Scanning electrochemical cell microscopy : a versatile technique for nanoscale electrochemistry and functional imaging

Scanning electrochemical cell microscopy (SECCM) is a new pipette-based imaging technique purposely designed to allow simultaneous electrochemical, conductance, and topographical visualization of surfaces and interfaces. SECCM uses a tiny meniscus or droplet, confined between the probe and the surface, for high-resolution functional imaging and nanoscale electrochemical measurements. Here we introduce this technique and provide an overview of its principles, instrumentation, and theory. We discuss the power of SECCM in resolving complex structure-activity problems and provide considerable new information on electrode processes by referring to key example systems, including graphene, graphite, carbon nanotubes, nanoparticles, and conducting diamond. The many longstanding questions that SECCM has been able to answer during its short existence demonstrate its potential to become a major technique in electrochemistry and interfacial science

'Designer atoms' for quantum metrology

Entanglement is recognized as a key resource for quantum computation and quantum cryptography. For quantum metrology, the use of entangled states has been discussed and demonstrated as a means of improving the signal-to-noise ratio. In addition, entangled states have been used in experiments for efficient quantum state detection and for the measurement of scattering lengths. In quantum information processing, manipulation of individual quantum bits allows for the tailored design of specific states that are insensitive to the detrimental influences of an environment. Such 'decoherence-free subspaces' protect quantum information and yield significantly enhanced coherence times. Here we use a decoherence-free subspace with specifically designed entangled states to demonstrate precision spectroscopy of a pair of trapped Ca+ ions; we obtain the electric quadrupole moment, which is of use for frequency standard applications. We find that entangled states are not only useful for enhancing the signal-to-noise ratio in frequency measurements - a suitably designed pair of atoms also allows clock measurements in the presence of strong technical noise. Our technique makes explicit use of non-locality as an entanglement property and provides an approach for 'designed' quantum metrology

Can the salt-advection feedback be detected in internal variability of the atlantic meridional overturning circulation?

Evidence for the assumptions of the salt-advection feedback in box models is sought by studying the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) internal variability in the long preindustrial control runs of two Earth system models. The first assumption is that AMOC strength is proportional to the meridional density difference between the North Atlantic and the Southern Oceans. The model simulations support this assumption, with the caveat that nearly all the long time-scale variability occurs in the North Atlantic density. The second assumption is that the freshwater transport variability by the overturning at the Atlantic southern boundary is controlled by the strength of AMOC. Only one of the models shows some evidence that AMOC variability at 45°N leads variability in the overturning freshwater transport at the southern boundary by about 30 years, but the other model shows no such coherence. In contrast, in both models this freshwater transport variability is dominated by local salinity variations. The third assumption is that changes in the overturning freshwater transport at the Atlantic southern boundary perturb the north-south density difference, and thus feed back on AMOC strength in the north. No evidence for this assumption is found in either model at any time scale, although this does not rule out that the salt-advection feedback may be excited by a strong enough freshwater perturbation

Plasma-Induced Frequency Chirp of Intense Femtosecond Lasers and Its Role in Shaping High-Order Harmonic Spectral Lines

We investigate the self-phase modulation of intense femtosecond laser pulses propagating in an ionizing gas and its effects on collective properties of high-order harmonics generated in the medium. Plasmas produced in the medium are shown to induce a positive frequency chirp on the leading edge of the propagating laser pulse, which subsequently drives high harmonics to become positively chirped. In certain parameter regimes, the plasma-induced positive chirp can help to generate sharply peaked high harmonics, by compensating for the dynamically-induced negative chirp that is caused by the steep intensity profile of intense short laser pulses.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure

Incremental Mutual Information: A New Method for Characterizing the Strength and Dynamics of Connections in Neuronal Circuits

Understanding the computations performed by neuronal circuits requires characterizing the strength and dynamics of the connections between individual neurons. This characterization is typically achieved by measuring the correlation in the activity of two neurons. We have developed a new measure for studying connectivity in neuronal circuits based on information theory, the incremental mutual information (IMI). By conditioning out the temporal dependencies in the responses of individual neurons before measuring the dependency between them, IMI improves on standard correlation-based measures in several important ways: 1) it has the potential to disambiguate statistical dependencies that reflect the connection between neurons from those caused by other sources (e. g. shared inputs or intrinsic cellular or network mechanisms) provided that the dependencies have appropriate timescales, 2) for the study of early sensory systems, it does not require responses to repeated trials of identical stimulation, and 3) it does not assume that the connection between neurons is linear. We describe the theory and implementation of IMI in detail and demonstrate its utility on experimental recordings from the primate visual system

STK295900, a Dual Inhibitor of Topoisomerase 1 and 2, Induces G<inf>2</inf> Arrest in the Absence of DNA Damage

STK295900, a small synthetic molecule belonging to a class of symmetric bibenzimidazoles, exhibits antiproliferative activity against various human cancer cell lines from different origins. Examining the effect of STK295900 in HeLa cells indicates that it induces G2 phase arrest without invoking DNA damage. Further analysis shows that STK295900 inhibits DNA relaxation that is mediated by topoisomerase 1 (Top 1) and topoisomerase 2 (Top 2) in vitro. In addition, STK295900 also exhibits protective effect against DNA damage induced by camptothecin. However, STK295900 does not affect etoposide-induced DNA damage. Moreover, STK295900 preferentially exerts cytotoxic effect on cancer cell lines while camptothecin, etoposide, and Hoechst 33342 affected both cancer and normal cells. Therefore, STK295900 has a potential to be developed as an anticancer chemotherapeutic agent. © 2013 Kim et al

Neural Network Parameterizations of Electromagnetic Nucleon Form Factors

The electromagnetic nucleon form-factors data are studied with artificial feed forward neural networks. As a result the unbiased model-independent form-factor parametrizations are evaluated together with uncertainties. The Bayesian approach for the neural networks is adapted for chi2 error-like function and applied to the data analysis. The sequence of the feed forward neural networks with one hidden layer of units is considered. The given neural network represents a particular form-factor parametrization. The so-called evidence (the measure of how much the data favor given statistical model) is computed with the Bayesian framework and it is used to determine the best form factor parametrization.Comment: The revised version is divided into 4 sections. The discussion of the prior assumptions is added. The manuscript contains 4 new figures and 2 new tables (32 pages, 15 figures, 2 tables

The effectiveness and satisfaction of web-based physiotherapy in people with spinal cord injury: a pilot randomised controlled trial

Study Design: Pilot randomised controlled trial. Objectives: The aims of this study were to evaluate the effectiveness and participant satisfaction of web-based physiotherapy for people with Spinal Cord Injury (SCI). Setting: Community patients of a national spinal injury unit in a university teaching hospital, Scotland, UK. Methods: Twenty-four participants were recruited and randomised to receive eight weeks of web-based physiotherapy (intervention), twice per week, or usual care (control). Individual exercise programmes were prescribed based upon participant’s abilities. The intervention was delivered via a website (www.webbasedphysio.com) and monitored and progressed remotely by the physiotherapist. Results: Participants logged on to the website an average of 1.4±0.8 times per week. Between-group differences, although not significant were more pronounced for the 6 minute walk test. Participants were positive about using web-based physiotherapy and stated they would be happy to use it again and would recommend it to others. Overall it was rated as either good or excellent. Conclusions: Web-based physiotherapy was feasible and acceptable for people with SCI. Participants achieved good compliance with the intervention, rated the programme highly and beneficial for health and well-being at various states post injury. The results of this study warrant further work with a more homogenous sample

Canine pseudopregnancy: an evaluation of prevalence and current treatment protocols in the UK

Background: There is a dearth of literature on pseudopregnancy in the bitch, with only a few treatment-based studies published since the 1990s. Pseudopregnancy may be under-recognised in bitches and may account for a proportion of behavioural cases seen in veterinary practices including aggression. Little is known about commonly used treatments for overtly pseudopregnant bitches and it is possible that current regimes may not be prescribed for a sufficient duration to control any clinical signs including, physical and behavioural changes. To investigate current trends in diagnosis and treatment of canine pseudopregnancy, a postal survey was sent to 2000 randomly selected veterinary surgeons in UK veterinary practices. The questionnaire queried how often vets recognise cases of pseudopregnancy in spayed and entire bitches, which physical or behavioural signs are commonly recognised for diagnosis, and which management or treatment protocols are used. Results: The response rate was 19.8% (397/2000). Ninety-six percent of veterinary surgeons reported seeing pseudopregnant bitches showing behavioural changes without any physical changes within the last 12 months. Of those behavioural changes, collecting and mothering objects was the most frequently reported behavioural sign (96%). Ninety-seven percent of vets had seen aggression in pseudopregnant bitches. Nevertheless, only 52% of vets routinely asked owners about behavioural changes during consultations. Forty-nine percent of respondents reported seeing pseudopregnancy in spayed bitches. The most commonly reported physical sign was enlarged mammary glands and/or milk production (89%). Treatment options varied (surgical, medical or none) and depended on duration and severity of physical and behavioural signs, owners’ preference, cost, concurrent disease, drug availability and previous history. Conclusions: This is the largest epidemiological study of canine pseudopregnancy in the UK. The prevalence and severity of clinical signs in dogs with pseudopregnancy are variable and possibly under-estimated. Dogs with overt pseudopregnancy experience diverse physical and behavioural changes and information on standard treatment protocols are lacking. Although, progress on our understanding of diagnosis and treatment of pseudopregnancy in spayed and entire bitches has been made, further studies are warranted