Simultaneous removal of oil and gases from liquid sources using a hollow fiber membrane

The present invention includes an apparatus and method for removing oil from a oil-containing liquid comprising oil and gas comprising: a source of oil-containing liquid; and a membrane contactor system in fluid communication with the source of oil-containing liquid, the membrane contactor system comprising one or more membrane contactors having a first and a second surface, wherein the first surface coalesces oil and removes gas from the oil-containing liquid, and the oil and gas are collected on the second surface from the oil-containing liquid.Board of Regents, University of Texas Syste

Electron collisions with laser cooled and trapped metastable helium atoms: total scattering cross sections

Absolute measurements of total scattering cross sections for low energy (5–70 eV) electrons by metastable helium (23S) atoms are presented. The measurements are performed using a magneto-optical trap which is loaded from a laser-cooled, bright beam of slow He(23S) atoms. The data are compared with predictions from convergent close coupling and R matrix with pseudostate calculations, and we find good agreement between experiment and theory

Metastable helium: a new determination of the longest atomic excited-state lifetime

Exited atoms may relax to the ground state by radiative decay, a process which is usually very fast (of order nanoseconds). However, quantum-mechanical selection rules can prevent such rapid decay, in which case these “metastable” states can have lifetimes of order seconds or longer. In this Letter, we determine experimentally the lifetime of the longest-lived neutral atomic state—the first excited state of helium (the 2 3S1 metastable state)—to the highest accuracy yet measured. We use laser cooling and magnetic trapping to isolate a cloud of metastable helium (He*) atoms from their surrounding environment, and measure the decay rate to the ground 1 1S0 state via extreme ultraviolet (XUV) photon emission. This is the first measurement using a virtually unperturbed ensemble of isolated helium atoms, and yields a value of 7870(510) seconds, in excellent agreement with the predictions of quantum electrodynamic theory

Supramolecular self-assembled network formation containing N···Br halogen bonds in physisorbed overlayers.

The formation of a halogen bonded self-assembled co-crystal physisorbed monolayer containing N···Br interactions is reported for the first time. The co-crystal monolayer is identified experimentally by synchrotron X-ray diffraction and the structure determined. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations are also employed to assess the magnitudes of the different interactions in the layer. Significantly, compared to other halogen bonds in physisorbed monolayers we have reported recently, the N···Br bond here is found to be non-linear. It is proposed that the increasing importance of the lateral hydrogen bond interactions, relative to the halogen bond strength, leads to the bending of the halogen bonds.We acknowledge financial support for AB from EPSRC DTA award from the Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge. We acknowledge Diamond Light Source for time on beamline I11 under proposals EE6511 and EE7761.This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from the Royal Society of Chemistry via http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/C4CP03379

Experiential Learning Through Participatory Action Research in an Interdisciplinary Leadership Training Program

Background: Experience in multidisciplinary collaboration among healthcare providers, leaders in public health, and educators is essential to effectively address the diverse needs of children with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) and their families. Purpose: We describe three participatory action research (PAR) projects from an interdisciplinary training program, which used experiential learning to enhance leadership competencies and promote inclusive services. Trainees report their leadership growth as providers and advocates for children with I/DD using experiential learning through PAR. Approach: Trainees discuss their engagement with organizations serving children with I/DD and ways that experiential learning supported leadership skill development, commitment to inclusive person- and family-centered practices, and contributions to disability advocacy and support programs. Conclusion: PAR is a beneficial experiential learning approach to foster interdisciplinary collaboration through inclusive community engagement. Related training programs may adopt a similar approach to build leadership skills among professionals in health care, public health, and education, and promote optimal health outcomes for children with I/DD

A Modeling Framework to Describe the Transmission of Bluetongue Virus within and between Farms in Great Britain

Recently much attention has been given to developing national-scale micro-simulation models for livestock diseases that can be used to predict spread and assess the impact of control measures. The focus of these models has been on directly transmitted infections with little attention given to vector-borne diseases such as bluetongue, a viral disease of ruminants transmitted by Culicoides biting midges. Yet BT has emerged over the past decade as one of the most important diseases of livestock.We developed a stochastic, spatially-explicit, farm-level model to describe the spread of bluetongue virus (BTV) within and between farms. Transmission between farms was modeled by a generic kernel, which includes both animal and vector movements. Once a farm acquired infection, the within-farm dynamics were simulated based on the number of cattle and sheep kept on the farm and on local temperatures. Parameter estimates were derived from the published literature and using data from the outbreak of bluetongue in northern Europe in 2006. The model was validated using data on the spread of BTV in Great Britain during 2007. The sensitivity of model predictions to the shape of the transmission kernel was assessed.The model is able to replicate the dynamics of BTV in Great Britain. Although uncertainty remains over the precise shape of the transmission kernel and certain aspects of the vector, the modeling approach we develop constitutes an ideal framework in which to incorporate these aspects as more and better data become available. Moreover, the model provides a tool with which to examine scenarios for the spread and control of BTV in Great Britain

Empathy’s echo: post-apartheid fellow feeling

The concept of empathy has been set to work, across a range of fields, to mark a break with the relational patterns of apartheid. Similarly, empathy has been identified, historically, as that which, within apartheid and colonial rule more generally, exceeded or escaped relations of domination. This paper approaches the discourse of empathy from a different angle, taking empathy as a concept embedded in colonial thinking. Given that so many claims to empathy have had recourse to psychoanalysis, the paper focuses on empathy in Freud’s work, specifically Dora’s case and Freud’s analysis of Michelangelo’s Moses, which are read alongside the images and installations of contemporary South African artist, Nandipha Mntambo, in particular her collection of images and installations in The Encounter. Three scenes are conjured wherein empathy confronts its impossibility, but rather than foreclose on empathy as a postapartheid condition, it is through the disclosure of the aporias of empathy that it might be brought into the realm of the ethical through a practice of reinscription and through the figure of Echo

Virus genomes reveal factors that spread and sustained the Ebola epidemic.

The 2013-2016 West African epidemic caused by the Ebola virus was of unprecedented magnitude, duration and impact. Here we reconstruct the dispersal, proliferation and decline of Ebola virus throughout the region by analysing 1,610 Ebola virus genomes, which represent over 5% of the known cases. We test the association of geography, climate and demography with viral movement among administrative regions, inferring a classic 'gravity' model, with intense dispersal between larger and closer populations. Despite attenuation of international dispersal after border closures, cross-border transmission had already sown the seeds for an international epidemic, rendering these measures ineffective at curbing the epidemic. We address why the epidemic did not spread into neighbouring countries, showing that these countries were susceptible to substantial outbreaks but at lower risk of introductions. Finally, we reveal that this large epidemic was a heterogeneous and spatially dissociated collection of transmission clusters of varying size, duration and connectivity. These insights will help to inform interventions in future epidemics

A study of the developmental influences that shape the contemporary practice of beginning and advanced spiritual directors

This study explores the similar and different developmental influences that shape the practice of beginning and advanced spiritual directors. An examination of the contemporary literature on spiritual direction finds that in the main, two developmental influences shape the practice of contemporary spiritual directors: their capacity to adopt a contemplative stance towards their directees and their ability to be aware contextually of the factors that fashion the dynamic of accompaniment. While the review highlights the presence of these two influences, the literature is deficient in understanding the similarities and differences in how these two influences shape the practice of beginning and advanced spiritual directors. To address the deficiency, this study reviews three groups of Western Australian spiritual directors, Anglican, Churches of Christ and Roman Catholic. The investigation takes a qualitative, ethnographic approach, using focus groups. An analysis and discussion of the data confirms that the similarities and differences in the influences that shape their practice revolve around two key developmental influences namely, the capacity of directors to adopt a contemplative stance to their directees, and their ability to be aware contextually of the factors that fashion the dynamic of accompaniment. While both influences shape beginning and advanced directors, the former impacts more on the practice of beginning directors and the latter more affects advanced directors. Two factors may initiate and sustain the capacity of directors to adopt a contemplative stance. First, directors grow by noticing and attending to all the dimensions of their human experience. Second, directors develop by having their experience attended to in some form of therapeutic relationship or through participation in various developmental group processes. Directors may enhance their capacity to be aware contextually of the factors that fashion the dynamic of accompaniment through understanding paradigms about spiritual direction practice and spiritual development. Their appreciation of paradigms about spiritual direction may derive from two sources. The first is by how they distinguish more effectively spiritual direction from other therapeutic practices. The second is by how they grow in understanding relevant theological, philosophical, and psychological perspectives that inform good practice. Directors may further increase their comprehension of interpretive frameworks about spiritual development by redressing the attitudinal effects of fundamentalism and incorporating a multiplicity of approaches to spirituality. Training programmes are an important means to introduce and develop directors' abilities to be aware contextually of the factors that fashion the dynamic of accompaniment. A person's ecclesial role may influence the context in which a director commences practice. From this discussion, this study draws conclusions and offers recommendations applicable to practice and research