675 research outputs found

    Strong Coupling Corrections to the Ginzburg-Landau Theory of Superfluid ^{3}He

    Full text link
    In the Ginzburg-Landau theory of superfluid 3^{3}He, the free energy is expressed as an expansion of invariants of a complex order parameter. Strong coupling effects, which increase with increasing pressure, are embodied in the set of coefficients of these order parameter invariants\cite{Leg75,Thu87}. Experiments can be used to determine four independent combinations of the coefficients of the five fourth order invariants. This leaves the phenomenological description of the thermodynamics near TcT_{c} incomplete. Theoretical understanding of these coefficients is also quite limited. We analyze our measurements of the magnetic susceptibility and the NMR frequency shift in the BB-phase which refine the four experimental inputs to the phenomenological theory. We propose a model based on existing experiments, combined with calculations by Sauls and Serene\cite{Sau81} of the pressure dependence of these coefficients, in order to determine all five fourth order terms. This model leads us to a better understanding of the thermodynamics of superfluid 3^{3}He in its various states. We discuss the surface tension of bulk superfluid 3^{3}He and predictions for novel states of the superfluid such as those that are stabilized by elastic scattering of quasiparticles from a highly porous silica aerogel.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figures, 2 table

    Duties to Organizational Clients

    Get PDF
    Loyalty to an organizational client means fidelity to the substantive legal structure that constitutes it. Although this principle is not controversial in the abstract, it is commonly ignored in professional discourse and doctrine. This article explains the basic notion of organizational loyalty and identifies some mistaken tendencies in discourse and doctrine, especially the Managerialist Fallacy that leads lawyers to conflate the client organization with its senior managers. The article then applies the basic notion to some hard cases, concluding with a critical appraisal of the rationale for confidentiality with organizational clients

    Impact of a Multimodal Antimicrobial Stewardship Program on Pseudomonas aeruginosa Susceptibility and Antimicrobial Use in the Intensive Care Unit Setting

    Get PDF
    Objective. To study the impact of our multimodal antibiotic stewardship program on Pseudomonas aeruginosa susceptibility and antibiotic use in the intensive care unit (ICU) setting. Methods. Our stewardship program employed the key tenants of published antimicrobial stewardship guidelines. These included prospective audits with intervention and feedback, formulary restriction with preauthorization, educational conferences, guidelines for use, antimicrobial cycling, and de-escalation of therapy. ICU antibiotic use was measured and expressed as defined daily doses (DDD) per 1,000 patient-days. Results. Certain temporal relationships between antibiotic use and ICU resistance patterns appeared to be affected by our antibiotic stewardship program. In particular, the ICU use of intravenous ciprofloxacin and ceftazidime declined from 148 and 62.5 DDD/1,000 patient-days to 40.0 and 24.5, respectively, during 2004 to 2007. An increase in the use of these agents and resistance to these agents was witnessed during 2008–2010. Despite variability in antibiotic usage from the stewardship efforts, we were overall unable to show statistical relationships with P. aeruginosa resistance rate. Conclusion. Antibiotic resistance in the ICU setting is complex. Multimodal stewardship efforts attempt to prevent resistance, but such programs clearly have their limits

    Unintentional high density p-type modulation doping of a GaAs/AlAs core-multi-shell nanowire

    Get PDF
    Achieving significant doping in GaAs/AlAs core/shell nanowires (NWs) is of considerable technological importance but remains a challenge due to the amphoteric behavior of the dopant atoms. Here we show that placing a narrow GaAs quantum well in the AlAs shell effectively getters residual carbon acceptors leading to an \emph{unintentional} p-type doping. Magneto-optical studies of such a GaAs/AlAs core multi-shell NW reveal quantum confined emission. Theoretical calculations of NW electronic structure confirm quantum confinement of carriers at the core/shell interface due to the presence of ionized carbon acceptors in the 1~nm GaAs layer in the shell. Micro-photoluminescence in high magnetic field shows a clear signature of avoided crossings of the n=0n=0 Landau level emission line with the n=2n=2 Landau level TO phonon replica. The coupling is caused by the resonant hole-phonon interaction, which points to a large 2D hole density in the structure.Comment: just published in Nano Letters (http://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/nl500818k

    Erythrocyte G Protein as a Novel Target for Malarial Chemotherapy

    Get PDF
    BACKGROUND: Malaria remains a serious health problem because resistance develops to all currently used drugs when their parasite targets mutate. Novel antimalarial drug targets are urgently needed to reduce global morbidity and mortality. Our prior results suggested that inhibiting erythrocyte G(s) signaling blocked invasion by the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum. METHODS AND FINDINGS: We investigated the erythrocyte guanine nucleotide regulatory protein G(s) as a novel antimalarial target. Erythrocyte “ghosts” loaded with a G(s) peptide designed to block G(s) interaction with its receptors, were blocked in β-adrenergic agonist-induced signaling. This finding directly demonstrates that erythrocyte G(s) is functional and that propranolol, an antagonist of G protein–coupled β-adrenergic receptors, dampens G(s) activity in erythrocytes. We subsequently used the ghost system to directly link inhibition of host G(s) to parasite entry. In addition, we discovered that ghosts loaded with the peptide were inhibited in intracellular parasite maturation. Propranolol also inhibited blood-stage parasite growth, as did other β(2)-antagonists. β-blocker growth inhibition appeared to be due to delay in the terminal schizont stage. When used in combination with existing antimalarials in cell culture, propranolol reduced the 50% and 90% inhibitory concentrations for existing drugs against P. falciparum by 5- to 10-fold and was also effective in reducing drug dose in animal models of infection. CONCLUSIONS: Together these data establish that, in addition to invasion, erythrocyte G protein signaling is needed for intracellular parasite proliferation and thus may present a novel antimalarial target. The results provide proof of the concept that erythrocyte G(s) antagonism offers a novel strategy to fight infection and that it has potential to be used to develop combination therapies with existing antimalarials

    Tacit Domains: The Transference of Practitioner Know‐How in Contemporary English Planning Practice

    Get PDF
    This article reflects upon ideas of tacit knowledge in order to examine the nature of planners’ expertise. It investigates the shifting knowledge and power dynamics between and within the public and private sectors, as a means of determining how tacit expertise is transferred and re‐appropriated in new domains and geographies of practice. Tacit understanding of what facilitates successful permissions and what impedes the approval process, helps planners navigate the plan‐led system and avoid inertia. Findings are two‐fold. Firstly, public sector planners transfer their own expert tacit knowledge to influence and direct local development planning. Secondly, the findings illustrate that public sector planners feel their tacit expertise is increasingly undervalued and traditional networks of knowledge transference have been dismantled due to the erosion of networks of peer support. This results in a disruptive counter narrative based in private planning practice where public sector experts are re‐emerging in commercial practice due to a range of factors, including: budgets cuts; demoralisation; and seeking greater job security in the private sector. This leads to new geographies of tacit knowledge, as local government planners transfer their knowledge into new professional environments. This can result in reconfigurations of locally embedded knowledge as expertise is repurposed and used to bolster the likelihood of development applications succeeding, often for profit motives rather than the broader public good. Furthermore, it can also lead to local knowledge being uprooted and spatially diffused across wider geographies as private sector planners frequently work across broader domains of practice than public sector counterparts. In conclusion, we outline gaps in our current understanding of the evolution of planning practice and outline future research opportunities
    corecore