Nuclear Structure Studies of Light-Mass Radon Isotopes Using the 209-Bi(6-Li,xnγ) Reactions

This work was supported by National Science Foundation Grant PHY 75-00289 and Indiana Universit

Herd-level risk factors of bovine tuberculosis in England and Wales after the 2001 foot-and-mouth disease epidemic

We present the results of a 2005 case–control study of bovine tuberculosis (bTB) breakdowns in English and Welsh herds. The herd management, farming practices, and environmental factors of 401matched pairs of case and control herds were investigated to provide a picture of herd-level risk factors in areas of varying bTB incidence. A global conditional logistic regression model, with region-specific variants, was used to compare case herds that had experienced a confirmed bTB breakdown to contemporaneous control herds matched on region, herd type, herd size, and parish testing interval. Contacts with cattle from contiguous herds and sourcing cattle from herds with a recent history of bTB were associated with an increased risk in both the global and regional analyses. Operating a farm over several premises, providing cattle feed inside the housing, and the presence of badgers were also identified as significantly associated with an increased bTB risk. Steps taken to minimize cattle contacts with neighboring herds and altering trading practices could have the potential to reduce the size of the bTB epidemic. In principle, limiting the interactions between cattle and wildlife may also be useful; however this study did not highlight any specific measures to implement

Counterfactual Thinking and Entrepreneurial Self‐Efficacy: The Moderating Role of Self‐Esteem and Dispositional Affect

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/97291/1/etap472.pd

An integrated portable system for single chip simultaneous measurement of multiple disease associated metabolites

Metabolites, the small molecules that underpin life, can act as indicators of the physiological state of the body when their abundance varies, offering routes to diagnosis of many diseases. The ability to assay for multiple metabolites simultaneously will underpin a new generation of precision diagnostic tools. Here, we report the development of a handheld device based on complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology with multiple isolated micro-well reaction zones and integrated optical sensing allowing simultaneous enzyme-based assays of multiple metabolites (choline, xanthine, sarcosine and cholesterol) associated with multiple diseases. These metabolites were measured in clinically relevant concentration range with minimum concentrations measured: 25 μM for choline, 100 μM for xanthine, 1.25 μM for sarcosine and 50 μM for cholesterol. Linking the device to an Android-based user interface allows for quantification of metabolites in serum and urine within 2 min of applying samples to the device. The quantitative performance of the device was validated by comparison to accredited tests for cholesterol and glucose

Research priorities for the management of complex fractures: a UK priority setting partnership with the James Lind Alliance

Objective: To determine research priorities for the management of complex fractures, which represent the shared priorities of patients, their families, carers and healthcare professionals. Design/setting A national (UK) research priority setting partnership. Participants: People who have experienced a complex fracture, their carers and relatives, and relevant healthcare professionals and clinical academics involved in treating patients with complex fractures. The scope includes open fractures, fractures to joints broken into multiple pieces, multiple concomitant fractures and fractures involving the pelvis and acetabulum. Methods: A multiphase priority setting exercise was conducted in partnership with the James Lind Alliance over 21 months (October 2019 to June 2021). A national survey asked respondents to submit their research uncertainties which were then combined into several indicative questions. The existing evidence was searched to ensure that the questions had not already been sufficiently answered. A second national survey asked respondents to prioritise the research questions. A final shortlist of 18 questions was taken to a stakeholder workshop, where a consensus was reached on the top 10 priorities. Results: A total of 532 uncertainties, submitted by 158 respondents (including 33 patients/carers) were received during the initial survey. These were refined into 58 unique indicative questions, of which all 58 were judged to be true uncertainties after review of the existing evidence. 136 people (including 56 patients/carers) responded to the interim prioritisation survey and 18 questions were taken to a final consensus workshop between patients, carers and healthcare professionals. At the final workshop, a consensus was reached for the ranking of the top 10 questions. Conclusions: The top 10 research priorities for complex fracture include questions regarding rehabilitation, complications, psychological support and return to life-roles. These shared priorities will now be used to guide funders and teams wishing to research complex fractures over the coming decade

Metamorphosis and Taxonomy of Andreev Bound States

We analyze the spatial and energy dependence of the local density of states in a SNS junction. We model our system as a one-dimensional tight-binding chain which we solve exactly by numerical diagonalization. We calculate the dependence of the Andreev bound states on position, phase difference, gate voltage, and coupling with the superconducting leads. Our results confirm the physics predicted by certain analytical approximations, but reveal a much richer set of phenomena beyond the grasp of these approximations, such as the metamorphosis of the discrete states of the normal link (the normal bound states) into Andreev bound states as the leads become superconducting.Comment: 23 pages, 15 figure

Indirect measurements of neutron-induced reaction cross sections at storage rings

Neutron-induced reaction cross sections of unstable nuclei are essential for understanding the synthesis of heavy elements in stars. However, their measurement is very difficult due to the radioactivity of the targets involved. We propose to circumvent this problem by using for the first time the surrogate reaction method in inverse kinematics at heavy-ion storage rings. In this contribution, we describe the developments we have done to perform surrogate-reaction studies at the storage rings of GSI/FAIR. In particular, we present the first results of the proof of principle experiment, which we conducted recently at the Experimental Storage Ring (ESR)

Four simple recommendations to encourage best practices in research software [version 1; referees: awaiting peer review]

Scientific research relies on computer software, yet software is not always developed following practices that ensure its quality and sustainability. This manuscript does not aim to propose new software development best practices, but rather to provide simple recommendations that encourage the adoption of existing best practices. Software development best practices promote better quality software, and better quality software improves the reproducibility and reusability of research. These recommendations are designed around Open Source values, and provide practical suggestions that contribute to making research software and its source code more discoverable, reusable and transparent. This manuscript is aimed at developers, but also at organisations, projects, journals and funders that can increase the quality and sustainability of research software by encouraging the adoption of these recommendations. Keyword

Solar Cycle and Long‐Term Trends in the Observed Peak of the Meteor Altitude Distributions by Meteor Radars

The mesosphere/lower thermosphere (MLT, 80–100 km) region is an important boundary between Earth's atmosphere below and space above and may act as a sensitive indicator for anthropogenic climate change. Existing observational and modeling studies have shown the middle atmosphere and the MLT is cooling and contracting because of increasing greenhouse gas emissions. However, trend analyses are highly sensitive to the time periods covered, their length, and the measurement type and methodology used. We present for the first time the linear and 11-year solar cycle responses in the meteor ablation altitude distributions observed by 12 meteor radars at different locations. Decreasing altitudes were seen at all latitudes (linear trends varying from −10.97 to −817.95 m dec−1), and a positive correlation with solar activity was seen for most locations. The divergence of responses at high latitudes indicates an important and complex interplay between atmospheric changes and dynamics at varying time scales