Belousov-Zhabotinsky droplet mixing on-chip for chemical computing applications

Without an imposed physical structure, even the most complex chemistries are limited in their ability to process information. For example, the Belousov-Zhabotinsky (BZ) oscillating reaction has been shown to have information procession potential, but only if structure is imposed e.g. using physical barriers or light-sensitive catalysts. Recently, separated BZ droplets in oil have been investigated. Another option for aqueous/oil systems is to add lipid into the oil, which self-assembles into a monolayer at the phase boundary. If the lipid-stabilised droplets are brought into contact, a bilayer is formed, separating the BZ droplets into compartments. This technique is more flexible than other methods of imparting structure, allowing for the creation of droplet arrays inspired by biological neuronal networks

Origin of the X-ray Quasi-Periodic Oscillations and Identification of a Transient Ultraluminous X-Ray Source in M82

The starburst galaxy M82 contains two ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs), CXOM82 J095550.2+694047 (=X41.4+60) and CXOM82 J095551.1+694045 (=X42.3+59), which are unresolved by XMM-Newton. We revisited the two XMM-Newton observations of M82 and analyzed the surface brightness profiles using the known Chandra source positions. We show that the quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs) detected with XMM-Newton originate from X41.4+60, the brightest X-ray source in M82. Correcting for the contributions of the unresolved sources, the QPO at a frequency of 55.8+/-1.3 mHz on 2001 May 06 had a fractional rms amplitude of 32%, and the QPO at 112.9+/-1.3 mHz on 2004 April 21 had an amplitude of 21%. The QPO frequency may possibly be correlated with the source flux, similar to the type C QPOs in XTE 1550-564 and GRS 1915+105, but at luminosities two orders of magnitude higher. X42.3+59, the second brightest source in M82, displayed a strikingly high flux of 1.4E-11 ergs/cm^2/s in the 2-10 keV band on 2001 May 6. A seven-year light curve of X42.3+59 shows extreme variability over a factor of 1000; the source is not detected in several Chandra observations. This transient behavior suggests accretion from an unstable disk. If the companion star is massive, as might be expected in the young stellar environment, then the compact object would likely be an IMBH.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures, submitted to ApJ on May 08, 200

The Kozai-Lidov Mechanism in Hydrodynamical Disks

We use three dimensional hydrodynamical simulations to show that a highly misaligned accretion disk around one component of a binary system can exhibit global Kozai-Lidov cycles, where the inclination and eccentricity of the disk are interchanged periodically. This has important implications for accreting systems on all scales, for example, the formation of planets and satellites in circumstellar and circumplanetary disks, outbursts in X-ray binary systems and accretion on to supermassive black holes.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ Letter

Valence band offset of InN/AlN heterojunctions measured by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy

The valence band offset of wurtzite-InN/AlN (0001) heterojunctions is determined by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy to be 1.52±0.17 eV. Together with the resulting conduction band offset of 4.0±0.2 eV, a type-I heterojunction forms between InN and AlN in the straddling arrangement

Maternal Geohelminth Infections Are Associated with an Increased Susceptibility to Geohelminth Infection in Children: A Case-Control Study

Background: Children of mothers infected with soil-transmitted helminths (STH) may have an increased susceptibility to STH infection. Methods and Findings: We did a case-control study nested in a birth cohort in Ecuador. Data from 1,004 children aged 7 months to 3 years were analyzed. Cases were defined as children with Ascaris lumbricoides and/or Trichuris trichiura, controls without. Exposure was defined as maternal infection with A. lumbricoides and/or T. trichiura, detected during the third trimester of pregnancy. The analysis was restricted to households with a documented infection to control for infection risk. Children of mothers with STH infections had a greater risk of infection compared to children of uninfected mothers (adjusted OR 2.61, 95% CI: 1.88–3.63, p,0.001). This effect was particularly strong in children of mothers with both STH infections (adjusted OR: 5.91, 95% CI: 3.55–9.81, p,0.001). Newborns of infected mothers had greater levels of plasma IL-10 than those of uninfected mothers (p = 0.033), and there was evidence that cord blood IL-10 was increased among newborns who became infected later in childhood (p = 0.060). Conclusion: Our data suggest that maternal STH infections increase susceptibility to infection during early childhood, an effect that was associated with elevated IL-10 in cord plasma

Surface electronic properties of undoped InAlN alloys

The variation in surface electronic properties of undoped c-plane InxAl1−xN alloys has been investigated across the composition range using a combination of high-resolution x-ray photoemission spectroscopy and single-field Hall effect measurements. For the In-rich alloys, electron accumulation layers, accompanied by a downward band bending, are present at the surface, with a decrease to approximately flatband conditions with increasing Al composition. However, for the Al-rich alloys, the undoped samples were found to be insulating with approximate midgap pinning of the surface Fermi level observed

Inequalities in the dental health needs and access to dental services among looked after children in Scotland: a population data linkage study

Background: There is limited evidence on the health needs and service access among children and young people who are looked after by the state. The aim of this study was to compare dental treatment needs and access to dental services (as an exemplar of wider health and well-being concerns) among children and young people who are looked after with the general child population. Methods: Population data linkage study utilising national datasets of social work referrals for ‘looked after’ placements, the Scottish census of children in local authority schools, and national health service’s dental health and service datasets. Results: 633 204 children in publicly funded schools in Scotland during the academic year 2011/2012, of whom 10 927 (1.7%) were known to be looked after during that or a previous year (from 2007–2008). The children in the looked after children (LAC) group were more likely to have urgent dental treatment need at 5 years of age: 23%vs10% (n=209/16533), adjusted (for age, sex and area socioeconomic deprivation) OR 2.65 (95% CI 2.30 to 3.05); were less likely to attend a dentist regularly: 51%vs63% (n=5519/388934), 0.55 (0.53 to 0.58) and more likely to have teeth extracted under general anaesthesia: 9%vs5% (n=967/30253), 1.91 (1.78 to 2.04). Conclusions: LAC are more likely to have dental treatment needs and less likely to access dental services even when accounting for sociodemographic factors. Greater efforts are required to integrate child social and healthcare for LAC and to develop preventive care pathways on entering and throughout their time in the care system

Additional Evaluation of the Point-of-Contact Circulating Cathodic Antigen Assay for Schistosoma mansoni Infection.

Studies of the urine-based point-of-contact cathodic circulating antigen test (POC-CCA) in Schistosoma mansoni-endemic settings in Africa indicate it has good sensitivity in detecting infections, but in areas of low prevalence, the POC-CCA can be positive for persons who are egg-negative by Kato-Katz stool assays. We examined the POC-CCA assay for: (a) batch-to-batch stability; (b) intra-reader and inter-reader variability; (c) day-to-day variability compared to Kato-Katz stool assays, and (d) to see if praziquantel (PZQ) treatment converted Kato-Katz-negative/POC-CCA positive individuals to POC-CCA negativity. We found essentially no batch-to-batch variation, negligible intra-reader variability (2%), and substantial agreement for inter-reader reliability. Some day-to-day variation was observed over 5 days of urine collection, but less than the variation in Kato-Katz stool assays over 3 days. To evaluate the effect of treatment on Kato-Katz(-)/POC-CCA(+) children, 149 children in an area of 10-15% prevalence who were Kato-Katz(-) based on 3 stool samples but POC-CCA(+) were enrolled. Seven days after treatment (PZQ 40 mg/kg) samples were again collected and tested. Almost half (47%) POC-CCA positive children turned negative. Those still POC-CCA positive received a second treatment, and 34% of them turned POC-CCA negative upon this second treatment. Most who remained POC-CCA positive shifted each time to a "lesser" POC-CCA "level of positivity." The data suggest that most Kato-Katz-negative/POC-CCA positive individuals harbor low-intensity infections, and each treatment kills all or some of their adult worms. The data also suggest that when evaluated by a more sensitive assay, the effective cure rates for PZQ are significantly less than those inferred from fecal testing. These findings have public health significance for the mapping and monitoring of Schistosoma infections and in planning the transition from schistosomiasis morbidity control to elimination of transmission