Hidden non-Fermi liquid behavior due to crystal field quartet

We study a realistic Kondo model for crystal field quartet ground states having magnetic and non-magnetic (quadrupolar) exchange couplings with conduction electrons, using the numerical renormalization group method. We focus on a local effect dependent on singlet excited states coupled to the quartet, which reduces the non-magnetic coupling significantly and drives non-Fermi liquid behavior observed in the calculated quadrupolar susceptibility. A crossover from the non-Fermi liquid state to the Fermi liquid state is characterized by a small energy scale very sensitive to the non-magnetic coupling. On the other hand, the Kondo temperature observed in the magnetic susceptibility is less sensitive. The different crystal-field dependence of the two exchange couplings may be related to the different $x$ dependence of quadrupolar and magnetic ordering temperatures in Ce$_x$La$_{1-x}$B$_6$.Comment: 7 pages, 5 EPS figures, REVTe

Predictors of Cervical Cancer Screening among Infrequently Screened Women Completing Human Papillomavirus Self-Collection: My Body My Test-1

Background: Approximately one-half of cervical cancer cases in the United States occur in underscreened or never-screened women. We examined predictors to completing Papanicolaou (Pap) testing and whether a positive human papillomavirus (HPV) self-collection result affects Pap testing adherence among underscreened women. Materials and Methods: Low-income women aged 30-65 years who reported no Pap testing in ≥4 years were recruited in North Carolina. Knowledge, attitudes, and barriers regarding cervical cancer and Pap testing were assessed by telephone questionnaires. We mailed self-collection kits for HPV testing and provided information regarding where to obtain affordable Pap testing. Participants received $45 for completing all activities. We used multivariable logistic regression to assess the predictors of longer reported time since last Pap (≥10 vs. 4-9 years) and of completion of Pap testing following study enrollment (follow-up Pap). Results: Participants (n = 230) were primarily black (55%), uninsured (64%), and with ≤high school education (59%). Cost and finding an affordable clinic were the most commonly reported barriers to screening. White women and those with ≤high school education reported longer intervals since last Pap test. Half of the participants reported completing a follow-up Pap test (55%). Women with a positive HPV self-collection were five times more likely to report completing a follow-up Pap test than those with negative self-collection (odds ratio = 5.1, 95% confidence interval 1.4-25.7). Conclusions: Improving awareness of resources for affordable screening could increase cervical cancer screening in underserved women. Home-based HPV self-collection represents an opportunity to re-engage infrequently screened women into preventive screening services

Making visible ‘hidden’ intentions and potential choices: international students in intercultural communication

The study reported in this paper examines the experiences of Chinese and Vietnamese international students in engaging in their institutional written discourse at an Australian university. The study highlights the significance of exploring the real accounts of the students as the ‘insiders’ and uncovering students’ individual potential choices and intentions as their ‘seemingly unrecognized’ values in producing their own texts in English as a second language. In particular, based on international students’ reflection on their intentions and potential choices in academic practices, the study signals how the taken-for-granted institutional conventions may contribute to silencing or marginalizing the possibilities for alternative approaches to knowledge and communication within the higher education institutional context

X-ray Spectroscopy of Cooling Clusters

We review the X-ray spectra of the cores of clusters of galaxies. Recent high resolution X-ray spectroscopic observations have demonstrated a severe deficit of emission at the lowest X-ray temperatures as compared to that expected from simple radiative cooling models. The same observations have provided compelling evidence that the gas in the cores is cooling below half the maximum temperature. We review these results, discuss physical models of cooling clusters, and describe the X-ray instrumentation and analysis techniques used to make these observations. We discuss several viable mechanisms designed to cancel or distort the expected process of X-ray cluster cooling.Comment: To appear in Physics Reports, 71 pages, 20 figure

Identification of Lineage-Uncommitted, Long-Lived, Label-Retaining Cells in Healthy Human Esophagus and Stomach, and in Metaplastic Esophagus

Background & Aims The existence of slowly cycling, adult stem cells has been challenged by the identification of actively cycling cells. We investigated the existence of uncommitted, slowly cycling cells by tracking 5-iodo-2'-deoxyuridine (IdU) label-retaining cells (LRCs) in normal esophagus, Barrett's esophagus (BE), esophageal dysplasia, adenocarcinoma, and healthy stomach tissues from patients. Methods Four patients (3 undergoing esophagectomy, 1 undergoing esophageal endoscopic mucosal resection for dysplasia and an esophagectomy for esophageal adenocarcinoma) received intravenous infusion of IdU (200 mg/m2 body surface area; maximum dose, 400 mg) over a 30-minute period; the IdU had a circulation half-life of 8 hours. Tissues were collected at 7, 11, 29, and 67 days after infusion, from regions of healthy esophagus, BE, dysplasia, adenocarcinoma, and healthy stomach; they were analyzed by in situ hybridization, flow cytometry, and immunohistochemical analyses. Results No LRCs were found in dysplasias or adenocarcinomas, but there were significant numbers of LRCs in the base of glands from BE tissue, in the papillae of the basal layer of the esophageal squamous epithelium, and in the neck/isthmus region of healthy stomach. These cells cycled slowly because IdU was retained for at least 67 days and co-labeling with Ki-67 was infrequent. In glands from BE tissues, most cells did not express defensin-5, Muc-2, or chromogranin A, indicating that they were not lineage committed. Some cells labeled for endocrine markers and IdU at 67 days; these cells represented a small population (<0.1%) of epithelial cells at this time point. The epithelial turnover time of the healthy esophageal mucosa was approximately 11 days (twice that of the intestine). Conclusions LRCs of human esophagus and stomach have many features of stem cells (long lived, slow cycling, uncommitted, and multipotent), and can be found in a recognized stem cell niche. Further analyses of these cells, in healthy and metaplastic epithelia, is required

Fine-Scale Mapping of the 4q24 Locus Identifies Two Independent Loci Associated with Breast Cancer Risk

Background: A recent association study identified a common variant (rs9790517) at 4q24 to be associated with breast cancer risk. Independent association signals and potential functional variants in this locus have not been explored. Methods: We conducted a fine-mapping analysis in 55,540 breast cancer cases and 51,168 controls from the Breast Cancer Association Consortium. Results: Conditional analyses identified two independent association signals among women of European ancestry, represented by rs9790517 [conditional P = 2.51 × 10−4; OR, 1.04; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.02–1.07] and rs77928427 (P = 1.86 × 10−4; OR, 1.04; 95% CI, 1.02–1.07). Functional annotation using data from the Encyclopedia of DNA Elements (ENCODE) project revealed two putative functional variants, rs62331150 and rs73838678 in linkage disequilibrium (LD) with rs9790517 (r2 ≥ 0.90) residing in the active promoter or enhancer, respectively, of the nearest gene, TET2. Both variants are located in DNase I hypersensitivity and transcription factor–binding sites. Using data from both The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Molecular Taxonomy of Breast Cancer International Consortium (METABRIC), we showed that rs62331150 was associated with level of expression of TET2 in breast normal and tumor tissue. Conclusion: Our study identified two independent association signals at 4q24 in relation to breast cancer risk and suggested that observed association in this locus may be mediated through the regulation of TET2. Impact: Fine-mapping study with large sample size warranted for identification of independent loci for breast cancer risk