Semiconductor Lasers: Physics and Applications

Contains an introduction and reports on eight research projects.MIT Lincoln Laboratory Contract BX-6558MIT Lincoln LaboratoryU.S. Navy - Office of Naval Research/MUR

Send more data: a systematic review of mathematical models of antimicrobial resistance

Abstract Background Antimicrobial resistance is a global health problem that demands all possible means to control it. Mathematical modelling is a valuable tool for understanding the mechanisms of AMR development and spread, and can help us to investigate and propose novel control strategies. However, it is of vital importance that mathematical models have a broad utility, which can be assured if good modelling practice is followed. Objective The objective of this study was to provide a comprehensive systematic review of published models of AMR development and spread. Furthermore, the study aimed to identify gaps in the knowledge required to develop useful models. Methods The review comprised a comprehensive literature search with 38 selected studies. Information was extracted from the selected papers using an adaptation of previously published frameworks, and was evaluated using the TRACE good modelling practice guidelines. Results None of the selected papers fulfilled the TRACE guidelines. We recommend that future mathematical models should: a) model the biological processes mechanistically, b) incorporate uncertainty and variability in the system using stochastic modelling, c) include a sensitivity analysis and model external and internal validation. Conclusion Many mathematical models of AMR development and spread exist. There is still a lack of knowledge about antimicrobial resistance, which restricts the development of useful mathematical models

The burning season

"Every year deliberately lit fires rage across Indonesia. They destroy pristine rainforest, endanger orangutans and contribute to climate change. A young carbon trading entrepreneur goes in search of a solution." "Dorjee Sun, a young Australian Entrepreneur, believes there's money to be made from protecting rainforests in Indonesia, saving the orangutan from extinction and making a real impact on climate change. Armed with a laptop and a backpack, he sets out across the globe to find investors in his carbon trading scheme. It is a battle against time. Achmadi, the palm oil farmer is ready to set fire to his land to plant more palm oil, and Lone's orangutan centre has reached crisis point with over 600 orangutans rescued from the fires. The Burning Season is an eco-thriller about a young man not afraid to confront the biggest challenge of our time.

Wise words

As the RIBA HomeWise campaign continued, with its exhibition, debates, talks, and Future Homes Commission was taking evidence – the RIBA President asked four professionals to give their views on housing in the UK today and explain what they felt would make the biggest difference in the future: this included an interview with Martin Field from the Institute for Urban Affairs

Soybean Sowing Date: The Vegetative, Reproductive, and Agronomic Impacts

The sensitivity of soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] main stem node accrual to ambient temperature has been documented in greenhouse-grown plants but not with field-grown plants in the north-central United States. Biweekly V-node and R-stage, stem node number, internode length, and other traits were quantified in an irrigated split-plot, four-replicate, randomized complete block experiment conducted in Lincoln, NE, in 2003–2004. Main plots were early-, mid-, late- May, and mid-June sowing dates. Subplots were 14 cultivars of maturity groups 3.0 to 3.9. Node appearance was surprisingly linear from V1 to R5, despite the large increase in daily temperature from early May (10–15°C) to July (20–25°C). The 2003 and 2004 May planting date regressions exhibited near-identical slopes of 0.27 node d-1 (i.e., one node every 3.7 d). Cold-induced delays in germination and emergence did delay the V1 date (relative to planting date), so the primary effect of temperature was the V1 start date of linearity in node appearance. With one exception, earlier sowings led to more nodes (earlier V1 start dates) but also resulted in shorter internodes at nodes 3 to 9 (cooler coincident temperatures), thereby generating a curved response of plant height to delayed plantings. Delaying planting after 1 May led to significant linear seed yield declines of 17 kg ha-1 d-1 in 2003 and 43 kg ha-1 d-1in 2004, denoting the importance of early planting for capturing the yield potential available in soybean production, when moisture supply is not limiting

Riveting and Real - a family in the raw:(Re)visiting The Family (1974) after Reality TV

Paul Watson's 12-part documentary serial, The Family (BBC, 1974), focused on the lives of the working-class Wilkins family from Reading. Along with An American Family (PBS, 1973), The Family has been positioned as a landmark precursor to reality TV. Yet it has largely been referred to rather than analysed, and the potential relationship at work between `then' and `now' is often obscured. In seeking to (re)construct the popular reception of The Family, this article argues that it is particularly productive to `revisit' the Wilkinses right now, precisely because the growth of reality TV has led to an `opening up' of the traditional terrain of documentary studies. Drawing on new archival research, this article examines how discussion of the programme generated an expansive extratextual framework. This framework turned The Family into a cultural event, and it represents a crucial site for accessing its historical circulation — particularly with regard to discourses on `ordinary' people as television performers, and `ordinary' people turned television `stars'