamic Yielding Of Aluminum And Aluminum Alloys At Strain Rates Of 3X10(6) S(-1)

We have explored the role that grain size, impurity particles and alloying in aluminum play in dynamic yielding and spall fracture at tensile strain rates of similar to 3x10(6) We achieved these strain rates shocking the aluminum specimens via laser ablation using the Z-Beamlet Laser at Sandia National Laboratories. The high purity aluminum and 1100 series aluminum alloy produced very different spall strengths and nearly the same yield strengths. In contrast, various grain-sized Al + 3 wt. % Mg specimens presented the lowest spall strength, but the greatest dynamic yield strength. Fracture morphology results and particle analysis are presented along with hydrodynamic simulations to put these results in context. Impurity particles appeared to play a vital role in spall fracture at these fast strain rates. Alloying elements such as Mg seem to be the dominant factor in the dynamic yield results.Mechanical Engineerin

Increased glycation and oxidative damage to apolipoprotein B100 of LDL cholesterol in patients with type 2 diabetes and effect of metformin

OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to investigate whether apolipoprotein B100 of LDL suffers increased damage by glycation, oxidation, and nitration in patients with type 2 diabetes, including patients receiving metformin therapy. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS For this study, 32 type 2 diabetic patients and 21 healthy control subjects were recruited; 13 diabetic patients were receiving metformin therapy (median dose: 1.50 g/day). LDL was isolated from venous plasma by ultracentrifugation, delipidated, digested, and analyzed for protein glycation, oxidation, and nitration adducts by stable isotopic dilution analysis tandem mass spectrometry. RESULTS Advanced glycation end product (AGE) content of apolipoprotein B100 of LDL from type 2 diabetic patients was higher than from healthy subjects: arginine-derived AGE, 15.8 vs. 5.3 mol% (P < 0.001); and lysine-derived AGE, 2.5 vs. 1.5 mol% (P < 0.05). Oxidative damage, mainly methionine sulfoxide residues, was also increased: 2.5 vs. 1.1 molar equivalents (P < 0.001). 3-Nitrotyrosine content was decreased: 0.04 vs. 0.12 mol% (P < 0.05). In diabetic patients receiving metformin therapy, arginine-derived AGE and methionine sulfoxide were lower than in patients not receiving metformin: 19.3 vs. 8.9 mol% (P < 0.01) and 2.9 vs. 1.9 mol% (P < 0.05), respectively; 3-nitrotyrosine content was higher: 0.10 vs. 0.03 mol% (P < 0.05). Fructosyl-lysine residue content correlated positively with fasting plasma glucose. Arginine-derived AGE residue contents were intercorrelated and also correlated positively with methionine sulfoxide. CONCLUSIONS Patients with type 2 diabetes had increased arginine-derived AGEs and oxidative damage in apolipoprotein B100 of LDL. This was lower in patients receiving metformin therapy, which may contribute to decreased oxidative damage, atherogenicity, and cardiovascular disease

Harmonic Generation in Thin Films and Multilayers

A general method for computing harmonic generation in reflection and transmission from planar nonmagnetic multilayer structures is described. The method assumes plane waves and treats harmonic generation in the parametric approximation. The method is applied in studying the second- and third-harmonic generation properties of thin crystal silicon layers surrounded by thermal oxide. Most independent components of the nonlinear susceptibility tensor have unique signatures with silicon layer thickness d, allowing their strength to be determined in principle by measuring harmonic generation as a function of d. Surface and bulk contributions to third-harmonic generation are cleanly distinguished, with the bulk signal dominating. Four of six nonvanishing components of χ(2) are independent. An approximate value for the bulk susceptibility component δ\u27, which is accessible only in multibeam experiments and has not previously been measured, is obtained

Use of FreeStyle Libre Flash Monitor Register in the Netherlands (FLARE-NL1):Patient Experiences, Satisfaction, and Cost Analysis

In patients with diabetes mellitus (DM), adequate glucose control is of major importance. When treatment schemes become more complicated, proper self-management through intermittent self-measurement of blood glucose (SMBG), among others, becomes crucial in achieving this goal. In the last decade, continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) has been on the rise, providing not only intermittent information but also information on continuous glucose trends. The FreeStyle Libre (FSL) Flash CGM system is a CGM system mainly used for patients with DM and is designed based on the same techniques as early CGMs. Compared with earlier CGMs, the FSL is factory calibrated, has no automated readings or direct alarms, and is cheaper to use. Although less accurate compared with the gold standard for SMBG, users report high satisfaction because it is easy to use and can help users monitor glucose trends. The Flash Monitor Register in the Netherlands (FLARE-NL) study aims to assess the effects of FSL Flash CGM use in daily practice. The study has a before-after design, with each participant being his or her own control. Users will be followed for at least 1 year. The endpoints include changes in HbA1c, frequency and severity of hypoglycemias, and quality of life. In addition, the effects of its use on work absenteeism rate, diabetes-related hospital admission rate, and daily functioning (including sports performance) will be studied. Furthermore, cost-benefit analysis based on the combination of registered information within the health insurance data will be investigated. Ultimately, the data gathered in this study will help increase the knowledge and skills of the use of the Flash CGM in daily practice and assess the financial impact on the use of the Flash CGM within the Dutch healthcare system

Gaseous Laser Targets and Optical Dignostics for Studying Compressible Turbulent Hydrodynamic Instabilities

The possibility of studying compressible turbulent flows using gas targets driven by high power lasers and diagnosed with optical techniques is investigated. The potential advantage over typical laser experiments that use solid targets and x-ray diagnostics is more detailed information over a larger range of spatial scales. An experimental system is described to study shock - jet interactions at high Mach number. This consists of a mini-chamber full of nitrogen at a pressure {approx} 1 atms. The mini-chamber is situated inside a much larger vacuum chamber. An intense laser pulse ({approx}100J in {approx} 5ns) is focused on to a thin {approx} 0.3{micro}m thick silicon nitride window at one end of the mini-chamber. The window acts both as a vacuum barrier, and laser entrance hole. The ''explosion'' caused by the deposition of the laser energy just inside the window drives a strong blast wave out into the nitrogen atmosphere. The spherical shock expands and interacts with a jet of xenon introduced though the top of the mini-chamber. The Mach number of the interaction is controlled by the separation of the jet from the explosion. The resulting flow is visualized using an optical schlieren system using a pulsed laser source at a wavelength of 0.53 {micro}m. The technical path leading up to the design of this experiment is presented, and future prospects briefly considered. Lack of laser time in the final year of the project severely limited experimental results obtained using the new apparatus

Radiatively Cooled Magnetic Reconnection Experiments Driven by Pulsed Power

We present evidence for strong radiative cooling in a pulsed-power-driven magnetic reconnection experiment. Two aluminum exploding wire arrays, driven by a 20 MA peak current, 300 ns rise time pulse from the Z machine (Sandia National Laboratories), generate strongly-driven plasma flows ($M_A \approx 7$) with anti-parallel magnetic fields, which form a reconnection layer ($S_L \approx 120$) at the mid-plane. The net cooling rate far exceeds the Alfv\'enic transit rate ($\tau_{\text{cool}}^{-1}/\tau_{\text{A}}^{-1} > 100$), leading to strong cooling of the reconnection layer. We determine the advected magnetic field and flow velocity using inductive probes positioned in the inflow to the layer, and inflow ion density and temperature from analysis of visible emission spectroscopy. A sharp decrease in X-ray emission from the reconnection layer, measured using filtered diodes and time-gated X-ray imaging, provides evidence for strong cooling of the reconnection layer after its initial formation. X-ray images also show localized hotspots, regions of strong X-ray emission, with velocities comparable to the expected outflow velocity from the reconnection layer. These hotspots are consistent with plasmoids observed in 3D radiative resistive magnetohydrodynamic simulations of the experiment. X-ray spectroscopy further indicates that the hotspots have a temperature (170 eV) much higher than the bulk layer ($\leq$ 75 eV) and inflow temperatures (about 2 eV), and that these hotspots generate the majority of the high-energy (> 1 keV) emission