Ultrafast heterogeneous electron transfer reactions Comparative theoretical studies on time and frequency domain data

Recent theoretical studies on linear absorption spectra of dye semiconductor systems perylene attached to nanostructured TiO2, L. Wang et al., J. Phys. Chem. B 109, 9589 2005 are extended here in different respects. Since the systems show ultrafast photoinduced heterogeneous electron transfer the time dependent formulation used to compute the absorbance is also applied to calculate the temporal evolution of the sub 100 fs charge injection dynamics after a 10 fs laser pulse excitation. These studies complement our recent absorption spectra fit for two perylene bridge anchor group TiO2 systems. Moreover, the time dependent formulation of the absorbance is confronted with a frequency domain description. The latter underlines the central importance of the self energy caused by the coupling of the dye levels to the semiconductor band continuum. The used model is further applied to study the effect of different parameters such as 1 the dependence on the reorganization energies of the involved intramolecular transitions, 2 the effect of changing the transfer integral which couples the excited dye state with the band continuum, and 3 the effect of the concrete form of the semiconductor band density of states. Emphasis is also put on the case where the charge injection level of the dye is near or somewhat below the band edge. This nicely demonstrates the change from a structureless absorption to a well resolved vibrational progression including characteristic shifts of the absorption lines which are a direct measure for the dye semiconductor couplin

Exploring the psychological rewards of a familiar semirural landscape: connecting to local nature through a mindful approach

This study analyses a 53,000 word diary of a year engaging with nature through over 200 trips to a semi-rural landscape. Thematic analysis revealed two themes; the transition from observer to nature connectedness and the ways in which the natural environment was experienced once a connection was made. These themes are discussed in relation to theories that seek to explain the positive effect of nature and nature connectedness. The findings are important as they suggest that repeated engagement with local semi-rural countryside can lead to a mindful approach and psychological rewards that do not require travel into the wilderness. The work informs further research into outcomes and processes of nature based interventions such as: trip frequency, duration and diary keeping

Weight gain among treatment-naïve persons with HIV starting integrase inhibitors compared to non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors or protease inhibitors in a large observational cohort in the United States and Canada.

IntroductionWeight gain following antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation is common, potentially predisposing some persons with HIV (PWH) to cardio-metabolic disease. We assessed relationships between ART drug class and weight change among treatment-naïve PWH initiating ART in the North American AIDS Cohort Collaboration on Research and Design (NA-ACCORD).MethodsAdult, treatment-naïve PWH in NA-ACCORD initiating integrase strand transfer inhibitor (INSTI), protease inhibitor (PI) or non-nucleoside reverse-transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI)-based ART on/after 1 January 2007 were followed through 31 December 2016. Multivariate linear mixed effects models estimated weight up to five years after ART initiation, adjusting for age, sex, race, cohort site, HIV acquisition mode, treatment year, and baseline weight, plasma HIV-1 RNA level and CD4+ cell count. Due to shorter follow-up for PWH receiving newer INSTI drugs, weights for specific INSTIs were estimated at two years. Secondary analyses using logistic regression and all covariates from primary analyses assessed factors associated with >10% weight gain at two and five years.ResultsAmong 22,972 participants, 87% were male, and 41% were white. 49% started NNRTI-, 31% started PI- and 20% started INSTI-based regimens (1624 raltegravir (RAL), 2085 elvitegravir (EVG) and 929 dolutegravir (DTG)). PWH starting INSTI-based regimens had mean estimated five-year weight change of +5.9kg, compared to +3.7kg for NNRTI and +5.5kg for PI. Among PWH starting INSTI drugs, mean estimated two-year weight change was +7.2kg for DTG, +5.8kg for RAL and +4.1kg for EVG. Women, persons with lower baseline CD4+ cell counts, and those initiating INSTI-based regimens had higher odds of >10% body weight increase at two years (adjusted odds ratio = 1.37, 95% confidence interval: 1.20 to 1.56 vs. NNRTI).ConclusionsPWH initiating INSTI-based regimens gained, on average, more weight compared to NNRTI-based regimens. This phenomenon may reflect heterogeneous effects of ART agents on body weight regulation that require further exploration

“I had no idea this shame piece was in me”: couple and family therapists’ experience with learning an evidence-based practice

This study reports on the experience of shame while learning an evidence-based approach to working with couples or families. Couple and family therapists were interviewed about their experience with learning and using an evidence-based practice (EBP) and the data was analyzed using a phenomenological approach called interpretative phenomenological analysis. The theme of shame emerged from a number of research participants as part of their development with the EBP they were integrating into their practice. Starting with an exploration of the participants’ experiences and the impact of shame, the paper will then link these experiences with the psychological and sociological research literature about sham

Laser-controlled fluorescence in two-level systems

The ability to modify the character of fluorescent emission by a laser-controlled, optically nonlinear process has recently been shown theoretically feasible, and several possible applications have already been identified. In operation, a pulse of off-resonant probe laser beam, of sufficient intensity, is applied to a system exhibiting fluorescence, during the interval of excited- state decay following the initial excitation. The result is a rate of decay that can be controllably modified, the associated changes in fluorescence behavior affording new, chemically specific information. In this paper, a two-level emission model is employed in the further analysis of this all-optical process; the results should prove especially relevant to the analysis and imaging of physical systems employing fluorescent markers, these ranging from quantum dots to green fluorescence protein. Expressions are presented for the laser-controlled fluorescence anisotropy exhibited by samples in which the fluorophores are randomly oriented. It is also shown that, in systems with suitably configured electronic levels and symmetry properties, fluorescence emission can be produced from energy levels that would normally decay nonradiatively. © 2010 American Chemical Society

Sporting embodiment: sports studies and the (continuing) promise of phenomenology

Whilst in recent years sports studies have addressed the calls ‘to bring the body back in’ to theorisations of sport and physical activity, the ‘promise of phenomenology’ remains largely under-realised with regard to sporting embodiment. Relatively few accounts are grounded in the ‘flesh’ of the lived sporting body, and phenomenology offers a powerful framework for such analysis. A wide-ranging, multi-stranded, and interpretatively contested perspective, phenomenology in general has been taken up and utilised in very different ways within different disciplinary fields. The purpose of this article is to consider some selected phenomenological threads, key qualities of the phenomenological method, and the potential for existentialist phenomenology in particular to contribute fresh perspectives to the sociological study of embodiment in sport and exercise. It offers one way to convey the ‘essences’, corporeal immediacy and textured sensuosity of the lived sporting body. The use of Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) is also critically addressed. Key words: phenomenology; existentialist phenomenology; interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA); sporting embodiment; the lived-body; Merleau-Pont

Literary ethnography of evidence-based healthcare : accessing the emotions of rational-technical discourse

In this article I revisit the idea of literary ethnography (proposed by Van de Poel-Knottnerus and Knottnerus, 1994) as a method for investigating social phenomena constituted principally through literature. I report the use of this method to investigate the topic of evidence-based healthcare, EBHC. EBHC is a field of discourse much built upon a dichotomy between rationality and emotionality. In this context literary ethnography, a particular type of discourse analysis, is valuable for allowing researchers to bring the emotional currents of technical-rational discourse into conscious awareness. In such discourses, emotions are not written out by name. The researcher must discern emotional phenomena by experiencing the discourse, and (try to) bring them into intelligible expression. As I clarify this process I develop Van de Poel-Knottnerus and Knottnerus’ method theoretically, look to destabilise the rationalityemotionality dichotomy foundational to discourse around EBHC, and so transgress its conventional lines of thought.PostprintPeer reviewe

Community structure, abundance, and morphology

. 2000. Community structure, abundance, and morphology. -Oikos 88: 48 -56. The role of interspecific competition in structuring communities has been a highly debated issue for the last two decades. The nonrandom nature of morphological patterns within communities has been at the center of this controversy. Null models addressing community-wide dispersions in morphology have produced equivocal results and may be based on assumptions that are too restrictive (e.g., competitive exclusion or displacement). If morphological distinctiveness allows species to escape competitive pressures and exhibit higher densities, then a positive relationship should exist between morphological dissimilarity and abundance. We develop a suite of models that evaluates patterns in abundance that are associated with the morphological proximity of a species to other competitors. We evaluated the relationship between morphological distance and abundance from a variety of morphological perspectives, from those representing strictly diffuse interactions to those representing only interactions between a species and its nearest neighbor in morphological space. These models were sufficiently powerful to detect positive associations between abundance and morphological differences in a nocturnal desert rodent guild for which the effects of competition on structure are well established. Models such as these may be more useful than traditional models evaluating morphological dispersions for many reasons. They do not require that communities reach equilibrium before competitive interactions give rise to deterministic structure. They do not suffer from limitations of potentially inaccurate faunal pools or from phylogenetic constraints. Lastly, they may be used as a diagnostic tool in comparative studies to determine the degree to which competitive interactions structure communities

The proton radius puzzle

High-precision measurements of the proton radius from laser spectroscopy of muonic hydrogen demonstrated up to six standard deviations smaller values than obtained from electron-proton scattering and hydrogen spectroscopy. The status of this discrepancy, which is known as the proton radius puzzle will be discussed in this paper, complemented with the new insights obtained from spectroscopy of muonic deuterium.Comment: Moriond 2017 conference, 8 pages, 4 figure

L’intelligence comme dispositif de pouvoir

O objetivo do presente estudo, é compreender a inscrição individual e social de discursos usados por alunas, em diferentes posições de classe social, para explicar os seus sucessos académicos. Foram entrevistadas 19 alunas portuguesas do 11º ano de escolaridade provenientes das classes trabalhadora e alta, com elevado rendimento académico. A Análise Foucaudiana do Discurso aponta para a importância da posição de classe na construção dos sujeitos relativamente à sua conceção de inteligência e ao sucesso escolar. A inteligência funciona assim como um dispositivo de poder que regula as relações entre sujeitos de diferentes classes sociais.The objective of the present study is to understand the individual and social inscription of discourses used by students from different social class positions to explain their academic achievement. Nineteen portuguese students, from the 11th grade, with high academic performance and from the working class and upper class, in northern Portugal, were interviewed. Foucauldian Discourse Analysis points to the importance of class position in the construction of the subjects with respect to their concept of intelligence and academic success. Intelligence works as a power device that regulates the relations among subjects of different social classes.L’objectif de cette étude est de comprendre l’inscription individuelle et sociale des discours utilisés par les apprenantes dans différentes positions de classe sociale, pour expliquer leurs succès académiques. Dix-neuf apprenantes portugaises de la 11ème année de scolarité dotées d’un bon rendement scolaire issues des classes ouvrières et moyennes supérieures ont été interviewées. L’Analyse Foucaldienne du Discours souligne l’importance de la position de classe dans la construction des sujets concernant leur conception de l’intelligence et de la réussite scolaire. L’intelligence fonctionne aussi bien en tant que dispositif de pouvoir qui régit les relations entre les individus de différentes classes sociales.(undefined