Ultraviolet absorption: Experiment MA-059

A technique devised to permit the measurement of atmospheric species concentrations is described. This technique involves the application of atomic absorption spectroscopy and the quantitative observation of resonance fluorescence in which atomic or molecular species scatter resonance radiation from a light source into a detector. A beam of atomic oxygen and atomic nitrogen resonance radiation, strong unabsorbable oxygen and nitrogen radiation, and visual radiation was sent from Apollo to Soyuz. The density of atomic oxygen and atomic nitrogen between the two spacecraft was measured by observing the amount of resonance radiation absorbed when the line joining Apollo and Soyuz was perpendicular to their velocity with respect to the ambient atmosphere. Results of postflight analysis of the resonance fluorescence data are discussed

Exit plane H2O concentration measurements correlated with OH PLIF near-injector mixing measurements for scramjet flows

Mixing and combusting high enthalpy flows, similar to those encountered in scramjet engines, were investigated using a shock tunnel to produce the flow in conjunction with non-intrusive optical diagnostics which monitored the performance of two injector configurations. The shock tunnel is configured to produce Mach 3 flow and stagnation enthalpies corresponding to flight equivalent Mach numbers between 7 and 11. A pulsed hydrogen injection capability and interchangeable injector blocks provide a means of examining high speed, high enthalpy reacting flows. Planar laser induced fluorescence (PLIF) of OH molecules in the near injector region produced images which show the combusting and mixing zones for the reacting flow. Line-of-sight exit plane measurement of water concentration and temperature were used to provide a unique method of monitoring exit plane products. These results demonstrated that a velocity matched axial injection system produced a fuel jet that lifted off the floor of the duct. Mixing was observed to increase for this system as a velocity mismatch was introduced. Comparison of exit plane water concentrations for a wall jet injection system and a velocity matched injection system indicated similar mixing performance but an accurate pressure measurement is necessary to further validate the result. In addition, exit plane measurements indicated an approximate steady-state condition was achieved during the 1 to 2 ms test times

Many-Body Theory Calculations of Positron Scattering and Annihilation in H2_2, N2_2 and CH4_4

The recently developed ab initio many-body theory of positron molecule binding [J. Hofierka et al., Nature, 606, 688 (2022)] is combined with the shifted pseudostates method [A. R. Swann and G. F. Gribakin, Phys. Rev. A 101, 022702 (2020)] to calculate positron scattering and annihilation rates on small molecules, namely H$_2$, N$_2$ and CH$_4$. The important effects of positron-molecule correlations are delineated. The method provides uniformly good results for annihilation rates on all the targets, from the simplest (H$_2$, for which only a sole previous calculation agrees with experiment), to larger targets, where high-quality calculations have not been available.Comment: Main text and Supplemental Materia

Gaussian-basis many-body theory calculations of positron binding to negative ions and atoms

Positron binding energies in the negative ions H$^-$, F$^-$, Cl$^-$ and Br$^-$, and the closed-shell atoms Be, Mg, Zn and Ca, are calculated via a many-body theory approach developed by the authors [J.~Hofierka \emph{et al.} Nature~{\bf 608}, 688-693 (2022)]. Specifically, the Dyson equation is solved using a Gaussian basis, with the positron self energy constructed from three infinite classes of diagrams that account for the strong positron-atom correlations that characterise the system including the positron-induced polarization of the electron cloud, screening of the electron-positron Coulomb interaction, virtual-positronium formation and electron-hole and positron-hole interactions. For the negative ions, binding occurs at the static level of theory, and the correlations are found to enhance the binding energies by $\sim$25--50\%, yielding results in good agreement with ($\lesssim$5\% larger than) calculations from a number of distinct methods. For the atoms, for which binding is enabled exclusively by correlations, most notably virtual-Ps formation, the binding energies are found to be of similar order to (but $\sim$10--30\% larger than) relativistic coupled-cluster calculations of [C. Harabati, V.~A.~Dzuba and V.~V. Flambaum, Phys.~Rev.~A {\bf 89}, 022517 (2014)], both of which are systematically larger than stochastic variational calculations of [M.~Bromley and J.~Mitroy, Phys.~Rev.~A {\bf 73} (2005); J.~Mitroy, J.~At.~Mol.~Sci.~{\bf 1}, 275 (2010)]

A Role for Dorsal and Ventral Hippocampus in Inter-Temporal Choice Cost-Benefit Decision Making

Previous studies suggest a preferential role for dorsal hippocampus (dHPC) in spatial memory tasks, whereas ventral hippocampus (vHPC) has been implicated in aspects of fear and/or anxiety. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that vHPC may be a critical subregion for performance on a delay-based, cost-benefit decision making task. Rats chose between the two goal arms of a T maze, one containing an immediately available small reward, the other containing a larger reward that was only accessible after a delay. dHPC, vHPC, and complete hippocampal (cHPC) lesions all reduced choice of the delayed high reward (HR) in favor of the immediately available low reward (LR). The deficits were not due to a complete inability to remember which reward size was associated with which arm of the maze. When an equivalent 10-s delay was introduced in both goal arms, all rats chose the HR arm on nearly all trials. The deficit was, however, reinstated when the inequality was reintroduced. Our results suggest an important role for both dHPC and vHPC in the extended neural circuitry that underlies intertemporal choice

Variation in emergency percutaneous coronary intervention in ventilated patients in the UK: insights from a national database

Aims Pre-procedural ventilation is a marker of high risk in PCI patients. Causes include out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) and cardiogenic shock. OHCA occurs in approximately 60,000 patients in the UK per annum. No consensus exists regarding the need/timing of coronary angiography ± revascularization without ST elevation. The aim was to describe the national variation in the rate of emergency PCI in ventilated patients. Methods and Results Using the UK national database for PCI in 2013, we identified all procedures performed as ‘emergency’ or ‘salvage’ for whom ventilation had been initiated before the PCI. Of the 92,589 patients who underwent PCI, 1342 (5.5%) fulfilled those criteria. There was wide variation in practice. There was no demonstrable relationship between the number of emergency PCI patients with pre-procedure ventilation per annum and (i) total number of PPCIs in a unit (r = −0.186), and (ii) availability of 24 h PCI, (iii) on-site surgical cover. Conclusion We demonstrated a wide variation in practice across the UK in rates of pre-procedural ventilation in emergency PCI. The majority of individuals will have suffered an OHCA. In the absence of a plausible explanation for this discrepant practice, it is possible that (a) some patients presenting with OHCA that may benefit from revascularization are being denied treatment and (b) procedures may be being undertaken that are futile. Further prospective data are needed to aid in production of guidelines aiming at standardized care in OHCA

Crowd-Sourced Radio Science at Marshall Space Flight Center

August 21, 2017 provided a unique opportunity to investigate the effects of the total solar eclipse on high frequency (HF) radio propagation and ionospheric variability. In Marshall Space Flight Center's partnership with the US Space and Rocket Center (USSRC) and Austin Peay State University (APSU), we engaged citizen scientists and students in an investigation of the effects of an eclipse on the mid-latitude ionosphere. Activities included fieldwork and station-based data collection of HF Amateur Radio frequency bands and VLF radio waves before, during, and after the eclipse to build a continuous record of changing propagation conditions as the moon's shadow marched across the United States. Post-eclipse radio propagation analysis provided insights into ionospheric variability due to the eclipse

Mitigation and screening for environmental assessment

This article considers how, as a matter of law and policy, mitigation measures should be taken into account in determining whether a project will have significant environmental effects and therefore be subject to assessment under the EU Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Directive. This is not straightforward: it is problematic to distinguish clearly between an activity and the measures proposed to minimise or mitigate for the adverse consequences of the activity. The issue is a salient one in impact assessment law, but under-explored in the literature and handled with some difficulty by the courts. I argue that there is an unnecessarily and undesirably narrow approach currently taken under the EIA Directive, which could be improved upon by taking a more adaptive approach; alternatively a heightened standard of review of ‘significance’, and within this of the scope for mitigation measures to bring projects beneath the significance threshold, may also be desirable