Automotive Stirling engine development program

The study of high power kinematic Stirling engines for transportation use, testing of Mod I and Mod II Stirling engines, and component development activities are summarized. Mod II development testing was performed to complete the development of the basic engine and begin characterization of performance. Mod I engines were used for Mod II component development and to obtain independent party (U.S. Air Force) evaluation of Stirling engine vehicle performance

Outcomes for patients with severe chronic neutropenia treated with granulocyte colony-stimulating factor

Severe chronic neutropenia (SCN), defined as blood neutrophils \u3c0.5 × 109/L for \u3e3 months, is an uncommon hematological condition associated with recurrent and severe bacterial infections. After short-term clinical trials showed the benefits of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) treatment for SCN, SCNIR (Severe Chronic Neutropenia International Registry) opened to determine the long-term benefits and safety of this treatment. This report summarizes findings from more than 16 000 patient-years of prospective observations for patients with congenital and acquired SCN. We observed that adverse outcomes depend on the underlying etiology. Myelodysplasia (MDS) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML) occur infrequently and largely in patients with congenital neutropenias. Having cyclic or chronic autoimmune/ idiopathic neutropenia portends a favorable prognosis. A few patients with idiopathic neutropenia evolve to develop lymphoid malignancies, but they do not appear to be at increased risk of myeloid malignancies, even with very long-term G-CSF therapy. Progression to systemic autoimmune diseases, bone marrow (BM) failure, aplastic anemia, or nonmyeloid malignancies are not expected consequences of SCN or treatment with G-CSF

Interactions between the invasive Burmese python, \u3ci\u3ePython bivittatus\u3c/i\u3e Kuhl, and the local mosquito community in Florida, USA

The Burmese python, Python bivittatus Kuhl, is a well-established invasive species in the greater Everglades ecosystem of southern Florida, USA. Most research on its ecological impacts focuses on its role as a predator and its trophic interactions with native vertebrate species, particularly mammals. Beyond predation, there is little known about the ecological interactions between P. bivittatus and native faunal communities. It is likely that established populations of P. bivittatus in southern Florida serve as hosts for native mosquito communities. To test this concept, we used mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I DNA barcoding to determine the hosts of blood fed mosquitoes collected at a research facility in northern Florida where captive P. bivittatus and Argentine black and white tegu, Salvator merianae (Dumeril and Bibron), are maintained in outdoor enclosures, accessible to local mosquitoes. We recovered python DNA from the blood meals of three species of Culex mosquitoes: Culex erraticus (Dyar and Knab), Culex quinquefasciatus Say, and Culex pilosus (Dyar and Knab). Culex erraticus conclusively (P = 0.001; Fisher\u27s Exact Test) took more blood meals from P. bivittatus than from any other available host. While the majority of mosquito blood meals in our sample were derived from P. bivittatus, only one was derived from S. merianae. These results demonstrate that local mosquitoes will feed on invasive P. bivittatus, a recently introduced host. If these interactions also occur in southern Florida, P. bivittatus may be involved in the transmission networks of mosquito-vectored pathogens. Our results also illustrate the potential of detecting the presence of P. bivittatus in the field through screening mosquito blood meals for their DNA

Carrier lifetime in erbium-doped GaN waveguide emitting in 1540 nm wavelength

This is the published version. Copyright 2010 American Institute of PhysicsWe report the characteristics of an erbium-doped GaNsemiconductorwaveguideamplifier grown by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition. We demonstrated that both 980 and 1480 nm optical pumping were efficient to create population inversion between the I413/2 and I415/2 energy levels. The carrier lifetime in the I413/2 energy band was measured to be approximately 1.5 ms in room temperature, which is slightly shorter than that in erbium-doped silica due to the interaction between the erbium ions and the semiconductor lattice structure. But it is significantly longer than the carrier lifetime in a typical semiconductor optical amplifier which is in the nanosecond regime

North American wetlands and mosquito control

© The Author(s), 2012. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 9 (2012): 4537-4605, doi:10.3390/ijerph9124537.Wetlands are valuable habitats that provide important social, economic, and ecological services such as flood control, water quality improvement, carbon sequestration, pollutant removal, and primary/secondary production export to terrestrial and aquatic food chains. There is disagreement about the need for mosquito control in wetlands and about the techniques utilized for mosquito abatement and their impacts upon wetlands ecosystems. Mosquito control in wetlands is a complex issue influenced by numerous factors, including many hard to quantify elements such as human perceptions, cultural predispositions, and political climate. In spite of considerable progress during the last decades, habitat protection and environmentally sound habitat management still remain inextricably tied to politics and economics. Furthermore, the connections are often complex, and occur at several levels, ranging from local businesses and politicians, to national governments and multinational institutions. Education is the key to lasting wetlands conservation. Integrated mosquito abatement strategies incorporate many approaches and practicable options, as described herein, and need to be well-defined, effective, and ecologically and economically sound for the wetland type and for the mosquito species of concern. The approach will certainly differ in response to disease outbreaks caused by mosquito-vectored pathogens versus quality of life issues caused by nuisance-biting mosquitoes. In this contribution, we provide an overview of the ecological setting and context for mosquito control in wetlands, present pertinent information on wetlands mosquitoes, review the mosquito abatement options available for current wetlands managers and mosquito control professionals, and outline some necessary considerations when devising mosquito control strategies. Although the emphasis is on North American wetlands, most of the material is applicable to wetlands everywhere.Publication of this article was funded in part by the University of Florida Open Access Publishing Fund

Behavioral indices of positivity resonance associated with long-term marital satisfaction.

Positivity resonance-defined as a synthesis of shared positive affect, mutual care and concern, plus behavioral and biological synchrony-is theorized to contribute to a host of positive outcomes, including relationship satisfaction. The current study examined whether, in long-term married couples, behavioral indices of positivity resonance (rated using a new behavioral coding system) are associated with concurrent shared positive affect using a well-established dyadic-level behavioral coding system (i.e., Specific Affect Coding System: SPAFF), and whether positivity resonance predicts concurrent marital satisfaction independently from other affective indices. Long-term married couples completed a self-report inventory assessing marital satisfaction and were then brought into the laboratory to participate in a conversation about an area of marital disagreement while being videotaped for subsequent behavioral coding. Interrater reliability for positivity resonance behavioral coding was high (intraclass correlation coefficient: 0.8). Results indicated that positivity resonance is associated with frequency of shared positive affect using SPAFF. No associations were found between positivity resonance and frequencies of SPAFF-coded individual-level positive affect or shared negative affect. Additionally, positivity resonance predicted marital satisfaction independently from frequencies of SPAFF-coded shared positive affect and individual-level positive affect alone. The effect of positivity resonance on marital satisfaction also remained significant after controlling for overall affective tone of conflict conversation. These findings provide preliminary construct and predictive validity for positivity resonance behavioral coding, and highlight the possible role positivity resonance may play in building relationship satisfaction in married couples. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved)

A humanisation approach for the management of Joint Hypermobility Syndrome/Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome-Hypermobility Type (JHS/EDS-HT).

Joint Hypermobility Syndrome/Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome-Hypermobility Type (JHS/EDS-HT) is a complex and multisystemic condition which significantly impacts on a person's health and well-being and is challenging for health professionals (HPs) to manage. People with JHS/EDS-HT and HPs recognise the individual nature and the complexities of the condition. There is a requirement to understand the condition within the context of the individual human dimensions of illness and healing. The aim of this paper is to explore the management of this condition using a theoretical model referred to as the Humanisation Framework.  It is suggested that using the philosophical dimensions of this framework will empower HPs and those with JHS/EDS-HT to work together to proactively manage this condition. The eight dimensions of the Humanisation Framework facilitate an experiential understanding of the person within their context and environment, providing a constructive adjunct to the evidence-based management of those with JHS/EDS-HT. The humanisation framework was developed for health and social care and uses the philosophy behind well-being and what makes well-being possible. This paper explores how HPs may use aspects of the framework to understand the condition and empower and motivate those with JHS/EDS-HT to be active participants in their own well-being

X-Ray Groups of Galaxies in the Aegis Deep and Wide Fields

We present the results of a search for extended X-ray sources and their corresponding galaxy groups from 800-ks Chandra coverage of the All-wavelength Extended Groth Strip International Survey (AEGIS). This yields one of the largest X-ray selected galaxy group catalogs from a blind survey to date. The red-sequence technique and spectroscopic redshifts allow us to identify 100$$ of reliable sources, leading to a catalog of 52 galaxy groups. The groups span the redshift range $z\sim0.066-1.544$ and virial mass range $M_{200}\sim1.34\times 10^{13}-1.33\times 10^{14}M_\odot$. For the 49 extended sources which lie within DEEP2 and DEEP3 Galaxy Redshift Survey coverage, we identify spectroscopic counterparts and determine velocity dispersions. We select member galaxies by applying different cuts along the line of sight or in projected spatial coordinates. A constant cut along the line of sight can cause a large scatter in scaling relations in low-mass or high-mass systems depending on the size of cut. A velocity dispersion based virial radius can more overestimate velocity dispersion in comparison to X-ray based virial radius for low mass systems. There is no significant difference between these two radial cuts for more massive systems. Independent of radial cut, overestimation of velocity dispersion can be created in case of existence of significant substructure and also compactness in X-ray emission which mostly occur in low mass systems. We also present a comparison between X-ray galaxy groups and optical galaxy groups detected using the Voronoi-Delaunay method (VDM) for DEEP2 data in this field.Comment: Accepted for publication in AP