The effect of dynamical scattering on single-plane phase retrieval in electron ptychography

Segmented and pixelated detectors on scanning transmission electron microscopes enable the complex specimen transmission function to be reconstructed. Imaging the transmission function is key to interpreting the electric and magnetic properties of the specimen, and as such four-dimensional scanning transmission electron microscopy (4D-STEM) imaging techniques are crucial for our understanding of functional materials. Many of the algorithms used in the reconstruction of the transmission function rely on the multiplicative approximation and the (weak) phase object approximation, which are not valid for many materials, particularly at high resolution. Herein, we study the breakdown of simple phase imaging in thicker samples. We demonstrate the behavior of integrated center of mass imaging, single-side band ptychography, and Wigner distribution deconvolution over a thickness series of simulated GaN 4D-STEM datasets. We further give guidance as to the optimal focal conditions for obtaining a more interpretable dataset using these algorithms

A time study of physicians' work in a German university eye hospital to estimate unit costs.

BACKGROUND: Technical efficiency of hospital services is debated since performance has been heterogeneous. Staff time represents the main resource in patient care and its inappropriate allocation has been identified as a key factor of inefficiency. The aim of this study was to analyse the utilisation of physicians' work time stratified by staff groups, tasks and places of work. A further aim was to use these data to estimate resource use per unit of output. METHODS: A self-reporting work-sampling study was carried during 14-days at a University Eye Hospital. Staff costs of physicians per unit of output were calculated at the wards, the operating rooms and the outpatient unit. RESULTS: Forty per cent of total work time was spent in contact with the patient. Thirty per cent was spent with documentation tasks. Time spent with documentation tasks declined monotonically with increasing seniority of staff. Unit costs were 56 € per patient day at the wards, 77 € and 20 € per intervention at the operating rooms for inpatients and outpatients, respectively, and 33 € per contact at the outpatient unit. Substantial differences in resources directly dedicated to the patient were found between these locations. CONCLUSION: The presented data provide unprecedented units costs in inpatient Ophthalmology. Future research should focus on analysing factors that influence differences in time allocation, such as types of patients, organisation of care processes and composition of staff

Tracing scientist's research trends realtimely

In this research, we propose a method to trace scientists' research trends realtimely. By monitoring the downloads of scientific articles in the journal of Scientometrics for 744 hours, namely one month, we investigate the download statistics. Then we aggregate the keywords in these downloaded research papers, and analyze the trends of article downloading and keyword downloading. Furthermore, taking both the download of keywords and articles into consideration, we design a method to detect the emerging research trends. We find that in scientometrics field, social media, new indices to quantify scientific productivity (g-index), webometrics, semantic, text mining, open access are emerging fields that scientometrics researchers are focusing on.Comment: 13 pages, 7 figure

Predictors of Unrecognized HIV Infection Among Poor and Ethnic Men Who Have Sex with Men in Los Angeles

This study evaluates associations between unrecognized HIV infection and demographic factors, internalized homonegativity, drug use, and sexual behaviors among HIV positive men who have sex with men (MSM). We analyzed data from 347 HIV positive participants from the Los Angeles site for NIDA’s Sexual Acquisition and Transmission of HIV-Cooperative Agreement Program. Participants were HIV positive MSM and MSM/W and predominantly African American (36.0%) or Latino (38.7%), and unemployed (82.8%). Results from a multivariate logistic regression suggest that, compared to HIV positive participants who correctly reported their HIV positive status, being African-American (OR: 9.81, CI: 1.2–77.9) or Latino (OR: 10.92, CI: 1.3–88.4) rather than White, MSM/W rather than MSM (OR: 3.24, CI: 1.09–9.62), and having higher homonegativity scores (OR: 1.22, CI: 1.02–1.4) is associated with unrecognized HIV infection, controlling for age, education, and homelessness. Findings provide some immediate evidence to help craft HIV prevention interventions

Modulation of Sn concentration in ZnO nanorod array: intensification on the conductivity and humidity sensing properties

Tin (Sn)-doped zinc oxide (ZnO) nanorod arrays (TZO) were synthesized onto aluminum-doped ZnO-coated glass substrate via a facile sonicated sol–gel immersion method for humidity sensor applications. These nanorod arrays were grown at different Sn concentrations ranging from 0.6 to 3 at.%. X-ray diffraction patterns showed that the deposited TZO arrays exhibited a wurtzite structure. The stress/strain condition of the ZnO film metamorphosed from tensile strain/compressive stress to compressive strain/tensile stress when the Sn concentrations increased. Results indicated that 1 at.% Sn doping of TZO, which has the lowest tensile stress of 0.14 GPa, generated the highest conductivity of 1.31 S cm− 1. In addition, 1 at.% Sn doping of TZO possessed superior sensitivity to a humidity of 3.36. These results revealed that the optimum performance of a humidity-sensing device can be obtained mainly by controlling the amount of extrinsic element in a ZnO film

The Role of Individual Variables, Organizational Variables and Moral Intensity Dimensions in Libyan Management Accountants’ Ethical Decision Making

This study investigates the association of a broad set of variables with the ethical decision making of management accountants in Libya. Adopting a cross-sectional methodology, a questionnaire including four different ethical scenarios was used to gather data from 229 participants. For each scenario, ethical decision making was examined in terms of the recognition, judgment and intention stages of Rest’s model. A significant relationship was found between ethical recognition and ethical judgment and also between ethical judgment and ethical intention, but ethical recognition did not significantly predict ethical intention—thus providing support for Rest’s model. Organizational variables, age and educational level yielded few significant results. The lack of significance for codes of ethics might reflect their relative lack of development in Libya, in which case Libyan companies should pay attention to their content and how they are supported, especially in the light of the under-development of the accounting profession in Libya. Few significant results were also found for gender, but where they were found, males showed more ethical characteristics than females. This unusual result reinforces the dangers of gender stereotyping in business. Personal moral philosophy and moral intensity dimensions were generally found to be significant predictors of the three stages of ethical decision making studied. One implication of this is to give more attention to ethics in accounting education, making the connections between accounting practice and (in Libya) Islam. Overall, this study not only adds to the available empirical evidence on factors affecting ethical decision making, notably examining three stages of Rest’s model, but also offers rare insights into the ethical views of practising management accountants and provides a benchmark for future studies of ethical decision making in Muslim majority countries and other parts of the developing world

Inorganic carbon physiology underpins macroalgal responses to elevated CO2

Beneficial effects of CO2 on photosynthetic organisms will be a key driver of ecosystem change under ocean acidification. Predicting the responses of macroalgal species to ocean acidification is complex, but we demonstrate that the response of assemblages to elevated CO2 are correlated with inorganic carbon physiology. We assessed abundance patterns and a proxy for CO2:HCO3- use (\u3b413C values) of macroalgae along a gradient of CO2 at a volcanic seep, and examined how shifts in species abundance at other Mediterranean seeps are related to macroalgal inorganic carbon physiology. Five macroalgal species capable of using both HCO3- and CO2 had greater CO2 use as concentrations increased. These species (and one unable to use HCO3-) increased in abundance with elevated CO2 whereas obligate calcifying species, and non-calcareous macroalgae whose CO2 use did not increase consistently with concentration, declined in abundance. Physiological groupings provide a mechanistic understanding that will aid us in determining which species will benefit from ocean acidification and why

HIV infection and sexual risk among men who have sex with men and women (MSMW): A systematic review and meta-analysis

Objectives: To estimate the number of men who have sex with men and women who are HIV-positive in the United States, and to compare HIV prevalence rates between men who have sex with men and women, men who have sex with men only, and men who have sex with women exclusively. Methods: Following PRISMA guidelines, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of reports referencing HIV prevalence and men who have sex with men and women. We searched PubMed and Ovid PsycINFO for peer-reviewed, U.S.-based articles reporting on HIV prevalence among men who have sex with men and women. We conducted event rate, effect size, moderation and sensitivity analyses. Results: We estimate that 1.0% of U.S. males are bisexually-behaving, and that 121,800 bisexually-behaving men are HIV-positive. Men who have sex with men and women are less than half as likely to be HIV-positive as men who have sex with men only (16.9% vs. 33.3%; OR = 0.41, 95% CI: 0.31, 0.54), but more than five times as likely to be HIV-positive as men who have sex with women exclusively (18.3% vs. 3.5%; OR = 5.71, 95% CI: 3.47, 9.39). They are less likely to engage in unprotected receptive anal intercourse than men who have sex with men only (15.9% vs. 35.0%; OR = 0.36, 95% CI: 0.28, 0.46). Men who have sex with men and women in samples with high racial/ethnic minority proportions had significantly higher HIV prevalence than their counterparts in low racial/ethnic minority samples. Conclusions: This represents the first meta-analysis of HIV prevalence in the U.S. between men who have sex with men and women and men who have sex with men only. Data collection, research, and HIV prevention and care delivery specifically tailored to men who have sex with men and women are necessary to better quantify and ameliorate this population's HIV burden. © 2014 Friedman et al

Demographic, Psychological, and Social Characteristics of Self-Identified Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Adults in a US Probability Sample

Using data from a US national probability sample of self-identified lesbian, gay, and bisexual adults (N = 662), this article reports population parameter estimates for a variety of demographic, psychological, and social variables. Special emphasis is given to information with relevance to public policy and law. Compared with the US adult population, respondents were younger, more highly educated, and less likely to be non-Hispanic White, but differences were observed between gender and sexual orientation groups on all of these variables. Overall, respondents tended to be politically liberal, not highly religious, and supportive of marriage equality for same-sex couples. Women were more likely than men to be in a committed relationship. Virtually all coupled gay men and lesbians had a same-sex partner, whereas the vast majority of coupled bisexuals were in a heterosexual relationship. Compared with bisexuals, gay men and lesbians reported stronger commitment to a sexual-minority identity, greater community identification and involvement, and more extensive disclosure of their sexual orientation to others. Most respondents reported experiencing little or no choice about their sexual orientation. The importance of distinguishing among lesbians, gay men, bisexual women, and bisexual men in behavioral and social research is discussed

Sex Differences in Dietary Intake in British Army Recruits undergoing Phase One training

Background: British Army Phase One training exposes men and women to challenging distances of 13.5 km·d⁻¹ vs. 11.8 km·d⁻¹ and energy expenditures of ~4000 kcal·d⁻¹ and ~3000 kcal·d⁻¹, respectively. As such, it is essential that adequate nutrition is provided to support training demands. However, to date, there is a paucity of data on habitual dietary intake of British Army recruits. The aims of this study were to: (i) compare habitual dietary intake in British Army recruits undergoing Phase One training to Military Dietary Reference Values (MDRVs), and (ii) establish if there was a relative sex difference in dietary intake between men and women. Method: Researcher led weighed food records and food diaries were used to assess dietary intake in twenty-eight women (age 21.4 ± 3.0 yrs., height: 163.7 ± 5.0 cm, body mass 65.0 ± 6.7 kg), and seventeen men (age 20.4 ± 2.3 yrs., height: 178.0 ± 7.9 cm, body mass 74.6 ± 8.1 kg) at the Army Training Centre, Pirbright for 8-days in week ten of training. Macro and micronutrient content were estimated using dietary analysis software (Nutritics, Dublin) and assessed via an independent sample t-test to establish if there was a sex difference in daily energy, macro or micronutrient intakes. Results: Estimated daily energy intake was less than the MDRV for both men and women, with men consuming a greater amount of energy compared with women (2846 ± 573 vs. 2207 ± 585 kcal·day⁻¹, p0.030, ES=0.67). There were no differences in dietary fat intake between men and women (1.5 ± 0.2 vs. 1.5 ± 0.5 g·kg⁻¹·day⁻¹, p=0.483, ES=0.00). Conclusions: Daily EI in men and women in Phase One training does not meet MDRVs. Interventions to increase macronutrient intakes should be considered along with research investigating the potential benefits for increasing different macronutrient intakes on training adaptations