A prototype microwave cavity control circuit for use in next generation free electron laser

One of the current programs at SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory is the Linac Coherent Light Source, or LCLS. Using the existing hardware of the last third of their linear accelerator (or “linac”), SLAC has created one of the most energetic X-ray free electron lasers (or “FEL”). Since 2009, LCLS has used this FEL to perform a wide range of experiments across all sciences, most notably ultrafast filming at the molecular scale. As requests for beam-time with this laser increases, SLAC is purposing a linac upgrade to better match this demand. This upgrade, named LCLS-II, will replace existing copper radio frequency (or “RF”) cavities with superconducting Niobium RF cavities in the middle third of the linac. With superconducting RF, the power requirements are far lower to fire each laser pulse, and can be fired thousands of times faster, thus speeding up data-gathering and thus speeds up science. Superconductors are inherently unstable, however. Due to the pressure waves of the liquid He needed and the extremely narrow bandwidth of the RF cavities’ resonance, peak performance can never be maintained without intervention. To prove that off-the-shelf hardware can be constructed to counter all of these instabilities, our team built a proof-of-concept electronic model of a control circuit. With this model, we found that by using a circuit board to accurately represent the nature of a new Nb RF cavity, we could perform all the prerequisite operations to keep the cavity in check and always at peak resonance

Pharmacokinetic properties of remimazolam in subjects with hepatic or renal impairment

BACKGROUND: Remimazolam is a new benzodiazepine for procedural sedation and general anaesthesia. The aim of this study was to characterise its pharmacokinetic properties and safety in renally and hepatically impaired subjects. METHODS: Two separate trials were conducted in patients with hepatic (n=11) or renal impairment (n=11) compared with matched healthy subjects (n=9 and n=12, respectively). The hepatic impairment trial was an open-label adaptive 'Reduced Design' trial, using a single bolus of remimazolam 0.1 mg kg-1 i.v., whereas the renal impairment trial was an open-label trial of a single bolus dose of remimazolam 1.5 mg i.v. Remimazolam plasma concentrations over time were analysed by population pharmacokinetic modelling. RESULTS: Remimazolam pharmacokinetic properties were adequately described by a three-compartment, recirculatory model. Exposure in subjects with severe hepatic impairment was 38.1% higher (i.e. clearance was 38.1% lower) compared with healthy volunteers. This increase caused a slightly delayed recovery (8.0 min for healthy, 12.1 min for moderate, and 16.7 min for severe hepatic impairment). With renal impairment, plasma clearance was comparable with that measured in healthy subjects. Simulations of Cmax after a bolus dose of 10 mg showed no relevant impact of hepatic or renal impairment. The overall incidence of adverse events was low, and all adverse events were mild. CONCLUSIONS: As Cmax after a remimazolam bolus i.v. was not affected by hepatic or renal impairment, no dose adjustments are required. No unexpected adverse events related to remimazolam were seen in subjects with renal or hepatic impairment. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: Hepatic impairment trial: ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT01790607 (https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01790607). Renal impairment trial: EudraCT Number: 2014-004575-23

Gendered endings: Narratives of male and female suicides in the South African Lowveld

This is the author's accepted manuscript. The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11013-012-9258-y. Copyright @ Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2012.Durkheim’s classical theory of suicide rates being a negative index of social solidarity downplays the salience of gendered concerns in suicide. But gendered inequalities have had a negative impact: worldwide significantly more men than women perpetrate fatal suicides. Drawing on narratives of 52 fatal suicides in Bushbuckridge, South Africa, this article suggests that Bourdieu’s concepts of ‘symbolic violence’ and ‘masculine domination’ provide a more appropriate framework for understanding this paradox. I show that the thwarting of investments in dominant masculine positions have been the major precursor to suicides by men. Men tended to take their own lives as a means of escape. By contrast, women perpetrated suicide to protest against the miserable consequences of being dominated by men. However, contra the assumption of Bourdieu’s concept of ‘habitus’, the narrators of suicide stories did reflect critically upon gender constructs

Levosimendan: a cardiovascular drug to prevent liver ischemia-reperfusion injury?

INTRODUCTION: Temporary occlusion of the hepatoduodenal ligament leads to an ischemic-reperfusion (IR) injury in the liver. Levosimendan is a new positive inotropic drug, which induces preconditioning-like adaptive mechanisms due to opening of mitochondrial KATP channels. The aim of this study was to examine possible protective effects of levosimendan in a rat model of hepatic IR injury. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Levosimendan was administered to male Wistar rats 1 hour (early pretreatment) or 24 hours (late pretreatment) before induction of 60-minute segmental liver ischemia. Microcirculation of the liver was monitored by laser Doppler flowmeter. After 24 hours of reperfusion, liver and blood samples were taken for histology, immuno- and enzyme-histochemistry (TUNEL; PARP; NADH-TR) as well as for laboratory tests. Furthermore, liver antioxidant status was assessed and HSP72 expression was measured. RESULTS: In both groups pretreated with levosimendan, significantly better hepatic microcirculation was observed compared to respective IR control groups. Similarly, histological damage was also reduced after levosimendan administration. This observation was supported by significantly lower activities of serum ALT (pearly = 0.02; plate = 0.005), AST (pearly = 0.02; plate = 0.004) and less DNA damage by TUNEL test (pearly = 0.05; plate = 0.034) and PAR positivity (pearly = 0.02; plate = 0.04). Levosimendan pretreatment resulted in significant improvement of liver redox homeostasis. Further, significantly better mitochondrial function was detected in animals receiving late pretreatment. Finally, HSP72 expression was increased by IR injury, but it was not affected by levosimendan pretreatment. CONCLUSION: Levosimendan pretreatment can be hepatoprotective and it could be useful before extensive liver resection

Genome-wide association identifies nine common variants associated with fasting proinsulin levels and provides new insights into the pathophysiology of type 2 diabetes.

OBJECTIVE: Proinsulin is a precursor of mature insulin and C-peptide. Higher circulating proinsulin levels are associated with impaired β-cell function, raised glucose levels, insulin resistance, and type 2 diabetes (T2D). Studies of the insulin processing pathway could provide new insights about T2D pathophysiology. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: We have conducted a meta-analysis of genome-wide association tests of ∼2.5 million genotyped or imputed single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and fasting proinsulin levels in 10,701 nondiabetic adults of European ancestry, with follow-up of 23 loci in up to 16,378 individuals, using additive genetic models adjusted for age, sex, fasting insulin, and study-specific covariates. RESULTS: Nine SNPs at eight loci were associated with proinsulin levels (P < 5 × 10(-8)). Two loci (LARP6 and SGSM2) have not been previously related to metabolic traits, one (MADD) has been associated with fasting glucose, one (PCSK1) has been implicated in obesity, and four (TCF7L2, SLC30A8, VPS13C/C2CD4A/B, and ARAP1, formerly CENTD2) increase T2D risk. The proinsulin-raising allele of ARAP1 was associated with a lower fasting glucose (P = 1.7 × 10(-4)), improved β-cell function (P = 1.1 × 10(-5)), and lower risk of T2D (odds ratio 0.88; P = 7.8 × 10(-6)). Notably, PCSK1 encodes the protein prohormone convertase 1/3, the first enzyme in the insulin processing pathway. A genotype score composed of the nine proinsulin-raising alleles was not associated with coronary disease in two large case-control datasets. CONCLUSIONS: We have identified nine genetic variants associated with fasting proinsulin. Our findings illuminate the biology underlying glucose homeostasis and T2D development in humans and argue against a direct role of proinsulin in coronary artery disease pathogenesis

withdrawn 2017 hrs ehra ecas aphrs solaece expert consensus statement on catheter and surgical ablation of atrial fibrillation

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COMMODITY PLASTIC RESINS: A DELPHI FORECAST FOR PERCENTAGE MARKET SHARES FOR THE YEARS 1980, 1985, 1990, 1995, AND 2000

The purpose of this study was to forecast the market shares that the commodity plastic resins (e.g., low density polyethylene, high density polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, and polyvinyl chloride) would have for the years 1980, 1985, 1990, and 2000. The means used to make the forecast was the Delphi method; therefore, the input information was generated by a group of plastic industry experts and represents a concensus opinion. The need for the study arises because of the low energy requirements of production of plastic composited goods as compared to goods manufactured of other materials. This low energy demand requirement for goods made from plastic is the basis for demand forecasts that call for commodity plastic resin production in excess of 225 billion pounds by the year 2000. Actual demand from year to year and decade to decade will vary with the ups and downs of the business cycle, but is is clear that a very large investment must be made in commodity resin manufacturing facilities if the higher levels of demand are to be satisfied at reasonable material costs. This study looks at market shares as a useful means of comparing the market relationships among the commodity resins. Shares can be converted easily to production capacity requirements both existing and needed to meet future demand. Twenty five experts from the commodity plastic resin industry participated in making the Delphi forecast. All of these experts are employed by plastic resin manufacturing companies that belong to The Society of the Plastic Industry Inc., the major plastic industry trade organization. The study includes 62 tables that show 1976 production capacities and those required to meet projected demand both in pounds and dollars. Also shown by the same tables are the statistical comparisons of the two intermediate Delphi forecasts that show the gathering concensus of the experts. There are also eight exhibits and six graphs that support the findings. The result of the study is a Delphi forecast for commodity resins that covers the period of 1980, 1985, 1990, 1995 and the year 2000

Fragmente römischer Memoiren. Von Gaius Gracchus bis Marcus Terentius Varro

Scholz P, Walter U, Winkle C, eds. Fragmente römischer Memoiren. Von Gaius Gracchus bis Marcus Terentius Varro. Studien zur Alten Geschichte. Vol 18. Heidelberg: Verlag Antike; 2013

Measuring Eco-Emotions - A German version of questionnaires on eco-guilt, ecological grief, and eco-anxiety

In the face of climate change, people experience a variety of emotions, e.g., guilt, grief, and anxiety. Although these emotions are generally considered unpleasant, they may play a key role in dealing with climate change by motivating pro-environmental behavior. In 2022, Ágoston et al. introduced three questionnaires to assess eco-guilt (EGuiQ-11), ecological grief (EGriQ-6), and eco-anxiety (EAQ-22). We translated and validated these questionnaires in a large German sample (N = 871). More specifically, the current study not only intended to replicate the factor structures of all three questionnaires, but also expand previous findings by investigating associations of eco-emotions with pro-environmental behavior intentions, climate policy support, climate anxiety, and psychological distress. Confirmatory factor analyses indicated the one-factor structure of the EGuiQ-11 and the two factors habitual ecological worry and negative consequences of eco-anxiety of the EAQ-22. The one-factor solution of the EGriQ 6, however, did not yield satisfactory model fit. Consequently, we suggest an item reduction of the EGriQ-6 to adequately assess ecological grief in German-speaking populations. All eco-emotions were positively associated with pro-environmental behavior intentions and environmental policy support, but also with levels of climate anxiety as well as general anxiety and depression. All in all, the translated questionnaires seem suitable measurements of eco-guilt, ecological grief, and eco-anxiety that capture the adaptive and maladaptive aspects of these emotions