Point-particle direct numerical simulations have been employed to quantify the turbulence modulation and particle responses in a turbulent particle-laden jet in the two-way coupled regime with an inlet Reynolds number based on bulk velocity and jet diameter $({D_j})$ of ~10 000. The investigation focuses on three cases with inlet bulk Stokes numbers of 0.3, 1.4 and 11.2. Special care is taken to account for the particle–gas slip velocity and non-uniform particle concentrations at the nozzle outlet, enabling a reasonable prediction of particle velocity and concentration fields. Turbulence modulation is quantified by the variation of the gas-phase turbulent kinetic energy (TKE). The presence of the particle phase is found to damp the gas-phase TKE in the near-field region within $5{D_j}$ from the inlet but subsequently increases the TKE in the intermediate region of (5–20)Dj. An analysis of the gas-phase TKE transport equation reveals that the direct impact of the particle phase is to dissipate TKE via the particle-induced source term. However, the finite inertia of the particle phase affects the gas-phase velocity gradients, which indirectly affects the TKE production and dissipation, leading to the observed TKE attenuation and enhancement. Particle response to the gas-phase flow is quantified. Particles are found to exhibit notably stronger response to the gas-phase axial velocity than to the radial velocity. A new dimensionless figure is presented that collapses both the axial and radial components of the particle response as a function of the local Stokes number based on their respective integral length scales.

Background: Brain-machine-interface research has utilized multichannel single neuron recordings to decode movement intention. However, the prefrontal cortex (PFC) contains mental representations of more abstract task and goal elements which may be utilized as important signals in a brain-machine-interface. We therefore utilized virtual reality to simulate a real-world task while recording from ensembles of primate PFC neurons. Methods: Two male rhesus macaques (macaca mulatta) were trained to navigate a virtual reality environment using a joystick and learn a context-object association rule. We implanted each monkey with two 96-channel Utah arrays (Blackrock Microsystems) in the lateral PFC (areas 9/46 and 8a) and simultaneously recorded from multiple single neurons. Results: A linear support-vector-machine decoded task elements (context, target location and chosen direction of movement) with significantly greater than chance accuracy. This information was decoded in a sequential manner as the primates made a rule-based decision, with context information appearing first, followed by target location, and chosen side. Conclusions: We found that different neuronal ensembles encode the elements needed for implementing the context rule, and that such ensembles are activated sequentially. Brain-machine-interface systems may benefit by integrating neural data from the PFC, providing salient goal-related information such as the content of the goal and its spatial location.

Former President Donald Trump’s unsubstantiated vote-fraud claims following the 2020 presidential election divided the Republican Party. Numerous Republicans supported Trump’s efforts to overturn the election, others did not. These futile attempts reached a flashpoint during the January 6 attack on the United States Capitol. Even in the wake of such violence, many House Republicans continued to amplify Trump’s baseless claims by voting to exclude the election results from Arizona and Pennsylvania. This article analyzes these roll-call votes to determine the likely motivations for why some House Republicans were still willing to support Trump’s position following the Capitol riot. We then replicate our analysis with the January 13 impeachment and the May 19 vote to establish a bipartisan National Commission to Investigate the January 6 Attack on the United States Capitol Complex (January 6 Commission) to investigate the insurrection. Our findings indicate the relevance of constituent preferences, Trump’s popularity, legislator ideology, and the racial diversity of constituents represented by Republicans.

Background: Establishing spatial correspondence between subject and template images is necessary in neuroimaging research and clinical applications. A point-based set of anatomical fiducials (AFIDs) was recently developed and validated to provide quantitative measures of image registration. We applied the AFIDs protocol to magnetic resonance images (MRIs) obtained from patients with Parkinson’s Disease (PD). Methods: Two expert and three novice raters placed AFIDs on MRIs of 39 PD patients. Localization and registration errors were calculated. To investigate for unique morphometric features, pairwise distances between AFIDs were calculated and compared to 30 controls who previously had AFIDs placed. Wilcoxon rank-sum tests with Bonferroni corrections were used. Results: 6240 AFIDs were placed with a mean localization error (±SD) of 1.57mm±1.16mm and mean registration error of 3.34mm±1.94mm. Out of the 496 pairwise distances, 40 were statistically significant (p<0.05/496). PD patients had a decreased pairwise distance between the left temporal horn, brainstem and pineal gland. Conclusions: AFIDs can be successfully applied with millimetric accuracy in a clinical setting and utilized to provide localized and quantitative measures of registration error. AFIDs provide clinicians and researchers with a common, open framework for quality control and validation of spatial correspondence, facilitating accurate aggregation of imaging datasets and comparisons between various neurological conditions.

In different parts of the world, aphid populations and their natural enemies are influenced by landscapes and climate. In the Neotropical region, few long-term studies have been conducted, maintaining a gap for comprehension of the effect of meteorological variables on aphid population patterns and their parasitoids in field conditions. This study describes the general patterns of oscillation in cereal winged aphids and their parasitoids, selecting meteorological variables and evaluating their effects on these insects. Aphids exhibit two annual peaks, one in summer–fall transition and the other in winter-spring transition. For parasitoids, the highest annual peak takes place during winter and a second peak occurs in winter–spring transition. Temperature was the principal meteorological regulator of population fluctuation in winged aphids and parasitoids during the year. The favorable temperature range is not the same for aphids and parasitoids. For aphids, temperature increase resulted in population growth, with maximum positive effect at 25°C. Temperature also positively influenced parasitoid populations, but the growth was asymptotic around 20°C. Although rainfall showed no regulatory function on aphid seasonality, it influenced the final number of insects over the year. The response of aphids and parasitoids to temperature has implications for trophic compatibility and regulation of their populations. Such functions should be taken into account in predictive models.

This work introduces NexusLIMS, an electron microscopy laboratory information management system designed and implemented by the Office of Data and Informatics and the Materials Science and Engineering Division at NIST for a multi-user electron microscopy co-op facility. NexusLIMS comprises network infrastructure, shared information technology resources, a custom software package to harvest and extract experimental information and construct experimental metadata records, and an intuitive web-based user-facing interface for searching, browsing, and examining research data. These metadata records conform to the Nexus Experiment schema, which is introduced in this work. The NexusLIMS suite of tools requires minimal input and adjustments to user behavior, instead relying on existing organizational procedures and the collection of information from a multitude of sources to construct a complete picture and record of a research experiment. The underlying infrastructure and design considerations for a multi-user data management system are discussed. The core codebase for NexusLIMS is made publicly available alongside this work, and its modular design encourages the adaptation of the presented methods at other research organizations.

Gravitational waves from coalescing neutron stars encode information about nuclear matter at extreme densities, inaccessible by laboratory experiments. The late inspiral is influenced by the presence of tides, which depend on the neutron star equation of state. Neutron star mergers are expected to often produce rapidly rotating remnant neutron stars that emit gravitational waves. These will provide clues to the extremely hot post-merger environment. This signature of nuclear matter in gravitational waves contains most information in the 2–4 kHz frequency band, which is outside of the most sensitive band of current detectors. We present the design concept and science case for a Neutron Star Extreme Matter Observatory (NEMO): a gravitational-wave interferometer optimised to study nuclear physics with merging neutron stars. The concept uses high-circulating laser power, quantum squeezing, and a detector topology specifically designed to achieve the high-frequency sensitivity necessary to probe nuclear matter using gravitational waves. Above 1 kHz, the proposed strain sensitivity is comparable to full third-generation detectors at a fraction of the cost. Such sensitivity changes expected event rates for detection of post-merger remnants from approximately one per few decades with two A+ detectors to a few per year and potentially allow for the first gravitational-wave observations of supernovae, isolated neutron stars, and other exotica.

Non-tuberculous mycobacterium encephalitis is rare. Since 2013, a global outbreak of Mycobacterium chimaera infection has been attributed to point-source contamination of heater cooler units used in cardiac surgery. Disseminated M. chimaera infection has presented many unique challenges, including non-specific clinical presentations with delays in diagnosis, and a high mortality rate among predominantly immunocompetent adults. Here, we describe three patients with fatal disseminated Mycobacterium chimaera infection showing initially non-specific, progressively worsening neurocognitive decline, including confusion, delirium, depression and apathy. Autopsy revealed widespread granulomatous encephalitis of the cerebrum, brain stem and spinal cord, along with granulomatous chorioretinitis. Cerebral involvement and differentiation between mycobacterial granulomas and microangiopathic changes can be assessed best on MRI with contrast enhancement. The prognosis of M. chimaera encephalitis appears to be very poor, but might be improved by increased awareness of this new syndrome and timely antimicrobial treatment.

In Canada, recreational use of cannabis was legalized in October 2018. This policy change along with recent publications evaluating the efficacy of cannabis for the medical treatment of epilepsy and media awareness about its use have increased the public interest about this agent. The Canadian League Against Epilepsy Medical Therapeutics Committee, along with a multidisciplinary group of experts and Canadian Epilepsy Alliance representatives, has developed a position statement about the use of medical cannabis for epilepsy. This article addresses the current Canadian legal framework, recent publications about its efficacy and safety profile, and our understanding of the clinical issues that should be considered when contemplating cannabis use for medical purposes.

We investigate the interstellar medium towards seven TeV gamma-ray sources thought to be pulsar wind nebulae using Mopra molecular line observations at 7 mm [CS(1–0), SiO(1–0, v = 0)], Nanten CO(1–0) data and the Southern Galactic Plane Survey/GASS Hi survey. We have discovered several dense molecular clouds co-located to these TeV gamma-ray sources, which allows us to search for cosmic rays coming from progenitor SNRs or, potentially, from pulsar wind nebulae. We notably found SiO(1–0, v = 0) emission towards HESS J1809–193, highlighting possible interaction between the adjacent supernova remnant SNR G011.0–0.0 and the molecular cloud at d ∼ 3.7 kpc. Using morphological features, and comparative studies of our column densities with those obtained from X-ray measurements, we claim a distance d ∼ 8.6 − 9.7kpc for SNR G292.2–00.5, d ∼ 3.5 − 5.6 kpc for PSR J1418–6058 and d ∼ 1.5 kpc for the new SNR candidate found towards HESS J1303–631. From our mass and density estimates of selected molecular clouds, we discuss signatures of hadronic/leptonic components from pulsar wind nebulae and their progenitor SNRs. Interestingly, the molecular gas, which overlaps HESS J1026–582 at d ∼ 5 kpc, may support a hadronic origin. We find however that this scenario requires an undetected cosmic-ray accelerator to be located at d < 10 pc from the molecular cloud. For HESS J1809–193, the cosmic rays which have escaped SNR G011.0–0.0 could contribute to the TeV gamma-ray emission. Finally, from the hypothesis that at most 20% the pulsar spin down power could be converted into CRs, we find that among the studied pulsar wind nebulae, only those from PSR J1809–1917 could potentially contribute to the TeV emission.

We present observations of 50 deg2 of the Mopra carbon monoxide (CO) survey of the Southern Galactic Plane, covering Galactic longitudes l = 300–350° and latitudes |b| ⩽ 0.5°. These data have been taken at 0.6 arcmin spatial resolution and 0.1 km s−1spectral resolution, providing an unprecedented view of the molecular clouds and gas of the Southern Galactic Plane in the 109–115 GHz J = 1–0 transitions of 12CO, 13CO, C18O, and C17O.

We present a series of velocity-integrated maps, spectra, and position-velocity plots that illustrate Galactic arm structures and trace masses on the order of ~106 M⊙ deg−2, and include a preliminary catalogue of C18O clumps located between l = 330–340°. Together with the information about the noise statistics of the survey, these data can be retrieved from the Mopra CO website and the PASA data store.

Mechanical Turk has become an important source of subjects for social science experiments, providing a low-cost alternative to the convenience of using undergraduates while avoiding the expense of drawing fully representative samples. However, we know little about how the rates we pay to “Turkers” for participating in social science experiments affects their participation. This study examines subject performance using two experiments – a short survey experiment and a longer dynamic process tracing study of political campaigns – that recruited Turkers at different rates of pay. Looking at demographics and using measures of attention, engagement and evaluation of the candidates, we find no effects of pay rates upon subject recruitment or participation. We conclude by discussing implications and ethical standards of pay.