Is U3Ni3Sn4 best described as near a quantum critical point?

Although most known non-Fermi liquid (NFL) materials are structurally or chemically disordered, the role of this disorder remains unclear. In particular, very few systems have been discovered that may be stoichiometric and well ordered. To test whether U3Ni3Sn4 belongs in this latter class, we present measurements of the x-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) of polycrystalline and single-crystal U3Ni3Sn4 samples that are consistent with no measurable local structural disorder. We also present temperature-dependent specific heat data in applied magnetic fields as high as 8 T that show features that are inconsistent with the antiferromagnetic Griffiths' phase model, but do support the conclusion that a Fermi liquid/NFL crossover temperature increases with applied field. These results are inconsistent with theoretical explanations that require strong disorder effects, but do support the view that U3Ni3Sn4 is a stoichiometric, ordered material that exhibits NFL behavior, and is best described as being near an antiferromagnetic quantum critical point.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figures, in press with PR

Quantifying structural damage from self-irradiation in a plutonium superconductor

The 18.5 K superconductor PuCoGa5 has many unusual properties, including those due to damage induced by self-irradiation. The superconducting transition temperature decreases sharply with time, suggesting a radiation-induced Frenkel defect concentration much larger than predicted by current radiation damage theories. Extended x-ray absorption fine-structure measurements demonstrate that while the local crystal structure in fresh material is well ordered, aged material is disordered much more strongly than expected from simple defects, consistent with strong disorder throughout the damage cascade region. These data highlight the potential impact of local lattice distortions relative to defects on the properties of irradiated materials and underscore the need for more atomic-resolution structural comparisons between radiation damage experiments and theory.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, to be published in PR

An evaluation of the Department of Health’s Health and Social Care Volunteering Fund

The Health and Social Care Volunteering Fund (HSCVF) is an innovative programme that was established in 2009 by the Department of Health (DH) to build organisational and community capacity for volunteering through a national and local grant scheme. The HSCVF has offered both funds and tailored support to health and social care projects delivered by Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) organisations. The HSCVF is managed by a partnership led by Ecorys and with expertise from leading national voluntary sector organisations: Attend, Community Service Volunteers (CSV) and Primetimers. To date the HSCVF has funded a total of 157 local and national projects, of which 114 are currently live. This report presents findings from an evaluation of the HSCVF with a specific focus on the 2010/2011 national and local projects, conducted by a team from the Institute for Health & Wellbeing at Leeds Metropolitan University. It presents evidence on the extent to which, how and in what ways the HSCVF programme has built organisational and community capacity across the national and local HSCVF projects, as well as on the health and social outcomes that resulted

Exercise: The ultimate treatment to all ailments?

Extensive clinical research has provided robust evidence that exercise is a cost-effective measure to substantially alleviate the burden of a large number of diseases, many of which belong to the cardiovascular (CV) spectrum. In terms of cardiac benefit, the positive effects of exercise are attributed to improvements in standard risk factors for atherosclerosis, as well as to its positive impact on several pathophysiological mechanisms for CV diseases. For secondary prevention, exercise, optimally in the context of a cardiac rehabilitation program, has been shown to improve functional capacity and survival. Clinicians should encourage physical activity and provide exercise recommendations for all patients, taking into consideration any underlying pathology. In the present review, the benefits of exercise for the prevention and treatment of major CV risk factors and heart conditions are analyzed

Behavioural and physiological responses of laying hens to automated monitoring equipment

Automated monitoring of behaviour can offer a wealth of information in circumstances where observing behaviour is difficult or time consuming. However, this often requires attaching monitoring devices to the animal which can alter behaviour, potentially invalidating any data collected. Birds often show increased preening and energy expenditure when wearing devices and, especially in laying hens, there is a risk that individuals wearing devices will attract aggression from conspecifics. We studied the behavioural and physiological response of 20 laying hens to backpacks containing monitoring devices fastened with elastic loops around the wing base. We hypothesised that backpacks would lead to a stress-induced decrease in peripheral temperature, increased preening, more aggression from conspecifics, and reduced bodyweights. This was evaluated by thermography of the eye and comb (when isolated after fitting backpacks), direct observations of behaviour (when isolated, when placed back into the group, and on later days), and weighing (before and after each 7-day experimental period). Each hen wore a backpack during one of the two experimental periods only and was used as her own control. Contrary to our hypothesis, eye temperature was higher when hens wore a backpack (No backpack: 30.2 °C (IQR: 29.0–30.6) vs. Backpack: 30.9 °C (IQR: 30.0–32.0), P < 0.001). Eye temperature of hens wearing a backpack was strongly correlated to the time spent preening (rs = 0.8, P < 0.001), suggesting that the higher temperatures may have been due to preening itself, or to a low head position or decreased heat dissipation when preening under the wings. Aggressive behaviour was very rare and no effect of the backpacks was found. In line with our hypothesis, backpacks increased preening on the day of fitting, both when isolated (No backpack: 0% (IQR: 0–1) vs. Backpack: 22% (IQR: 1–43), P < 0.01) and when back in the group (No backpack: 0% (IQR: 0–27) vs. Backpack: 43% (IQR: 5–77), P < 0.001). However, no effect on preening was observed 2–7 days afterwards. Other behavioural changes suggested that on the day of fitting hens prioritized attempts to (re)move the backpack and were less attentive to their surroundings. However, only equipment pecking (i.e., pecking the backpack or leg rings) was still affected 2–7 days after fitting (No backpack: 0 pecks/hen/minute (IQR: 0–0), vs. Backpack: 0 (IQR: 0–0.07), P < 0.05). We found no effect of our backpacks on bodyweight. In conclusion, our backpacks seem suitable to attach monitoring equipment to hens with only a very minor effect on their behaviour after a short acclimation period (≤2 days)

The Sunyaev-Zeldovich Effect at 1 and 2 mm towards ROSAT Clusters

An observing campaign was devoted to the search for the Sunyaev-Zeldovich (S-Z) effect towards X-ray ROSAT Clusters in the millimetric spectral domain. A double channel (1.2 and 2 {\it mm}) photometer was installed at the focus of the 15m Swedish ESO Submillimeter Telescope (SEST) in Chile in september 1994 and 1995 and observations of the targets S1077, A2744, S295 and RXJ0658-5557 were gathered. Detections were found for A2744 at 1 {\it mm} and in both channels (at 1.2 and 2 {\it mm}) towards RXJ0658-5557. For the first time there is evidence for the S-Z enhancement and both the latter and the decrement were detected on the same source. We discuss astrophysical and systematic effects which could give origin to these signals.Comment: 6 pg Latex file (style file included) including 1 ps figure, XVIth Moriond Astrophysics Meeting "The Anisotropies of the Cosmic Microwave Background", Les Arcs, Savoie-France, March 16-23 199

An Evaluation of The Migrant Access Project Plus Final Report

The Migrant Access Project operated within West and South Leeds, 2018 until March 2020. It aimed to provide support to new and existing migrant communities to better help them integrate, and thus reduce pressure on existing services, minimising low level tensions and thereby concerns from settled communities within Leeds. Our 2018 interim report focused upon the Migrant Access Plus Project (MAPP) that was running in the Armley and Holbeck areas of the city. Our 2019 report explored the extension of the project into three additional areas as part of the second year of delivery: Beeston Hill, Little London/Hyde Park/Woodhouse and New Wortley. This final report draws together all findings and overall learning from the delivery of MAPP, following a third year of extension funding

Horizon energy and angular momentum from a Hamiltonian perspective

Classical black holes and event horizons are highly non-local objects, defined in terms of the causal past of future null infinity. Alternative, (quasi)local definitions are often used in mathematical, quantum, and numerical relativity. These include apparent, trapping, isolated, and dynamical horizons, all of which are closely associated to two-surfaces of zero outward null expansion. In this paper we show that three-surfaces which can be foliated with such two-surfaces are suitable boundaries in both a quasilocal action and a phase space formulation of general relativity. The resulting formalism provides expressions for the quasilocal energy and angular momentum associated with the horizon. The values of the energy and angular momentum are in agreement with those derived from the isolated and dynamical horizon frameworks.Comment: 39 pages, 3 figures, Final Version : content essentially unchanged but many small improvements made in response to referees, a few references adde