Dimensionality of spin modulations in 1/8-doped lanthanum cuprates from the perspective of NQR and muSR experiments

We investigate the dimensionality of inhomogeneous spin modulation patterns in the cuprate family of high-temperature superconductors with particular focus on 1/8-doped lanthanum cuprates. We compare one-dimensional stripe modulation pattern with two-dimensional checkerboard of spin vortices in the context of nuclear quadrupole resonance(NQR) and muon spin rotation(muSR) experiments. In addition, we also consider the third pattern, a two-dimensional superposition of spin spirals. Overall, we have found that none of the above patterns leads to a consistent interpretation of the two types of experiments considered. This, in particular, implies that the spin vortex checkerboard cannot be ruled out on the basis of available NQR/muSR experimental results.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figure

The Use of Picture Cards to Elicit Postgraduate Dental Student Feedback

The aim of this study was to elicit information about the use of picture cards to stimulate student feedback following a postgraduate dental course. Twenty-nine general dental practitioners (GDPs) volunteered for the study. Following an explanation of how this style of feedback worked, students were asked to choose a picture card from those available and use that image to stimulate their feedback. An independent interviewer introduced the topic and gathered comments in the form of qualitative data, generated by pre-formed questions. 93% (n = 26) questionnaires were completed and returned. 77% (n = 20) GDPs reported enjoying giving their feedback by ‘picture card’ technique; 83% (n = 20) reported this form of feedback stimulated their thoughts. Qualitative data were analysed thematically. Some GDPs felt the picture cards helped them formulate their feedback, others felt being able to give feedback to a third party they did not know was beneficial and giving feedback as a group was helpful. This novel approach of using picture cards to stimulate feedback was well received by these GDPs. A mixed result as to the value of this style of feedback was evident. A group feedback session facilitated by a stranger was considered to be a valuable approach to take

MGP versus Kochen-Specker condition in hidden variables theories

Hidden variables theories for quantum mechanics are usually assumed to satisfy the KS condition. The Bell-Kochen-Specker theorem then shows that these theories are necessarily contextual. But the KS condition can be criticized from an operational viewpoint, which suggests that a weaker condition (MGP) should be adopted in place of it. This leads one to introduce a class of hidden parameters theories in which contextuality can, in principle, be avoided, since the proofs of the Bell-Kochen-Specker theorem break down. A simple model recently provided by the author for an objective interpretation of quantum mechanics can be looked at as a noncontextual hidden parameters theory, which shows that such theories actually exist.Comment: 10 pages, new updated footnotes and quotation

Telescopic actions

A group action H on X is called "telescopic" if for any finitely presented group G, there exists a subgroup H' in H such that G is isomorphic to the fundamental group of X/H'. We construct examples of telescopic actions on some CAT[-1] spaces, in particular on 3 and 4-dimensional hyperbolic spaces. As applications we give new proofs of the following statements: (1) Aitchison's theorem: Every finitely presented group G can appear as the fundamental group of M/J, where M is a compact 3-manifold and J is an involution which has only isolated fixed points; (2) Taubes' theorem: Every finitely presented group G can appear as the fundamental group of a compact complex 3-manifold.Comment: +higher dimension

Transverse Demagnetization Dynamics of a Unitary Fermi Gas

Understanding the quantum dynamics of strongly interacting fermions is a problem relevant to diverse forms of matter, including high-temperature superconductors, neutron stars, and quark-gluon plasma. An appealing benchmark is offered by cold atomic gases in the unitary limit of strong interactions. Here we study the dynamics of a transversely magnetized unitary Fermi gas in an inhomogeneous magnetic field. We observe the demagnetization of the gas, caused by diffusive spin transport. At low temperatures, the diffusion constant saturates to the conjectured quantum-mechanical lower bound $\simeq \hbar/m$, where $m$ is the particle mass. The development of pair correlations, indicating the transformation of the initially non-interacting gas towards a unitary spin mixture, is observed by measuring Tan's contact parameter.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures. Accepted versio

Is testosterone the key to sex differences in human behaviour?

A common assumption, which I refer to as the ‘Testosterone Rex’ view, is that testosterone is a proximal tool of distal evolutionary processes, acting via the brain (prenatally, then from pubescence) to shape sex differences in behaviour that would have been differentially reproductively advantageous for men versus women in our ancestral past. Joe, as you put it in your book Testosterone: Sex, power and the will to win, ‘for [male] reproduction to be successful, testosterone has to act on many parts of the male to make him fit for the competitive world of male sexuality’. So, for example, males’ greater testosterone exposure predisposes them to be more risk-taking and competitive than females – an idea sometimes called on to help explain gender gaps in risky and competitive occupations, a category which happens to include most high-status and well-remunerated roles

Hepatosplenic Gamma/Delta T-Cell Lymphoma Masquerading as Alcoholic Hepatitis and Methadone Withdrawal

Hepatosplenic gamma/delta T-cell lymphoma is a rare neoplasm of mature gamma/delta T-cells with sinusoidal infiltration of spleen, liver, and bone marrow. Patients are predominantly adolescent and young adult males and usually present with marked hepatosplenomegaly. Pancytopenia is another common finding. Despite an initial response to treatment, patients have a median survival of one to two years. In this report, we document a case of alcoholic hepatitis and methadone withdrawal masquerading unsuspected, hepatosplenic gamma/delta T-cell lymphoma with unusual CD20 positivity

The Bell Theorem as a Special Case of a Theorem of Bass

The theorem of Bell states that certain results of quantum mechanics violate inequalities that are valid for objective local random variables. We show that the inequalities of Bell are special cases of theorems found ten years earlier by Bass and stated in full generality by Vorob'ev. This fact implies precise necessary and sufficient mathematical conditions for the validity of the Bell inequalities. We show that these precise conditions differ significantly from the definition of objective local variable spaces and as an application that the Bell inequalities may be violated even for objective local random variables.Comment: 15 pages, 2 figure