Remarkably robust and correlated coherence and antiferromagnetism in (Ce1−x_{1-x}Lax_x)Cu2_2Ge2_2

We present magnetic susceptibility, resistivity, specific heat, and thermoelectric power measurements on (Ce$_{1-x}$La$_x$)Cu$_2$Ge$_2$ single crystals (0 $\leq x\leq$ 1). With La substitution, the antiferromagnetic temperature $T_N$ is suppressed in an almost linear fashion and moves below 0.36 K, the base temperature of our measurements for $x>$ 0.8. Surprisingly, in addition to robust antiferromagnetism, the system also shows low temperature coherent scattering below $T_{coh}$ up to $\sim$ 0.9 of La, indicating a small percolation limit $\sim$ 9$\%$ of Ce that separates a coherent regime from a single-ion Kondo impurity regime. $T_{coh}$ as a function of magnetic field was found to have different behavior for $x$ 0.9. Remarkably, $(T_{coh})^2$ at $H$ = 0 was found to be linearly proportional to $T_N$. The jump in the magnetic specific heat $\delta C_{m}$ at $T_N$ as a function of $T_K/T_N$ for (Ce$_{1-x}$La$_x$)Cu$_2$Ge$_2$ follows the theoretical prediction based on the molecular field calculation for the $S$ = 1/2 resonant level model

Notorious places: image, reputation, stigma: the role of newspapers in area reputations for social housing estates

This paper reviews work in several disciplines to distinguish between image, reputation and stigma. It also shows that there has been little research on the process by which area reputations are established and sustained through transmission processes. This paper reports on research into the portrayal of two social housing estates in the printed media over an extended period of time (14 years). It was found that negative and mixed coverage of the estates dominated, with the amount of positive coverage being very small. By examining the way in which dominant themes were used by newspapers in respect of each estate, questions are raised about the mode of operation of the press and the communities' collective right to challenge this. By identifying the way regeneration stories are covered and the nature of the content of positive stories, lessons are drawn for programmes of area transformation. The need for social regeneration activities is identified as an important ingredient for changing deprived-area reputations

Rates of production and utilisation of lactate by microbial communities from the human colon

13 páginas, 7 tablas, 3 figuras.Lactate metabolism was studied in mixed bacterial communities using single-stage continuous flow fermentors inoculated with faecal slurries from four different volunteers and run for 6 days at pH 5.5 and 6.0, using carbohydrates, mainly starch, as substrates. A continuous infusion of [U-13C]starch and l-[3-13C]lactate was performed on day 5 and a bolus injection of l-[3-13C]lactate plus dl-lactate on day 6. Short-chain fatty acids and lactate concentrations plus enrichments and numbers of lactate-producing and -utilizing bacteria on day 5 were measured. Faecal samples were also collected weekly over a 3-month period to inoculate 24-h batch culture incubation at pH 5.9 and 6.5 with carbohydrates alone or with 35 mmol L-1 lactate. In the fermentors, the potential lactate disposal rates were more than double the formation rates, and lactate concentrations usually remained below detection. Lactate formation was greater (P < 0.05) at the lower pH, with a similar tendency for utilization. Up to 20% of butyrate production was derived from lactate. In batch cultures, lactate was also efficiently used at both pH values, especially at 6.5, although volunteer and temporal variability existed. Under healthy gut environmental conditions, bacterial lactate disposal seems to exceed production markedly.The Rowett Research Institute and Biomathematics and Statistics Scotland are supported by the Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Department. A. Belenguer received financial support from Spanish Ministry of Education and Science

A Study of Lyman-Alpha Quasar Absorbers in the Nearby Universe

Spectroscopy of ten quasars obtained with the Goddard High Resolution Spectrograph (GHRS) of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) is presented. A clustering analysis reveals an excess of nearest neighbor line pairs on velocity scales of 250-750 km/s at a 95-98% confidence level. The hypothesis that the absorbers are randomly distributed in velocity space can be ruled out at the 99.8% confidence level. No two-point correlation power is detected (xi < 1 with 95% confidence). Lyman-alpha absorbers have correlation amplitudes on scales of 250-500 km/s at least 4-5 times smaller than the correlation amplitude of bright galaxies. A detailed comparison between absorbers in nearby galaxies is carried out on a limited subset of 11 Lyman- alpha absorbers where the galaxy sample in a large contiguous volume is complete to M_B = -16. Absorbers lie preferentially in regions of intermediate galaxy density but it is often not possible to uniquely assign a galaxy counterpart to an absorber. This sample provides no explicit support for the hypothesis that absorbers are preferentially associated with the halos of luminous galaxies. We have made a preliminary comparison of the absorption line properties and environments with the results of hydrodynamic simulations. The results suggest that the Lyman-alpha absorbers represent diffuse or shocked gas in the IGM that traces the cosmic web of large scale structure. (abridged)Comment: 36 pages of text, 15 figures, 4 tables, 36 file

A study protocol for a randomised crossover study evaluating the effect of diets differing in carbohydrate quality on ileal content and appetite regulation in healthy humans

A major component of the digesta reaching the colon from the distal ileum is carbohydrate. This carbohydrate is subject to microbial fermentation and can radically change bacterial populations in the colon and the metabolites they produce, particularly short-chain fatty acids (SCFA). However, very little is currently known about the forms and levels of carbohydrate in the ileum and the composition of the ileal microbiota in humans. Most of our current understanding of carbohydrate that is not absorbed by the small intestine comes from ileostomy models, which may not reflect the physiology of an intact gastrointestinal tract. We will investigate how ileal content changes depending on diet using a randomised crossover study in healthy humans. Participants will be inpatients at the research facility for three separate 4-day visits. During each visit, participants will consume one of three diets, which differ in carbohydrate quality: 1) low-fibre refined diet; 2) high-fibre diet with intact cellular structures; 3) high-fibre diet where the cellular structures have been disrupted (e.g. milling, blending). On day 1, a nasoenteric tube will be placed into the distal ileum and its position confirmed under fluoroscopy. Ileal samples will be collected via the nasoenteric tube and metabolically profiled, which will determine the amount and type of carbohydrate present, and the composition of the ileal microbiota will be measured. Blood samples will be collected to assess circulating hormones and metabolites. Stool samples will be collected to assess faecal microbiota composition. Subjective appetite measures will be collected using visual analogue scales. Breath hydrogen will be measured in real-time as a marker of intestinal fermentation. Finally, an continuous fermentation model will be inoculated with ileal fluid in order to understand the shift in microbial composition and SCFA produced in the colon following the different diets. ISRCTN11327221. [Abstract copyright: Copyright: © 2019 Byrne CS et al.

Expression of Cellulosome Components and Type IV Pili within the Extracellular Proteome of Ruminococcus flavefaciens 007

Funding: The Rowett Institute receives funding from SG-RESAS (Scottish Government Rural and Environmental Science and Analysis Service). Visit of M.V. was supported by research grants from FEMS and Slovene human resources development and scholarship funds. Parts of this work were funded by grants from the United States-Israel Binational Science Foundation (BSF), Jerusalem, Israel – BSF Energy Research grant to E.A.B. and B.A.W. and Regular BSF Research grants to R.L. and B.A.W. – and by the Israel Science Foundation (grant nos 966/09 and 159/07 291/08). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.Peer reviewedPublisher PD