Laser-Induced Crystallization of Sputtered Unhydrogenated Silicon at Low Temperatures

10-um-thick non-hydrogenated amorphous-silicon (a-Si) films were deposited at relatively high rates (_>10 Å/s) by radio-frequency magnetron sputtering (RFMS) on different large-area buffer-layer-coated glass substrates at deposition temperatures ranging from room temperature (RT) to 300oC. These amorphous samples were subsequently crystallized by means of a continuous-wave diode laser, looking for conditions to reach liquid-phase crystallization. The influence of deposition conditions on the quality of the final micro-crystalline silicon films has been studied

Hablamos Juntos (Together We Speak): Interpreters, Provider Communication, and Satisfaction with Care

The Hablamos Juntos—Together We Speak (HJ)—national demonstration project targeted the improvement of language access for Spanish-speaking Latinos in areas with rapidly growing Latino populations. The objective of HJ was to improve doctor-patient communication by increasing access to and quality of interpreter services for Spanish-speaking patients. To investigate how access to interpreters for adult Spanish-speaking Latinos is associated with ratings of doctor/office staff communication and satisfaction with care. Cross-sectional cohort study. A total of 1,590 Spanish-speaking Latino adults from eight sites across the United States who participated in the outpatient HJ evaluation. We analyzed two multi-item measures of doctor communication (4 items) and office staff helpfulness (2 items), and one global item of satisfaction with care by interpreter use. We performed regression analyses to control for patient sociodemographic characteristics, survey year, and clustering at the site of care. Ninety-five percent of participants were born outside the US, 81% were females, and survey response rates ranged from 45% to 85% across sites. In this cohort of Spanish-speaking patients, those who needed and always used interpreters reported better experiences with care than their counterparts who needed but had interpreters unavailable. Patients who always used an interpreter had better adjusted ratings of doctor communication [effect size (ES = 0.51)], office staff helpfulness (ES = 0.37), and satisfaction with care (ES = 0.37) than patients who needed but did not always use an interpreter. Patients who needed and always used interpreters also reported better experiences with care in all three domains measured [doctor communication (ES = 0.30), office staff helpfulness (ES = 0.21), and satisfaction with care (ES = 0.23)] than patients who did not need interpreters. Among adult Spanish-speaking Latinos, interpreter use is independently associated with higher satisfaction with doctor communication, office staff helpfulness, and ambulatory care. Increased attention to the need for effective interpreter services is warranted in areas with rapidly growing Spanish-speaking populations

Applications of Direct Injection Soft Chemical Ionisation-Mass Spectrometry for the Detection of Pre-blast Smokeless Powder Organic Additives

Analysis of smokeless powders is of interest from forensics and security perspectives. This article reports the detection of smokeless powder organic additives (in their pre-detonation condition), namely the stabiliser diphenylamine and its derivatives 2-nitrodiphenylamine and 4-nitrodiphenylamine, and the additives (used both as stabilisers and plasticisers) methyl centralite and ethyl centralite, by means of swab sampling followed by thermal desorption and direct injection soft chemical ionisation-mass spectrometry. Investigations on the product ions resulting from the reactions of the reagent ions H3O+ and O2+ with additives as a function of reduced electric field are reported. The method was comprehensively evaluated in terms of linearity, sensitivity and precision. For H3O+, the limits of detection (LoD) are in the range of 41-88 pg of additive, for which the accuracy varied between 1.5 and 3.2%, precision varied between 3.7 and 7.3% and linearity showed R20.9991. For O2+, LoD are in the range of 72 to 1.4 ng, with an accuracy of between 2.8 and 4.9% and a precision between 4.5 and 8.6% and R20.9914. The validated methodology was applied to the analysis of commercial pre-blast gun powders from different manufacturers.(VLID)4826148Accepted versio

An SIS Model of Streptococcal Disease with a Class of Beta-Hemolytic Carriers

28 pages, 1 article*An SIS Model of Streptococcal Disease with a Class of Beta-Hemolytic Carriers* (Doura, Kevin; Melendez-Morales, Julio D.; Meyer, Gigi G.; Perez, Luis E.) 28 page

Mapping the ionized gas of the metal-poor HII galaxy PHL 293B with MEGARA

Here we report the first spatially resolved spectroscopic study for the galaxy PHL293B using the high-resolution GTC/MEGARA IFU. PHL293B is a local, extremely metal-poor, high ionization galaxy. This makes PHL 293B an excellent analogue for galaxies in the early Universe. The MEGARA aperture (~12.5''x 11.3'') covers the entire PHL 293B main body and its far-reaching ionized gas. We created and discussed maps of all relevant emission lines, line ratios and physical-chemical properties of the ionized ISM. The narrow emission gas appears to be ionized mainly by massive stars according to the observed diganostic line ratios, regardless of the position across the MEGARA aperture. We detected low intensity broad emission components and blueshifted absorptions in the Balmer lines (H$\alpha$,H$\beta$) which are located in the brightest zone of the galaxy ISM. A chemically homogeneity, across hundreds of parsecs, is observed in O/H. We take the oxygen abundance 12+log(O/H)=7.64 $\pm$ 0.06 derived from the PHL293B integrated spectrum as the representative metallicity for the galaxy. Our IFU data reveal for the first time that the nebular HeII4686 emission from PHL 293B is spatially extended and coincident with the ionizing stellar cluster, and allow us to compute its absolute HeII ionizing photon flux. Wolf-Rayet bumps are not detected excluding therefore Wolf-Rayet stars as the main HeII excitation source. The origin of the nebular HeII4686 is discussed.Comment: 14 pages, 9 Figures, 3 Tables; Accepted for publication in MNRA