A new scorpion species of the genus \u3ci\u3eButhus\u3c/i\u3e Leach, 1815 (Scorpiones, Buthidae) from Morocco

A new species belonging to the genus Buthus Leach (Scorpiones, Buthidae) is described from northeast of Tarfaya in the extreme southwest of Morocco. The new species does not belong to the “Buthus occitanus species complex”, but is rather associated with Buthus atlantis Pocock, species also known from the southern of Morocco. With the description of Buthus bonito sp. n., t Morocco is raised to 12. A checklist of these species is provided

Quenching of the radio jet during the X-ray high state of GX 339-4

We have observed the black hole candidate X-ray binary GX 339-4 at radio wavelengths before, during and after the 1998 high/soft X-ray state transition. We find that the radio emission from the system is strongly correlated with the hard X-ray emission and is reduced by a factor > 25 during the high/soft state compared to the more usual low/hard state. At the points of state transition we note brief periods of unusually optically-thin radio emission which may correspond to discrete ejection events. We propose that in the low/hard state black hole X-ray binaries produce a quasi-continuous outflow, in the high/soft state this outflow is suppressed, and that state transitions often result in one or more discrete ejection events. Future models for low/hard states, such as ADAF/ADIOS solutions, need to take into account strong outflow of relativistic electrons from the system. We propose that the inferred Comptonising corona and the base of the jet-like outflow are the same thing, based upon the strong correlation between radio and hard X-ray emission in GX 339-4 and other X-ray binaries, and the similarity in inferred location and composition of these two components.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ Letter

STRATEGIES FOR ADDRESSING VACCINE HESITANCY – A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

The purpose of the systematic review of strategies for addressing vaccine hesitancy is to identify strategies that have been implemented and evaluated across diverse global contexts in an effort to respond to, and manage, issues of vaccine hesitancy. This is to fulfil the requirements of the SAGE working group (WG) dealing with vaccine hesitancy in respect to: a) identifying existing and new activities and strategies relating to vaccines or from other areas that could successfully address vaccine hesitancy; b) identifying strategies that do not work well, and; c) prioritising activities and strategies based on an assessment of their potential impact. These requirements were translated into the following specific objectives: 1. Identify published strategies related to vaccine hesitancy and hesitancy of other health technologies (reproductive health technologies (RHT) were chosen as the additional focus) and provide a descriptive analysis of the findings; 2. Map all evaluated strategies to the SAGE WG “Model of determinants of Vaccine Hesitancy” (Appendix 1) and identify key characteristics; 3. Evaluate relevant evaluated strategies relating to vaccine hesitancy using GRADE (Grades of Recommendation, Assessment, Development and Evaluation); relevance was informed by the PICO questions defined a priori by the WG, and; 4. Synthesise findings in a manner which aids the design of future interventions and further research

First Order Transition in the Ginzburg-Landau Model

The d-dimensional complex Ginzburg-Landau (GL) model is solved according to a variational method by separating phase and amplitude. The GL transition becomes first order for high superfluid density because of effects of phase fluctuations. We discuss its origin with various arguments showing that, in particular for d = 3, the validity of our approach lies precisely in the first order domain.Comment: 4 pages including 2 figure

A liquid flatjet system for solution phase soft-x-ray spectroscopy

We present a liquid flatjet system for solution phase soft-x-ray spectroscopy. The flatjet set-up utilises the phenomenon of formation of stable liquid sheets upon collision of two identical laminar jets. Colliding the two single water jets, coming out of the nozzles with 50 μm orifices, under an impact angle of 48° leads to double sheet formation, of which the first sheet is 4.6 mm long and 1.0 mm wide. The liquid flatjet operates fully functional under vacuum conditions (<10(-3) mbar), allowing soft-x-ray spectroscopy of aqueous solutions in transmission mode. We analyse the liquid water flatjet thickness under atmospheric pressure using interferomeric or mid-infrared transmission measurements and under vacuum conditions by measuring the absorbance of the O K-edge of water in transmission, and comparing our results with previously published data obtained with standing cells with Si3N4 membrane windows. The thickness of the first liquid sheet is found to vary between 1.4-3 μm, depending on the transverse and longitudinal position in the liquid sheet. We observe that the derived thickness is of similar magnitude under 1 bar and under vacuum conditions. A catcher unit facilitates the recycling of the solutions, allowing measurements on small sample volumes (∼10 ml). We demonstrate the applicability of this approach by presenting measurements on the N K-edge of aqueous NH4 (+). Our results suggest the high potential of using liquid flatjets in steady-state and time-resolved studies in the soft-x-ray regime

Three-dimensional mapping of soil chemical characteristics at micrometric scale by combining 2D SEM-EDX data and 3D X-ray CT images

There is currently a significant need to improve our understanding of the factors that control a number of critical soil processes by integrating physical, chemical and biological measurements on soils at microscopic scales to help produce 3D maps of the related properties. Because of technological limitations, most chemical and biological measurements can be carried out only on exposed soil surfaces or 2-dimensional cuts through soil samples. Methods need to be developed to produce 3D maps of soil properties based on spatial sequences of 2D maps. In this general context, the objective of the research described here was to develop a method to generate 3D maps of soil chemical properties at the microscale by combining 2D SEM-EDX data with 3D X-ray computed tomography images. A statistical approach using the regression tree method and ordinary kriging applied to the residuals was developed and applied to predict the 3D spatial distribution of carbon, silicon, iron, and oxygen at the microscale. The spatial correlation between the X-ray grayscale intensities and the chemical maps made it possible to use a regression-tree model as an initial step to predict the 3D chemical composition. For chemical elements, e.g., iron, that are sparsely distributed in a soil sample, the regression-tree model provides a good prediction, explaining as much as 90% of the variability in some of the data. However, for chemical elements that are more homogenously distributed, such as carbon, silicon, or oxygen, the additional kriging of the regression tree residuals improved significantly the prediction with an increase in the R2 value from 0.221 to 0.324 for carbon, 0.312 to 0.423 for silicon, and 0.218 to 0.374 for oxygen, respectively. The present research develops for the first time an integrated experimental and theoretical framework, which combines geostatistical methods with imaging techniques to unveil the 3-D chemical structure of soil at very fine scales. The methodology presented in this study can be easily adapted and applied to other types of data such as bacterial or fungal population densities for the 3D characterization of microbial distribution

SULISO: The Bath suite of vibrational characterization and isotope effect calculation software

This is an Open Access article.Isotope effects are subtle but powerful probes of chemical reaction mechanisms and environmental conditions, with applications across chemical, biological and earth sciences. Their meaningful interpretation often relies on calculations based upon fundamental theories for their origin. The SULISO suite consists of four programs for the calculation of vibrational frequencies and isotope effects. CAMVIB is a broad vibrational characterization code developed for analysis of calculated harmonic frequencies and of normal modes in terms of internal coordinates. LIPFR calculates isotopic partition function ratios for pairs of isotopically substituted whole molecules, corresponding to conventional methodology, whereas UJISO is designed to perform similar calculations on subsets of atoms from very large systems. CUTOFF is a utility which truncates a force-constant matrix for a large system to obtain a smaller matrix appropriate for a specified subset of atoms

The spectrum of lattice QCD with staggered fermions at strong coupling

Using 4 flavors of staggered fermions at infinite gauge coupling, we compare various analytic results for the hadron spectrum with exact Monte Carlo simulations. Agreement with Ref. \cite{Martin_etal} is very good, at the level of a few percent. Our results give credence to a discrepancy between the baryon mass and the critical chemical potential, for which baryons fill the lattice at zero temperature and infinite gauge coupling. Independent determinations of the latter set it at about 30% less than the baryon mass. One possible explanation is that the nuclear attraction becomes strong at infinite gauge coupling.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figure