We present very detailed images of the photosphere of an AGB star obtained with the PIONIER instrument, installed at the Very Large Telescope Interferometer (VLTI). The images show a well defined stellar disc populated by a few convective patterns. Thanks to the high precision of the observations we are able to derive the contrast and granulation horizontal scale of the convective pattern for the first time in a direct way. Such quantities are then compared with scaling relations between granule size, effective temperature, and surface gravity that are predicted by simulations of stellar surface convection.

Coinfection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and viral hepatitis is associated with high morbidity and mortality in the absence of clinical management, making identification of these cases crucial. We examined characteristics of HIV and viral hepatitis coinfections by using surveillance data from 15 US states and two cities. Each jurisdiction used an automated deterministic matching method to link surveillance data for persons with reported acute and chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) or hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections, to persons reported with HIV infection. Of the 504 398 persons living with diagnosed HIV infection at the end of 2014, 2.0% were coinfected with HBV and 6.7% were coinfected with HCV. Of the 269 884 persons ever reported with HBV, 5.2% were reported with HIV. Of the 1 093 050 persons ever reported with HCV, 4.3% were reported with HIV. A greater proportion of persons coinfected with HIV and HBV were males and blacks/African Americans, compared with those with HIV monoinfection. Persons who inject drugs represented a greater proportion of those coinfected with HIV and HCV, compared with those with HIV monoinfection. Matching HIV and viral hepatitis surveillance data highlights epidemiological characteristics of persons coinfected and can be used to routinely monitor health status and guide state and national public health interventions.

A multi-scale analysis, ranging from μm → nm → Å-scaie on the influence of thermal treatment on the thermotropic copolyester based on 60 mol% (l,4)-hydroxybenzoic acid (B), 5 mol% (2,6)-hydroxynaphthoic acid (N), 17.5 mol% terephthalic acid (T) and 17.5 mol% biphenol (BP) - COTBP- was carried out. The Å and nm-scale structure was investigated by synchrotron scattering (WAXS and SAXS). Extruded tapes ca. 30 μm thick were annealed at 300 °C under air, without tension. WAXS revealed fibre-like structure with crystalline order, whereas SAXS patterns exhibited diamond-shaped diffuse scattering and discrete meridional scattering elucidating structures along the fibre axis and periodic crystallites. Heat treatment produced roughness reduction, and WAXS patterns showed reflections sharpening indicating an improvement of molecular register and packing (molecular alignment and degree of crystallinity Χ increased). Thermal treatment increased the thermal stability, melting transition and tensile Young’s modulus, E, along extrusion axis, whereas nanoindentation showed decrease of hardness and elastic modulus. Hence, a thermally-induced seif-reinforcing effect was evidenced, with microstructure reorganization correlating with improved thermo-mechanical properties.

The paper analyzes the issues relating to the applicability of innovative material systems for flexible composite armors. The authors made several samplings of aramid fibers (Kevlar 49) by replacing the epoxy resin base, which is often described in the literature, with the thermoplastic matrix - polyethylene (HDPE) and polypropylene (PP). The samples were fired with .38 Special Full Metal Jacketed (FMJ) ammunition produced by the S&B Company, and then the process of firing was modeled in the ABAQUS program. The advantages and disadvantages of the new material system including the possibility of its use in the construction of hybrid composite armors have been presented on the basis of the results of numerical analyses and ballistic tests.

Initial infection with the sentinel respiratory pathogen in children with cystic fibrosis (CF), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (Pa), is generally with environmental strains of this ubiquitous organism. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the associations between meteorological and geographical factors and risk of initial Pa acquisition in young children with CF. Using the U.S. Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Patient Registry from 2003 to 2009, 3463 patients met inclusion criteria, of which 48% (n = 1659) acquired Pa during follow-up. From multivariable Weibull regression, increased risk of Pa acquisition was associated with increasing temperature [hazard ratio (HR) per 1 °C: 1·13; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1·08–1·13], dew point (HR per 1 °C: 1·10, 95% CI 1·07–1·13), rainfall (HR per cm: 1·10, 95% CI 1·07–1·12), latitude (HR per 1 °C northing: 1·15, 95% CI 1·11–1·20), longitude (HR per 1 °C easting: 1·01, 95% CI 1·01–1·02) and elevation (HR per 100 m: 1·05, 95% CI 1·03–1·07). These results suggest that environmental factors may play a previously unrecognized role in the aetiology of initial Pa acquisition.

Microwave heating is used to initiate the ion-cut process for transfer of coherent silicon-layers onto insulator substrates.Hydrogen and boron co-implanted silicon was bonded to an insulative substrate before processing inside a 2.45 GHz, 1300 W cavity applicator microwave system. Sample temperatures measured using a pyrometer were comparable to previous ion – cut studies.Selected samples were further annealed to repair any damage created in the ion implant process.Rutherford backscattering spectrometry and selective area electron diffraction patterns show high crystallinity in transferred layers.RUMP simulation of backscattering spectra and cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy demonstrate that thicknesses of the transferred layers are comparable to previous ion-cut exfoliation techniques.Surface quality as characterized by an atomic force microscope compares well with previous ion-cut studies.Hall measurements were used to characterize electrical properties of transferred layers. The mobility and carrier density of microwave activated ion – cut silicon on insulator processed samples compares well with previous annealing techniques.

A brief overview of the research activities at the Thermionic Energy Conversion (TEC) Center is given. The goal is to achieve direct thermal to electric energy conversion with >20% efficiency and >1W/cm2 power density at a hot side temperature of 300–650C. Thermionic emission in both vacuum and solid-state devices is investigated. In the case of solid-state devices, hot electron filtering using heterostructure barriers is used to increase the thermoelectric power factor. In order to study electron transport above the barriers and lateral momentum conservation in thermionic emission process, the current-voltage characteristic of ballistic transistor structures is investigated. Embedded ErAs nanoparticles and metal/semiconductor multilayers are used to reduce the lattice thermal conductivity. Cross-plane thermoelectric properties and the effective ZT of the thin film are analyzed using the transient Harman technique. Integrated circuit fabrication techniques are used to transfer the n- and p-type thin films on AlN substrates and make power generation modules with hundreds of thin film elements. For vacuum devices, nitrogen-doped diamond and carbon nanotubes are studied for emitters. Sb-doped highly oriented diamond and low electron affinity AlGaN are investigated for collectors. Work functions below 1.6eV and vacuum thermionic power generation at temperatures below 700C have been demonstrated.

Studies have been carried out on the structures and mechanical characteristics of an unusual family of sea sponges under the classification of Hexactinellida, genus Euplectella. The sponge spicules have been of interest to materials scientists because of their potentially important optical, coupled with mechanical, properties. The structures of the class Hexactinellida are characterized by a concentric ring appearance in the cross-section, which is a composite of hydrated silica, coupled with silicatein as a thin layer at the ring interfaces. The mechanical behavior and the toughness of the spicules have been examined with the aid of a special fiber testing method, coupled with scanning electrom microscopy (SEM) observations. It appears that there may be common mechanisms underlying toughness in rigid natural composites with high ratios of mineral/organic phase. In addition, novel pressurization tests of a portion of the sponge skeleton have provided information about the resilience of the skeleton, which resembles a selfsupporting glass winding of a cylindrical composite structure.

Ovarian cancer is the commonest cause of death from gynaecological malignancy in the Western world. About 5000 new cases of this cancer are diagnosed each year in England and Wales (5% of all cancers), and it is the fourth commonest cancer in all women up to 85 years (after cancers of the breast, lung and large bowel). The life-time risk of developing ovarian cancer, in England and Wales, is 1 in 56, or 1.8% by the age of 85. Ovarian cancer incidence in England and Wales has increased gradually in the last two decades. Mortality rates are only slightly lower than the incidence rates – a reflection of its poor prognosis. In England and Wales, only 29% of women with the malignancy survive as long as five years after diagnosis although younger women do survive longer: 69% of those who are under 40 years old at diagnosis survive for five years compared to less than 20% for those aged 70 or more. Because of its high incidence and poor prognosis, ovarian cancer also represents the fourth most common cause of death from cancer among women in England and Wales, accounting for about 3600 deaths per year (7% of all cancer deaths).

The increasing number of energy filtering transmission electron microscopes (EFTEMs) has given many microscopists the ability to apply the fast and very efficient tool of electron spectroscopic imaging (ESI) for analytical characterisation, rather than to record EELS spectra. In a more general framework, the new ESI methods and the standard PEELS technique both aim at exploring the same three-dimensional data space. This data space is represented by the spatial co-ordinates x, y and the energy loss ΔE. The resulting intensity distribution I(x,y, ΔE) is frequently referred to as a spectrum image and the experimental techniques to acquire the corresponding data are referred to as spectrum imaging. The actual analysis can either be based on recording PEELS spectra for a twodimensional array of probe positions, or on recording series of energy filtered images across inner shell loss edges or in the low loss region.