We present a broad study of linear, clustered, noble gas puffs irradiated with the frequency doubled (527 nm) Titan laser at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Pure Ar, Kr, and Xe clustered gas puffs, as well as two mixed-gas puffs consisting of KrAr and XeKrAr gases, make up the targets. Characterization experiments to determine gas-puff density show that varying the experimental parameter gas-delay timing (the delay between gas puff initialization and laser-gas-puff interaction) provides a simple control over the gas-puff density. X-ray emission (>1.4 keV) is studied as a function of gas composition, density, and delay timing. Xe gas puffs produce the strongest peak radiation in the several keV spectral region. The emitted radiation was found to be anisotropic, with smaller X-ray flux observed in the direction perpendicular to both laser beam propagation and polarization directions. The degree of anisotropy is independent of gas target type but increases with photon energy. X-ray spectroscopic measurements estimate plasma parameters and highlight their difference with previous studies. Electron beams with energy in excess of 72 keV are present in the noble gas-puff plasmas and results indicate that Ar plays a key role in their production. A drastic increase in harder X-ray emissions (X-ray flash effect) and multi-MeV electron-beam generation from Xe gas-puff plasma occurred when the laser beam was focused on the front edge of the linear gas puff.

Background: SMA1 is a neurodegenerative disease caused by bi-allelic survival motor neuron 1 gene (SMN1) deletion/mutation. In the phase 1 study, SMN GRT onasemnogene abeparvovec (AVXS-101) improved outcomes of symptomatic SMA1 patients. We report preliminary data of STR1VE, a pivotal study (NCT03306277) evaluating efficacy and safety of a one-time intravenous AVXS-101 infusion. Methods: STR1VE is a phase 3, multicenter, open-label, single-arm study in SMA1 patients aged <6 months (bi-allelic SMN1 loss, 2xSMN2). Primary outcomes: independent sitting for ≥30 seconds (18 months) and survival (14 months). Secondary outcomes: ability to thrive and ventilatory support (18 months). Exploratory outcomes: CHOP-INTEND and Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development scores. Results: Enrollment is complete with 22 patients dosed. Mean age at symptom onset, genetic diagnosis, and enrollment was 1.9 (0–4.0), 2.1 (0.5–4.0), and 3.7 (0.5–5.9) months. At baseline, no patient required ventilatory/nutritional support, and all exclusively fed by mouth. Mean baseline CHOP-INTEND score was 32.6 (17.0–52.0), which increased 6.9 (-4.0–16.0, n=20), 10.4 (2.0–18.0, n=12), and 11.6 (-3.0–23.0, n=9) points at 1, 2, and 3 months; updates provided at congress. Conclusions: Preliminary data from STR1VE show rapid motor function improvements in SMA1 patients, paralleling phase 1 findings.

Background: SMA is a neurodegenerative disease caused by biallelic deletion/mutation of the survival motor neuron (SMN1) gene. In the phase 1 trial (NCT02122952), SMN GRT onasemnogene abeparvovec (AVXS-101) improved outcomes of 15 symptomatic SMA1 patients (3 at a lower dose [cohort 1] and 12 at the proposed therapeutic dose [cohort 2]). This report describes long-term follow-up study design and data from the phase 1 study. Methods: Patients in the phase 1 study could rollover into a long-term follow-up study (NCT03421977). The primary objective is to collect long-term safety data (serious adverse events, hospitalizations, and adverse events of special interest). Annual follow-up will occur for 15 years. Additionally, patient record transfers from local clinician(s) will be requested. Safety assessments include medical history and record review, physical examination, clinical laboratory evaluation, and pulmonary assessments. Efficacy assessments include physical examination to assess developmental milestones. Results: As of September 27, 2018, the oldest patients are 59.2 (cohort 1) and 52.1 (cohort 2) months old and free of permanent ventilation. Preliminary data, including survival and developmental milestones, will be presented. Conclusions: Patients treated with a one-time dose of AVXS-101 continue to gain strength, develop, and achieve new milestones, demonstrating a long-term, durable response.

A fine-grained, up to 3-m-thick tephra bed in southwestern Saskatchewan, herein named Duncairn tephra (Dt), is derived from an early Pleistocene eruption in the Jemez Mountains volcanic field of New Mexico, requiring a trajectory of northward tephra dispersal of ~1500 km. An unusually low CaO content in its glass shards denies a source in the closer Yellowstone and Heise volcanic fields, whereas a Pleistocene tephra bed (LSMt) in the La Sal Mountains of Utah has a very similar glass chemistry to that of the Dt, supporting a more southerly source. Comprehensive characterization of these two distal tephra beds along with samples collected near the Valles caldera in New Mexico, including grain size, mineral assemblage, major- and trace-element composition of glass and minerals, paleomagnetism, and fission-track dating, justify this correlation. Two glass populations each exist in the Dt and LSMt. The proximal correlative of Dt1 is the plinian Tsankawi Pumice and co-ignimbritic ash of the first ignimbrite (Qbt1g) of the 1.24 Ma Tshirege Member of the Bandelier Tuff. The correlative of Dt2 and LSMt is the co-ignimbritic ash of Qbt2. Mixing of Dt1 and Dt2 probably occurred during northward transport in a jet stream.

During the period, there have been several major events which have effected the scope and interest of Commission 19. The most significant of these has been the dissolution of the BIH and IPMS and their replacement by the International Earth Rotation Service (IERS). The correlation of higher frequency fluctuations in the Earth’s rotation rate with changes in the Earth’s Atmospheric Angular Momentum is also significant. Many investigators now seem to believe that the “decade variations„ in the Earth’s rotation rate are caused by torques between the core and mantle caused by the uneven motions at the core-mantle boundary. These events and discoveries have made this an exciting period. It seems that the future holds more in the way of discovery due to the utilization of the more accurate and precise Earth rotation data coming from the modern observing techniques.

The aim of this study was to examine cross-sectionally whether higher cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) might favorably modify amyloid-β (Aβ)-related decrements in cognition in a cohort of late-middle-aged adults at risk for Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Sixty-nine enrollees in the Wisconsin Registry for Alzheimer’s Prevention participated in this study. They completed a comprehensive neuropsychological exam, underwent 11C Pittsburgh Compound B (PiB)-PET imaging, and performed a graded treadmill exercise test to volitional exhaustion. Peak oxygen consumption (VO2peak) during the exercise test was used as the index of CRF. Forty-five participants also underwent lumbar puncture for collection of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples, from which Aβ42 was immunoassayed. Covariate-adjusted regression analyses were used to test whether the association between Aβ and cognition was modified by CRF. There were significant VO2peak*PiB-PET interactions for Immediate Memory (p=.041) and Verbal Learning & Memory (p=.025). There were also significant VO2peak*CSF Aβ42 interactions for Immediate Memory (p<.001) and Verbal Learning & Memory (p<.001). Specifically, in the context of high Aβ burden, that is, increased PiB-PET binding or reduced CSF Aβ42, individuals with higher CRF exhibited significantly better cognition compared with individuals with lower CRF. In a late-middle-aged, at-risk cohort, higher CRF is associated with a diminution of Aβ-related effects on cognition. These findings suggest that exercise might play an important role in the prevention of AD. (JINS, 2015, 21, 841–850)

We have determined the extinction efficiency factor Q for the objects in the Table by means of maps, scans, or photometry at 1 mm using a composite bolometer at the prime focus of the ESO 3.6m telescope (Arnold et al., 1978; Arnold, 1979). The beam is 2′ in diameter.

Norovirus outbreaks occur frequently in Denmark and it can be difficult to establish whether apparently independent outbreaks have the same origin. Here we report on six outbreaks linked to frozen raspberries, investigated separately over a period of 3 months. Norovirus from stools were sequence-typed; including extended sequencing of 1138 bp encompassing the hypervariable P2 region of the capsid gene. Norovirus was detected in 27 stool samples. Genotyping showed genotype GI.Pb_GI.6 (polymerase/capsid) with 100% identical sequences. Samples from five outbreaks were furthermore identical over the variable capsid P2 region. In one outbreak at a hospital canteen, frozen raspberries was associated with illness by cohort investigation (relative risk 6·1, 95% confidence interval 3·2–11). Bags of raspberries suspected to be the source were positive for genogroup I and II noroviruses, one typable virus was genotype GI.6 (capsid). These molecular investigations showed that the apparently independent outbreaks were the result of one contamination event of frozen raspberries. The contaminated raspberries originated from a single producer in Serbia and were originally not considered to belong to the same batch. The outbreaks led to consultations and mutual visits between producers, investigators and authorities. Further, Danish legislation was changed to make heat-treatment of frozen raspberries compulsory in professional catering establishments.

Amorphous metallic powders can be formed by mechanical alloying in a high-energy ball mill. Starting from the elemental, crystalline powders, ball milling first produces powder particles with a characteristically layered microstructure. Further milling leads to an ultrafine composite in which amorphization by solid state reaction takes place. The glass-forming range has been determined in detail for Fe-Zr and Ni-Zr. In Fe-Zr it differs completely from rapidly quenched amorphous samples. A systematic study of alloys of 3d transition metals with Zr and Ti shows that the glass-forming ability depends critically on a large negative free enthalpy of mixing. The results lead to the conclusion that amorphization by mechanical alloying is based on a solid state reaction and occurs under a metastable thermodynamic equilibrium neglecting the existence of intermetallic phases. Measurements of the superconducting transition temperature and Möβbauer studies show the structural similarity of mechanically alloyed and rapidly quenched amorphous samples. Finally mechanical alloying of FeZrB and NdFeB is described. Whereas FeZrB becomes amorphous after an additional annealing, a microcrystalline powder with very high coercivity is formed for NdFeB.

The syntheses and physical properties of K-(ET)2CU[N(CN)2]X (X = Br and Cl) are summarized. The K-(ET)2Cu [N(CN)2] Br salt is the highest Tc radical-cation based ambient pressure organic superconductor (Tc = 11.6 K), and the K-(ET)2CU [N(CN)2] C1 salt becomes a superconductor at even higher Tc under 0.3 kbar hydrostatic pressure (Tc = 12.8 K). The similarities and differences between K-(ET)2Cu[N(CN)2]Br and K-(ET)2CU(NCS)2 (TC = 10.4 K) are presented. The X-ray structures at 127 K reveal that the S-S contacts shorten between ET dimers in the former compound while the S-S contacts shorten within dimers in the latter. The differences in their ESR linewidth behavior is also explained in terms of the structural differences. A semiconducting compound, (ET)Cu[N(CN)2]2, isolated during K-(ET)2Cu[N(CN)2]Cl synthesis is also reported. The ESR measurements of the K-(ET)2Cu[N(CN)2]Cl salt indicate that the phase transition near 40 K is similar to the spin density wave transition in (TMTSF)2SbF6. A new class of organic superconductors, K-(ET)2CU2(CN)3 and K-(ET)2Cu2(CN)3.δBrδ, is reported with Tc's of 2.8 K (1.5 kbar) and 2.6 K (1 kbar), respectively.

The importance of newly developed permanent magnetic materials in many electro-, magnetomechanical and electronic applications can be attributed to the drastic improvement of the magnetic energy density product and coercive field. A systematic study has been undertaken in order to determine the influence of oxygen content on microstructure and coercivity of high remanence Nd2Fe14B based sintered magnets. The energy density product >400 kJ/m3 (50 MGOe) and the coercive field of 800 kA/m were obtained after a combination of rubber isostatic and transverse die pressing methods. Magnets of the composition Nd151−xFe78+xB6Cu0.03A10.7 [x= 0-2.5] were prepared using strip cast materials. The high oxygen content of the magnets was gradually decreased from values of 4000-6000 ppm to a value < 1000 ppm. Abnormal grain growth (AGG) of the 2:14:1 grains occurred preferentially in magnets with low oxygen content, thus the squareness of the demagnetisation curve drastically decreased. The oxygen content strongly affects the AGG and the magnets with higher oxygen content have the higher critical temperatures at which the AGG occurs. On the other hand, isotropic magnets tend to have the lower critical temperatures than anisotropic magnets by 10-20°C. In the second part of the paper examples of the influence of intergranular phases, grain size and grain shape observed by TEM on coercivity of sintered and melt-spun Nd-Fe-B magnets are compared.

New nanocrystalline, multicomponent extremely soft magnetic materials with superior high temperature magnetic properties hold great promise in power applications. Fabricated in ribbon form by rapid solidification methods, the initial material is amorphous. By controlled annealing procedures, the amorphous material was transformed into a nanocrystalline form with the degree of crystallinity determined by the annealing temperature and time. The magnetic structures of ribbons, as-fabricated and annealed at temperatures from 550 to 750 °C were examined by magnetic force microscopy to determine the impact of residual stress and nanocrystallinity on the observed structure. A correlation was seen between the magnetic structures and surface microstructure. The wheel side of the as-processed ribbon was rougher than the top side of the ribbon and a complicated magnetic domain structure was present in the amorphous material. After annealing, nanocrystals formed, increasing in size with increasing temperature. The lowest temperature annealed sample had a bimodal grain size distribution and a combination of stripe and localized domains. After annealing little difference was seen between the two sides of the ribbons. Stripe domains were absent in the ribbons annealed at the highest temperatures.

Barium ferrite thin films with excellent perpendicular c-axis orientation were successfully fabricated on Si substrate without any buffer layer. To compensate for possible barium deficiency due to the inter-diffusion between films and substrate, a barium-rich target was used. For a 900 Å-thick film, the perpendicular remanent squareness is about 0.9, while the in-plane remanent squareness is about 0.3. The saturation magnetization (Ms) is about 220 emu/cc, while the coercivity is around 3500 Oe. X-ray diffraction (XRD) results show the (001) perpendicular c-axis texture in the films. It was also found that the rapid thermal annealing conditions greatly affect the magnetic properties of barium ferrite films. With a certain flow rate of oxygen gas in the rapid thermal annealer (RTA), barium ferrite films generally crystallize with good perpendicular c-axis texture. Without oxygen gas, the hexagonal barium ferrite phase fails to develop; instead spinel Fe 30 4 phase forms. The reason for the collapsing of hexagonal barium ferrite texture is thought to be an oxygen deficiency in the barium ferrite films due to the reduction of oxygen in the films during the high temperature annealing.

An ordered Fe16N2 phase has been reported with iron moments as high as 3.2 μB. It is precipitated from nitrogen martensite structures ideally containing 10.5 at.% nitrogen. Due to the highly distorted crystal structure and metastability of this phase non-equilibrium processing routes are sought to synthesize this phase. Here we report on radio frequency (RF) plasma torch synthesis which is used to produce FeN. nanoparticles quenched into a body centered tetragonal bct) structure as precursors for further annealing studies to form α“- Fe16N2 phase. We have employed a Tekna PL-50 type 50 kW, RF plasma torch. A plasma gas mixture containing 40 standard liters per minute (slpm) Ar and 8 slpm Hydrogen - 70 slpm Ar gas was used as a sheath gas. Iron powder ( < 10 μm) was injected into the plasma stream using Ar flowing 15 slpm as a carrier gas. Nitrogen and Ammonia were used as a nitrogenization sources. Relatively low injection rates were used in order to achieve smaller particle sizes and thus faster quenching rates. We were able to produce particles containing up to 45 % of the quenched γ-phase. Observations based on x-ray diffraction (XRD) determination of lattice expansion and phase transition temperatures observed by differential thermal analysis (DTA) indicated that the quenched phase contains 6.5 atomic % nitrogen. Scherrer analysis of the fine particle broadening indicated that the average particle size for γ- phase is 27 nm, whereas this value is found to be 55 nm. for α-Fe. Nitrogen is well known for its grain size refinement in Fe thin films. Saturation magnetizations were found to be as low as 123 emu/g due to the presence of the nonmagnetic γ-FeNx phase.

The magnetic properties of nanosized antiferromagnetic particles of KMnF3 are presented. The particles were synthesized using the microemulsion technique, i.e. by using the aqueous core of reverse micelles as constrained microreactors for the precipitation of the particles. The structural characterization of the samples, accomplished by TEM and XRD, reveal that the samples consist of cubic-shaped, crystalline KMnF3 nanoparticles of uniform size. Control over the average size of the particles was achieved by changing the reaction time. Four different samples of average size in the range 13-35 nm were prepared. DC magnetic susceptibility measurements revealed superparamagnetic behavior of the particles. Hysteresis loops measured after field cooling the samples through TN were shifted. The shift is ascribed to the exchange coupling between the antiferromagnetic core of the particles and the uncompensated spin shell surrounding it.

In this work we describe crystallization kinetics as inferred from time-dependent magnetization studies and thermal analysis for an Allied Signal amorphous Fe-based METGLAS® 2605SA-1 alloy and a NANOPERM (Fe88Zr7B4Cu1) alloy. We illustrate and contrast several phenomena important to understanding crystallization kinetics in particular to the NANOPERM alloy system. In METGLAS® 2605SA-1 primary and secondary crystallization events are observed in differential scanning calorimetry data (DSC) at temperatures of 504 °C and 549 °C, respectively for data taken at a 10 °C/min scan rate. Both temperatures are greater than the Curie temperature of the amorphous alloy. For the NANOPERM alloy primary crystallization (as determined from differential thermal analysis (DTA)) occurs at 500 °C and secondary crystallization at 730 °C and M(t) at temperatures near the primary crystallization temperature is dominated (at short times < 1 hour) by the primary crystallization event. Using the Johnson-Mehl-Avrami equation for isothermal transformations and the Kissinger equation for constant heating transformations, we find corresponding models for the crystallization kinetics of the NANOPERM alloy.