Cooper pair islanding model of insulating nanohoneycomb films

We first review evidence for the Cooper pair insulator (CPI) phase in amorphous nanohoneycomb (NHC) films. We then extend our analysis of superconducting islands induced by film thickness variations in NHC films to examine the evolution of island sizes through the magnetic field-driven SIT. Finally, using the islanding picture, we present a plausible model for the appearance and behavior of the CPI phase in amorphous NHC films

A Novel and Rapid Staphylococcus aureus Bacterial Identification Method Utilizing ImmunoMagnetic Beads and Single Cell Laser-Light Scattering

Staphylococcus aureus is the most commonly isolated human associated bacterial pathogen. It plays an important role in skin and soft-tissue infections, pneumonia, endocarditis, osteomyelitis, foreign-body infections, and sepsis. S. aureus diagnosis and treatment requires a minimum of 24-48. With this in mind, previous studies suggest that faster pathogen identification has been linked to improved patient outcomes. Improved patient outcomes including a reduction in hospitalization time, decreased risk of nosocomial infections, and decreased in medical costs. The impact of faster identification on patient outcome has led us to develop an alternative method of S. aureus identification via ImmunoMagnetic Separation (IMS) and laser-light scattering identification technology. With this method, we hypothesized that anti-Protein A conjugated to magnetic DynaBeads could bind to surface Protein A on S. aureus from swab sample and facilitate their isolation upon exposure to a magnetic field within a 4-8 hour procedure. S. aureus cells isolated by IMS would then be accurately identified using laser-light scattering technology in less than 5 minutes. MIT identification accuracy analysis was conducted and displayed that both laboratory and clinical Staphylococcus species strains identified at a rate greater than 95% and negative control strains identified at a rate less than 1%. Our developed methods displayed statistically significant (P \u3c 0.001) specificity for S. aureus and capture efficiency greater than 80%. The combination of IMS and laser-light identification gives a rapid and accurate identification in less than 8 hours, which is significantly less than traditional culture based identification methods

Shawna Hollen, Assistant Professor, Physics (CEPS) travel to Switzerland

Professor Hollen traveled to Switzerland to take advantage of an opportunity to do hands-on work in a colleague\u27s lab at Universität Zürich and to present at the international conference Graphene 2019 in Italy

Cooper pair islanding model of insulating nanohoneycomb films

We first review evidence for the Cooper pair insulator (CPI) phase in amorphous nanohoneycomb (NHC) films. We then extend our analysis of superconducting islands induced by film thickness variations in NHC films to examine the evolution of island sizes through the magnetic field-driven SIT. Finally, using the islanding picture, we present a plausible model for the appearance and behavior of the CPI phase in amorphous NHC films.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figure

Effect of Historic Milldam Density on Current Water Quality Indicators in a Portion of the Chesapeake Bay Watershed

Suspended sediment, nitrogen, and phosphorus are a significant source of pollution in the Chesapeake Bay, and levels of these pollutants in the watershed’s streams and rivers are concerning. Traditional approaches to reducing sediment and nutrient loads have focused primarily on upland soil erosion, but often fail to include in-stream processes like bank erosion. It has recently been shown that in the North American Piedmont geographical region, historic sediment that accumulated behind milldams in the 18th and 19th centuries, referred to as legacy sediment, is an underestimated source of sediments in the Chesapeake Bay. Breached dams result in altered stream structures that exacerbate bank erosion and erosion of legacy sediment. In this study, I aimed to examine the relationship between historic milldam density in a watershed and the current water quality leaving the watershed. I expected to find positive correlations with watersheds with higher milldam densities having higher current levels of suspended sediment, total nitrogen, and total phosphorus. Watersheds were constructed using ArcMap software based on USGS stream gauge stations in Pennsylvania and Maryland in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Milldam density for each of these watersheds was calculated as number of dams per hectare, and linear regression analyses were run for each of the water quality variables. No statistically significant results were found for the 14 studied watersheds. More research is needed to determine whether there is a relationship between historic milldam density and current water quality indicators