Pot, atom and step economic (PASE) synthesis of highly functionalized piperidines: a five-component condensation

The diastereoselective pot, atom and step economic (PASE) synthesis of highly functionalized piperidines has been realized. The procedure simply involves mixing methyl acetoacetate, 2 equiv of aldehyde and 2 equiv of aniline together in the presence of InCl3. In most cases the piperidine precipitates out of solution. (c) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Development and preliminary evaluation of a clinical guidance programme for the decision about prophylactic oophorectomy in women undergoing a hysterectomy

Objectives: To develop a decision analysis based and computerised clinical guidance programme (CGP) that provides patient specific guidance on the decision whether or not to undergo a prophylactic oophorectomy to reduce the risk of subsequent ovarian cancer and to undertake a preliminary pilot and evaluation. Subjects: Women who had already agreed to have a hysterectomy who otherwise had no ovarian pathology. Setting: Oophorectomy decision consultation at the outpatient or pre-admission clinic. Methods: A CGP was developed with advice from gynaecologists and patient groups, incorporating a set of Markov models within a decision analytical framework to evaluate the benefits of undergoing a prophylactic oophorectomy or not on the basis of quality adjusted life expectancy, life expectancy, and for varying durations of hormone replacement therapy. Sensitivity analysis and preliminary testing of the CGP were undertaken to compare its overall performance with established guidelines and practice. A small convenience sample of women invited to use the CGP were interviewed, the interviews were taped and transcribed, and a thematic analysis was undertaken. Results: The run time of the programme was 20 minutes, depending on the use of opt outs to default values. The CGP functioned well in preliminary testing. Women were able to use the programme and expressed overall satisfaction with it. Some had reservations about the computerised format and some were surprised at the specificity of the guidance given. Conclusions: A CGP can be developed for a complex healthcare decision. It can give evidence-based health guidance which can be adjusted to account for individual risk factors and reflects a patient’s own values and preferences concerning health outcomes. Future decision aids and support systems need to be developed and evaluated in a way which takes account of the variation in patients’ preferences for inclusion in the decision making process

Thermal properties of charge noise sources

Measurements of the temperature and bias dependence of Single Electron Transistors (SETs) in a dilution refrigerator show that charge noise increases linearly with refrigerator temperature above a voltage-dependent threshold temperature, and that its low temperature saturation is due to SET self-heating. We show further that the two-level fluctuators responsible for charge noise are in strong thermal contact with the electrons in the SET, which can be at a much higher temperature than the substrate. We suggest that the noise is caused by electrons tunneling between the SET metal and nearby potential wells

Hybrid superconducting quantum magnetometer

A superconducting quantum magnetometer based on magnetic flux-driven modulation of the density of states of a proximized metallic nanowire is theoretically analyzed. With optimized geometrical and material parameters transfer functions up to a few mV/Phi_0 and intrinsic flux noise ~10^{-9}Phi_0 Hz^{-1/2} below 1 K are achievable. The opportunity to access single-spin detection joined with limited dissipation (of the order of ~ 10^{-14} W) make this magnetometer interesting for the investigation of the switching dynamics of molecules or individual magnetic nanoparticles.Comment: 6 pages, 6 color figures, added calculation of the Josephson current, published versio

Confined coherence and analytic properties of Green's functions

A simple model of noninteracting electrons with a separable one-body potential is used to discuss the possible pole structure of single particle Green's functions for fermions on unphysical sheets in the complex frequency plane as a function of the system parameters. The poles in the exact Green's function can cross the imaginary axis, in contrast to recent claims that such a behaviour is unphysical. As the Green's function of the model has the same functional form as an approximate Green's function of coupled Luttinger liquids no definite conclusions concerning the concept of "confined coherence" can be drawn from the locations of the poles of this Green's function.Comment: 3 pages, 3 figure

The limits of spatial resolution achievable using a 30kHz multibeam sonar: model predictions and field results

A Simrad EM300 multibeam sonar was used to attempt to resolve small (-5m high) targets in 450m of water. The targets had previously been surveyed using a deeply towed 59 kHz sidescan sonar. Using multisector active yaw, pitch and roll compensation, together with dynamically altering angular sectors, the sonar is capable of maintaining sounding densities of as tight as 10m spacing in these water depths. This is significantly smaller than the largest dimension of the projected beam footprints (1 6-64m). The observed data suggest that the targets are intermittently resolved. The field results compare well to the output of a numerical model which reproduces the imaging geometry. Possible variations in the imaging geometry are implemented in the model, comparing equiangular and equidistant beam spacings, differing angular sectors and all the different combinations of transmit and receive beam widths that are available for this model of sonar. While amplitude detection is significantly aliased by targets smaller than the across track beam footprint, under conditions where the signal to noise ratio is favorable, phase detection can be used to reduce the minimum size of target observed to about the scale of the across track beam width. Thus having the beam spacing at the scale is justifiable. The phase distortion due to smaller targets, however, is generally averaged out

The construction of narratives for Neolithic Scotland

This volume represents the publication of a highly successful conference held in 2003 to celebrate the contribution to Neolithic and Early Bronze Age studies of one of archaeology's finest synthesisers, Professor Stuart Piggott

‘O Lord, open thou our lips’: listeners’ experiences of BBC Radio 3’s Choral Evensong on The New Radio 3 Forum

This chapter examines the listening experiences shared by contributors to The New Radio 3 Forum on threads related to BBC Radio 3’s Choral Evensong. Focusing on the musical, liturgical, and spiritual content of the experiences, it argues that they represent a community of highly engaged, committed, experienced, and knowledgeable listeners. It also demonstrates that engagement with the forum is a key part of the extended listening experience for regular contributors. While listeners demonstrate a variety of musical preferences and attitudes towards religious matters, their loyalty to Choral Evensong is shown to override such differences, enabling them to engage in informed and opinionated debate. The chapter draws on studies of communication patterns and engagement in online special-interest groups, the internet’s shaping of musical fandom, and the nature of online Christian communities to argue that the committed listening community that has developed on the forum and the detailed and discursive nature of its interactions exist in a symbiotic and self-sustaining relationship. The richness of the listening experiences both generates the strong sense of community and is enabled and perpetuated by it

“And can it be”: Analysing the Words, Music, and Contexts of an Iconic Methodist Hymn

This paper interrogates the iconic status of Charles Wesley\u27s hymn And can it be within British Methodism. It examines words, music and context, arguing that it is the combination of these that is crucial to understanding the hymn\u27s status, and that such an approach may be more widely useful in hymnology. Through examination of the literary characteristics of the text, the musical settings associated with it throughout its history, and the ways in which it has been used within British Methodism, it reflects upon the hymn\u27s peculiar place in the spiritual life of the denomination, and how this reflects upon Methodism\u27s attitude to its heritage of hymnody