An Historical Review of Electroconvulsive Therapy

The initial clinical trial of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) was performed by Ugo Cerletti and Lucino Bini at the University of Rome in 1938. The following paper will examine both the developments which led to the first trial of ECT, and the use of ECT over th e subsequent fifty years. Hopefully, by investigating the historical aspects of the development and progression of ECT, a better understanding of this treatment modality can be attained

Space weathering: Laboratory analyses and in-situ instrumentation

Simulations of space weathering using laser irradiation are exploited to study the formation of sub-microscopic iron. A variety of magnetic techniques are evaluated to characterise this iron and are considered for in-situ instrumentation

AIDS: A Brief Overview

By the late 1970\u27s an epidemic begun in Central Africa which spread world wide by the mid 1980\u27s

Interference of a Tonks-Girardeau Gas on a Ring

We study the quantum dynamics of a one-dimensional gas of impenetrable bosons on a ring, and investigate the interference that results when an initially trapped gas localized on one side of the ring is released, split via an optical-dipole grating, and recombined on the other side of the ring. Large visibility interference fringes arise when the wavevector of the optical dipole grating is larger than the effective Fermi wavevector of the initial gas.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figure

Search for exotic baryons in double radiative capture on pionic hydrogen

We report a search for low-lying exotic baryons via double radiative capture on pionic hydrogen. The data were collected at the TRIUMF cyclotron using the RMC spectrometer by detecting gamma-ray pairs from pion stops in liquid hydrogen. No evidence was found to support an earlier claim for exotic baryons of masses 1004 and 1044 MeV/$c^2$. We obtain upper limits on the branching ratios for double radiative capture via these exotic states of $< 3 \times 10^{-6}$ and $< 4 \times 10^{-6}$ respectively.Comment: 13 pages, 4 figure

Pandemic lifeworlds: A segmentation analysis of public responsiveness to official communication about Covid-19 in England

Pandemics such as Covid-19 pose tremendous public health communication challenges in promoting protective behaviours, vaccination, and educating the public about risks. Segmenting audiences based on attitudes and behaviours is a means to increase the precision and potential effectiveness of such communication. The present study reports on such an audience segmentation effort for the population of England, sponsored by the United Kingdom Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and involving a collaboration of market research and academic experts. A cross-sectional online survey was conducted between 4 and 24 January 2022 with 5525 respondents (5178 used in our analyses) in England using market research opt-in panel. An additional 105 telephone interviews were conducted to sample persons without online or smartphone access. Respondents were quota sampled to be demographically representative. The primary analytic technique was k means cluster analysis, supplemented with other techniques including multi-dimensional scaling and use of respondent ‐ as well as sample-standardized data when necessary to address differences in response set for some groups of respondents. Identified segments were profiled against demographic, behavioural self-report, attitudinal, and communication channel variables, with differences by segment tested for statistical significance. Seven segments were identified, including distinctly different groups of persons who tended toward a high level of compliance and several that were relatively low in compliance. The segments were characterized by distinctive patterns of demographics, attitudes, behaviours, trust in information sources, and communication channels preferred. Segments were further validated by comparing the segmentation variable versus a set of demographic variables as predictors of reported protective behaviours in the past two weeks and of vaccine refusal; the demographics together had about one-quarter the effect size of the single seven-level segment variable. With respect to managerial implications, different communication strategies for each segment are suggested for each segment, illustrating advantages of rich segmentation descriptions for understanding public health communication audiences. Strengths and weaknesses of the methods used are discussed, to help guide future efforts

Optically bound microscopic particles in one dimension

Counter-propagating light fields have the ability to create self-organized one-dimensional optically bound arrays of microscopic particles, where the light fields adapt to the particle locations and vice versa. We develop a theoretical model to describe this situation and show good agreement with recent experimental data (Phys. Rev. Lett. 89, 128301 (2002)) for two and three particles, if the scattering force is assumed to dominate the axial trapping of the particles. The extension of these ideas to two and three dimensional optically bound states is also discussed.Comment: 12 pages, incl. 5 figures, accepted by Phys. Rev.

Joint system quantum descriptions arising from local quantumness

Bipartite correlations generated by non-signalling physical systems that admit a finite-dimensional local quantum description cannot exceed the quantum limits, i.e., they can always be interpreted as distant measurements of a bipartite quantum state. Here we consider the effect of dropping the assumption of finite dimensionality. Remarkably, we find that the same result holds provided that we relax the tensor structure of space-like separated measurements to mere commutativity. We argue why an extension of this result to tensor representations seems unlikely

Site-Specific Iron Substitution in STA-28, a Large Pore Aluminophosphate Zeotype Prepared by Using 1, 10-Phenanthrolines as Framework-Bound Templates

An AlPO4 zeotype has been prepared using the aromatic diamine 1, 10-phenanthroline and some of its methylated analogues as templates. In each case the two template N atoms bind to a specific framework Al site to expand its coordination to the unusual octahedral AlO4N2 environment. Furthermore, using this framework-bound template, Fe atoms can be included selectively at this site in the framework by direct synthesis, as confirmed by annular dark field scanning transmission electron microscopy and Rietveld refinement. Calcination removes the organic molecules to give large pore framework solids, with BET surface areas up to 540 m2 g-1 and two perpendicular sets of channels that intersect to give pore space connected by 12-ring openings along all crystallographic directions

The use of airborne ultrasound for Varroa destructor mite control in beehives

The declining health of honey bee (Apis mellifera) populations is of global concern, as they are arguably the most important pollinator insect. The Varroa destructor mite weakens bees by sucking their haemolymph and spreads debilitating illnesses such as Deformed Wing Virus. Current methods of Varroa mite control are usually pesticide-based with potential side effects for the bees or the beekeeper, and can leave residues in the honey or wax. The mites can also develop resistance to these pesticides. The objective of the current work is to investigate the use of high-frequency, high-intensity airborne ultrasound to control the Varroa mite populations using a chemical-free technology. A prototype ultrasonic system that generates airborne ultrasonic waves at different frequencies and intensities was constructed and tested. In initial studies, small transparent enclosures were used to observe directly the effects of the ultrasound on the bees. Preliminary in-hive tests were then conducted. Bee hives with varying levels of Varroa mite infestation were temporarily sealed to prevent bee traffic and then the bees inside were exposed to the ultrasound. The mite drop from the hive was recorded for (i)30 minutes before, (ii)during 30 minutes of ultrasound exposure, and (iii)30 minutes after ultrasonic treatment. The bees in the transparent enclosures exhibited normal behavior and appeared to be unaffected by the ultrasound. Preliminary results from the in-hive experiments indicate a significant increase in the rate of Varroa mite drop after only 30 minutes of exposure to the airborne ultrasound inside some of the hives, with the effect continuing after the ultrasonic system was switched off. Long-term field trials of ultrasonic in-hive systems are ongoing