Journalists in the UK

Based on one of the most comprehensive surveys of UK journalists ever carried out, this report describes journalists’ personal characteristics, employment conditions, and working routines. It also analyses journalists’ opinions on: ethics, influences on their work, the trustworthiness of institutions such as parliament and the police, their role in society, and changes in journalism over time. The report includes findings on UK journalism’s: lack of ethnic diversity and of women in senior positions; modest pay, especially for young journalists; and changing employment patterns and working routines in the digital age. It also reveals how journalists, while believing their profession is changing significantly, remain committed to traditional journalistic values; that although they adhere closely to professional codes and standards, UK journalists push ethical boundaries more than some of their international colleagues; and that rather than living up to the stereotype of the cynical hack, journalists in the UK are relatively trusting

Anti-idiotypic antibody Ab2/3H6 mimicking gp41: a potential HIV-1 vaccine?

Meeting abstract from 22nd European Society for Animal Cell Technology(ESACT) Meeting on Cell Based Technologies Vienna, Austria. 15-18 May 2011(VLID)90658

Quantifying modeling uncertainties when combining multiple gravitational-wave detections from binary neutron star sources

With the increasing sensitivity of gravitational-wave detectors, we expect to observe multiple binary neutron-star systems through gravitational waves in the near future. The combined analysis of these gravitational-wave signals offers the possibility to constrain the neutron-star radius and the equation of state of dense nuclear matter with unprecedented accuracy. However, it is crucial to ensure that uncertainties inherent in the gravitational-wave models will not lead to systematic biases when information from multiple detections are combined. To quantify waveform systematics, we perform an extensive simulation campaign of binary neutron-star sources and analyse them with a set of four different waveform models. Based on our analysis with about 38 simulations, we find that statistical uncertainties in the neutron-star radius decrease to $\pm 250\rm m$ ($2\%$ at $90\%$ credible interval) but that systematic differences between currently employed waveform models can be twice as large. Hence, it will be essential to ensure that systematic biases will not become dominant in inferences of the neutron-star equation of state when capitalizing on future developments

Realization of a classical counterpart of a scalable design for adiabatic quantum computation

We implement a classical counterpart of a scalable design for adiabatic quantum computation. The key element of this design is a coupler providing controllable coupling between two bistable elements (in our case superconducting rings with a single Josephson junction playing the role of a classical counterpart of superconducting flux qubits) The coupler is also a superconducting ring with a single Josephson junction that operates in the non-hysteretic mode. The flux coupling between two bistable rings can be controlled by changing the magnetic flux through the coupler. Thereby, the coupling can be tuned from ferromagnetic trough zero to to anti-ferromagnetic.Comment: 3 pages, 3 figures v2: extended discussion experimental result

Simulations of slip flow on nanobubble-laden surfaces

On microstructured hydrophobic surfaces, geometrical patterns may lead to the appearance of a superhydrophobic state, where gas bubbles at the surface can have a strong impact on the fluid flow along such surfaces. In particular, they can strongly influence a detected slip at the surface. We present two-phase lattice Boltzmann simulations of a flow over structured surfaces with attached gas bubbles and demonstrate how the detected slip depends on the pattern geometry, the bulk pressure, or the shear rate. Since a large slip leads to reduced friction, our results allow to assist in the optimization of microchannel flows for large throughput.Comment: 22 pages, 12 figure

Sex ratio of mirid populations shifts in response to hostplant co-infestation or altered cytokinin signaling

Herbivore species sharing a host plant often compete. In this study, we show that host plant-mediated interaction between two insect herbivores – a generalist and a specialist – results in a sex ratio shift of the specialist's offspring. We studied demographic parameters of the specialist Tupiocoris notatus (Hemiptera: Miridae) when co-infesting the host plant Nicotiana attenuata (Solanaceae) with the generalist leafhopper Empoasca sp. (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae). We show that the usually female-biased sex ratio of T. notatus shifts toward a higher male proportion in the offspring on plants co-infested by Empoasca sp. This sex ratio change did not occur after oviposition, nor is it due differential mortality of female and male nymphs. Based on pyrosequencing and PCR of bacterial 16S rRNA amplicons, we concluded that sex ratio shifts were unlikely to be due to infection with Wolbachia or other known sex ratio- distorting endosymbionts. Finally, we used transgenic lines of N. attenuata to evaluate if the sex ratio shift could be mediated by changes in general or specialized host plant metabolites. We found that the sex ratio shift occurred on plants deficient in two cytokinin receptors (irCHK2/3). Thus, cytokinin-regulated traits can alter the offspring sex ratio of the specialist T. notatus

Polyacetylenes from Radix et Rhizoma Notopterygii Incisi with an Inhibitory Effect on Nitric Oxide Production In Vitro

Notopterygium roots (Qiang Huo) have been used in traditional Chinese medicine for treating colds, inflammatory diseases like rheumatoid arthritis, and as an analgesic. The anti-inflammatory activity of the roots ofNotopterygium incisum has been evaluated by testing the inhibitory activity on nitric oxide production by inducible nitric oxide synthase. The apparent authenticity of the sample was checked by DNA sequence comparison. Using activity-guided isolation, different compounds were isolated and structurally characterized by means of NMR and mass spectroscopy. Eight polyacetylenes could be identified and were tested on their inhibitory activity on nitric oxide production in RAW 264.7 mouse macrophages using the Griess assay. Different 3-hydroxy allyl polyacetylenes exhibited significant activity (IC50: 8-acetoxyfalcarinol, 20.1 µM; falcarindiol, 9.2 µM; 9-epoxyfalcarindiol, 8.8 µM; and crithmumdiol, 23.6 µM)

Exploring Audience Perceptions of, and Preferences for, Online News Videos

Journalism professionals and media experts have traditionally used normatively formed criteria to evaluate news quality. Although the digital news media environment has enabled journalists to respond at unprecedented speed to audience consumption patterns, little academic research has systematically addressed how audiences themselves perceive and evaluate news, and even less has focused on audio-visual news. To help fill this research gap, we conducted in-depth group interviews with 22 online news video consumers in the UK to explore their perceptions of online news videos—an increasingly popular news format. Thematic analyses suggest audiences evaluate online news videos using a complex and interwoven set of criteria, which we group under four headings: antecedents of perceptions, emotional impacts, news and editorial values and production characteristics. Some of these criteria can be positioned clearly in relation to the literature on news quality in general, while our documentation of the others contributes new, format-specific knowledge. Our findings offer journalists practical insights into how audiences perceive and evaluate a host of characteristics of online news videos, while our conceptual framework provides a foundation for further academic research on audience evaluations of online news videos, and even audio-visual news more generally