Investigation of a Portable Real Time Radiation Mapper

The naked eye is capable of perceiving electromagnetic radiation in a narrow band of frequencies, known as the optical spectrum. Working with low energy radiation outside the optical spectrum presents distinct difficulties, requiring the use of apparatus to measure invisible and intangible electromagnetic radiation. The apparatus, incorporating a Wiimote, and associated method are presented for a small, easily maintained and operated, low cost system for the characterisation of practical RF radiation sources in the microwave and millimetre-wave frequency bands

Full polarimetric millimetre wave radar for stand-off security screening

© COPYRIGHT SPIE. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only. The development and measurements are described of a frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW) mono-static millimetre wave full polarimetric radar, operating at k-band (18 to 26 GHz). The system has been designed to explore the feasibility of using full polarimetry for the detection of concealed weapons, and person borne improvised explosive devices (PBIED). The philosophy of this scheme is a means to extract the maximum information content from a target which is normally in the single spatial pixel (sometimes sub-pixel) configuration in stand-off (tens of metres) and crowd surveillance scenarios. The radar comprises a vector network analyser (VNA), an orthomode transducer and a conical horn antenna. A calibration strategy is discussed and demonstrated using a variety of known calibration targets with known reflective properties, including a flat metal plate, dihedral reflector, metal sphere, helix and dipole. The orthomode transducer is based on a high performance linear polarizer of the turnstile type with isolation better than - 35dB between orthogonal polarisations. The calibration enables the polarimetric Sinclair scattering matrix to be measured at each frequency for coherent polarimetry, and this can be extended using multiple measurements via the Kennaugh matrix to investigate incoherent full polarimetry

Alimentação e sustentabilidade: nossas frutas

O Brasil possui grande variedade de frutíferas nativas com importante potencial gastronômico e tecnológico. Entretanto, parte da biodiversidade brasileira de frutas é desconhecida pela população devido à substituição das variedades nativas por outras de maior apelo comercial. Diante desse quadro, o projeto de extensão em tela pretendeu promover a redescoberta e a valorização da biodiversidade de frutas nativas brasileiras de ocorrência em Santa Catarina por meio de 12 oficinas teórico-práticas, em três instituições públicas de ensino no Município de Florianópolis.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.35700/ca.2019.ano6n10.p69-72.245

Empirical demonstration of environmental sensing in catalytic RNA: evolution of interpretive behavior at the origins of life

This is the final version of the article. Available from the publisher via the DOI in this record.BACKGROUND: The origins of life on the Earth required chemical entities to interact with their environments in ways that could respond to natural selection. The concept of interpretation, where biotic entities use signs in their environment as proxy for the existence of other items of selective value in their environment, has been proposed on theoretical grounds to be relevant to the origins and early evolution of life. However this concept has not been demonstrated empirically. RESULTS: Here, we present data that certain catalytic RNA sequences have properties that would enable interpretation of divalent cation levels in their environment. By assaying the responsiveness of two variants of the Tetrahymena ribozyme to the Ca(2+) ion as a sign for the more catalytically useful Mg(2+) ion, we show an empirical proof-of-principle that interpretation can be an evolvable trait in RNA, often suggested as a model system for early life. In particular we demonstrate that in vitro, the wild-type version of the Tetrahymena ribozyme is not interpretive, in that it cannot use Ca(2+) as a sign for Mg(2+). Yet a variant of this sequence containing five mutations that alter its ability to utilize the Ca(2+) ion engenders a strong interpretive characteristic in this RNA. CONCLUSIONS: We have shown that RNA molecules in a test tube can meet the minimum criteria for the evolution of interpretive behaviour in regards to their responses to divalent metal ion concentrations in their environment. Interpretation in RNA molecules provides a property entirely dependent on natural physico-chemical interactions, but capable of shaping the evolutionary trajectory of macromolecules, especially in the earliest stages of life's history.This work was supported by a STARS grant from the Templeton Foundation to C.S., A.R., and N.L., the Oregon Space Grant Consortium, and the Center for Life in Extreme Environments at Portland State University

New Sequence Perspective on the Devonian Reef Complex and the Frasnian-Famennian Boundary, Canning Basin, Australia

The application of concepts of sequence stratigraphy to seismic and well data has led to a new understanding of the subsurface Devonian reef complex of the Canning Basin. It demonstrates marked reciprocal sedimentation with lowstand terrigenous sediments largely restricted to the basin and transgressive and highstand carbonate sediments on the platform. Preliminary outcrop studies indicate the potential of these concepts to modify significantly the existing lithostratigraphic and biostratigraphic interpretations of this classic exhumed reef complex, including the stratigraphic context of the Frasnian-Famennian boundary in the Canning Basin

DOCK6 Mutations Are Responsible for a Distinct Autosomal-Recessive Variant of Adams-Oliver Syndrome Associated with Brain and Eye Anomalies

Author contacted for file

What's in a virus? Folk understandings of hepatitis C infection and infectiousness among injecting drug users in Kings Cross, Sydney

BACKGROUND: To explore folk understandings of blood borne virus infection and infectiousness among injecting drug users in Kings Cross, Sydney. METHODS: Observational fieldwork was conducted in Kings Cross over a four month period. In-depth interviews with 24 current injectors and 4 key informants recruited from King Cross were undertaken. RESULTS: Hepatitis C (HCV) generated different meanings from HIV. HIV was considered "the dreaded" and generated fear of infection and dire disease progression. Whereas HCV was considered non-desirable but less threatening than HIV. The risks of transmitting HCV through sharing injecting paraphernalia was poorly understood. Some believed HCV infection was linked to poor hygiene and dirty water. Jaundice was mistakenly thought to indicate HCV infection and was used to gauge infectiousness. Many were confused about their current hepatitis C serostatus. Some participants thought they had a "dormant antibody" or that they had a "mild case" of infection. Participants were unsure what this meant for their own health or for their potential to infect others. CONCLUSION: Participants displayed confusion about transmission risks for hepatitis C, conflating blood awareness and hygiene health promotion messages. Participants' reliance on the symptom of jaundice to gauge serostatus places them at risk of transmitting and contracting HCV. Participants were confused about what a positive HCV diagnosis meant for their own health and their ability to infect others. Education is needed to debunk misconceptions about jaundice and clarify medical terms such as 'antibody' at the time of diagnosis. Further clarification of messages about injecting hygiene and blood awareness are also required

Spectral quantification of nonlinear behaviour of the nearshore seabed and correlations with potential forcings at Duck, N.C., U.S.A

Local bathymetric quasi-periodic patterns of oscillation are identified from monthly profile surveys taken at two shore-perpendicular transects at the USACE field research facility in Duck, North Carolina, USA, spanning 24.5 years and covering the swash and surf zones. The chosen transects are the two furthest (north and south) from the pier located at the study site. Research at Duck has traditionally focused on one or more of these transects as the effects of the pier are least at these locations. The patterns are identified using singular spectrum analysis (SSA). Possible correlations with potential forcing mechanisms are discussed by 1) doing an SSA with same parameter settings to independently identify the quasi-periodic cycles embedded within three potentially linked sequences: monthly wave heights (MWH), monthly mean water levels (MWL) and the large scale atmospheric index known as the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and 2) comparing the patterns within MWH, MWL and NAO to the local bathymetric patterns. The results agree well with previous patterns identified using wavelets and confirm the highly nonstationary behaviour of beach levels at Duck; the discussion of potential correlations with hydrodynamic and atmospheric phenomena is a new contribution. The study is then extended to all measured bathymetric profiles, covering an area of 1100m (alongshore) by 440m (cross-shore), to 1) analyse linear correlations between the bathymetry and the potential forcings using multivariate empirical orthogonal functions (MEOF) and linear correlation analysis and 2) identify which collective quasi-periodic bathymetric patterns are correlated with those within MWH, MWL or NAO, based on a (nonlinear) multichannel singular spectrum analysis (MSSA). (...continued in submitted paper)Comment: 50 pages, 3 tables, 8 figure

"It's making contacts" : notions of social capital and implications for widening access to medical education

Acknowledgements Our thanks to the Medical Schools Council (MSC) of the UK for funding Study A; REACH Scotland for funding Study B; and Queen Mary University of London, and to the medical school applicants and students who gave their time to be interviewed. Our thanks also to Dr Sean Zhou and Dr Sally Curtis, and Manjul Medhi, for their help with data collection for studies A and B respectively. Our thanks also to Dr Lara Varpio, Uniformed Services University of the USA, for her advice and guidance on collating data sets and her comments on the draft manuscript.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Epidemiological Interactions between Urogenital and Intestinal Human Schistosomiasis in the Context of Praziquantel Treatment across Three West African Countries

© 2015 Knowles et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. The attached file is the published version of the article