Transport Properties of Carbon Nanotube C60_{60} Peapods

We measure the conductance of carbon nanotube peapods from room temperature down to 250mK. Our devices show both metallic and semiconducting behavior at room temperature. At the lowest temperatures, we observe single electron effects. Our results suggest that the encapsulated C$_{60}$ molecules do not introduce substantial backscattering for electrons near the Fermi level. This is remarkable given that previous tunneling spectroscopy measurements show that encapsulated C$_{60}$ strongly modifies the electronic structure of a nanotube away from the Fermi level.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures. This is one of two manuscripts replacing the one orginally submitted as arXiv:cond-mat/0606258. The other one is arXiv:0704.3641 [cond-mat

Trichinae Certification in the United States Pork Industry

We report here on progress in the Trichinae Certification pilot program. This program uses an on-farm auditing system to document good production practices (GPPs) for swine relative to the risk of exposure to Trichinella spiralis. The pilot phase of this program continues while regulations to establish it as an official USDA program are being developed. Launch of the Trichinae Certification Program in the United States is expected to take place when regulations are finalized within the next year. The Trichinella certification program establishes a process for ensuring the quality and safety of animal-derived food products from the farm through slaughter

Mars Rover Sample Return: A sample collection and analysis strategy for exobiology

For reasons defined elsewhere it is reasonable to search for biological signatures, both chemical and morphological, of extinct life on Mars. Life on Earth requries the presence of liquid water, therefore, it is important to explore sites on Mars where standing bodies of water may have once existed. Outcrops of layered deposits within the Valles Marineris appear to be ancient lake beds. Because the outcrops are well exposed, relatively shallow core samples would be very informative. The most important biological signature to detect would be organics, microfossils, or larger stromato-like structures, although the presence of cherts, carbonates, clays, and shales would be significant. In spite of the limitations of current robotics and pattern recognition, and the limitations of rover power, computation, Earth communication bandwidth, and time delays, a partial scenario was developed to implement such a scientific investigation. The rover instrumentation and the procedures and decisions and IR spectrometer are described in detail. Preliminary results from a collaborative effort are described, which indicate the rover will be able to autonomously detect stratification, and hence will ease the interpretation burden and lead to greater scientific productivity during the rover's lifetime

Time-resolved broadband analysis of slow-light propagation and superluminal transmission of electromagnetic waves in three-dimensional photonic crystals

A time-resolved analysis of the amplitude and phase of THz pulses propagating through three-dimensional photonic crystals is presented. Single-cycle pulses of THz radiation allow measurements over a wide frequency range, spanning more than an octave below, at and above the bandgap of strongly dispersive photonic crystals. Transmission data provide evidence for slow group velocities at the photonic band edges and for superluminal transmission at frequencies in the gap. Our experimental results are in good agreement with finite-difference-time-domain simulations.Comment: 7 pages, 11 figure

The U.S. Trichinae Certification Program

In the United States, the prevalence of Trichinella in pigs has dropped sharply over the past 50 years as a result of changes in swine production practices. Because modern pork-production systems have all but eliminated Trichinella as a food-safety risk, the U.S. has developed certification as an alternative to individual carcass testing to assure pork safety

Doing challenging research studies in a patient centred way: qualitative study to inform a randomised controlled trial in the paediatric emergency care setting

Objective: To inform the design of a randomised controlled trial (called EcLiPSE) to improve the treatment of children with convulsive status epilepticus (CSE). EcLiPSE requires the use of a controversial deferred consent process. Design: Qualitative interview and focus group study. Setting: 8 UK support groups for parents of children who have chronic or acute health conditions and experience of paediatric emergency care. Participants: 17 parents, of whom 11 participated in telephone interviews (10 mothers, 1 father) and 6 in a focus group (5 mothers, 1 father). 6 parents (35%) were bereaved and 7 (41%) had children who had experienced seizures, including CSE. Results: Most parents had not heard of deferred consent, yet they supported its use to enable the progress of emergency care research providing a child's safety was not compromised by the research. Parents were reassured by tailored explanation, which focused their attention on aspects of EcLiPSE that addressed their priorities and concerns. These aspects included the safety of the interventions under investigation and how both EcLiPSE interventions are used in routine clinical practice. Parents made recommendations about the appropriate timing of a recruitment discussion, the need to individualise approaches to recruiting bereaved parents and the use of clear written information. Conclusions: Our study provided information to help ensure that a challenging trial was patient centred in its design. We will use our findings to help EcLiPSE practitioners to: discuss potentially threatening trial safety information with parents, use open-ended questions and prompts to identify their priorities and concerns and clarify related aspects of written trial information to assist understanding and decision-making