Polarization properties and dispersion relations for spiral resonances of a dielectric rod

Dielectric microcavities based on cylindrical and deformed cylindrical shapes have been employed as resonators for microlasers. Such systems support spiral resonances with finite momentum along the cylinder axis. For such modes the boundary conditions do not separate and simple TM and TE polarization states do not exist. We formulate a theory for the dispersion relations and polarization properties of such resonances for an infinite dielectric rod of arbitrary cross-section and then solve for these quantities for the case of a circular cross-section (cylinder). Useful analytic formulas are obtained using the eikonal (Einstein-Brillouin-Keller) method which are shown to be excellent approximations to the exact results from the wave equation. The major finding is that the polarization of the radiation emitted into the far-field is linear up to a polarization critical angle (PCA) at which it changes to elliptical. The PCA always lies between the Brewster and total-internal-reflection angles for the dielectric, as is shown by an analysis based on the Jones matrices of the spiraling rays.Comment: submitted to JOSA

Helping the Noncompliant Child: An Assessment of Program Costs and Cost-Effectiveness

Disruptive behavior disorders (DBD) in children can lead to delinquency in adolescence and antisocial behavior in adulthood. Several evidence-based behavioral parent training (BPT) programs have been created to treat early onset DBD. This paper focuses on one such program, Helping the Noncompliant Child (HNC), and provides detailed cost estimates from a recently completed pilot study for the HNC program. The study also assesses the average cost-effectiveness of the HNC program by combining program cost estimates with data on improvements in child participants’ disruptive behavior. The cost and effectiveness estimates are based on implementation of HNC with low-income families. Investigators developed a Microsoft Excel-based costing instrument to collect data from therapists on their time spent delivering the HNC program. The instrument was designed using an activity-based costing approach, where each therapist reported program time by family, by date, and for each skill that the family was working to master. Combining labor and non-labor costs, it is estimated that delivering the HNC program costs an average of $501 per family from a payer perspective. It also costs an average of$13 to improve the Eyberg Child Behavior Inventory intensity score by 1 point for children whose families participated in the HNC pilot program. The cost of delivering the HNC program appears to compare favorably with the costs of similar BPT programs. These cost estimates are the first to be collected systematically and prospectively for HNC. Program managers may use these estimates to plan for the resources needed to fully implement HNC

Elevated CAIX Expression is Associated with an Increased Risk of Distant Failure in Early-Stage Cervical Cancer

Tumor hypoxia is associated with adverse outcome in many malignancies. The goal of this study was to determine if elevated expression of carbonic anhydrase IX (CAIX), a biomarker of hypoxia, predicts for recurrence in early-stage cervical cancer. The charts of all patients with early-stage cervical cancer, primarily FIGO IB, treated by radical hysterectomy at our institution from 1988–2001 were reviewed. Adequate pathologic specimens from patients who recurred or who had at least three years follow-up and remained disease-free were stained for CAIX. An immunohistochemical score (IHC) was generated from the extent/intensity of staining. Outcome, as measured by freedom from recurrence (FFR), distant metastases (FFDM) and local recurrence (FFLR), was analyzed as a function of age, IHC, lymph node status (LN) and histology. Forty-two relapsing patients and 76 non-relapsing patients were evaluated. In univariate analysis, +LN, though not IHC or histology, was a significant predictor of any recurrence. Both +LN and higher IHC were associated with decreased FFDM but not FFLR. Patients with both +LN and elevated IHC more frequently exhibited distant metastases as first site of failure (5-year FFDM 50%) than patients with only +LN, elevated IHC or neither feature (70, 85 and 95%, respectively, p = 0.0004). In multivariable analysis, only +LN was significantly associated with poorer FFDM (hazard ratio 4.6, p = 0.0015) though there was a strong trend with elevated CAIX expression (p = 0.069). Elevated CAIX expression is associated with more frequent distant metastases in early-stage cervical cancer, suggesting that patients with this characteristic may benefit from more aggressive treatment

Comparison of Trihalomethanes in Tap Water and Blood: A Case Study in the United States

Background: Epidemiological studies have used various measures to characterize trihalomethane (THM) exposures, but the relationship of these indicators to exposure biomarkers remains unclear

Major impacts of climate change on deep-sea benthic ecosystems

The deep sea encompasses the largest ecosystems on Earth. Although poorly known, deep seafloor ecosystems provide services that are vitally important to the entire ocean and biosphere. Rising atmospheric greenhouse gases are bringing about significant changes in the environmental properties of the ocean realm in terms of water column oxygenation, temperature, pH and food supply, with concomitant impacts on deep-sea ecosystems. Projections suggest that abyssal (3000–6000 m) ocean temperatures could increase by 1°C over the next 84 years, while abyssal seafloor habitats under areas of deep-water formation may experience reductions in water column oxygen concentrations by as much as 0.03 mL L–1 by 2100. Bathyal depths (200–3000 m) worldwide will undergo the most significant reductions in pH in all oceans by the year 2100 (0.29 to 0.37 pH units). O2 concentrations will also decline in the bathyal NE Pacific and Southern Oceans, with losses up to 3.7% or more, especially at intermediate depths. Another important environmental parameter, the flux of particulate organic matter to the seafloor, is likely to decline significantly in most oceans, most notably in the abyssal and bathyal Indian Ocean where it is predicted to decrease by 40–55% by the end of the century. Unfortunately, how these major changes will affect deep-seafloor ecosystems is, in some cases, very poorly understood. In this paper, we provide a detailed overview of the impacts of these changing environmental parameters on deep-seafloor ecosystems that will most likely be seen by 2100 in continental margin, abyssal and polar settings. We also consider how these changes may combine with other anthropogenic stressors (e.g., fishing, mineral mining, oil and gas extraction) to further impact deep-seafloor ecosystems and discuss the possible societal implications

2007 AAPP Monograph Series

The African American Professors Program (AAPP) at the University of South Carolina is proud to publish the seventh edition of its annual monograph series. Furthermore, it is an honor to celebrate the remarkable tenth anniversary of AAPP through these manuscripts. The program recognizes the significance of offering its scholars a venue to engage actively in research and publish papers related thereto. Parallel with the publication of their refereed manuscripts is the opportunity to gain visibility among scholars throughout institutions worldwide. Scholars who have contributed papers for this monograph are to be commended for adding this responsibility to their academic workload. Writing across disciplines adds to the intellectual diversity of these papers. From neophytes, relatively speaking, to an array of very experienced individuals, the chapters have been researched and comprehensively written. Founded in 1997 through the Department of Educational Leadership and Policies in the College of Education, AAPP was designed to address the underrepresentation of African American professors on college and university campuses. Its mission is to expand the pool of these professors in critical academic and research areas. Sponsored by the University of South Carolina, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, and the South Carolina General Assembly, the program recruits doctoral students for disciplines in which African Americans currently are underrepresented among faculty in higher education. The continuation of this monograph series is seen as responding to a window of opportunity to be sensitive to an academic expectation of graduates as they pursue career placement and, at the same time, one that allows for the dissemination of products to a broader community. The importance of this monograph series has been voiced by one of our 2002 AAPP graduates, Dr. Shundele LaTjuan Dogan, formerly an Administrative Fellow at Harvard University and a Program Officer for the Southern Education Foundation. She is currently a Program Officer for the Arthur M. Blank Foundation in Atlanta. Dr. Dogan wrote: One thing in particular that I want to thank you for is having the African American Professors Program scholars publish articles for the monograph. have to admit that writing the articles seemed like extra work at the time. However, in my recent interview process, organizations have asked me for samples of my writing. Including an article from a published monograph helped to make my portfolio much more impressive. You were \u27right on target\u27 in having us do the monograph series. (AAPP 2003 Monograph, p. xi) The African American Professors Program dedicates this 2007 tenth anniversary publication as a special contribution to its readership and hopes that each will be inspired by this interdisciplinary group of manuscripts. John McFadden, Ph.D. The Benjamin Elijah Mays Distinguished Professor Emeritus Director, African American Professors Program University of South Carolinahttps://scholarcommons.sc.edu/mcfadden_monographs/1009/thumbnail.jp

A Massive, Cooling-Flow-Induced Starburst in the Core of a Highly Luminous Galaxy Cluster

In the cores of some galaxy clusters the hot intracluster plasma is dense enough that it should cool radiatively in the cluster's lifetime, leading to continuous "cooling flows" of gas sinking towards the cluster center, yet no such cooling flow has been observed. The low observed star formation rates and cool gas masses for these "cool core" clusters suggest that much of the cooling must be offset by astrophysical feedback to prevent the formation of a runaway cooling flow. Here we report X-ray, optical, and infrared observations of the galaxy cluster SPT-CLJ2344-4243 at z = 0.596. These observations reveal an exceptionally luminous (L_2-10 keV = 8.2 x 10^45 erg/s) galaxy cluster which hosts an extremely strong cooling flow (dM/dt = 3820 +/- 530 Msun/yr). Further, the central galaxy in this cluster appears to be experiencing a massive starburst (740 +/- 160 Msun/yr), which suggests that the feedback source responsible for preventing runaway cooling in nearby cool core clusters may not yet be fully established in SPT-CLJ2344-4243. This large star formation rate implies that a significant fraction of the stars in the central galaxy of this cluster may form via accretion of the intracluster medium, rather than the current picture of central galaxies assembling entirely via mergers.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figures, 1 table. Supplemental material contains 15 additional pages. Published in Natur

The architecture of a probation office: a reflection of policy and an impact on practice

This article illustrates how the physicality of a probation office can be considered both integral to, and representative of, several important changes in the probation service’s recent history through analysis of research conducted in a probation office. I suggest that the relationship between the ‘protected’ zone of the office and the ‘unprotected’ zone of the waiting area and interview rooms is similar to Goffman’s ‘frontstage’ and ‘backstage’ and expand on his theory of social action by describing how the architecture of probation represents and potentially perpetuates the rise of risk, punishment and managerialism in probation. The article then moves onto the exterior and location of the office to look at how these represent probation’s move away from the communities it serves as well as inadvertently increasing the amount of punishment certain offenders receive. This has significant consequences if the policy of probation moves towards modes of practice which no longer prioritise standardisation and punishment over professional judgment and the importance of the offender-officer relationship and the article concludes by looking to some examples of more inclusive forms of office design and architecture