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We report on a Paul-trap system with large access angles that allows positioning of fully isolated micrometer-scale particles with micrometer precision as targets in high-intensity laser-plasma interactions. This paper summarizes theoretical and experimental concepts of the apparatus as well as supporting measurements that were performed for the trapping process of single particles.

Background: Progression through the stages of change is a proposed mechanism underlying the effects of treatment for alcohol use disorder (AUD). However, examining stages of change as a mechanism of treatment effects requires that the measure be invariant across patient subgroups, treatment conditions, and time. In this study, we examined measurement invariance of the University of Rhode Island Change Assessment Scale (URICA) in Project MATCH using an exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM) approach. Methods: We conducted a secondary analysis of data from Project MATCH (N = 1726; Mage = 40.2, SD = 10.9; 75.7% male; 80% non‐Hispanic white), a multisite randomized clinical trial that tested three AUD treatments: Motivational Enhancement Therapy, Cognitive‐Behavioral Therapy, or Twelve‐Step Facilitation. Participants completed the 24‐item URICA for assessing the stages of change in relation to drinking at baseline and post‐treatment (3 months after baseline). Results: A 4‐factor ESEM provided a good fit to the data and a better fit to the data than a conventional 4‐factor confirmatory factor analysis model. Further, the URICA demonstrated scalar invariance across each patient subgroup at baseline (sex, ethnicity, marital status, education, and parental history of AUD) and treatment condition at follow‐up. However, the URICA was not longitudinally invariant as the metric model resulted in a significant decrement in model fit. Conclusions: Measurement invariance of the URICA over time was not supported. Longitudinally invariant measures of the stages of change are needed to test the proposal that progression through the stages explains treatment effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High power short-pulse lasers presently reach peak powers of a few hundred Terawatts up to a Petawatt, and routinely reach focal intensities of 1018 - 1021 W/cm2 . These lasers are able to produce various secondary radiation, from relativistic electrons and multi-MeV/nucleon ions to high-energetic X-rays and γ-rays. In many laboratories world-wide large efforts are presently devoted to a rapid development of this novel tool of particle acceleration, targeting nuclear, fundamental and high-field physics studies as well as various applications. Based on the Radiation Pressure Acceleration mechanism, laser-accelerated ion beams can be generated with solid-state density, thus exceeding beams from conventional accelerators by about 14 orders of magnitudes. This opens the perspective of a novel reaction scheme called ’f ssion-fusion’, where in a first step f ssion is induced both in laser-accelerated f ssile projectiles from a ’production target’ and in a second ’reaction target’ again from f ssile material hit by the accelerated projectiles. Due to the unprecedented ion density, (neutron-rich) light f ssion fragments from projectile and target can fuse again, forming extremely exotic species approaching the region of the N = 126 waiting point of the r-process. Within the next 5 years a new EU-funded large-scale research infrastructure (ELI: Extreme Light Infrastructure) will be constructed, with one of its four pillars exclusively devoted to nuclear physics based on high intensity lasers (ELI-Nuclear Physics, to be built in Magurele/Bucharest). Studies of laser-induced nuclear reactions like the ’f ssion-fusion’ mechanism will be amongst the experimental f agship projects pursued there.

The 2 S 1 / 2 - 2 P 1 / 2 and 2 S 1 / 2 - 2 P 3 / 2 transitions in Li-like carbon ions stored and cooled at a velocity of β ≈ 0.47 in the experimental storage ring (ESR) at the GSI Helmholtz Centre in Darmstadt have been investigated in a laser spectroscopy experiment. Resonance wavelengths were obtained using a new continuous-wave UV laser system and a novel extreme UV (XUV) detection system to detect forward emitted fluorescence photons. The results obtained for the two transitions are compared to existing experimental and theoretical data. A discrepancy found in an earlier laser spectroscopy measurement at the ESR with results from plasma spectroscopy and interferometry has been resolved and agreement between experiment and theory is confirmed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The database on ocean primary productivity comprises over two decades (1985–2008) of data that the authors have participated in collecting, using the assimilation of inorganic 14C through photosynthesis, in incubations carried out in situ. The dataset is perhaps unique in that it uses, overwhelmingly, consistent methodology while covering a wide geographic range. Ancillary data are included. Using the database, it is hoped that investigators can test for the relationships among the environmental drivers for ocean productivity, the meaning of the 14C method in terms of phytoplankton physiology and the dynamics in the water column, and as a resource for further development of productivity algorithms using satellite ocean color imagery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Light sheet fluorescence microscopy (LSFM) allows for high-resolution three-dimensional imaging with minimal photo-damage. By viewing the sample from different directions, different regions of large specimens can be imaged optimally. Moreover, owing to their good spatial resolution and high signal-to-noise ratio, LSFM data are well suited for image deconvolution. Here we present the Huygens Fusion and Deconvolution Wizard, a unique integrated solution for restoring LSFM images, and show that improvements in signal and resolution of 1.5 times and higher are feasible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Marine spatial planning (MSP) seeks to reduce conflicts and environmental impacts, and promote sustainable use of marine ecosystems. Existing MSP approaches have successfully determined how to achieve target levels of ocean area for particular uses while minimizing costs and impacts, but they do not provide a framework that derives analytical solutions in order to co-ordinate siting of multiple uses while balancing the effects of planning on each sector in the system. We develop such a framework for guiding offshore aquaculture (bivalve, finfish, and kelp farming) development in relation to existing sectors and environmental concerns (wild-capture fisheries, viewshed quality, benthic pollution, and disease spread) in California, USA. We identify >250,000 MSP solutions that generate significant seafood supply and billions of dollars in revenue with minimal impacts (often < 1%) on existing sectors and the environment. We filter solutions to identify candidate locations for highvalue, low-impact aquaculture development. Finally, we confirm the expectation of substantial value of our framework over conventional planning focused on maximizing individual objectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Social Cognition and Object Relations Scale–Global (SCORS-G) has been used increasingly in multimethod psychological assessment contexts as a framework for eliciting personality information from narrative data collection techniques, the most popular of which is the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT). Although research on the reliability and validity of the SCORS system has evolved over the last decade, there are numerous psychometric and procedural shortcomings (and corresponding ethical issues) that should be considered when applying this methodology to the TAT in clinical and research settings. Chief among these concerns is a lack of normative benchmarking, variability in TAT card batteries that are administered across contexts (which limit generalization and direct research comparisons), ambiguous reliability and validity evidence (and lack of incremental validity), and redundancy in published studies (i.e., versions of the same data/samples presented repeatedly across research). There is also a dearth of information about how SCORS-G data are influenced by factors such as culture, language, cognitive functioning, and other variables that may impact narrative output, word count, and richness (and subsequent interpretation and clinical decision making). The review concludes with a discussion of the ethical implications of using the SCORS-G in clinical practice, and recommendation for a moratorium on its use until minimum psychometric standards can be established and greater clarity is achieved surrounding its use with diverse and vulnerable populations. Public Significance Statement: The current article presents a critical review of the Social Cognition and Object Relations Scale–Global (SCORS-G) system as applied to the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) in clinical practice and research, and important ethical issues that should be considered. A moratorium on the SCORS-G as applied to the TAT is recommended until minimum psychometric standards can be established, and greater clarity is achieved surrounding its use with diverse and vulnerable populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]