Nonlinear resonant tunneling in systems coupled to quantum reservoirs

An adiabatic approximation in terms of instantaneous resonances is developed to study the steady-state and time-dependent transport of interacting electrons in biased resonant tunneling heterostructures. The resulting model consists of quantum reservoirs coupled to regions where the system is described by nonlinear ordinary differential equations and has a general conceptual interest.Comment: 4 pages, 3 postscript figure

Evolution of nest architecture in tyrant flycatchers and allies

This study was funded by Princeton University, a Packard Fellowship for Science and Engineering (to M.C.S.), AFOSR FA9550-20-1-0161 (to M.C.S.), Eric and Wendy Schmidt by recommendation of the Schmidt Futures Polymaths program (to M.C.S.), and European Research Council Advanced Grant 788203. Acknowledgements We would like to thank Karina Vanadzina for sharing unpublished life-history data and Maria Camila León for providing original artwork. Maria E. Mendiwelso Moreno helped to gather information from the literature for some species and Gates Dupont provided insights about statistical analysis in the earliest stages of the project. Mark Mainwaring and two reviewers provided very insightful comments that have improved our manuscript. Photographs were obtained with permission from Daniel Field, Daniel Perrella, John and Milena Beer, Gustavo Londoño and Juan Felipe León. We are indebted to the many field biologists who described the nests of Tyrannida species.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Creation of solitons and vortices by Bragg reflection of Bose-Einstein condensates in an optical lattice

We study the dynamics of Bose-Einstein condensates in an optical lattice and harmonic trap. The condensates are set in motion by displacing the trap and initially follow simple semiclassical paths, shaped by the lowest energy band. Above a critical displacement, the condensate undergoes Bragg reflection. For high atom densities, the first Bragg reflection generates a train of solitons and vortices, which destabilize the condensate and trigger explosive expansion. At lower densities, soliton and vortex formation requires multiple Bragg reflections, and damps the center-of-mass motion.Comment: 5 pages including 5 figures (for higher resolution figures please email the authors

Nucleosomes in colorectal cancer patients during radiochemotherapy

Apoptotic markers and tumor-associated antigens might be suitable to indicate the response to radiochemotherapy early. We analyzed the courses of nucleosomes, CEA, CA 19-9 and CYFRA 21-1 in 25 colorectal cancer patients during radiochemotherapy (4 postoperative, 13 preoperative, 8 local relapse therapy). Blood was taken before therapy, daily during the first week, once weekly during the following weeks, and at the end of the radiochemotherapy. After a temporary decline 6 h after the first irradiation, nucleosomes rose in most patients rapidly reaching a maximum during the first days which was followed by a subsequent decrease. In patients receiving postoperative therapy after complete resection of tumor, nucleosome levels generally were lower than in patients with preoperative or relapse therapy. Correspondingly, CEA, CA 19-9 and CYFRA 21-1 levels of postoperatively treated patients were the lowest whereas those with tumor relapse had the highest ones. During preoperative therapy, lower nucleosome concentrations were found in patients with response to therapy resulting in a smaller area under the curve of days 1-3 (AUC) than in those with progressive disease (p = 0.028). The other parameters did not indicate the response to therapy at the initial treatment phase. In conclusion, the course of nucleosomes (AUC) might be valuable for the early prediction of therapy response in preoperatively treated colorectal cancer patients. Copyright (c) 2006 S. Karger AG, Basel

Beak shape and nest material use in birds

This work was supported by a BBSRC Discovery Fellowship (grant no. BB/S01019X/1); the John Templeton Foundation (grant no. 60501); and the European Research Council (grant no. 788203).The evolution of behaviour can both influence, and be influenced by, morphology. Recent advances in methods and data availability have facilitated broad-scale investigations of physical form and behavioural function in many contexts, but the relationship between animal morphology and object manipulation-particularly objects used in construction-remains largely unknown. Here, we employ a new global database of nest materials used by 5924 species of birds together with phylogenetically informed random forest models to evaluate the link between beak shape and these nest-building materials. We find that beak morphology, together with species diet and access to materials, can predict nest-material use above chance and with high accuracy (68-97%). Much of this relationship, however, is driven by phylogenetic signal and sampling biases. We therefore conclude that while variation in nest material use is linked with that of beak shape across bird species, these correlations are modulated by the ecological context and evolutionary history of these species.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Anthropogenic nest material use in a global sample of birds

As humans increasingly modify the natural world, many animals have responded by changing their behaviour. Understanding and predicting the extent of these responses is a key step in conserving these species. For example, the tendency for some species of birds to incorporate anthropogenic items—particularly plastic material—into their nests is of increasing concern, as in some cases, this behaviour has harmful effects on adults, young and eggs. Studies of this phenomenon, however, have to date been largely limited in geographic and taxonomic scope. To investigate the global correlates of anthropogenic (including plastic) nest material use, we used Bayesian phylogenetic mixed models and a data set of recorded nest materials in 6147 species of birds. We find that, after controlling for research effort and proximity to human landscape modifications, anthropogenic nest material use is correlated with synanthropic (artificial) nesting locations, breeding environment and the number of different nest materials the species has been recorded to use. We also demonstrate that body mass, range size, conservation status and brain size do not explain variation in the recorded use of anthropogenic nest materials. These results indicate that anthropogenic materials are more likely to be included in nests when they are more readily available, as well as potentially by species that are more flexible in their nest material choice

Buprenorphine versus dihydrocodeine for opiate detoxification in primary care: a randomised controlled trial

Background Many drug users present to primary care requesting detoxification from illicit opiates. There are a number of detoxification agents but no recommended drug of choice. The purpose of this study is to compare buprenorphine with dihydrocodeine for detoxification from illicit opiates in primary care. Methods Open label randomised controlled trial in NHS Primary Care (General Practices), Leeds, UK. Sixty consenting adults using illicit opiates received either daily sublingual buprenorphine or daily oral dihydrocodeine. Reducing regimens for both interventions were at the discretion of prescribing doctor within a standard regimen of not more than 15 days. Primary outcome was abstinence from illicit opiates at final prescription as indicated by a urine sample. Secondary outcomes during detoxification period and at three and six months post detoxification were recorded. Results Only 23% completed the prescribed course of detoxification medication and gave a urine sample on collection of their final prescription. Risk of non-completion of detoxification was reduced if allocated buprenorphine (68% vs 88%, RR 0.58 CI 0.35–0.96, p = 0.065). A higher proportion of people allocated to buprenorphine provided a clean urine sample compared with those who received dihydrocodeine (21% vs 3%, RR 2.06 CI 1.33–3.21, p = 0.028). People allocated to buprenorphine had fewer visits to professional carers during detoxification and more were abstinent at three months (10 vs 4, RR 1.55 CI 0.96–2.52) and six months post detoxification (7 vs 3, RR 1.45 CI 0.84–2.49). Conclusion Informative randomised trials evaluating routine care within the primary care setting are possible amongst drug using populations. This small study generates unique data on commonly used treatment regimens

The Leeds Evaluation of Efficacy of Detoxification Study (LEEDS) Prisons Project Study: protocol for a randomised controlled trial comparing methadone and buprenorphine for opiate detoxification

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In the United Kingdom (UK), there is an extensive market for the class 'A' drug heroin and many heroin users spend time in prison. People addicted to heroin often require prescribed medication when attempting to cease their drug use. The most commonly used detoxification agents in UK prisons are currently buprenorphine and methadone, both are recommended by national clinical guidelines. However, these agents have never been compared for opiate detoxification in the prison estate and there is a general paucity of research evaluating the most effective treatment for opiate detoxification in prisons. This study seeks to address this paucity by evaluating the most routinely used interventions amongst drug users within UK prisons.</p> <p>Methods/Design</p> <p>This study uses randomised controlled trial methodology to compare the open use of buprenorphine and methadone for opiate detoxification, given in the context of routine care, within three UK prisons. Prisoners who are eligible and give informed consent will be entered into the trial. The primary outcome will be abstinence status eight days after detoxification, as determined by a urine test. Secondary outcomes will be recorded during the detoxification and then at one, three and six months post-detoxification.</p> <p>Trial registration</p> <p>Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN58823759</p

One Spin Trace Formalism for BK B_K

It has been known for some time that there are two methods to calculate $B_K$ with staggered fermions: one is the two spin trace formalism and the other is the one spin trace formalism. Until now, the two spin trace formalism has been exclusively used for weak matrix element calculations with staggered fermions. Here, the one spin trace formalism to calculate $B_K$ with staggered fermions is explained. It is shown that the one spin trace operators require additional chiral partner operators in order to keep the continuum chiral behavior. The renormalization of the one spin trace operators is described and compared with the two spin trace formalism.Comment: 47 pages, latex, 4 figures are available on reques

Termination Casts: A Flexible Approach to Termination with General Recursion

This paper proposes a type-and-effect system called Teqt, which distinguishes terminating terms and total functions from possibly diverging terms and partial functions, for a lambda calculus with general recursion and equality types. The central idea is to include a primitive type-form "Terminates t", expressing that term t is terminating; and then allow terms t to be coerced from possibly diverging to total, using a proof of Terminates t. We call such coercions termination casts, and show how to implement terminating recursion using them. For the meta-theory of the system, we describe a translation from Teqt to a logical theory of termination for general recursive, simply typed functions. Every typing judgment of Teqt is translated to a theorem expressing the appropriate termination property of the computational part of the Teqt term.Comment: In Proceedings PAR 2010, arXiv:1012.455