Electron and ion stagnation at the collision front between two laser produced plasmas

We report results from a combined optical interferometric and spectrally resolved imaging study on colliding laser produced aluminium plasmas. A Nomarski interferometer was used to probe the spatio-temporal distribution of electron densities at the collision front. Analysis of the resulting interferograms reveals the formation and evolution of a localized electron density feature with a well-defined profile reminiscent of a stagnation layer. Electron stagnation begins at a time delay of 10 ns after the peak of the plasma generating laser pulse. The peak electron density was found to exceed 10^19 cm^−3 and the layer remained well defined up to a time delay of ca 100 ns. Temporally and spectrally resolved optical imaging was also undertaken, to compare the Al^+ ion distribution with that of the 2D electron density profile. This revealed nascent stagnation of singly charged ions at a delay time of 20 ns. We attribute these results to the effects of space charge separation in the seed plasma plumes

Shifting markers of identity in East London's diasporic religious spaces

This article discusses the historical and geographical contexts of diasporic religious buildings in East London, revealing – contrary both to conventional narratives of immigrant integration, mobility, and succession and to identitarian understandings of belonging – that in such spaces and in the concrete devotional practices enacted in them, markers and boundaries of identity (ritual, spatial, and political) are contested, renegotiated, erased, and rewritten. It draws on a series of case-studies: Fieldgate Street Synagogue in its interrelationship with the East London Mosque; St Antony's Catholic Church in Forest Gate where Hindus and Christians worship together; and the intertwined histories of Methodism and Anglicanism in Bow Road. Exploration of the intersections between ethnicity, religiosity, and class illuminates the ambiguity and instability of identity-formation and expression within East London's diasporic faith spaces

Ion emission in collisions between two laser-produced plasmas

Measurements of the total ion emission from a pair of colliding laser-produced aluminium plasmas were obtained with the aid of a Faraday cup detector. The energy profile width at half height of the kinetic energy distribution for ions emitted normal to the target was found to be 30% narrower for colliding plasmas compared to a single plasma. Similar to ion emission from single plumes, the mean ion kinetic energy is observed to increase with the energy of the incident laser pulse. However, the width of the ion energy distribution increases at a significantly slower rate than in the single plume case.Science Foundation IrelandHigher Education AuthorityIrish Research Council for Science, Engineering and TechnologyOther funderDCU International Visiting Fellows Programau, ti, ab, st, en, li - TS 27.03.1

Critical assessment of chick quality measurements as an indicator of posthatch performance.

For hatcheries, not only is it important to have a high level of hatchability, but the quality of the chicks provided also has to be good, because broiler farmers are looking for chicks with a high growth potential, resulting in a greater slaughter yield at the end of the rearing period. However, chick quality has proven to be a difficult and subjective matter to define. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the predictive value of different chick quality measurements for BW at slaughter age. Body weight, chick length, shank length, and toe length measurements as well as Tona score determination were performed on 1-d-old chicks and were linked to posthatch performance parameters. Different breeder lines (Cobb and Ross) and breeder ages (39, 42, and 53 wk of age) were used to investigate line and age effects. In addition, variability between people and repeatability in time of these quality measurements were determined. Body weight at 7 d of age appeared to be the best predictor of BW at slaughter age among all the quality measurements performed. Body weight at 1 d of age had the second greatest predictive value, closely followed by the ratio between BW at 1 d of age and chick length squared. Chick length and shank length both had low to no predictive value whatsoever for posthatch performance. The lack of significant correlations between the Tona score and posthatch performance could be explained by the absence of day-old chicks with anomalies (and thus a suboptimal Tona score) because a distinction had already been made, as is done in practice, between top-grade and lower grade chicks