Imaging of Low Compressibility Strips in the Quantum Hall Liquid

Using Subsurface Charge Accumulation scanning microscopy we image strips of low compressibility corresponding to several integer Quantum Hall filling factors. We study in detail the strips at Landau level filling factors $\nu =$ 2 and 4. The observed strips appear significantly wider than predicted by theory. We present a model accounting for the discrepancy by considering a disorder-induced nonzero density of states in the cyclotron gap.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

The Effective Field Theory of Dark Matter Direct Detection

We extend and explore the general non-relativistic effective theory of dark matter (DM) direct detection. We describe the basic non-relativistic building blocks of operators and discuss their symmetry properties, writing down all Galilean-invariant operators up to quadratic order in momentum transfer arising from exchange of particles of spin 1 or less. Any DM particle theory can be translated into the coefficients of an effective operator and any effective operator can be simply related to most general description of the nuclear response. We find several operators which lead to novel nuclear responses. These responses differ significantly from the standard minimal WIMP cases in their relative coupling strengths to various elements, changing how the results from different experiments should be compared against each other. Response functions are evaluated for common DM targets - F, Na, Ge, I, and Xe - using standard shell model techniques. We point out that each of the nuclear responses is familiar from past studies of semi-leptonic electroweak interactions, and thus potentially testable in weak interaction studies. We provide tables of the full set of required matrix elements at finite momentum transfer for a range of common elements, making a careful and fully model-independent analysis possible. Finally, we discuss embedding non-relativistic effective theory operators into UV models of dark matter.Comment: 32+23 pages, 5 figures; v2: some typos corrected and definitions clarified; v3: some factors of 4pi correcte

Four-dimensional polymer collapse II: Interacting self-avoiding trails

We have simulated four-dimensional interacting self-avoiding trails (ISAT) on the hyper-cubic lattice with standard interactions at a wide range of temperatures up to length 4096 and at some temperatures up to length 16384. The results confirm the earlier prediction (using data from a non-standard model at a single temperature) of a collapse phase transition occurring at finite temperature. Moreover they are in accord with the phenomenological theory originally proposed by Lifshitz, Grosberg and Khokhlov in three dimensions and recently given new impetus by its use in the description of simulational results for four-dimensional interacting self-avoiding walks (ISAW). In fact, we argue that the available data is consistent with the conclusion that the collapse transitions of ISAT and ISAW lie in the same universality class, in contradiction with long-standing predictions. We deduce that there exists a pseudo-first order transition for ISAT in four dimensions at finite lengths while the thermodynamic limit is described by the standard polymer mean-field theory (giving a second-order transition), in contradiction to the prediction that the upper critical dimension for ISAT is $d_u=4$.Comment: 23 pages, 8 figure

Clinical and molecular characterization of HER2 amplified-pancreatic cancer

<p>Background: Pancreatic cancer is one of the most lethal and molecularly diverse malignancies. Repurposing of therapeutics that target specific molecular mechanisms in different disease types offers potential for rapid improvements in outcome. Although HER2 amplification occurs in pancreatic cancer, it is inadequately characterized to exploit the potential of anti-HER2 therapies.</p> <p>Methods: HER2 amplification was detected and further analyzed using multiple genomic sequencing approaches. Standardized reference laboratory assays defined HER2 amplification in a large cohort of patients (n = 469) with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC).</p> <p>Results: An amplified inversion event (1 MB) was identified at the HER2 locus in a patient with PDAC. Using standardized laboratory assays, we established diagnostic criteria for HER2 amplification in PDAC, and observed a prevalence of 2%. Clinically, HER2- amplified PDAC was characterized by a lack of liver metastases, and a preponderance of lung and brain metastases. Excluding breast and gastric cancer, the incidence of HER2-amplified cancers in the USA is >22,000 per annum.</p> <p>Conclusions: HER2 amplification occurs in 2% of PDAC, and has distinct features with implications for clinical practice. The molecular heterogeneity of PDAC implies that even an incidence of 2% represents an attractive target for anti-HER2 therapies, as options for PDAC are limited. Recruiting patients based on HER2 amplification, rather than organ of origin, could make trials of anti-HER2 therapies feasible in less common cancer types.</p&gt

Approach to the semiconductor cavity QED in high-Q regimes with q-deformed boson

The high density Frenkel exciton which interacts with a single mode microcavity field is dealed with in the framework of the q-deformed boson. It is shown that the q-defomation of bosonic commutation relations is satisfied naturally by the exciton operators when the low density limit is deviated. An analytical expression of the physical spectrum for the exciton is given by using of the dressed states of the cavity field and the exciton. We also give the numerical study and compare the theoretical results with the experimental resultsComment: 6 pages, 2 figure

Environmental thermal influence over soundscape perception : a test room experimental campaign involving the psychological and physiological description of the indoor environment

Human environmental perception leads occupants' behaviour when interacting with buildings components, affecting the final building energy performance. A solid understanding of human comfort perception includes simultaneous multisensory stimuli and cross-modal interactions among different comfort domains. This study aims to explore the cross-modal effect between thermal and acoustic domains. Each of the 40 subjects took part in a multisensory survey under two different stationary environmental temperature settings. Results show that people in thermally warm conditions are less confident in describing the provided acoustic records. To perform the same procedure but providing a decreasing air temperature ramp would lead to a better interpretation of the results of this campaign

Functional SYNTAX Score for Risk Assessment in Multivessel Coronary Artery Disease

ObjectivesThis study was aimed at investigating whether a fractional flow reserve (FFR)-guided SYNTAX score (SS), termed “functional SYNTAX score” (FSS), would predict clinical outcome better than the classic SS in patients with multivessel coronary artery disease (CAD) undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).BackgroundThe SS is a purely anatomic score based on the coronary angiogram and predicts outcome after PCI in patients with multivessel CAD. FFR-guided PCI improves outcomes by adding functional information to the anatomic information obtained from the angiogram.MethodsThe SS was prospectively collected in 497 patients enrolled in the FAME (Fractional Flow Reserve versus Angiography for Multivessel Evaluation) study. FSS was determined by only counting ischemia-producing lesions (FFR ≤0.80). The ability of each score to predict major adverse cardiac events (MACE) at 1 year was compared.ResultsThe 497 patients were divided into tertiles of risk based on the SS. After determining the FSS for each patient, 32% moved to a lower-risk group as follows. MACE occurred in 9.0%, 11.3%, and 26.7% of patients in the low-, medium-, and high-FSS groups, respectively (p < 0.001). Only FSS and procedure time were independent predictors of 1-year MACE. FSS demonstrated a better predictive accuracy for MACE compared with SS (Harrell's C of FSS, 0.677 vs. SS, 0.630, p = 0.02; integrated discrimination improvement of 1.94%, p < 0.001).ConclusionsRecalculating SS by only incorporating ischemia-producing lesions as determined by FFR decreases the number of higher-risk patients and better discriminates risk for adverse events in patients with multivessel CAD undergoing PCI. (Fractional Flow Reserve versus Angiography for Multivessel Evaluation [FAME]; NCT00267774

Composition of the Pseudoscalar Eta and Eta' Mesons

The composition of the eta and eta' mesons has long been a source of discussion and is of current interest with new experimental results appearing. We investigate what can be learnt from a number of different processes: V to P gamma and P to V gamma (V and P are light vector and pseudoscalar mesons respectively), P to gamma gamma, J/psi,psi' to P gamma, J/psi,psi' to P V, and chi_{c0,2} to PP. These constrain the eta-eta' mixing angle to a consistent value, phi approx 42 degrees; we find that the c cbar components are lesssim 5% in amplitude. We also find that, while the data hint at a small gluonic component in the eta', the conclusions depend sensitively on unknown form factors associated with exclusive dynamics. In addition, we predict BR(psi' to eta' gamma) approx 1 10^{-5} and BR(chi_{c0} to eta eta') approx 2 10^{-5} - 1 10^{-4}. We provide a method to test the mixing using chi_{c2} to eta eta, eta' eta', and eta eta' modes and make some general observations on chi_{c0,2} decays. We also survey the semileptonic and hadronic decays of bottom and charmed mesons and find some modes where the mixing angle can be extracted cleanly with the current experimental data, some where more data will allow this, and some where a more detailed knowledge of the different amplitudes is required.Comment: 34 pages, 11 figures. v2: version published in JHEP, added substantial section on B and D meson electroweak decays, added comment on psi' to eta(')/eta_c gamma, Figs 5 and 6 split and made clearer, added references, other minor revisions which don't change conclusion

Symmetric Hyperbolic System in the Self-dual Teleparallel Gravity

In order to discuss the well-posed initial value formulation of the teleparallel gravity and apply it to numerical relativity a symmetric hyperbolic system in the self-dual teleparallel gravity which is equivalent to the Ashtekar formulation is posed. This system is different from the ones in other works by that the reality condition of the spatial metric is included in the symmetric hyperbolicity and then is no longer an independent condition. In addition the constraint equations of this system are rather simpler than the ones in other works.Comment: 8 pages, no figure

Microbial control of diatom bloom dynamics in the open ocean

Diatom blooms play a central role in supporting foodwebs and sequestering biogenic carbon to depth. Oceanic conditions set bloom initiation, whereas both environmental and ecological factors determine bloom magnitude and longevity. Our study reveals another fundamental determinant of bloom dynamics. A diatom spring bloom in offshore New Zealand waters was likely terminated by iron limitation, even though diatoms consumed <1/3 of the mixed-layer dissolved iron inventory. Thus, bloom duration and magnitude were primarily set by competition for dissolved iron between microbes and small phytoplankton versus diatoms. Significantly, such a microbial mode of control probably relies both upon out-competing diatoms for iron (i.e., K-strategy), and having high iron requirements (i.e., r-strategy). Such resource competition for iron has implications for carbon biogeochemistry, as, blooming diatoms fixed three-fold more carbon per unit iron than resident non-blooming microbes. Microbial sequestration of iron has major ramifications for determining the biogeochemical imprint of oceanic diatom blooms. Citation: Boyd, P. W., et al. (2012), Microbial control of diatom bloom dynamics in the open ocean, Geophys. Res. Lett., 39, L18601