Direct neutron capture of 48Ca at kT = 52 keV

The neutron capture cross section of 48Ca was measured relative to the known gold cross section at kT = 52 keV using the fast cyclic activation technique. The experiment was performed at the Van-de-Graaff accelerator, Universitaet Tuebingen. The new experimental result is in good agreement with a calculation using the direct capture model. The 1/v behaviour of the capture cross section at thermonuclear energies is confirmed, and the adopted reaction rate which is based on several previous experimental investigations remains unchanged.Comment: 9 pages (uses Revtex), 2 postscript figures, accepted for publication as Brief Report in Phys. Rev.

The traditional knowledge on stingless bees (Apidae: Meliponina) used by the Enawene-Nawe tribe in western Brazil

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>This paper presents the Enawene-Nawe Society's traditional knowledge about stingless bees. The Enawene-Nawe are an Aruak speaking people, indigenous to the Meridian Amazon. Specifically, they live in the Jurema River hydrological basin, located in the northwestern region of the Mato Grosso state.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The stingless bees were sampled from two ecologically similar regions in the interior of Enawene-Nawe Land. The first sampling took place around the village, i.e., adjacent to houses, by the edge of the Iquê River, next to food leftovers, around human excrement, and simply when the insects were found flying or reposing on a human body. The second round of sampling happened from 29/10 to 02/11/94, during an expedition for honey collection that took place throughout the ciliar bushes of the Papagaio River, an important tributary of Juruena River. We sampled bees adjacent to their nests following the beehive inspection or during the honey extraction.</p> <p>In this work, the main bee species of the sub tribe Meliponina, which were handled by the Enawene-Nawe, was identified, and a brief ethnographic description of the honey collection expeditions and its social-cosmologic meaning for the group was done.</p> <p>Results and Discussion</p> <p>Similar to other indigenous people in Brazil, the Enawene-Nawe recognized 48 stingless bee species. They identified each bee species by name and specified each one's ecological niche. A brief ethnographic description of the honey collection expeditions and bees' social-cosmologic meaning for the group is included.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>We concluded that, as an example of other indigenous people, the Enawene-Nawe classify and identify the bees based not only on their structure and morphological aspects but also on the ecological, etiological, and social characteristics of the species.</p

Compactlight design study

H2020 CompactLight Project aims at designing the next generation of compact hard X-Rays Free-Electron Lasers, relying on very high accelerating gradients and on novel undulator concepts. CompactLight intends to design a compact Hard X-ray FEL facility based on very high-gradient acceleration in the X band of frequencies, on a very bright photo injector, and on short-period/superconductive undulators to enable smaller electron beam energy. If compared to existing facilities, the proposed facility will benefit from a lower electron beam energy, due to the enhanced undulators performance, be significantly more compact, as a consequence both of the lower energy and of the high-gradient X-band structures, have lower electrical power demand and a smaller footprint. CompactLight is a consortium of 24 institutes (21 European + 3 extra Europeans), gathering the world-leading experts both in the domains of X-band acceleration and undulator design

Temporal variability of settlement in Carapidae larvae at Rangiroa atoll

Carapidae (or pearlfish) are eel-like fishes living inside different invertebrates, such as holothurians, sea stars or bivalves. In some Polynesian areas where they live in sympatry, several species (Carapus homei, Carapus mourlani, Carapus boraborensis and Encheliophis gracilis) are able to inhabit the same host species. The heterospecific infestation rate is very rare, suggesting that the four species can compete for their hosts. Some differences in settlement period, breeding period and in pelagic larval duration (PLD) could allow better characterisation of the life history of each species. More than 700 larvae were collected during an entire year on the Rangiroa atoll (French Polynesia). Each species was identified; their settlement pattern was examined and their PLD was deduced from otolith (sagittae) increments. In the four collected species, the settlement pattern differed: C. homei and C. mourlani settle on the reef during the entire year, and show an asynchronous and diffuse breeding cycle. C. boraborensis and E. gracilis have a shorter settlement period which could be compatible with breeding synchronisation. As most reef fishes, Carapidae larvae mainly settle during moonless nights. Moreover, each species presents some plasticity, allowing it to settle on the reef under suitable conditions

Status of the compactlight design study*

CompactLight (XLS) is an International Collaboration of 24 partners and 5 third parties, funded by the European Union through the Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme. The main goal of the project, which started in January 2018 with a duration of 36 months, is the design of an hard X-ray FEL facility beyond today’s state of the art, using the latest concepts for bright electron photo-injectors, high-gradient accelerating structures, and innovative short-period undulators. The specifications of the facility and the parameters of the future FEL are driven by the demands of potential users and the associated science cases. In this paper we will give an overview on the ongoing activities and the major results achieved until now

Effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on surgery for indeterminate thyroid nodules (THYCOVID): a retrospective, international, multicentre, cross-sectional study

Background Since its outbreak in early 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has diverted resources from non-urgent and elective procedures, leading to diagnosis and treatment delays, with an increased number of neoplasms at advanced stages worldwide. The aims of this study were to quantify the reduction in surgical activity for indeterminate thyroid nodules during the COVID-19 pandemic; and to evaluate whether delays in surgery led to an increased occurrence of aggressive tumours.Methods In this retrospective, international, cross-sectional study, centres were invited to participate in June 22, 2022; each centre joining the study was asked to provide data from medical records on all surgical thyroidectomies consecutively performed from Jan 1, 2019, to Dec 31, 2021. Patients with indeterminate thyroid nodules were divided into three groups according to when they underwent surgery: from Jan 1, 2019, to Feb 29, 2020 (global prepandemic phase), from March 1, 2020, to May 31, 2021 (pandemic escalation phase), and from June 1 to Dec 31, 2021 (pandemic decrease phase). The main outcomes were, for each phase, the number of surgeries for indeterminate thyroid nodules, and in patients with a postoperative diagnosis of thyroid cancers, the occurrence of tumours larger than 10 mm, extrathyroidal extension, lymph node metastases, vascular invasion, distant metastases, and tumours at high risk of structural disease recurrence. Univariate analysis was used to compare the probability of aggressive thyroid features between the first and third study phases. The study was registered on ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT05178186.Findings Data from 157 centres (n=49 countries) on 87 467 patients who underwent surgery for benign and malignant thyroid disease were collected, of whom 22 974 patients (18 052 [78 center dot 6%] female patients and 4922 [21 center dot 4%] male patients) received surgery for indeterminate thyroid nodules. We observed a significant reduction in surgery for indeterminate thyroid nodules during the pandemic escalation phase (median monthly surgeries per centre, 1 center dot 4 [IQR 0 center dot 6-3 center dot 4]) compared with the prepandemic phase (2 center dot 0 [0 center dot 9-3 center dot 7]; p&lt;0 center dot 0001) and pandemic decrease phase (2 center dot 3 [1 center dot 0-5 center dot 0]; p&lt;0 center dot 0001). Compared with the prepandemic phase, in the pandemic decrease phase we observed an increased occurrence of thyroid tumours larger than 10 mm (2554 [69 center dot 0%] of 3704 vs 1515 [71 center dot 5%] of 2119; OR 1 center dot 1 [95% CI 1 center dot 0-1 center dot 3]; p=0 center dot 042), lymph node metastases (343 [9 center dot 3%] vs 264 [12 center dot 5%]; OR 1 center dot 4 [1 center dot 2-1 center dot 7]; p=0 center dot 0001), and tumours at high risk of structural disease recurrence (203 [5 center dot 7%] of 3584 vs 155 [7 center dot 7%] of 2006; OR 1 center dot 4 [1 center dot 1-1 center dot 7]; p=0 center dot 0039).Interpretation Our study suggests that the reduction in surgical activity for indeterminate thyroid nodules during the COVID-19 pandemic period could have led to an increased occurrence of aggressive thyroid tumours. However, other compelling hypotheses, including increased selection of patients with aggressive malignancies during this period, should be considered. We suggest that surgery for indeterminate thyroid nodules should no longer be postponed even in future instances of pandemic escalation.Funding None.Copyright (c) 2023 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved