Constructive role of dissipation for driven coupled bosonic modes

We describe four cases of childhood B-cell progenitor acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (BCP-ALL) and one of T-cell (T-ALL) with unexpected numbers of interphase signals for ETV6 with an ETV6-RUNX1 fusion probe. Three fusion negative cases each had a telomeric part of 12p terminating within intron 2 of ETV6, attached to sequences from 5q, 7p and 7q, respectively. Two fusion positive cases, with partial insertions of ETV6 into chromosome 21, also had a breakpoint in intron 2. Fluorescence in situ hybridisation ( FISH), array comparative genomic hybridization (aCGH) and Molecular Copy-Number Counting (MCC) results were concordant for the T-cell case. Sequences downstream of TLX3 on chromosome 5 were deleted, leaving the intact gene closely apposed to the first two exons of ETV6 and its upstream promoter. qRT-PCR showed a significant upregulation of TLX3. In this study we provide the first incontrovertible evidence that the upstream promoter of ETV6 attached to the first two exons of the gene was responsible for the ectopic expression of a proto-oncogene that became abnormally close as the result of deletion and translocation. We have also shown breakpoints in intron 2 of ETV6 in two cases of insertion with ETV6-RUNX1 fusion

Microstructural characterisation of TiAlTiAu and TiAlPdAu ohmic contacts to AlGaN/GaN

Ti/Al/Ti/Au and Ti/Al/Pd/Au contacts to AlGaN/GaN have been investigated to ascertain the effect of annealing temperature on the structural evolution of the contacts. Ti/Al/Ti/Au contacts become ohmic after rapid thermal annealing at 750°C or higher, corresponding to the formation of an interfacial TiN phase, with inclusions penetrating through the AlGaN layer observed after annealing at 950°C. The Pd layer is shown to be more efficient at inhibiting diffusion of Au to the interface than Ti. Ohmic behaviour was not seen with the Ti/Al/Pd/Au scheme. Either the presence of Au at the interface may improve ohmic behaviour, or the Ti:Al ratio is insufficient in this scheme

Newtonian Approach to the Matter Power Spectrum of the Generalized Chaplygin Gas

We model the cosmic medium as the mixture of a generalized Chaplygin gas and a pressureless matter component. Within a neo-Newtonian approach we compute the matter power spectrum. The 2dFGRS data are used to discriminate between unified models of the dark sector and different models, for which there is separate dark matter, in addition to that accounted for by the generalized Chaplygin gas. Leaving the corresponding density parameters free, we find that the unified models are strongly disfavored. On the other hand, using unified model priors, the observational data are also well described, in particular for small and large values of the generalized Chaplygin gas parameter $\alpha$.Comment: Latex file, 5 pages, 11 figures in eps format. For the proceedings of the conference Dark Energy and Dark Matter, 7-11 july 2008, Lyon, Franc

Microstructural characterisation of TiAlTiAu and TiAlPdAu ohmic contacts to AlGaN/GaN

Ti/Al/Ti/Au and Ti/Al/Pd/Au contacts to AlGaN/GaN have been investigated to ascertain the effect of annealing temperature on the structural evolution of the contacts. Ti/Al/Ti/Au contacts become ohmic after rapid thermal annealing at 750°C or higher, corresponding to the formation of an interfacial TiN phase, with inclusions penetrating through the AlGaN layer observed after annealing at 950°C. The Pd layer is shown to be more efficient at inhibiting diffusion of Au to the interface than Ti. Ohmic behaviour was not seen with the Ti/Al/Pd/Au scheme. Either the presence of Au at the interface may improve ohmic behaviour, or the Ti:Al ratio is insufficient in this scheme

Microbial impacts of CO2 transport in Sherwood Sandstone

Work carried out by BGS and the Japan Atomic Energy Authority (JAEA) has shown that microbial processes can have profound effects on the transport properties of host rock (i.e. the movement of fluids and contaminants through the host material) relevant to radioactive waste disposal. Recent research, performed as part of the BGS Radtran project, has examined Sherwood Sandstone samples in the context of radioactive waste disposal; this particular formation is also a potential reservoir for carbon dioxide storage in the UK. As part of the BGS opportunities fund programme, this project has, for the first time, evaluated interactions between fluids saturated with carbon dioxide/Sherwood Sandstone/microbes (Pseudomonas aeruginosa) in transport experiments, using BGS developed apparatus under pressurised subsurface conditions. This pilot study has highlighted the impacts of differences in the physical characteristics of core Sherwood Sandstone samples collected adjacent to each other in a core sample, and the ability of P. aeruginosa to survive in CO2 saturated artificial groundwater and the potential to form a biofilm in an environment suitable likely to be found at a carbon capture and storage location. These results demonstrate that in this short study, the injection of P. aeruginosa into the biotic experiment does not appear to impact on the physical transport properties of the Sherwood Sandstone, although the presence of CO2 appears to enhance the mobilisation of a number of chemical species. However, in other work which utilised the same organism and rock type but without introduction of CO2 saturated fluid, post-inoculation injection changes were observed. These included short but rapid saw-tooth like changes in the pressure profile (Wragg et al, 2012). These impacts were not observed in the current study which suggests that the CO2 saturated fluid was impacting on the ability of the microbes to alter permeability. This short study has, however, indicated the need to carry out longer term investigations to reproduce these initial findings

Symmetry of the Atomic Electron Density in Hartree, Hartree-Fock, and Density Functional Theory

The density of an atom in a state of well-defined angular momentum has a specific finite spherical harmonic content, without and with interactions. Approximate single-particle schemes, such as the Hartree, Hartree-Fock, and Local Density Approximations, generally violate this feature. We analyze, by means of perturbation theory, the degree of this violation and show that it is small. The correct symmetry of the density can be assured by a constrained-search formulation without significantly altering the calculated energies. We compare our procedure to the (different) common practice of spherically averaging the self-consistent potential. Kohn-Sham density functional theory with the exact exchange-correlation potential has the correct finite spherical harmonic content in its density; but the corresponding exact single particle potential and wavefunctions contain an infinite number of spherical harmonics.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figures. Expanded discussion of spherical harmonic expansion of Hartree density. Some typos corrected, references adde

Postpartum diet quality: a cross-sectional analysis from the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health

Reproductive-aged women are at high risk of developing obesity, and diet quality is a potential modifiable risk factor. There is limited research exploring diet quality and its association with time since childbirth. Using data from the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health (ALSWH) survey 5 (2009) of women born between 1973-1978, who reported having previously given birth, we investigated the association between time since childbirth and diet quality, and differences in energy, macronutrients, micronutrient intake, and diet quality assessed by the dietary guideline index (DGI) in women stratified by time from last childbirth, early (0-6 months; n = 558) and late (7-12 months; n = 547), and all other women with children (>12 months post childbirth n = 3434). From this cohort, 8200 participants were eligible, of which 4539 participants completed a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) and were included in this analysis. Overall, diet quality was higher in early and late postpartum women (mean DGI score 89.8 (SD 10.5) and mean DGI score 90.0 (SD 10.2), respectively) compared to all other women with children (>12 months post childbirth), mean DGI score 85.2 (SD 11.7), p 12 months), smoking compared with non-smoking and medium income level compared with no income was negatively associated with diet quality. A lower diet quality in women greater than 12 months post childbirth may be reflective of increased pressures, balancing childrearing and return to work responsibilities. This highlights the need to support women beyond the postpartum period to improve modifiable factors associated with weight gain, including diet quality, to optimize health and reduce chronic disease risk.Julie C. Martin, Anju E. Joham, Gita D. Mishra, Allison M. Hodge, Lisa J. Moran, and Cheryce L. Harriso

Diet quality in a weight gain prevention trial of reproductive aged women: a secondary analysis of a cluster randomized controlled trial

Reproductive-aged women are at high risk for obesity development. Limited research exploring weight gain prevention initiatives and associated modifiable risk factors, including diet quality exists. In a secondary analysis of a 12 month, cluster randomized controlled trial for weight gain prevention in reproductive-aged women, we evaluated change in diet quality, macronutrient and micronutrient intake, predictors of change and associations with weight change at follow-up. Forty-one rural towns in Victoria, Australia were randomized to a healthy lifestyle intervention (n = 21) or control (n = 20). Women aged 18⁻50, of any body mass index and without conditions known to affect weight, were recruited. Diet quality was assessed by the Dietary Guideline Index (DGI) and energy, macronutrient, and micronutrient intake as well as anthropometrics (weight; kg) were measured at baseline and 12 months. Results were adjusted for group (intervention/control), town cluster, and baseline values of interest. Of 409 women with matched data at baseline and follow-up, 220 women were included for final analysis after accounting for plausible energy intake. At 12 months, diet quality had improved by 6.2% following the intervention, compared to no change observed in the controls (p < 0.001). Significant association was found between a change in weight and a change in diet quality score over time β -0.66 (95%CI -1.2, -0.12) p = 0.02. The percentage of energy from protein (%) 0.009 (95%CI 0.002, 0.15) p = 0.01 and glycemic index -1.2 (95%CI -2.1, -0.24) p = 0.02 were also improved following the intervention, compared to the control group. Overall, a low-intensity lifestyle intervention effectively improves diet quality, with associated weight gain preventions, in women of reproductive age.Julie C. Martin, Lisa J. Moran, Helena J. Teede, Sanjeeva Ranasinha, Catherine B. Lombard and Cheryce L. Harriso

Absence of Persistent Magnetic Oscillations in Type-II Superconductors

We report on a numerical study intended to examine the possibility that magnetic oscillations persist in type II superconductors beyond the point where the pairing self-energy exceeds the normal state Landau level separation. Our work is based on the self-consistent numerical solution for model superconductors of the Bogoliubov-deGennes equations for the vortex lattice state. In the regime where the pairing self-energy is smaller than the cyclotron energy, magnetic oscillations resulting from Landau level quantization are suppressed by the broadening of quasiparticle Landau levels due to the non-uniform order parameter of the vortex lattice state, and by splittings of the quasiparticle bands. Plausible arguments that the latter effect can lead to a sign change of the fundamental harmonic of the magnetic oscillations when the pairing self-energy is comparable to the cyclotron energy are shown to be flawed. Our calculations indicate that magnetic oscillations are strongly suppressed once the pairing self-energy exceeds the Landau level separation.Comment: 7 pages, revtex, 7 postscript figure

Lensing at cosmological scales: a test of higher dimensional gravity

Recent developments in gravitational lensing astronomy have paved the way to genuine mappings of the gravitational potential at cosmological scales. We stress that comparing these data with traditional large scale structure surveys will provide us with a test of gravity at such scales. These constraints could be of great importance in the framework of higher dimensional cosmological models.Comment: 4 pages, latex, 3 figure