A Molecular Platinum Cluster Junction: A Single-Molecule Switch

We present a theoretical study of the electronic transport through single-molecule junctions incorporating a Pt6 metal cluster bound within an organic framework. We show that the insertion of this molecule between a pair of electrodes leads to a fully atomically engineered nano-metallic device with high conductance at the Fermi level and two sequential high on/off switching states. The origin of this property can be traced back to the existence of a HOMO which consists of two degenerate and asymmetric orbitals, lying close in energy to the Fermi level of the metallic leads. Their degeneracy is broken when the molecule is contacted to the leads, giving rise to two resonances which become pinned close to the Fermi level and display destructive interference.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures. Reprinted (adapted) with permission from J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2013, 135 (6), 2052. Copyright 2013 American Chemical Societ

Squamous cell carcinoma of the nasal cavity:A descriptive analysis of cases from the Head and Neck 5000 study

OBJECTIVES: This paper aims to provide contemporary epidemiological data on squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the nasal cavity, which represents a rare type of head and neck cancer.DESIGN, SETTING &amp; PARTICIPANTS: A descriptive analysis of people with nasal cavity SCC treated with curative intent from the Head and Neck 5000 study; a multicentre clinical cohort study of people from the UK with head and neck cancer. People with tumours of the nasopharynx, paranasal sinuses and other sub-sites of the head and neck were excluded.MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Demographic data and treatment details are presented for all participants. The main outcomes were overall survival and survival according to categories of characteristics (e.g. smoker vs non-smoker); these were explored using Kaplan-Meier plots.RESULTS: Thirty people with nasal cavity SCC were included in the study, of which most were male (67%) and current or ex-smokers (70%). The majority (70%) presented with early stage (T1/2, N0) tumours. Cervical lymph node metastases at presentation were rare, occurring in only one person. Nine people died during the follow up period (30%). Worse survival outcomes were seen in people with moderate or severe co-morbidities.CONCLUSIONS: This paper provides epidemiological data on nasal cavity SCC in the UK. Patterns of disease and survival outcomes are described, identifying high-risk groups. Further studies should explore whether primary treatment modality alters survival. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.</p

Unequal relationships in high and low power distance societies: a comparative study of tutor - student role relations in Britain and China

This study investigated people's conceptions of an unequal role relationship in two different types of society: a high power distance society and a low power distance society. The study focuses on the role relationship of tutor and student. British and Chinese tutors and postgraduate students completed a questionnaire that probed their conceptions of degrees of power differential and social distance/closeness in this role relationship. ANOVA results yielded a significant nationality effect for both aspects. Chinese respondents judged the relationship to be closer and to have a greater power differential than did British respondents. Written comments on the questionnaire and interviews with 9 Chinese academics who had experienced both British and Chinese academic environments supported the statistical findings and indicated that there are fundamental ideological differences associated with the differing conceptions. The results are discussed in relation to Western and Asian concepts of leadership and differing perspectives on the compatibility/incompatibility of power and distance/closeness

Unbiased Global Optimization of Lennard-Jones Clusters for N <= 201 by Conformational Space Annealing Method

We apply the conformational space annealing (CSA) method to the Lennard-Jones clusters and find all known lowest energy configurations up to 201 atoms, without using extra information of the problem such as the structures of the known global energy minima. In addition, the robustness of the algorithm with respect to the randomness of initial conditions of the problem is demonstrated by ten successful independent runs up to 183 atoms. Our results indicate that the CSA method is a general and yet efficient global optimization algorithm applicable to many systems.Comment: revtex, 4 pages, 2 figures. Physical Review Letters, in pres

The characteristics of sexual abuse in sport: A multidimensional scaling analysis of events described in media reports

Most research on sexual abuse has been conducted within family settings (Fergusson & Mullen, 1999). In recent years, following several high profile convictions and scandals, research into sexual abuse has also encompassed institutional and community settings such as sport and the church (Gallagher, 2000; Wolfe et al., 2003). Research into sexual abuse in sport, for example, began with both prevalence studies (Kirby & Greaves, 1996; Leahy, Pretty & Tenenbaum, 2002) and qualitative analyses of the processes and experiences of athlete sexual abuse (Brackenridge, 1997; Cense & Brackenridge, 2001, Toftegaard Nielsen, 2001). From such work, descriptions of the modus operandi of abusers in sport, and the experiences and consequences for athlete victims, have been provided, informing both abuse prevention work and coach education. To date, however, no study has provided empirical support for multiple associations or identified patterns of sex offending in sport in ways that might allow comparisons with research-generated models of offending outside sport. This paper reports on an analysis of 159 cases of criminally defined sexual abuse, reported in the print media over a period of 15 years. The main aim of the study was to identify the nature of sex offending in sport focusing on the methods and locations of offences. The data were analysed using multidimensional scaling (MDS), as a data reduction method, in order to identify the underlying themes within the abuse and explore the inter-relationships of behaviour, victim and context variables. The findings indicate that there are specific themes that can be identified within the perpetrator strategies that include ‘intimate’, ‘aggressive’, and ‘’dominant’ modes of interaction. The same patterns that are described here within the specific context of sport are consistent with themes that emerge from similar behavioural analyses of rapists (Canter & Heritage, 1990; Bishopp, 2003) and child molester groups (Canter, Hughes & Kirby, 1998). These patterns show a correspondence to a broader behavioural model – the interpersonal circumplex (e.g., Leary 1957). Implications for accreditation and continuing professional education of sport psychologists are noted

Knocking back invasions: variable resistance and resilience to multiple cold spells in native vs. nonnative fishes

Extreme climate events can interact synergistically with invasions to dramatically alter ecosystem structure, function, and services. Yet, the effects of extreme climate events on species invasions remain unresolved. Extreme climate events may increase resources and decrease biotic resistance by causing physiological stress and/or mortality of native taxa, resulting in invasion opportunities for nonnative species. Alternatively, extreme climate events may regulate nonnative populations, preventing them from achieving dominance. We examined whether a sequence of three cold spells had a negative or positive effect on fish invasions in the coastal Everglades. We compared resistance (initial effects) and resilience (rate of recovery) to the cold spells between native fishes and the dominant nonnative invader, the Mayan cichlid, across eight populations expanding two mangroves drainages in the southern Everglades. We tracked native fish and nonnative Mayan cichlid populations for 10 yr including 3 yr pre- and 4 yr post-cold spells. In both drainages, native fishes were more resistant to the cold spells than the nonnative species. While native fishes experienced declines at only one site, nonnative Mayan numbers were reduced by 90–100% across six sites where they were abundant pre-disturbances. Four years after the last cold spell, we saw limited resilience in the affected nonnative populations. Only one of the six affected sites fully recovered, whereas the other five sites showed no recovery in Mayan cichlid numbers. The recovered site was closest to a canal, known to act as thermal refuges for nonnative fishes. In summary, cold spells can reduce nonnative abundances, but whether cold spells can effectively knock back invasions (and range expansions) by tropical/subtropical nonnative species will depend on how the frequency and severity of cold spells are affected by climate change. We propose that these mortality-causing extreme events could provide rare management opportunities late in an invasion

Intergenerational change and familial aggregation of body mass index

The relationship between parental BMI and that of their adult offspring, when increased adiposity can become a clinical issue, is unknown. We investigated the intergenerational change in body mass index (BMI) distribution, and examined the sex-specific relationship between parental and adult offspring BMI. Intergenerational change in the distribution of adjusted BMI in 1,443 complete families (both parents and at least one offspring) with 2,286 offspring (1,263 daughters and 1,023 sons) from the west of Scotland, UK, was investigated using quantile regression. Familial correlations were estimated from linear mixed effects regression models. The distribution of BMI showed little intergenerational change in the normal range (\25 kg/m2), decreasing overweightness (25– \30 kg/m2) and increasing obesity (C30 kg/m2). Median BMI was static across generations in males and decreased in females by 0.4 (95% CI: 0.0, 0.7) kg/m2; the 95th percentileincreased by 2.2 (1.1, 3.2) kg/m2 in males and 2.7 (1.4, 3.9) kg/m2 in females. Mothers’ BMI was more strongly associated with daughters’ BMI than was fathers’ (correlation coefficient (95% CI): mothers 0.31 (0.27, 0.36), fathers 0.19 (0.14, 0.25); P = 0.001). Mothers’ and fathers’ BMI were equally correlated with sons’ BMI (correlation coefficient: mothers 0.28 (0.22, 0.33), fathers 0.27 (0.22, 0.33). The increase in BMI between generations was concentrated at the upper end of the distribution. This, alongside the strong parent-offspring correlation, suggests that the increase in BMI is disproportionally greater among offspring of heavier parents. Familial influences on BMI among middle-aged women appear significantly stronger from mothers than father

Disease trajectories, place and mode of death in people with head and neck cancer: findings from the ‘Head and Neck 5000’ population-based prospective clinical cohort study

Background: Few large studies describe initial disease trajectories and subsequent mortality in people with head and neck cancer. This is a necessary first step to identify the need for palliative care and associated services. Aim: To analyse data from the Head and Neck 5000 study to present mortality, place and mode of death within 12 months of diagnosis. Design: Prospective cohort study. Participants: In total, 5402 people with a new diagnosis of head and neck cancer were recruited from 76 cancer centres in the United Kingdom between April 2011 and December 2014. Results: Initially, 161/5402 (3%) and 5241/5402 (97%) of participants were treated with ‘non-curative’ and ‘curative’ intent respectively. Within 12 months, 109/161 (68%) in the ‘non-curative’ group died compared with 482/5241 (9%) in the ‘curative’ group. Catastrophic bleed was the terminal event for 10.4% and 9.8% of people in ‘non-curative’ and ‘curative’ groups respectively; terminal airway obstruction was recorded for 7.5% and 6.3% of people in the same corresponding groups. Similar proportions of people in both groups died in a hospice (22.9% ‘non-curative’; 23.5% ‘curative’) and 45.7% of the ‘curative’ group died in hospital. Conclusions: In addition to those with incurable head and neck cancer, there is a small but significant ‘curative’ subgroup of people who may have palliative needs shortly following diagnosis. Given the high mortality, risk of acute catastrophic event and frequent hospital death, clarifying the level and timing of palliative care services engagement would help provide assurance as to whether palliative care needs are being met

The Interpersonal Style and Complementarity Between Crisis Negotiators and Forensic Inpatients

Previous negotiation research has explored the interaction and communication between crisis negotiators and perpetrators. A crisis negotiator attempts to resolve a critical incident through negotiation with an individual, or group of persons in crisis. The purpose of this study was to establish the interpersonal style of crisis negotiators and complementarity of the interpersonal interaction between them and forensic inpatients. Crisis negotiators, clinical workers and students (n = 90) used the Check List of Interpersonal Transactions-Revised (CLOIT-R) to identify interpersonal style, along with eight vignettes detailing interpersonal styles. Crisis negotiators were most likely to have a friendly interpersonal style compared to the other non-trained groups. Complementarity theory was not exclusively supported as submissive individuals did not show optimistic judgments in working with dominant forensic inpatients and vice versa. Exploratory analysis revealed that dominant crisis negotiators were optimistic in working with forensic inpatients with a dominant interpersonal style. This study provides insight into the area of interpersonal complementarity of crisis negotiators and forensic inpatients. Whilst further research is required, a potential new finding was established, with significant ‘similarity’ found when dominant crisis negotiators are asked to work with dominant forensic inpatients