Performance of a new generation of acoustic current meters

Author Posting. © American Meteorological Society, 2007. This article is posted here by permission of American Meteorological Society for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of Physical Oceanography 37 (2007): 148–161, doi:10.1175/JPO3003.1.As part of a program aimed at developing a long-duration, subsurface mooring, known as Ultramoor, several modern acoustic current meters were tested. The instruments with which the authors have the most experience are the Aanderaa RCM11 and the Nortek Aquadopp, which measure currents using the Doppler shift of backscattered acoustic signals, and the Falmouth Scientific ACM, which measures changes in travel time of acoustic signals between pairs of transducers. Some results from the Doppler-based Sontek Argonaut and the travel-time-based Nobska MAVS are also reported. This paper concentrates on the fidelity of the speed measurement but also presents some results related to the accuracy of the direction measurement. Two procedures were used to compare the instruments. In one, different instruments were placed close to one another on three different deep-ocean moorings. These tests showed that the RCM11 measures consistently lower speeds than either a vector averaging current meter or a vector measuring current meter, both more traditional instruments with mechanical velocity sensors. The Aquadopp in use at the time, but since updated to address accuracy problems in low scattering environments, was biased high. A second means of testing involved comparing the appropriate velocity component of each instrument with the rate of change of pressure when they were lowered from a ship. Results from this procedure revealed no depth dependence or measurable bias in the RCM11 data, but did show biases in both the Aquadopp and Argonaut Doppler-based instruments that resulted from low signal-to-noise ratios in the clear, low scattering conditions beneath the thermocline. Improvements in the design of the latest Aquadopp have reduced this bias to a level that is not significant.This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant 9810641

Charcot-Leyden crystals in a prostatic adenocarcinoma

A transrectal needle biopsy from a 63-year-old man was decided because of a high prostatic spesific antigen in the blood, and a hard right lobe in rectal examination. 10 examples were taken from each lobe. In 1 of 4 of the examples from the left lobe, which contained a small focus of adenocarcinoma, numerous eosinophils were observed to surround the carcinomatous focus and attack the carcinoma cells. Uniquely, at the same focus Charcot-Leyden crystals could be seen in the intraluminal space and stromal area. A carcinoma oriented eosinophil accumulation, and Charcot-Leyden crystals in prostate was not described before

Effect of furosemide on glucose metabolism

The administration of furosemide, a benzothiadiazine analogue, to rats results in elevation of the initial and 2-hour postglucose loading blood glucose levels. Furosemide given to rats causes a decrease in the rate of glucose utilization by their adipose tissue in vitro. Furosemide added directly to the incubational medium also decreases the rate of glucose utilization of normal rats' fat tissue in vitro. These effects of furosemide are similar to those produced by chlorothiazide and other benzothiadiazine compounds.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/33327/1/0000723.pd

Experiences of cervical screening participation and non-participation in women from minority ethnic populations in Scotland

Background: The introduction of screening in the UK and other high‐income countries led to a significant decrease in the incidence of cervical cancer and increase in survival rates. Minority ethnic groups are often underrepresented in screening participation for reasons that are poorly understood. Objective: To explore experiences of cervical screening participation and non‐participation of women from minority ethnic populations in Scotland and gain insights to support the development of interventions that could potentially support screening participation and thereby reduce inequalities. Design: Qualitative comparison group study using in‐depth, semi‐structured individual interviews that were thematically analysed. Setting and participants: This study took place in Scotland. Fifty women were purposively sampled from four ethnic minority groups: South Asian; East European; Chinese; and Black African or Caribbean. White Scottish women were also interviewed. Results: Many experiences described were common regardless of ethnicity, such as difficulties managing competing priorities, including work and care responsibilities. However, important differences existed across the groups. These included going abroad for more frequent screening, delayed introduction to screening and not accessing primary care services, language difficulties in health‐care settings despite proficiency in English and not being sexually active at screening commencement. Experiences of racism, ignorance and feeling shamed were also reported. Conclusions: Key differences exist in the experience of minority ethnic groups in Scotland. These offer potential opportunities to reduce disparity and support screening participation including maximizing co‐incidental interactions and developing outreach work

Education and Outreach in the Life Sciences: Qualitative Analysis Report

The DOE's National Nuclear Security Agency (NNSA) asked Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) to consider the role of individual scientists in upholding safety and security. The views of scientists were identified as being a critical component of this policy process. Therefore, scientists, managers, and representatives of Institutional Biosafety Committees (IBCs) at the national labs were invited to participate in a brief survey and a set of focus groups. In addition, three focus groups were conducted with scientists, managers, and IBC representatives to discuss some of the questions related to education, outreach, and codes of conduct in further detail and gather additional input on biosecurity and dual-use awareness at the laboratories. The overall purpose of this process was to identify concerns related to these topics and to gather suggestions for creating an environment where both the scientific enterprise and national security are enhanced

Survey of registered nurses’ selection of compression systems for the treatment of venous leg ulcers in the UK

Background: Venous leg ulceration is common in older adults in the United Kingdom. The gold-standard treatment is compression therapy. There are several compression bandage and hosiery systems that can be prescribed or purchased, but it was unclear what types of compression systems are currently being used to treat venous leg ulceration within the UK. This online scoping survey of registered nurses sought to (1) to identify what compression systems are available across the UK, (2) how frequently these are in use and (3) if there are any restrictions on their use. Results: The results showed that registered nurses who treat patients with venous leg ulceration use a wide range of compression systems. The most frequently used systems are the ‘less bulky’ two-layer elastic and inelastic compression bandaging systems whilst two-layer hosiery was used less frequently and four-layer bandaging used infrequently. Nurses report that certain compression systems are less accessible through the usual procurement routes but this appears to be related to concerns about competency in application techniques. Conclusions: The data in this survey provides some important insights into the issues around the use of compression therapy for venous leg ulceration in the UK. Limiting access to certain types of compression may promote patient safety but limit patient choice. There may be underuse of the types of compression that promote patient independence, such as hosiery, and over-use of potentially sub-therapeutic therapy such as ‘reduced compression’. Overall, this study suggests that further consideration is needed about the provision of compression therapy to UK patients with venous leg ulceration to optimise care and patient choice

Study Protocol for a Stepped-Wedge Randomized Cookstove Intervention in Rural Honduras: Household Air Pollution and Cardiometabolic Health

Growing evidence links household air pollution exposure from biomass-burning cookstoves to cardiometabolic disease risk. Few randomized controlled interventions of cookstoves (biomass or otherwise) have quantitatively characterized changes in exposure and indicators of cardiometabolic health, a growing and understudied burden in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Ideally, the solution is to transition households to clean cooking, such as with electric or liquefied petroleum gas stoves; however, those unable to afford or to access these options will continue to burn biomass for the foreseeable future. Wood-burning cookstove designs such as the Justa (incorporating an engineered combustion zone and chimney) have the potential to substantially reduce air pollution exposures. Previous cookstove intervention studies have been limited by stove types that did not substantially reduce exposures and/or by low cookstove adoption and sustained use, and few studies have incorporated community-engaged approaches to enhance the intervention

Reversible hydration of CH(3)NH(3)Pbl(3) in films, single crystals, and solar cells

Solar cells composed of methylammonium lead iodide perovskite (MAPI) are notorious for their sensitivity to moisture. We show that (i) hydrated crystal phases are formed when MAPI is exposed to water vapor at room temperature and (ii) these phase changes are fully reversed when the material is subsequently dried. The reversible formation of CH3NH3PbI3·H2O followed by (CH3NH3)4PbI6·2H2O (upon long exposure times) was observed using time-resolved XRD and ellipsometry of thin films prepared using “solvent engineering”, single crystals, and state-of-the-art solar cells. In contrast to water vapor, the presence of liquid water results in the irreversible decomposition of MAPI to form PbI2. MAPI changes from dark brown to transparent on hydration; the precise optical constants of CH3NH3PbI3·H2O formed on single crystals were determined, with a bandgap at 3.1 eV. Using the single-crystal optical constants and thin-film ellipsometry measurements, the time-dependent changes to MAPI films exposed to moisture were modeled. The results suggest that the monohydrate phase forms independent of the depth in the film, suggesting rapid transport of water molecules along grain boundaries. Vapor-phase hydration of an unencapsulated solar cell (initially Jsc ≈ 19 mA cm–2 and Voc ≈ 1.05 V at 1 sun) resulted in more than a 90% drop in short-circuit photocurrent and ∼200 mV loss in open-circuit potential; however, these losses were fully reversed after the device was exposed to dry nitrogen for 6 h. Hysteresis in the current–voltage characteristics was significantly increased after this dehydration, which may be related to changes in the defect density and morphology of MAPI following recrystallization from the hydrate. Based on our observations, we suggest that irreversible decomposition of MAPI in the presence of water vapor only occurs significantly once a grain has been fully converted to the monohydrate phase