Chip-Scale, Sub-Hz Fundamental Sub-kHz Integral Linewidth 780 nm Laser through Self-Injection-Locking a Fabry-P\'erot laser to an Ultra-High Q Integrated Resonator

Today's state of the art precision experiments in quantum, gravimetry, navigation, time keeping, and fundamental science have strict requirements on the level and spectral distribution of laser frequency noise. For example, the laser interaction with atoms and qubits requires ultra-low frequency noise at multiple offset frequencies due to hyperfine atomic transitions, motional sidebands, and fast pulse sequencing. Chip-scale integration of lasers that meet these requirements is essential for reliability, low-cost, and weight. Here, we demonstrate a significant advancement in atomic precision light sources by realizing a chip-scale, low-cost, 780 nm laser for rubidium atom applications with record-low 640 mHz (white noise floor at 0.2 Hz$^2$/Hz) fundamental and 732 Hz integral linewidths and a frequency noise that is multiple orders of magnitude lower than previous hybrid and heterogeneous self-injection locked 780 nm lasers and lower noise than bulk microresonator implementations. The laser is a Fabry-P\'erot laser diode self-injection locked to an ultra-high Q photonic integrated silicon nitride resonator. This performance is enabled by a 145 million resonator Q with a 30 dB extinction ratio, the highest Q at 780 nm, to the best of our knowledge. We analyze the impact of our frequency noise on specific atomic applications including atomic frequency references, Rydberg quantum gates, and cold atom gravimeters. The photonic integrated resonator is fabricated using a CMOS foundry-compatible, wafer-scale process, with demonstrated integration of other components showing promise for a full system-on-a-chip. This performance is scalable to other visible atomic wavelengths, opening the door to a variety of transitions across many atomic species and enabling low-power, compact, ultra-low noise lasers impacting applications including quantum sensing, computing, clocks and more

Group work experiences of women students in a Scottish chemical engineering programme

Chemical Engineering, similar to other Engineering courses, has seen an undergraduate gender shift 10 in recent years towards greater women student representation. This raises the issue of the inclusion, 11 in terms of equality of participation and opportunities, of these women students in learning activities 12 and also the role that they can play in encouraging inclusion and development of others, which can 13 have implications, not only for their current studies, but their future careers. This paper provides both 14 statistical evaluation of students’ attainment from group working activities, and a narrative account of 15 the students’ experiences along with the resulting impact on their inclusion, engagement and group 16 interactions. We highlight the changing role filled by women students and their awareness of these 17 changes and impacts. Notably, the work identifies a change in attitude with regards to roles for 18 women in facilitating group work with many women students purposefully avoiding the additional 19 work-load that past studies have identified

Patients’ Attitudes Toward Deprescribing and Their Experiences Communicating with Clinicians and Pharmacists

Purpose: Developing effective deprescribing interventions relies on understanding attitudes, beliefs, and communication challenges of those involved in the deprescribing decision-making process, including the patient, the primary care clinician, and the pharmacist. The objective of this study was to assess patients’ beliefs and attitudes and identify facilitators of and barriers to deprescribing. Methods: As part of a larger study, we recruited patients ⩾18years of age taking ⩾3 chronic medications. Participants were recruited from retail pharmacies associated with the University of Kentucky HealthCare system. They completed an electronic survey that included demographic information, questions about communication with their primary care clinician and pharmacists, and the revised Patients’ Attitudes Toward Deprescribing (rPATD) questionnaire. Results: Our analyses included 103 participants (n=65 identified as female and n=74 as White/Caucasian) with a mean age of 50.4years [standard deviation (SD)=15.5]. Participants reported taking an average of 8.4 daily medications (SD=6.1). Most participants reported effective communication with clinicians and pharmacists (66.9%) and expressed willingness to stop one of their medications if their clinician said it was possible (83.5%). Predictors of willingness to accept deprescribing were older age [odds ratio (OR)=2.99, 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.45–6.2], college/graduate degree (OR=55.25, 95% CI=5.74–531.4), perceiving medications as less appropriate (OR=8.99, 95% CI=1.1–73.62), and perceived effectiveness of communication with the clinician or pharmacist (OR=4.56, 95% CI=0.85–24.35). Conclusion: Adults taking ⩾3 chronic medications expressed high willingness to accept deprescribing of medications when their doctor said it was possible. Targeted strategies to facilitate communication within the patient–primary care clinician–pharmacist triad that consider patient characteristics such as age and education level may be necessary ingredients for developing successful deprescribing interventions

Ferrocenylmethylphosphanes and the Alpha Process for Methoxycarbonylation: The Original Story

The Lucite Alpha process is the predominant technology for the preparation of acrylics. This two-stage process involves the palladium-catalysed formation of methyl propanoate from ethene, CO, and methanol, followed by the oxidative formylation of methyl propanoate into methyl methacrylate. A range of bis-1,2-disubstituted aminomethylferrocenes has been prepared and characterised. These complexes serve as precursors to a variety of bulky ferrocenylmethyldiphosphanes that, in turn, function as ligands in the palladium-catalysed process. We describe the crystal structures of five ligand precursors and provide a rationale for their design. In situ catalyst testing on palladium complexes derived from ferrocenylphosphanes demonstrates that these are highly selective (>99.5%) catalysts for the formation of methyl propanoate from ethene, CO, and methanol and have turnover numbers exceeding 50,000. This article credits those researchers who worked on this project in the early days, who received little or no credit for their achievements and endeavours

Cutaneous head and neck melanoma in OPTiM, a randomized phase 3 trial of talimogene laherparepvec versus granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor for the treatment of unresected stage IIIB/IIIC/IV melanoma

BACKGROUND: Cutaneous head and neck melanoma has poor outcomes and limited treatment options. In OPTiM, a phase 3 study in patients with unresectable stage IIIB/IIIC/IV melanoma, intralesional administration of the oncolytic virus talimogene laherparepvec improved durable response rate (DRR; continuous response ≥6 months) compared with subcutaneous granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF). METHODS: Retrospective review of OPTiM identified patients with cutaneous head and neck melanoma given talimogene laherparepvec (n = 61) or GM-CSF (n = 26). Outcomes were compared between talimogene laherparepvec and GM-CSF treated patients with cutaneous head and neck melanoma. RESULTS: DRR was higher for talimogene laherparepvec-treated patients than for GM-CSF treated patients (36.1% vs 3.8%; p = .001). A total of 29.5% of patients had a complete response with talimogene laherparepvec versus 0% with GM-CSF. Among talimogene laherparepvec-treated patients with a response, the probability of still being in response after 12 months was 73%. Median overall survival (OS) was 25.2 months for GM-CSF and had not been reached with talimogene laherparepvec. CONCLUSION: Treatment with talimogene laherparepvec was associated with improved response and survival compared with GM-CSF in patients with cutaneous head and neck melanoma. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck 38: 1752-1758, 2016

Cutaneous head and neck melanoma in OPTiM, a randomized phase 3 trial of talimogene laherparepvec versus granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor for the treatment of unresected stage IIIB/IIIC/IV melanoma

BACKGROUND: Cutaneous head and neck melanoma has poor outcomes and limited treatment options. In OPTiM, a phase 3 study in patients with unresectable stage IIIB/IIIC/IV melanoma, intralesional administration of the oncolytic virus talimogene laherparepvec improved durable response rate (DRR; continuous response ≥6 months) compared with subcutaneous granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF). METHODS: Retrospective review of OPTiM identified patients with cutaneous head and neck melanoma given talimogene laherparepvec (n = 61) or GM-CSF (n = 26). Outcomes were compared between talimogene laherparepvec and GM-CSF treated patients with cutaneous head and neck melanoma. RESULTS: DRR was higher for talimogene laherparepvec-treated patients than for GM-CSF treated patients (36.1% vs 3.8%; p = .001). A total of 29.5% of patients had a complete response with talimogene laherparepvec versus 0% with GM-CSF. Among talimogene laherparepvec-treated patients with a response, the probability of still being in response after 12 months was 73%. Median overall survival (OS) was 25.2 months for GM-CSF and had not been reached with talimogene laherparepvec. CONCLUSION: Treatment with talimogene laherparepvec was associated with improved response and survival compared with GM-CSF in patients with cutaneous head and neck melanoma. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck 38: 1752-1758, 2016

The Cosmology Large Angular Scale Surveyor

The Cosmology Large Angular Scale Surveyor (CLASS) is a four telescope array designed to characterize relic primordial gravitational waves from inflation and the optical depth to reionization through a measurement of the polarized cosmic microwave background (CMB) on the largest angular scales. The frequencies of the four CLASS telescopes, one at 38 GHz, two at 93 GHz, and one dichroic system at 145/217 GHz, are chosen to avoid spectral regions of high atmospheric emission and span the minimum of the polarized Galactic foregrounds: synchrotron emission at lower frequencies and dust emission at higher frequencies. Low-noise transition edge sensor detectors and a rapid front-end polarization modulator provide a unique combination of high sensitivity, stability, and control of systematics. The CLASS site, at 5200 m in the Chilean Atacama desert, allows for daily mapping of up to 70\% of the sky and enables the characterization of CMB polarization at the largest angular scales. Using this combination of a broad frequency range, large sky coverage, control over systematics, and high sensitivity, CLASS will observe the reionization and recombination peaks of the CMB E- and B-mode power spectra. CLASS will make a cosmic variance limited measurement of the optical depth to reionization and will measure or place upper limits on the tensor-to-scalar ratio, $r$, down to a level of 0.01 (95\% C.L.)