Predicting lung cancer recurrence from circulating tumour DNA. Commentary on 'Phylogenetic ctDNA analysis depicts early-stage lung cancer evolution'

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Vortex Lock-In Deep in the Bose Glass

We use a Bi gaussmeter of micron dimensions to explore the magnetic field dependence of the magnetization relaxation rate and the critical current down to millikelvin temperatures in untwinned single crystals of YBa_2Cu_3O_(7-δ) with columnar defects. The response separates into three regimes as a function of the ratio of vortex density to columnar defect density B/B_φ: enhancements in both critical current and quantum creep in the dilute limit, vanishing magnetization relaxation at the matching density (the proposed "Mott insulator'' phase line), and the emergence of temperature-dependent vortex motion for B≫B_φ

Carbon Stars and other Luminous Stellar Populations in M33

The M33 galaxy is a nearby, relatively metal-poor, late-type spiral. Its proximity and almost face-on inclination means that it projects over a large area on the sky, making it an ideal candidate for wide-field CCD mosaic imaging. Photometry was obtained for more than 10^6 stars covering a 74' x 56' field centered on M33. Main sequence (MS), supergiant branch (SGB), red giant branch (RGB) and asymptotic giant branch (AGB) populations are identified and classified based on broad-band V and I photometry. Narrow-band filters are used to measure spectral features allowing the AGB population to be further divided into C and M-star types. The galactic structure of M33 is examined using star counts, colour-colour and colour-magnitude selected stellar populations. We use the C to M-star ratio to investigate the metallicity gradient in the disk of M33. The C/M-star ratio is found to increase and then flatten with increasing galactocentric radius in agreement with viscous disk formation models. The C-star luminosity function is found to be similar to M31 and the SMC, suggesting that C-stars should be useful distance indicators. The ``spectacular arcs of carbon stars'' in M33 postulated recently by Block et al. (2004) are found in our work to be simply an extension of M33's disk.Comment: 20 pages, 20 figures. Accepted for publication in The Astronomical Journa

Problematising international placements as a site of intercultural learning

This paper theorises some of the learning outcomes of a three-year project concerning student learning in international social work placements in Malaysia. The problematic issue of promoting cultural and intercultural competence through such placements is examined, where overlapping hegemonies are discussed in terms of isomorphism of social work models, that of the nation state, together with those relating to professional values and knowledge, and the tyrannies of received ideas. A critical discussion of cultural competence as the rationale for international placements is discussed in terms of the development of the graduating social worker as a self-reflexive practitioner. The development of sustainable international partnerships able to support student placement and the issue of non-symmetrical reciprocation, typical of wide socio-economic differentials across global regions, is additionally discussed

Local probe of vortex pinning energies in the Bose glass

Columnar defects provide strong pinning centers for vortices in high-T_c superconductors, increasing global critical currents. Using a magnetometer array of micron dimensions, we characterize the local held profiles in untwinned single crystals of YBa_2Cu_3O_(7-δ) with equivalent columnar defect densities B_φ. We find that the critical current is large only where the internal magnetic field BB _ φ, the critical current is sharply reduced. We model both local and global critical current measurements by generalizing the Bean picture to the case of irradiated high-T_c superconductors

Signature of the matching field in Bose-glass melting of untwinned YBa_2Cu_3O_(7-δ) single crystals

We map out the phase boundary separating the Bose-glass and vortex-liquid phases in an irradiated twin-free YBa_2Cu_3O_(7-δ) single crystal. We take the phase boundary to be the temperature T_g and magnetic field H at which the crystal begins to screen a small ac magnetic field, h_(ac). There is a significant change in slope dT_g/dH of the phase boundary at the matching field B_Φ (≃0.5 T) indicating that interstitial vortices significantly weaken pinning in the Bose-glass state. There is also a pronounced peak in the slope dT_g/dH just below B_Φ at higher h_(ac). Both features disappear when the field is tilted away from the columns

Bose glass melting and the transverse Meissner effect in YBa_2Cu_3O_(7-δ) single crystals

We map out the phase boundary separating the vortex solid and liquid phases in YBa_2Cu_3O_(7-δ) (YBCO) single crystals with irradiation-induced columnar defects. These randomly distributed, extended defects are expected to localize vortices into a "Bose glass" phase. The transition from the vortex liquid into the Bose glass is predicted to exhibit two fundamental signatures: a vanishing of the linear resistivity and, concomitantly, a screening of de magnetic fields applied perpendicular to the defect axis, the transverse Meissner effect. We have investigated both aspects by systematic measurements on two YBCO single crystals with different defect densities (matching fields of 0.25 and 0.5 T), as well as on an unirradiated control sample. The melting line determined by the temperature, T_m, of vanishing resistance undergoes a 30% decrease in slope as the magnetic field is ramped through the matching field. This is evidence that interstitial vortices are pinned much more weakly than originally thought. If we associate the melting temperature with the Bose glass transition temperature, we obtain static critical exponents of ν⊥=1.7±0.2 and ν⊥=1.9±0.1 for the crystals with matching fields of 0.25 and 0.5 T, respectively. Simultaneously, we use a ten-element, linear array of microfabricated Hall probe magnetometers to observe directly the flux screening associated with the transverse Meissner state. We find the temperature above which the Meissner state breaks down, T_s, to decrease linearly as the magnetic field applied perpendicular to the columnar defect axis increases. This linear trend, found in both irradiated crystals to cover a range of at least 40 K in T_s, is closely in line with the current theoretical expectation ν⊥≃1. However, already for angles as small as one degree, T_s(H⊥) falls below T_m(H⊥) by more than 10 K. Thus, between Ts(H⊥) and T_m(H⊥) we observe a large regime characterized by zero resistivity in the absence of a transverse Meissner effect: vortices remain effectively localized even when rotated off the columnar defects