Atomic Analogy of Poverty

An analogy between the model of an atom and poverty of an individual in a poverty field is presented to construe that poverty levels are quantized in similar notions as in the models of an atom. This analogy provides a rational explanation of the observed phenomena in society in part as well as it can be used to predict future observations. Concepts proposed in this paper may lead to a framework to quantify poverty, absolute or relative, and suggest enhanced collaboration between moral science and natural science to study poverty dynamic

Fructose diphosphatase from rabbit liver. 3. Nature of the groups reactive with dinitrofluorobenzene.

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Experiences of Inpatient Bone Marrow Transplantation Nurses and Providers Using Electronic Symptom Reporting

Purpose To investigate the use of electronic patient-reported outcomes (PROs) to assess symptoms and how they can provide opportunities to clinicians to address symptoms in a timely manner to improve clinical care. As part of a larger study to evaluate whether providing standardized symptom reports to the medical team would decrease the time to treatment of reported symptoms in hematopoietic stem-cell transplant recipients, we assessed nurses’ and providers’ perceptions of electronic symptom reporting. Methods Semistructured interviews of RNs, MDs, NPs and PAs were conducted at an academic cancer center in the southeastern United States. Nurses’ and providers’ perceptions of electronic symptom reporting were explored. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and coded by two investigators to identify major themes. Results Fourteen RNs and seven providers (MDs, PAs, and NPs) participated in the interviews. Three main themes emerged from the interviews: electronic symptom reporting may improve assessment and care, integrating symptom reporting into nurse workflow presents difficulties, and there are barriers for completion of surveys. Conclusion The majority of nurses and providers believed that the inclusion of electronic symptom reporting in bone marrow transplantation inpatient units has the potential to improve care but that barriers to implementation remain

The equation of state of CsCl-structured FeSi to 40 GPa: Implications for silicon in the Earth's core

We have measured the compressibility of CsCl-structured FeSi to 40 GPa by X-ray powder diffraction using synchrotron radiation. A third order Birch-Murnaghan equation of state fit to the experimental data yields V-0=21.74+/-0.02 Angstrom, with a K-0 of 184+/-5 GPa and K'(0)=4.2+/-0.3. The measured density and elastic properties of CsCl-FeSi are consistent with silicon being a major element in the Earth's core

Aerothermodynamic Analysis of a Reentry Brazilian Satellite

This work deals with a computational investigation on the small ballistic reentry Brazilian vehicle SARA (acronyms for SAt\'elite de Reentrada Atmosf\'erica). Hypersonic flows over the vehicle SARA at zero-degree angle of attack in a chemical equilibrium and thermal non-equilibrium are modeled by the Direct Simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method, which has become the main technique for studying complex multidimensional rarefied flows, and that properly accounts for the non-equilibrium aspects of the flows. The emphasis of this paper is to examine the behavior of the primary properties during the high altitude portion of SARA reentry. In this way, velocity, density, pressure and temperature field are investigated for altitudes of 100, 95, 90, 85 and 80 km. In addition, comparisons based on geometry are made between axisymmetric and planar two-dimensional configurations. Some significant differences between these configurations were noted on the flowfield structure in the reentry trajectory. The analysis showed that the flow disturbances have different influence on velocity, density, pressure and temperature along the stagnation streamline ahead of the capsule nose. It was found that the stagnation region is a thermally stressed zone. It was also found that the stagnation region is a zone of strong compression, high wall pressure. Wall pressure distributions are compared with those of available experimental data and good agreement is found along the spherical nose for the altitude range investigated.Comment: The paper will be published in Vol. 42 of the Brazilian Journal of Physic

The response of perennial and temporary headwater stream invertebrate communities to hydrological extremes

The headwaters of karst rivers experience considerable hydrological variability, including spates and streambed drying. Extreme summer flooding on the River Lathkill (Derbyshire, UK) provided the opportunity to examine the invertebrate community response to unseasonal spate flows, flow recession and, at temporary sites, streambed drying. Invertebrates were sampled at sites with differing flow permanence regimes during and after the spates. Following streambed drying at temporary sites, dewatered surface sediments were investigated as a refugium for aquatic invertebrates. Experimental rehydration of these dewatered sediments was conducted to promote development of desiccation-tolerant life stages. At perennial sites, spate flows reduced invertebrate abundance and diversity, whilst at temporary sites, flow reactivation facilitated rapid colonisation of the surface channel by a limited number of invertebrate taxa. Following streambed drying, 38 taxa were recorded from the dewatered and rehydrated sediments, with Oligochaeta being the most abundant taxon and Chironomidae (Diptera) the most diverse. Experimental rehydration of dewatered sediments revealed the presence of additional taxa, including Stenophylax sp. (Trichoptera: Limnephilidae) and Nemoura sp. (Plecoptera: Nemouridae). The influence of flow permanence on invertebrate community composition was apparent despite the aseasonal high-magnitude flood events

Varicella-Zoster viruses associated with post-herpetic neuralgia induce sodium current density increases in the ND7-23 Nav-1.8 neuroblastoma cell line

Post-herpetic neuralgia (PHN) is the most significant complication of herpes zoster caused by reactivation of latent Varicella-Zoster virus (VZV). We undertook a heterologous infection in vitro study to determine whether PHN-associated VZV isolates induce changes in sodium ion channel currents known to be associated with neuropathic pain. Twenty VZV isolates were studied blind from 11 PHN and 9 non-PHN subjects. Viruses were propagated in the MeWo cell line from which cell-free virus was harvested and applied to the ND7/23-Nav1.8 rat DRG x mouse neuroblastoma hybrid cell line which showed constitutive expression of the exogenous Nav 1.8, and endogenous expression of Nav 1.6 and Nav 1.7 genes all encoding sodium ion channels the dysregulation of which is associated with a range of neuropathic pain syndromes. After 72 hrs all three classes of VZV gene transcripts were detected in the absence of infectious virus. Single cell sodium ion channel recording was performed after 72 hr by voltage-clamping. PHN-associated VZV significantly increased sodium current amplitude in the cell line when compared with non-PHN VZV, wild-type (Dumas) or vaccine VZV strains ((POka, Merck and GSK). These sodium current increases were unaffected by acyclovir pre-treatment but were abolished by exposure to Tetrodotoxin (TTX) which blocks the TTX-sensitive fast Nav 1.6 and Nav 1.7 channels but not the TTX-resistant slow Nav 1.8 channel. PHN-associated VZV sodium current increases were therefore mediated in part by the Nav 1.6 and Nav 1.7 sodium ion channels. An additional observation was a modest increase in message levels of both Nav1.6 and Nav1.7 mRNA but not Nav 1.8 in PHN virally infected cells

Atomic excitation during recollision-free ultrafast multi-electron tunnel ionization

Modern intense ultrafast pulsed lasers generate an electric field of sufficient strength to permit tunnel ionization of the valence electrons in atoms. This process is usually treated as a rapid succession of isolated events, in which the states of the remaining electrons are neglected. Such electronic interactions are predicted to be weak, the exception being recollision excitation and ionization caused by linearly-polarized radiation. In contrast, it has recently been suggested that intense field ionization may be accompanied by a two-stage `shake-up' reaction. Here we report a unique combination of experimental techniques that enables us to accurately measure the tunnel ionization probability for argon exposed to 50 femtosecond laser pulses. Most significantly for the current study, this measurement is independent of the optical focal geometry, equivalent to a homogenous electric field. Furthermore, circularly-polarized radiation negates recollision. The present measurements indicate that tunnel ionization results in simultaneous excitation of one or more remaining electrons through shake-up. From an atomic physics standpoint, it may be possible to induce ionization from specific states, and will influence the development of coherent attosecond XUV radiation sources. Such pulses have vital scientific and economic potential in areas such as high-resolution imaging of in-vivo cells and nanoscale XUV lithography.Comment: 17 pages, 4 figures, original format as accepted by Nature Physic

Varietal differences influence arsenic and lead contamination of rice grown in mining impacted agricultural fields of Zamfara State, Nigeria.

In Zamfara state, Nigeria, rice is cultivated in fields contaminated with Pb (lead) from artisanal and illicit mining activities. Rice grown in such contaminated agricultural areas risks not only Pb contamination but also contamination from other toxic elements, like arsenic (As); co-contamination of Pb and As in rice cultivated in mining impacted areas has been previously reported and rice is a hyperaccumulator of As. A field study was conducted with ten different commonly-cultivated Nigerian rice varieties in the mining-impacted farmlands of Dareta village, Zamfara State. The aim was to determine the optimal rice variety for cultivation on these contaminated farmlands; an optimal variety would have the lowest contaminant concentrations and highest essential elements concentrations in the rice grains. A total of 300 paired soil and rice plants were collected. The mean As and Pb concentrations in paddy soils were 0.91 ± 0.82 mg kg-1 and 288.5 ± 464.2 mg kg-1, respectively. Mean As (30.4 ± 15.1 μg kg-1) content in rice grains was an order of magnitude lower than the Codex recommendation of 200 μg kg-1 (for milled rice) while the Pb content in all the rice varieties (overall mean of 743 ± 327 μg kg-1) was approximately four times higher than the Codex recommendation of 200 μg kg-1. Contrary to previous studies, a negative correlation was observed between As and Pb in rice grains across all the varieties. Rice variety Bisalayi was the variety with the lowest Pb transfer factor (TF = 0.08), but the average Pb concentration in rice grain was still above the Codex recommendation. Bisalayi also had the highest TF for iron. Variety ART_15, which had the lowest As uptake (TF = 0.10), had the highest TF for essential elements (magnesium, potassium, manganese, zinc, and copper). In areas of Pb contamination, Bisalayi rice may therefore be a suitable variety to choose for cultivation