Absolute photoionization cross section measurements of the Kr I-isoelectronic sequence

Photoionization spectra have been recorded in the 4s, 4p and 3d resonance regions for the Kr Iisoelectronic sequence using both the dual laser produced plasma technique (at DCU) to produce photoabsorption spectra, and the merged ion beam and synchrotron radiation technique (at ASTRID) to measure absolute photoionization cross sections. Profile parameters are compared for the 4s − np resonances of Rb+ and Sr2+. Many new 4p " ns, md transitions are identified with the aid of Hartree-Fock calculations, and consistent quantum defects are observed for the various ns and md Rydberg series. Absolute single and double photoionization cross sections recorded in the 3d region for Rb+ and Sr2+ ions show preferential decay via double photoionization. This is only the second report where both the DLP technique and the merged beam technique have been used simultaneously to record photoionization spectra, and the advantages of both techniques (i.e. better resolution in the case of DLP and values for absolute photoionization cross sections in the case of the merged beam technique) are highlighted

A biomechanical model of anther opening reveals the roles of dehydration and secondary thickening

Understanding the processes that underlie pollen release is a prime target for controlling fertility to enable selective breeding and the efficient production of hybrid crops. Pollen release requires anther opening, which involves changes in the biomechanical properties of the anther wall. In this research, we develop and use a mathematical model to understand how these biomechanical processes lead to anther opening

Representativeness of a digitally engaged population and a patient organisation population with rheumatoid arthritis and their willingness to participate in research: a cross-sectional study.

Objectives: To describe (1) the representativeness of (a) users of an online health community (HealthUnlocked.com (HU)) with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and (b) paid members of an RA patient organisation, the National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society (NRAS), compared with the general RA population; and (2) the willingness of HU users with RA to participate in types of research (surveys, use of an app or activity tracker, and trials). Methods: A pop-up survey was embedded on HU to determine the characteristics of users and their willingness to participate in research. An anonymous data set of NRAS member characteristics was provided by the NRAS (N=2044). To represent the general RA population, characteristics of people with RA were identified from the Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD) (N=20 594). Cross-sectional comparisons were made across the three groups. Results: Compared with CPRD, HU respondents (n=615) were significantly younger (49% aged below 55 years compared with 23% of CPRD patients), significantly more deprived (21% in the most deprived Townsend quintile compared with 12% of CPRD patients) and had more recent disease, with 62% diagnosed between 2010 and 2016 compared with 37% of CPRD patients. NRAS members were more similar to the CPRD, but significantly under-represented those aged 75 years or over and over-represented those aged 55-75 years compared with the CPRD. High proportions of HU users were willing to participate in future research of all types. Conclusions: NRAS members were broadly representative of the general RA population. HU users were younger, more deprived and more recently diagnosed. HU users were willing to participate in most types of research

Fabrication Of Steaks From Spent Hens

Research at SDSU has demonstrated that meat from spent laying hens (spent fowl) can be utilized in the production of fabricated steaks and/or roasts. Previous studies utilized raw meat from carcasses that were manually deboned. Under commercial deboning, meat that has been precooked is more easily separated from the bone. Precooking reduces the ability for meat to hold together or bind in a processed product. Precooked and raw spent fowl muscles were compared as raw material for the production of fabricated steaks. The objective of this research was to produce from precooked spent fowl muscle a palatable restructured product that will withstand handling, cooking and serving

The laboratory telerobotic manipulator program

New opportunities for the application of telerobotic systems to enhance human intelligence and dexterity in the hazardous environment of space are presented by the NASA Space Station Program. Because of the need for significant increases in extravehicular activity and the potential increase in hazards associated with space programs, emphasis is being heightened on telerobotic systems research and development. The Laboratory Telerobotic Manipulator (LTM) program is performed to develop and demonstrate ground-based telerobotic manipulator system hardware for research and demonstrations aimed at future NASA applications. The LTM incorporates traction drives, modularity, redundant kinematics, and state-of-the-art hierarchical control techniques to form a basis for merging the diverse technological domains of robust, high-dexterity teleoperations and autonomous robotic operation into common hardware to further NASA's research

Letter: Faecal volatile organic metabolites, promising biomarkers in inflammatory bowel disease and Letter: Faecal volatile organic metabolites as novel diagnostic biomarkers in inflammatory bowel disease. Authors' reply

The aetiology of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) remains poorly understood. Recent evidence suggests an important role of gut microbial dysbiosis in IBD, and this may be associated with changes in faecal volatile organic metabolites (VOMs).To describe the changes in the faecal VOMs of patients with IBD and establish their diagnostic potential as non-invasive biomarkers.Faecal samples were obtained from 117 people with Crohn's disease (CD), 100 with ulcerative colitis (UC), and 109 healthy controls. Faecal VOMs were extracted using solid-phase micro-extraction and analysed by gas chromatography mass spectrometry. Data analysis was carried out using partial least squares-discriminate analysis (PLS-DA) to determine class membership based on distinct metabolomic profiles.The PLS-DA model showed clear separation of active CD from inactive disease and healthy controls (P < 0.001). Heptanal, 1-octen-3-ol, 2-piperidinone and 6-methyl-2-heptanone were up-regulated in the active CD group [variable important in projection (VIP) score 2.8, 2.7, 2.6 and 2.4, respectively], while methanethiol, 3-methyl-phenol, short-chain fatty acids and ester derivatives were found to be less abundant (VIP score of 3.5, 2.6, 1.5 and 1.2, respectively). The PLS-DA model also separated patients with small bowel CD from healthy controls and those with colonic CD from UC (P < 0.001). In contrast, less distinct separation was observed between active UC, inactive UC and healthy controls.Analysis of faecal volatile organic metabolites can provide an understanding of gut metabolomic changes in IBD. It has the potential to provide a non-invasive means of diagnosing IBD, and can differentiate between UC and CD

Circle talks as situated experiential learning: Context, identity, and knowledgeability in \u27learning from reflection\u27

This article presents research that used ethnographic and sociolinguistic methods to study ways participants learn through reflection when carried out as a “circle talk.” The data indicate that participants in the event (a) invoked different contextual frames that (b) implicated them in various identity positions, which (c) affected how they could express their knowledge. These features worked together to generate socially shared meanings that enabled participants to jointly achieve conceptualization—the ideational role “reflection” is presumed to play in the experiential learning process. The analysis supports the claim that participants generate new knowledge in reflection, but challenges individualistic and cognitive assumptions regarding how this occurs. The article builds on situated views of experiential learning by showing how knowledge can be understood as socially shared and how learning and identity formation are mutually entailing processes

A study of volatile compounds in the breath of children with type 1 diabetes

A pilot study of exhaled volatile compounds and their correlation with blood glucose levels in eight children with type 1 diabetes is reported. Five paired blood and breath samples were obtained from each child over a 6 hour period. The blood glucose concentration ranged from 41.4 to 435.6 mg/dL. Breath samples were collected in Tedlar bags and immediately evacuated through thermal desorption tubes packed with Carbopack B and C. The VOCs were later recovered by thermal desorption and analysed using gas chromatography mass spectrometry. The study identified 74 volatile compounds present in at least 10% of the patient samples. Of these 74 volatiles 36 were found in all patient samples tested. Further analysis of the 36 compounds found that none showed significant overall correlation with blood glucose levels. Isoprene showed a weak negative correlation with blood glucose levels. Acetone was found to have no correlation with blood glucose levels for the patients studied. Some patients showed significant individual correlation between the relative peak areas of certain compounds and blood glucose levels. However, there was no consistent pattern observed within these results across all 8 patients. Additional breath samples were collected in Tedlar bags and analysed using SIFTMS for 3 of the patients and a healthy control. The levels of 24 volatiles are reported and were found to be generally consistent with previously reported SIFT-MS data. In agreement with the GCMS data, no compounds exhibited a significant overall correlation with blood glucose level

L∞L_\infty-Algebras, the BV Formalism, and Classical Fields

We summarise some of our recent works on $L_\infty$-algebras and quasi-groups with regard to higher principal bundles and their applications in twistor theory and gauge theory. In particular, after a lightning review of $L_\infty$-algebras, we discuss their Maurer-Cartan theory and explain that any classical field theory admitting an action can be reformulated in this context with the help of the Batalin-Vilkovisky formalism. As examples, we explore higher Chern-Simons theory and Yang-Mills theory. We also explain how these ideas can be combined with those of twistor theory to formulate maximally superconformal gauge theories in four and six dimensions by means of $L_\infty$-quasi-isomorphisms, and we propose a twistor space action.Comment: 19 pages, Contribution to Proceedings of LMS/EPSRC Durham Symposium Higher Structures in M-Theory, August 201