44 research outputs found

    Cavity-enhanced radiative emission rate in a single-photon-emitting diode operating at 0.5 GHz

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    We report the observation of a Purcell enhancement in the electroluminescence decay rate of a single quantum dot, embedded in a microcavity light-emitting-diode structure. Lateral confinement of the optical mode was achieved using an annulus of low-refractive-index aluminium oxide, formed by wet oxidation. The same layer acts as a current aperture, reducing the active area of the device without impeding the electrical properties of the p-i-n diode. This allowed single photon electroluminescence to be demonstrated at repetition rates up to 0.5 GHz.Comment: 11 pages, 4 Figures. To be published in New Journal of Physic

    Single electron-spin memory with a semiconductor quantum dot

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    We show storage of the circular polarisation of an optical field, transferring it to the spin-state of an individual electron confined in a single semiconductor quantum dot. The state is subsequently readout through the electronically-triggered emission of a single photon. The emitted photon shares the same polarisation as the initial pulse but has a different energy, making the transfer of quantum information between different physical systems possible. With an applied magnetic field of 2 Tesla, spin memory is preserved for at least 1000 times more than the exciton's radiative lifetime.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figure

    Patient-reported outcomes in the ProtecT randomized trial of clinically localized prostate cancer treatments: Study design, and baseline urinary, bowel and sexual function and quality of life

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    Objectives: To present the baseline patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) in the Prostate Testing for Cancer and Treatment (ProtecT) randomized trial comparing active monitoring, radical prostatectomy and external-beam conformal radiotherapy for localized prostate cancer and to compare results with other populations. Materials and Methods: A total of 1643 randomized men, aged 50-69 years and diagnosed with clinically localized disease identified by prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing, in nine UK cities in the period 1999-2009 were included. Validated PROMs for disease-specific (urinary, bowel and sexual function) and condition-specific impact on quality of life (Expanded Prostate Index Composite [EPIC], 2005 onwards; International Consultation on Incontinence Questionnaire-Urinary Incontinence [ICIQ-UI], 2001 onwards; the International Continence Society short-form male survey [ICSmaleSF]; anxiety and depression (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale [HADS]), generic mental and physical health (12-item short-form health survey [SF-12]; EuroQol quality-of-life survey, the EQ-5D-3L) were assessed at prostate biopsy clinics before randomization. Descriptive statistics are presented by treatment allocation and by men's age at biopsy and PSA testing time points for selected measures. Results: A total of 1438 participants completed biopsy questionnaires (88%) and 77-88% of these were analysed for individual PROMs. Fewer than 1% of participants were using pads daily (5/754). Storage lower urinary tract symptoms were frequent (e.g. nocturia 22%, 312/1423). Bowel symptoms were rare, except for loose stools (16%, 118/754). One third of participants reported erectile dysfunction (241/735) and for 16% (118/731) this was a moderate or large problem. Depression was infrequent (80/1399, 6%) but 20% of participants (278/1403) reported anxiety. Sexual function and bother were markedly worse in older men (65-70 years), whilst urinary bother and physical health were somewhat worse than in younger men (49-54 years, all P < 0.001). Bowel health, urinary function and depression were unaltered by age, whilst mental health and anxiety were better in older men (P < 0.001). Only minor differences existed in mental or physical health, anxiety and depression between PSA testing and biopsy assessments. Conclusion: The ProtecT trial baseline PROMs response rates were high. Symptom frequencies and generic quality of life were similar to those observed in populations screened for prostate cancer and control subjects without cancer

    Measurement of the inclusive isolated-photon cross section in pp collisions at √s = 13 TeV using 36 fb−1 of ATLAS data

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    The differential cross section for isolated-photon production in pp collisions is measured at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector at the LHC using an integrated luminosity of 36.1 fb. The differential cross section is presented as a function of the photon transverse energy in different regions of photon pseudorapidity. The differential cross section as a function of the absolute value of the photon pseudorapidity is also presented in different regions of photon transverse energy. Next-to-leading-order QCD calculations from Jetphox and Sherpa as well as next-to-next-to-leading-order QCD calculations from Nnlojet are compared with the measurement, using several parameterisations of the proton parton distribution functions. The predictions provide a good description of the data within the experimental and theoretical uncertainties. [Figure not available: see fulltext.

    Ten-year mortality, disease progression, and treatment-related side effects in men with localised prostate cancer from the ProtecT randomised controlled trial according to treatment received

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    Background The ProtecT trial reported intention-to-treat analysis of men with localised prostate cancer randomly allocated to active monitoring (AM), radical prostatectomy, and external beam radiotherapy. Objective To report outcomes according to treatment received in men in randomised and treatment choice cohorts. Design, setting, and participants This study focuses on secondary care. Men with clinically localised prostate cancer at one of nine UK centres were invited to participate in the treatment trial comparing AM, radical prostatectomy, and radiotherapy. Intervention Two cohorts included 1643 men who agreed to be randomised and 997 who declined randomisation and chose treatment. Outcome measurements and statistical analysis Analysis was carried out to assess mortality, metastasis and progression and health-related quality of life impacts on urinary, bowel, and sexual function using patient-reported outcome measures. Analysis was based on comparisons between groups defined by treatment received for both randomised and treatment choice cohorts in turn, with pooled estimates of intervention effect obtained using meta-analysis. Differences were estimated with adjustment for known prognostic factors using propensity scores. Results and limitations According to treatment received, more men receiving AM died of PCa (AM 1.85%, surgery 0.67%, radiotherapy 0.73%), whilst this difference remained consistent with chance in the randomised cohort (p = 0.08); stronger evidence was found in the exploratory analyses (randomised plus choice cohort) when AM was compared with the combined radical treatment group (p = 0.003). There was also strong evidence that metastasis (AM 5.6%, surgery 2.4%, radiotherapy 2.7%) and disease progression (AM 20.35%, surgery 5.87%, radiotherapy 6.62%) were more common in the AM group. Compared with AM, there were higher risks of sexual dysfunction (95% at 6 mo) and urinary incontinence (55% at 6 mo) after surgery, and of sexual dysfunction (88% at 6 mo) and bowel dysfunction (5% at 6 mo) after radiotherapy. The key limitations are the potential for bias when comparing groups defined by treatment received and changes in the protocol for AM during the lengthy follow-up required in trials of screen-detected PCa. Conclusions Analyses according to treatment received showed increased rates of disease-related events and lower rates of patient-reported harms in men managed by AM compared with men managed by radical treatment, and stronger evidence of greater PCa mortality in the AM group. Patient summary More than 95 out of every 100 men with low or intermediate risk localised prostate cancer do not die of prostate cancer within 10 yr, irrespective of whether treatment is by means of monitoring, surgery, or radiotherapy. Side effects on sexual and bladder function are better after active monitoring, but the risks of spreading of prostate cancer are more common

    Neuropsychiatric risk in children with intellectual disability of genetic origin: IMAGINE, a UK national cohort study

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    Background Children with intellectual disability frequently have multiple co-morbid neuropsychiatric conditions and poor physical health. Genomic testing is increasingly recommended as a first-line investigation for these children. We aim to determine the effect of genomics, inheritance, and socioeconomic deprivation on neuropsychiatric risk in children with intellectual disability of genetic origin as compared with the general population. Methods IMAGINE is a prospective cohort study using online mental health and medical assessments in a cohort of 3407 UK participants with intellectual disability and pathogenic genomic variants as identified by the UK's National Health Service (NHS). Our study is on a subset of these participants, including all children aged 4–19 years. We collected diagnostic genomic reports from NHS records and asked primary caregivers to provide an assessment of their child using the Development and Well-Being Assessment (DAWBA), the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), the Adaptive Behaviour Assessment System 3 (ABAS-3), and a medical history questionnaire. Each child was assigned a rank based on their postcode using the index of multiple deprivation (IMD). We compared the IMAGINE cohort with the 2017 National Survey of Children's Mental Health in England. The main outcomes of interest were mental health and neurodevelopment according to the DAWBA and SDQ. Findings We recruited 2770 children from the IMAGINE study between Oct 1, 2014 and June 30, 2019, of whom 2397 (86·5%) had a basic assessment of their mental health completed by their families and 1277 (46·1%) completed a medical history questionnaire. The mean age of participants was 9·2 years (SD 3·9); 1339 (55·9%) were boys and 1058 (44·1%) were girls. 355 (27·8%) of 1277 reported a seizure disorder and 814 (63·7%) reported movement or co-ordination problems. 1771 (73·9%) of 2397 participants had a pathogenic copy number variant (CNV) and 626 (26·1%) had a pathogenic single nucleotide variant (SNV). Participants were representative of the socioeconomic spectrum of the UK general population. The relative risk (RR) of co-occurring neuropsychiatric diagnoses, compared with the English national population, was high: autism spectrum disorder RR 29·2 (95% CI 23·9–36·5), ADHD RR 13·5 (95% CI 11·1–16·3). In children with a CNV, those with a familial variant tended to live in more socioeconomically deprived areas than those with a de novo variant. Both inheritance and socioeconomic deprivation contributed to neuropsychiatric risk in those with a CNV. Interpretation Children with genomic variants and intellectual disability are at an increased risk of neuropsychiatric difficulties. CNV variant inheritance and socioeconomic deprivation also contribute to the risk. Early genomic investigations of children with intellectual disability could facilitate the identification of the most vulnerable children. Additionally, harnessing parental expertise using online DAWBA assessments could rapidly identify children with exceptional needs to child mental health services

    Search for dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks in √s = 13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

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    A search for weakly interacting massive particle dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks is presented. Final states containing third-generation quarks and miss- ing transverse momentum are considered. The analysis uses 36.1 fb−1 of proton–proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at √s = 13 TeV in 2015 and 2016. No significant excess of events above the estimated backgrounds is observed. The results are in- terpreted in the framework of simplified models of spin-0 dark-matter mediators. For colour- neutral spin-0 mediators produced in association with top quarks and decaying into a pair of dark-matter particles, mediator masses below 50 GeV are excluded assuming a dark-matter candidate mass of 1 GeV and unitary couplings. For scalar and pseudoscalar mediators produced in association with bottom quarks, the search sets limits on the production cross- section of 300 times the predicted rate for mediators with masses between 10 and 50 GeV and assuming a dark-matter mass of 1 GeV and unitary coupling. Constraints on colour- charged scalar simplified models are also presented. Assuming a dark-matter particle mass of 35 GeV, mediator particles with mass below 1.1 TeV are excluded for couplings yielding a dark-matter relic density consistent with measurements

    Functional and quality of life outcomes of localised prostate cancer treatments (prostate testing for cancer and treatment [ProtecT] study)

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    Objective To investigate the functional and quality of life (QoL) outcomes of treatments for localised prostate cancer and inform treatment decision-making. Patients and Methods Men aged 50–69 years diagnosed with localised prostate cancer by prostate-specific antigen testing and biopsies at nine UK centres in the Prostate Testing for Cancer and Treatment (ProtecT) trial were randomised to, or chose one of, three treatments. Of 2565 participants, 1135 men received active monitoring (AM), 750 a radical prostatectomy (RP), 603 external-beam radiotherapy (EBRT) with concurrent androgen-deprivation therapy (ADT) and 77 low-dose-rate brachytherapy (BT, not a randomised treatment). Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) completed annually for 6 years were analysed by initial treatment and censored for subsequent treatments. Mixed effects models were adjusted for baseline characteristics using propensity scores. Results Treatment-received analyses revealed different impacts of treatments over 6 years. Men remaining on AM experienced gradual declines in sexual and urinary function with age (e.g., increases in erectile dysfunction from 35% of men at baseline to 53% at 6 years and nocturia similarly from 20% to 38%). Radical treatment impacts were immediate and continued over 6 years. After RP, 95% of men reported erectile dysfunction persisting for 85% at 6 years, and after EBRT this was reported by 69% and 74%, respectively (P < 0.001 compared with AM). After RP, 36% of men reported urinary leakage requiring at least 1 pad/day, persisting for 20% at 6 years, compared with no change in men receiving EBRT or AM (P < 0.001). Worse bowel function and bother (e.g., bloody stools 6% at 6 years and faecal incontinence 10%) was experienced by men after EBRT than after RP or AM (P < 0.001) with lesser effects after BT. No treatment affected mental or physical QoL. Conclusion Treatment decision-making for localised prostate cancer can be informed by these 6-year functional and QoL outcomes

    Search for single production of vector-like quarks decaying into Wb in pp collisions at s=8\sqrt{s} = 8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

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    Charged-particle distributions at low transverse momentum in s=13\sqrt{s} = 13 TeV pppp interactions measured with the ATLAS detector at the LHC

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