Jost Function for Singular Potentials

An exact method for direct calculation of the Jost function and Jost solutions for a repulsive singular potential is presented. Within this method the Schrodinger equation is replaced by an equivalent system of linear first-order differential equations, which after complex rotation, can easily be solved numerically. The Jost function can be obtained to any desired accuracy for all complex momenta of physical interest, including the spectral points corresponding to bound and resonant states. The method can also be used in the complex angular-momentum plane to calculate the Regge trajectories. The effectiveness of the method is demonstrated using the Lennard-Jones (12,6) potential. The spectral properties of the realistic inter-atomic He4-He4 potentials HFDHE2 and HFD-B of Aziz and collaborators are also investigated.Comment: 12 pages, latex, 2 eps-figures, submitted to Phys.Rev.

Clinical translation of positive metastases identified on prostate-specific membrane antigen positron emission tomography/computed tomography imaging in the management of de novo synchronous oligometastatic prostate cancer

Recent randomised evidence supports the diagnostic superiority of prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) PET/CT, over conventional imaging, in the detection of distant occult metastasis in men with newly diagnosed high-risk prostate cancer. This may result in a rise in the detection of de novo synchronous hormone-sensitive “oligometastatic” prostate cancer. We outline the evidence supporting PSMA PET/CT imaging in primary staging. We also discuss the translation of positive areas, with a high probability of distant metastasis, into clinical therapeutic targets for metastasis-directed interventions. Finally, we highlight the role of PSMA PET/CT as an imaging biomarker. This may have future utility in disease monitoring and prediction of response to systemic, local cytoreductive and metastasis-directed interventions. Patient Summary: A new whole-body scan can accurately detect cancer deposits, in men in whom distant prostate cancer spread is suspected. This may be useful to monitor and predict response to drug therapy, treatments to the prostate and cancer deposits

A purely kinetic description of the evaporation of water droplets

The process of water evaporation, although deeply studied, does not enjoy a kinetic description that captures known physics and can be integrated with other detailed processes such as drying of catalytic membranes embedded in vapor-fed devices and chemical reactions in aerosol whose volumes are changing dynamically. In this work, we present a simple, three-step kinetic model for water evaporation that is based on theory and validated by using well-established thermodynamic models of droplet size as a function of time, temperature, and relative humidity as well as data from time-resolved measurements of evaporating droplet size. The kinetic mechanism for evaporation is a combination of two limiting processes occurring in the highly dynamic liquid-vapor interfacial region: direct first order desorption of a single water molecule and desorption resulting from a local fluctuation, described using third order kinetics. The model reproduces data over a range of relative humidities and temperatures only if the interface that separates bulk water from gas phase water has a finite width, consistent with previous experimental and theoretical studies. The influence of droplet cooling during rapid evaporation on the kinetics is discussed; discrepancies between the various models point to the need for additional experimental data to identify their origin

Continuous cocrystallization of benzoic acid and isonicotinamide by mixing-induced supersaturation : exploring opportunities between reactive and antisolvent crystallization concepts

This study combines reactive and antisolvent crystallization concepts via mixing-induced supersaturation to demonstrate a wider range of options for solvent system selection in multicomponent crystallization. This approach was applied to investigate continuous crystallization of 1:1 and 2:1 cocrystals of benzoic acid and isonicotinamide. Design of Experiments was used to identify conditions where pure cocrystal phases are obtained and a continuous mixing-induced cocrystallization process was implemented to selectively produce either 1:1 or 2:1 cocrystals

Young children's cognitive achievement: home learning environment, language and ethnic background

For decades, research has shown differences in cognitive assessment scores between White and minority ethnic group(s) learners as well as differences across different minority ethnic groups. More recent data have indicated that the home learning environment and languages spoken can impact cognitive assessment and other corollary outcomes. This study uses the Millennium Cohort Study to jointly assess how minority ethnic group, home learning environment and home languages predict child cognitive assessment scores. Regression analyses were conducted using two assessment measures. The following is hypothesised: (1) cognitive achievement scores vary by minority ethnic group, (2) more home learning environment in early childhood leads to higher cognitive development scores and (3) English only in the home yields the highest cognitive scores while no English in the home yields the lowest. Findings reveal that there are differences in cognitive scores along ethnic group categories although there are also some unexpected findings. Home learning environment does not play as large a role as was predicted in raising the assessment scores overall for learners while speaking English in the home does, irrespective of ethnic background

Semiclassical ionization dynamics of the hydrogen molecular ion in an electric field of arbitrary orientation

Quasi-static models of barrier suppression have played a major role in our understanding of the ionization of atoms and molecules in strong laser fields. Despite their success, in the case of diatomic molecules these studies have so far been restricted to fields aligned with the molecular axis. In this paper we investigate the locations and heights of the potential barriers in the hydrogen molecular ion in an electric field of arbitrary orientation. We find that the barriers undergo bifurcations as the external field strength and direction are varied. This phenomenon represents an unexpected level of intricacy even on this most elementary level of the dynamics. We describe the dynamics of tunnelling ionization through the barriers semiclassically and use our results to shed new light on the success of a recent theory of molecular tunnelling ionization as well as earlier theories that restrict the electric field to be aligned with the molecular axis

Seroprevalence of Zika virus in wild African green monkeys and baboons

ABSTRACT Zika virus (ZIKV) has recently spread through the Americas and has been associated with a range of health effects, including birth defects in children born to women infected during pregnancy. Although the natural reservoir of ZIKV remains poorly defined, the virus was first identified in a captive “sentinel” macaque monkey in Africa in 1947. However, the virus has not been reported in humans or nonhuman primates (NHPs) in Africa outside Gabon in over a decade. Here, we examine ZIKV infection in 239 wild baboons and African green monkeys from South Africa, the Gambia, Tanzania, and Zambia using combinations of unbiased deep sequencing, quantitative reverse transcription-PCR (qRT-PCR), and an antibody capture assay that we optimized using serum collected from captive macaque monkeys exposed to ZIKV, dengue virus, and yellow fever virus. While we did not find evidence of active ZIKV infection in wild NHPs in Africa, we found variable ZIKV seropositivity of up to 16% in some of the NHP populations sampled. We anticipate that these results and the methodology described within will help in continued efforts to determine the prevalence, natural reservoir, and transmission dynamics of ZIKV in Africa and elsewhere. IMPORTANCE Zika virus (ZIKV) is a mosquito-borne virus originally discovered in a captive monkey living in the Zika Forest of Uganda, Africa, in 1947. Recently, an outbreak in South America has shown that ZIKV infection can cause myriad health effects, including birth defects in the children of women infected during pregnancy. Here, we sought to investigate ZIKV infection in wild African primates to better understand its emergence and spread, looking for evidence of active or prior infection. Our results suggest that up to 16% of some populations of nonhuman primate were, at some point, exposed to ZIKV. We anticipate that this study will be useful for future studies that examine the spread of infections from wild animals to humans in general and those studying ZIKV in primates in particular. Podcast: A podcast concerning this article is available