4,274 research outputs found
Self-compression of 4.9 µm pulses to sub-40 fs with 2 mJ energy in Zinc Sulfide
No full textNonlinear self-compression of few-cycle multi-mJ pulses at 4.9 µm in ZnS is presented. 80 fs input pulses are compressed to 37 fs with 2.1 mJ energy at a 1 kHz repetition rate. © 2024 The Author(s
Correction to: Chamoun et al., Bacterial pathogenesis and interleukin-17: interconnecting mechanisms of immune regulation, host genetics, and microbial virulence that influence severity of infection
No full textChamoun MN, Blumenthal A, Sullivan MJ, Schembri MA, Ulett GC. 2018. Bacterial pathogenesis and interleukin-17: interconnecting mechanisms of immune regulation, host genetics, and microbial virulence that influence severity of infection. Critical Reviews in Microbiology. https://doi.org/10.1080/1040841X.2018.1426556.
When the above article was first published online, the below three corrections were missed.
The author ‘Antje Blumenthal’ was wrongly affiliated to the affiliation “cSchool of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, and Australian Infectious Disease Research Centre, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia”. Now this affiliation has been removed for this author.
The affiliation ‘bTranslational Research Institute, The University of Queensland Diamantina Institute, Woolloongabba, Australia’ of the author ‘Antje Blumenthal’ should read ‘bThe University of Queensland Diamantina Institute, Translational Research Institute, Brisbane, Australia’.
In Table 3, the sentence ‘Benefit of manipulating IL-17 levels to improve immunization strategies M. tuberculosis’ should read “Benefit of manipulating IL-17 levels to improve immunization strategies against M. tuberculosis”.No Full Tex
Generation of 22-mJ, 2.0-ps Pulses from a 1-kHz Ho:YLF Regenerative Chirped Pulse Amplifier
No full textWe report a CW-pumped Ho:YLF regenerative amplifier (RA) delivering pulses with 22.5-mJ energy and 2.0-ps duration at 1 kHz. The RA emitting at 2051 nm is broadband-seeded and implemented in a chirped pulse amplification system. © 2024 The Author(s
Quantification of local geometry and local symmetry in models of disordered materials
No full textWe suggest two metrics for assessing the quality of atomistic configurations of disordered materials, both of which are based on quantifying the orientational distribution of neighbours around each atom in the configuration. The first metric is that of geometric invariance: i.e., the extent to which the neighbour arrangements are as similar as possible for different atoms, allowing for variations in frame of reference. The second metric concerns the degree of local symmetry. We propose that for a set of configurations with equivalent pair correlations, ranking highly those configurations with low geometric invariance but with high local symmetry selects for structural simplicity in a way that does not rely on formal group theoretical language (and hence long-range periodic order). We show that these metrics rank a range of SiO2 and a-Si configurations in an intuitive manner, and are also significantly more sensitive to unphysical features of those configurations in a way that metrics based on pair correlations are not. We also report that implementation of the metrics within a reverse Monte Carlo (RMC) algorithm gives rise to an energy landscape that is too coarse (at least in this initial implementation) for amorphous structure 'solution'. Cliffe and Goodwin suggest two metrics for assessing the quality of configurations of disordered materials: namely, local geometric invariance and degree of local symmetry. These enable screening for structural simplicity in a way that does not rely on formal group theoretical language (and hence long-range periodic order). The authors show that various SiO2 and a-Si configurations are ranked sensibly by this approach, which is found to be significantly more sensitive to unphysical features than pairwise correlations. © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim
Modelling psychological responses to the great East Japan earthquake and nuclear incident
No full textThis is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits
unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited - Copyright @ 2012 Goodwin et al.This article has been made available through the Brunel Open Access Publishing Fund.The Great East Japan (Tōhoku/Kanto) earthquake of March 2011was followed by a major tsunami and nuclear incident. Several previous studies have suggested a number of psychological responses to such disasters. However, few previous studies have modelled individual differences in the risk perceptions of major events, or the implications of these perceptions for relevant behaviours. We conducted a survey specifically examining responses to the Great Japan earthquake and nuclear incident, with data collected 11-13 weeks following these events. 844 young respondents completed a questionnaire in three regions of Japan; Miyagi (close to the earthquake and leaking nuclear plants), Tokyo/Chiba (approximately 220 km from the nuclear plants), and Western Japan (Yamaguchi and Nagasaki, some 1000 km from the plants). Results indicated significant regional differences in risk perception, with greater concern over earthquake risks in Tokyo than in Miyagi or Western Japan. Structural equation analyses showed that shared normative concerns about earthquake and nuclear risks, conservation values, lack of trust in governmental advice about the nuclear hazard, and poor personal control over the nuclear incident were positively correlated with perceived earthquake and nuclear risks. These risk perceptions further predicted specific outcomes (e.g. modifying homes, avoiding going outside, contemplating leaving Japan). The strength and significance of these pathways varied by region. Mental health and practical implications of these findings are discussed in the light of the continuing uncertainties in Japan following the March 2011 events
The challenge of assessing the performance of multilateral development agencies: lessons for WHO programmes in Myanmar and Nepal
No full textDevelopment organisations have moved from reporting on 'what they do' to addressing 'what difference they make' in an environment that forces them to compete for resources. Thus, measuring their effectiveness has evolved from accountability reporting to results enquiries and to evaluation of the impact of interventions at the end user's level. To adapt to these changes, most development organizations and donors have adhered to results based management and use logical framework approaches for their operations. These approaches and systems have recognised usefulness in project planning, although their utility in project monitoring and organizational performance assessment is more contested. The analysis of recent experiences calls for alternative approaches to assessing performance to improve the effectiveness of development and technical organisations at the country level. This research explores the use of logframes to assess the programmatic performance in a multilateral organization at country level, in the context of an increased focus on results based management. It uses a qualitative methodology to a) assess the comparative advantages and challenges of various assessment tools and systems that WHO uses to measure its performance in EPR in Myanmar and in Nepal; b) address the WHO contribution in terms of results and impact in the area studied; and c) propose options for addressing WHO accountability performance and cooperation effectiveness in EPR at country level. The two case studies uncover the importance of contextual factors, and stakeholders' perceptions and intemctions. They further highlight the role that organisational setting and team profile play in using systems and tools to measure progmmmatic performance. Logframes proved useful for planning and financial accountability, although they confronted major difficulties when assessing the core contribution of the teams to the programme achievements and stakeholders' expectations. The research contributes to the understanding of how routine performance assessment systems work in practice. The comparison of the findings in the two countries raises institutional issues and offers the possibility for organizational learning. Finally, the research proposes alternative options that WHO may adopt to measure its programmatic performance in countries
Climate sensitivity to the carbon cycle modulated by past and future changes in ocean chemistry
No full textThe carbon cycle has a central role in climate change. For example, during glacial-interglacial cycles, atmospheric carbon dioxide has altered radiative forcing and amplified temperature changes. However, it is unclear how sensitive the climate system has been to changes in carbon cycling in previous geological periods, or how this sensitivity may evolve in the future, following massive anthropogenic emissions. Here we develop an analytical relationship that links the variation of radiative forcing from changes in carbon dioxide concentrations with changes in air-sea carbon cycling on a millennial timescale. We find that this relationship is affected by the ocean storage of carbon and its chemical partitioning in sea water. Our analysis reveals that the radiative forcing of climate is more sensitive to carbon perturbations now than it has been over much of the preceding 400 million years. This high sensitivity is likely to persist into the future as the oceans become more acidic and the bulk of the fossil-fuels inventory is tansferred to the ocean and atmosphere
Pure-rotational 1D-CARS spatiotemporal thermometry with a single regenerative amplifier system
No full textWe report spatiotemporal pure-rotational coherent anti-Stokes Raman spectroscopy (CARS) in a one-dimensional imaging arrangement obtained with a single ultrafast regenerative amplifier system. The femtosecond pump/Stokes photon pairs, used for impulsive excitation, are delivered by an external compressor operating on a ∼35% beam split of the uncompressed amplifier output (2.5 mJ/pulse). The picosecond 1.2 mJ probe pulse is produced via the second-harmonic bandwidth compression (SHBC) of the ∼65% remainder of the amplifier output (4.5 mJ/pulse), which originates from the internal compressor. The two pump/Stokes and probe pulses are spatially, temporally, and repetition-wise correlated at the measurement, and the signal generation plane is relayed by a wide-field coherent imaging spectrometer onto the detector plane, which is refreshed at the same repetition rate as the ultrafast regenerative amplifier system. We demonstrate 1 kHz cinematographic 1D-CARS gas-phase thermometry across an unstable premixed methane/air flame-front, achieved with a single-shot precision <1% and accuracy <3%, 1.4 mm field of view, and an excellent <20 µm line-spread function.Green Open Access added to TU Delft Institutional Repository ‘You share, we take care!’ – Taverne project https://www.openaccess.nl/en/you-share-we-take-care Otherwise as indicated in the copyright section: the publisher is the copyright holder of this work and the author uses the Dutch legislation to make this work public.Flight Performance and Propulsio
Mesenchymal stromal cells mediate Aspergillus hyphal extract-induced allergic airway inflammation by inhibition of the Th17 signaling pathway
No full textSystemic administration of mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) suppresses airway inflammation and methacholine-induced airway hyper-responsiveness (AHR) in mouse models of T helper cell (Th) type 2-mediated eosinophilic allergic airway inflammation (AAI); however, the efficacy of MSCs in mouse models of severe Th17-mediated neutrophilic AAI has not yet been demonstrated. We assessed MSC effects in a mouse model of mixed Th2/Th17 AAI produced by mucosal exposure to Aspergillus fumigatus hyphal extract (AHE). Following sensitization produced by oropharyngeal AHE administration, systemic (tail vein) administration of syngeneic MSCs on the first day of challenge significantly reduced acute AHR predominantly through reduction of Th17-mediated airway inflammation. In parallel experiments, MSCs also mitigated AHR when administered during recurrent challenge 10 weeks after initial sensitization and challenge through reduction in systemic Th17-mediated inflammation. Investigation into potential mechanistic actions of MSCs in this model demonstrated that although T regulatory cells were increased in all AHE-treated mice, MSC administration did not alter T regulatory cell numbers in either the acute or recurrent model. Differential induction of interleukin-17a secretion was observed in ex vivo restimulation of mediastinal lymph node mixed-cell cytokine analyses. Although the mechanisms by which MSCs act to decrease inflammation and AHR in this model are not yet fully elucidated, decrease in Th17-mediated airway inflammation appears to play a significant role. These results provide a basis for further investigations of MSC administration as a potential therapeutic approach for severe refractory neutrophilic asthma
- …
