Control Infrastructure for a Pulsed Ion Accelerator

We report on updates to the accelerator controls for the Neutralized Drift Compression Experiment II, a pulsed induction-type accelerator for heavy ions. The control infrastructure is built around a LabVIEW interface combined with an Apache Cassandra backend for data archiving. Recent upgrades added the storing and retrieving of device settings into the database, as well as ZeroMQ as a message broker that replaces LabVIEW's shared variables. Converting to ZeroMQ also allows easy access via other programming languages, such as Python

Male Contraceptives: A New Frontier in Contraception Medicine

In the field of contraceptive studies, discussions primarily focus on the practice of women’s health and contraception. While it is true that unintended pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases/infections (STI) pose major challenges in global public health, historically the burden of preventing these has largely fallen on women. Assuming that sexual intercourse requires an equal contribution between two partners, we hold that contraception and STI prevention should be a shared responsibility. Additionally, the ideal contraceptive method should prevent both unplanned pregnancies and STIs simultaneously. While abstinence remains the only 100% proven method of achieving such goals, it is not always practical or achievable in sexually active consenting or nonconsenting individuals. Because pregnancy occurs in a woman’s body, contraception has been regarded as a women’s health issue and not a general health issue. This dynamic is shifting. There is currently a paucity of male contraceptives and STI prevention methods on the market, but current trends in research and clinical practice promise to equally enable both women and men when making contraception choices. This paper aims to provide a comprehensive review of the male contraceptive methods currently available, as well as to highlight some of the most recently published work in the area of male contraceptive research

An Introduction and High Yield Summary of Female Contraceptive Methods

Globally, contraceptive studies and their use are major challenges in the realm of public health. The ideal goal is to obtain a contraceptive method that is highly effective at minimizing unplanned pregnancies and nullifying the chance of contracting a sexually transmitted disease. Abstinence is currently the only way to attain such a dualistic goal, and while effective, it may not be suitable for sexually active individuals. While there is an abundance of methodspecific information regarding the use of any one female contraceptive device, there is a paucity of resources that compare and contrast the advantages and disadvantages of such methods and enable an individual to optimize family planning. This paper attempts to address many of these topics by reviewing a multitude of U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved contraceptive methods. This work is intentionally written towards educating medical students, educators and teachers at all levels of training with foundational knowledge regarding female contraception

Neurodegeneration and Epilepsy in a Zebrafish Model of CLN3 Disease (Batten Disease)

The neuronal ceroid lipofuscinoses are a group of lysosomal storage disorders that comprise the most common, genetically heterogeneous, fatal neurodegenerative disorders of children. They are characterised by childhood onset, visual failure, epileptic seizures, psychomotor retardation and dementia. CLN3 disease, also known as Batten disease, is caused by autosomal recessive mutations in the CLN3 gene, 80–85% of which are a ~1 kb deletion. Currently no treatments exist, and after much suffering, the disease inevitably results in premature death. The aim of this study was to generate a zebrafish model of CLN3 disease using antisense morpholino injection, and characterise the pathological and functional consequences of Cln3 deficiency, thereby providing a tool for future drug discovery. The model was shown to faithfully recapitulate the pathological signs of CLN3 disease, including reduced survival, neuronal loss, retinopathy, axonopathy, loss of motor function, lysosomal storage of subunit c of mitochondrial ATP synthase, and epileptic seizures, albeit with an earlier onset and faster progression than the human disease. Our study provides proof of principle that the advantages of the zebrafish over other model systems can be utilised to further our understanding of the pathogenesis of CLN3 disease and accelerate drug discovery

Congested Traffic States in Empirical Observations and Microscopic Simulations

We present data from several German freeways showing different kinds of congested traffic forming near road inhomogeneities, specifically lane closings, intersections, or uphill gradients. The states are localized or extended, homogeneous or oscillating. Combined states are observed as well, like the coexistence of moving localized clusters and clusters pinned at road inhomogeneities, or regions of oscillating congested traffic upstream of nearly homogeneous congested traffic. The experimental findings are consistent with a recently proposed theoretical phase diagram for traffic near on-ramps [D. Helbing, A. Hennecke, and M. Treiber, Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 82}, 4360 (1999)]. We simulate these situations with a novel continuous microscopic single-lane model, the ``intelligent driver model'' (IDM), using the empirical boundary conditions. All observations, including the coexistence of states, are qualitatively reproduced by describing inhomogeneities with local variations of one model parameter. We show that the results of the microscopic model can be understood by formulating the theoretical phase diagram for bottlenecks in a more general way. In particular, a local drop of the road capacity induced by parameter variations has practically the same effect as an on-ramp.Comment: Now published in Phys. Rev. E. Minor changes suggested by a referee are incorporated; full bibliographic info added. For related work see http://www.mtreiber.de/ and http://www.helbing.org

Identifying crop variants with high resistant starch content to maintain healthy glucose homeostasis

Identifying dietary tools that prevent disordered insulin secretion from pancreatic β‐cells is an attractive strategy to combat the increasing prevalence of type 2 diabetes. Dietary resistant starch has been linked to improvements in the function of β‐cells, possibly via increased colonic fermentation and production of short‐chain fatty acids (SCFAs). Increasing the resistant starch content of commonly consumed foods could therefore maintain glucose homeostasis at the population level. As part of Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) Diet and Health Research Industry Club (DRINC) initiative, variants of Pisum sativum L. (pea) are being investigated to identify the features of pea starch that make it resistant to digestion and available for colonic fermentation and SCFA production. Parallel in vitro and in vivo studies are being conducted using both whole pea seeds and pea flour to facilitate a better understanding of how cells in the pea cotyledons are affected by processing and, in turn, how this influences starch digestibility. Trials in human volunteers are being used to monitor a full spectrum of short‐ and long‐term physiological responses relevant to pancreatic β‐cell function and glucose homeostasis. This project is providing new insights into variants of crops that are associated with the specific types of resistant starch that provide the best protection against defects in insulin secretion and function

Brookhaven 200 MeV Linear Accelerator Beam Instrumentation Upgrade

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