Measurement of Holmium Rydberg series through MOT depletion spectroscopy

We report measurements of the absolute excitation frequencies of $^{165}$Ho $4f^{11}6sns$ and $4f^{11}6snd$ odd-parity Rydberg series. The states are detected through depletion of a magneto-optical trap via a two-photon excitation scheme. Measurements of 162 Rydberg levels in the range $n=40-101$ yield quantum defects well described by the Rydberg-Ritz formula. We observe a strong perturbation in the $ns$ series around $n=51$ due to an unidentified interloper at 48515.47(4) cm$^{-1}$. From the series convergence, we determine the first ionization potential $E_\mathrm{IP}=48565.939(4)$ cm$^{-1}$, which is three orders of magnitude more accurate than previous work. This work represents the first time such spectroscopy has been done in Holmium and is an important step towards using Ho atoms for collective encoding of a quantum register.Comment: 6 figure

Inertial Weldment of Rhenium and Inconel 718

Inertia welding has been found to be a successful method for joining pure rhenium to Inconel 718, and with additional experimentation, this process may have great potential for rocket nozzle applications. Refractory metals are ideally suited to this application, where high temperatures and oxidizing environment survivability is required, but not all of the thruster must be made of these materials, only the areas that require them. A bolted joint between the two metals is not ideal, especially for small thrusters where the mess of a bolted join will come at a steep price. A welded joint would be preferred for flight thrusters

When Small Technology Is a Big Deal: Legal Issues Arising from Business Use of RFID

Radio Frequency Identification (“RFID”) is a wireless tracking technology. Goods fitted with radio tags can communicate with computers via radio waves, revolutionizing methods to locate and catalogue goods at every stage of the supply line. Current research predicts that 40% of all inventory intensive businesses will have such wireless tracking systems by the end of 2005. This article examines current legal trends that impact business use of RFID including contractual considerations to properly allocate risks attendant with implementation of RFID, FCC regulation of RFID, and consumer privacy concerns

Fall/Spring 2023 Editorial: Learning to Improve in Anti-Racism, Health Care, Practice, and Education

In the Summer/Fall 2023 issue of Advances in Social Work, we are pleased to present 14 original articles and recognize our 2023 reviewers. The articles, related to learning in improve anti-racism, health care, practice, and education, are written by 48 authors from 25 universities and organizations originating from across the U.S. and Finland. We offer five empirical studies and nine conceptual/advocacy pieces for readers to explore new learning in social work practice, policy, and education. We also recognize and thank our 2023 reviewers. The 122 reviewers, representing 87 universities and organizations from 31 states and 7 countries, completed 142 reviews of 74 submissions

Spring 2025 Editorial: Navigating the Academy, Educational Processes, and Practice Innovations

In the Spring 2025 issue of Advances in Social Work, we begin with a critical view of standard research practices in the academy. Then we investigate racism, well-being, pedagogy, culture wars, executive coaching, and eco-friendly conferences in social work education. In our section on social work practice, 10 articles address aiding people from a wide range of backgrounds. Authors write about issues for people who are elderly, transgender, incarcerated, marginalized, traumatized, struggling with recovery, considering self-harm, or needing child protection support. Social workers ourselves are the focus of three articles, whether experiencing compassion fatigue, experiencing inequities in clinical supervision, or experiencing challenges in interprofessional teams. Understanding ways to support the profession is valuable as the profession grows and develops

Spring 2024 Editorial: Social Work Education, Advocacy, and Our Response to the Epidemic of Gun Violence

In the Spring 2024 issue of Advances in Social Work, we have embedded a special section for a concentrated look at social work and gun violence in the United States guest edited by Peter Simonsson, Patricia Logan-Greene, and Karen Slovak. The other 10 papers address a variety of topics in three formats – empirical, conceptual, or advocacy. Social work education is in the forefront, with six articles set in BSW, MSW, or PhD programs. One of these is a conceptual piece, the other five are based on empirical research.

Summer 2024 Editorial: Critical and Innovative Views of the Impact of Violence, Clinical and Community Practice, and Social Work Education

In the Summer 2024 issue of Advances in Social Work, we continue our examination of violence and social work’s response in the three initial papers. The next 13 articles focus on clinical and community practice, through both empirical work and conceptual pieces.  We wrap up this issue with a guide to conducting evidence synthesis reviews, which can help improve our understanding of the literature in whatever field we dive into

Cancer of the ampulla of Vater: analysis of the whole genome sequence exposes a potential therapeutic vulnerability

BACKGROUND: Recent advances in the treatment of cancer have focused on targeting genomic aberrations with selective therapeutic agents. In rare tumors, where large-scale clinical trials are daunting, this targeted genomic approach offers a new perspective and hope for improved treatments. Cancers of the ampulla of Vater are rare tumors that comprise only about 0.2% of gastrointestinal cancers. Consequently, they are often treated as either distal common bile duct or pancreatic cancers. METHODS: We analyzed DNA from a resected cancer of the ampulla of Vater and whole blood DNA from a 63 year-old man who underwent a pancreaticoduodenectomy by whole genome sequencing, achieving 37× and 40× coverage, respectively. We determined somatic mutations and structural alterations. RESULTS: We identified relevant aberrations, including deleterious mutations of KRAS and SMAD4 as well as a homozygous focal deletion of the PTEN tumor suppressor gene. These findings suggest that these tumors have a distinct oncogenesis from either common bile duct cancer or pancreatic cancer. Furthermore, this combination of genomic aberrations suggests a therapeutic context for dual mTOR/PI3K inhibition. CONCLUSIONS: Whole genome sequencing can elucidate an oncogenic context and expose potential therapeutic vulnerabilities in rare cancers

High Quality Genomic Copy Number Data from Archival Formalin-Fixed Paraffin-Embedded Leiomyosarcoma: Optimisation of Universal Linkage System Labelling

Most soft tissue sarcomas are characterized by genetic instability and frequent genomic copy number aberrations that are not subtype-specific. Oligonucleotide microarray-based Comparative Genomic Hybridisation (array CGH) is an important technique used to map genome-wide copy number aberrations, but the traditional requirement for high-quality DNA typically obtained from fresh tissue has limited its use in sarcomas. Although large archives of Formalin-fixed Paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tumour samples are available for research, the degradative effects of formalin on DNA from these tissues has made labelling and analysis by array CGH technically challenging. The Universal Linkage System (ULS) may be used for a one-step chemical labelling of such degraded DNA. We have optimised the ULS labelling protocol to perform aCGH on archived FFPE leiomyosarcoma tissues using the 180k Agilent platform. Preservation age of samples ranged from a few months to seventeen years and the DNA showed a wide range of degradation (when visualised on agarose gels). Consistently high DNA labelling efficiency and low microarray probe-to-probe variation (as measured by the derivative log ratio spread) was seen. Comparison of paired fresh and FFPE samples from identical tumours showed good correlation of CNAs detected. Furthermore, the ability to macro-dissect FFPE samples permitted the detection of CNAs that were masked in fresh tissue. Aberrations were visually confirmed using Fluorescence in situ Hybridisation. These results suggest that archival FFPE tissue, with its relative abundance and attendant clinical data may be used for effective mapping for genomic copy number aberrations in such rare tumours as leiomyosarcoma and potentially unravel clues to tumour origins, progression and ultimately, targeted treatment