Parthenocissus quinquefolia (L.) Planch.

https://thekeep.eiu.edu/herbarium_specimens_byname/19440/thumbnail.jp

Viola pratincola Greene

https://thekeep.eiu.edu/herbarium_specimens_byname/20175/thumbnail.jp

Parthenocissus quinquefolia (L.) Planch.

https://thekeep.eiu.edu/herbarium_specimens_byname/19440/thumbnail.jp

Nothing-Extenuate-Nor-Set-Down-Aught-In-Malice - New Biographical Information On Aldridge,Ira

Englis

Temporal changes in outcome following intensive care unit treatment after traumatic brain injury : a 17-year experience in a large academic neurosurgical centre

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality. However, it remains undetermined whether long-term outcomes after TBI have improved over the past two decades. We conducted a retrospective analysis of consecutive TBI patients admitted to an academic neurosurgical ICU during 1999-2015. Primary outcomes of interest were 6-month all-cause mortality (available for all patients) and 6-month Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS, available from 2005 onwards). GOS was dichotomized to favourable and unfavourable functional outcome. Temporal changes in outcome were assessed using multivariate logistic regression analysis, adjusting for age, sex, GCS motor score, pupillary light responsiveness, Marshall CT classification and major extracranial injury. Altogether, 3193 patients were included. During the study period, patient age and admission Glasgow Coma Scale score increased, while the overall TBI severity did not change. Overall unadjusted 6-month mortality was 25% and overall unadjusted unfavourable outcome (2005-2015) was 44%. There was no reduction in the adjusted odds of 6-month mortality (OR 0.98; 95% CI 0.96-1.00), but the adjusted odds of favourable functional outcome significantly increased (OR 1.08; 95% CI 1.04-1.11). Subgroup analysis showed outcome improvements only in specific subgroups (conservatively treated patients, moderate-to-severe TBI patients, middle-aged patients). During the past two decades, mortality after significant TBI has remained largely unchanged, but the odds of favourable functional outcome have increased significantly in specific subgroups, implying an improvement in quality of care. These developments have been paralleled by notable changes in patient characteristics, emphasizing the importance of continuous epidemiological monitoring.Peer reviewe

Design of an electron microscope phase plate using a focused continuous-wave laser

We propose a Zernike phase contrast electron microscope that uses an intense laser focus to convert a phase image into a visible image. We present the relativistic quantum theory of the phase shift caused by the laser-electron-interaction, study resonant cavities for enhancing the laser intensity, and discuss applications in biology, soft materials science, and atomic and molecular physics.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

A significant hardening and rising shape detected in the MeV/GeV nuFnu spectrum from the recently-discovered very-high-energy blazar S4 0954+65 during the bright optical flare in 2015 February

We report on Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) and multi-wavelength results on the recently-discovered very-high-energy (VHE, $E>$ 100 GeV) blazar S4 0954+65 ($z=0.368$) during an exceptionally bright optical flare in 2015 February. During the time period (2015 February, 13/14, or MJD 57067) when the MAGIC telescope detected VHE $\gamma$-ray emission from the source, the Fermi-LAT data indicated a significant spectral hardening at GeV energies, with a power-law photon index of $1.8 \pm 0.1$---compared with the 3FGL value (averaged over four years of observation) of $2.34 \pm 0.04$. In contrast, Swift/XRT data showed a softening of the X-ray spectrum, with a photon index of $1.72 \pm 0.08$ (compared with $1.38 \pm 0.03$ averaged during the flare from MJD 57066 to 57077), possibly indicating a modest contribution of synchrotron photons by the highest-energy electrons superposed on the inverse Compton component. Fitting of the quasi-simultaneous ($<1$ day) broadband spectrum with a one-zone synchrotron plus inverse-Compton model revealed that GeV/TeV emission could be produced by inverse-Compton scattering of external photons from the dust torus. We emphasize that a flaring blazar showing high flux of $\gtrsim 1.0 \times 10^{-6}$ photons cm$^{-2}$ s$^{-1}$ ($E>$ 100 MeV) and a hard spectral index of $\Gamma_{\rm GeV} < 2.0$ detected by Fermi-LAT on daily time scales is a promising target for TeV follow-up by ground-based Cherenkov telescopes to discover high-redshift blazars, investigate their temporal variability and spectral features in the VHE band, and also constrain the intensity of the extragalactic background light.Comment: 15 pages, 3 figures, 2 tables. Accepted by PAS

Direct iminization of PEEK

Semi-crystalline poly(ether ketone)s are important high-temperature engineering thermoplastics, but are difficult to characterize at the molecular level because of their insolubility in conventional organic solvents. Here we report that polymers of this type, including PEEK, react cleanly at high temperatures with low-volatility aralkyl amines to afford stable, noncrystalline poly(ether-imine)s, which are readily soluble in solvents such as chloroform, THF and DMF and so characterizable by conventional size-exclusion chromatography