A Nanofiber-Based Optical Conveyor Belt for Cold Atoms

We demonstrate optical transport of cold cesium atoms over millimeter-scale distances along an optical nanofiber. The atoms are trapped in a one-dimensional optical lattice formed by a two-color evanescent field surrounding the nanofiber, far red- and blue-detuned with respect to the atomic transition. The blue-detuned field is a propagating nanofiber-guided mode while the red-detuned field is a standing-wave mode which leads to the periodic axial confinement of the atoms. Here, this standing wave is used for transporting the atoms along the nanofiber by mutually detuning the two counter-propagating fields which form the standing wave. The performance and limitations of the nanofiber-based transport are evaluated and possible applications are discussed

Origin and Properties of the Gap in the Half-Ferromagnetic Heusler Alloys

We study the origin of the gap and the role of chemical composition in the half-ferromagnetic Heusler alloys using the full-potential screened KKR method. In the paramagnetic phase the C1_b compounds, like NiMnSb, present a gap. Systems with 18 valence electrons, Z_t, per unit cell, like CoTiSb, are semiconductors, but when Z_t > 18 antibonding states are also populated, thus the paramagnetic phase becomes unstable and the half-ferromagnetic one is stabilized. The minority occupied bands accommodate a total of nine electrons and the total magnetic moment per unit cell in mu_B is just the difference between Z_t and $2 \times 9$. While the substitution of the transition metal atoms may preserve the half-ferromagnetic character, substituting the $sp$ atom results in a practically rigid shift of the bands and the loss of half-metallicity. Finally we show that expanding or contracting the lattice parameter by 2% preserves the minority-spin gap.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figures New figures, revised tex

How does the replacement of rice flour with flours of higher nutritional quality impact the texture and sensory profile and acceptance of gluten-free chocolate cakes?

Gluten-free bakery products usually use rice flour as substitute for wheat flour. This paper aims to evaluate whether and how the substitution of rice flour for sorghum and teff flour changes the overall acceptance, texture and sensory profile of gluten-free chocolate cakes. An experimental design composed of three factors (rice, sorghum and teff flours) was developed, and formulations were analysed by acceptance test and fibre content. Four formulations were submitted to sensory descriptive analysis. The formulations did not show significant differences in the overall acceptance although the sensory profile has changed. The texture was affected by the type of flour, being the optimised formulation the softer among the samples. From these data, it can be concluded that it is possible to replace rice flour with sorghum and teff flour in chocolate cake formulations, since the change in the sensory profile did not affect the acceptance of the products.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Schuldig landschap. Over de toeristische aantrekkingskracht van Baantjer, Wallander en Inspector Morse

De opnamelokaties van tv-detectives genieten een toenemende populariteit onder toeristen. In dit artikel wordt, op basis van een tekstuele analyse van ‘Baantjer’, ‘Inspector Morse’ en ‘Wallander’, onderzocht welke inhoudelijke kenmerken van deze tv-detectives mogelijk als ‘trigger’ fungeren. Uit de analyse blijkt dat plaats en beweging een centrale rol vervullen binnen de narratieve structuur van dit genre. Door zelf de lokaties te bezoeken, kunnen toeristen het spoor nalopen van hun geliefde detective om aldaar, vanuit een veilige positie, tijdelijk op te gaan in het schemergebied tussen fictie en werkelijkheid

History of clinical transplantation

How transplantation came to be a clinical discipline can be pieced together by perusing two volumes of reminiscences collected by Paul I. Terasaki in 1991-1992 from many of the persons who were directly involved. One volume was devoted to the discovery of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC), with particular reference to the human leukocyte antigens (HLAs) that are widely used today for tissue matching.1 The other focused on milestones in the development of clinical transplantation.2 All the contributions described in both volumes can be traced back in one way or other to the demonstration in the mid-1940s by Peter Brian Medawar that the rejection of allografts is an immunological phenomenon.3,4 © 2008 Springer New York

New insights into the genetic etiology of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias

Characterization of the genetic landscape of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and related dementias (ADD) provides a unique opportunity for a better understanding of the associated pathophysiological processes. We performed a two-stage genome-wide association study totaling 111,326 clinically diagnosed/'proxy' AD cases and 677,663 controls. We found 75 risk loci, of which 42 were new at the time of analysis. Pathway enrichment analyses confirmed the involvement of amyloid/tau pathways and highlighted microglia implication. Gene prioritization in the new loci identified 31 genes that were suggestive of new genetically associated processes, including the tumor necrosis factor alpha pathway through the linear ubiquitin chain assembly complex. We also built a new genetic risk score associated with the risk of future AD/dementia or progression from mild cognitive impairment to AD/dementia. The improvement in prediction led to a 1.6- to 1.9-fold increase in AD risk from the lowest to the highest decile, in addition to effects of age and the APOE ε4 allele

New insights into the genetic etiology of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias.

Characterization of the genetic landscape of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and related dementias (ADD) provides a unique opportunity for a better understanding of the associated pathophysiological processes. We performed a two-stage genome-wide association study totaling 111,326 clinically diagnosed/'proxy' AD cases and 677,663 controls. We found 75 risk loci, of which 42 were new at the time of analysis. Pathway enrichment analyses confirmed the involvement of amyloid/tau pathways and highlighted microglia implication. Gene prioritization in the new loci identified 31 genes that were suggestive of new genetically associated processes, including the tumor necrosis factor alpha pathway through the linear ubiquitin chain assembly complex. We also built a new genetic risk score associated with the risk of future AD/dementia or progression from mild cognitive impairment to AD/dementia. The improvement in prediction led to a 1.6- to 1.9-fold increase in AD risk from the lowest to the highest decile, in addition to effects of age and the APOE ε4 allele