Molecular dynamics of nanodroplet impact: The effect of the projectile’s molecular mass on sputtering

The impact of electrosprayed nanodroplets on ceramics at several km/s alters the atomic order of the target, causing sputtering, surface amorphization and cratering. The molecular mass of the projectile is known to have a strong effect on the impact phenomenology, and this article aims to rationalize this dependency using molecular dynamics. To achieve this goal, the article models the impact of four projectiles with molecular masses between 45 and 391 amu, and identical diameters and kinetic energies, 10 nm and 63 keV, striking a silicon target. In agreement with experiments, the simulations show that the number of sputtered atoms strongly increases with molecular mass. This is due to the increasing intensity of collision cascades with molecular mass: when the fixed kinetic energy of the projectile is distributed among fewer, more massive molecules, their collisions with the target produce knock-on atoms with higher energies, which in turn generate more energetic and larger numbers of secondary and tertiary knock-on atoms. The more energetic collision cascades intensify both knock-on sputtering and, upon thermalization, thermal sputtering. Besides enhancing sputtering, heavier molecules also increase the fraction of the projectile’s energy that is transferred to the target, as well as the fraction of this energy that is dissipated

Congenital Cytomegalovirus Infection: A Narrative Review of the Issues in Screening and Management From a Panel of European Experts.

Maternal primary and non-primary cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection during pregnancy can result in in utero transmission to the developing fetus. Congenital CMV (cCMV) can result in significant morbidity, mortality or long-term sequelae, including sensorineural hearing loss, the most common sequela. As a leading cause of congenital infections worldwide, cCMV infection meets many of the criteria for screening. However, currently there are no universal programs that offer maternal or neonatal screening to identify infected mothers and infants, no vaccines to prevent infection, and no efficacious and safe therapies available for the treatment of maternal or fetal CMV infection. Data has shown that there are several maternal and neonatal screening strategies, and diagnostic methodologies, that allow the identification of those at risk of developing sequelae and adequately detect cCMV. Nevertheless, many questions remain unanswered in this field. Well-designed clinical trials to address several facets of CMV treatment (in pregnant women, CMV-infected fetuses and both symptomatic and asymptomatic neonates and children) are required. Prevention (vaccines), biology and transmission factors associated with non-primary CMV, and the cost-effectiveness of universal screening, all demand further exploration to fully realize the ultimate goal of preventing cCMV. In the meantime, prevention of primary infection during pregnancy should be championed to all by means of hygiene education

Nuevas metodologías en investigación y prevención de la violencia en la pareja

El presente trabajo enfoca la relación de los estereotipos de género con la violencia percibida por la gente común en las relaciones de pareja (hetero u homosexual). La investigación se desarrolla en diversos países iberoamericanos. Entre los instrumentos utilizados en el estudio figuran un IAT (Implicit Association Test), un cuestionario (que incluye series de ítems cerrados y de preguntas abiertas) y ejercicios de Fotointervención. Un primer avance de los resultados de la parte de la investigación realizada en España y en Puerto Rico pone de manifiesto el alto nivel de arraigo de los estereotipos de género y especialmente de los relacionados con los agentes y víctimas percibidos de la violencia en todo tipo de pareja. Ello tiene diversas implicaciones teóricas y prácticas en el ámbito de la prevención de la violencia en la parej

La violencia en la pareja a la luz de los estereotipos de género

Esta investigación trata sobre la relación entre los estereotipos de género y la percepción social de la violencia en la pareja. Una muestra de 187 personas contestó un IAT (Implicit Association Test) y un cuestionario compuesto por series de ítems cerrados y de preguntas abiertas. Los resultados del estudio indican que hombres y mujeres comparten una percepción de la violencia en la pareja acorde con el paradigma de género (hombre violento, mujer pacífica). Estas observaciones conllevan implicaciones teóricas y prácticasThe research focuses the relation between the gender stereotypes and the social perception of couple violence. A sample of 187 people responded to IAT (Implicit Association Test), and a questionnaire including series of closed items and of open questions. The results of the study show that both men and women share a perception of couple violence according to the gender paradigm (violent man, pacific woman). Some theoretical and practical implications are extracted from these observation

Pulsed hall thruster system

A pulsed Hall thruster system includes a Hall thruster having an electron source, a magnetic circuit, and a discharge chamber; a power processing unit for firing the Hall thruster to generate a discharge; a propellant storage and delivery system for providing propellant to the discharge chamber and a control unit for defining a pulse duration .tau.<0.1d.sup.3.rho./m, where d is the characteristic size of the thruster, .rho. is the propellant density at standard conditions, and m is the propellant mass flow rate for operating either the power processing unit to provide to the Hall thruster a power pulse of a pre-selected duration, .tau., or operating the propellant storage and delivery system to provide a propellant flow pulse of duration, .tau., or providing both as pulses, synchronized to arrive coincidentally at the discharge chamber to enable the Hall thruster to produce a discreet output impulse

Goodness--of--Fit Tests Based on the Min--Characteristic Function

We propose tests of fit for classes of distributions that include the Weibull, the Pareto and the Fr\'echet, distributions. The new tests employ the novel tool of the min--characteristic function and are based on an L2--type weighted distance between this function and its empirical counterpart applied on suitably standardized data. If data--standardization is performed using the MLE of the distributional parameters then the method reduces to testing for the standard member of the family, with parameter values known and set equal to one. We investigate asymptotic properties of the tests, while a Monte Carlo study is presented that includes the new procedure as well as competitors for the purpose of specification testing with three extreme value distributions. The new tests are also applied on a few real--data sets

A class of goodness-of-fit tests for circular distributions based on trigonometric moments

We propose a class of goodness–of–fit test procedures for arbitrary parametric families of circular distributions with unknown parameters. The tests make use of the specific form of the characteristic function of the family being tested, and are shown to be consistent. We derive the asymptotic null distribution and suggest that the new method be implemented using a bootstrap resampling technique that approximates this distribution consistently. As an illustration, we then specialize this method to testing whether a given data set is from the von Mises distribution, a model that is commonly used and for which considerable theory has been developed. An extensive Monte Carlo study is carried out to compare the new tests with other existing omnibus tests for this model. An application involving five real data sets is provided in order to illustrate the new procedure.Peer Reviewe