Laser induced fluorescence characterization of ions emitted from hollow cathodes

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/76900/1/AIAA-1999-2862-539.pd

Players’ Perceptions of the Talent Development Environment within the English Premier League and Football League

There is an increasing awareness of the importance of the environment in academy players’ development, yet limited research has investigated players’ perceptions of their talent development environments (TDEs). This study focused on academy soccer players’ perceptions of their TDE and compared perceptions across the English soccer academy categorization (CAT) system. A total of 136 U.K.-based male soccer players (M age = 17.7, SD = 1.03 years) representing all four categories (1 = highest to 4 = lowest) of soccer academies aligned to professional soccer clubs completed the TDE Questionnaire-5 (TDEQ-5). The players within the CAT1 academies had significantly more positive perceptions of their support network (p = .01) and holistic quality preparation (p = .03) than their CAT3 counterparts. Across CAT2–CAT3, holistic quality preparation was the least positively perceived subscale within the TDEQ-5, suggesting the need for additional coach education in this area. Soccer academies should consider how they ensure that all areas of their service are associated with optimal TDEs by offering a well-communicated and holistic development experience for their players to enhance effective personal and player development. The findings may have implications for player experience and associated progression rates of lower categorized soccer academies

Risk factors for human brucellosis in northern Tanzania

Little is known about the epidemiology of human brucellosis in sub-Saharan Africa. This hampers prevention and control efforts at the individual and population levels. To evaluate risk factors for brucellosis in northern Tanzania, we conducted a study of patients presenting with fever to two hospitals in Moshi, Tanzania. Serum taken at enrollment and at 4–6 week follow-up was tested by Brucella microagglutination test. Among participants with a clinically compatible illness, confirmed brucellosis cases were defined as having a ≥ 4-fold rise in agglutination titer between paired sera or a blood culture positive for Brucella spp., and probable brucellosis cases were defined as having a single reciprocal titer ≥ 160. Controls had reciprocal titers < 20 in paired sera. We collected demographic and clinical information and administered a risk factor questionnaire. Of 562 participants in the analysis, 50 (8.9%) had confirmed or probable brucellosis. Multivariable analysis showed that risk factors for brucellosis included assisting goat or sheep births (Odds ratio [OR] 5.9, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.4, 24.6) and having contact with cattle (OR 1.2, 95% CI 1.0, 1.4). Consuming boiled or pasteurized dairy products was protective against brucellosis (OR 0.12, 95% CI 0.02, 0.93). No participants received a clinical diagnosis of brucellosis from their healthcare providers. The under-recognition of brucellosis by healthcare workers could be addressed with clinician education and better access to brucellosis diagnostic tests. Interventions focused on protecting livestock keepers, especially those who assist goat or sheep births, are needed

Coercivity and Exchange Bias of Mn0.25Ti1.1S2 in the Cluster-Glass State

Magnetic measurements have been carried out on the Mn-intercalated transition-metal dichalcogenide Mn0.25Ti1+yS2. The material, which contained a concentration y≈0.1 of excess intercalated Ti, exhibited paramagnetic behavior at high temperatures with an effective moment per Mn ion of µeff=6.07 ± 0.23 µB, which shows that the system comprises localized Mn2+ moments. A Curie-Weiss temperature ΘCW=-26 ± 1 K indicated that antiferromagnetic interactions were dominant. Deviation from Curie-Weiss behavior below 100 K signaled the formation of antiferromagnetically correlated clusters. Bifurcation of the zero-fieldcooled and field-cooled magnetizations below 20 K indicated a transition to a cluster-glass state. The clusterglass state exhibited hysteresis and a loop shift indicating exchange bias. The behavior of the coercivity and exchange bias can be understood using a model in which frozen spins at the periphery of a cluster interact with the antiferromagnetically correlated interior

Risk factors for human acute leptospirosis in northern Tanzania

Introduction: Leptospirosis is a major cause of febrile illness in Africa but little is known about risk factors for human infection. We conducted a cross-sectional study to investigate risk factors for acute leptospirosis and Leptospira seropositivity among patients with fever attending referral hospitals in northern Tanzania. Methods: We enrolled patients with fever from two referral hospitals in Moshi, Tanzania, 2012–2014, and performed Leptospira microscopic agglutination testing on acute and convalescent serum. Cases of acute leptospirosis were participants with a four-fold rise in antibody titers, or a single reciprocal titer ≥800. Seropositive participants required a single titer ≥100, and controls had titers <100 in both acute and convalescent samples. We administered a questionnaire to assess risk behaviors over the preceding 30 days. We created cumulative scales of exposure to livestock urine, rodents, and surface water, and calculated odds ratios (OR) for individual behaviors and for cumulative exposure variables. Results: We identified 24 acute cases, 252 seropositive participants, and 592 controls. Rice farming (OR 14.6), cleaning cattle waste (OR 4.3), feeding cattle (OR 3.9), farm work (OR 3.3), and an increasing cattle urine exposure score (OR 1.2 per point) were associated with acute leptospirosis. Conclusions: In our population, exposure to cattle and rice farming were risk factors for acute leptospirosis. Although further data is needed, these results suggest that cattle may be an important source of human leptospirosis. Further investigation is needed to explore the potential for control of livestock Leptospira infection to reduce human disease

Octupole transitions in the 208Pb region

The 208Pb region is characterised by the existence of collective octupole states. Here we populated such states in 208Pb + 208Pb deep-inelastic reactions. γ-ray angular distribution measurements were used to infer the octupole character of several E3 transitions. The octupole character of the 2318 keV 17− → 14+ in 208Pb, 2485 keV 19/2 − → 13/2 + in 207Pb, 2419 keV 15/2 − → 9/2 + in 209Pb and 2465 keV 17/2 + → 11/2 − in 207Tl transitions was demonstrated for the first time. In addition, shell model calculations were performed using two different sets of two-body matrix elements. Their predictions were compared with emphasis on collective octupole states.This work is supported by the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), UK, US Department of Energy, Office of Nuclear Physics, under Contract No. DEAC02-06CH11357 and DE-FG02-94ER40834, NSF grant PHY-1404442

The Role of Ethics and Targets in Environmental Governance and the Enduring Importance of New Public Management

This article examines the importance of new public management in environmental governance. In order to explain what makes new public management such a robust framework for environmental governance, the article draws on the key themes of individual and collective responsibility in responding to climate change, examining the role of new public management in response to ecological and environmental change, resource scarcity, focus on global energy sources and politics. The article discusses the role of three aspects of environmental governance in turn: the theoretical understandings relating to individuals and society in response to climate change, the politics of these responses and governance arrangements, and how these are formed by the hastening paucity of certain energy resources. The article then moves on to examine these themes in the context of new public management, arguing that the responses we see to climate change in environmental governance are driven by measurement and targets, as these can be universally set and communicated. This shows the enduring nature of new public management in political and policy responses to the challenges of climate change