Combinations of generalized lenses that satisfy the edge-imaging condition of transformation optics.

We recently introduced the edge-imaging condition, a necessary condition for all generalized lenses (glenses) [J. Opt. Soc. Am. A33, 962 (2016)JOAOD60740-323210.1364/JOSAA.33.000962] in a ray-optical transformation-optics (RTO) device that share a common edge [Opt. Express26, 17872 (2018)OPEXFF1094-408710.1364/OE.26.017872]. The edge-imaging condition states that, in combination, such glenses must image every point to itself. Here we begin the process of building up a library of combinations of glenses that satisfy the edge-imaging condition, starting with all relevant combinations of up to three glenses. As it grows, this library should become increasingly useful when constructing lens-based RTO devices

Police Strategies and Suspect Responses in Real-Life Serious Crime Interviews

This research focuses exclusively on real-life taped interviews with serious crime suspects and examines the strategies used and types of questions asked by police, and suspects’ responses to these. The information source was audio-tape-recorded interviews with 56 suspects. These recordings were obtained from 11 police services across England and Wales and were analysed using a specially designed coding frame. It was found that interviewers employed a range of strategies with presentation of evidence and challenge the most frequently observed. Closed questions were by far the most frequently used, and open questions, although less frequent, were found to occur more during the opening phases of the interviews. The frequency of ineffective question types (e.g. negative, repetitive, multiple) was low. A number of significant associations were observed between interviewer strategies and suspect responses. Rapport/empathy and open-type questions were associated with an increased likelihood of suspects admitting the offence whilst describing trauma, and negative questions were associated with a decreased likelihood

Forensic interviewing of mentally disordered suspects: The impact of interview style on investigation outcomes.

The investigative interviewing of a vulnerable suspect is a complex and difficult task. Current best practice advocates for the use of open questions in order to elicit a free recall. However, those with mental health conditions have limited cognitive abilities that relate to free recall and episodic memory, and there is emerging evidence that suggests open questions may not always be most suitable for the vulnerable interviewee. As such, the present study examined the impact of two different interview models (best practice v modified interview) on the amount and accuracy of investigation relevant information obtained within an experimental vulnerable ‘suspect’ sample. Participants engaged in two tasks; a minor transgression and a matched non-transgression. Each participant was then subject to either a best practice (containing largely open questions) or a modified interview (containing largely closed questions). Vulnerable participants provided a significantly higher and more accurate amount of investigation relevant information during the modified interview rather than the best practice interview. In addition, participants that have mental health conditions sought more clarifications during the best practice interviews. The type of interview did not impact upon the level of vulnerability displayed. Our findings challenge current best practice in that vulnerable participants performed worse in interviews containing more open questions than closed questions. These findings add to the emerging evidence base that vulnerable individuals may require an alternative method of questioning, including the use of closed questions as ‘scaffolding’ during an investigative interview

One way or another? Criminal investigators' beliefs regarding the disclosure of evidence in interviews with suspects in England and Wales

The research base concerning interviews with suspects remains to be comprehensively developed. For example, the extant literature provides differing views regarding how best to undertake the important interview task of disclosing evidence. In the current study, using a self-report questionnaire, 224 investigators based in England and Wales were asked as to their own preferred methods. Most respondents advocated a gradual method of disclosing evidence, stating that this approach would better reveal inconsistencies and obtain a complete version of events (similar to the reasoning of those who preferred disclosing evidence later). Those who advocated revealing evidence early stated this approach would more likely elicit confessions. Several respondents would not commit to one single method, arguing that their chosen strategy was contextually dependent. The study’s findings suggest that it remains arguable as to whether there is one best approach to evidence disclosure and/or whether particular circumstances should influence interviewing strategies

Dissolved noble gases and stable isotopes as tracers of preferential fluid flow along faults in the Lower Rhine Embayment, Germany

Groundwater in shallow unconsolidated sedimentary aquifers close to the Bornheim fault in the Lower Rhine Embayment (LRE), Germany, has relatively low δ2H and δ18O values in comparison to regional modern groundwater recharge, and 4He concentrations up to 1.7 × 10−4 cm3 (STP) g–1 ± 2.2 % which is approximately four orders of magnitude higher than expected due to solubility equilibrium with the atmosphere. Groundwater age dating based on estimated in situ production and terrigenic flux of helium provides a groundwater residence time of ∼107 years. Although fluid exchange between the deep basal aquifer system and the upper aquifer layers is generally impeded by confining clay layers and lignite, this study’s geochemical data suggest, for the first time, that deep circulating fluids penetrate shallow aquifers in the locality of fault zones, implying  that sub-vertical fluid flow occurs along faults in the LRE. However, large hydraulic-head gradients observed across many faults suggest that they act as barriers to lateral groundwater flow. Therefore, the geochemical data reported here also substantiate a conduit-barrier model of fault-zone hydrogeology in unconsolidated sedimentary deposits, as well as corroborating the concept that faults in unconsolidated aquifer systems can act as loci for hydraulic connectivity between deep and shallow aquifers. The implications of fluid flow along faults in sedimentary basins worldwide are far reaching and of particular concern for carbon capture and storage (CCS) programmes, impacts of deep shale gas recovery for shallow groundwater aquifers, and nuclear waste storage sites where fault zones could act as potential leakage pathways for hazardous fluids

An extraterrestrial trigger for the Early Cretaceous massive volcanism? Evidence from the paleo-Tethys Ocean

The Early Cretaceous Greater Ontong Java Event in the Pacific Ocean may have covered ca. 1% of the Earth's surface with volcanism. It has puzzled scientists trying to explain its origin by several mechanisms possible on Earth, leading others to propose an extraterrestrial trigger to explain this event. A large oceanic extraterrestrial impact causing such voluminous volcanism may have traces of its distal ejecta in sedimentary rocks around the basin, including the paleo-Tethys Ocean which was then contiguous with the Pacific Ocean. The contemporaneous marine sequence at central Italy, containing the sedimentary expression of a global oceanic anoxic event (OAE1a), may have recorded such ocurrence as indicated by two stratigraphic intervals with 187Os/188Os indicative of meteoritic influence. Here we show, for the first time, that platinum group element abundances and inter-element ratios in this paleo-Tethyan marine sequence provide no evidence for an extraterrestrial trigger for the Early Cretaceous massive volcanism

Transgenic Expression of Nonclassically Secreted FGF Suppresses Kidney Repair

FGF1 is a signal peptide-less nonclassically released growth factor that is involved in angiogenesis, tissue repair, inflammation, and carcinogenesis. The effects of nonclassical FGF export in vivo are not sufficiently studied. We produced transgenic mice expressing FGF1 in endothelial cells (EC), which allowed the detection of FGF1 export to the vasculature, and studied the efficiency of postischemic kidney repair in these animals. Although FGF1 transgenic mice had a normal phenotype with unperturbed kidney structure, they showed a severely inhibited kidney repair after unilateral ischemia/reperfusion. This was manifested by a strong decrease of postischemic kidney size and weight, whereas the undamaged contralateral kidney exhibited an enhanced compensatory size increase. In addition, the postischemic kidneys of transgenic mice were characterized by hyperplasia of interstitial cells, paucity of epithelial tubular structures, increase of the areas occupied by connective tissue, and neutrophil and macrophage infiltration. The continuous treatment of transgenic mice with the cell membrane stabilizer, taurine, inhibited nonclassical FGF1 export and significantly rescued postischemic kidney repair. It was also found that similar to EC, the transgenic expression of FGF1 in monocytes and macrophages suppresses kidney repair. We suggest that nonclassical export may be used as a target for the treatment of pathologies involving signal peptide-less FGFs

Bone Morphogenetic Protein (BMP)-7 expression is decreased in human hypertensive nephrosclerosis

Background: Bone Morphogenetic Protein (BMP)-7 is protective in different animal models of acute and chronic kidney disease. Its role in human kidneys, and in particular hypertensive nephrosclerosis, has thus far not been described. Methods: BMP-7 mRNA was quantified using real-time PCR and localised by immunostaining in tissue samples from normal and nephrosclerotic human kidneys. The impact of angiotensin (AT)-II and the AT-II receptor antagonist telmisartan on BMP-7 mRNA levels and phosphorylated Smad 1/5/8 (pSmad 1/5/8) expression was quantified in proximal tubular cells (HK-2). Functional characteristics of BMP-7 were evaluated by testing its influence on TGF-b induced epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT), expression of TGF-b receptor type I (TGF-bRI) and phosphorylated Smad 2 (pSmad 2) as well as on TNF-a induced apoptosis of proximal tubular cells. Results: BMP-7 was predominantly found in the epithelia of the distal tubule and the collecting duct and was less abundant in proximal tubular cells. In sclerotic kidneys, BMP-7 was significantly decreased as demonstrated by real-time PCR and immunostaining. AT-II stimulation in HK-2 cells led to a significant decrease of BMP-7 and pSmad 1/5/8, which was partially ameliorated upon co-incubation with telmisartan. Only high concentrations of BMP-7 (100 ng/ml) were able to reverse TNF-a-induced apoptosis and TGF-b-induced EMT in human proximal tubule cells possibly due to a decreased expression of TGF-bRI. In addition, BMP-7 was able to reverse TGF-b-induced phosphorylation of Smad 2. Conclusions: The findings suggest a protective role for BMP-7 by counteracting the TGF-b and TNF-a-induced negative effects. The reduced expression of BMP-7 in patients with hypertensive nephrosclerosis may imply loss of protection and regenerative potential necessary to counter the disease

Inelastic Black Hole Scattering from Charged Scalar Amplitudes

We explain how the lowest-order classical gravitational radiation produced during the inelastic scattering of two Schwarzschild black holes in General Relativity can be obtained from a tree scattering amplitude in gauge theory coupled to scalar fields. The gauge calculation is related to gravity through the double copy. We remove unwanted scalar forces which can occur in the double copy by introducing a massless scalar in the gauge theory, which is treated as a ghost in the link to gravity. We hope these methods are a step towards a direct application of the double copy at higher orders in classical perturbation theory, with the potential to greatly streamline gravity calculations for phenomenological applications.Comment: 28 pages, 6 figure