Weakly bound states of polar molecules in bilayers

We investigate a system of two polarized molecules in a layered trap. The molecules reside in adjacent layers and interact purely via the dipole-dipole interaction. We determine the properties of the ground state of the system as a function of the dipole moment and polarization angle. A bound state is always present in the system and in the weak binding limit the bound state extends to a very large distance and shows universal behavior.Comment: Presented at the 21st European Conference on Few-Body Problems in Physics, Salamanca, Spain, 30 August - 3 September 201

Absorbed dose measurements and predictions on LDEF

The overall radiation environment of the Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) was determined in part through the use of thermoluminescent detectors (TLD's) which were included in several experiments. The results given are from four experiments (A0015 Biostack, M0004 Fiber Optics Data Link, P0004 Seeds in Space, and P0006 Linear Energy Transfer Spectrum Measurement) and represent a large fraction of existing absorbed dose data. The TLD's were located on the leading and the trailing edges and the Earth end of the spacecraft under various shielding depths (0.48 to 15.4 g/sq cm). The measured absorbed doses were found to reflect both directional dependence of incident trapped protons and shielding. At the leading edge, doses ranged from 2.10 to 2.58 Gy under shielding of 2.90 to 1.37 g/sq cm Al equivalent (M0004). At the trailing edge, doses varied from 3.04 to 4.49 Gy under shielding of 11.7 to 3.85 g/sq cm (A0015), doses varied from 2.91 to 6.64 Gy under shielding of 11.1 to 0.48 g/sq cm (P0004), and a dose range of 2.66 to 6.48 Gy was measured under shielding of 15.4 to 0.48 g/sq cm (P0006). At the Earth end of the spacecraft, doses from 2.41 to 3.93 Gy were found under shielding of 10.0 to 1.66 g/sq cm (A0015). The effect of the trapped proton anisotropy was such that the western side of LDEF received more than 2 times the dose of the eastern side at shielding depths of approximately 1 g/sq cm. Calculations utilizing a directional model of trapped proton spectra predict smaller doses than those measured, being about 50 percent of measured values at the trailing edge and Earth end, and about 80 percent near the leading edge

Relationships between different nutritional anthropometric statuses and health-related fitness of South African primary school children

Background A double burden of both under- and over-nutrition exists among South African children. Aim Describe associations between nutritional statuses and health-related fitness test performances. Subjects and methods Height and weight of 10 285 children (6-13 years; n=5604 boys and 4681 girls) were measured and used to calculate: body mass index (BMI), and prevalence of overweight and obesity, stunting, wasting, and underweight. Physical fitness scores for standing long jump, shuttle run, sit-and-reach, sit-up (EUROFIT) and cricket ball throw were assessed. Age and gender specific z-scores were calculated for these variables. Physical fitness for each nutritional status group was compared to children of normal weight. Results Compared to normal weight children, overweight and obese children scored lower on all fitness tests (p<.001), except cricket ball throw (p=.235) and sit-and-reach (p=.015). Stunted and underweight children performed poorer than normal weight children on most fitness tests (p<.001), except sit-and-reach (stunted: p=.829; underweight: p=.538) and shuttle run (underweight: p=.017). Performance of wasted children was not as highly compromised as other undernourished groups, but they performed poorer on the cricket ball throw (p<.001). Conclusions When compared to normal weight children, both under- and over-nourished children performed poorer on some, but not all, health-related fitness tests

Prediction of LDEF ionizing radiation environment

The Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) spacecraft flew in a 28.5 deg inclination circular orbit with an altitude in the range from 172 to 258.5 nautical miles. For this orbital altitude and inclination two components contribute most of the penetrating charge particle radiation encountered - the galactic cosmic rays and the geomagnetically trapped Van Allen protons. Where shielding is less than 1.0 g/sq cm geomagnetically trapped electrons make a significant contribution. The 'Vette' models together with the associated magnetic filed models were used to obtain the trapped electron and proton fluences. The mission proton doses were obtained from the fluence using the Burrell proton dose program. For the electron and bremsstrahlung dose we used the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) electron dose program. The predicted doses were in general agreement with those measured with on-board thermoluminescent detector (TLD) dosimeters. The NRL package of programs, Cosmic Ray Effects on MicroElectronics (CREME), was used to calculate the linear energy transfer (LET) spectrum due to galactic cosmic rays (GCR) and trapped protons for comparison with LDEF measurements

Generation of continuous-wave THz radiation by use of quantum interference

We propose a scheme for generation of continuous-wave THz radiation. The scheme requires a medium where three discrete states in a $\Lambda$ configuration can be selected, with the THz-frequency transition between the two lower metastable states. We consider the propagation of three-frequency continuous-wave electromagnetic (e.m.) radiation through a $\Lambda$ medium. Under resonant excitation, the medium absorption can be strongly reduced due to quantum interference of transitions, while the nonlinear susceptibility is enhanced. This leads to very efficient energy transfer between the e.m. waves providing a possibility for THz generation. We demonstrate that the photon conversion efficiency is approaching unity in this technique.Comment: 18 pages, 4 figure

Genetic heterogeneity of hepatitis E virus in Darfur, Sudan, and neighboring Chad.

The within-outbreak diversity of hepatitis E virus (HEV) was studied during the outbreak of hepatitis E that occurred in Sudan in 2004. Specimens were collected from internally displaced persons living in a Sudanese refugee camp and two camps implanted in Chad. A comparison of the sequences in the ORF2 region of 23 Sudanese isolates and five HEV samples from the two Chadian camps displayed a high similarity (>99.7%) to strains belonging to Genotype 1. But four isolates collected in one of the Chadian camps were close to Genotype 2. Circulation of divergent strains argues for possible multiple sources of infection

Single-kernel ionomic profiles are highly heritable indicators of genetic and environmental influences on elemental accumulation in maize grain (Zea mays)

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

SmartState: A Protocol-driven Human Interface

Since the inception of human research studies, researchers must often interact with participants on a set schedule to collect data. Researchers manually perform many interactions, leading to considerable time and financial expenses. Usually, user-provided data collection consists of surveys administered via telephone or email. These methods are tedious for the survey administrators, which could cause fatigue and potentially lead to collection mistakes. This project leverages recent advancements in automatic speech recognition, speech-to-text, natural language understanding (NLU), and finite-state machines to automate research protocols. This generalized application is fully customizable and irrespective of any research study. New research protocols can be quickly created based on these parameters once envisioned. Thus, we present SmartState, a fully-customizable, state-driven protocol manager combined with supporting AI components to autonomously manage user data and intelligently determine users' intentions through chat and end-device interactions.Comment: 8 pages, 8 figure

Entrectinib in children and young adults with solid or primary CNS tumors harboring NTRK, ROS1, or ALK aberrations (STARTRK-NG)

BACKGROUND: Entrectinib is a TRKA/B/C, ROS1, ALK tyrosine kinase inhibitor approved for the treatment of adults and children aged ≥12 years with NTRK fusion-positive solid tumors and adults with ROS1 fusion-positive non-small-cell lung cancer. We report an analysis of the STARTRK-NG trial, investigating the recommended phase 2 dose (RP2D) and activity of entrectinib in pediatric patients with solid tumors including primary central nervous system tumors. METHODS: STARTRK-NG (NCT02650401) is a phase 1/2 trial. Phase 1, dose-escalation of oral, once-daily entrectinib, enrolled patients aged \u3c22 years with solid tumors with/without target NTRK1/2/3, ROS1, or ALK fusions. Phase 2, basket trial at the RP2D, enrolled patients with intracranial or extracranial solid tumors harboring target fusions or neuroblastoma. Primary endpoints: phase 1, RP2D based on toxicity; phase 2, objective response rate (ORR) in patients harboring target fusions. Safety-evaluable patients: ≥1 dose of entrectinib; response-evaluable patients: measurable/evaluable baseline disease and ≥1 dose at RP2D. RESULTS: At data cutoff, 43 patients, median age of 7 years, were response-evaluable. In phase 1, 4 patients experienced dose-limiting toxicities. The most common treatment-related adverse event was weight gain (48.8%). Nine patients experienced bone fractures (20.9%). In patients with fusion-positive tumors, ORR was 57.7% (95% CI 36.9-76.7), median duration of response was not reached, and median (interquartile range) duration of treatment was 10.6 months (4.2-18.4). CONCLUSIONS: Entrectinib resulted in rapid and durable responses in pediatric patients with solid tumors harboring NTRK1/2/3 or ROS1 fusions

Aspects of Nucleon Compton Scattering

We consider the spin-averaged nucleon forward Compton scattering amplitude in heavy baryon chiral perturbation theory including all terms to order ${\cal O} (q^4)$. The chiral prediction for the spin-averaged forward Compton scattering amplitude is in good agreement with the data for photon energies $\omega \le 110$ MeV. We also evaluate the nucleon electric and magnetic Compton polarizabilities to this order and discuss the uncertainties of the various counter terms entering the chiral expansion of these quantities.Comment: 17 pp, TeX, 7 figures available from the authors, preprint CRN-93/5