Opto-mechanical subsystem with temperature compensation through isothemal design

An opto-mechanical subsystem for supporting a laser structure which minimizes changes in the alignment of the laser optics in response to temperature variations is described. Both optical and mechanical structural components of the system are formed of the same material, preferably beryllium, which is selected for high mechanical strength and good thermal conducting qualities. All mechanical and optical components are mounted and assembled to provide thorough thermal coupling throughout the subsystem to prevent the development of temperature gradients

Small, efficient power supply for xenon lamps

Device, which operates from 28 V dc, has four sections, a preregulator, a dc-to-dc converter, a current regulator, and a high voltage starter. The unique characteristics of the individual sections are described

Temperature dependence of species concentrations near the substrate during diamond chemical vapor deposition

Measurements have been made of the temperature dependence of CH3, CH4, and C2H2 very near the substrate during filament-assisted diamond growth. CH3 was detected using (2+1) resonance-enhanced multiphoton ionization (REMPI), and CH4 and C2H2 concentrations were measured using sampling mass spectrometry. A strong dependence of the CH3 REMPI signal on substrate temperature was observed, which at low temperatures may be characterized as having an activation energy of approximately 4±1 kcal/mole. Methane and acetylene, on the other hand, are relatively independent of substrate temperature. These results are most likely due to recombination of methyl to methane or ethane in the cool gas layer near the substrate or on the surface at low substrate temperatures

Mental health and spiritual well-being in humanitarian crises: the role of faith communities providing spiritual and psychosocial support during the COVID-19 pandemic

Across the globe, people’s reactions to the COVID-19 pandemic and its accompanying lockdowns highlighted, and continued to stress, the relevance of mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) in responding to crises, including in low-income and emergency settings. They also demonstrated the importance of faith practices and communities of faith as core needs and important coping mechanisms for many affected people in times of crisis. Drawing on data collected by World Vision International, the world’s largest child-focused humanitarian and development organisation, in the course of its response to COVID-19 in 70 different countries, this article explores the ways in which faith groups and faith leaders responded to the perceived needs of their communities. While keen to offer psychosocial support to people suffering anxiety and fear in the context of the crisis, this has often been integrated with spiritual support. Analysing their work from the framework of a rights-based approach to mental health, we conclude that they did contribute to psychosocial support through their MHPSS, in part through their provision of spiritual care. However, spiritual well-being should not be conflated with psychosocial well-being. While faith groups play an important role in MHPSS, their primary role is to offer spiritual care

Addressable time division multiplexer system /cable and connector study/ Final report

Reliability studies of single interrogation and single data cables used in prototype addressable time division multiplexer syste

Detection of Turbidity Dynamics in Tampa Bay, Florida Using Multispectral Imagery from ERTS-1

Detection of turbidity dynamics in Tampa Bay, Florida using multispectral imagery from ERTS-

Incommensurate chirality density wave transition in a hybrid molecular framework

Using single-crystal X-ray diffraction we characterise the 235\,K incommensurate phase transition in the hybrid molecular framework tetraethylammonium silver(I) dicyanoargentate, [NEt$_4$]Ag$_3$(CN)$_4$. We demonstrate the transition to involve spontaneous resolution of chiral [NEt$_4$]$^+$ conformations, giving rise to a state in which molecular chirality is incommensurately modulated throughout the crystal lattice. We refer to this state as an incommensurate chirality density wave (XDW) phase, which represents a fundamentally new type of chiral symmetry breaking in the solid state. Drawing on parallels to the incommensurate ferroelectric transition of NaNO$_2$ we suggest the XDW state arises through coupling between acoustic (shear) and molecular rotoinversion modes. Such coupling is symmetry-forbidden at the Brillouin zone centre but symmetry-allowed for small but finite modulation vectors $\mathbf q=[0,0,q_z]^\ast$. The importance of long-wavelength chirality modulations in the physics of this hybrid framework may have implications for the generation of mesoscale chiral textures, as required for advanced photonic materials.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

Islam in America: Breaking Down the Binaries Between “Islam and the West”

The current discourse on Islam in the U.S. separates Islam from American history and creates a binary between two entities that are in fact very much intertwined. When we forget the history of Islam in America it becomes easy to create conceptual dichotomies and draw clear distinctions between Islam as one category and “the West” as another, and argue that they are incompatible. Instead of breaking down the categories of “Islam and the West,” “Islam and modernity,” or “Islam and democracy,” scholars have attempted to show how the beliefs, values and practices of Islam are complementary to western liberal values such as freedom, democracy and tolerance. They have attempted to make Islam palatable for non-Muslim readers instead of questioning the very foundation for the claims that Islam and democracy or modernity are two juxtaposing categories in the first place. However, through examining the history of American Muslim’s experience in America, I attempt to demonstrate that Islam and the “the West” are not mutually exclusive, static and immutable categories, but rather traditions that are dynamic, relational and can be re-thought and re-configured according to different historical contexts. I examine the psychological and social implications of being identified as an “other” in society and how this works to degrade and demoralize not only minority groups, but society as a whole. It is necessary to listen to people’s voices and acknowledge the complexities and subtleties in their understandings of gender, forms of empowerment and religion, for once we start to define people based on our own assumptions and prejudices, it becomes exceedingly easy to either speak for disempowered groups or oversimplify their self-understandings and their religion so that it becomes detached from their actual experiences