Helmholtz concentric ring target: Correlation with the JCC technique and significance between far and near cylinder corrections

Helmholtz concentric ring target: Correlation with the JCC technique and significance between far and near cylinder correction

Advancing STI care in low/middle-income countries : has STI syndromic management reached its use-by date?

CAPRISA, 2017.Abstract available in pdf

Nuclear Science at GEANIE

GEANIE at LANSCE/WNR combines the precision energy resolution of germanium detectors with the advantages of a white source providing neutrons with energies 1 < E{sub n}(MeV) < 250 to address a variety of topics in nuclear physics. The authors present the analysis of two data sets, n+{sup 235}U and n+{sup 92}Mo, acquired at GEANIE during the 1998 beam cycle. These data showcase the breadth of subjects under study at this facility, including the spectroscopy of stable and near-stable nuclei, reaction dynamics, fission studies, and the relative population of isomer and ground states in neutron-induced reactions

Transition from Asymmetric to Symmetric Fission in the 235U(n,f) Reaction

Prompt {gamma} rays from the neutron-induced fission of {sup 235}U have been studied using the GEANIE spectrometer situated at the LANSCE/WNR ''white'' neutron facility. Gamma-ray production cross sections for 29 ground-state-band transitions in 18 even-even fission fragments were obtained as a function of incident neutron energy, using the time-of-flight technique. Independent yields were deduced from these cross sections and fitted with standard formulations of the fragment charge and mass distributions to study the transition from asymmetric to symmetric fission. The results are interpreted in the context of the disappearance of shell structure at high excitation energies

Studying the Role of Nuclear Structure Effects in Neutron-Induced Reactions Using GEANIE at LANSCE

Efforts to model and measure absolute neutron-induced reaction cross sections have for the most part been limited by experimental techniques to neutron energies found in reactors and light-ion fusion reactions (i.e., t(d,n){alpha} etc.). This can in large part be attributed to the difficulty involved in making high-flux mono-energetic neutron beams with E{sub n} > 14 MeV. The result has been a lack of guidance for (n,xnypz{alpha}) reaction modeling for E{sub n} > 1-2 MeV. These limitations become particularly exacerbated in nuclei where structure effects (i.e., near shell closures, high deformation etc.) or fission complicates the models. The GEANIE spectrometer at LANSCE/WNR fills this gap in experimental technique by allowing for efficient measurement of neutron-induced {gamma}-ray partial cross sections over a wide range of incident neutron energies (1 < E{sub n} (MeV) < 250). GEANIE consists of 20 Compton-suppressed and 6 unsuppressed hpGe detectors located at the 60{sup o} right beam line at the LANSCE/WNR spallation source. Eleven of the GEANIE detectors are Low Energy Planar Spectrometers (LEPS) with excellent timing and energy resolution. LANSCE/WNR provides a white source of neutrons through the spallation of a tungsten target with an 800 MeV 2-5 {micro}amp beam of protons. Neutron energy is determined from the time-of-flight technique. Early results from GEANIE [Ber98] highlighted the deficiencies in the modeling of neutron-induced reaction modeling on a {sup 196}Pt target. More recently, measurements on a {sup 92}Mo target have identified {gamma}-rays in over 2 dozen reaction products [Gar00a]. In this paper we will present an overview of several recent results from GEANIE, including data on a {sup 92}Mo and two Actinide ({sup 235}U and {sup 239}Pu) targets. The implications of these results for reaction modeling from low to high (E{sub n} < 250 MeV) energy will be presented and plans for future experiments discussed

Visual inspection with acetic acid as a cervical cancer test: accuracy validated using latent class analysis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The purpose of this study was to validate the accuracy of an alternative cervical cancer test – visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA) – by addressing possible imperfections in the gold standard through latent class analysis (LCA). The data were originally collected at peri-urban health clinics in Zimbabwe.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Conventional accuracy (sensitivity/specificity) estimates for VIA and two other screening tests using colposcopy/biopsy as the reference standard were compared to LCA estimates based on results from all four tests. For conventional analysis, negative colposcopy was accepted as a negative outcome when biopsy was not available as the reference standard. With LCA, local dependencies between tests were handled through adding direct effect parameters or additional latent classes to the model.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Two models yielded good fit to the data, a 2-class model with two adjustments and a 3-class model with one adjustment. The definition of latent disease associated with the latter was more stringent, backed by three of the four tests. Under that model, sensitivity for VIA (abnormal+) was 0.74 compared to 0.78 with conventional analyses. Specificity was 0.639 versus 0.568, respectively. By contrast, the LCA-derived sensitivity for colposcopy/biopsy was 0.63.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>VIA sensitivity and specificity with the 3-class LCA model were within the range of published data and relatively consistent with conventional analyses, thus validating the original assessment of test accuracy. LCA probably yielded more likely estimates of the true accuracy than did conventional analysis with in-country colposcopy/biopsy as the reference standard. Colpscopy with biopsy can be problematic as a study reference standard and LCA offers the possibility of obtaining estimates adjusted for referent imperfections.</p

Novel measures of cardiovascular health and its association with prevalence and progression of age-related macular degeneration: the CHARM study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>To determine if novel measures of cardiovascular health are associated with prevalence or progression of age-related macular degeneration (AMD).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Measures of the cardiovascular system: included intima media thickness (IMT), pulse wave velocity (PWV), systemic arterial compliance (SAC), carotid augmentation index (AI). For the prevalence study, hospital-based AMD cases and population-based age- and gender-matched controls with no signs of AMD in either eye were enrolled. For the progression component, participants with early AMD were recruited from two previous studies; cases were defined as progression in one or both eyes and controls were defined as no progression in either eye.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>160 cases and 160 controls were included in the prevalence component. The upper two quartiles of SAC, implying good cardiovascular health, were significantly associated with increased risk of AMD (OR = 2.54, 95% CL = 1.29, 4.99). High PWV was associated with increased prevalent AMD. Progression was observed in 82 (32.3%) of the 254 subjects recruited for the progression component. Higher AI (worse cardiovascular function) was protective for AMD progression (OR = 0.30, 95%CL = 0.13, 0.69). Higher aortic PWV was associated with increased risk of AMD progression; the highest risk was seen with the second lowest velocity (OR = 6.22, 95% CL = 2.35, 16.46).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The results were unexpected in that better cardiovascular health was associated with increased risk of prevalent AMD and progression. Inconsistent findings between the prevalence and progression components could be due to truly different disease etiologies or to spurious findings, as can occur with inherent biases in case control studies of prevalence. Further investigation of these non-invasive methods of characterizing the cardiovascular system should be undertaken as they may help to further elucidate the role of the cardiovascular system in the etiology of prevalent AMD and progression.</p

Sloan Digital Sky Survey IV: mapping the Milky Way, nearby galaxies, and the distant universe

We describe the Sloan Digital Sky Survey IV (SDSS-IV), a project encompassing three major spectroscopic programs. The Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment 2 (APOGEE-2) is observing hundreds of thousands of Milky Way stars at high resolution and high signal-to-noise ratios in the near-infrared. The Mapping Nearby Galaxies at Apache Point Observatory (MaNGA) survey is obtaining spatially resolved spectroscopy for thousands of nearby galaxies (median ). The extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (eBOSS) is mapping the galaxy, quasar, and neutral gas distributions between and 3.5 to constrain cosmology using baryon acoustic oscillations, redshift space distortions, and the shape of the power spectrum. Within eBOSS, we are conducting two major subprograms: the SPectroscopic IDentification of eROSITA Sources (SPIDERS), investigating X-ray AGNs and galaxies in X-ray clusters, and the Time Domain Spectroscopic Survey (TDSS), obtaining spectra of variable sources. All programs use the 2.5 m Sloan Foundation Telescope at the Apache Point Observatory; observations there began in Summer 2014. APOGEE-2 also operates a second near-infrared spectrograph at the 2.5 m du Pont Telescope at Las Campanas Observatory, with observations beginning in early 2017. Observations at both facilities are scheduled to continue through 2020. In keeping with previous SDSS policy, SDSS-IV provides regularly scheduled public data releases; the first one, Data Release 13, was made available in 2016 July

Sloan Digital Sky Survey IV: Mapping the Milky Way, Nearby Galaxies, and the Distant Universe

We describe the Sloan Digital Sky Survey IV (SDSS-IV), a project encompassing three major spectroscopic programs. The Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment 2 (APOGEE-2) is observing hundreds of thousands of Milky Way stars at high resolution and high signal-to-noise ratios in the near-infrared. The Mapping Nearby Galaxies at Apache Point Observatory (MaNGA) survey is obtaining spatially resolved spectroscopy for thousands of nearby galaxies (median $z\sim 0.03$). The extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (eBOSS) is mapping the galaxy, quasar, and neutral gas distributions between $z\sim 0.6$ and 3.5 to constrain cosmology using baryon acoustic oscillations, redshift space distortions, and the shape of the power spectrum. Within eBOSS, we are conducting two major subprograms: the SPectroscopic IDentification of eROSITA Sources (SPIDERS), investigating X-ray AGNs and galaxies in X-ray clusters, and the Time Domain Spectroscopic Survey (TDSS), obtaining spectra of variable sources. All programs use the 2.5 m Sloan Foundation Telescope at the Apache Point Observatory; observations there began in Summer 2014. APOGEE-2 also operates a second near-infrared spectrograph at the 2.5 m du Pont Telescope at Las Campanas Observatory, with observations beginning in early 2017. Observations at both facilities are scheduled to continue through 2020. In keeping with previous SDSS policy, SDSS-IV provides regularly scheduled public data releases; the first one, Data Release 13, was made available in 2016 July