Transverse phase-locking in fully frustrated Josephson junction arrays: a new type of fractional giant steps

We study, analytically and numerically, phase locking of driven vortex lattices in fully-frustrated Josephson junction arrays at zero temperature. We consider the case when an ac current is applied {\it perpendicular} to a dc current. We observe phase locking, steps in the current-voltage characteristics, with a dependence on external ac-drive amplitude and frequency qualitatively different from the Shapiro steps, observed when the ac and dc currents are applied in parallel. Further, the critical current increases with increasing transverse ac-drive amplitude, while it decreases for longitudinal ac-drive. The critical current and the phase-locked current step width, increase quadratically with (small) amplitudes of the ac-drive. For larger amplitudes of the transverse ac-signal, we find windows where the critical current is hysteretic, and windows where phase locking is suppressed due to dynamical instabilities. We characterize the dynamical states around the phase-locking interference condition in the $IV$ curve with voltage noise, Lyapunov exponents and Poincar\'e sections. We find that zero temperature phase-locking behavior in large fully frustrated arrays is well described by an effective four plaquette model.Comment: 12 pages, 11 figure

Physical activity intervention in cancer survivors : a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

Proffered paper session: Information, patients and the public/ Survivorship and end of life careBackground The aim was to systematically review all published randomized controlled trials (RCTs) which tested the effect of a physical activity intervention in adult cancer survivors after the main cancer treatment. Method Relevant RCTs were located by: (1) systematic searching of electronic databases (PUBMED and Google Scholar) using cancer-related and exercise-related search terms; and (2) scanning the references of retrieved RCTs and relevant reviews. All relevant RCTs were retrieved and assessed to determine if they met the selection criteria. Data extraction was independently performed by two investigators and followed by a discussion to reach consensus. The main outcome measures were cancer outcome (survival and recurrence), quality of life (QoL), body composition and functional capacity. Results A total of 2,447 citations were identified of which 170 potentially relevant ones were examined in detail. Forty-five papers met the selection criteria of which 41 reported data on at least one relevant outcome. These encompassed 18 papers not included in previously published reviews. Twenty-six papers (63.4%) were on breast cancers and the remaining papers were on other cancers. There was a paucity of published data on the effects of physical activity interventions on cancer outcome. Various instruments were used to assess the other outcomes (QoL and functional capacity) limiting the pooling of data for meta-analysis. Estimates of the effects of physical activity interventions on QoL, body composition and functional capacity were determined. Potential determinants of the effect heterogeneity across studies were evaluated. Conclusion Moderately-strong-to-strong evidence was found for a positive effect of physical activity interventions on QoL of adult cancer survivors following main cancer treatment. Clinically meaningful associations were identified between such interventions and improved functional capacity. The observed heterogeneity in study design and outcome parameters highlighted the need for the development of a standardized protocol to facilitate meta-analysis on the effects of physical activity in cancer survivors. Acknowledgements This study has been supported by WCRF UK, WCRF International and WCRF Hong Kong

Inverted Leidenfrost-like Effect during Condensation

Water droplets condensing on solidified phase change materials such as benzene and cyclohexane near their melting point show in-plane jumping and continuous ``crawling'' motion. The jumping drop motion has been tentatively explained as an outcome of melting and refreezing of the materials surface beneath the droplets and can be thus considered as an inverted Leidenfrost-like effect (in the classical case vapor is generated from a droplet on a hot substrate). We present here a detailed investigation of jumping movements using high-speed imaging and static crosssectional cryogenic focused ion beam scanning electron microscope imaging. Our results show that drop motion is induced by a thermocapillary (Marangoni) effect. The in-plane jumping motion can be delineated to occur in two stages. The first stage occurs on a millisecond time scale and comprises melting the substrate due to drop condensation. This results in droplet depinning, partial spreading, and thermocapillary movement until freezing of the cyclohexane film. The second stage occurs on a second time scale and comprises relaxation motion of the drop contact line (change in drop contact radius and contact angle) after substrate freezing. When the cyclohexane film cannot freeze, the droplet continuously glides on the surface, resulting in the crawling motion

Inequalities in the use of secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease by socioeconomic status: evidence from the PURE observational study

Background: There is little evidence on the use of secondary prevention medicines for cardiovascular disease by socioeconomic groups in countries at different levels of economic development. Methods: We assessed use of antiplatelet, cholesterol, and blood-pressure-lowering drugs in 8492 individuals with self-reported cardiovascular disease from 21 countries enrolled in the Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiology (PURE) study. Defining one or more drugs as a minimal level of secondary prevention, wealth-related inequality was measured using the Wagstaff concentration index, scaled from −1 (pro-poor) to 1 (pro-rich), standardised by age and sex. Correlations between inequalities and national health-related indicators were estimated. Findings: The proportion of patients with cardiovascular disease on three medications ranged from 0% in South Africa (95% CI 0–1·7), Tanzania (0–3·6), and Zimbabwe (0–5·1), to 49·3% in Canada (44·4–54·3). Proportions receiving at least one drug varied from 2·0% (95% CI 0·5–6·9) in Tanzania to 91·4% (86·6–94·6) in Sweden. There was significant (p<0·05) pro-rich inequality in Saudi Arabia, China, Colombia, India, Pakistan, and Zimbabwe. Pro-poor distributions were observed in Sweden, Brazil, Chile, Poland, and the occupied Palestinian territory. The strongest predictors of inequality were public expenditure on health and overall use of secondary prevention medicines. Interpretation: Use of medication for secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease is alarmingly low. In many countries with the lowest use, pro-rich inequality is greatest. Policies associated with an equal or pro-poor distribution include free medications and community health programmes to support adherence to medications. Funding: Full funding sources listed at the end of the paper (see Acknowledgments)

Cotton in the new millennium: advances, economics, perceptions and problems

Cotton is the most significant natural fibre and has been a preferred choice of the textile industry and consumers since the industrial revolution began. The share of man-made fibres, both regenerated and synthetic fibres, has grown considerably in recent times but cotton production has also been on the rise and accounts for about half of the fibres used for apparel and textile goods. To cotton’s advantage, the premium attached to the presence of cotton fibre and the general positive consumer perception is well established, however, compared to commodity man-made fibres and high performance fibres, cotton has limitations in terms of its mechanical properties but can help to overcome moisture management issues that arise with performance apparel during active wear. This issue of Textile Progress aims to: i. Report on advances in cotton cultivation and processing as well as improvements to conventional cotton cultivation and ginning. The processing of cotton in the textile industry from fibre to finished fabric, cotton and its blends, and their applications in technical textiles are also covered. ii. Explore the economic impact of cotton in different parts of the world including an overview of global cotton trade. iii. Examine the environmental perception of cotton fibre and efforts in organic and genetically-modified (GM) cotton production. The topic of naturally-coloured cotton, post-consumer waste is covered and the environmental impacts of cotton cultivation and processing are discussed. Hazardous effects of cultivation, such as the extensive use of pesticides, insecticides and irrigation with fresh water, and consequences of the use of GM cotton and cotton fibres in general on the climate are summarised and the effects of cotton processing on workers are addressed. The potential hazards during cotton cultivation, processing and use are also included. iv. Examine how the properties of cotton textiles can be enhanced, for example, by improving wrinkle recovery and reducing the flammability of cotton fibre

Inheritance of deleterious mutations at both BRCA1 and BRCA2 in an international sample of 32,295 women

Background: Most BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation carriers have inherited a single (heterozygous) mutation. Transheterozygotes (TH) who have inherited deleterious mutations in both BRCA1 and BRCA2 are rare, and the consequences of transheterozygosity are poorly understood. Methods: From 32,295 female BRCA1/2 mutation carriers, we identified 93 TH (0.3 %). "Cases" were defined as TH, and "controls" were single mutations at BRCA1 (SH1) or BRCA2 (SH2). Matched SH1 "controls" carried a BRCA1 mutation found in the TH "case". Matched SH2 "controls" carried a BRCA2 mutation found in the TH "case". After matching the TH carriers with SH1 or SH2, 91 TH were matched to 9316 SH1, and 89 TH were matched to 3370 SH2. Results: The majority of TH (45.2 %) involved the three common Jewish mutations. TH were more likely than SH1 and SH2 women to have been ever diagnosed with breast cancer (BC; p = 0.002). TH were more likely to be diagnosed with ovarian cancer (OC) than SH2 (p = 0.017), but not SH1. Age at BC diagnosis was the same in TH vs. SH1 (p = 0.231), but was on average 4.5 years younger in TH than in SH2 (p < 0.001). BC in TH was more likely to be estrogen receptor (ER) positive (p = 0.010) or progesterone receptor (PR) positive (p = 0.013) than in SH1, but less likely to be ER positive (p < 0.001) or PR positive (p = 0.012) than SH2. Among 15 tumors from TH patients, there was no clear pattern of loss of heterozygosity (LOH) for BRCA1 or BRCA2 in either BC or OC. Conclusions: Our observations suggest that clinical TH phenotypes resemble SH1. However, TH breast tumor marker characteristics are phenotypically intermediate to SH1 and SH2

RANTES/CCL5 and risk for coronary events: Results from the MONICA/KORA Augsburg case-cohort, Athero-express and CARDIoGRAM studies

Background: The chemokine RANTES (regulated on activation, normal T-cell expressed and secreted)/CCL5 is involved in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease in mice, whereas less is known in humans. We hypothesised that its relevance for atherosclerosis should be reflected by associations between CCL5 gene variants, RANTES serum concentrations and protein levels in atherosclerotic plaques and risk for coronary events. Methods and Findings: We conducted a case-cohort study within the population-based MONICA/KORA Augsburg studies. Baseline RANTES serum levels were measured in 363 individuals with incident coronary events and 1,908 non-cases (mean follow-up: 10.2±

The Public Repository of Xenografts enables discovery and randomized phase II-like trials in mice

More than 90% of drugs with preclinical activity fail in human trials, largely due to insufficient efficacy. We hypothesized that adequately powered trials of patient-derived xenografts (PDX) in mice could efficiently define therapeutic activity across heterogeneous tumors. To address this hypothesis, we established a large, publicly available repository of well-characterized leukemia and lymphoma PDXs that undergo orthotopic engraftment, called the Public Repository of Xenografts (PRoXe). PRoXe includes all de-identified information relevant to the primary specimens and the PDXs derived from them. Using this repository, we demonstrate that large studies of acute leukemia PDXs that mimic human randomized clinical trials can characterize drug efficacy and generate transcriptional, functional, and proteomic biomarkers in both treatment-naive and relapsed/refractory disease