Tailoring of the resonant mode properties of optical nanocavities in two-dimensional photonic crystal slab waveguides

Optically thin dielectric slabs, in which a fully etched-through two-dimensional patterning is applied, are used to form high-Q optical cavities with modal volumes approaching the theoretical limit of a cubic half-wavelength. Resonant cavities are formed from local defect regions within the photonic lattice. Simple group theoretical techniques are developed to design cavities which support resonant modes with a particular polarization and radiation pattern. Numerical simulations using the finite-difference time-domain method are then used to study the detailed emission and loss properties of these modes. The cavities are probed spectroscopically through photoluminescence measurements, which when compared with numerical results show the presence of both donor and acceptor type modes. These experimental results show the predictive power of the modest symmetry analysis presented here in describing highly localized defect states within photonic crystals

Use of Ultrasound-Assisted, Catheter-Directed Thrombolysis in a Patient With High-Risk Pulmonary Embolism

High-risk pulmonary embolism (PE) is a complex clinical entity associated with high mortality rates. Ultrasound-assisted, catheter-directed thrombolysis, typically used for intermediate-risk PE, may be a viable treatment approach for high-risk PE, particularly in patients at increased risk for major bleeding. This report describes a case in which ultrasound-assisted, catheter-directed thrombolysis was successfully used to treat high-risk PE in a female patient with extensive peritoneal metastases from gastric adenocarcinoma. Other examples from the literature, in which ultrasound-assisted, catheter-directed thrombolysis was used to treat high-risk PE, are also provided

Interventions to Promote the Development of Motor Performance Skills in Primary School Aged Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Controlled Trials

Background: The development of proficiency in motor performance skills (MPS) builds the foundation for the complex movement skills required to participate in a range of sports and physical activities throughout the lifespan. Objective: To assess the efficacy of different intervention approaches on developing MPS proficiency in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and examine the intervention factors that influence change. Method: Searches were completed in three databases (PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, Web of Science) up to March 2022. Only randomised controlled trials (RCTs) or controlled trials (CTs), that evaluated the effectiveness of interventions on overall MPS proficiency or specific MPS such as balance, running speed and agility, bilateral coordination, jumping, ball skills and push-ups in children (4–13 years old) were included. The DerSimonian and Laird random-effects model was used to compute the meta-analyses. The effect sizes were reported as Hedges’ g. Using a random-effects model, potential sources of heterogeneity were identified, including subgroup analyses (type of intervention), and single training factor analysis (total number of weeks, session frequency, total intervention time, total number of training sessions). In addition, a multivariate meta-regression calculation was performed for balance. The GRADE framework was applied to assess certainty of evidence. Results: Seventeen interventions (13 RCTs and 4 CTs) revealed significant differences among groups favouring the intervention group with moderate to very large effects. Significant (p 0.05) small-to-large effects of interventions were evident on overall motor performance skills (ES = 2.43), ball skills (ES = 2.95), jumping (ES = 1.89), bilateral coordination (ES = 2.21), push-ups (ES = 1.92), balance (ES = 1.56), running speed and agility (ES = 1.31). Multivariate meta-regression for balance revealed that total sessions, total intervention time and session frequency predicted (p = 0.009, p0.001, p = 0.036, respectively) the effects of interventions on change in balance performance. Conclusion: Structured interventions that explicitly teach traditional FMS or promote the development and learning of movement skills specifically associated with a type of physical activity or sport, effectively improve MPS in children with ASD. Education settings should implement ‘planned’ movement experiences or interventions as a strategy to promote MPS proficiency in children with ASD

Screening Practices for Infectious Diseases among Burmese Refugees in Australia

Helicobacter pylori and Strongyloides spp. infections were the most common conditions found

‘Like Skydiving without a Parachute’: How Class Origin Shapes Occupational Trajectories in British Acting

There is currently widespread concern that access to, and success within, the British acting profession is increasingly dominated by those from privileged class origins. This article seeks to empirically interrogate this claim using data on actors from the Great British Class Survey (N = 404) and 47 qualitative interviews. First, survey data demonstrate that actors from working-class origins are significantly underrepresented within the profession. Second, they indicate that even when those from working-class origins do enter the profession they do not have access to the same economic, cultural and social capital as those from privileged backgrounds. Third, and most significantly, qualitative interviews reveal how these capitals shape the way actors can respond to shared occupational challenges. In particular we demonstrate the profound occupational advantages afforded to actors who can draw upon familial economic resources, legitimate embodied markers of class origin (such as Received Pronunciation) and a favourable typecasting

Incidence of WHO stage 3 and 4 conditions following initiation of Anti-Retroviral Therapy in resource limited settings

To determine the incidence of WHO clinical stage 3 and 4 conditions during early anti-retroviral therapy (ART) in resource limited settings (RLS)

Delivery of Dark Material to Vesta via Carbonaceous Chondritic Impacts

NASA's Dawn spacecraft observations of asteroid (4) Vesta reveal a surface with the highest albedo and color variation of any asteroid we have observed so far. Terrains rich in low albedo dark material (DM) have been identified using Dawn Framing Camera (FC) 0.75 {\mu}m filter images in several geologic settings: associated with impact craters (in the ejecta blanket material and/or on the crater walls and rims); as flow-like deposits or rays commonly associated with topographic highs; and as dark spots (likely secondary impacts) nearby impact craters. This DM could be a relic of ancient volcanic activity or exogenic in origin. We report that the majority of the spectra of DM are similar to carbonaceous chondrite meteorites mixed with materials indigenous to Vesta. Using high-resolution seven color images we compared DM color properties (albedo, band depth) with laboratory measurements of possible analog materials. Band depth and albedo of DM are identical to those of carbonaceous chondrite xenolith-rich howardite Mt. Pratt (PRA) 04401. Laboratory mixtures of Murchison CM2 carbonaceous chondrite and basaltic eucrite Millbillillie also show band depth and albedo affinity to DM. Modeling of carbonaceous chondrite abundance in DM (1-6 vol%) is consistent with howardite meteorites. We find no evidence for large-scale volcanism (exposed dikes/pyroclastic falls) as the source of DM. Our modeling efforts using impact crater scaling laws and numerical models of ejecta reaccretion suggest the delivery and emplacement of this DM on Vesta during the formation of the ~400 km Veneneia basin by a low-velocity (<2 km/sec) carbonaceous impactor. This discovery is important because it strengthens the long-held idea that primitive bodies are the source of carbon and probably volatiles in the early Solar System.Comment: Icarus (Accepted) Pages: 58 Figures: 15 Tables:

Mycobacterium ulcerans in the elderly: more severe disease and suboptimal outcomes

Mycobacterium ulcerans is an infection that can affect all age-groups. It causes necrosis of skin and soft-tissue often resulting in severe outcomes and long-term disability. However, due to the majority of infections worldwide occurring in children and young adults, there is a paucity of information available in elderly patients. It is important that elderly patients are not neglected as the clinical presentation and treatment outcomes may differ significantly from younger patients related to relative immune defficiencies, co-morbidities and increased potential for drug interactions. We specifically examined patients with M. ulcerans disease aged &ge; 65 years and showed that they comprise a significant proportion of patients affected in Australian populations. They present with more severe and advanced disease forms, and suffer from increased toxicity and reduced effectiveness of the currently recommended treatments. Therefore, our study demonstrates that increased efforts are required to diagnose M. ulcerans disease earlier in elderly populations, and that research is urgently required to develop more effective and less toxic treatments for this age-group