Spin-orbit hybrid entanglement of photons and quantum contextuality

We demonstrate electromagnetic quantum states of single photons and of correlated photon pairs exhibiting "hybrid" entanglement between spin and orbital angular momentum. These states are obtained from entangled photon pairs emitted by spontaneous parametric down conversion, by employing a $q$-plate for coupling the spin and orbital degrees of freedom of a photon. Entanglement and contextual quantum behavior (that is also non-local, in the case of photon pairs) is demonstrated by the reported violation of the Clauser-Horne-Shimony-Holt inequality. In addition a classical analog of the hybrid spin-orbit photonic entanglement is reported and discussed.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

The utilisation of public and private health care among Australian women with diabetes: Findings from the 45 and Up Study

Aim To describe the prevalence of health care utilisation and out-of-pocket expenditure associated with the management of diabetes among Australian women aged 45 years and older. Design Cross-sectional survey design. Methods The questionnaire was administered to 392 women (a cohort of the 45 and Up Study) reporting a diagnosis of diabetes between August and November 2016. It asked about the use of conventional medicine, complementary medicine (CM) and self-prescribed treatments for diabetes and associated out-of-pocket spending. Results Most women (88.3%; n = 346) consulted at least one health care practitioner in the previous 12 months for their diabetes; 84.6% (n = 332) consulted a doctor, 44.4% (n = 174) consulted an allied health practitioner, and 20.4% (n = 80) consulted a CM practitioner. On average, the combined annual out-of-pocket health care expenditure was AU$492.6 per woman, which extrapolated to approximately AU$252 million per annum. Of this total figure, approximately AU$70 million was spent on CM per annum. Conclusions Women with diabetes use a diverse range of health services and incur significant out-of-pocket expense to manage their health. The degree to which the health care services women received were coordinated, or addressed their needs and preferences, warrants further exploration. Limitations of this study include the use of self-report and inability to generalise findings to other populations

Lie symmetries for two-dimensional charged particle motion

We find the Lie point symmetries for non-relativistic two-dimensional charged particle motion. These symmetries comprise a quasi-invariance transformation, a time-dependent rotation, a time-dependent spatial translation and a dilation. The associated electromagnetic fields satisfy a system of first-order linear partial differential equations. This system is solved exactly, yielding four classes of electromagnetic fields compatible with Lie point symmetries

Emerging pneumococcal carriage serotypes in a high-risk population receiving universal 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine and 23-valent polysaccharide vaccine since 2001

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In Australia in June 2001, a unique pneumococcal vaccine schedule commenced for Indigenous infants; seven-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (7PCV) given at 2, 4, and 6 months of age and 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (23PPV) at 18 months of age. This study presents carriage serotypes following this schedule.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We conducted cross sectional surveys of pneumococcal carriage in Aboriginal children 0 to 6 years of age living in remote Aboriginal communities (RACs) in 2003 and 2005. Nasal secretions were collected and processed according to published methods.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>902 children (mean age 25 months) living in 29 communities in 2003 and 818 children (mean age 35 months) in 17 communities in 2005 were enrolled. 87% children in 2003 and 96% in 2005 had received two or more doses of 7PCV. From 2003 to 2005, pneumococcal carriage was reduced from 82% to 76% and reductions were apparent in all age groups; 7PCV-type carriage was reduced from 11% to 8%, and 23PPV-non-7PCV-type carriage from 31% to 25% respectively. Thus non-23PPV-type carriage increased from 57% to 67%. All these changes were statistically significant, as were changes for some specific serotypes. Shifts could not be attributed to vaccination alone. The top 10 of 40 serotypes identified were (in descending order) 16F, 19A, 11A, 6C, 23B, 19F, 6A, 35B, 6B, 10A and 35B. Carriage of penicillin non-susceptible (MIC > = 0.12 μg/mL) strains (15% overall) was detected in serotypes (descending order) 19A, 19F, 6B, 16F, 11A, 9V, 23B, and in 4 additional serotypes. Carriage of azithromycin resistant (MIC > = 2 μg/mL) strains (5% overall), was detected in serotypes (descending order) 23B, 17F, 9N, 6B, 6A, 11A, 23F, and in 10 additional serotypes including 6C.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Pneumococcal carriage remains high (~80%) in this vaccinated population. Uptake of both pneumococcal vaccines increased, and carriage was reduced between 2003 and 2005. Predominant serotypes in combined years were 16F, 19A, 11A, 6C and 23B. Antimicrobial non-susceptibility was detected in these and 17 additional serotypes. Shifts in serotype-specific carriage suggest a need more research to clarify the association between pneumococcal vaccination and carriage at the serotype level.</p

Tankyrase inhibition sensitizes cells to CDK4 blockade

Tankyrase (TNKS) 1/2 are positive regulators of WNT signaling by controlling the activity of the ss-catenin destruction complex. TNKS inhibitors provide an opportunity to suppress hyperactive WNT signaling in tumors, however, they have shown limited anti-proliferative activity as a monotherapy in human cancer cell lines. Here we perform a kinome-focused CRISPR screen to identify potential effective drug combinations with TNKS inhibition. We show that the loss of CDK4, but not CDK6, synergizes with TNKS1/2 blockade to drive G1 cell cycle arrest and senescence. Through precise modelling of cancer-associated mutations using cytidine base editors, we show that this therapeutic approach is absolutely dependent on suppression of canonical WNT signaling by TNKS inhibitors and is effective in cells from multiple epithelial cancer types. Together, our results suggest that combined WNT and CDK4 inhibition might provide a potential therapeutic strategy for difficult-to-treat epithelial tumors

How long before the end of inflation were observable perturbations produced?

We reconsider the issue of the number of e-foldings before the end of inflation at which observable perturbations were generated. We determine a plausible upper limit on that number for the standard cosmology which is around 60, with the expectation that the actual value will be up to 10 below this. We also note a special property of the $\lambda \phi^4$ model which reduces the uncertainties in that case and favours a higher value, giving a fairly definite prediction of 64 e-foldings for that model. We note an extreme (and highly implausible) situation where the number of e-foldings can be even higher, possibly up to 100, and discuss the shortcomings of quantifying inflation by e-foldings rather than by the change in $aH$. Finally, we discuss the impact of non-standard evolution between the end of inflation and the present, showing that again the expected number of e-foldings can be modified, and in some cases significantly increased.Comment: 7 pages RevTeX4 file with one figure incorporated. Minor updates to match version accepted by Physical Review

Low-Background In-Trap Decay Spectroscopy with TITAN at TRIUMF

An in-trap decay spectroscopy setup has been developed and constructed for use with the TITAN facility at TRIUMF. The goal of this device is to observe weak electron-capture (EC) branching ratios for the odd-odd intermediate nuclei in the $\beta\beta$ decay process. This apparatus consists of an up-to 6 Tesla, open-access spectroscopy ion-trap, surrounded radially by up to 7 planar Si(Li) detectors which are separated from the trap by thin Be windows. This configuration provides a significant increase in sensitivity for the detection of low-energy photons by providing backing-free ion storage and eliminating charged-particle-induced backgrounds. An intense electron beam is also employed to increase the charge-states of the trapped ions, thus providing storage times on the order of minutes, allowing for decay-spectroscopy measurements. The technique of multiple ion-bunch stacking was also recently demonstrated, which further extends the measurement possibilities of this apparatus. The current status of the facility and initial results from a $^{116}$In measurement are presented.Comment: Proceedings for the 2nd International Conference on Advances in Radioactive Isotope Science (ARIS2014

Large dielectric tuning and microwave phase shift at low electric field in epitaxial Ba0.5Sr0.5TiO3 on SrTiO3

Dielectric properties of annealed and as-grown ferroelectricBa0.5Sr0.5TiO3 (BST) grown by pulsed laser deposition on sputtered BST seed layers on strontium titanate (STO) substrates were investigated at microwave frequencies in the realm of tunability of its dielectric constant as well as phase shifters based on this material. The as-grown layers were nearly fully relaxed with measured lattice parameters nearly identical to those of bulk BST. The tuning of the relative dielectric constant (∼1750 at zero bias at 10 GHz) of the annealed BST was found to be as high as 59% and 56% at 10 and 19 GHz, respectively. The analysis of the loss in the BST results in a measured tan δ of 0.02 for the annealed as well as the unannealed films at a frequency of 18 GHz. Phase shifters also exhibited high tuning with differential phase shift figures of merit of 35 and 55°/dB at a field of 60 kV/cm at 10 and 19 GHz, respectively. Serendipitously, most of the tuning occurs at low fields, and thus we propose a new figure of merit, taking into account the amplitude of applied electric field in order to achieve the phase shift. In this new realm we achieved the values of this overall figure of merit of 1.2 and 1.8° cm/dB kV at 10 and 19 GHz, respectively, using an applied electric field of only 10 kV/cm