Resonant band-electron –f -electron scattering theory for highly correlated actinide systems

In earlier studies we recognized that the highly correlated behavior of the f electrons within moderately delocalized light actinide (uranium, neptunium, plutonium) systems is linked to the non-f-band behavior via the hybridization process. By transforming the hybridization into a bandelectron-f-electron resonant scattering from the correlated multiplet states of the actinide ions, and considering only the scattering processes that involve f electrons in the ml=0, ms=+/-1/2 states (for quantization along the interionic axis) which dominate the two-ion interactions, our earlier work explained the main features of the anisotropic magnetic equilibrium behavior for the PuSb system but failed to reproduce the correct polarization (longitudinal) for the long-period antiferromagnetic structure observed in the temperature range below the Neel temperature. In this paper we include the next-to-dominant scattering channels (single-site scattering processes involving f electrons with ml=+/-1, ms-/+1/2). This refinement changes the angular dependence of the anisotropic interaction, and successfully yields the ferromagnetic to longitudinally polarized long-period antiferromagnetic phase transition as is experimentally observed. Excellent agreement with experiment for the correlation length anisotropy is also obtained. For the magnetic excitation behavior in the ferromagnetic phase pertinent to PuSb at T=O, the theory gives a spectrum with two polarized branches at the zone boundary for q along the [100] (transverse-to-moment) direction. In fact, the predicted excitation behavior is rather remarkable. The appearance of two polarized branches rather than a single branch at the zone boundary occurs only over an extremely narrow range of crystal-field splitting. We choose the crystal-field splitting to give two branches, and this unadjustably yields excitation energies that are very close to the experimental values. An only slightly different crystal-field value would give neither two branches nor correct excitation energies

A service evaluation of FIT and anaemia for risk stratification in the two week wait pathway for colorectal cancer

Introduction: New national guidance on urgent referral for investigation for Colorectal Cancer (CRC) included faecal occult blood testing in 2015. We evaluated faecal immunochemical testing (FIT) and anaemia as risk stratification tools in symptomatic patients suspected of having CRC.Methods: Postal FIT was incorporated into the CRC two week wait (2WW) pathway for all patients without rectal bleeding in 2016. Patients were investigated in the 2WW pathway as normal and outcomes of investigations were prospectively recorded. Anaemia was defined as haemoglobin less than 120g/L in women and less than 130g/L in men.Results: FIT kits were sent to 1106 patients with an 80.9% return rate; 810 patients completed investigation with 40 CRCs diagnosed (4.9%). Median FIT results were significantly higher in patients who were anaemic (median 4.8 iqr 0.8-34.1 versus 1.2 iqr 0-6.4, Mann-Whitney p less than 0.001).Some 538 (60.4%) had a result of less than 4 µgHb/gFaeces (limit of detectability) and 621 (69.7%) a result less than 10 µgHb/gFaeces. Sixty per cent of CRCs had a FIT reading of >150 µgHb/gFaeces. Five CRCs diagnosed in patients with a FIT4 µgHb/gFaeces had 97.5% sensitivity and 64.5% specificity for CRC diagnosis. A FIT result of >4 µgHb/gFaeces and/or anaemia had a 100% sensitivity and 45.3% specificity for CRC diagnosis.Conclusion: FIT is most useful at the extremes of detectability; strongly positive readings predict high rates of CRC and other significant pathology, whilst very low readings in the absence of anaemia or palpable rectal mass identify a group with very low risk. High return rates for FIT within this 2WW pathway indicate its acceptability

Para la historia de 'camiseta', un americanismo inadvertido

En este trabajo pretendo mostrar que camiseta es una creación léxica americana, que se documenta desde el siglo XVI hasta la segunda mitad del siglo XIX solo en el español de América con el significado de ‘camisa o vestido de indio’. Hasta la mitad del siglo XIX el derivado de la palabra patrimonial camisa no aparece con un sentido de ‘prenda de vestir’ en el español de España, momento en el que también se documenta en el de América, pero donde ya no refiere a la indumentaria indígena. Desde entonces camiseta adquiere una mayor vitalidad en el español internacional a cuenta de su cambio semántico, según se comprueba en los diccionarios, los materiales dialectales y, entre ellos, los datos que proporciona el proyecto Varilex. Y creo que, justamente a causa de la vitalidad que logró con tal cambio, su condición primera americana ha pasado inadvertida para los estudiosos del léxico del español de América.Peer reviewe

Dynamics of Transformation from Segregation to Mixed Wealth Cities

We model the dynamics of the Schelling model for agents described simply by a continuously distributed variable - wealth. Agents move to neighborhoods where their wealth is not lesser than that of some proportion of their neighbors, the threshold level. As in the case of the classic Schelling model where segregation obtains between two races, we find here that wealth-based segregation occurs and persists. However, introducing uncertainty into the decision to move - that is, with some probability, if agents are allowed to move even though the threshold level condition is contravened - we find that even for small proportions of such disallowed moves, the dynamics no longer yield segregation but instead sharply transition into a persistent mixed wealth distribution. We investigate the nature of this sharp transformation between segregated and mixed states, and find that it is because of a non-linear relationship between allowed moves and disallowed moves. For small increases in disallowed moves, there is a rapid corresponding increase in allowed moves, but this tapers off as the fraction of disallowed moves increase further and finally settles at a stable value, remaining invariant to any further increase in disallowed moves. It is the overall effect of the dynamics in the initial region (with small numbers of disallowed moves) that shifts the system away from a state of segregation rapidly to a mixed wealth state. The contravention of the tolerance condition could be interpreted as public policy interventions like minimal levels of social housing or housing benefit transfers to poorer households. Our finding therefore suggests that it might require only very limited levels of such public intervention - just sufficient to enable a small fraction of disallowed moves, because the dynamics generated by such moves could spur the transformation from a segregated to mixed equilibrium.Comment: 12 pages, 7 figure

Role of RNA interference (RNAi) in dengue virus replication and identification of NS4B as an RNAi suppressor

RNA interference (RNAi) is an important antiviral defense response in plants and invertebrates; however, evidences for its contribution to mammalian antiviral defense are few. In the present study, we demonstrate the anti-dengue virus role of RNAi in mammalian cells. Dengue virus infection of Huh 7 cells decreased the mRNA levels of host RNAi factors, namely, Dicer, Drosha, Ago1, and Ago2, and in corollary, silencing of these genes in virus-infected cells enhanced dengue virus replication. In addition, we observed downregulation of many known human microRNAs (miRNAs) in response to viral infection. Using reversion-of-silencing assays, we further showed that NS4B of all four dengue virus serotypes is a potent RNAi suppressor. We generated a series of deletion mutants and demonstrated that NS4B mediates RNAi suppression via its middle and C-terminal domains, namely, transmembrane domain 3 (TMD3) and TMD5. Importantly, the NS4B N-terminal region, including the signal sequence 2K, which has been implicated in interferon (IFN)-antagonistic properties, was not involved in mediating RNAi suppressor activity. Site-directed mutagenesis of conserved residues revealed that a Phe-to-Ala (F112A) mutation in the TMD3 region resulted in a significant reduction of the RNAi suppression activity. The green fluorescent protein (GFP)-small interfering RNA (siRNA) biogenesis of the GFP-silenced line was considerably reduced by wild-type NS4B, while the F112A mutant abrogated this reduction. These results were further confirmed by in vitro dicer assays. Together, our results suggest the involvement of miRNA/RNAi pathways in dengue virus establishment and that dengue virus NS4B protein plays an important role in the modulation of the host RNAi/miRNA pathway to favor dengue virus replication

Glastonbury Lake Village revisited: a multi-proxy palaeoenvironmental investigation of an Iron Age wetland settlement

Glastonbury Lake Village is one of the most iconic late prehistoric wetland settlements in Europe. A new excavation in the core of Glastonbury Lake Village, for the first time since 1907, provided the opportunity for sampling of deposits associated with occupation of the site and for reconstructing the environmental conditions before the settlement was constructed. The results of a detailed multiproxy study are presented, including palaeoecological proxies (Coleoptera, plant macrofossils, diatoms, pollen, non-pollen palynomorphs), geoarchaeological methods (soil micromorphology), supported by new radiocarbon determinations. The results highlight how the difficult process of creating a settlement in a wetland was achieved, both within structures and in the spaces around them. Evidence for grain storage within the macrofossil assemblages, and the presence of animals on the settlement reflected in coleopteran assemblages and non-pollen palynomorphs has refined our understanding of the interaction between the settlement and the neighbouring dryland

Towards transnational feminist queer methodologies

This article introduces the possibilities of transnational feminist queer research as seeking to conceptualise the transnational as a methodology composed of a series of flows that can augment feminist and queer research. Transnational feminist queer methodologies can contest long-standing configurations of power between researcher and researched, subject and object, academics and activists across places, typically those which are embedded in the hierarchies of the Global North/Global South. Beginning with charting our roots in, and routes through, the diverse arenas of transnational, feminist, participatory and queer methodologies, the article uses a transcribed and edited conversation between members of the Liveable Lives research team in Kolkata and Brighton, to start an exploration of transnational feminist queer methodologies. Understanding the difficult, yet constructive moments of collaborative work and dialogue, we argue for engagements with the multiplicities of ‘many-many' lives that recognise local specificities, and the complexities of lives within transnational research, avoiding creating a currency of comparison between places. We seek to work toward methodologies that take seriously the politics of place, namely by creating research that answers the same question in different places, using methods that are created in context and may not be ‘comparable'. Using a dialogue across the boundaries of activism/academia, as well as across geographical locations, the article contends that there are potentials, as well as challenges, in thinking ourselves through transnational research praxis. This seeks complexities and spatial nuances within as well as between places

“Low FIT” Colorectal Cancer: A four-year comparison of the Nottingham “4F” protocol with FIT10 in symptomatic patients.

Aim:To evaluate colorectal cancer outcomes after “low” (sub-threshold) Faecal Immunochemical Test (FIT) results in symptomatic patients tested in primary care.Method:Retrospective audit of 35,289 patients with FIT results, having consulted their general practitioner with lower gastrointestinal symptoms, and subsequent colorectal cancer (CRC) diagnoses. The Rapid Colorectal Cancer Diagnosis pathway was introduced in November 2017 to allow incorporation of FIT into clinical practice. The local “4F” protocol combined FIT results with blood tests and digital rectal examination (DRE): FIT, Full blood count (FBC), Ferritin and Finger.Outcome: Detection rates of CRC, missed CRC and time to diagnosis in local “4F” protocols for patients with a sub-threshold faecal Haemoglobin (fHb) result compared to thresholds of 10 and 20µgHb/g Faeces.Results:A single threshold of 10 µgHb/g Faeces identifies a population in whom the risk of CRC is 0.2% but would have missed 63 (10.5%) of 599 CRCs in this population. The Nottingham “4F” protocol would have missed fewer CRCs (42 of 599 (7%)) despite using a threshold of 20 µgHb/g Faeces for patients with normal blood tests. Subthreshold FIT results in patients subsequently diagnosed with a palpable rectal tumour yielded the longest delays.Conclusion:Combination of FIT with blood results and DRE (“4F”) reduced the risk of missed or delayed diagnosis. Further studies on the impact of such protocols on the diagnostic accuracy of FIT are expected. The value of adding blood tests to FIT may be restricted to specific parts of the fHb result spectrum

Sociodemographic Variations in the Uptake of Faecal Immunochemical Tests in Primary Care

Background: Faecal Immunochemical Testing (FIT) usage for symptomatic patients is increasing, but variations in use by sociodemographics are unknown. We introduced FIT for symptomatic patients in November 2017. Aim: Identify whether demographics, ethnicity or social deprivation affect FIT return in symptomatic patients. Design and Setting: FIT was introduced as a triage tool in Primary Care and was mandated for all colorectal referrals (except rectal bleeding/mass) to secondary care. FIT was used, alongside full blood count and ferritin, to stratify colorectal cancer risk. Method: All referrals November 2017-December 2021 were retrospectively reviewed. Sociodemographic factors affecting FIT return were analysed by multivariate logistic regression. Results: 35,289 patients returned their index FIT (90.7%), 3631 (9.3%) did not. On multivariate analysis, males were less likely to return FIT (OR 1.11, 95%CI 1.03-1.19). Patients over 65 were more likely to return FIT (OR 0.78 for non-return, 95%CI 0.72-0.83). Unreturned FIT was more than doubled in the most compared to the least deprived (OR 2.20, 95%CI 1.99-2.43). Patients from Asian (OR 1.82, 95%CI 1.58-2.10), Black (OR 1.21, 95%CI 0.98-1.49) and Mixed/Other ethnic groups (OR 1.29, 95%CI 1.05-1.59) were more likely to not return FIT compared to White ethnicity. 599 colorectal cancers were detected (1.5%), 561 in those who returned a first FIT request, 38 in those who did not. Conclusion: FIT return in those suspected of having colorectal cancer varies by gender, age, ethnicity, and socioeconomic deprivation. Strategies to mitigate effects on FIT return and colorectal cancer detection should be considered as FIT usage expands