In-situ X-ray structure measurements on aerodynamically levitated high temperature liquids

High energy, high flux X‐ray sources enable new measurements of liquid and amorphous materials in extreme conditions. Aerodynamic levitation in combination with laser beam heating can be used to access high purity and non‐equilibrium liquids at temperatures up to 3000 K. In this work, a small aerodynamic levitator was integrated with high energy beamline 11 ID‐C at the Advanced Photon Source. Scattered X‐rays were detected with a Mar345 image plate. The experiments investigated a series of binary in the CaO‐Al2O3, MgO‐SiO2, SiO2‐Al2O3 metal oxide compositions and pure SiO2. The results show that the liquids exhibit large changes in structure when the predominant network former is diluted. Measurements on glasses with the same compositions as the liquids suggest that significant structural rearrangement consistent with a fragile‐strong transition occurs in these reluctant glass forming liquids as they vitrify

Confronting strange stars with compact-star observations and new physics

Strange stars ought to exist in the universe according to the strange quark matter hypothesis, which states that matter made of roughly equal numbers of up, down, and strange quarks could be the true ground state of baryonic matter rather than ordinary atomic nuclei. Theoretical models of strange quark matter, such as the standard MIT bag model, the density-dependent quark mass model, or the quasi-particle model, however, appear to be unable to reproduce some of the properties (masses, radii and tidal deformabilities) of recently observed compact stars. This is different if alternative gravity theory (e.g., non-Newtonian gravity) or dark matter (e.g., mirror dark matter) are considered, which resolve these issues. The possible existence of strange stars could thus provide a clue to new physics, as discussed in this review.Comment: 26 pages, 11 figures. Review paper accepted for publication in Univers

Screening of New Microsatellite DNA Markers from the Genome of Platyeriocheir formosa

The catadromous Platyeriocheir formosa is a crab endemic in Taiwan. To conserve P. formosa population diversity and ensure the sustainable use of this natural resource, we have developed new genetic markers, 17 polymorphic microsatellite loci, to promote the study of its population genetics in the future. In this study, more than 70 microsatellite sequences were found. Among these, 18 loci were selected to analyze the genetic diversity of P. formosa. With the exception of the Pfo15 locus, all of the remaining loci were polymorphic with allelic numbers ranging from 3–14. Heterozygosity within all 17 polymorphic loci ranged from 0.2–0.95 with an average of 0.55, which suggested that these loci are proper markers for studying population genetics. After we tested cross-specific amplification, eight and six primer sets could be successfully used for the amplification of microsatellite loci in morphologically similar Eriocheir sinensis and E. japonica, respectively; this suggests that they are useful markers for closely related species

On the Nature of Star Formation at Large Galactic Radii

We have compared far-ultraviolet (FUV), near-ultraviolet (NUV), and Halpha measurements for star forming regions in 21 galaxies, in order to characterise the properties of their discs at radii beyond the main optical radius (R25). In our representative sample of extended and non-extended UV discs we find that half of the extended UV discs also exhibit extended Halpha emission. We find that extended UV discs fall into two categories, those with a sharp truncation in the Halpha disc close to the optical edge (R25), and those with extended emission in Halpha as well as in the ultraviolet. Although most galaxies with strong Halpha truncations near R25 show a significant corresponding falloff in UV emission (factor 10--100), the transition tends to be much smoother than in Halpha, and significant UV emission often extends well beyond this radius, confirming earlier results by Thilker et al. (2007) and others. After correcting for dust attenuation the median fraction of total FUV emission from regions outside of R25 is 1.7%, but it can be as high as 35% in the most extreme cases. The corresponding fractions of Halpha emission are approximately half as large on average. This difference reflects both a slightly lower ratio of Halpha to UV emission in the HII regions in the outer discs, as well as a lower fraction of star clusters showing HII regions. Most HII regions in the extended disc have fluxes consistent with small numbers of ionising O-type stars, and this poor sampling of the upper initial mass function in small clusters can probably account for the differences in the emission properties, consistent with earlier conclusions by Zaritsky & Christlein (2007), without needing to invoke a significant change in the stellar IMF itself. Consistent Ha/FUV ratios and brightest HII region to total Halpha fluxes in the inner and extended discs across our whole galaxy sample demonstrate no evidence for a change in the cluster luminosity function or the IMF in the low gas density outer disc.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS. 21 Pages, 13 Figures, 2 Table

Cost analysis of voriconazole versus liposomal amphotericin B for primary therapy of invasive aspergillosis among patients with haematological disorders in Germany and Spain

Background: The current healthcare climate demands pharmacoeconomic evaluations for different treatment strategies incorporating drug acquisition costs, costs incurred for hospitalisation, drug administration and preparation, diagnostic and laboratory testing and drug-related adverse events (AEs). Here we evaluate the pharmacoeconomics of voriconazole versus liposomal amphotericin B as first-line therapies for invasive aspergillosis (IA) in patients with haematological malignancy and prolonged neutropenia or who were undergoing haematopoietic stem-cell transplantation in Germany or Spain. Methods: A decision analytic model based on a decision tree was constructed to estimate the potential treatment costs of voriconazole versus liposomal amphotericin B. Each model pathway was defined by the probability of an event occurring and the costs of clinical outcomes. Outcome probabilities and cost inputs were derived from the published literature, clinical trials, expert panels and local database costs. In the base case, patients who failed to respond to first-line therapy were assumed to experience a single switch between comparator drugs or the other drug was added as second-line treatment. Base-case evaluation included only drug-management costs and additional hospitalisation costs due to severe AEs associated with first-and second-line therapies. Sensitivity analyses were conducted to assess the robustness of the results. Cost estimates were inflated to 2011 euros ((sic)). Results: Based on clinical trial success rates of 52.8% (voriconazole) and 50.0% (liposomal amphotericin B), voriconazole had lower total treatment costs compared with liposomal amphotericin B in both Germany ((sic)12,256 versus (sic)18,133; length of therapy [LOT] = 10-day intravenous [IV] + 5-day oral voriconazole and 15-day IV liposomal amphotericin B) and Spain ((sic)8,032 versus (sic)10,516; LOT = 7-day IV + 8-day oral voriconazole and 15-day IV liposomal amphotericin B). Assuming the same efficacy (50.0%) in first-line therapy, voriconazole maintained a lower total treatment cost compared with liposomal amphotericin B. Cost savings were primarily due to the lower drug acquisition costs and shorter IV LOT associated with voriconazole. Sensitivity analyses showed that the results were sensitive to drug price, particularly the cost of liposomal amphotericin B. Conclusions: Voriconazole is likely to be cost-saving compared with liposomal amphotericin B when used as a first-line treatment for IA in Germany and Spain

The Temporal Dynamics of Visual Attention in Processing Facial Emotion

In rapid serial visual presentation, identification of the second of two targets is impaired when it closely follows the first target. This phenomenon is known as the attentional blink (AB) effect. Awh and his colleagues (2004) found that face discrimination was immune to AB when performed together with a digit task. They proposed a multi-channel model in which digit processing utilizes a figure-based channel, leaving the configural-based channel available for face processing. We tested this model using a word discrimination task (assumed to occupy the feature-based channel) and a facial emotional discrimination task (assuming to occupy the configural-based channel). The emotional congruity between facial expressions and words (the word “angry” was paired with a happy face or with an angry face) was manipulated. We found a small but significant AB effect. The AB effect was observed even when non-emotional words (e.g., the word “berry”) were used. Our findings are inconsistent with the multi-channel model, suggesting that there is a structural limitation in processing successive visual objects

The Temporal Dynamics of Visual Attention in Processing Facial Emotion

In rapid serial visual presentation, identification of the second of two targets is impaired when it closely follows the first target. This attentional blink (AB) effect suggests limited capacity in processing successive visual stimuli in working memory. Awh et al. (2004) found that face identity Target 2 was immune to the AB when performed together with a digit Target 1. They proposed a mul$-channel model in which digit processing utilizes a featural channel, leaving the configural channel available for face processing. The present study examined whether the processing of facial emotion (via the configural channel) facilitates the bypassing of capacity limitations for a word (via the featural channel), producing no AB effects. We further examined whether AB effects will increase when Target-2 difficulty is increased (requiring more processing resources)