A lionfish (Pterois miles) invasion has begun in the Mediterranean Sea

Until now, few sightings of the alien lionfish Pterois miles have been reported in the Mediterranean and it was questionable whether the species could invade this region like it has in the western Atlantic. Here, we present evidence from divers and fishermen that lionfish have recently increased in abundance and within a year colonised almost the entire south eastern coast of Cyprus, likely due to sea surface warming. At least 23 different fish are reported of which 6 were removed. Groups of lionfish exhibiting mating behaviour have been noted for the first time in the Mediterranean. Managers need this information and should alert stakeholders to the potential ecological and socio-economic impacts that may arise from a lionfish invasion. Actions could involve incentives to engage divers and fishermen in lionfish removal programmes, as these have worked well at shallow depths in the Caribbean. Given that the Suez Canal has recently been widened and deepened, measures will need to be put in place to help prevent further invasion

Contextualising adverse events of special interest to characterise the baseline incidence rates in 24 million patients with COVID-19 across 26 databases: a multinational retrospective cohort study

BACKGROUND: Adverse events of special interest (AESIs) were pre-specified to be monitored for the COVID-19 vaccines. Some AESIs are not only associated with the vaccines, but with COVID-19. Our aim was to characterise the incidence rates of AESIs following SARS-CoV-2 infection in patients and compare these to historical rates in the general population. METHODS: A multi-national cohort study with data from primary care, electronic health records, and insurance claims mapped to a common data model. This study's evidence was collected between Jan 1, 2017 and the conclusion of each database (which ranged from Jul 2020 to May 2022). The 16 pre-specified prevalent AESIs were: acute myocardial infarction, anaphylaxis, appendicitis, Bell's palsy, deep vein thrombosis, disseminated intravascular coagulation, encephalomyelitis, Guillain- Barré syndrome, haemorrhagic stroke, non-haemorrhagic stroke, immune thrombocytopenia, myocarditis/pericarditis, narcolepsy, pulmonary embolism, transverse myelitis, and thrombosis with thrombocytopenia. Age-sex standardised incidence rate ratios (SIR) were estimated to compare post-COVID-19 to pre-pandemic rates in each of the databases. FINDINGS: Substantial heterogeneity by age was seen for AESI rates, with some clearly increasing with age but others following the opposite trend. Similarly, differences were also observed across databases for same health outcome and age-sex strata. All studied AESIs appeared consistently more common in the post-COVID-19 compared to the historical cohorts, with related meta-analytic SIRs ranging from 1.32 (1.05 to 1.66) for narcolepsy to 11.70 (10.10 to 13.70) for pulmonary embolism. INTERPRETATION: Our findings suggest all AESIs are more common after COVID-19 than in the general population. Thromboembolic events were particularly common, and over 10-fold more so. More research is needed to contextualise post-COVID-19 complications in the longer term. FUNDING: None

Absolute cross sections for elastic electron scattering from methylformamide

Elastic electron scattering from gaseous methylformamide (N-methylformamide, C 2H 5NO) has been investigated. Absolute elastic differential cross sections (DCSs) were determined both experimentally and theoretically for the incident energies from 50 to 300 eV. The measurements were performed using a cross-beam technique, for scattering angles from 20° to 110°. Relative elastic DCSs were measured as a function of both the angle and the incident energy and the absolute DCSs were determined using the relative flow method. The calculations of electron interaction cross sections are based on a corrected form of the independent-atom method, known as the SCAR (screen corrected additivity rule) procedure and using an improved quasifree absorption model. Calculated integral cross sections have been presented, as well, both for methylformamide and formamide, in the energy range 10-1000 eV, and discussed. The results are compared with and discussed regarding existing data for other small molecules representing building blocks of large biomolecules. © 2012 American Physical Society.The work was supported by the Ministry of Education and Science of Republic of Serbia (Project No. 171020) and Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion Project No FIS2009-10245, and motivated by the COST Action MP1002 (Nano-IBCT).Peer Reviewe

Absolute cross sections for elastic electron scattering from 3-hydroxytetrahydrofuran

The results of measurements and calculations of absolute cross sections for elastic electron scattering from the 3-hydroxytetrahydrofuran (3hTHF) (C 4H8O2) molecule are reported. The measurements were performed using a crossed beam experimental setup, for an incident electron energy range of 40-300eV and an overall scattering angle range of 10°-110°. Relative differential cross sections (DCSs) were measured both as a function of the angle and the incident energy and the absolute DCSs were determined using the relative flow technique. The calculations of molecular cross sections are based on a corrected form of the independent-atom method, known as the screen corrected additivity rule (SCAR) procedure and using an improved quasifree absorption model. Additional calculations are also done to investigate the influence of rotational excitations and low-angular behavior of SCAR DCSs. The calculated dataset includes differential, integral and total cross sections in the energy range from 5eV to 10000eV. The present results are discussed regarding the most recent low-energy elastic DCSs for 3hTHF (Vizcaino et al 2008 New J. Phys. 10 053002), as well as the recent DCSs for molecules of similar structure (tetrahydrofuran and tetrahydrofurfuryl alcohol). © IOP Publishing Ltd and Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft.This work has been partially supported by the Ministry of Science and Technological Development of Republic of Serbia under project 141011 and the Spanish Ministerio de Educacion y Ciencia (project BFM2003-04648/FISI) and motivated by research within COST Actions P9 ‘Radiation Damage in Biomolecular Systems’ and CM0601 ‘Electron Controlled Chemical Lithography (ECCL)’Peer Reviewe

Elastic electron scattering from formamide molecule

Elastic electron scattering from gaseous formamide (H2NCHO) has been investigated. Absolute elastic differential cross sections (DCSs) were determined both experimentally and theoretically. The measurements were performed using a cross beam technique, for the incident energies of 100, 150 and 300 eV and scattering angles from 20 degrees to 110 degrees. Relative elastic DCSs were measured as a function of the angle and the absolute DCSs were determined using the relative flow method. The calculations of electron interaction cross sections are based on a corrected form of the independent-atom method, known as the SCAR (screen corrected additivity rule) procedure and using an improved quasifree absorption model. Calculated results agree very well with the experiment. 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.The work was supported by the Ministry of Education and Science of Republic of Serbia (Project No. 181020) and Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación Project FIS2009-10245, and motivated by COST projects ECCL (CM0601) and Nano-IBCT(MP1002).Peer Reviewe

Absolute differential cross sections for elastic scattering of electrons from pyrimidine

7 pags. ; 3 figs. ; 1 tab.Differential cross sections DCSs for elastic scattering of electrons from pyrimidine C4 H4 N2 are presented for incident energies from 50 to 300 eV. The measurements were performed using a cross beam technique, for scattering angles from 20° to 110°. The relative DCSs were measured as a function of both the angle and incident energy and the absolute DCSs were determined using the relative flow method. The calculations of electron interaction cross sections are based on a corrected form of the independent-atom method, known as the screen corrected additivity rule procedure and using an improved quasifree absorption model. Calculated results agree very well with the experiment. ©2009 The American Physical SocietyThis work was supported through Project No. 141011 fi- nanced by the Ministry of Science and Technological Development of Republic of Serbia and the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion Project No. FISI2006-00702 . The present work was also motivated by research within COST Actions P9 “Radiation Damage in Biomolecular Systems” and CM0601 “Electron Controlled Chemical Lithography ECCL .”Peer reviewe

Absolute cross sections for electron scattering from furan

We report results of measurements and calculations of absolute cross sections for electron scattering from furan molecules (C 4H 4O). The experimental absolute differential cross sections (DCSs) for elastic electron scattering were obtained for the incident energies from 50 eV to 300 eV and for scattering angles from 20 to 110, by using a crossed electron-target beam setup and the relative flow technique for calibration to the absolute scale. The calculations of the electron interaction cross sections are based on a corrected form of the independent-atom method, known as the screening corrected additivity rule (SCAR) procedure and using an improved quasifree absorption model. The latter calculations also account for rotational excitations in the approximation of a free electric dipole and were used to obtain elastic DCSs as well as total and integral elastic cross sections which are tabulated in the energy range from 10 to 10 000 eV. All SCAR calculated cross sections agree very well with both the present and previously published experimental results. Additionally, calculations based on the first Born approximation were performed to calculate both elastic and vibrationally inelastic DCSs for all the modes of furane, in the energy range from 50 eV to 300 eV. The ratios of the summed vibrational to elastic DCSs are presented and discussed. Finally, the present results for furan are compared with previously published elastic DCSs for the tetrahydrofuran molecule and discussed. © 2012 American Institute of Physics.American Institute of Physics#Supported by the Ministry of Education and Science of Republic of Serbia (Project No. 171020) and Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación Project No. FIS2009-10245, and motivated by the COST Action MP1002 (Nano-IBCT). R.C. acknowledges support of the Czech Ministry of Education (Grant No. OC10046) and the Grant Agency of the Czech Republic (Grant No. P208/11/0452).Peer Reviewe

Electron scattering cross section calculations for polar molecules over a broad energy range

We report computational integral and differential cross sections for electron scattering by two different polar molecules, HCN and pyrimidine, over a broad energy range. We employ, for low energies, either the single-centre expansion (ePOLYSCAT) or the R-matrix method, while for the higher energies we select a corrected form of the independent-atom representation (IAM-SCAR). We provide complete sets of integral electron scattering cross sections from low energies up to 10,000 eV. Our present calculated data agree well with prior experimental results