Anisotropy of the Microwave Sky at 90 GHz: Results from Python II

We report on additional observations of degree scale anisotropy at 90~GHz from the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station in Antarctica. Observations during the first season with the Python instrument yielded a statistically significant sky signal; in this paper we report the confirmation of that signal with data taken in the second year, and on results from an interleaving set of fields.Comment: 10 pages, plus 2 figures. Postscript and uufiles versions available via anonymous ftp at ftp://astro.uchicago.edu/pub/astro/ruhl/pyI

"Single-cycle" ionization effects in laser-matter interaction

We investigate numerically effects related to ``single-cycle'' ionization of dense matter by an ultra-short laser pulse. The strongly non-adiabatic response of electrons leads to generation of a megagauss steady magnetic field in laser-solid interaction. By using two-beam interference, it is possible to create periodic density structures able to trap light and to generate relativistic ionization frontsComment: 12 pages, 6 figures, to be published in Laser and Particle Beam

Development and applications of light-gated cobalt catalysis, The

2017 Spring.Includes bibliographical references.Transition metals are an important natural resource and an essential component of many industrial processes and applications. Examples of these include air-quality control, electronics manufacture, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, and petro-chemistry. Within the field of synthetic chemistry, transition metal catalysts minimize waste, decrease expense, and enable rapid construction of small molecules. Over the past decade, transition-metal-based polypyridyl complexes have been the cornerstone of photo-redox catalysis which facilitate electron transfer and allow synthetic chemists to functionalize inert functionalities using visible-light energy. The first chapter of this work introduces rhodium- and cobalt-catalyzed [2+2+2] cycloadditions as well as photo-redox catalysis. The following chapter covers our group's progress toward the merger of photo-redox and cobalt catalysis as well as the multi-disciplinary approach we have used to understand mechanism. The third chapter explores light-gated catalysis and its importance for spatially and temporally resolved methods. Finally, the fourth chapter focuses on the applications of light-gated cobalt catalysis. We have found a light-gated cobalt catalyst to temporally control the [2+2+2] cycloaddition, and when combined with photolithography, enable a spatially resolved method for arene formation

Three-dimensional Gross-Pitaevskii solitary waves in optical lattices: stabilization using the artificial quartic kinetic energy induced by lattice shaking

In this Letter, we show that a three-dimensional Bose-Einstein solitary wave can become stable if the dispersion law is changed from quadratic to quartic. We suggest a way to realize the quartic dispersion, using shaken optical lattices. Estimates show that the resulting solitary waves can occupy as little as $\sim 1/20$-th of the Brillouin zone in each of the three directions and contain as many as $N = 10^{3}$ atoms, thus representing a \textit{fully mobile} macroscopic three-dimensional object.Comment: 8 pages, 1 figure, accepted in Phys. Lett.

The generation of images of surface structures by laser-accelerated protons

Ion acceleration by lasers is one of the most important innovations in laser-plasma research in recent years. A mechanism that has gained great attention due to the remarkable properties of the accelerated beam is laser acceleration of protons from the rear surface of solid targets. A striking prediction is that these protons are capable of generating images of micro-structures present on this surface. These images might be useful to measure properties of the accelerated beam. In this article, we address the physics of the generation of images of surface structures imprinted into the target back surface with laser-accelerated protons

Toward the Standardization of the BVL_RU: An Instrument for Speech and Language Assessment of Russian-speaking Children

The Battery for the assessment of speech and language development in children from 4 to 12 years (BVL_4-12; [1]) was originally developed for Italian-speaking children and currently is under adaptation into several European languages including Russian. The BVL_4-12 consists of three parts and includes tasks assessing oral production, comprehension and repetition skills in children. This article describes the process of adaptation of the BVL_4-12 into Russia and focuses on the instructions’ translation and standardization. It presents the results of the tasks instructions’ clarity evaluation by an expert panel including Russian-speaking specialists constantly working with children of a target age in Russia and Italy (N = 7) and a cohort of children from 4.06 to10.10 including monolinguals with typical language development, children previously diagnosed with primary language impairment (PLI) and heritage Russian speakers (N = 84). Overall, 10 task instructions were judged as absolutely clear and 5 task instructions were somewhat unclear to some of the participants. Further analysis ofthe age of the participants who rated the instructions as ‘unclear’ was performed. Some of the youngest participants, whose age did not exceed 6.10, found that the instructions for the following tasks were not clear: phonological fluency; sentence completion; grammatical judgments; idiom comprehension, and comprehension of linguistic prosody. However, the minimum inter-rater agreement among the sample was reached. The potential explanation of the results of the study is proposed in the Discussion section. Keywords: language assessment, Russian, children, SLI, task instruction

Adoption and Use of Community Municipal Portals

Initial findings from a project examining community municipal portal adoption are reported. The study employs a theoretical model showing a causal effect of organizational factors and portal interface characteristics on a person’s intentions to use a community municipal portal and how individual demographics and perceptions mediate this effect. Six community municipal portals in Ontario, Canada participated. A questionnaire completed by internal portal stakeholders gives background on the portals’ purpose, history, functionality, IT support, and governance. An enduser survey administered to 1,753 respondents polls end-user demographics, perceptions, and behaviors. First phase results give insight on the organizational factors surrounding the implementation of community municipal portals (e.g., partner tensions, governance issues, low end-user involvement, marketing and financial concerns) and how they may influence low usage behaviors exhibited by a narrow demographic. Future phases of the study that further explore the impact of organizational factors and end-user characteristics on portal use are described

A Signature of Cosmic Strings Wakes in the CMB Polarization

We calculate a signature of cosmic strings in the polarization of the cosmic microwave background (CMB). We find that ionization in the wakes behind moving strings gives rise to extra polarization in a set of rectangular patches in the sky whose length distribution is scale-invariant. The length of an individual patch is set by the co-moving Hubble radius at the time the string is perturbing the CMB. The polarization signal is largest for string wakes produced at the earliest post-recombination time, and for an alignment in which the photons cross the wake close to the time the wake is created. The maximal amplitude of the polarization relative to the temperature quadrupole is set by the overdensity of free electrons inside a wake which depends on the ionization fraction $f$ inside the wake. The signal can be as high as $0.06 {\rm \mu K}$ in degree scale polarization for a string at high redshift (near recombination) and a string tension $\mu$ given by $G \mu = 10^{-7}$.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figure

Nutrient Intake Differs Among Persons With Celiac Disease and Gluten-Related Disorders in the United States

Persons with celiac disease (CD) may develop nutritional deficiencies, while individuals following a gluten-free diet (GFD) may lack essential nutrients. We examined nutrient intake from diet and supplements among persons with CD and GFD in the cross-sectional National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2009-2014. Among 15,610 participants 20 years and older, we identified CD based on positive serology for immunoglobulin A against tissue transglutaminase, health care provider diagnosis, and adherence to a GFD. People without CD avoiding gluten (PWAG) adhered to a GFD without a diagnosis of CD. Two 24-h recalls assessed nutrient intake from diet and supplements. Compared to participants without CD or PWAG, persons with diagnosed CD had lower intake of total energy, carbohydrates, fat, and saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids. In contrast, persons with undiagnosed CD and positive serology had higher intake of those nutrients, sugar, and protein. Total carbohydrate and sugar intake was lower among PWAG. Persons with diagnosed CD had higher vitamin A and E intake, while those with undiagnosed CD had increased intake of calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, iron, zinc, copper, sodium, potassium, vitamin A, alpha-carotene, folic acid, and choline. Higher micronutrient intake with undiagnosed CD was observed more at high latitudes. PWAG had higher beta-carotene and lutein/zeaxanthin and lower folic acid intake. In the U.S. population over a 6-year period, total energy and macronutrient intake was decreased among persons with diagnosed CD, while intake of total energy, macronutrients, and multiple micronutrients was increased among persons with undiagnosed CD. Nutriomics studies of multiple analytes measured simultaneously across affected persons and populations are needed to inform screening for malabsorption and treatment strategies