Cluster-Impact Fusion and Effective Deuteron Temperature

Temperature and kinematic line broadening are the primary contributions to the width of the proton energy spectrum measured in cluster-impact fusion experiments. By ascertaining these two contributions, we have determined an effective temperature for the high-velocity deuteron component that is responsible for the measured fusion yield. The extracted effective temperature is substantially higher than conventional estimates., and implies that cluster-impact fusion is hot fusion on an atomic scale. The proton spectrum rules out contaminants in explaining the high yield.Comment: 11 pages, 2 figures. PACS numbers: 79.20.RF, 25.45.--z, 47.40.Nm, 52.50. L

Initial postmarketing experience with crotalidae polyvalent immune Fab for treatment of rattlesnake envenomation.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: We describe our postmarketing experience with patients receiving Crotalidae polyvalent immune Fab (CroFab; FabAV) antivenom for treatment of rattlesnake envenomation. METHODS: The charts of 28 patients admitted between March 1 and September 9, 2001, with rattlesnake envenomation and treated with FabAV were reviewed for demographic information, time until antivenom treatment, laboratory findings, evidence of hypersensitivity reaction, length of hospital stay, and readmission to the hospital. RESULTS: All patients had swelling, 20 patients had elevated prothrombin times (\u3e14 seconds), 12 patients had low fibrinogen levels (/dL), and 6 patients had thrombocytopenia (platelet count \u3c120,000/mm(3)) on presentation. The total dose of FabAV ranged from 10 to 47 vials per patient. Hypofibrinogenemia was resistant to FabAV in some patients. On follow-up, recurrence of coagulopathy was detected in 3 patients, and recurrence of thrombocytopenia was detected in 1 patient. Two patients demonstrated delayed-onset severe thrombocytopenia. Recurrence or delayed-onset toxicity might have been underestimated because of incomplete follow-up in some patients. No acute hypersensitivity reactions occurred. Two patients reported mild symptoms of possible serum sickness on follow-up. CONCLUSION: FabAV effectively controlled the effects of envenomation; however, initial control of coagulopathy was difficult to achieve in some cases, and recurrence or delayed-onset hematotoxicity was common. When initially managing hematotoxicity, a trend toward normalization of laboratory values might be a more reasonable end point for FabAV treatment than attainment of normal reference values in nonbleeding patients

Clinical Features of Reported Ethylene Glycol Exposures in the United States

BackgroundEthylene glycol is highly toxic and represents an important cause of poisonings worldwide. Toxicity can result in central nervous system dysfunction, cardiovascular compromise, elevated anion gap metabolic acidosis and acute kidney injury. Many states have passed laws requiring addition of the bittering agent, denatonium benzoate, to ethylene glycol solutions to reduce severity of exposures. The objectives of this study were to identify differences between unintentional and intentional exposures and to evaluate the utility of denatonium benzoate as a deterrent.Methods and FindingsUsing the National Poison Data System, we performed a retrospective analysis of reported cases of ethylene glycol exposures from January 2006 to December 2013. Outcome classification was summed for intentionality and used as a basis for comparison of effect groups. There were 45,097 cases of ethylene glycol exposures resulting in 154 deaths. Individuals more likely to experience major effects or death were older, male, and presented with more severe symptoms requiring higher levels of care. Latitude and season did not correlate with increased exposures; however, there were more exposures in rural areas. Denatonium benzoate use appeared to have no effect on exposure severity or number.ConclusionDeaths due to ethylene glycol exposure were uncommon; however, there were major clinical effects and more exposures in rural areas. Addition of denatonium benzoate was not associated with a reduction in exposures. Alternative means to deter ingestion are needed. These findings suggest the need to consider replacing ethylene glycol with alternative and less toxic agents

Characterization of thermally stable dye-doped polyimide based electrooptic materials

Polymeric electrooptic materials have the potential to replace electronic switches in applications which require minimization of heat dissipation while maintaining high switching speeds. Polyimide matrices incorporating electrooptic dyes are promising materials for such applications due to their low cost and compatibility with existing processing environments. Preparation and characterization of novel dye-doped polyimide films for electrooptics is described. Thermal stabilities of donor-acceptor 2,5-diaryl oxazoles were evaluated by differential scanning calorimetry. Absorptive losses in thin films of Ultradel 9000D{reg_sign} doped with donor-acceptor oxazoles were measured by photothermal deflection spectroscopy. Absorptive losses at high doping levels may be explainable by dye-dye aggregation or dye degradation during the curing process. Lower doping levels, however, show losses of {le} 3.0 dB/cm at 830 nm and {le} 2.4 dB/cm at 1,320 nm