Medium Length Research Articles

Fast measurement of group index variation with optimum precision using Hong–Ou–Mandel interferometry

Hong–Ou–Mandel (HOM) interferometry has emerged as a valuable means for quantum sensing applications, particularly in measuring physical parameters that influence the relative optical delay between photon pairs. Unlike classical techniques, HOM-based quantum sensors offer higher resolution due to the intrinsic dispersion cancellation property of correlated photon pairs. Due to the use of single photons, HOM-based quantum sensors typically involve a large integration time to acquire the signal and subsequent post-processing for high-resolution measurements, restricting their use for real-time operations. Based on our understanding of the relationship between measurement resolution and the gain medium length that produces photon pairs, we report here on the development of an HOM-based quantum sensor for high-precision group index measurements. Using a 1 mm long periodically poled KTP (PPKTP) crystal for photon-pair generation, we have measured the group index with a precision of ∼6.75×10−6 per centimeter of sample length at an integration time of 100 ms, surpassing the previous reports by 400%. Typically, the measurement range reduces with the increase in the resolution. However, using a novel scheme compensating photon delay due to group index changes stepwise with an optical delay stage, we have measured the group index variation of PPKTP crystal over a range of 3.5 × 10−3 for a temperature change from 25 to 200 °C, corresponding to an optical delay adjustment of ∼200 μm while maintaining the same precision (∼6.75×10−6 per centimeter of sample length). The current results establish the usefulness of HOM-interferometer-based quantum sensors for fast, precise, and long-range measurements in various applications, including quantum optical coherence tomography.

Exact boundary-value solution for an electromagnetic wave propagating in a linearly varying index of refraction

The propagation of electromagnetic waves in a linearly varying index of refraction is a fundamental problem in wave physics, being relevant in fusion science for describing certain wave-based heating and diagnostic schemes. Here, an exact solution is obtained for a given incoming wavefield specified on the boundary transverse to the direction of inhomogeneity by performing a spectral, rather than asymptotic, matching. Two case studies are then presented: a Gaussian beam at oblique incidence and a speckled wavefield at normal incidence. For the Gaussian beam, it is shown that when the waist $W$ is sufficiently large, oblique incidence manifests simply as rigid translation and focal shift of the corresponding diffraction pattern at normal incidence. The destruction of the hyperbolic umbilic caustic (corresponding to a critically focused beam) as $W$ is reduced is then demonstrated. The caustic disappears once $W \lesssim \delta _a \sqrt {L}$ ( $L$ being the medium length scale normalized by the Airy skin depth $\delta _a$ ), at which point the wave behaviour is increasingly described by Airy functions, but experiences less focusing as a result. To maximize the intensity of a launched Gaussian beam at a turning point, one should therefore minimize the imaginary part of the launched complex beam parameter while having the real part satisfy critical focusing. For the speckled wavefield, it is shown that the transverse speckle pattern only couples to the Airy longitudinal pattern when the coupling parameter $\eta = \sqrt {L}/f_{\#}$ is large, with $f_{\#}$ being the f-number of the launching aperture. When $\eta \ll 1$ , a reduced description of the total wavefield can be obtained by simply multiplying the incoming speckle pattern with the Airy swelling.

A real-time phase transition modeling of supercritical steam cycle and load variation rate enhancement of thermal power plants under deep peak shaving

The ambitious green revolution to renewable energy sources in global power grids necessitates massive integration of solar and wind energy, which involves intermittent and unpredictable challenges. Thermal power plants are crucial in stabilizing the grid and addressing these challenges through flexibility reformation including deep peak shaving and frequent load variations since the unsteady state energy transfer and thermal dynamics during combustion and heat transformation in thermodynamic processes vary significantly. These conditions lead to issues such as furnace instability and latent heat of phase transition. This study introduces a novel approach to modeling phase transitions of supercritical steam cycle, and investigatesthe length, position, temperature, and energy transfer of the working medium and components under normal and low operational states. Conducting and analyzing the thermal feasible region associating the security of components and working medium this study establishes a control strategy for dynamic heat transfer to reduce component degradation effects andenhance load variation rate under flexible operations. Simulation model of a supercritical power unit based on the proposed method demonstrates an accuracy of 97.94%. Results from the optimal approach in maximizing load variation rate show the effectiveness and achieve 1.2%p.e./min most under transition process.

Screening And Identification Of Bacterial Isolate Producing Arbutin Glycoside And Improving Its Productivity By Mutagenesis

From three sources of Iraqi soil, 30 bacterial isolates were obtained. after performing the primary isolation process, 12 isolates could produce the glycoside arbutin as an indication of the reddish-brown precipitate. When secondary isolation was conducted, it was found that two isolates, A7 and C10, gave the highest production of arbutin as a function of the concentration of the resulting compound, as it reached a concentration of Arbutin 5.3 µg/ml and 8.5 µg/ml, respectively. The diagnosis process was carried out for isolate C10 based on cultural and microscopic characteristics, as the nature of growth on the liquid medium was that it floated on the surface, and the cells formed a thin membrane with each other. Pellice as for the nature of growth on a liquid media, the colonies were spread out and flat, with irregular edges, a cream color, and a wrinkled surface, while the microscopic characteristics of the bacterial isolate were that they were positive for Gram stain and the cells were rod-shaped of medium length. The biochemical tests Vitec 2 results showed that the bacterial isolate belonged to Bacillus subtilis with a probability of 98%. Upon genetic diagnosis at the 16SrRNA level, it was found that the isolate belonged to the genus Bacillus subtilis by 100% compared to what is available in the NCBI GenBank and that exposure for 30 minutes at a wavelength of 257 nanometers (20w) and at a distance of (20) cm from the dish to ultraviolet radiation resulted in to improve the production of arbutin twice as much as the wild strain.

Abstract C025: Enhanced efficacy of gemcitabine analogs and AZD 1775 combination therapy in patient-derived organoids

Abstract Pancreatic cancer (PCa), specifically Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma (PDAC), is projected to become the second leading cause of cancer related death by 2040. Currently, the 5-year survival rate for pancreatic cancer is between 7% - 12%. The standard treatment options for PDAC are chemotherapy and surgical resection. However, pancreatic cancer presents multiple challenges to successful treatment. First, PDAC is usually diagnosed in the advanced stages of the disease, even if diagnosed early only a small fraction of patients are eligible for surgical resection, about 13% - 15%. Second, PDAC is characterized by a stiff extracellular matrix. This stiffness can lead to poor vascularization, diminished immune responses and cell migration/metastasis. Finally, PDAC is notorious for being extremely resistant to chemotherapy regiments. In addition to these challenges, health disparities add to the dismal prognosis of pancreatic cancer. Examples of these disparities include unequal access to healthcare facilities and screenings, awareness of disease risk factors and symptoms and socioeconomic factors. Differences in genetics can influence the various outcomes seen in PDAC in terms of health disparities. Certain genetic mutations, some more prevalent in certain ethnic groups, can increase the risk for PDAC. Variation in tumor heterogeneity and genetic factors impacting drug metabolism can influence patient outcomes. To overcome some of these challenges, we have developed and tested novel gemcitabine analogs, conjugated with various fatty acid chains in collagen-based 3D gel, Patient Derived Organoid (PDO) models. The collagen-based gel allows tuning of the physical stiffness by varying the gelatin percentage, creating a more realistic tumor microenvironment with the intratumoral pressure can be upwards of 10 kPa. We have tested the gemcitabine analogs on patient derived cells, G43 and G46, from black and white patients respectively, in both soft and stiff matrices. Our results indicated that medium to long fatty acid chains (8, 10 and 18 carbon chains) have increased effectiveness, especially in softer matrices. Comparatively, G46 cells exhibited higher drug resistance across all environments than G43 cells. Recent studies have shown that combining Gemcitabine with AZD 1775, a WEE1 inhibitor may have synergistic effects. We tested the combinations of Gemcitabine analogs and AZD-1775 on both G43 and G46 patient derived cells in 2D and 3D environments. Our data suggests that short to medium length fatty acid chains (2-8 carbons) provide optimal combinational effectiveness. The combined treatment also demonstrated promising results in increasing treatment effectiveness in G46, which are typically chemoresistant. Further studies will examine the influence that tumor microenvironment may have on PDAC response to the combination therapy, as well as intrinsic difference between black patient-derived cells and white patient-derived cells and their sensitivity or resistance to treatment. Citation Format: Jonathan Barajas, Edward Agyare, Xueyou Zhu, Sherise Rogers, Ba Xuan Hoang, Bo Han. Enhanced efficacy of gemcitabine analogs and AZD 1775 combination therapy in patient-derived organoids [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 17th AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2024 Sep 21-24; Los Angeles, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2024;33(9 Suppl):Abstract nr C025.

Salmonid Double-stranded RNA-Dependent Protein Kinase Activates Apoptosis and Inhibits Protein Synthesis.

dsRNA-dependent protein kinase R (PKR) is a key factor of innate immunity. It is involved in translation inhibition, apoptosis, and enhancement of the proinflammatory and IFN responses. However, how these antiviral functions are conserved during evolution remains largely unknown. Overexpression and knockout studies in a Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) cell line were conducted to assess the role of salmonid PKR in the antiviral response. Three distinct mRNA isoforms from a unique pkr gene, named pkr-fl (full length), pkr-ml (medium length) and pkr-sl (short length), were cloned and a pkr-/- clonal fish cell line was developed using CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing. PKR-FL includes an N-terminal dsRNA-binding domain and a C-terminal kinase domain, whereas PKR-ML and PKR-SL display a truncated or absent kinase domain, respectively. PKR-FL is induced during IFNA2 stimulation but not during viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus (VHSV) infection. Overexpression experiments showed that only PKR-FL possesses antiviral functions, including activation of apoptosis and inhibition of de novo protein synthesis. Knockout experiments confirmed that PKR is involved in apoptosis activation during the late stage of VHSV infection. Endogenous PKR also plays a critical role in translation inhibition upon poly(I:C) transfection after IFNA2 treatment. It is, however, not involved in translational arrest during VHSV infection. Extra- and intracellular titrations showed that endogenous PKR does not directly inhibit viral replication but apparently favors virion release into the supernatant, likely by triggering late apoptosis. Altogether, our data confirm that salmonid PKR has conserved molecular functions that VHSV appears to bypass with subversion strategies.

Determinants of Patient Satisfaction with Discharge Pharmacy Services at a Tertiary Care Center in Jeddah, KSA.

Patient satisfaction with pharmacy services, particularly in outpatient and discharge pharmacy settings, has become a vital metric for assessing medical quality. However, there's limited research on patient satisfaction in discharge pharmacy services in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). This study aims to systematically investigate and delineate the various patient-related and non-patient-related factors that significantly impact patient satisfaction in the realm of discharge pharmacy services. This cross-sectional study was conducted over three months at King Abdulaziz Medical City in Jeddah (KAMC-J). The sample size was determined using a single population proportion formula, which resulted in a required sample size of 384 patients. A validated questionnaire with a five-point Likert scale evaluated satisfaction from "Strongly Dissatisfied" (1 point) to "Very Satisfied" (5 points) has been used. Data collectors underwent training and obtained written consent from participants, with questionnaire completion taking 5-10 minutes face to face. The study encompassed 437 participants, primarily male (59%) with a college education (45.3%), residing mostly in Jeddah (67.3%). Notably, 84.4% were not healthcare providers, and most visited the pharmacy every six months (44.6%). The patient satisfaction survey revealed high scores for counseling understanding, pharmacist courtesy, and the way the pharmacist answered questions (4.94±0.31, 4.94±0.27, 4.94±0.32; respectively), but lower for understanding possible side effects (4.30±1.30) and pharmacy location (4.57±0.99). In logistic regression, visits lasting 10-15 minutes, and less than 10 minutes were significantly (p<0.05) associated with increased odds of patient satisfaction (OR=6.39, OR=9.45; respectively) Moreover, the medium length hospital stay was associated with decreased odds of patient satisfaction (OR=0.31, p=0.026). In conclusion, the study determined a significant proportion of patients are satisfied with discharge pharmacy services at KAMC-J, with the length of consultation and hospital stay being pivotal to their satisfaction. Addressing these factors, alongside optimizing pharmacist-patient communication and pharmacy service efficiency, can substantially elevate the quality of pharmaceutical care and patient experience.

Enhancement of gain and bandwidth of cylindrical dielectric resonator antenna excited by cavity-backed slot

Dielectric resonator antennas have been demonstrated to be an efficient radiator, especially with the possibility of fabricating it at low cost based on 3-D printing technologies. However, they have two main limitations which are: their relatively small gain (about 5dBi) and narrow bandwidth. To enhance the gain of DRA, higher-order mode excitation can be utilized; however, typically this has a limit of a few dB increments besides its negative effects on the bandwidth. This study employs a cavity-backed slot to provide an appropriate feeding method for a cylindrical dielectric resonator antenna (CDRA). This design effectively facilitates the excitation of higher-order modes, resulting in a significant gain of up to 15 dBi, which is essential for many wireless systems that are unable to support larger aperture sizes through the standard use of arrays. Additionally, two modes are excited to keep a relatively broadband of about 15 %. The proposed design consists of a cylindrical dielectric placed on top of a cavity-backed slot that is excited by a coaxial probe soldered to the top patch of the cavity. With this feeding, a good matching is achieved for different dielectric resonator heights, hence, the gain can be adjusted easily without the need of reoptimizing the antenna or the feed structures. The design process is explained in addition to performing a sensitivity analysis of fabrication tolerances which confirms that the 3-D printer provides enough accuracy with a negligible effect on the antenna’s performance. Then a prototype with a medium length is fabricated and measured to provide high realized gain and impedance bandwidth of 11 dBi and 14.5 %, respectively. The measured data demonstrate the good performance of the antenna with great matching compared to the simulated ones. Furthermore, the antenna presents a good performance in terms of sidelobes and polarization. This proposed design outperforms other DRA designs based on higher-order modes.

3D Melt-Extrusion Printing of Medium Chain Length Polyhydroxyalkanoates and Their Application as Antibiotic-Free Antibacterial Scaffolds for Bone Regeneration.

In this work, we investigated, for the first time, the possibility of developing scaffolds for bone tissue engineering through three-dimensional (3D) melt-extrusion printing of medium chain length polyhydroxyalkanoate (mcl-PHA) (i.e., poly(3-hydroxyoctanoate-co-hydroxydecanoate-co-hydroxydodecanoate), P(3HO-co-3HD-co-3HDD)). The process parameters were successfully optimized to produce well-defined and reproducible 3D P(3HO-co-3HD-co-3HDD) scaffolds, showing high cell viability (100%) toward both undifferentiated and differentiated MC3T3-E1 cells. To introduce antibacterial features in the developed scaffolds, two strategies were investigated. For the first strategy, P(3HO-co-3HD-co-3HDD) was combined with PHAs containing thioester groups in their side chains (i.e., PHACOS), inherently antibacterial PHAs. The 3D blend scaffolds were able to induce a 70% reduction of Staphylococcus aureus 6538P cells by direct contact testing, confirming their antibacterial properties. Additionally, the scaffolds were able to support the growth of MC3T3-E1 cells, showing the potential for bone regeneration. For the second strategy, composite materials were produced by the combination of P(3HO-co-3HD-co-HDD) with a novel antibacterial hydroxyapatite doped with selenium and strontium ions (Se-Sr-HA). The composite material with 10 wt % Se-Sr-HA as a filler showed high antibacterial activity against both Gram-positive (S. aureus 6538P) and Gram-negative bacteria (Escherichia coli 8739), through a dual mechanism: by direct contact (inducing 80% reduction of both bacterial strains) and through the release of active ions (leading to a 54% bacterial cell count reduction for S. aureus 6538P and 30% for E. coli 8739 after 24 h). Moreover, the composite scaffolds showed high viability of MC3T3-E1 cells through both indirect and direct testing, showing promising results for their application in bone tissue engineering.

D-sORF: Accurate Ab Initio Classification of Experimentally Detected Small Open Reading Frames (sORFs) Associated with Translational Machinery.

Small open reading frames (sORFs; <300 nucleotides or <100 amino acids) are widespread across all genomes, and an increasing variety of them appear to be translating from non-genic regions. Over the past few decades, peptides produced from sORFs have been identified as functional in various organisms, from bacteria to humans. Despite recent advances in next-generation sequencing and proteomics, accurate annotation and classification of sORFs remain a rate-limiting step toward reliable and high-throughput detection of small proteins from non-genic regions. Additionally, the cost of computational methods utilizing machine learning is lower than that of biological experiments, and they can be employed to detect sORFs, laying the groundwork for biological experiments. We present D-sORF, a machine-learning framework that integrates the statistical nucleotide context and motif information around the start codon to predict coding sORFs. D-sORF scores directly for coding identity and requires only the underlying genomic sequence, without incorporating parameters such as the conservation, which, in the case of sORFs, may increase the dispersion of scores within the significantly less conserved non-genic regions. D-sORF achieves 94.74% precision and 92.37% accuracy for small ORFs (using the 99 nt medium length window). When D-sORF is applied to sORFs associated with ribosomes, the identification of transcripts producing peptides (annotated by the Ensembl IDs) is similar to or superior to experimental methodologies based on ribosome-sequencing (Ribo-Seq) profiling. In parallel, the recognition of putative negative data, such as the intron-containing transcripts that associate with ribosomes, remains remarkably low, indicating that D-sORF could be efficiently applied to filter out false-positive sORFs from Ribo-Seq data because of the non-productive ribosomal binding or noise inherent in these protocols.

Chaotic Transport of Solutes in Unsaturated Porous Media.

Unsaturated porous media, characterized by the combined presence of several immiscible fluid phases in the pore space, are highly relevant systems in nature, because they control the fate of contaminants and the availability of nutrients in the subsoil. However, a full understanding of the mechanisms controlling solute mixing in such systems is still missing. In particular, the role of saturation in the development of chaotic solute mixing has remained unexplored. Using three-dimensional numerical simulations of flow and transport at the pore scale, built upon X-ray tomograms of a porous medium at different degrees of liquid (wetting)-phase saturation, we show the occurrence of chaotic dynamics in both the deformation of the solute plume, as characterized by computed chaos metrics (Lyapunov exponents), and the mixing of the injected solute. Our results show an enhancement of these chaotic dynamics at lower saturation and their occurrence even under diffusion-relevant conditions over the medium's length, also being strengthened by larger flow velocities. These findings highlight the dominant role of the pore-scale spatial heterogeneity of the system, enhanced by the presence of an immiscible phase (e.g., air), on the mixing efficiency. This represents a stepping stone for the assessment of mixing and reactions in unsaturated porous media.

Short, Long, and Segmented Learning Videos: From YouTube Practice to Enhanced Video Players

AbstractIn the literature, one can find many claims about how long a learning video should be, but only a few valid reasons and even less empirical evidence. It is argued that a video should be as short as possible according to the learners’ attention span. Short videos shall prevent the learner from becoming too passive. The Segmenting Principle postulates the division of longer passages into smaller, separate sections as an alternative to shortening. In this article, we present two studies. In the first study, we examined the video length and segmentations of the entire 895 German and a sample of 524 English channels from YouTube Education (83,558/154,370 videos). We clustered the videos by length into three groups and identified a series of videos by their titles. Short Videos with up to 14 or 22 min of playing time can be considered common practice. About 8 % of the videos with short lengths were part of a series of segmented videos. Videos of medium length were part of a series in 21 % and 14 % of the cases. We conclude that dividing comprehensive video-based learning resources into multiple segments is a common practice. In the second study, we investigate two design variants for structuring longer videos into segments: (i) video with an additional chapter overview, visible chapter boundaries, and navigation options for the segments, and (ii) sequence of segmented videos of suitable length. An online user study compared these two variants with non-segmented video players (N=22). Segmented videos resulted in higher learning gains than the non-segmented version of the same video. The participants perceived the segmented videos in conditions (i) and (ii) better structured. The question of video length is not crucial for learning outcomes as long as the video can be provided in meaningful segments within the video player.

Grain diversity of rice collection from South Sulawesi, Indonesia

Abstract South Sulawesi province is among the Indonesia rice barns, which is expected to buffer the national rice supply. Although rice stock is mainly produced from high-yielding superior varieties, local germplasm is still the main basis for variety development. Local germplasm has been adapted to various agro-ecosystems and thus has potential as a genetic source for adaptation to climate change. This study was aimed at measuring the diversity of rice germplasm from South Sulawesi based on its grain characteristics. A total of 98 rice accessions that were conserved in the agricultural genebank were examined. Grain length, shape, color, and other grain-related characters were observed following the international standard descriptors for rice. NTSYS-PC software version 2.2 was used to perform clustering analysis. Rice collections from South Sulawesi showed diversity in their grain characteristics. The majority of seeds are awnless, have medium length, medium shape, and straw-colored lemmae-palea and attributed with medium-sized and straw-colored sterile lemmae, and the dehulled grain bran is predominantly white. The rice accessions can be grouped into eight clusters at a similarity level of 52%. This diversity and similarity information is important for germplasm management and utilization. However, due to the limited number of characters used, information from this study cannot yet be used as a basis for their management. More comprehensive characterization efforts need to be conducted in order to make this study more usable, both in supporting conservation and for their utilization

E-learning within the European cystic fibrosis society - A multidisciplinary cross-sectional survey

BackgroundContinuing professional development (CPD) is a component of practice that spans all disciplines within cystic fibrosis (CF). E-learning resources theoretically represent flexible, low cost and time efficient methods of CPD. We aimed to explore European Cystic Fibrosis Society (ECFS) members' and CF health professional communities’ current views, experiences and perceptions of e-learning and the ECFS education platform (ECFS-EP). MethodsAn online cross-sectional survey was developed by the ECFS Education Committee and circulated via the ECFS conference, emails and within the society subgroups between June and September 2023. Results547 responses were received from 58 countries; 57 % of responders were ECFS members. A wide range of specialities were represented from the multidisciplinary team including 36 % clinicians. The majority of respondents (63 %) spent 6 or more hours a week on their professional education. Online platforms were used either weekly (34 %) or monthly (37 %); 54 % of respondents had used the ECFS-EP and this was rated favourably overall, specifically for content quality. Preferred formats for education were articles and medium length (15–30 min) webinars. ConclusionsThis multidisciplinary cohort survey illustrates contemporary practice and opinion relating to e-learning and the ECFS-EP. Strengths include the high number of responses and the wide range of countries and specialities represented. Results suggest the ECFS-EP is valued and highlights priority topics, preferred formats and opportunities to optimise awareness. Results support continued provision and oversight of high quality education via an online platform. Continued success will rely on learning from user experience and feedback to inform future practice.

Multiobjective optimization of porous medium for efficient transpiration cooling of hypersonic vehicles using genetic algorithm

Transpiration cooling has been proven an effective method for reducing heat flux on the surfaces of high-speed vehicles. This study investigates the effects of porous medium properties, employing a black-box optimization method to determine the optimal length, thickness, and porosity for a porous medium in a transpiration cooling system on a flat plate under hypersonic laminar flow. The objectives include optimizing thermal effectiveness, coolant consumption, and the weight and cost of the porous material. A multiobjective genetic optimization algorithm is directly integrated with a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) solver, and 1562 CFD simulations were conducted to identify the optimal configuration. The results demonstrate that the length and porosity of the porous medium more significantly impact thermal effectiveness than the thickness. Furthermore, the optimization identified a configuration for the porous medium that, when compared to the original case, shows reductions in length, thickness, and porosity of 3.5%, 11%, and 29%, respectively. Additionally, there were average improvements in thermal effectiveness and coolant consumption of 4.56% and 3.9%, respectively, while the weight and cost of the porous material increased by 3.73% and 3.65%, respectively.

The Use of Non-Person-First Language in Consecutive General Ophthalmology Referrals

To investigate the prevalence of non-person-first language (PFL) in consecutive general ophthalmology referrals to a single tertiary ophthalmology clinic. Retrospective cross-sectional study. Participants included Ophthalmology patients seen for their initial visit to a single tertiary ophthalmology clinic from July 2018 to December 2022. Ten randomly selected referrals from each day were screened for non-PFL as per the American Medical Association and American Psychological Association guidelines. Non-PFL was further categorized into general, diabetes, stigma, obesity, or ageism subcategories. The Chi-square test was used to evaluate associations between non-PFL use and referring provider gender and specialty, length of referral, and patient age and gender. A total of 2625 referrals were included in the study and 136 (5.2%) used non-PFL, such as referring to a person with diabetes as a "diabetic". Error types included Diabetes (38.2%), Stigma (30.9%), General (23.5%), Disability (8.8%), and Obesity (4.4%). Year of referral was predictive of non-PFL (P = .0016), with most occurring in 2020 (9.5%). Non-PFL was significantly more likely to occur in long length referrals compared to medium and short length referrals (16.2% vs. 5.1% vs. 3.5%, P < .001). Referring provider specialty was also predictive of non-PFL (P < .001) with most received by Family Medicine (8.3%), Optometry (4.4%), Emergency Medicine (0.62%), Ophthalmology (4.2%), Others (2.9%). Patient gender (P = .5563), patient age (P = .3466), and referring provider gender (P = .9057) were not predictive of non-PFL. Non-PFL use was most prevalent in 2020, with the most common referral sources being Family Medicine and Optometry. The highest proportions of non-PFL errors made were diabetes and stigma errors. Increased use of PFL in physician-physician communication can decrease intersectional stigma and promote inclusive patient care for ophthalmology patients.

Experimental studies of the characteristics of a resonant leader emitter with a single-pass amplifier

The results of experimental studies of the energy and spatial characteristics of the lidar transmitter, built according to the generator-amplifier scheme based on an organic dye with tube pumping, are presented. The choice of a single-pass traveling wave amplifier used in the experiments was determined by preserving the spectral purity of the radiation. When constructing a lidar emitter according to the generator-amplifier scheme under conditions of constant pumping density, the problem arises of choosing the ratio between the length of the active element of the generator and the length of the active medium of the traveling wave amplifier, which would ensure the maximum efficiency of the entire emitter. The main task of the work was the experimental verification of the results of theoretical studies of the narrow-band emitter of the resonant lidar in order to determine the factors affecting the choice of the ratio of the lengths of the active elements of the generator and the amplifier based on the organic dye rhodamine 6Zh with tube pumping with limited total length. The amount of effective radiated energy was used as the main criterion for evaluating the efficiency of the generator-amplifier system. The experimental results confirm the theoretical conclusions that there are optimal ratios of the lengths of the generator and the amplifier, at which the effective radiation energy is maximal. The limiting length of the amplifier and the energy of the emitter built according to the generator-amplifier circuit are limited by the increase in the intensity of the radiation amplified along the active element, as well as the increase in the intensity of the amplified noise.

Time–Frequency and Spectrum Analyses of All-Solid-State Self-Mode-Locked Burst Pulse Lasers

The theoretical and experimental characteristics of all-solid-state self-mode-locked burst pulse lasers are investigated in this study. The time–frequency and spectrum analyses of the lasers incorporating Fabry–Pérot (F-P) structures are presented, along with the development of the corresponding theoretical model. Self-mode-locked burst pulse lasers are experimentally constructed to reduce intracavity losses using the front and rear end surfaces of the gain media to form F-P structures. When the laser cavity length is 600 mm and the gain media lengths are 5, 6, and 10 mm, each burst pulse produced contains 56, 47, and 28 subpulses, respectively, with the same burst pulse width of 2 ns. The burst pulse train with beam quality M2 = 1.37 and an average output power of 0.23 W is obtained when the gain medium length is 5 mm and the pump power is 4.5 W. The corresponding burst pulse repetition frequency is 0.25 GHz and the subpulse repetition frequency is 13.66 GHz. The time–frequency spectral analyses of the laser signals provide a good representation of laser spectral information that even the currently available highest-resolution spectrometers cannot resolve.

The Information Length Concept Applied to Plasma Turbulence.

A methodology to study statistical properties of anomalous transport in fusion plasma is investigated. Three time traces generated by the full-f gyrokinetic code GKNET are analyzed for this purpose. The time traces consist of heat flux as a function of the radial position, which is studied in a novel manner using statistical methods. The simulation data exhibit transport processes with both medium and long correlation length along the radius. A typical example of a phenomenon with long correlation length is avalanches. In order to investigate the evolution of the turbulent state, two basic configurations are studied, one flux-driven and one gradient-driven with decaying turbulence. The information length concept in tandem with Boltzmann-Gibbs and Tsallis entropy is used in the investigation. It is found that the dynamical states in both flux-driven and gradient-driven cases are surprisingly similar, but the Tsallis entropy reveals differences between them. This indicates that the types of probability distribution function are nevertheless quite different since the higher moments are significantly different.

Unveiling two novel Ditylenchus (Nematoda: Anguinidae) species inhabiting the growing medium of Rhododendron simsii imported from Japan

Summary The present study describes two new Ditylenchus species, isolated from the growing medium of Rhododendron simsii imported from Japan, at the Ningbo plant quarantine laboratory, Ningbo, P.R. China. Ditylenchus parvicauda n. sp. is an amphimictic species. Females have six incisures in the lateral fields, a medium length slim body, a short delicate stylet with asymmetrical stylet knobs, the secretory-excretory (S-E) pore located posterior to the isthmus and in the anterior region of the basal pharyngeal bulb, a posteriorly located vulva (V = 80.9-83.0), post-uterine sac (PUS) tube-like, and the tail cylindrical, tapering gradually towards finely rounded terminus. Males are similar to females in general morphology and have 10.1-14.9 μm long spicules. The second new species, D. gracicauda n. sp. is characterised by having a long and slender body, the presence of a vulval flap, four lines in the lateral field, a narrow and low lip region not offset, the S-E pore located posterior to the isthmus but not in the anterior region of the basal pharyngeal bulb, a posteriorly located vulva (V = 71.1-76.2), a short post-vulval uterine sac short (4.5-9.2 μm), and the tail slender, tapering gradually towards finely rounded to wedge-shaped terminus. The two new species were also characterised molecularly using 18S, ITS and the D2-D3 expansion segments of 28S rRNA genes. Our phylogenetic analyses showed their independent place among available Ditylenchus species. Several Ditylenchus species are regulated pests, and the introduction of these species into a new environment may result in diseases among native plants or vegetation in the area. Therefore, careful attention must be directed towards newly discovered species, particularly those under quarantine observation.