Lawson criterion for ignition exceeded in an inertial fusion experiment

For more than half a century, researchers around the world have been engaged in attempts to achieve fusion ignition as a proof of principle of various fusion concepts. Following the Lawson criterion, an ignited plasma is one where the fusion heating power is high enough to overcome all the physical processes that cool the fusion plasma, creating a positive thermodynamic feedback loop with rapidly increasing temperature. In inertially confined fusion, ignition is a state where the fusion plasma can begin "burn propagation" into surrounding cold fuel, enabling the possibility of high energy gain. While "scientific breakeven" (i.e., unity target gain) has not yet been achieved (here target gain is 0.72, 1.37 MJ of fusion for 1.92 MJ of laser energy), this Letter reports the first controlled fusion experiment, using laser indirect drive, on the National Ignition Facility to produce capsule gain (here 5.8) and reach ignition by nine different formulations of the Lawson criterion

Scanning Laser Ophthalmoscopy (SLO)

Since the first scanning laser ophthalmoscope (SLO) was introduced in the early 1980s, this imaging technique has been adapted and optimized for various clinical applications based on different contrast mechanism. Reflectance imaging, where the back scattered light is detected, is widely used for eye tracking and as reference image for OCT applications. But also the reflectance modality itself has several important diagnostic applications: laser scanning tomography (SLT), imaging with different laser wavelengths (Multicolor contrast) and others. Fluorescence imaging channels with different excitation wavelengths were introduced to SLOs for angiography, i.e. for the visualization of the vascular system after intravenously injecting an appropriate dye, as well as for autofluorescence imaging of endogenous fluorophores within the retina

Identifying Design Requirements of a User-Centered Research Data Management System

Research data repositories perform many useful functions, the key ones being the storage of research datasets, and making the same discoverable for potential reuse. Over the years, various criteria for assessing the user-centeredness of information systems have been developed and standards have gradually been improved. However, there has been less development in case of re-search data management (RDM) systems. By means of a combination of user-focused research methods viz. questionnaire surveys, face-to-face interviews, a systematic appraisal of existing services and a technical experiment, we have sought to understand the meaning of user-centeredness pertaining to research data repositories, and identify some key indicators of it. We have furthermore translated our findings into design requirements based on which we propose to develop and test a prototype of a user-centered RDM system. This paper reports on how we identified the design requirements that would make the RDM systems more user-centered

Functional Impairments at School Age of Children With Necrotizing Enterocolitis or Spontaneous Intestinal Perforation

We aimed to determine motor, cognitive, and behavioral outcome at school age of children who had either necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) or spontaneous intestinal perforation (SIP). This case-control study included infants with NEC Bell's stage IIA onward, infants with SIP, and matched controls (1996-2002). At school age, we assessed motor skills, intelligence, visual perception, visuomotor integration, verbal memory, attention, behavior, and executive functions. Of 93 infants with NEC or SIP, 28 (30%) died. We included 52 of 65 survivors for follow-up. At mean age of 9 y, we found that 68% of the children had borderline or abnormal scores on the Movement Assessment Battery for Children (versus 45% of controls). Their mean total intelligence quotient (IQ) was 86 +/- 14 compared with 97 +/- 9 in the controls. In addition, attention and visual perception were affected (p <0.01 and p = 0.02). In comparison to controls, surgically treated children were at highest risk for adverse outcome. In conclusion, at school age, the motor functions and intelligence of many children with NEC or SIP were borderline or abnormal and, specifically, attention and visual perception were impaired. Children with NEC or SIP form a specific risk group for functional impairments at school age even though the majority does not have overt brain pathology. (Pediatr Res 70: 619-625, 2011