Adhesion, Stiffness and Instability in Atomically Thin MoS2 Bubbles

We measured the work of separation of single and few-layer MoS2 membranes from a SiOx substrate using a mechanical blister test, and found a value of 220 +- 35 mJ/m^2. Our measurements were also used to determine the 2D Young's modulus of a single MoS2 layer to be 160 +- 40 N/m. We then studied the delamination mechanics of pressurized MoS2 bubles, demonstrating both stable and unstable transitions between the bubbles' laminated and delaminated states as the bubbles were inflated. When they were deflated, we observed edge pinning and a snap-in transition which are not accounted for by the previously reported models. We attribute this result to adhesion hysteresis and use our results to estimate the work of adhesion of our membranes to be 42 +- 20 mJ/m^2

The Small interfering RNA pathway is not essential for Wolbachia-mediated antiviral protection in Drosophila melanogaster

Wolbachia pipientis delays RNA virus-induced mortality in Drosophila spp. We investigated whether Wolbachia-mediated protection was dependent on the small interfering RNA (siRNA) pathway, a key antiviral defense. Compared to Wolbachia-free flies, virus-induced mortality was delayed in Wolbachia-infected flies with loss-of-function of siRNA pathway components, indicating that Wolbachia-mediated protection functions in the absence of the canonical siRNA pathway

Views of adults with a congenital condition about prenatal tests: cost, quality and value of life in Britain and Finland

Views of adults with a congenital condition about prenatal tests: cost, quality and value of life in Britain and Finland Prenatal tests for congenital conditions are offered increasingly commonly. They offer prospective parents the choice of preventing lives which are likely to be of poor quality and to require costly support. We looked for evidence to support these assumptions about the value and cost of life, in semi-structured interviews with 50 adults with a congenital condition. The six conditions involved were thalassaemia, cystic fibrosis, sickle cell, spina bifida, Down's syndrome and, in Finland, diastrophic dysplasia. Interview topics included family and friends, education and employment, pleasures and dissatisfactions, and views on prenatal testing. Far from needing to be dependent, the adults described active rewarding lives, and the many ways they contribute to their families and local communities. They all said that prejudice and pessimistic expectations about their condition were the main barriers preventing them from living life more fully. They would like prenatal counselling to be more accurately informed about the reality of living with a congenital condition. The interviewees are not claimed to be typical; too little social research has yet been conducted to see how representative they might be. However, they raise urgent questions about the need for more realistic and wide-ranging evidence on which to base prenatal screening policies and counselling

The "ART" of Linkage: Pre-Treatment Loss to Care after HIV Diagnosis at Two PEPFAR Sites in Durban, South Africa

BACKGROUND. Although loss to follow-up after antiretroviral therapy (ART) initiation is increasingly recognized, little is known about pre-treatment losses to care (PTLC) after an initial positive HIV test. Our objective was to determine PTLC in newly identified HIV-infected individuals in South Africa. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS. We assembled the South African Test, Identify and Link (STIAL) Cohort of persons presenting for HIV testing at two sites offering HIV and CD4 count testing and HIV care in Durban, South Africa. We defined PTLC as failure to have a CD4 count within 8 weeks of HIV diagnosis. We performed multivariate analysis to identify factors associated with PTLC. From November 2006 to May 2007, of 712 persons who underwent HIV testing and received their test result, 454 (64%) were HIV-positive. Of those, 206 (45%) had PTLC. Infected patients were significantly more likely to have PTLC if they lived =10 kilometers from the testing center (RR=1.37; 95% CI: 1.11-1.71), had a history of tuberculosis treatment (RR=1.26; 95% CI: 1.00-1.58), or were referred for testing by a health care provider rather than self-referred (RR=1.61; 95% CI: 1.22-2.13). Patients with one, two or three of these risks for PTLC were 1.88, 2.50 and 3.84 times more likely to have PTLC compared to those with no risk factors. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE. Nearly half of HIV-infected persons at two high prevalence sites in Durban, South Africa, failed to have CD4 counts following HIV diagnosis. These high rates of pre-treatment loss to care highlight the urgent need to improve rates of linkage to HIV care after an initial positive HIV test.US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (R01 AI058736, K24 AI062476, K23 AI068458); the Harvard University Center for AIDS Research (P30 AI42851); National Institutes of Health (K24 AR 02123); the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation (Clinical Scientist Development Award); the Harvard University Program on AID

Deconstruction of Holistic Rubrics into Analytic Rubrics for Large-Scale Assessments of Students’ Reasoning of Complex Science Concepts

Constructed responses can be used to assess the complexity of student thinking and can be evaluated using rubrics. The two most typical rubric types used are holistic and analytic. Holistic rubrics may be difficult to use with expert-level reasoning that has additive or overlapping language. In an attempt to unpack complexity in holistic rubrics at a large scale, we have developed a systematic approach called deconstruction. We define deconstruction as the process of converting a holistic rubric into defining individual conceptual components that can be used for analytic rubric development and application. These individual components can then be recombined into the holistic score which keeps true to the holistic rubric purpose, while maximizing the benefits and minimizing the shortcomings of each rubric type. This paper outlines the deconstruction process and presents a case study that shows defined concept definitions for a hierarchical holistic rubric developed for an undergraduate physiology-content reasoning context. These methods can be used as one way for assessment developers to unpack complex student reasoning, which may ultimately improve reliability and validation of assessments that are targeted at uncovering large-scale complex scientific reasoning. Accessed 398 times on https://pareonline.net from September 05, 2019 to December 31, 2019. For downloads from January 1, 2020 forward, please click on the PlumX Metrics link to the right

The Student Movement Volume 106 Issue 20: Waving Goodbye to the School Year: AFIA Musical Dazzles Audience

HUMANS Meet Your New AUSA President: Aya Pangusan, Interviewed by: Timmy Duado Meet Your New AUSA Senator-at-Large: Rock Choi, Interviewed by: Grace No Professor Spotlight: Dr. L. Monique Pittman, Interviewed by: Caryn Cruz Senior Spotlight: Joshua Pak, Interviewed by: Lauren Kim ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT Creative Spotlight: The Scoop Podcast, Interviewed by: Solana Campbell Return to Palau Documentary Premiers at AU, Megan Napod Write ON, Kaela McFadden NEWS Balikbayan, Homecoming, Chris Ngugi Terry Dodge Memorial, Scott Moncrieff Until We Meet Again: Farewell to Three AU Deans, Chris Ngugi IDEAS Does the total score of a college course have anything to do with a student\u27s motivation?, Robert Zhang The Pros and Cons of Taking a Gap Year, Gabriela Francisco You\u27ll Be Ready When You Get There, I Promise, Evin N. Musgrove PULSE Eggs, Gabriela Fransico Goodbye from the SM Staff Summer Plans, Gloria Oh To Find Your Worldview, T Bruggeman THE LAST WORD Butterflies and Anxiety: A Final Word, Alyssa Henriquezhttps://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/sm-106/1019/thumbnail.jp

Castable Bulk Metallic Glass Strain Wave Gears: Towards Decreasing the Cost of High-Performance Robotics

The use of bulk metallic glasses (BMGs) as the flexspline in strain wave gears (SWGs), also known as harmonic drives, is presented. SWGs are unique, ultra-precision gearboxes that function through the elastic flexing of a thin-walled cup, called a flexspline. The current research demonstrates that BMGs can be cast at extremely low cost relative to machining and can be implemented into SWGs as an alternative to steel. This approach may significantly reduce the cost of SWGs, enabling lower-cost robotics. The attractive properties of BMGs, such as hardness, elastic limit and yield strength, may also be suitable for extreme environment applications in spacecraft

Critical review : ‘Green’ ethylene production through emerging technologies, with a focus on plasma catalysis

Over the years, numerous studies have explored the green synthesis of ethylene. Within this context, the focus of this perspective shifts toward plasma technology, which has demonstrated the capability to convert methane into ethylene. Plasma catalysis creates distinctive physical and chemical environments, particularly at normal temperature and pressure, distinguishing it from alternative methods. Nevertheless, the utilization of atmospheric pressure plasma is intricate, posing scientific challenges in the realms of physics and chemistry. In this viewpoint, various key performance aspects are evaluated, encompassing methane conversion efficiency, ethylene selectivity, and specific energy input. These scientific pros and cons are then assessed for their readiness for industrial-scale implementation. Initially, the potential for small-scale ethylene production is examined, leveraging existing robust process technologies to unlock fresh market and supply chain opportunities. Subsequently, the sustainability of plasma technology for green ethylene production is compared to conventional ethylene production and alternative green ethylene production methods, including biomass-based approaches. Contrary to perhaps optimistic expectations, current literature evidence does not uniformly favor the latter, indicating the potential for plasma-based green ethylene processes. Additionally, this paper underscores the importance of considering Environmental, Social, and Governance factors that influence business decisions. Finally, this review underscores plasma technology as a potentially promising approach for green ethylene synthesis from methane, offering unique advantages under normal conditions while simultaneously presenting scientific challenges. It assesses its viability for small-scale production and benchmarks its sustainability against conventional and alternative methods, emphasizing the importance of a sustainable future for the green petrochemical industry

Urban park use during the COVID-19 pandemic:Are socially vulnerable communities disproportionately impacted?

The COVID-19 pandemic altered human behavior around the world. To maintain mental and physical health during periods of lockdown and quarantine, people often engaged in outdoor, physically distanced activities such as visits to parks and greenspace. However, research tracking outdoor recreation patterns during the pandemic has yielded inconsistent results, and few studies have explored the impacts of COVID-19 on park use across diverse neighborhoods. We used a mixed methods approach to examine changes in park use patterns in cities across North Carolina, USA, during the COVID-19 pandemic, with an emphasis on impacts in socially vulnerable communities (based on racial/ethnic composition and socioeconomic status). First, we surveyed a demographically representative sample of 611 urban residents during August 2020 to assess their use of outdoor park spaces before and during the pandemic. Second, we used cell phone location (i.e., geo-tracking) data to document changes in park visits within 605 socioeconomically diverse urban census tracts before (July 2019) and during (July 2020) the pandemic. Data from both methods revealed urban park use declined during the pandemic; 56% of survey respondents said they stopped or reduced park use, and geo-tracked park visits dropped by 15%. Park users also became more homogenous, with visits increasing the most for past park visitors and declining the most in socially vulnerable communities and among individuals who were BIPOC or lower-income. Our results raise concerns about urban park use during the COVID-19 pandemic and suggest pre-existing health disparities in socially vulnerable communities might be exacerbated by inequitable access and utilization of parks and greenspace