250 research outputs found
Renormalization group study of capacitively coupled double quantum dots
The numerical renormalization group is employed to study a double quantum
(DQD) dot system consisting of two equivalent single-level dots, each coupled
to its own lead and with a mutual capacitive coupling embodied in an interdot
interaction U', in addition to the intradot Coulomb interaction U. We focus on
the regime with two electrons on the DQD, and the evolution of the system on
increasing U'/U. The spin-Kondo effect arising for U'=0 (SU(2) x SU(2)) is
found to persist robustly with increasing U'/U, before a rapid but continuous
crossover to (a) the SU(4) point U'=U where charge and spin degrees of freedom
are entangled and the Kondo scale strongly enhanced; and then (b) a
charge-Kondo state, in which a charge-pseudospin is quenched on coupling to the
leads/conduction channels. A quantum phase transition of Kosterlitz-Thouless
type then occurs from this Fermi liquid, strong coupling (SC) phase, to a
broken symmetry, non-Fermi liquid charge ordered (CO) phase at a critical U'_c.
Our emphasis in this paper is on the structure, stability and flows between the
underlying RG fixed points, on the overall phase diagram in the (U,U')-plane
and evolution of the characteristic low-energy Kondo scale inherent to the SC
phase; and on static physical properties such as spin- and
charge-susceptibilities (staggered and uniform), including universality and
scaling behaviour in the strongly correlated regime. Some exact results for
associated Wilson ratios are also obtained.Comment: 27 pages, 12 figure
Pregnancy- and lactation related folate deficiency in South Africa - a case for folate food fortification
Objective. Characterisation of patients presenting with megaloblastic anaemia according to clinical, sociological, haematological and aetiological aspects of their disease, and use of these findings to increase awareness among clinicians and to make recommendations regarding changes in national health policy.Methods. This study included 104 patients presenting with megaloblastic anaemia to a large referral.hospital over a 1year period. Data were collected and analysed in terms of age, gender, parity, gravidity, duration of lactation, socioeconomic status, geographical origins, diet, previous haematinic treatment, clinical presentation and haematological measurements.Results. The most common cause of megaloblastic anaemia was pernicious anaemia or probable pernicious anaemia (50%), followed by pregnancy- and lactation-related folate deficiency (32%); of these patients, the majority (28) presented postpartum while lactating; 5 patients were in the immediate puerperal period of 6 weeks, and a further 16 were seen during the first year and 7 during the second year following' delivery. Only 4 patients were pregnant, and it is noteworthy that 2 of these were still lactating at 34 weeks' gestation.Conclusion. Pregnancy- and lactation-related folate deficiency up to 2 years after delivery remains a common cause of megaloblastic anaemia in South Africa. Certain communities in rural South Africa have recently been shown to have high incidences of both neural tube defects and folate deficiency. The fortification of a staple food (e.g. maize or flour) with folic acid is feasible, inexpensive, safe and likely to be beneficial. This practice should reduce the prevalences of megaloblastic anaemia in fertile women, neural tube defects, other congenital abnormalities, intra-uterine growthretardation, prematurity and possibly cardiovascular disease. There is urgent need for a national policy in this regard
Robust Henderson III estimators of variance components in the nested error model
Common methods for estimating variance components in Linear Mixed Models include Maximum Likelihood (ML) and Restricted Maximum Likelihood (REML). These methods are based on the strong assumption of multivariate normal distribution and it is well know that they are very sensitive to outlying observations with respect to any of the random components. Several robust altematives of these methods have been proposed (e.g. Fellner 1986, Richardson and Welsh 1995). In this work we present several robust alternatives based on the Henderson method III which do not rely on the normality assumption and provide explicit solutions for the variance components estimators. These estimators can later be used to derive robust estimators of regression coefficients. Finally, we describe an application of this procedure to small area estimation, in which the main target is the estimation of the means of areas or domains when the within-area sample sizes are small
Universal conductance enhancement and reduction of the two-orbital Kondo effect
We investigate theoretically the linear and nonlinear conductance through a
nanostructure with two-fold degenerate single levels, corresponding to the
transport through nanostructures such as a carbon nanotube, or double dot
systems with capacitive interaction. It is shown that the presence of the
interaction asymmetry between orbits/dots affects significantly the profile of
the linear conductance at finite temperature, and, of the nonlinear
conductance, particularly around half-filling, where the two-particle Kondo
effect occurs. Within the range of experimentally feasible parameters, the
SU(4) universal behavior is suggested, and comparison with relevant experiments
is made.Comment: 10 pages, 16 figure
Comparison of doctor and patient assessments of asthma control
INTRODUCTION: The objective of asthma management is to control the condition. However, world-wide surveys reveal that only 5% of asthmatics are well controlled. One reason for this phenomenon is the fact that patients and doctors consistently over-estimate control. This
study compared patient and doctor assessment of asthma control.
METHODS: A random sample of asthmatics was identified by practitioners in South Africa.
Patients completed an Asthma Control Test (ACT) and provided a list of medications currently being taken. The doctor also provided an assessment of control which was summarised into the
categories - ’not controlled’ and ’controlled’ and listed all medications prescribed.
RESULTS: The mean ACT score was 12.8 where doctors assessed the patients as being ‘not controlled’ and 20.7 where doctors assessed the patients as being ‘controlled’. Half of the patients classified themselves as being ‘not controlled’ (ACT score <20, category 1), while
doctors classified only 33% of patients as being ‘not controlled’. Although only 7% of patients disagreed with the doctor’s classification of ‘not controlled’, 29% disagreed with the doctor’s assessment of being ‘controlled’. There was a significant difference in ACT score between the sexes (p < 0.0001). Most therapeutic interventions (with the exception of combination products [ICS þ LABA]) performed poorly with regard to level of control.
CONCLUSION: This study suggests that asthma still appears to be relatively poorly controlled in South Africa, although levels of patient control appear to have improved compared to previous surveys, and confirms that physicians and patients differ in their assessments of asthma control.The study was funded by an unrestricted financial grant from Glaxo SmithKline
Repeated Plyometric Exercise Attenuates Blood Glucose in Healthy Adults
International Journal of Exercise Science 10(7): 1076-1084, 2017. Plyometric exercise is popular in commercial exercise programs aiming to maximize energy expenditure for weight loss. However, the effect of plyometric exercise on blood glucose is unknown. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of relatively high intensity plyometric exercise on blood glucose. Thirteen subjects (6 females age= 21.8 ± 1.0 yrs.; height= 163.7 ± 7.8 cm; mass= 60.8 ± 6.7 kg and 7 males age= 22.0 ± 2.6 yrs.; height= 182.3 ± 3.6 cm; mass= 87.4 ± 12.5 kg) volunteered to participate. Subjects completed two random conditions on two separate days, consisting of either five sets of 10 maximal effort countermovement squat jumps (SJ) with 50 seconds’ rest between sets or quiet sitting (SIT) for the time equated to the SJ duration (~4min). Immediately after each condition, subjects drank 75g of anhydrous glucose (CHO) in 100ml of water. Blood glucose measurements were taken via finger prick pre and immediately post SJ or SIT, and 5, 15, 30, and 60 min post. A 2x6 (condition x time) ANOVA revealed a significant interaction where SJ blood glucose was lower at 15 (114.0 ± 14.6 mg/dl) and 30 (142.1 ± 22.5 mg/dl) min compared to SIT (15min 130.8 ± 14.0 mg/dl and 30min 159.3 ± 21.0 mg/dl). The current plyometric protocol attenuated CHO-induced blood glucose at 15 and 30 min. This may be due to increased physiological stress applied to the muscles, thus increasing muscular glucose uptake
Thermal Symmetry Crossover and Universal Behaviors in Carbon Nanotube Dots
Motivated by recent experiments on electronic transport through a carbon
nanotube, we investigate the role of the intra- and inter-orbital Coulomb
interactions on the temperature evolution of the conductance. It is shown that
small amount (~10%) of asymmetry between these Coulomb repulsions substantially
deforms the conductance profile at finite temperature, particularly around
half-filling. The nature of such thermal symmetry crossover is elucidated.Comment: published version; 11pages, 4 figure
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