Anisotropy and interaction effects of strongly strained SrIrO3 thin films

Magneto-transport properties of SrIrO$_3$ thin films epitaxially grown on SrTiO$_3$, using reactive RF sputtering, are investigated. A large anisotropy between the in-plane and the out-of-plane resistivities is found, as well as a signature of the substrate cubic to tetragonal transition. Both observations result from the structural distortion associated to the epitaxial strain. The low-temperature and field dependences of the Hall number are interpreted as due to the contribution of Coulomb interactions to weak localization, evidencing the strong correlations in this material. The introduction of a contribution from magnetic scatters, in the analysis of magnetoconductance in the weakly localized regime, is proposed as an alternative to an anomalously large temperature dependence of the Land\'{e} coefficient

Building capacity for public and population health research in Africa : the consortium for advanced research training in Africa (CARTA) model

Background: Globally, sub-Saharan Africa bears the greatest burden of disease. Strengthened research capacity to understand the social determinants of health among different African populations is key to addressing the drivers of poor health and developing interventions to improve health outcomes and health systems in the region. Yet, the continent clearly lacks centers of research excellence that can generate a strong evidence base to address the region’s socio-economic and health problems. Objective and program overview: We describe the recently launched Consortium for Advanced Research Training in Africa (CARTA), which brings together a network of nine academic and four research institutions from West, East, Central, and Southern Africa, and select northern universities and training institutes. CARTA’s program of activities comprises two primary, interrelated, and mutually reinforcing objectives: to strengthen research infrastructure and capacity at African universities; and to support doctoral training through the creation of a collaborative doctoral training program in population and public health. The ultimate goal of CARTA is to build local research capacity to understand the determinants of population health and effectively intervene to improve health outcomes and health systems. Conclusions: CARTA’s focus on the local production of networked and high-skilled researchers committed to working in sub-Saharan Africa, and on the concomitant increase in local research and training capacity of African universities and research institutes addresses the inability of existing programs to create a critical mass of well-trained and networked researchers across the continent. The initiative’s goal of strengthening human resources and university-wide systems critical to the success and sustainability of research productivity in public and population health will rejuvenate institutional teaching, research, and administrative systems

Rift Valley fever outbreak, Mauritania, 1998: seroepidemiologic, virologic, entomologic, and zoologic investigations.

A Rift Valley fever outbreak occurred in Mauritania in 1998. Seroepidemiologic and virologic investigation showed active circulation of the Rift Valley fever virus, with 13 strains isolated, and 16% (range 1.5%-38%) immunoglobulin (Ig) M-positivity in sera from 90 humans and 343 animals (sheep, goats, camels, cattle, and donkeys). One human case was fatal

Memristive and neuromorphic behavior in a Li x CoO 2 nanobattery

International audienceThe phenomenon of resistive switching (RS), which was initially linked to non-volatile resistive memory applications, has recently also been associated with the concept of memristors, whose adjustable multilevel resistance characteristics open up unforeseen perspectives in cognitive computing. Herein, we demonstrate that the resistance states of Li(x)CoO2 thin film-based metal-insulator-metal (MIM) solid-state cells can be tuned by sequential programming voltage pulses, and that these resistance states are dramatically dependent on the pulses input rate, hence emulating biological synapse plasticity. In addition, we identify the underlying electrochemical processes of RS in our MIM cells, which also reveal a nanobattery-like behavior, leading to the generation of electrical signals that bring an unprecedented new dimension to the connection between memristors and neuromorphic systems. Therefore, these LixCoO2-based MIM devices allow for a combination of possibilities, offering new perspectives of usage in nanoelectronics and bio-inspired neuromorphic circuits

Vandetanib for the Treatment of Advanced Medullary Thyroid Cancer Outside a Clinical Trial: Results from a French Cohort

BACKGROUND: A randomized phase III trial demonstrated that vandetanib treatment is effective in patients with metastatic medullary thyroid cancer (MTC), leading to regulatory approval, but its use may be associated with toxicities that require specific monitoring and management. The objective of the present study performed in France was to describe the toxicity profile and efficacy of vandetanib treatment when given outside any trial. METHODS: Sixty-eight patients were treated with vandetanib in the frame of a temporary use authorization (ATU) in France from August 2010 to February 2012, when the drug was available on request for patients with locally advanced or metastatic MTC. Patients were registered by the French health authorities, and characteristics, treatment parameters, toxicity profile, and efficacy were retrospectively reviewed. Eight patients were excluded from the analysis because vandetanib treatment was not administered (n=3), had been given in a trial before ATU (n=3), or was given for a non-MTC cancer (n=2). RESULTS: Data from the 60 MTC patients were analyzed. Mean age was 58 years (range 11-83 years), 39 patients were male, and six had hereditary MTC. Fifty-six (93%) had metastatic disease in the mediastinum (82%), bones (65%), liver (53%), or lung (53%), and four had only locally advanced disease. At the time of study evaluation, with a median follow-up of 20 months and a median duration of treatment of 9.7 months (range 0.3-36 months), 15 patients were continuing vandetanib treatment (range 18-36 months). Median progression-free survival was 16.1 months. Twenty-five patients discontinued treatment for disease progression (range 0.3-29 months). Best tumor response was a complete response in one patient, a partial response in 12 (20%), stable disease in 33 (55%), and progression in seven patients (12%). All patients had at least one adverse event (AE) during treatment. The main AEs were skin toxicity, diarrhea, and asthenia. Sixteen patients (27%) discontinued treatment for toxicity, and one patient died from vandetanib-induced cardiac toxicity. CONCLUSIONS: Vandetanib is an effective option for patients with advanced MTC. AEs should be monitored carefully and should be minimized by educating both patients and care providers and by applying symptomatic treatment and dose reduction

Radiation hardness qualification of PbWO4 scintillation crystals for the CMS Electromagnetic Calorimeter

This is the Pre-print version of the Article. The official published version can be accessed from the link below - Copyright @ 2010 IOPEnsuring the radiation hardness of PbWO4 crystals was one of the main priorities during the construction of the electromagnetic calorimeter of the CMS experiment at CERN. The production on an industrial scale of radiation hard crystals and their certification over a period of several years represented a difficult challenge both for CMS and for the crystal suppliers. The present article reviews the related scientific and technological problems encountered

Full-wave modeling of broadband near field scanning microwave microscopy

The authors would like to thank professor Dr. Gabriel Gomila from Institut de Bioenginyeria de Catalunya (IBEC) and Universitat de Barcelona for the fruitful discussion and support, as well as to Dr. Georg Gramse from Johannes Kepler University Linz for the experimental data. B.W. thanks the funding from the China Scholarship Council (CSC) for the support of his research at Queen Mary University of London, UK. Y.H. would like to thank EU-FP7 Nanomicrowave project for the financial support

Search for neutral B meson decays to two charged leptons

The decays $\mathrm{B_d^0,\,B_s^0 \rightarrow e^+e^-,\,\mu^+\mu^-,\, e^\pm\mu^\mp}$ are searched for in 3.5 million hadronic ${\mathrm{Z}}$ events, which constitute the full LEP I data sample collected by the L3 detector. No signals are observed, therefore upper limits at the 90\%(95\%) confidence levels are set on the following branching fractions: % \begin{center}% {\setlength{\tabcolsep}{2pt} \begin{tabular}{lccccclcccc}% % Br$({\mathrm{B_d^0 \rightarrow {\mathrm{e^+e^-}}}})$ & $<$ & $1.4(1.8)$ & $\times$ & $10^{-5}$; & \hspace*{5mm} & Br$({\mathrm{B_s^0 \rightarrow {\mathrm{e^+e^-}}}})$ & $<$ & $5.4(7.0)$ & $\times$ & $10^{-5}$; \\% Br$({\mathrm{B_d^0 \rightarrow \mu^+\mu^-}})$ & $<$ & $1.0(1.4)$ & $\times$ & $10^{-5}$; & \hspace*{5mm} & Br$({\mathrm{B_s^0 \rightarrow \mu^+\mu^-}})$ & $<$ & $3.8(5.1)$ & $\times$ & $10^{-5}$; \\% Br$({\mathrm{B_d^0 \rightarrow {\mathrm{e^\pm\mu^\mp}}}})$ & $<$ & $1.6(2.0)$ & $\times$ & $10^{-5}$; & \hspace*{5mm} & Br$({\mathrm{B_s^0 \rightarrow {\mathrm{e^\pm\mu^\mp}}}})$ & $<$ & $4.1(5.3)$ & $\times$ & $10^{-5}$. \\% % \end{tabular}% } \end{center}% % The results for ${\mathrm{B_s^0\rightarrow{\mathrm{e^+e^-}}}}$ and ${\mathrm{B_s^0 \rightarrow {\mathrm{e^\pm\mu^\mp}}}}$ are the first limits set on these decay modes