Striped Magnetic Ground State of the Kagome Lattice in Fe4Si2Sn7O16

We have experimentally identified a new magnetic ground state for the kagome lattice, in the perfectly hexagonal Fe2+ (3d6, S = 2) compound Fe4Si2Sn7O16. Representational symmetry analysis of neutron diffraction data shows that below T_N = 3.5 K, the spins on 2/3 of the magnetic ions order into canted antiferromagnetic chains, separated by the remaining 1/3 which are geometrically frustrated and show no long-range order down to at least T = 0.1 K. Moessbauer spectroscopy confirms that there is no static order on the latter 1/3 of the magnetic ions - i.e., they are in a liquid-like rather than a frozen state - down to at least 1.65 K. A heavily Mn-doped sample Fe1.45Mn2.55Si2Sn7O16 has the same magnetic structure. Although the propagation vector q = (0, 1/2 , 1/2 ) breaks hexagonal symmetry, we see no evidence for magnetostriction in the form of a lattice distortion within the resolution of our data. We discuss the relationship to partially frustrated magnetic order on the pyrochlore lattice of Gd2Ti2O7, and to theoretical models that predict symmetry breaking ground states for perfect kagome lattices.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure

An exploration of parents’ preferences for foot care in juvenile idiopathic arthritis: a possible role for the discrete choice experiment

Background: An increased awareness of patients’ and parents’ care preferences regarding foot care is desirable from a clinical perspective as such information may be utilised to optimise care delivery. The aim of this study was to examine parents’ preferences for, and valuations of foot care and foot-related outcomes in juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA).<p></p> Methods: A discrete choice experiment (DCE) incorporating willingness-to-pay (WTP) questions was conducted by surveying 42 parents of children with JIA who were enrolled in a randomised-controlled trial of multidisciplinary foot care at a single UK paediatric rheumatology outpatients department. Attributes explored were: levels of pain; mobility; ability to perform activities of daily living (ADL); waiting time; referral route; and footwear. The DCE was administered at trial baseline. DCE data were analysed using a multinomial-logit-regression model to estimate preferences and relative importance of attributes of foot care. A stated-preference WTP question was presented to estimate parents’ monetary valuation of health and service improvements.<p></p> Results: Every attribute in the DCE was statistically significant (p < 0.01) except that of cost (p = 0.118), suggesting that all attributes, except cost, have an impact on parents’ preferences for foot care for their child. The magnitudes of the coefficients indicate that the strength of preference for each attribute was (in descending order): improved ability to perform ADL, reductions in foot pain, improved mobility, improved ability to wear desired footwear, multidisciplinary foot care route, and reduced waiting time. Parents’ estimated mean annual WTP for a multidisciplinary foot care service was £1,119.05.<p></p> Conclusions: In terms of foot care service provision for children with JIA, parents appear to prefer improvements in health outcomes over non-health outcomes and service process attributes. Cost was relatively less important than other attributes suggesting that it does not appear to impact on parents’ preferences.<p></p&gt

RepSeq-A database of amino acid repeats present in lower eukaryotic pathogens

BACKGROUND Amino acid repeat-containing proteins have a broad range of functions and their identification is of relevance to many experimental biologists. In human-infective protozoan parasites (such as the Kinetoplastid and Plasmodium species), they are implicated in immune evasion and have been shown to influence virulence and pathogenicity. RepSeq http://repseq.gugbe.com is a new database of amino acid repeat-containing proteins found in lower eukaryotic pathogens. The RepSeq database is accessed via a web-based application which also provides links to related online tools and databases for further analyses. RESULTS The RepSeq algorithm typically identifies more than 98% of repeat-containing proteins and is capable of identifying both perfect and mismatch repeats. The proportion of proteins that contain repeat elements varies greatly between different families and even species (3 - 35% of the total protein content). The most common motif type is the Sequence Repeat Region (SRR) - a repeated motif containing multiple different amino acid types. Proteins containing Single Amino Acid Repeats (SAARs) and Di-Peptide Repeats (DPRs) typically account for 0.5 - 1.0% of the total protein number. Notable exceptions are P. falciparum and D. discoideum, in which 33.67% and 34.28% respectively of the predicted proteomes consist of repeat-containing proteins. These numbers are due to large insertions of low complexity single and multi-codon repeat regions. CONCLUSION The RepSeq database provides a repository for repeat-containing proteins found in parasitic protozoa. The database allows for both individual and cross-species proteome analyses and also allows users to upload sequences of interest for analysis by the RepSeq algorithm. Identification of repeat-containing proteins provides researchers with a defined subset of proteins which can be analysed by expression profiling and functional characterisation, thereby facilitating study of pathogenicity and virulence factors in the parasitic protozoa. While primarily designed for kinetoplastid work, the RepSeq algorithm and database retain full functionality when used to analyse other species

Can majority support save an endangered language? A case study of language attitudes in Guernsey

Many studies of minority language revitalisation focus on the attitudes and perceptions of minorities, but not on those of majority group members. This paper discusses the implications of these issues, and presents research into majority andf minority attitudes towards the endangered indigenous vernacular of Guernsey, Channel Islands. The research used a multi-method approach (questionnaire and interview) to obtain attitudinal data from a representative sample of the population that included politicians and civil servants (209 participants). The findings suggested a shift in language ideology away from the post-second world war ‘culture of modernisation’ and monolingual ideal, towards recognition of the value of a bi/trilingual linguistic heritage. Public opinion in Guernsey now seems to support the maintenance of the indigenous language variety, which has led to a degree of official support. The paper then discusses to what extent this ‘attitude shift’ is reflected in linguistic behaviour and in concrete language planning measures

The Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Camera 3 Early Release Science data: Panchromatic Faint Object Counts for 0.2-2 microns wavelength

We describe the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) Early Release Science (ERS) observations in the Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey (GOODS) South field. The new WFC3 ERS data provide calibrated, drizzled mosaics in the UV filters F225W, F275W, and F336W, as well as in the near-IR filters F098M (Ys), F125W (J), and F160W (H) with 1-2 HST orbits per filter. Together with the existing HST Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) GOODS-South mosaics in the BViz filters, these panchromatic 10-band ERS data cover 40-50 square arcmin at 0.2-1.7 {\mu}m in wavelength at 0.07-0.15" FWHM resolution and 0.090" Multidrizzled pixels to depths of AB\simeq 26.0-27.0 mag (5-{\sigma}) for point sources, and AB\simeq 25.5-26.5 mag for compact galaxies. In this paper, we describe: a) the scientific rationale, and the data taking plus reduction procedures of the panchromatic 10-band ERS mosaics; b) the procedure of generating object catalogs across the 10 different ERS filters, and the specific star-galaxy separation techniques used; and c) the reliability and completeness of the object catalogs from the WFC3 ERS mosaics. The excellent 0.07-0.15" FWHM resolution of HST/WFC3 and ACS makes star- galaxy separation straightforward over a factor of 10 in wavelength to AB\simeq 25-26 mag from the UV to the near-IR, respectively.Comment: 51 pages, 71 figures Accepted to ApJS 2011.01.2

Automating the Communication of Cybersecurity Knowledge: Multi-Case Study

Cybersecurity is essential for the protection of companies against cyber threats. Traditionally, cybersecurity experts assess and improve a company's capabilities. However, many small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) consider such services not to be affordable. We explore an alternative do-it-yourself (DIY) approach to bringing cybersecurity to SMBs. Our method and tool, CYSEC, implements the Self-Determination Theory (SDT) to guide and motivate SMBs to adopt good cybersecurity practices. CYSEC uses assessment questions and recommendations to communicate cybersecurity knowledge to the end-user SMBs and encourage self-motivated change. In this paper, the operationalisation of SDT in CYSEC is presented and the results of a multi-case study shown that offer insight into how SMBs adopted cybersecurity practices with CYSEC. Effective automated cybersecurity communication depended on the SMB's hands-on skills, tools adaptedness, and the users' willingness to documenting confidential information. The SMBs wanted to learn in simple, incremental steps, allowing them to understand what they do. An SMB's motivation to improve security depended on the fitness of assessment questions and recommendations with the SMB's business model and IT infrastructure. The results of this study indicate that automated counselling can help many SMBs in security adoption. The final publication is available at Springer via https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007%2F978-3-030-59291-2_8Comment: 14 pages, 1 figure, 13th World Conference on Information Security Educatio

Pion and sigma meson properties in a relativistic quark model

A variety of strong and electroweak interaction properties of the pion and the light scalar sigma meson are computed in a relativistic quark model. Under the assumption that the resulting coupling of these mesons to the constituent quarks is identical, the sigma meson mass is determined as M_sigma=385.4 MeV. We discuss in detail the gauging of the non-local meson-quark interaction and calculate the electromagnetic form factor of the pion and the form factors of the pi(0) -> gamma gamma and sigma -> gamma gamma processes. We obtain explicit expressions for the relevant form factors and evaluate the leading and next-to-leading orders for large Euclidean photon virtualities. Turning to the decay properties of the sigma we determine the width of the electromagnetic sigma -> gamma gamma transition and discuss the strong decay sigma -> pi pi. In a final step we compute the nonleptonic decays D -> sigma pi and B -> sigma pi relevant for the possible observation of the sigma meson. All our results are compared to available experimental data and to results of other theoretical studies.Comment: 46 page

Mitiq : a software package for error mitigation on noisy quantum computers

We introduce Mitiq, a Python package for error mitigation on noisy quantum computers. Error mitigation techniques can reduce the impact of noise on near-term quantum computers with minimal overhead in quantum resources by relying on a mixture of quantum sampling and classical post-processing techniques. Mitiq is an extensible toolkit of different error mitigation methods, including zero-noise extrapolation, probabilistic error cancellation, and Clifford data regression. The library is designed to be compatible with generic backends and interfaces with different quantum software frameworks. We describe Mitiq using code snippets to demonstrate usage and discuss features and contribution guidelines. We present several examples demonstrating error mitigation on IBM and Rigetti superconducting quantum processors as well as on noisy simulators