Unscreened Hartree-Fock calculations for metallic Fe, Co, Ni, and Cu from ab-initio Hamiltonians

Unscreened Hartree-Fock approximation (HFA) calculations for metallic Fe, Co, Ni, and Cu are presented, by using a quantum-chemical approach. We believe that these are the first HFA results to have been done for crystalline 3d transition metals. Our approach uses a linearized muffin-tin orbital calculation to determine Bloch functions for the Hartree one-particle Hamiltonian, and from these obtains maximally localized Wannier functions, using a method proposed by Marzari and Vanderbilt. Within this Wannier basis all relevant one-particle and two-particle Coulomb matrix elements are calculated. The resulting second-quantized multi-band Hamiltonian with ab-initio parameters is studied within the simplest many-body approximation, namely the unscreened, self-consistent HFA, which takes into account exact exchange and is free of self-interactions. Although the d-bands sit considerably lower within HFA than within the local (spin) density approximation L(S)DA, the exchange splitting and magnetic moments for ferromagnetic Fe, Co, and Ni are only slightly larger in HFA than what is obtained either experimentally or within LSDA. The HFA total energies are lower than the corresponding LSDA calculations. We believe that this same approach can be easily extended to include more sophisticated ab-initio many-body treatments of the electronic structure of solids.Comment: 11 papes, 7 figures, 5 table

The TopHat experiment: A balloon-borne instrument for mapping millimeter and submillimeter emission

The TopHat experiment was designed to measure the anisotropy in the cosmic microwave background radiation on angular scales from 0.degrees 3 to 30 degrees and the thermal emission from both Galactic and extragalactic dust. The balloon-borne instrument had five spectral bands spanning frequencies from 175 to 630 GHz. The telescope was a compact, 1 m, on-axis Cassegrain telescope designed to scan the sky at a fixed elevation of 78 degrees. The radiometer used cryogenic bolometers coupled to a single feed horn via a dichroic filter system. The observing strategy was intended to efficiently cover a region 48 degrees in diameter centered on the south polar cap with a highly cross-linked and redundant pattern with nearly uniform sky coverage. The Long Duration Balloon flight over Antarctica in 2001 January surveyed about 6% of the sky. Here we describe the design of the instrument and the achieved in-flight performance and provide a brief discussion of the data analysis

Changing patterns of eastern Mediterranean shellfish exploitation in the Late Glacial and Early Holocene: Oxygen isotope evidence from gastropod in Epipaleolithic to Neolithic human occupation layers at the Haua Fteah cave, Libya

The seasonal pattern of shellfish foraging at the archaeological site of Haua Fteah in the Gebel Akhdar, Libya was investigated from the Epipaleolithic to the Neolithic via oxygen isotope (d18O) analyses of the topshell Phorcus (Osilinus) turbinatus. To validate this species as faithful year-round palaeoenvironmental recorder, the intra-annual variability of d18O in modern shells and sea water was analysed and compared with measured sea surface temperature (SST). The shells were found to be good candidates for seasonal shellfish forging studies as they preserve nearly the complete annual SST cycle in their shell d18O with minimal slowing or stoppage of growth. During the terminal Pleistocene Early Epipaleolithic (locally known as the Oranian, with modeled dates of 17.2-12.5 ka at 2sigma probability, Douka et al., 2014), analysis of archaeological specimens indicates that shellfish were foraged year-round. This complements other evidence from the archaeological record that shows that the cave was more intensively occupied in this period than before or afterwards. This finding is significant as the period of the Oranian was the coldest and driest phase of the last glacial cycle in the Gebel Akhdar, adding weight to the theory that the Gebel Akhdar may have served as a refugium for humans in North Africa during times of global climatic extremes. Mollusc exploitation in the Latest Pleistocene and Early Holocene, during the Late Epipaleolithic (locally known as the Capsian, c. 12.7 to 9 ka) and the Neolithic (c. 8.5 to 5.4 ka), occurred predominantly during winter. Other evidence from these archaeological phases shows that hunting activities occurred during the warmer months. Therefore, the timing of Holocene shellfish exploitation in the Gebel Akhdar may have been influenced by the seasonal availability of other resources at these times and possibly shellfish were used as a dietary supplement when other foods were less abundant

Sealant Effectiveness for Children Receiving a Combination of Preventive Methods in a Fluoridated Community: Two-Year Results

A series of preventive methods in combination have been used to reduce dental caries in children including dental health education, prophylaxes, pit and fissure sealants, topical application of fluoride and restorative care. Prophylaxes, sealant, and fluoride procedures are repeated every six months. Two-year results show reductions of occlusal caries increments of 74.3% for first graders and 77.1% for sixth graders. Sealant loss, as defined in this study, varied from 33% to 90% with the highest loss occurring in the newly erupted permanent molars during the first six months of the project. These high sealant loss rates are thought to be related to the age of the population which was designed to include children at the ages of peak eruption of permanent molar teeth (ages six and twelve). These teeth were often only minimally erupted and maintaining the dry field required for sealant retention was extremely difficult. However, in spite of these high rates of sealant loss, caries reduction on occlusal surfaces was highly significant in comparison to that of children who did not receive sealants.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/68154/2/10.1177_00220345770560121801.pd

Choice of tracers for the evaluation of spray deposits

Tracer substances, used to evaluate spraying effectiveness, ordinarily modify the surface tension of aqueous solutions. This study aimed to establish a method of using tracers to evaluate distribution and amount of spray deposits, adjusted to the surface tension of the spraying solution. The following products were tested: 0.15% Brilliant Blue, 0.15% Saturn Yellow in 0.015% Vixilperse lignosulfonate, and 0.005% sodium fluorescein, and mixtures of Brilliant Blue plus Saturn Yellow and Brilliant Blue plus sodium fluorescein at the same concentrations. Solutions were deposited on citrus leaves and stability was determined by measuring fluorescence and optical density of solutions without drying, dried in the dark and exposed to sunlight for 2, 4 and 8 h. These values were compared to those obtained directly in water. The static surface tension of the tracer solution was determined by weighing droplets formed during a period of 20 to 40 seconds. The Brilliant Blue and Saturn Yellow mixture at 0.15% was stable under all conditions tested. It was not absorbed by the leaves and maintained the same surface tension as that of water, thus permitting concentration adjustment to the same levels used for agrochemical products, and allowing the development of a qualitative method based on visual evaluation of the distribution of the pigment under ultraviolet light and of a quantitative method based on the determination of the amount of the dye deposited in the same solution. Spray deposition could be evaluated at different surface tensions of the spraying solution, simulating the effect of agrochemical formulations

DNA methylation of blood cells is associated with prevalent type 2 diabetes in a meta-analysis of four European cohorts

Background: Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a heterogeneous disease with well-known genetic and environmental risk factors contributing to its prevalence. Epigenetic mec

The instrument suite of the European Spallation Source

An overview is provided of the 15 neutron beam instruments making up the initial instrument suite of the European Spallation Source (ESS), and being made available to the neutron user community. The ESS neutron source consists of a high-power accelerator and target station, providing a unique long-pulse time structure of slow neutrons. The design considerations behind the time structure, moderator geometry and instrument layout are presented. The 15-instrument suite consists of two small-angle instruments, two reflectometers, an imaging beamline, two single-crystal diffractometers; one for macromolecular crystallography and one for magnetism, two powder diffractometers, and an engineering diffractometer, as well as an array of five inelastic instruments comprising two chopper spectrometers, an inverse-geometry single-crystal excitations spectrometer, an instrument for vibrational spectroscopy and a high-resolution backscattering spectrometer. The conceptual design, performance and scientific drivers of each of these instruments are described. All of the instruments are designed to provide breakthrough new scientific capability, not currently available at existing facilities, building on the inherent strengths of the ESS long-pulse neutron source of high flux, flexible resolution and large bandwidth. Each of them is predicted to provide world-leading performance at an accelerator power of 2 MW. This technical capability translates into a very broad range of scientific capabilities. The composition of the instrument suite has been chosen to maximise the breadth and depth of the scientific impact o