Electron paramagnetic resonance and photochromism of N3V0\mathrm{N}_{3}\mathrm{V}^{0} in diamond

The defect in diamond formed by a vacancy surrounded by three nearest-neighbor nitrogen atoms and one carbon atom, $\mathrm{N}_{3}\mathrm{V}$, is found in $\approx98\%$ of natural diamonds. Despite $\mathrm{N}_{3}\mathrm{V}^{0}$ being the earliest electron paramagnetic resonance spectrum observed in diamond, to date no satisfactory simulation of the spectrum for an arbitrary magnetic field direction has been produced due to its complexity. In this work, $\mathrm{N}_{3}\mathrm{V}^{0}$ is identified in $^{15}\mathrm{N}$-doped synthetic diamond following irradiation and annealing. The $\mathrm{^{15}N}_{3}\mathrm{V}^{0}$ spin Hamiltonian parameters are revised and used to refine the parameters for $\mathrm{^{14}N}_{3}\mathrm{V}^{0}$, enabling the latter to be accurately simulated and fitted for an arbitrary magnetic field direction. Study of $\mathrm{^{15}N}_{3}\mathrm{V}^{0}$ under excitation with green light indicates charge transfer between $\mathrm{N}_{3}\mathrm{V}$ and $\mathrm{N_s}$. It is argued that this charge transfer is facilitated by direct ionization of $\mathrm{N}_{3}\mathrm{V}^{-}$, an as-yet unobserved charge state of $\mathrm{N}_{3}\mathrm{V}$

The neutral silicon-vacancy center in diamond: spin polarization and lifetimes

We demonstrate optical spin polarization of the neutrally-charged silicon-vacancy defect in diamond ($\mathrm{SiV^{0}}$), an $S=1$ defect which emits with a zero-phonon line at 946 nm. The spin polarization is found to be most efficient under resonant excitation, but non-zero at below-resonant energies. We measure an ensemble spin coherence time $T_2>100~\mathrm{\mu s}$ at low-temperature, and a spin relaxation limit of $T_1>25~\mathrm{s}$. Optical spin state initialization around 946 nm allows independent initialization of $\mathrm{SiV^{0}}$ and $\mathrm{NV^{-}}$ within the same optically-addressed volume, and $\mathrm{SiV^{0}}$ emits within the telecoms downconversion band to 1550 nm: when combined with its high Debye-Waller factor, our initial results suggest that $\mathrm{SiV^{0}}$ is a promising candidate for a long-range quantum communication technology

Diabetes status and post-load plasma glucose concentration in relation to site-specific cancer mortality: findings from the original Whitehall study

ObjectiveWhile several studies have reported on the relation of diabetes status with pancreatic cancer risk, the predictive value of this disorder for other malignancies is unclear. Methods: The Whitehall study, a 25year follow-up for mortality experience of 18,006 men with data on post-challenge blood glucose and self-reported diabetes, allowed us to address these issues. Results: There were 2158 cancer deaths at follow-up. Of the 15 cancer outcomes, diabetes status was positively associated with mortality from carcinoma of the pancreas and liver, while the relationship with lung cancer was inverse, after controlling for a range of potential covariates and mediators which included obesity and socioeconomic position. After excluding deaths occurring in the first 10years of follow-up to examine the effect of reverse causality, the magnitude of the relationships for carcinoma of the pancreas and lung was little altered, while for liver cancer it was markedly attenuated. Conclusions: In the present study, diabetes status was related to pancreatic, liver, and lung cancer risk. Cohorts with serially collected data on blood glucose and covariates are required to further examine this area

Apple pollination: demand depends on variety and supply depends on pollinator identity

Insect pollination underpins apple production but the extent to which different pollinator guilds supply this service, particularly across different apple varieties, is unknown. Such information is essential if appropriate orchard management practices are to be targeted and proportional to the potential benefits pollinator species may provide. Here we use a novel combination of pollinator effectiveness assays (floral visit effectiveness), orchard field surveys (flower visitation rate) and pollinator dependence manipulations (pollinator exclusion experiments) to quantify the supply of pollination services provided by four different pollinator guilds to the production of four commercial varieties of apple. We show that not all pollinators are equally effective at pollinating apples, with hoverflies being less effective than solitary bees and bumblebees, and the relative abundance of different pollinator guilds visiting apple flowers of different varieties varies significantly. Based on this, the taxa specific economic benefits to UK apple production have been established. The contribution of insect pollinators to the economic output in all varieties was estimated to be £92.1M across the UK, with contributions varying widely across taxa: solitary bees (£51.4M), honeybees (£21.4M), bumblebees (£18.6M) and hoverflies (£0.7M). This research highlights the differences in the economic benefits of four insect pollinator guilds to four major apple varieties in the UK. This information is essential to underpin appropriate investment in pollination services management and provides a model that can be used in other entomolophilous crops to improve our understanding of crop pollination ecology

Data sharing in neuroimaging research

Significant resources around the world have been invested in neuroimaging studies of brain function and disease. Easier access to this large body of work should have profound impact on research in cognitive neuroscience and psychiatry, leading to advances in the diagnosis and treatment of psychiatric and neurological disease. A trend toward increased sharing of neuroimaging data has emerged in recent years. Nevertheless, a number of barriers continue to impede momentum. Many researchers and institutions remain uncertain about how to share data or lack the tools and expertise to participate in data sharing. The use of electronic data capture (EDC) methods for neuroimaging greatly simplifies the task of data collection and has the potential to help standardize many aspects of data sharing. We review here the motivations for sharing neuroimaging data, the current data sharing landscape, and the sociological or technical barriers that still need to be addressed. The INCF Task Force on Neuroimaging Datasharing, in conjunction with several collaborative groups around the world, has started work on several tools to ease and eventually automate the practice of data sharing. It is hoped that such tools will allow researchers to easily share raw, processed, and derived neuroimaging data, with appropriate metadata and provenance records, and will improve the reproducibility of neuroimaging studies. By providing seamless integration of data sharing and analysis tools within a commodity research environment, the Task Force seeks to identify and minimize barriers to data sharing in the field of neuroimaging

Laser-related spectroscopic parameters of NV colour centres in diamond

One of the most common impurities in synthetic diamond is single substitutional nitrogen, which is incorporated in the diamond lattice substituting a carbon atom [1]. If the nitrogen is adjacent to a vacancy in the diamond lattice, it forms the nitrogen-vacancy (NV) colour centre (CC) [1]. The negatively charged state of this CC, NV-, is particularly well studied since its quantum properties are suitable for applications such as quantum information processing, single-photon sources and optical magnetometry [2]. NV CCs in the neutral state (NV0) are less widely studied. This CC exhibits broadband luminescence at slightly shorter wavelengths than NV-, and hence is also potentially of interest for tuneable and ultrafast visible laser applications. In this report, we present a detailed study of the laser-related spectroscopic properties of a diamond containing NV0 and NV- CCs

Neutral Silicon-Vacancy Center in Diamond: Spin Polarization and Lifetimes

We demonstrate optical spin polarization of the neutrally charged silicon-vacancy defect in diamond (SiV0), an S ¼ 1 defect which emits with a zero-phonon line at 946 nm. The spin polarization is found to be most efficient under resonant excitation, but nonzero at below-resonant energies. We measure an ensemble spin coherence time T2 > 100 μs at low-temperature, and a spin relaxation limit of T1 > 25 s. Optical spin-state initialization around 946 nm allows independent initialization of SiV0 and NV− within the same optically addressed volume, and SiV0 emits within the telecoms down-conversion band to 1550 nm: when combined with its high Debye-Waller factor, our initial results suggest that SiV0 is a promising candidate for a long-range quantum communication technology

Childhood socioeconomic position and objectively measured physical capability levels in adulthood: a systematic review and meta-analysis

<p><b>Background:</b> Grip strength, walking speed, chair rising and standing balance time are objective measures of physical capability that characterise current health and predict survival in older populations. Socioeconomic position (SEP) in childhood may influence the peak level of physical capability achieved in early adulthood, thereby affecting levels in later adulthood. We have undertaken a systematic review with meta-analyses to test the hypothesis that adverse childhood SEP is associated with lower levels of objectively measured physical capability in adulthood.</p> <p><b>Methods and Findings:</b> Relevant studies published by May 2010 were identified through literature searches using EMBASE and MEDLINE. Unpublished results were obtained from study investigators. Results were provided by all study investigators in a standard format and pooled using random-effects meta-analyses. 19 studies were included in the review. Total sample sizes in meta-analyses ranged from N = 17,215 for chair rise time to N = 1,061,855 for grip strength. Although heterogeneity was detected, there was consistent evidence in age adjusted models that lower childhood SEP was associated with modest reductions in physical capability levels in adulthood: comparing the lowest with the highest childhood SEP there was a reduction in grip strength of 0.13 standard deviations (95% CI: 0.06, 0.21), a reduction in mean walking speed of 0.07 m/s (0.05, 0.10), an increase in mean chair rise time of 6% (4%, 8%) and an odds ratio of an inability to balance for 5s of 1.26 (1.02, 1.55). Adjustment for the potential mediating factors, adult SEP and body size attenuated associations greatly. However, despite this attenuation, for walking speed and chair rise time, there was still evidence of moderate associations.</p> <p><b>Conclusions:</b> Policies targeting socioeconomic inequalities in childhood may have additional benefits in promoting the maintenance of independence in later life.</p&gt