Characterizing exact energy density distributions for laser-accelerated ion bunches in a medium is challenging due to very high beam intensities and the electro-magnetic pulse emitted in the laser–plasma interaction. Ion-bunch energy acoustic tracing allows for reconstructing the spatial energy density from the ionoacoustic wave generated upon impact in water. We have extended this approach to tracing ionoacoustic modulations of broad energy distributions by introducing thin foils in the water reservoir to shape the acoustic waves at distinct points along the depth–dose curve. Here, we present first simulation studies of this new detector and reconstruction approach, which provides an online read-out of the deposited energy with depth within the centimeter range behind the ion source of state-of-the-art laser–plasma-based accelerators.

The acoustic pulse emitted from the Bragg peak of a laser-accelerated proton bunch focused into water has recently enabled the reconstruction of the bunch energy distribution. By adding three ultrasonic transducers and implementing a fast data analysis of the filtered raw signals, I-BEAT (Ion-Bunch Energy Acoustic Tracing) 3D now provides the mean bunch energy and absolute lateral bunch position in real-time and for individual bunches. Relative changes in energy spread and lateral bunch size can also be monitored. Our experiments at DRACO with proton bunch energies between 10 and 30 MeV reveal sub-MeV and sub-mm resolution. In addition to this 3D bunch information, the signal strength correlates also with the absolute bunch particle number.

Atom probe tomography, and related methods, probe the composition and the three-dimensional architecture of materials. The software tools which microscopists use, and how these tools are connected into workflows, make a substantial contribution to the accuracy and precision of such material characterization experiments. Typically, we adapt methods from other communities like mathematics, data science, computational geometry, artificial intelligence, or scientific computing. We also realize that improving on research data management is a challenge when it comes to align with the FAIR data stewardship principles. Faced with this global challenge, we are convinced it is useful to join forces. Here, we report the results and challenges with an inter-laboratory call for developing test cases for several types of atom probe microscopy software tools. The results support why defining detailed recipes of software workflows and sharing these recipes is necessary and rewarding: Open source tools and (meta)data exchange can help to make our day-to-day data processing tasks become more efficient, the training of new users and knowledge transfer become easier, and assist us with automated quantification of uncertainties to gain access to substantiated results.

Since the beginning of 2020, the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has dramatically influenced almost every aspect of human life. Activities requiring human gatherings have either been postponed, canceled, or held completely virtually. To supplement lack of in-person contact, people have increasingly turned to virtual settings online, advantages of which include increased inclusivity and accessibility and a reduced carbon footprint. However, emerging online technologies cannot fully replace in-person scientific events. In-person meetings are not susceptible to poor Internet connectivity problems, and they provide novel opportunities for socialization, creating new collaborations and sharing ideas. To continue such activities, a hybrid model for scientific events could be a solution offering both in-person and virtual components. While participants can freely choose the mode of their participation, virtual meetings would most benefit those who cannot attend in-person due to the limitations. In-person portions of meetings should be organized with full consideration of prevention and safety strategies, including risk assessment and mitigation, venue and environmental sanitation, participant protection and disease prevention, and promoting the hybrid model. This new way of interaction between scholars can be considered as a part of a resilience system, which was neglected previously and should become a part of routine practice in the scientific community.

A linear programming model was used to determine which crop rotations and weed management systems result in the highest net farm income for each of three farm sizes (120, 240, and 480 hectares) under alternative tillage systems. Test plot data for the years 1981 through 1988 from the Purdue University Agronomy Farm, which has highly productive, well-drained soils, were analyzed. Net incomes for no-till tillage systems on all farms in the model were consistently and significantly lower than incomes for moldboard and chisel plow tillage systems due to slightly lower yields and substantially higher herbicide costs. Generally, net farm incomes were slightly higher with a moldboard plow versus chisel plow tillage system. Also, as farm size increased, per hectare net incomes increased. About 80% of the time under moldboard or chisel plow tillage systems, the model chose as optimal the lowest of three herbicide application rates. A corn/soybean rotation was chosen as optimal on 56% of the farm area analyzed, versus 25% for continuous corn and 13% for a corn/soybean/wheat rotation.

Field experiments were conducted to study the effects of jimsonweed (Datura stramonium L.) densities and planting dates on the growth and yield of soybeans [Glycine max (L.) Merr. ‘Amsoy 71’]. Jimsonweed densities of 1.5 and 2 plants/m2 did not reduce the dry weight of soybean leaf, stem, root, or pod and seed tissues, leaf area index, plant height, pod number, or seed yield when soybeans and jimsonweed were planted at the same time. Weed densities ranging from 3 to 16 plants/m2 did reduce one or more of these soybean growth parameters. A significant density-by-year interaction was observed in which soybean growth reductions caused by high jimsonweed densities were less when competition for water was minimized by above-average precipitation in 1 of the 2 yr. No density of jimsonweed that emerged when soybeans were at the fourth trifoliolate-leaf stage reduced crop growth or yield.

Field experiments were conducted to study the effects of varying velvetleaf (Abutilon theophrasti Medic.) densities and planting dates on the growth and yield of soybeans [Glycine max (L.) Merr. ‘Amsoy 71’]. Velvetleaf densities ranging from 2.5 to 40 plants/m2 caused reductions in the dry weight of soybean leaves, stems, roots, and pods and seeds, and in the leaf area index, pod number, and seed yield when velvetleaf and soybean plants emerged at the same time. The magnitude of reduction in soybean growth and the time at which the reduction was first observed was dependent on weed density. Soybean growth reductions caused by high velvetleaf densities were less when conditions of high soil moisture content minimized the effects of competition for water. Velvetleaf emerging 21 and 23 days after soybean emergence did not reduce crop growth or yield.

The uptake of 14C labeled bromacil [5-bromo-3-sec-butyl-6-methyluracil] by wheat plants (Triticum aestivum L. ‘Gaines’) grown in a Woodburn silt loam was studied at soil water potentials of −0.35 and −2.50 bars, and in solutions containing 2.0 and 4.5 μg/ml bromacil. Transpiration rate, shoot and root dry weight, and bromacil content were measured as a function of time. Bromacil uptake into the root and foliar portions of the wheat plants increased with time. At the low bromacil concentration, 70%, and at the high concentration, 42%, more bromacil was taken up by the plant at the higher soil water potential. Uptake of bromacil increased concurrently with increased transpiration of water. The bromacil concentration in the transpiration stream was greater at the −0.35 bar than at the −2.50 bar soil water potential at both bromacil application rates. Transpiration rates of the plants treated with bromacil were nearly the same after a 40-hr exposure at both soil water potentials. The rate of bromacil uptake and accumulation may be influenced by the effect of soil water potential on the apoplastic movement of water and solutes in the roots.

An outbreak of invasive Mycobacterium chimaera infections associated with heater-cooler devices (HCDs) has now affected patients in several countries on different continents. Clinical infections are characterized by delayed diagnosis, inadequate treatment response to antimicrobial agents, and poor prognosis. Outbreak investigators found M. chimaera in HCD water circuits and air samples while HCDs were running, suggesting that transmission from the HCD to the surgical site occurs via the airborne route. New HCDs at the manufacturing site were also contaminated with M. chimaera, and recent whole-genome sequencing data suggest a point source. Some guidance on screening for M. chimaera colonization in HCD water and exhaust air is available. In contrast, reliable disinfection procedures are not well described, and it is not yet known whether eradication of M. chimaera from a contaminated HCD can be achieved. Meanwhile, strict separation of the HCD from operating room air is necessary to ensure patient safety, and these efforts may require engineering solutions. While our understanding of the causes and the extent of the M. chimaera outbreak is growing, several aspects of patient management, device handling, and risk mitigation still require clarification.

Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2016;1–6

Angiogenin is a member of the ribonuclease A superfamily of proteins that has been implicated in stimulating angiogenesis but whether angiogenin can directly affect ovarian granulosa or theca cell function is unknown. Therefore, the objective of these studies was to determine the effect of angiogenin on proliferation and steroidogenesis of bovine granulosa and theca cells. In experiments 1 and 2, granulosa cells from small (1 to 5 mm diameter) follicles and theca cells from large (8 to 22 mm diameter) follicles were cultured to evaluate the dose-response effect of recombinant human angiogenin on steroidogenesis. At 30 and 100 ng/ml, angiogenin inhibited (P<0.05) granulosa cell progesterone production and theca cell androstenedione production but did not affect (P>0.10) granulosa cell estradiol production or theca cell progesterone production, and did not affect numbers of granulosa or theca cells. In experiments 3 and 4, granulosa and theca cells from both small and large follicles were cultured with 300 ng/ml of angiogenin to determine if size of follicle influenced responses to angiogenin. At 300 ng/ml, angiogenin increased large follicle granulosa cell proliferation but decreased small follicle granulosa cell progesterone and estradiol production and large follicle theca cell progesterone production. In experiments 5 and 6, angiogenin stimulated (P<0.05) proliferation and DNA synthesis in large follicle granulosa cells. In experiment 7, 300 ng/ml of angiogenin increased (P<0.05) CYP19A1 messenger RNA (mRNA) abundance in granulosa cells but did not affect CYP11A1 mRNA abundance in granulosa or theca cells and did not affect CYP17A1 mRNA abundance in theca cells. We conclude that angiogenin appears to target both granulosa and theca cells in cattle, but additional research is needed to further understand the mechanism of action of angiogenin in granulosa and theca cells, as well as its precise role in folliculogenesis.

Crura, the calcareous support structures of the lophophore in rhynchonellide brachiopods, have historically been used to justify higher-level rhynchonellide classification and reveal major evolutionary lineages within rhynchonellides. Seventeen crural types have been described and categorized into four groups based on variation in overall structure and cross-sectional shape, but not evaluated in a quantitative or comprehensive manner. Heterochrony has been hypothesized to play a role in the evolutionary transitions among some types, but the structural, developmental, and phylogenetic context for testing these hypotheses has not yet been established. In this study, we use three-dimensional geometric morphometric techniques to quantify morphological disparity among all six crural morphs in Recent adult rhynchonellides, with the goal of delineating more objective criteria for identifying and comparing crural morphs, ultimately to test hypotheses explaining morphological transformations in ontogeny and phylogeny. We imaged the crura of seven Recent rhynchonellide species, using X-ray computed microtomography. We used landmarks and semi-landmarks to define the dimensions and curvature of the crura and the surrounding hinge area. Procrustes-standardized landmark coordinates were analyzed using a principal component analysis to test the discreteness of the individual crural morphs and named groups of morphs, and to identify features that vary most among the crural configurations.

Our results demonstrate that microCT imaging techniques provide novel ways to investigate the morphology of small features that may be otherwise impossible to quantify using more conventional imaging techniques. Although we predicted overlap among crural morphs in the 3-D shape space, the principal component analyses suggest that five of the six crural morphs differ distinctly from one another. Some but not all previously designated crural groups appear to exhibit morphological cohesion. This study establishes a quantitative morphological foundation necessary to begin an investigation of the phylogenetic significance of ontogenetic changes in crura, which will allow hypotheses of heterochrony to be tested.

Rhynchonellida is the stratigraphically oldest and phylogenetically most basal of the extant rhynchonelliform brachiopod orders, yet phylogenetic relationships among rhynchonellides are poorly known. The fourteen named rhynchonellide superfamilies (four of which have extant representatives) were defined primarily on the basis of features of the dorsal cardinalia, particularly crural morphology, but their homology and polarity have not been investigated rigorously. Superfamily monophyly is unclear, as is the evolution of several distinctive rhynchonellide morphological features, such as crura.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the phylogenetic relationships among extant rhynchonellide genera using skeletal characters, and to compare the results with the current classification, elucidating the evolution of morphological features in the process. We completed parsimony-based and Bayesian analyses using fifty-eight characters of the interior and exterior of the shell that vary among the nineteen extant genera. Our results are readily interpretable with respect to the classification, and indicate that Hemithiridoidea, Dimerelloidea, and (in some analyses) Pugnacoidea appear to be monophyletic. Species classified in Dimerelloidea and Pugnacoidea, and in certain cases Hemithiridoidea, each form derived subclades that evolve from within a paraphyletic Norelloidea at the base of each subclade. Raduliform crura appear to be the most basal, phylogenetically; five other crural morphologies evolve from the raduliform state. However, morphological characters currently uniting genera in rhynchonellide superfamilies are not clearly diagnostic and exhibit a relatively high degree of homoplasy overall, suggesting that consistency with the classification may be based on a false sense of confidence in rhynchonellide morphology to clearly elucidate evolutionary relationships. Published molecular phylogenetic hypotheses conflict with the morphological topologies, further supporting this possibility.

The evolutionary trends among diagnostic characters of Recent rhynchonellides appear to reflect successive juvenilization in adult morphology in several subclades, suggesting that heterochrony may have played an important role in the evolution of the group.