Asphaltene detection using Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS)

Peer reviewedPostprin

Visualising transformative spaces for education: a focus on lecture halls, computer rooms and studios

One room, three learning spaces for creative education. This image-led investigation shows how a standard blank room can be effectively transformed into three different kinds of learning environments: a lecture hall, a computer room and a studio. Research has shown that effective design of teaching spaces is beneficial to the learning experience and contributes to creating a more engaging relationship between teachers and learners. On the other hand, few visual resources have been produced to support this in the UK. This article seeks to fill this gap. The design of these classrooms applies Basye’s idea of campfire to stimulate and support interaction between teachers and learners. In particular, these visuals show how technology can improve the students’ experience of the lecture hall, provide adequate lighting, personal space and drawing devices in the computer room, and finally how gathering in a circle may replicate the benefits of campfires in the studio

Searching for Exosatellites Orbiting L and T Dwarfs: Connecting Planet Formation to Moon Formation and Finding New Temperate Worlds

L-type and T-type dwarfs span the boundaries between main-sequence stars, brown dwarfs, and planetary-mass objects. For these reasons, L and T dwarfs are the perfect laboratories for exploring the relationship between planet formation and moon formation, and evidence suggests they may be swarming with close-in rocky satellites, though none have been found to date. The discovery of satellites orbiting L or T dwarfs will have transformative implications for the nature of planets, moons and even life in the Universe. These transiting satellites will be prime targets for characterization with NASA's James Webb Space Telescope. In this white paper, we discuss the scientific motivations behind searching for transiting satellites orbiting L and T dwarfs and argue that robotizing current 1-to-2-meter US optical/infrared (O/IR) facilities and equipping them with recently developed low-cost infrared imagers will enable these discoveries in the next decade. Furthermore, robotizing the 1-to-2-meter O/IR fleet is highly synergistic with rapid follow-up of transient and multi-messenger events.Comment: Science white paper submitted to the Astro 2020 Decadal Survey on Astronomy and Astrophysic

Properties of nonaqueous electrolytes Sixth summary report, 20 Sep. 1967 - 19 Mar. 1968

Physical properties and structural studies on propylene carbonate, dimethyl formamide, and acetonitrile solvent electrolyte

Effect of MUC16 Blockade using the Humanized AR9.6 Antibody in Patient Derived Organoid Models of PDAC

Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma (PDAC) represents nearly 90% of all pancreatic cancer cases. 49,830 of the 62,210 patients diagnosed in 2022 are estimated to succumb to the malignancy. Early diagnosis of the disease is uncommon as most patients present with symptoms when the cancer is late-stage and metastatic. This decreases the likelihood of successful surgical resection and increases the dependency on standard of care chemotherapy leads to which is met with therapeutic resistance, demonstrated by the 5-year post-diagnosis survival rate of a mere 11.5%. Mucin-16, a heavy glycosylated transmembrane protein is overexpressed in more than 65% PDAC cases. AR9.6 is an anti-MUC16 antibody that has been recently humanized after evidence of its therapeutic potential was found in an orthotopic study utilizing the murine version of the antibody. The HuAR9.6 antibody efficiently binds MUC16 expressed on tumor cells, and can both inhibit downstream oncogenic signaling and elicit tumor killing by signaling the immune system to the tumor. In this project, we used RNA sequencing to evaluate the MUC16 mediated transcriptomic changes by using the humanized AR9.6 antibody in patient-derived organoid models of PDAC. To begin this study, organoids were developed using tumor cells from a primary PDAC tumor with a high MUC16 profile obtained from rapid autopsy patient #142 from the Rapid Autopsy Program at UNMC. The organoids were then treated in triplicates using a monoclonal antibody HuIgG as an isotype control due to its lack of specificity, and the test arm of study, HuAR9.6. These samples were treated with 40 ug/mL of the antibodies for a 24-hour period, post which RNA isolation was performed. RNA sequencing and subsequent Gene Ontology and KEGG enrichment analysis revealed a downregulation of genes involved in the Hippo signaling pathway, fat digestion and absorption and TGF-β signaling. Based on this gene expression profiling, we hypothesize that HuAR9.6 can slow tumor progression by downregulating the Hippo and TGF-β signaling pathways. In the future, we aim to robustly validate these results at the level of the proteome and assess if these results can be reproduced in multiple patient samples with the hope to translate this antibody to the clinic to be used in PDAC patients who have a high MUC16 expression.https://digitalcommons.unmc.edu/surp2022/1038/thumbnail.jp

DCT astrometry of very low-mass stars

Very low-mass stars (VLMs) are the smallest, least luminous stars in our galaxy, but nonetheless form one of the dominant (baryonic) populations. Precise distances and kinematics of VLMs can provide constraints on the smallest extremes of star formation, as well as important boundary constraints on the star formation process in general. We present preliminary results from a program to measure parallaxes and proper motions for a nearby sample of VLMs using the Large Monolithic Imager at the 4.3m Discovery Channel Telescope. These measurements will complement Gaia observations and allow us to construct high quality luminosity and mass functions, which will help to distinguish between VLM formation scenarios.http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2016csss.confE..36SPublished versio

Proper motions and parallaxes of very low-mass stars using DCT astrometry

Very low-mass stars (VLMs) are the smallest, least luminous stars in our galaxy, but nonetheless form one of the dominant (baryonic) populations. Precise distances and kinematics of VLMs can provide constraints on the smallest extremes of star formation, as well as important boundary constraints on the star formation process in general. However, Gaia will only be ~70% complete at the faint magnitudes of these objects. We present preliminary results from a program to measure parallaxes and proper motions for a nearby sample of 85 VLMs using the Large Monolithic Imager at the 4.3m Discovery Channel Telescope. We present proper motions for the entire sample and preliminary parallaxes for a few sources. These measurements will complement Gaia observations and allow us to construct high quality luminosity and mass functions, which will help to distinguish between VLM formation scenarios.http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2017AAS...22912605SPublished versio

Quantum Dynamics of a Bose Superfluid Vortex

We derive a fully quantum-mechanical equation of motion for a vortex in a 2-dimensional Bose superfluid, in the temperature regime where the normal fluid density $\rho_n(T)$ is small. The coupling between the vortex "zero mode" and the quasiparticles has no term linear in the quasiparticle variables -- the lowest-order coupling is quadratic. We find that as a function of the dimensionless frequency $\tilde \Omega = \hbar \Omega/k_BT$, the standard Hall-Vinen/Iordanskii equations are valid when $\tilde \Omega \ll 1$ (the "classical regime"), but elsewhere, the equations of motion become highly retarded, with significant experimental implications when $\tilde \Omega \gtrsim 1$.Comment: 12 pages (4 pages + supp info), 2 figures, accepted to PR

The Role of Organic Carbon in the Southern Uplands-Down-Longford Terrane Accretionary Prism, Scotland and Ireland

Fluid inclusions were measured by M. Baron. Electron Microscopy was performed with the help of J. Still in the ACEMAC Facility at the University of Aberdeen. Skilled technical support was also provided by J. Johnston & C. Taylor. P. Carey and A. Lings assisted field sampling. The manuscript benefitted from careful reviews by I. Scotchman and W. Meredith. The research was partly supported by NERC grant NE/T003677/1.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

The Cochrane 2018 review on brief interventions in primary care for hazardous and harmful alcohol consumption: a distillation for clinicians and policy makers

Aims An updated Cochrane systematic review assessed effectiveness of screening and brief intervention to reduce hazardous or harmful alcohol consumption in general practice or emergency care settings. This paper summarises the implications of the review for clinicians. Methods Cochrane methods were followed. Reporting accords with PRISMA guidance. We searched multiple resources to September 2017, seeking randomised controlled trials of brief interventions to reduce hazardous or harmful alcohol consumption in people attending general practice, emergency care or other primary care settings for reasons other than alcohol treatment. Brief intervention was defined as a conversation comprising five or fewer sessions of brief advice or brief lifestyle counselling and a total duration of less than 60 min. Our primary outcome was alcohol consumption, measured as or convertible to grams per week. We conducted meta-analyses to assess change in consumption, and subgroup analyses to explore the impact of participant and intervention characteristics. Results We included 69 studies, of which 42 were added for this update. Most studies (88%) compared brief intervention to control. The primary meta-analysis included 34 studies and provided moderate-quality evidence that brief intervention reduced consumption compared to control after one year (mean difference −20 g/wk, 95% confidence interval −28 to −12). Subgroup analysis showed a similar effect for men and women. Conclusions Brief interventions can reduce harmful and hazardous alcohol consumption in men and women. Short, advice-based interventions may be as effective as extended, counselling-based interventions for patients with harmful levels of alcohol use who are presenting for the first time in a primary care setting