Measurement of the solenoid magnetic field

We describe the machine used to map the solenoid field and the data sets that were collected. The bulk of the note describes the analysis of this data. A series of small corrections are made; some taken from surveys and some derived from the data itself. Two fitting methods are defined and applied to all data sets. The final result is that the field map at normal operating current can be fitted to a function that obeys Maxwell with an r.m.s. residual of less than 5 Gauss. Systematic errors on the measurement of track sagitta due to the field uncertainty are estimated to be in the range 2.3E-4 to 12E-4, depending on the track rapidity. Finally, the representation of the map in Athena is briefly described

Additive Manufacturing of Biomechanically Tailored Meshes for Compliant Wearable and Implantable Devices

Additive manufacturing (AM) of medical devices such as orthopedic implants and hearing aids is highly attractive because of AM’s potential to match the complex form and mechanics of individual human bodies. Externally worn and implantable tissue-support devices, such as ankle or knee braces, and hernia repair mesh, offer a new opportunity for AM to mimic tissue-like mechanics and improve both patient outcomes and comfort. Here, it is demonstrated how explicit programming of the toolpath in an extrusion AM process can enable new, flexible mesh materials having digitally tailored mechanical properties and geometry. Meshes are fabricated by extrusion of thermoplastics, optionally with continuous fiber reinforcement, using a continuous toolpath that tailors the elasticity of unit cells of the mesh via incorporation of slack and modulation of filament-filament bonding. It is shown how the tensile mesh mechanics can be engineered to match the nonlinear response of muscle, incorporate printed mesh into an ankle brace with directionally specific inversion stiffness, and present further concepts for tailoring their 3D geometry for medical applications.Financial support was provided by a National Science Foundation Science, Engineering, and Education for Sustainability postdoctoral fellowship (Award number: 1415129) to S.W.P.; a Samsung Scholarship to J.L; the School of Engineering and Sciences from Tecnologico de Monterrey to R.R.; the Manufacturing Demonstration Facility, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the Department of Energy, UT-Batelle, Oak Ridge Associated Universities, the DOE’s Advanced Manufacturing Office to G.D.; the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) to C.M.; and the Eric P. and Evelyn E. Newman Fund and NSF-CRCNS-1724135 to N.H

Bird pollination of Canary Island endemic plants

The Canary Islands are home to a guild of endemic, threatened bird pollinated plants. Previous work has suggested that these plants evolved floral traits as adaptations to pollination by flower specialist sunbirds, but subsequently they appear to be have co-opted passerine birds as sub-optimal pollinators. To test this idea we carried out a quantitative study of the pollination biology of three of the bird pollinated plants, Canarina canariensis (Campanulaceae), Isoplexis canariensis (Veronicaceae) and Lotus berthelotii (Fabaceae), on the island of Tenerife. Using colour vision models, we predicted the detectability of flowers to bird and bee pollinators. We measured pollinator visitation rates, nectar standing crops, as well as seed set and pollen removal and deposition. These data showed that the plants are effectively pollinated by non-flower specialist passerine birds that only occasionally visit flowers. The large nectar standing crops and extended flower longevities (>10days) of Canarina and Isoplexis suggests that they have evolved bird pollination system that effectively exploits these low frequency non-specialist pollen vectors and is in no way suboptimal. Seed set in two of the three species was high, and was significantly reduced or zero in flowers where pollinator access was restricted. In L. berthelotii, however, no fruit set was observed, probably because the plants were self incompatible horticultural clones of a single genet. We also show that, while all three species are easily detectable for birds, the orange Canarina and the red Lotus (but less so the yellow-orange Isoplexis) should be difficult to detect for insect pollinators without specialised red receptors, such as bumblebees. Contrary to expectations if we accept that the flowers are primarily adapted to sunbird pollination, the chiffchaff (Phylloscopus canariensis) was an effective pollinator of these species

Local Thermometry of Neutral Modes on the Quantum Hall Edge

A system of electrons in two dimensions and strong magnetic fields can be tuned to create a gapped 2D system with one dimensional channels along the edge. Interactions among these edge modes can lead to independent transport of charge and heat, even in opposite directions. Measuring the chirality and transport properties of these charge and heat modes can reveal otherwise hidden structure in the edge. Here, we heat the outer edge of such a quantum Hall system using a quantum point contact. By placing quantum dots upstream and downstream along the edge of the heater, we can measure both the chemical potential and temperature of that edge to study charge and heat transport, respectively. We find that charge is transported exclusively downstream, but heat can be transported upstream when the edge has additional structure related to fractional quantum Hall physics.Comment: 24 pages, 18 figure

Upper- and mid-mantle interaction between the Samoan plume and the Tonga-Kermadec slabs

Mantle plumes are thought to play a key role in transferring heat from the core\u2013mantle boundary to the lithosphere, where it can significantly influence plate tectonics. On impinging on the lithosphere at spreading ridges or in intra-plate settings, mantle plumes may generate hotspots, large igneous provinces and hence considerable dynamic topography. However, the active role of mantle plumes on subducting slabs remains poorly understood. Here we show that the stagnation at 660 km and fastest trench retreat of the Tonga slab in Southwestern Pacific are consistent with an interaction with the Samoan plume and the Hikurangi plateau. Our findings are based on comparisons between 3D anisotropic tomography images and 3D petrological-thermo-mechanical models, which self-consistently explain several unique features of the Fiji\u2013Tonga region. We identify four possible slip systems of bridgmanite in the lower mantle that reconcile the observed seismic anisotropy beneath the Tonga slab (VSH4VSV) with thermo-mechanical calculations

General practitioners' patient-centredness and responses to patients' emotional cues and concerns: relationships with perceived empathy in areas of high and low socioeconomic deprivation

<b>Background</b> Physician empathy is important to patients across the socio-economic spectrum. However, whether socioeconomic status (SES) influences how patients’ judge physician empathy is not known. We investigated how patients’ perceptions of their general practitioners’ (GPs) empathy related to objectively measured patient-centeredness of the GPs and their detection and response to emotional cues.<p></p> <b>Methods</b> Secondary analysis of 112 videoed consultations of 8 GPs with the high and low empathy scores as rated by patients using the Consultation and Relational Empathy (CARE) Measure working in high or low deprivation settings in Scotland. Objective assessment involved the Measure of Patient-Centredness (MPCC) which has 3 components (exploring disease and illness experience, understanding the whole person, and finding common ground) and the Verona coding system (which measures emotional cues, concerns and responses).<p></p> <b>Results</b> GPs rated by patients as being empathic were more patient-centred overall than those rated as less empathic, in both high (p = 0.03) and low deprivation areas (p = 0.05). In high deprivation areas, perceived empathy was related to finding common ground (p = 0.02) whereas in low deprivation areas it was related to understanding the whole person (p= 0.01). In high deprivation areas, empathic GPs also had significantly different responses to emotional cues and concerns than GPs perceived as having low empathy.<p></p> <b>Conclusion</b> Socioeconomic status appears to affect how patients judge practitioner empathy. This study emphasises the importance of finding common ground and detecting and responding actively to emotional cues in consultations in high deprivation areas. Further research on a larger sample is warranted

Innerbetriebliche Ecopreneure durch Umweltmanagementsysteme? : eine Langzeitanalyse von Bedingungen für proaktives Umweltschutzverhalten

Erworben im Rahmen der Schweizer Nationallizenzen (http://www.nationallizenzen.ch)Die vorliegende Arbeit thematisiert, welche Unterstützungspotentiale Umweltmanagementsysteme (UMS) für Innerbetriebliches Ecopreneurship – proaktives, umweltbewusstes Arbeitsverhalten aller Unternehmensmitglieder – bieten. Eine Längsschnittuntersuchung in sechs deutschen Unternehmen ermittelt situative und personelle Faktoren, die Ecopreneurship maßgeblich beeinflussen. Unternehmen mit UMS-Aktivitäten weisen positivere Einschätzungen in den relevanten Verhaltensbedingungen und dem Ecopreneurship auf, aber keine kontinuierliche Verbesserungen von Ecopreneurship im Zeitverlauf. Daraus ergeben sich weitere Forschungsfragen, etwa zur Volatilität des proaktiven Arbeitsverhaltens

Analysing the Impact of Machine Learning to Model Subjective Mental Workload: A Case Study in Third-Level Education

Mental workload measurement is a complex multidisciplinary research area that includes both the theoretical and practical development of models. These models are aimed at aggregating those factors, believed to shape mental workload, and their interaction, for the purpose of human performance prediction. In the literature, models are mainly theory-driven: their distinct development has been influenced by the beliefs and intuitions of individual scholars in the disciplines of Psychology and Human Factors. This work presents a novel research that aims at reversing this tendency. Specifically, it employs a selection of learning techniques, borrowed from machine learning, to induce models of mental workload from data, with no theoretical assumption or hypothesis. These models are subsequently compared against two well-known subjective measures of mental workload, namely the NASA Task Load Index and the Workload Profile. Findings show how these data-driven models are convergently valid and can explain overall perception of mental workload with a lower error

Tolerance and cross-tolerance to neurocognitive effects of THC and alcohol in heavy cannabis users

and cross-tolerance to neurocognitive effects of THC and alcohol in heavy cannabis user

Abrogation of Stem Loop Binding Protein (Slbp) function leads to a failure of cells to transition from proliferation to differentiation, retinal coloboma and midline axon guidance deficits

Through forward genetic screening for mutations affecting visual system development, we identified prominent coloboma and cell-autonomous retinal neuron differentiation, lamination and retinal axon projection defects in eisspalte (ele) mutant zebrafish. Additional axonal deficits were present, most notably at midline axon commissures. Genetic mapping and cloning of the ele mutation showed that the affected gene is slbp, which encodes a conserved RNA stem-loop binding protein involved in replication dependent histone mRNA metabolism. Cells throughout the central nervous system remained in the cell cycle in ele mutant embryos at stages when, and locations where, post-mitotic cells have differentiated in wild-type siblings. Indeed, RNAseq analysis showed down-regulation of many genes associated with neuronal differentiation. This was coincident with changes in the levels and spatial localisation of expression of various genes implicated, for instance, in axon guidance, that likely underlie specific ele phenotypes. These results suggest that many of the cell and tissue specific phenotypes in ele mutant embryos are secondary to altered expression of modules of developmental regulatory genes that characterise, or promote transitions in, cell state and require the correct function of Slbp-dependent histone and chromatin regulatory genes