Development of a High-Resolution Spatial Heterodyne Libs Spectrometer

Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS) is an atomic emission technique that uses a pulse laser to ablate a sample and form a plasma. Atomic emissions from the plasma provide unique elemental characteristics regarding the composition of the sample. The technique produces valuable qualitative results, but the accuracy of quantitative analyses is hindered by spectral line broadening mechanisms and laser pulse reproducibility, among other factors. The Spatial Heterodyne Spectrometer (SHS) is a high-resolution spectrometer with very high light throughput, and its use to LIBS is currently limited to two peer-reviewed publications. In the following work a high resolution SHS is developed and explored for LIBS measurements of isotopes

Drawing the (Color)line: Hemingway's America, Africa, and the Question(ing) of Authority

My examination asserts that Ernest Hemingway's modernity lies beyond mere stylistic technique and aesthetic concerns and finds itself in what perhaps is an inadvertent appreciation of W.E. B. Du Bois' prognostication that race would be the pervasive issue for a "progressive" nation looking to the first decades of the twentieth century. I contend that Hemingway not only shares Faulkner's concerns with the issue of race in America, but that he takes them well beyond the bounds of the South or any particular region and extends them to the rest of the nation. Little to nothing has been said about Hemingway's investment in issues of race; this examination intends to end that relative silence. Hemingway's marked interest in race (de)formation is closely aligned to a vested national interest in and an anxiety over a rapidly changing American racial topography and issues of American (White) identity. The works in this examination become then an expression of what I will call a collective angst in the wake of a perpetually fading color line and, correspondingly, an ever-eroding Anglo power structure. Hemingway's reaction is a simultaneous questioning of (White) self-identity and coveted authoritarian right and a marked re-entrenchment in standard racial typology. The so-called Indian stories work well to explore ideas of miscegenation (I use this term broadly to suggest race mixing and influence in a general sense) and White "vulnerability," and they attest to the author's ambivalence. Hemingway's African American centered stories continue this exploration of color-line transgression and the deconstruction of White identity, with the added element of violence as a possible means to that end. Thus, Africa becomes Hemingway's imaginative enclave of Anglo agency. Moreover, imperial Africa (more specifically, the metaphorical, geopolitical space inhabited by the Anglo) becomes the site within which he, as White subject-self, can control the placement, demarcation, and enforcement of that coveted colorline. This very emphatic racial awareness, nonetheless, is what also draws Hemingway into the realm of the Modern

Point-of-Care Ultrasound Assists in Rapid Diagnosis of T-cell Lymphoblastic Lymphoma in a Young Boy.

T-cell lymphoblastic lymphoma (T-cell LBL) is an uncommon diagnosis for acute dyspnea in pediatric emergencies. This case details a 13-year-old boy presenting to the ED with dyspnea, who was diagnosed with T-cell LBL. It was a unique presentation in which there was no obvious mediastinal mass on the examination or primary imaging. As a safe and cost-effective modality for a patient that was too unstable to transfer to the radiology department for computed tomography, point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) was useful in the patient\u27s rapid assessment for suspected pericardial and pleural effusion. This case highlights the advantage of early utilization of POCUS for pediatric patients with dyspnea

The impact of the Art Therapy Large Group, an educational tool in the training of art therapists, on post-qualification professional practice

This article reports the findings of a Likert scale survey that was sent to past graduates of the MA Art Psychotherapy, Goldsmiths, University of London asking them about the relevance of their experience in the Art Therapy Large Group (ATLG) to their subsequent employment as art therapists or work in another capacity. The ATLG comprises all the students and staff in a psychodynamically based experiential group that meets six times during the year. Survey questions were drawn from previously devised theory and related to learning relevant to the workplace and the development of professional identity. Though there was a low response rate (20%), there were some significant findings, namely that graduates found the ATLG to be helpful in their work, whether this was art therapy or non-art therapy work, and that those who had studied part-time were much more positive about the applicability of their learning in the group to their work than those who had studied full-time. The findings suggest that the ATLG has a particular role in meeting key performance indicators in professional regulation and teaching and in quality assurance and employability policies in higher education. Finally, the potential for the use of the ATLG beyond the university in the public, private and voluntary sectors is suggested

Personal Attitudes Toward Weight in Overweight and Obese US Hemodialysis Patients

Objective Overweight and obesity have become increasingly common among end-stage renal disease patients on hemodialysis. Yet, little attention has been given to what hemodialysis patients themselves think of their weight, how they perceive it affects their health, and their attitudes about or desire for weight reduction. We explored these issues using a survey that we designed specifically for the dialysis population. Design and Methods Sixty-six chronic hemodialysis patients from a US urban center with a body mass index ≥25 kg/m2 and stable weight were recruited to participate in a cross-sectional study. The 12-question weight-related survey was validated by retesting a random portion of the study population. Results Based on test–retest results, the survey had good to excellent validity. Seventy-nine percent of patients were black, 49% were male, 29% were overweight, and 71% were obese. In general, the patients underestimated their weight excess though 73% were interested in weight loss, of whom nearly half reported attempting to do so mostly through diet and exercise. The majority of participants interested in losing weight felt that doing so would improve their physical and emotional health. The most common barrier to weight reduction was a belief that it was too difficult (55%), followed by a lack of motivation, money, time, resources, and knowledge. Diet was the most common weight loss strategy (85%) considered, whereas bariatric surgery was the least common (6.1%). Conclusions A majority of overweight and obese hemodialysis patients believe their excess weight is adversely impacting their health and quality of life and therefore wish to lose weight

The Integrated Proactive Surveillance System for Prostate Cancer

In this paper, we present the design and implementation of the integrated proactive surveillance system for prostate cancer (PASS-PC). The integrated PASS-PC is a multi-institutional web-based system aimed at collecting a variety of data on prostate cancer patients in a standardized and efficient way. The integrated PASS-PC was commissioned by the Prostate Cancer Foundation (PCF) and built through the joint of efforts by a group of experts in medical oncology, genetics, pathology, nutrition, and cancer research informatics. Their main goal is facilitating the efficient and uniform collection of critical demographic, lifestyle, nutritional, dietary and clinical information to be used in developing new strategies in diagnosing, preventing and treating prostate cancer

Paradoxical enhancement of fear extinction memory and synaptic plasticity by inhibition of the histone acetyltransferase p300

It is well established that the coordinated regulation of activity-dependent gene expression by the histone acetyltransferase (HAT) family of transcriptional coactivators is crucial for the formation of contextual fear and spatial memory, and for hippocampal synaptic plasticity. However, no studies have examined the role of this epigenetic mechanism within the infralimbic prefrontal cortex (ILPFC), an area of the brain that is essential for the formation and consolidation of fear extinction memory. Here we report that a postextinction training infusion of a combined p300/CBP inhibitor (Lys-CoA-Tat), directly into the ILPFC, enhances fear extinction memory in mice. Our results also demonstrate that the HAT p300 is highly expressed within pyramidal neurons of the ILPFC and that the small-molecule p300-specific inhibitor (C646) infused into the ILPFC immediately after weak extinction training enhances the consolidation of fear extinction memory. C646 infused 6 h after extinction had no effect on fear extinction memory, nor did an immediate postextinction training infusion into the prelimbic prefrontal cortex. Consistent with the behavioral findings, inhibition of p300 activity within the ILPFC facilitated long-term potentiation (LTP) under stimulation conditions that do not evoke long-lasting LTP. These data suggest that one function of p300 activity within the ILPFC is to constrain synaptic plasticity, and that a reduction in the function of this HAT is required for the formation of fear extinction memory