SNS Timing System

This poster describes the timing system being designed for Spallation Neutron Source being built at Oak Ridge National lab

Extragalactic Radio Sources and the WMAP Cold Spot

We detect a dip of 20-45% in the surface brightness and number counts of NVSS sources smoothed to a few degrees at the location of the WMAP cold spot. The dip has structure on scales of approximately 1-10 degrees. Together with independent all-sky wavelet analyses, our results suggest that the dip in extragalactic brightness and number counts and the WMAP cold spot are physically related, i.e., that the coincidence is neither a statistical anomaly nor a WMAP foreground correction problem. If the cold spot does originate from structures at modest redshifts, as we suggest, then there is no remaining need for non-Gaussian processes at the last scattering surface of the CMB to explain the cold spot. The late integrated Sachs-Wolfe effect, already seen statistically for NVSS source counts, can now be seen to operate on a single region. To create the magnitude and angular size of the WMAP cold spot requires a ~140 Mpc radius completely empty void at z<=1 along this line of sight. This is far outside the current expectations of the concordance cosmology, and adds to the anomalies seen in the CMB.Comment: revised version, ApJ, in pres

Noradrenergic induction of odor-specific neural habituation and olfactory memories

For many mammals, individual recognition of conspecifics relies on olfactory cues. Certain individual recognition memories are thought to be stored when conspecific odor cues coincide with surges of noradrenaline (NA) triggered by intensely arousing social events. Such familiar stimuli elicit reduced behavioral responses, a change likely related to NA-dependent plasticity in the olfactory bulb (OB). In addition to its role in these ethological memories, NA signaling in the OB appears to be relevant for the discrimination of more arbitrary odorants as well. Nonetheless, no NA-gated mechanism of long-term plasticity in the OB has ever been directly observed in vivo. Here, we report that NA release from locus ceruleus (LC), when coupled to odor presentation, acts locally in the main OB to cause a specific long-lasting suppression of responses to paired odors. These effects were observed for both food odors and urine, an important social recognition cue. Moreover, in subsequent behavioral tests, mice exhibited habituation to paired urine stimuli, suggesting that this LC-mediated olfactory neural plasticity, induced under anesthesia, can store an individual recognition memory that is observable after recovery

Cosmic ray tables - Asymptotic directions, variational coefficients and cut-off rigidities IQSY instruction manual no. 10

Cosmic ray deflections in geomagnetic field, variational coefficients, and diurnal intensity variations - table

Exploring the cultural aspects of compassion in nursing care: a comparative study of Greece and Cyprus

Introduction: It is important to consider the concept of compassionate care within a cultural context in terms of how it might be perceived and demonstrated in practice. People may vary in what constitutes suffering due to variations in their values, culture, needs and understanding. In this paper we report on the findings from data collected from Greek and Greek-Cypriot Nurses during a study which sought to explore similarities and differences between the two countries with regard to perceptions of compassion. Methods: This is an exploratory, cross-sectional descriptive study. The data discussed within this paper have been extracted from a large scale on-line survey involving 15 countries. Greek-Cypriot participants were recruited through local professional organizations and university/college student associations. In Greece, participants were recruited through university associations and social networks. Participants were emailed a link to the survey which was completed on-line. The research tool consisted of 10 open and closed questions. Results: Many similarities were identified between the two groups following their response to the survey, although some small differences were also identified. From the findings of the qualitative data, 3 main themes emerged for both groups of nurses: compassionate communication; awareness of needs; and kindness, whilst a fourth theme was also identified applying mostly to the Greek nurses with regard to factors which might hinder compassion and referring mainly to the effects of economic crisis. Discussion: A number of similarities were identified between the two countries and both countries reported feeling that compassion in nursing is very important, and also stating that they themselves received little compassion from management. However, despite similarities in the perceptions of Greek and Greek-Cypriot nurses, some differences were also identified. Furthermore, our study revealed a greater number of Greek nurses reporting effects of austerity. Conclusion: Greek and Greek Cypriot nurses may differ on how they define compassion but their practical expressions on compassion are very similar. Both countries felt that their own experiences of compassion were most likely to come from colleagues or patients, and most unlikely to come from their managers. There is an urgent need for compassionate leaders within their public health care systems, who will develop organizational cultures which nurture and sustain compassion. This is particularly evident in the case of Greece where we identified a larger number of nurses reporting restraints due to financial crisis

Fractal-like Distributions over the Rational Numbers in High-throughput Biological and Clinical Data

Recent developments in extracting and processing biological and clinical data are allowing quantitative approaches to studying living systems. High-throughput sequencing, expression profiles, proteomics, and electronic health records are some examples of such technologies. Extracting meaningful information from those technologies requires careful analysis of the large volumes of data they produce. In this note, we present a set of distributions that commonly appear in the analysis of such data. These distributions present some interesting features: they are discontinuous in the rational numbers, but continuous in the irrational numbers, and possess a certain self-similar (fractal-like) structure. The first set of examples which we present here are drawn from a high-throughput sequencing experiment. Here, the self-similar distributions appear as part of the evaluation of the error rate of the sequencing technology and the identification of tumorogenic genomic alterations. The other examples are obtained from risk factor evaluation and analysis of relative disease prevalence and co-mordbidity as these appear in electronic clinical data. The distributions are also relevant to identification of subclonal populations in tumors and the study of the evolution of infectious diseases, and more precisely the study of quasi-species and intrahost diversity of viral populations

Centrifugation and capillarity integrated into a multiple analyte whole blood analyser

A unique clinical chemistry analyser is described which processes 90 μl of whole blood (fingerstick or venous) into multiple aliquots of diluted plasma and reports the results of 12 tests in 14 min. To perform a panel of tests, the operator applies the unmetered sample directly into a single use, 8 cm diameter plastic rotor which contains the required liquid diluent and dry reagents. Using centrifugal and capillary forces, the rotor meters the required amount of blood, separates the red cells, meters the plasma, meters the diluent, mixes the fluids, distributes the fluid to the reaction cuvettes and mixes the reagents and the diluted plasma in the cuvettes. The instrument monitors the reagent reactions simultaneously using nine wavelengths, calculates the results from the absorbance data, and reports the results

Improving Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Biodegradation in Contaminated Soil Through Low-Level Surfactant Addition After Conventional Bioremediation

Efficacy of bioremediation for soil contaminated with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) may be limited by the fractions of soil-bound PAHs that are less accessible to PAH-degrading microorganisms. In previous test-tube-scale work, submicellar doses of nonionic surfactants were screened for their ability to enhance the desorption and biodegradation of residual PAHs in soil after conventional bioremediation in a laboratory-scale, slurry-phase bioreactor. Polyoxyethylene sorbitol hexaoleate (POESH) was the optimum surfactant for enhancing PAH removal, especially the high–molecular weight PAHs. This work extends that concept by treating the effluent from the slurry-phase bioreactor in a second-stage batch reactor, to which POESH was added, for an additional 7 or 12 days. Surfactant amendment removed substantial amounts of the PAHs and oxy-PAHs remaining after conventional slurry-phase bioremediation, including more than 80% of residual 4-ring PAHs. Surfactant-amended treatment decreased soil cytotoxicity, but often increased the genotoxicity of the soil as measured using the DT-40 chicken lymphocyte DNA damage response assay. Potential ecotoxicity, measured using a seed germination assay, was reduced by bioreactor treatment and was reduced further after second-stage treatment with POESH. Of bacteria previously implicated as potential PAH degraders under POESH-amended conditions in a prior study, members of the Terrimonas genus were associated with differences in high–molecular weight PAH removal in the current study. Research using submicellar doses of surfactant as a second-stage treatment step is limited and these findings can inform the design of bioremediation systems at field sites treating soil contaminated with PAHs and other hydrophobic contaminants that have low bioaccessibility

Evidence of Rapid Phenocryst Growth of Olivine During Ascent in Basalts From the Big Pine Volcanic Field: Application of Olivine‐Melt Thermometry and Hygrometry at the Liquidus

The Quaternary Big Pine (BP) volcanic field in eastern California is notable for the occurrence of mantle xenoliths in several flows. This points to rapid ascent of basalt through the crust and precludes prolonged storage in a crustal reservoir. In this study, the hypothesis of phenocryst growth during ascent is tested for several basalts (13–7 wt% MgO) and shown to be viable. Phenocrysts of olivine and clinopyroxene frequently display diffusion‐limited growth textures, and clinopyroxene compositions are consistent with polybaric crystallization. When the most Mg‐rich olivine in each sample is paired with the whole‐rock composition, resulting Fe2+‐MgKD(olivine‐melt) values (0.31–0.36) match those calculated from literature models (0.32–0.36). Application of a Mg‐ and a Ni‐based olivine‐melt thermometer from the literature, both calibrated on the same experimental data set, leads to two sets of temperatures that vary linearly with whole‐rock MgO wt%. Because the Ni thermometer is independent of water content, it provides the actual temperature at the onset of olivine crystallization (1247–1097°C), whereas the Mg thermometer gives the temperature under anhydrous conditions and thus allows ΔT (=TMg − TNi = depression of liquidus due to water) to be obtained. The average ΔT for all samples is ~59°C, which is consistent with analyzed water contents of 1.5–3.0 wt% in olivine‐hosted melt inclusions from the literature. Because the application of olivine‐melt thermometry/hygrometry at the liquidus only requires microprobe analyses of olivine combined with whole‐rock compositions, it can be used to obtain large global data sets of the temperature and water contents of basalts from different tectonic settings.Plain Language SummaryBasaltic lavas are a window into their mantle source regions, which is why it is important to determine their temperatures and water contents. In this study, a new approach that allows these two parameters to be quantified is demonstrated for basalts from the Big Pine volcanic field, CA. They were targeted because many contain chunks of dense mantle rocks, which precludes storage in a crustal magma chamber and points to direct ascent from the mantle to the surface along fractures. Two hypotheses are proposed, tested, and shown to be viable in this study: (1) olivine crystallized in the basalts during ascent, and (2) the most Mg‐rich olivine analyzed in each basalt represents the first olivine to grow during ascent. This enables the most Mg‐rich olivine to be paired with the whole‐rock composition in the application of olivine‐melt thermometry and hygrometry. The results match those from published, independent studies. The success of this approach paves the way for the attainment of large, high‐quality data sets for basalts from a wide variety of tectonic settings. This, in turn, may allow global variations in mantle temperature and volatile content to be mapped in greater detail and better understood.Key PointsRapid phenocryst growth occurs during ascent in Mg‐rich basalts (some carry mantle xenoliths) from the Big Pine volcanic field, CAThe most Mg‐rich olivine can be paired with the whole‐rock composition to apply olivine‐melt thermometry/hygrometry at the liquidusLarge, high‐quality data sets on the temperature and water content of basalts from various tectonic settings can be obtained by this methodPeer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/163434/3/ggge22329-sup-0001-2020GC009264-SI.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/163434/2/ggge22329.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/163434/1/ggge22329_am.pd