Colossal electroresistance and colossal magnetoresistive step in paramagnetic insulating phase of single crystalline bilayered manganite(La0.4_{0.4}Pr0.6_{0.6})1.2_{1.2}Sr1.8_{1.8}Mn2_{2}O7_{7}

We report a significant decrease in the low-temperature resistance induced by the application of an electric current on the $ab$-plane in the paramagnetic insulating (PMI) state of (La$_{0.4}$Pr$_{0.6}$)$_{1.2}$Sr$_{1.8}$Mn$_{2}$O$_{7}$. A colossal electroresistance effect attaining -95% is observed at lower temperatures. A colossal magnetoresistive step appears near 5T at low temperatures below 10K, accompanied by an ultrasharp width of the insulator-metal transition. Injection of higher currents to the crystal causes a disappearance of the steplike transition. These findings have a close relationship with the presence of the short-range charge-ordered clusters pinned within the PMI matrix of the crystal studied.Comment: 4 pages 3 figure

Optical orientation and alignment of excitons in direct and indirect band gap (In,Al)As/AlAs quantum dots with type-I band alignment

The spin structure and spin dynamics of excitons in an ensemble of (In,Al)As/AlAs quantum dots (QDs) with type-I band alignment, containing both direct and indirect band gap dots, are studied. Time-resolved and spectral selective techniques are used to distinguish between the direct and indirect QDs. The exciton fine structure is studied by means of optical alignment and optical orientation techniques in magnetic fields applied in the Faraday or Voigt geometries. A drastic difference in emission polarization is found for the excitons in the direct QDs involving a $\Gamma$-valley electron and the excitons in the indirect QDs contributed by an $X$-valley electron. We show that in the direct QDs the exciton spin dynamics is controlled by the anisotropic exchange splitting, while in the indirect QDs it is determined by the hyperfine interaction with nuclear field fluctuations. The anisotropic exchange splitting is determined for the direct QD excitons and compared with model calculations

The hidden hand of chloride in hypertension

Among the environmental factors that affect blood pressure, dietary sodium chloride has been studied the most, and there is general consensus that increased sodium chloride intake increases blood pressure. There is accruing evidence that chloride may have a role in blood pressure regulation which may perhaps be even more important than that of Na+. Though more than 85 % of Na+ is consumed as sodium chloride, there is evidence that Na+ and Cl− concentrations do not go necessarily hand in hand since they may originate from different sources. Hence, elucidating the role of Cl− as an independent player in blood pressure regulation will have clinical and public health implications in addition to advancing our understanding of electrolyte-mediated blood pressure regulation. In this review, we describe the evidence that support an independent role for Cl− on hypertension and cardiovascular health

Optical orientation and alignment of excitons in direct and indirect band gap (In,Al)As/AlAs quantum dots with type-I band alignment

The spin structure and spin dynamics of excitons in an ensemble of (In,Al)As/AlAs quantum dots (QDs) with type-I band alignment, containing both direct and indirect band gap dots, are studied. Time-resolved and spectral selective techniques are used to distinguish between the direct and indirect QDs. The exciton fine structure is studied by means of optical alignment and optical orientation techniques in magnetic fields applied in the Faraday or Voigt geometries. A drastic difference in emission polarization is found for the excitons in the direct QDs involving a $\Gamma$-valley electron and the excitons in the indirect QDs contributed by an $X$-valley electron. We show that in the direct QDs the exciton spin dynamics is controlled by the anisotropic exchange splitting, while in the indirect QDs it is determined by the hyperfine interaction with nuclear field fluctuations. The anisotropic exchange splitting is determined for the direct QD excitons and compared with model calculations

Using Unlabeled Data for Increasing Low-Shot Classification Accuracy of Relevant and Open-Set Irrelevant Images

In search exploration and reconnaissance tasks performed with autonomous ground vehicles an image classification capability is needed for specifically identifying targeted objects relevant classes and at the same time recognize when a candidate image does not belong to anyone of the relevant classes irrelevant images In this paper we present an open-set low-shot classifier that uses during its training a modest number less than 40 of labeled images for each relevant class and unlabeled irrelevant images that are randomly selected at each epoch of the training process The new classifier is capable of identifying images from the relevant classes determining when a candidate image is irrelevant and it can further recognize categories of irrelevant images that were not included in the training unseen The proposed low-shot classifier can be attached as a top layer to any pre-trained feature extractor when constructing a Convolutional Neural Networ

Meta-Analysis of Potassium Intake and the Risk of Stroke

Background-—The possibility that lifestyle factors such as diet, specifically potassium intake, may modify the risk of stroke has been suggested by several observational cohort studies, including some recent reports. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of existing studies and assessed the dose–response relation between potassium intake and stroke risk. Methods and Results-—We reviewed the observational cohort studies addressing the relation between potassium intake, and incidence or mortality of total stroke or stroke subtypes published through August 6, 2016. We carried out a meta-analysis of 16 cohort studies based on the relative risk (RR) of stroke comparing the highest versus lowest intake categories. We also plotted a pooled dose–response curve of RR of stroke according to potassium intake. Analyses were performed with and without adjustment for blood pressure. Relative to the lowest category of potassium intake, the highest category of potassium intake was associated with a 13% reduced risk of stroke (RR=0.87, 95% CI 0.80–0.94) in the blood pressure–adjusted analysis. Summary RRs tended to decrease when original estimates were unadjusted for blood pressure. Analysis for stroke subtypes yielded comparable results. In the spline analysis, the pooled RR was lowest at 90 mmol of potassium daily intake (RRs=0.78, 95% CI 0.70–0.86) in blood pressure–adjusted analysis, and 0.67 (95% CI 0.57–0.78) in unadjusted analysis. Conclusions-—Overall, this dose–response meta-analysis confirms the inverse association between potassium intake and stroke risk, with potassium intake of 90 mmol (!3500 mg)/day associated with the lowest risk of stroke

Mass Functions, Luminosity Functions, and Completeness Measurements from Clustering Redshifts

This paper presents stellar mass functions and i-band luminosity functions for Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) galaxies at $i 10^{11.4}$ between $0.2 <z <0.7$, with completeness falling significantly at redshifts higher than 0.7, and at lower masses. Large photometric datasets will be available in the near future (DECaLS, DES, Euclid), so this, and similar techniques will become increasingly useful in order to fully utilise this data

The Year in Cardiology 2013: cardiovascular disease prevention

The decline in cardiovascular mortality in Europe by nearly 50% over the last three decades resulted in particular from improved risk factor control and prevention interventions in addition to improved treatment. This review provides an overview of key studies in epidemiology, hypertension control, lipidology, diabetology, and lifestyle changes published in 2013. EXAMINE in diabetology and AIM-High and HPS-2-THRIVE in lipidology failed to demonstrate an event reduction. According to EUROASPIRE IV clinical implementation of secondary prevention treatments is still suboptimal. The 2013 study highlights in prevention prove the dynamic progress of knowledge in the field;, however, knowledge alone is futile without implementatio