On the interpretation of lateral manganin gauge stress measurements in polymers

Encapsulated wire-element stress gauges enable changes in lateral stress during shock loading to be directly monitored. However, there is substantial debate with regards to interpretation of observed changes in stress behind the shock front; a phenomenon attributed both to changes in material strength and shock- dispersion within the gauge-encapsulation. Here, a pair of novel techniques which both modify or remove the embedding medium where such stress gauges are placed within target materials have been used to try and inform this debate. The behavior of three polymeric materials of differing complexity was considered, namely polystyrene, the commercially important resin transfer moulding RTM 6 resin and a commercially available fat lard. Comparison to the response of embedded gauges has suggested a possible slight decrease in the absolute magnitude of stress. However, changing the encapsulation has no detectable effect on the gradient behind the shock in such polymeric systems

Women on the frontline: Rebel group ideology and women’s participation in violent rebellion

Despite the frequent participation of women in armed groups, few studies have sought to explain the variation in their roles across different rebellions. Herein, we investigate this variation. We argue that the political ideology a group adopts plays a central role in determining the extent of women’s participation, particularly their deployment in combat roles. Specifically, we link variations in women’s roles in armed groups to differences in beliefs about gender hierarchies and gender-based divisions of labor inherent in the specific ideologies the groups adopt. We evaluate hypotheses drawn from these arguments using a novel cross-sectional dataset on female combatants in a global sample of rebel organizations active between 1979 and 2009. We find that the presence of a Marxist-oriented ‘leftist’ ideology increases the prevalence of female fighters while Islamist ideologies exert the opposite effect. However, we find little evidence that nationalism exerts an independent influence on women’s combat roles. We also note a general inverse relationship between group religiosity and the prevalence of female fighters. Our analysis demonstrates that political ideology plays a central role in determining whether and to what extent resistance movements incorporate female fighters into their armed wings

SweetSpot: Near-Infrared Observations of Thirteen Type Ia Supernovae from a New NOAO Survey Probing the Nearby Smooth Hubble Flow

We present 13 Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) observed in the restframe near-infrared (NIR) from 0.02 < z < 0.09 with the WIYN High-resolution Infrared Camera (WHIRC) on the WIYN 3.5-m telescope. With only 1-3 points per light curve and a prior on the time of maximum from the spectrum used to type the object we measure an H-band dispersion of spectroscopically normal SNe Ia of 0.164 mag. These observations continue to demonstrate the improved standard brightness of SNe Ia in H-band even with limited data. Our sample includes two SNe Ia at z ~ 0.09, which represent the most distant restframe NIR H-band observations published to date. This modest sample of 13 NIR SNe Ia represent the pilot sample for "SweetSpot" - a three-year NOAO Survey program that will observe 144 SNe Ia in the smooth Hubble flow. By the end of the survey we will have measured the relative distance to a redshift of z ~ 0.05 to 1%. Nearby Type Ia supernova (SN Ia) observations such as these will test the standard nature of SNe Ia in the restframe NIR, allow insight into the nature of dust, and provide a critical anchor for future cosmological SN Ia surveys at higher redshift.Comment: 36 pages, 8 figures, Submitted to Ap

Design and characterisation of titanium nitride sub-arrays of kinetic inductance detectors for passive terahertz imaging

We report on the investigation of titanium nitride (TiN) thin films deposited via atomic layer deposition (ALD) for microwave kinetic inductance detectors (MKID). Using our in-house ALD process, we have grown a sequence of TiN thin films (thickness 15, 30, 60 nm). The films have been characterised in terms of superconducting transition temperature Tc , sheet resistance Rs and microstructure. We have fabricated test resonator structures and characterised them at a temperature of 300 mK. At 350 GHz, we report an optical noise equivalent power NEPopt≈2.3×10−15 W/√Hz , which is promising for passive terahertz imaging applications

A High-Density Linkage Map of the Ancestral Diploid Strawberry, Fragaria iinumae, Constructed with Single Nucleotide Polymorphism Markers from the IStraw90 Array and Genotyping by Sequencing

Fragaria iinumae Makino is recognized as an ancestor of the octoploid strawberry species, which includes the cultivated strawberry, Fragaria ×ananassa Duchesne ex Rozier. Here we report the construction of the first high-density linkage map for F. iinumae. The F. iinumae linkage map (Fii map) is based on two high-throughput techniques of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotyping: the IStraw90 Array (hereafter “Array”), and genotyping by sequencing (GBS). The F2 generation mapping population was derived by selfing F. iinumae hybrid F1D, the product of a cross between two divergent F. iinumae accessions collected from Hokkaido, Japan. The Fii map consists of seven linkage groups (LGs) and has an overall length of 451.7 cM as defined by 496 loci populated by 4173 markers: 3280 from the Array and 893 from GBS. Comparisons with two versions of the Fragaria vesca ssp. vesca L. ‘Hawaii 4’ pseudo-chromosome (PC) assemblies reveal substantial conservation of synteny and colinearity, yet identified differences that point to possible genomic divergences between F. iinumae and F. vesca, and/or to F. vesca genomic assembly errors. The Fii map provides a basis for anchoring a F. iinumae genome assembly as a prerequisite for constructing a second diploid reference genome for Fragaria

Dynamic association between perfusion and white matter integrity across time since injury in Veterans with history of TBI.

ObjectiveCerebral blood flow (CBF) plays a critical role in the maintenance of neuronal integrity, and CBF alterations have been linked to deleterious white matter changes. Although both CBF and white matter microstructural alterations have been observed within the context of traumatic brain injury (TBI), the degree to which these pathological changes relate to one another and whether this association is altered by time since injury have not been examined. The current study therefore sought to clarify associations between resting CBF and white matter microstructure post-TBI.Methods37 veterans with history of mild or moderate TBI (mmTBI) underwent neuroimaging and completed health and psychiatric symptom questionnaires. Resting CBF was measured with multiphase pseudocontinuous arterial spin labeling (MPPCASL), and white matter microstructural integrity was measured with diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). The cingulate cortex and cingulum bundle were selected as a priori regions of interest for the ASL and DTI data, respectively, given the known vulnerability of these regions to TBI.ResultsRegression analyses controlling for age, sex, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms revealed a significant time since injury × resting CBF interaction for the left cingulum (p &lt; 0.005). Decreased CBF was significantly associated with reduced cingulum fractional anisotropy (FA) in the chronic phase; however, no such association was observed for participants with less remote TBI.ConclusionsOur results showed that reduced CBF was associated with poorer white matter integrity in those who were further removed from their brain injury. Findings provide preliminary evidence of a possible dynamic association between CBF and white matter microstructure that warrants additional consideration within the context of the negative long-term clinical outcomes frequently observed in those with history of TBI. Additional cross-disciplinary studies integrating multiple imaging modalities (e.g., DTI, ASL) and refined neuropsychiatric assessment are needed to better understand the nature, temporal course, and dynamic association between brain changes and clinical outcomes post-injury