Quasiparticle cooling of a single-Cooper-pair-transistor

A superconducting tunnel junction is used to directly extract quasiparticles from one of the leads of a single-Cooper-pair-transistor. The consequent reduction in quasiparticle density causes a lower rate of quasiparticle tunneling onto the device. This rate is directly measured by radio-frequency reflectometry. Local cooling may be of direct benefit in reducing the effect of quasiparticles on coherent superconducting nanostructures.Comment: 4 figure

Implications of globalisation for financial stability.

Asia’s share of world trade has expanded constantly over the last two decades. This increase reflects, inter alia, the considerable strengthening of trade links between the countries of the region, fostered by the vertical specialisation of the Asian economies. In the 1980s, the most advanced economies in the region, e.g. Japan, relocated the most labour-intensive stages of their production processes to the newly-industrialised Asian economies like South Korea and Singapore and then, in the 1990s, to emerging Asia, i.e. Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand. The emergence of China has also given signifi cant impetus to regional trade integration. Surging intra-regional direct investment fl ows have accompanied and shored up trade fl ows, however, portfolio investment fl ows and cross-border bank loans have remained limited. Given that production processes within the region are complementary and that the final destination for exports is outside the region, the lack of a regional exchange rate arrangement in Asia does not appear to be a concern in the short term. Indeed, the regional integration initiatives adopted in Asia in the aftermath of the 1997-1998 financial crisis aim to build further resilience to fi nancial market turbulence. Firstly, deeper and more liquid local bond markets should make it possible to reduce the double financial mismatch, i.e. the currency mismatch and maturity mismatch, which largely sustained the crisis. In this regard, the ASEAN+3 Asian Bond Market Initiative examines the supply-side issues while the Asian Bond Funds initiative of the Executives’ Meeting of East Asia-Pacifi c Central Banks (EMEAP) deals with demand-side issues via the pooling of resources to buy bonds issued by member countries. Secondly, the Chiang Mai Initiative, which consists in a network of currency swap arrangements between the central banks of the ASEAN+3 member states, provides these countries with a regional fi nancial assistance mechanism in the event of a liquidity crisis. The Asian vertical model of production appears to have reached its limit and is evolving towards a more “horizontal” model in terms of both production (substitutability of production processes as a result of the shift towards higher value-added activities) and consumption (expansion of the regional market linked to the growth potential of domestic Chinese demand). Regional monetary co-operation could therefore aim in the future at curbing intra-regional exchange rate fl uctuations in order to promote trade and investment within the region.

Biological implications of a discrete mathematical model for collagen deposition and alignment in dermal wound repair

We deveiop a novel mathematical model for collagen deposition and alignment during dermal wound healing. We focus on the interactions between fibroblasts, modelled as discrete entities, and a continuous extracellular matrix composed of collagen and a fibrin based blood clot. There are four basic interactions assumed in the model: fibroblasts orient the collagen matrix, fibroblasts produce and degrade collagen and fibrin and the matrix directs the fibroblasts and determines the speed of the cells. Several factors which influence the alignment of collagen are examined and related to current anti-scarring therapies using transforming growth factor ß. The most influential of these factors are cell speed and, more importantly for wound healing, the influx of fibroblasts from surrounding tissue

The Behavior of Soluble Salt in Sharkey Clay

Soluble salt problems do exist and are significant in Arkansas. Studies have been conducted on Crowley silt loam (Typic Albaqualfs) which have established the behavior of soluble salt in that soil. The major objective of this study was to quantify the behavior of soluble salt in a second important Mississippi River Delta soil - the Sharkey (Vertic Haplaquepts). To this end, estimation of the downward redistribution of salt and the estimation of various components of the water balance for this soil served as specific objectives. Field studies were designed to monitor the movement of salt in the Sharkey soil and to characterize selected components of the water balance. In total, three tentative conclusions may be drawn from the data. First, the infiltration for the Sharkey soil was approximately three times that of the Crowley silt loam. The average value was 29 cm for the rice season. Second, levee seepage, while significant for small plots, was shown to be small for production-sized fields. Levee seepage remained relatively constant throughout the season and averaged 0.025 nvfym/d. And third, downward redistribution of salt was large and appeared to follow a pattern where a peak occurred at the surface and, possibly, at the lower soil depths

Understanding the Transition between High School and College Mathematics and Science

Mathematics and science education is gaining increasing recognition as key for the well-being of individuals and society. Accordingly, the transition from high school to college is particularly important to ensure that students are prepared for college mathematics and science. The goal of this study was to understand how high school mathematics and science course-taking related to performance in college. Specifically, the study employed a nonparametric regression method to examine the relationship between high school mathematics and science courses, and academic performance in college mathematics and science courses. The results provide some evidence pertaining to the positive benefits from high school course-taking. Namely, students who completed high school trigonometry and lab-based chemistry tended to earn higher grades in college algebra and general chemistry, respectively. However, there was also evidence that high school coursework in biology and physics did not improve course performance in general biology and college physics beyond standardized test scores. Interestingly, students who completed high school calculus earned better grades in general biology. The implications of the findings are discussed for high school curriculum and alignment in standards between high schools and colleges