Multiple Andreev reflections in diffusive SNS structures

We report new measurements on sup-gap energy structure originating from multiple Andreev reflections in mesoscopic SNS junctions. The junctions were fabricated in a planar geometry with high transparency superconducting contacts of Al deposited on highly diffusive and surface d-doped n++-GaAs. For samples with a normal GaAs region of active length 0.3um the Josephson effect with a maximal supercurrent Ic=3mA at T=237mK was observed. The sub-gap structure was observed as a series of local minima in the differential resistance at dc bias voltages V=2D/ne with n=1,2,4 i.e. only the even sub-gap positions. While at V=2D/e (n=1) only one dip is observed, the n=2, and the n=4 sub-gap structures each consists of two separate dips in the differential resistance. The mutual spacing of these two dips is independent of temperature, and the mutual spacing of the n=4 dips is half of the spacing of the n=2 dips. The voltage bias positions of the sub-gap differential resistance minima coincide with the maxima in the oscillation amplitude when a magnetic field is applied in an interferometer configuration, where one of the superconducting electrodes has been replaced by a flux sensitive open loop.Comment: 20 pages, 7 figure

Guidelines for internal Insulation of historic Buildings

Internal insulation is often the only possible solution when improving the thermal performance of solid walls of historic buildings, as many of these have architectural or cultural values. However, as internal insulation is regarded risky from a moisture perspective, guidelines are needed. The paper presents a new set of guidelines that combine written guidelines, a web-based preliminary assessment tool and a website that can be used independently of each other. The website provides simple ways of assessing the building to determine whether internal insulation is feasible in the specific case and what needs to be done before it can be applied. It also describes different failure mechanisms. The website includes links to information (written guidelines), described for different types of users, depending on their level of expertise. The web tool is based on an extensive number of simulations of hygrothermal conditions within a solid wall depending on location, orientation, wall type and thickness, and insulation type and thickness. The web tool determines the risk for mould and algae growth in a probabilistic way and determines heat loss and CO2 emission before and after renovation through 1 m² of the wall. The guidelines, the website and the web tool are developed in RIBuild, a research project funded by the European Commission, running from 2015 to 2020

Results of Automated Retinal Image Analysis for Detection of Diabetic Retinopathy from the Nakuru Study, Kenya.

OBJECTIVE: Digital retinal imaging is an established method of screening for diabetic retinopathy (DR). It has been established that currently about 1% of the world's blind or visually impaired is due to DR. However, the increasing prevalence of diabetes mellitus and DR is creating an increased workload on those with expertise in grading retinal images. Safe and reliable automated analysis of retinal images may support screening services worldwide. This study aimed to compare the Iowa Detection Program (IDP) ability to detect diabetic eye diseases (DED) to human grading carried out at Moorfields Reading Centre on the population of Nakuru Study from Kenya. PARTICIPANTS: Retinal images were taken from participants of the Nakuru Eye Disease Study in Kenya in 2007/08 (n = 4,381 participants [NW6 Topcon Digital Retinal Camera]). METHODS: First, human grading was performed for the presence or absence of DR, and for those with DR this was sub-divided in to referable or non-referable DR. The automated IDP software was deployed to identify those with DR and also to categorize the severity of DR. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcomes were sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive value of IDP versus the human grader as reference standard. RESULTS: Altogether 3,460 participants were included. 113 had DED, giving a prevalence of 3.3% (95% CI, 2.7-3.9%). Sensitivity of the IDP to detect DED as by the human grading was 91.0% (95% CI, 88.0-93.4%). The IDP ability to detect DED gave an AUC of 0.878 (95% CI 0.850-0.905). It showed a negative predictive value of 98%. The IDP missed no vision threatening retinopathy in any patients and none of the false negative cases met criteria for treatment. CONCLUSIONS: In this epidemiological sample, the IDP's grading was comparable to that of human graders'. It therefore might be feasible to consider inclusion into usual epidemiological grading

Characterisation of cytotoxicity and DNA damage induced by the topoisomerase II-directed bisdioxopiperazine anti-cancer agent ICRF-187 (dexrazoxane) in yeast and mammalian cells

BACKGROUND: Bisdioxopiperazine anti-cancer agents are inhibitors of eukaryotic DNA topoisomerase II, sequestering this protein as a non-covalent protein clamp on DNA. It has been suggested that such complexes on DNA represents a novel form of DNA damage to cells. In this report, we characterise the cytotoxicity and DNA damage induced by the bisdioxopiperazine ICRF-187 by a combination of genetic and molecular approaches. In addition, the well-established topoisomerase II poison m-AMSA is used for comparison. RESULTS: By utilizing a panel of Saccharomyces cerevisiae single-gene deletion strains, homologous recombination was identified as the most important DNA repair pathway determining the sensitivity towards ICRF-187. However, sensitivity towards m-AMSA depended much more on this pathway. In contrast, disrupting the post replication repair pathway only affected sensitivity towards m-AMSA. Homologous recombination (HR) defective irs1SF chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells showed increased sensitivity towards ICRF-187, while their sensitivity towards m-AMSA was increased even more. Furthermore, complementation of the XRCC3 deficiency in irs1SF cells fully abrogated hypersensitivity towards both drugs. DNA-PK(cs )deficient V3-3 CHO cells having reduced levels of non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) showed slightly increased sensitivity to both drugs. While exposure of human small cell lung cancer (SCLC) OC-NYH cells to m-AMSA strongly induced γH2AX, exposure to ICRF-187 resulted in much less induction, showing that ICRF-187 generates fewer DNA double strand breaks than m-AMSA. Accordingly, when yeast cells were exposed to equitoxic concentrations of ICRF-187 and m-AMSA, the expression of DNA damage-inducible genes showed higher levels of induction after exposure to m-AMSA as compared to ICRF-187. Most importantly, ICRF-187 stimulated homologous recombination in SPD8 hamster lung fibroblast cells to lower levels than m-AMSA at all cytotoxicity levels tested, showing that the mechanism of action of bisdioxopiperazines differs from that of classical topoisomerase II poisons in mammalian cells. CONCLUSION: Our results point to important differences in the mechanism of cytotoxicity induced by bisdioxopiperazines and topoisomerase II poisons, and suggest that bisdioxopiperazines kill cells by a combination of DNA break-related and DNA break-unrelated mechanisms

Displaying and Experiencing Dress Identities in Museums: Case Studies from the Etruscan Period to Modern Times

Dress, clothes, and accessories receive and give meaning through their nearness to the human body. As P. Stallybrass writes: “Bodies come and go: the clothes that have received those bodies survive.” It is through the close interaction between dress and person that they both receive their meaning. Clothes shape the human body, and we in return shape our clothes. Dress communicates class, gender, nationality, and marital status, and we leave behind parts of us in its smell, wrinkles, wear, and tear: “Clothes receive the human imprint.” Archaeological and historical dress — no matter how ancient — remain intrinsically linked to their wearers. These are objects of use, affection, value, and memory, and through the study of the dress of past people, we may wear their habits and inhabit their spaces however briefly. The visual appearance of people, in more recent times as well as throughout history, is a clear marker of identity and an important communication medium. For this reason, costume and jewelry serve as an “anchor point” to involve people of the 21st century in studies of the life of prehistoric and ancient societies. This is worth considering, as archaeological textile research needs a strong commitment to public outreach and education, as well as to be integrated into the challenges of our time and to participate in current debates. Through the lens of deep history, it can inspire people to think about such questions as identity, resource use, and shared heritage, among others. Dissemination of textiles and clothing for the broader public in museums is realized through various channels. These range from the exhibition of individual objects, such as textiles, garments, jewelry, and dress accessories, to virtual recreations, and encompasses workshops, citizen science projects for the recreation of historical garments, media-effective historical fashion shows, and reinterpretations of aspects of historical garments through contemporary fashion. This remains an ongoing process, since the interpretation of the past will never be complete, and every generation formulates new approaches. The EuroWeb COST Action (2020–2024) serves as an innovative hub to gain understanding of historical as well as recent dress identities. For this contribution, different aspects of the history of fashion from various museums have been selected as case studies, to demonstrate the wide span of possibilities for displaying and experiencing Dress Identities. Our journey starts with Etruscan jewelry as displayed at the Staatliche Antikensammlungen in Munich (Germany), leading to Early Medieval dress, recreated from various sources as a physical dress ensemble as well as a virtual one, and used for science communication at the Natural History Museum Vienna (Austria) and Halle an der Saale (Germany). As both of the first examples derive from archaeological contexts, we do not have complete garments. This was why we also wanted to explore the possibilities for dissemination of “folk historic costumes”, like a traditional mourning dress as displayed at the Museum Amager (Denmark)

Health effects of 12 weeks of team-sport training and fitness training in a community health centre for sedentary men with lifestyle diseases

This study compares the effects of team-sport training, for sedentary men with lifestyle diseases, with fitness training in a pragmatic set-up in a community health centre (CHC). Thirty-two men in the fitness group (FiG) and 36 men in the team-sport group (TsG) completed the training and trained for 60–90 min, two times/week for 12–16 weeks. In FiG and TsG, mean heart rate (HR) during training was 73.2% and 74.5% of HRmax, respectively. Percentage of training time above 90%HRmax was 6 ± 9% and 10 ± 15% and the percentage of participants who spent > 10% of total training time with HR > 90%HRmax was 20% and 41%, in FiG and TsG, respectively. In FiG, total fat mass was reduced by 3.5%  (P<0.01), while performance in the 6 min walking test (6MWT) increased by 11%  (P<0.001). In TsG, total fat mass was reduced by 2.2%  (P<0.01), while 6MWT performance improved by 5%  (P<0.05). Between-group differences were observed for systolic BP (P=0.041) and mean arterial pressure (P=0.050) in favour of TsG and for sit-to-stand test (P=0.031) in favour of FiG. In conclusion, small-sided team sport is a worthy alternative to fitness training since the overall health effects are comparable, for example, improved balance and reduced fat mass. Team sport elicits high heart rates and improves cardiovascular health by reducing blood pressure, while fitness training improves sit-to-stand test performance related to activity of daily living