1,479 research outputs found
Guidance on stakeholder engagement practices to inform the development of areawide vector control methods
This is the final version. Available from the publisher via the DOI in this record.British Academ
Early respiratory morbidity in a multicultural birth cohort: the Generation R Study
Ethnic disparities in the prevalence of asthma symptoms in children have been described. We evaluated to what extent the association between ethnic background and respiratory symptoms during the first 2 years of life could be explained by the mediating effect of risk factors for respiratory morbidity. The Generation R Study is a multiethnic, population-based birth cohort study. Pre and postnatal risk factors for respiratory morbidity were prospectively assessed by questionnaires. Information about ethnicity was available for 5,684 infants. The associations between ethnic background and lower respiratory symptoms at 12 and 24 months were evaluated with log-binomial regression models. Relative risks and 95 % confidence intervals (RR [95 % CI]) were computed for Cape Verdean, Moroccan, Antillean, Surinamese and Turkish ethnicity with Dutch ethnicity as the reference category. We found an increased risk of lower respiratory symptoms at 24 months in Antillean infants (1.32 [95 % CI 1.12–1.57]) that was mediated by early postnatal exposures (pets keeping, siblings, breastfeeding, daycare attendance, smoke exposure). Turkish infants also had an increased risk of lower respiratory symptoms at 12 and 24 months (1.14 [95 % CI 1.02–1.27] and 1.21 [95 % CI 1.07–1.38], respectively), partly explained by previous morbidity (eczema, infections and upper respiratory symptoms). There were no differences for Cape Verdean, Moroccan or Surinamese, as compared to Dutch infants. Hence, ethnic background was associated with respiratory symptoms during the first 2 years of life and this association was largely explained by mediating effects of known pre and postnatal risk factors for respiratory morbidity
Microwave studies of the fractional Josephson effect in HgTe-based Josephson junctions
The rise of topological phases of matter is strongly connected to their
potential to host Majorana bound states, a powerful ingredient in the search
for a robust, topologically protected, quantum information processing. In order
to produce such states, a method of choice is to induce superconductivity in
topological insulators. The engineering of the interplay between
superconductivity and the electronic properties of a topological insulator is a
challenging task and it is consequently very important to understand the
physics of simple superconducting devices such as Josephson junctions, in which
new topological properties are expected to emerge. In this article, we review
recent experiments investigating topological superconductivity in topological
insulators, using microwave excitation and detection techniques. More
precisely, we have fabricated and studied topological Josephson junctions made
of HgTe weak links in contact with two Al or Nb contacts. In such devices, we
have observed two signatures of the fractional Josephson effect, which is
expected to emerge from topologically-protected gapless Andreev bound states.
We first recall the theoretical background on topological Josephson junctions,
then move to the experimental observations. Then, we assess the topological
origin of the observed features and conclude with an outlook towards more
advanced microwave spectroscopy experiments, currently under development.Comment: Lectures given at the San Sebastian Topological Matter School 2017,
published in "Topological Matter. Springer Series in Solid-State Sciences,
vol 190. Springer
Accurate thermal conductivities from optimally short molecular dynamics simulations
The evaluation of transport coefficients in extended systems, such as thermal conductivity or shear viscosity, is known to require impractically long simulations, thus calling for a paradigm shift that would allow to deploy state-of-the-art quantum simulation methods. We introduce a new method to compute these coefficients from optimally short molecular dynamics simulations, based on the Green-Kubo theory of linear response and the cepstral analysis of time series. Information from the full sample power spectrum of the relevant current for a single and relatively short trajectory is leveraged to evaluate and optimally reduce the noise affecting its zero-frequency value, whose expectation is proportional to the corresponding conductivity. Our method is unbiased and consistent, in that both the resulting bias and statistical error can be made arbitrarily small in the long-time limit. A simple data-analysis protocol is proposed and validated with the calculation of thermal conductivities in the paradigmatic cases of elemental and molecular fluids (liquid Ar and H2O) and of crystalline and glassy solids (MgO and a-SiO2). We find that simulation times of one to a few hundred picoseconds are sufficient in these systems to achieve an accuracy of the order of 10% on the estimated thermal conductivities
Kocuria kristinae infection associated with acute cholecystitis
BACKGROUND: Kocuria, previously classified into the genus of Micrococcus, is commonly found on human skin. Two species, K. rosea and K. kristinae, are etiologically associated with catheter-related bacteremia. CASE PRESENTATION: We describe the first case of K. kristinae infection associated with acute cholecystitis. The microorganism was isolated from the bile of a 56-year old Chinese man who underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy. He developed post-operative fever that resolved readily after levofloxacin treatment. CONCLUSION: Our report of K. kristinae infection associated with acute cholecystitis expands the clinical spectrum of infections caused by this group of bacteria. With increasing number of recent reports describing the association between Kocuria spp. and infectious diseases, the significance of their isolation from clinical specimens cannot be underestimated. A complete picture of infections related to Kocuria spp. will have to await the documentation of more clinical cases
Measurement of the Relative Branching Fraction of to Charged and Neutral B-Meson Pairs
We analyze 9.7 x 10^6 B\bar{B}$ pairs recorded with the CLEO detector to
determine the production ratio of charged to neutral B-meson pairs produced at
the Y(4S) resonance. We measure the rates for B^0 -> J/psi K^{(*)0} and B^+ ->
J/psi K^{(*)+} decays and use the world-average B-meson lifetime ratio to
extract the relative widths f+-/f00 = Gamma(Y(4S) -> B+B-)/Gamma(Y(4S) ->
B0\bar{B0}) = = 1.04 +/- 0.07(stat) +/- 0.04(syst). With the assumption that
f+- + f00 = 1, we obtain f00 = 0.49 +/- 0.02(stat) +/- 0.01(syst) and f+- =
0.51 +/- 0.02(stat) +/- 0.01(syst). This production ratio and its uncertainty
apply to all exclusive B-meson branching fractions measured at the Y(4S)
resonance.Comment: 11 pages postscript, also available through
http://w4.lns.cornell.edu/public/CLN
First Observation of the Decays and B^{0}\to D^{*-}p\bar{n}$
We report the first observation of exclusive decays of the type B to D^* N
anti-N X, where N is a nucleon. Using a sample of 9.7 times 10^{6} B-Bbar pairs
collected with the CLEO detector operating at the Cornell Electron Storage
Ring, we measure the branching fractions B(B^0 \to D^{*-} proton antiproton
\pi^+) = ({6.5}^{+1.3}_{-1.2} +- 1.0) \times 10^{-4} and B(B^0 \to D^{*-}
proton antineutron) = ({14.5}^{+3.4}_{-3.0} +- 2.7) times 10^{-4}. Antineutrons
are identified by their annihilation in the CsI electromagnetic calorimeter.Comment: 9 pages postscript, also available through
http://w4.lns.cornell.edu/public/CLN
Study of the Decays B0 --> D(*)+D(*)-
The decays B0 --> D*+D*-, B0 --> D*+D- and B0 --> D+D- are studied in 9.7
million Y(4S) --> BBbar decays accumulated with the CLEO detector. We determine
Br(B0 --> D*+D*-) = (9.9+4.2-3.3+-1.2)e-4 and limit Br(B0 --> D*+D-) < 6.3e-4
and Br(B0 --> D+D-) < 9.4e-4 at 90% confidence level (CL). We also perform the
first angular analysis of the B0 --> D*+D*- decay and determine that the
CP-even fraction of the final state is greater than 0.11 at 90% CL. Future
measurements of the time dependence of these decays may be useful for the
investigation of CP violation in neutral B meson decays.Comment: 21 pages, 5 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.
A Search for
We report results of a search for in a sample of 9.7 million
charged meson decays. The search uses both and
decay modes of the , and demands exclusive reconstruction of the
companion decay to suppress background. We set an upper limit on the
branching fraction at 90%
confidence level. With slight modification to the analysis we also establish
at 90% confidence
level.Comment: 10 ages postscript, also available through
http://w4.lns.cornell.edu/public/CLN
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