Assembly of hard spheres in a cylinder: a computational and experimental study

Hard spheres are an important benchmark of our understanding of natural and synthetic systems. In this work, colloidal experiments and Monte Carlo simulations examine the equilibrium and out-of-equilibrium assembly of hard spheres of diameter $\sigma$ within cylinders of diameter $\sigma\leq D\leq 2.82\sigma$. Although in such a system phase transitions formally do not exist, marked structural crossovers are observed. In simulations, we find that the resulting pressure-diameter structural diagram echoes the densest packing sequence obtained at infinite pressure in this range of $D$. We also observe that the out-of-equilibrium self-assembly depends on the compression rate. Slow compression approximates equilibrium results, while fast compression can skip intermediate structures. Crossovers for which no continuous line-slip exists are found to be dynamically unfavorable, which is the source of this difference. Results from colloidal sedimentation experiments at high P\'eclet number are found to be consistent with the results of fast compressions, as long as appropriate boundary conditions are used. The similitude between compression and sedimentation results suggests that the assembly pathway does not here sensitively depend on the nature of the out-of-equilibrium dynamics.Comment: 11 pages, 8 figures and 63 reference

The effect of time constraint on anticipation, decision making, and option generation in complex and dynamic environments

Researchers interested in performance in complex and dynamic situations have focused on how individuals predict their opponent(s) potential courses of action (i.e., during assessment) and generate potential options about how to respond (i.e., during intervention). When generating predictive options, previous research supports the use of cognitive mechanisms that are consistent with long-term working memory (LTWM) theory (Ericsson and Kintsch in Phychol Rev 102(2):211–245, 1995; Ward et al. in J Cogn Eng Decis Mak 7:231–254, 2013). However, when generating options about how to respond, the extant research supports the use of the take-the-first (TTF) heuristic (Johnson and Raab in Organ Behav Hum Decis Process 91:215–229, 2003). While these models provide possible explanations about how options are generated in situ, often under time pressure, few researchers have tested the claims of these models experimentally by explicitly manipulating time pressure. The current research investigates the effect of time constraint on option-generation behavior during the assessment and intervention phases of decision making by employing a modified version of an established option-generation task in soccer. The results provide additional support for the use of LTWM mechanisms during assessment across both time conditions. During the intervention phase, option-generation behavior appeared consistent with TTF, but only in the non-time-constrained condition. Counter to our expectations, the implementation of time constraint resulted in a shift toward the use of LTWM-type mechanisms during the intervention phase. Modifications to the cognitive-process level descriptions of decision making during intervention are proposed, and implications for training during both phases of decision making are discussed

The Replication Argument for Incompatibilism

In this paper, I articulate an argument for incompatibilism about moral responsibility and determinism. My argument comes in the form of an extended story, modeled loosely on Peter van Inwagen’s “rollback argument” scenario. I thus call it “the replication argument.” As I aim to bring out, though the argument is inspired by so-called “manipulation” and “original design” arguments, the argument is not a version of either such argument—and plausibly has advantages over both. The result, I believe, is a more convincing incompatibilist argument than those we have considered previously

Quality of life at the end of life

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Little is known about self-perceived quality of life (QOL) near the end of life, because such information is difficult to collect and to interpret. Here, we describe QOL in the weeks near death and determine correlates of QOL over time, with emphasis on accounting for death and missing data.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Data on QOL were collected approximately every week in an ongoing randomized trial involving persons at the end of life. We used these data to describe QOL in the 52 weeks after enrollment in the trial (prospective analysis, N = 115), and also in the 10 weeks just prior to death (retrospective analysis, N = 83). The analysis consisted of graphs and regressions that accounted explicitly for death and imputed missing data.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>QOL was better than expected until the final 3 weeks of life, when a terminal drop was observed. Gender, race, education, cancer, and baseline health status were not significantly related to the number of “weeks of good-quality life” (WQL) during the study period. Persons younger than 60 had significantly higher WQL than older persons in the prospective analysis, but significantly lower WQL in the retrospective analysis. The retrospective results were somewhat sensitive to the imputation model.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>In this exploratory study, QOL was better than expected in persons at the end of life, but special interventions may be needed for persons approaching a premature death, and also for the last 3 weeks of life. Our descriptions of the trajectory of QOL at the end of life may help other investigators to plan and analyze future studies of QOL. Methodology for dealing with death and the high amount of missing data in longitudinal studies at the end of life needs further investigation.</p

FIRE (facilitating implementation of research evidence) : a study protocol

Research evidence underpins best practice, but is not always used in healthcare. The Promoting Action on Research Implementation in Health Services (PARIHS) framework suggests that the nature of evidence, the context in which it is used, and whether those trying to use evidence are helped (or facilitated) affect the use of evidence. Urinary incontinence has a major effect on quality of life of older people, has a high prevalence, and is a key priority within European health and social care policy. Improving continence care has the potential to improve the quality of life for older people and reduce the costs associated with providing incontinence aids

Long decay length of magnon-polarons in BiFeO3/La0.67Sr0.33MnO3 heterostructures

Long-distance magnon transport is highly desired for magnonics. Here, the authors demonstrate a millimetre-long magnon decay length in multiferroic heterostructures, which is attributed to magnon-polarons induced by the magnetoelastic coupling. Magnons can transfer information in metals and insulators without Joule heating, and therefore are promising for low-power computation. The on-chip magnonics however suffers from high losses due to limited magnon decay length. In metallic thin films, it is typically on the tens of micrometre length scale. Here, we demonstrate an ultra-long magnon decay length of up to one millimetre in multiferroic/ferromagnetic BiFeO3(BFO)/La0.67Sr0.33MnO3(LSMO) heterostructures at room temperature. This decay length is attributed to a magnon-phonon hybridization and is more than two orders of magnitude longer than that of bare metallic LSMO. The long-distance modes have high group velocities of 2.5 km s(-1) as detected by time-resolved Brillouin light scattering. Numerical simulations suggest that magnetoelastic coupling via the BFO/LSMO interface hybridizes phonons in BFO with magnons in LSMO to form magnon-polarons. Our results provide a solution to the long-standing issue on magnon decay lengths in metallic magnets and advance the bourgeoning field of hybrid magnonics

Analysis of BAC-end sequences in rainbow trout: Content characterization and assessment of synteny between trout and other fish genomes

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Rainbow trout (<it>Oncorhynchus mykiss</it>) are cultivated worldwide for aquaculture production and are widely used as a model species to gain knowledge of many aspects of fish biology. The common ancestor of the salmonids experienced a whole genome duplication event, making extant salmonids such as the rainbow trout an excellent model for studying the evolution of tetraploidization and re-diploidization in vertebrates. However, the lack of a reference genome sequence hampers research progress for both academic and applied purposes. In order to enrich the genomic tools already available in this species and provide further insight on the complexity of its genome, we sequenced a large number of rainbow trout BAC-end sequences (BES) and characterized their contents.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A total of 176,485 high quality BES, were generated, representing approximately 4% of the trout genome. BES analyses identified 6,848 simple sequence repeats (SSRs), of which 3,854 had high quality flanking sequences for PCR primers design. The first rainbow trout repeat elements database (INRA RT rep1.0) containing 735 putative repeat elements was developed, and identified almost 59.5% of the BES database in base-pairs as repetitive sequence. Approximately 55% of the BES reads (97,846) had more than 100 base pairs of contiguous non-repetitive sequences. The fractions of the 97,846 non-repetitive trout BES reads that had significant BLASTN hits against the zebrafish, medaka and stickleback genome databases were 15%, 16.2% and 17.9%, respectively, while the fractions of the non-repetitive BES reads that had significant BLASTX hits against the zebrafish, medaka, and stickleback protein databases were 10.7%, 9.5% and 9.5%, respectively. Comparative genomics using paired BAC-ends revealed several regions of conserved synteny across all the fish species analyzed in this study.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The characterization of BES provided insights on the rainbow trout genome. The discovery of specific repeat elements will facilitate analyses of sequence content (e.g. for SNPs discovery and for transcriptome characterization) and future genome sequence assemblies. The numerous microsatellites will facilitate integration of the linkage and physical maps and serve as valuable resource for fine mapping QTL and positional cloning of genes affecting aquaculture production traits. Furthermore, comparative genomics through BES can be used for identifying positional candidate genes from QTL mapping studies, aid in future assembly of a reference genome sequence and elucidating sequence content and complexity in the rainbow trout genome.</p

Potential and Actual Terrestrial Rabies Exposures in People and Domestic Animals, Upstate South Carolina, 1994–2004: A Surveillance Study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Although there has been a reduction of rabies in pets and domestic animals during recent decades in the United States, rabies remains enzootic among bats and several species of terrestrial wildlife. Spillover transmission of wildlife rabies to domestic animals therefore remains a public health threat</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Retrospective analysis of surveillance data of reported animal incidents (bites, scratches, mucous membrane contacts) from South Carolina, 1995 to 2003, was performed to assess risk factors of potential rabies exposures among human and animal victims.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Dogs and cats contributed the majority (66.7% and 26.4%, respectively) of all reported incidents, with stray dogs and cats contributing 9.0% and 15.1 respectively. Current rabies vaccination status of dogs and cats (40.2% and 13.8%, respectively) were below World Health Organization recommended levels. Owned cats were half as likely to be vaccinated for rabies as dogs (OR 0.53, 95% CI 0.48, 0.58). Animal victims were primarily exposed to wildlife (83.0%), of which 27.5% were rabid. Almost 90% of confirmed rabies exposures were due to wildlife. Skunks had the highest prevalence of rabies among species of exposure animals (63.2%). Among rabid domestic animals, stray cats were the most commonly reported (47.4%).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>While the majority of reported potential rabies exposures are associated with dog and cat incidents, most rabies exposures derive from rabid wildlife. Stray cats were most frequently rabid among domestic animals. Our results underscore the need for improvement of wildlife rabies control and the reduction of interactions of domestic animals, including cats, with wildlife.</p