The radio telescopes of the European VLBI Network (EVN) and the University of Tasmania (UTAS) conducted an extensive observation campaign of the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Mars Express (MEX) spacecraft between 2013 and 2020. The campaign, carried out under the Planetary Radio Interferometry and Doppler Experiment (PRIDE) framework, aimed to study interplanetary phase scintillation and assess the noise budget in the closed-loop Doppler observations. The average closed-loop Doppler noise was determined to be approximately 10 mHz at a 10-second integration time, reaffirming the technique’s suitability for radio science experiments. We evaluated how different observational parameters such as the solar elongation, antenna size, and elevation angle impact the Doppler noise. A key part of the analysis involved comparing results from co-located telescopes to investigate system noise effects. Co-located telescopes at both Wettzell and Hobart provided highly consistent results, with any deviations serving as diagnostic tools to identify station-dependent issues. Additionally, the use of phase calibration tones during spacecraft tracking showed that the instrumental noise contribution is of the order of 5% of the total noise. This study provides a detailed noise budget for closed-loop Doppler observations with VLBI telescopes while emphasizing the effectiveness of the co-location method in isolating system-level noise. These findings are important for optimizing future radio science and VLBI tracking missions using stations outside the the Deep Space Network (DSN) and European Space Tracking (ESTRACK) network.

Rapid and comprehensive fighter optimisation is an important part of modern combat decision-making. However, due to the numerous influencing factors, it is difficult for decision-makers to consider comprehensively and specify the optimal decision, and it is highly subjective, which leads to different decision conclusions from person to person. Therefore, to solve the above deficiencies in fighter selection, this paper proposes a sequential decision-making framework that comprehensively considers the effectiveness, maintenance, support capability and health status of the fighter aircraft. Based on the multi-dimensional state, it provides comprehensive and credible auxiliary support for commanders. The sequential decision-making framework (called GRA-VIKOR-IFNs) uses the combination of equation and fuzzy multi-criteria decision-making (FMCDM) to evaluate the effectiveness, support capability and health in turn, to complete the step-by-step selection of fighter models, troops and sorties. The evaluation equation is for the effectiveness evaluation and a hybrid method using the extended grey correlation analysis (GRA) and VlseKriterijumska Optimizacija I Kompromisno Resenje (VIKOR) method based on intuitionistic fuzzy numbers (IFNs) is for the support capability and health evaluation. The proposed strategy is in line with the logic and demand of actual combat and training decision-making and takes into account the influence of uncertain factors. Finally, a comparison with some classical methods is carried out, such as the full consistency method (FUCOM), the technique for order of preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) and so on. The GRA-VIKOR-IFNs method is consistent with the results of other methods and the result sort resolution is 0.0619 and at least 40% higher than other methods, which can lead the commanders to a more reliable and clear decision.

A distributed cooperative guidance law without numerical singularities is proposed for the simultaneous attack a stationary target by multiple vehicles with field-of-view constraints. Firstly, the vehicle engagement motion model is transformed into a multi-agent model. Then, based on the state-constrained consensus protocol, a coordination control law with field-of-view (FOV) constraints is proposed. Finally, the cooperative guidance law has been improved to make it more suitable for practical application. Numerical simulations verified the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed guidance law in the presence of acceleration saturation, communication delays and measurement noise.

The new mineral zincostottite (IMA2024-024), ZnGe(OH)6, was found on specimens from the Tsumeb mine, Tsumeb, Namibia, where it is a secondary oxidation-zone mineral. It occurs as heavily etched remnants of equant or tabular crystals, up to ∼1 mm in diameter. Crystals are colourless and transparent, with vitreous to subadamantine lustre and a white streak. The mineral is brittle with irregular stepped fracture. The Mohs hardness is ∼4.5. Cleavage is good on {100} and poor on {001}. The calculated density is 3.834 g·cm–3. Optically, zincostottite is uniaxial (–) with ω = 1.785(5) and ε = 1.765(5) (white light). The empirical formula is (Zn0.77Fe3+0.23)Σ1.00Ge1.00O6H5.77. Zincostottite is tetragonal, space group P42/n, with cell parameters: a = 7.4522(18), c = 7.4000(8) Å, V = 411.0(2) Å3 and Z = 4. The crystal structure (R1 = 2.65% for 452 I > 2σI reflections) is the same as that of stottite with Zn in place of Fe2+

Background: For treatment of high-grade gliomas (HGGs), subtotal resection (STR) may be preferred to minimize injury to eloquent areas. We aimed to characterize neurologic deficits developed in STR patients within the first month post-operatively and to establish a potential threshold for a safe volume of residual tumor to avoid neurological worsening. Methods: This is a single institution retrospective chart review, with 146 charts reviewed and 78 patients deemed eligible. Preoperative deficits and postoperative neurological deficits presenting prior to 1 month after surgery were captured. Imaging features such as tumour volume, edema, and other pertinent imaging characteristics were collected from preoperative and postoperative imaging. Results: Most patients that developed a postoperative deficit presented with motor deficits (55.1%), while only 1.3% of patients developed new or worsening tremor after surgery. On average, in patients with a new deficit, 26.5% of tumor was resected, and all patients had more than 19% of residual tumor. Conclusions: Postoperative neurologic deficits may develop after a subtotal resection when an average of 73.5% of tumor remains. The proposed threshold for tumor resection is greater than 26.5% to minimize the potential of neurologic worsening 1 month postoperatively.

Background: Minimally invasive endoscopic techniques via the transorbital approach (ETOA) have emerged as a promising alternative for addressing skull base tumours. This study aims to showcase our institution’s extensive experience with ETOA, detailing the surgical technique employed and presenting comprehensive patient outcomes. Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on data from patients who underwent ETOA within the past five years. Results: Over the study period, 24 ETOA procedures were performed on 21 patients, with an average age of 48.92, 13 of whom were women. The superior orbital corridor was utilized in 95.83% of cases, and in 79.17%, ETOA was complemented by a transnasal approach. Spheno-orbital meningioma accounted for the most common surgical indication (33.33%, n=8), all resulting in vision improvement, followed by lateral frontal sinus mucocele (25%, n=6). The median length of stay was one day, and ETOA achieved the procedure goal in 19 patients. Transient V1 numbness was the primary complication (29.17%, n=7), and 20.83% (n=5) necessitated another surgery. Notably, no mortality was associated with this procedure. Conclusions: Our institution’s experience underscores the notable safety and efficacy potential of ETOA, with 19 out of 21 patients exhibiting positive outcomes, obviating the need for revision surgery in most cases.

Diffusion of alkali and low-atomic-number elements during the microbeam analysis of some silicates by analytical electron microscopy (AEM) has been known for some time. Our repeated analyses at 300 kV of kaolinite, halloysite, smectite, biotite, muscovite and pyrophyllite, however, showed differential loss (relative to Si) of not only alkali elements (such as K, Na, Mg) and low-atomic-number elements (such as Al) but also higher-atomic-number elements (such as Fe, Ti). For AEM of these phyllosilicates, a Philips EM430/EDAX facility with a tungsten filament was used to provide a current of 0.3 nA in a stationary beam of nominal diameter 90 nm. The loss of Al in kaolin minerals during analysis is particularly severe. Kaolin crystals can be damaged by the electron irradiation over several seconds, making it the most sensitive clay to the electron beam; in general, relative phyllosilicate stabilities are kaolin < smectite < pyrophyllite < mica. A clear dependence of element loss on crystallographic orientation has been observed for layer silicates in our study; a greater element loss occurred when the plane of the specimen foil was perpendicular to the basal planes of the phyllosilicate crystals than when the foil was parallel to the basal planes. Lower beam current, larger beam diameter and thicker specimens all reduce the loss of elements. The initial stage of irradiation produces highest rates of element loss and the rate of loss can be fitted by an exponential decay law. The analyses at low temperature of phyllosilicates showed that element loss remains serious in our analytical conditions. Since the element loss appears to be instrument- and method-dependent, one should use closely related, well-characterized phyllosilicates as compositional standards to calibrate any AEM instrument that is to be used to analyze unknown phyllosilicates, and the standards and unknowns should be analyzed under identical conditions.

This study aimed to develop an efficient data collection and curation process for all drugs and natural health products (NHPs) used by participants to the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA). The three-step sequential process consisted of (a) mapping drug inputs collected through the CLSA to the Health Canada Drug Product Database (DPD), (b) algorithm recoding of unmapped drug and NHP inputs, and (c) manual recoding of unmapped drug and NHP inputs. Among the 30,097 CLSA comprehensive cohort participants, 26,000 (86.4%) were using a drug or an NHP with a mean of 5.3 (SD 3.8) inputs per participant user for a total of 137,366 inputs. Of those inputs, 70,177 (51.1%) were mapped to the Health Canada DPD, 20,729 (15.1%) were recoded by algorithms, and 44,108 (32.1%) were manually recoded. The Direct algorithm correctly classified 99.4 per cent of drug inputs and 99.5 per cent of NHP inputs. We developed an efficient three-step process for drug and NHP data collection and curation for use in a longitudinal cohort.

Au–Hg–Ag phases have been described from a variety of metallogenic orebodies and the placer deposits derived from them. In many documented placer deposits, the phases typically occur intergrown as ‘secondary’ rims to primary Au–Ag grains. The origin of these rims has been ascribed to supergene redistribution reactions during deposition or to the effects of amalgamation (i.e. use of mercury) during mining for gold. Difficulties in determining compositions and crystal structures on such a small scale have made full characterisation of these phases problematic. This paper describes a new occurrence of these phases, found by accident during investigation of a historical concentrate of ‘osmiridium’ containing a number of gold grains from beach sands at Waratah Bay, in southern Victoria, Australia. The phases occur as rims to gold grains and are intergrown on a scale of tens of micrometres or less. Application of electron microprobe analysis (EPMA) and limited electron back-scattered diffraction (EBSD) was required to characterise them. These techniques revealed the presence of the approved mineral weishanite (Au–Hg–Ag) and a phase with compositional range Au2Hg–Au3Hg surrounding primary Au–Ag (electrum) containing trace amounts of Hg. EBSD analysis showed weishanite is hexagonal P63/mmc and Au2Hg to be hexagonal P63/mcm. Comparison with published data from other localities (Philippines, British Columbia and New Zealand) suggests weishanite has a wide compositional field. Textures shown by these phases are difficult to interpret, as they might form by either supergene processes or by reaction with anthropogenic mercury used during mining. However, in the absence of any historical evidence for the use of mercury for gold mining at Waratah Bay, we consider the formation of the Au–Hg phases is most probably due to supergene alteration of primary Au–Ag alloy containing small amounts of Hg. In addition to revealing some of the reaction sequences in the development of these secondary Au–Hg–Ag rims, this paper illustrates methods by which these phases can be more fully characterised and thereby better correlated with the Au–Hg synthetic system.

We use experiments to study the evolution of bubble clusters in a swarm of freely rising, deformable bubbles. A new machine learning-aided algorithm allows us to identify and track bubbles in clusters and measure the cluster lifetimes. The results indicate that contamination in the carrier liquid can enhance the formation of bubble clusters and prolong the cluster lifetimes. The mean bubble rise velocities conditioned on the bubble cluster size are also explored, and we find a positive correlation between the cluster size and the rise speed of the bubbles in the cluster, with clustered bubbles rising up to $20\,\%$ faster than unclustered bubbles.

We use experiments to explore the effect of surfactants on bubble-induced turbulence (BIT) at different scales, considering how the bubbles affect the flow kinetic energy, anisotropy and extreme events. To this end, high-resolution particle shadow velocimetry measurements are carried out in a bubble column in which the flow is generated by bubble swarms rising in water for two different bubble diameters (3 and 4 mm) and moderate gas volume fractions (0.5 %–1.3 %). We use tap water as the base liquid and add 1-Pentanol as an additional surfactant with varying bulk concentration, leading to different bubble shapes and surface boundary conditions. The results reveal that with increasing surfactant concentration, the BIT generated increases in strength, even though bubbles of a given size rise more slowly with surfactants. We also find that the level of anisotropy in the flow is enhanced with increasing surfactant concentration for bubbles of the same size, and that for the same surfactant concentration, smaller bubbles generate stronger anisotropy in the flow. Concerning the intermittency quantified by the normalized probability density functions of the fluid velocity increments, our results indicate that extreme values in the velocity increments become more probable with decreasing surfactant concentration for cases with smaller bubbles and low gas void fraction, while the effect of the surfactant is much weaker for cases with larger bubble and higher void fractions.

Background: Veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VV-ECMO) is an invasive intervention for patients with respiratory failure associated with COVID-19. This meta-analysis aims to determine the incidence of neurovascular complications in COVID-19 patients requiring VV-ECMO. Methods: Systematic literature search of MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, and Cochrane databases was performed to identify studies that reported neurovascular complications of adult COVID-19 patients on VV-ECMO for respiratory failure. Case series and reports were excluded. Studies with 95% or more of its patients on VV-ECMO were pooled for meta-analysis. Results: Eighteen studies (n=1968) were included for meta-analyses. In COVID-19 patients requiring VV-ECMO, the incidences of intracranial hemorrhage and ischemic stroke were 11% [95% CI, 8–15%] and 2% [95% CI, 1–3%], respectively. Intraparenchymal and subarachnoid hemorrhages accounted for 73% and 8% of all intracranial hemorrhages, respectively. The risk ratio of mortality in COVID-19 patients with neurovascular complications on VV-ECMO compared to patients without neurovascular complications was 2.24 [95% CI, 1.46–3.46]. Conclusions: COVID-19 patients requiring VV-ECMO have a higher incidence of intracranial hemorrhage compared to historical data in non-COVID-19 patients (11% vs. 8%), while the incidence of ischemic stroke is similar (2%) in both cohorts. COVID-19 patients with neurovascular complications on VV-ECMO are at an increased risk of death.

Background: The late-onset cerebellar ataxias (LOCAs) have until recently resisted molecular diagnosis. Contributing to this diagnostic gap is that non-coding structural variations, such as repeat expansions, are not fully accessible to standard short-read sequencing analysis. Methods: We combined bioinformatics analysis of whole-genome sequencing and long-read sequencing to search for repeat expansions in patients with LOCA. We enrolled 66 French-Canadian, 228 German, 20 Australian and 31 Indian patients. Pathogenic mechanisms were studied in post-mortem cerebellum and induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived motor neurons from 2 patients. Results: We identified 128 patients who carried an autosomal dominant GAA repeat expansion in the first intron of the FGF14 gene. The expansion was present in 61%, 18%, 15% and 10% of patients in the French-Canadian, German, Australian and Indian cohorts, respectively. The pathogenic threshold was determined to be (GAA)≥250, although incomplete penetrance was observed in the (GAA)250-300 range. Patients developed a slowly progressive cerebellar syndrome at an average age of 59 years. Patient-derived post-mortem cerebellum and induced motor neurons both showed reduction in FGF14 RNA and protein expression compared to controls. Conclusions: This intronic, dominantly inherited GAA repeat expansion in FGF14 represents one of the most common genetic causes of LOCA uncovered to date.

The radio signal transmitted by the Mars Express (MEX) spacecraft was observed regularly between the years 2013–2020 at X-band (8.42 GHz) using the European Very Long Baseline Interferometry (EVN) network and University of Tasmania’s telescopes. We present a method to describe the solar wind parameters by quantifying the effects of plasma on our radio signal. In doing so, we identify all the uncompensated effects on the radio signal and see which coronal processes drive them. From a technical standpoint, quantifying the effect of the plasma on the radio signal helps phase referencing for precision spacecraft tracking. The phase fluctuation of the signal was determined for Mars’ orbit for solar elongation angles from 0 to 180 deg. The calculated phase residuals allow determination of the phase power spectrum. The total electron content of the solar plasma along the line of sight is calculated by removing effects from mechanical and ionospheric noises. The spectral index was determined as $-2.43 \pm 0.11$ which is in agreement with Kolmogorov’s turbulence. The theoretical models are consistent with observations at lower solar elongations however at higher solar elongation ($>$160 deg) we see the observed values to be higher. This can be caused when the uplink and downlink signals are positively correlated as a result of passing through identical plasma sheets.

Rabies virus (RABV) is a deadly zoonosis that circulates in wild carnivore populations in North America. Intensive management within the USA and Canada has been conducted to control the spread of the raccoon (Procyon lotor) variant of RABV and work towards elimination. We examined RABV occurrence across the northeastern USA and southeastern Québec, Canada during 2008–2018 using a multi-method, dynamic occupancy model. Using a 10 km × 10 km grid overlaid on the landscape, we examined the probability that a grid cell was occupied with RABV and relationships with management activities (oral rabies vaccination (ORV) and trap-vaccinate-release efforts), habitat, neighbour effects and temporal trends. We compared raccoon RABV detection probabilities between different surveillance samples (e.g. animals that are strange acting, road-kill, public health samples). The management of RABV through ORV was found to be the greatest driver in reducing the occurrence of rabies on the landscape. Additionally, RABV occupancy declined further with increasing duration of ORV baiting programmes. Grid cells north of ORV management were at or near elimination ($\hat{\psi }_{{\rm north}}$ = 0.00, s.e. = 0.15), managed areas had low RABV occupancy ($\hat{\psi }_{{\rm managed}}$ = 0.20, s.e. = 0.29) and enzootic areas had the highest level of RABV occupancy ($\hat{\psi }_{{\rm south}}$ = 0.83, s.e. = 0.06). These results provide evidence that past management actions have been being successful at the goals of reducing and controlling the raccoon variant of RABV. At a finer scale we also found that vaccine bait type and bait density impacted RABV occupancy. Detection probabilities varied; samples from strange acting animals and public health had the highest detection rates. Our results support the movement of the ORV zone south within the USA due to high elimination probabilities along the US border with Québec. Additional enhanced rabies surveillance is still needed to ensure elimination is maintained.