Rigidity of compact Riemannian spin Manifolds with Boundary

In this article, we prove new rigidity results for compact Riemannian spin manifolds with boundary whose scalar curvature is bounded from below by a non-positive constant. In particular, we obtain generalizations of a result of Hang-Wang \cite{hangwang1} based on a conjecture of Schroeder and Strake \cite{schroeder}.Comment: English version of "G\'eom\'etrie spinorielle extrins\`eque et rigidit\'es", Corollary 6 in Section 3 added, to appear in Letters Math. Phy

Extreme sensitivity of the spin-splitting and 0.7 anomaly to confining potential in one-dimensional nanoelectronic devices

Quantum point contacts (QPCs) have shown promise as nanoscale spin-selective components for spintronic applications and are of fundamental interest in the study of electron many-body effects such as the 0.7 x 2e^2/h anomaly. We report on the dependence of the 1D Lande g-factor g* and 0.7 anomaly on electron density and confinement in QPCs with two different top-gate architectures. We obtain g* values up to 2.8 for the lowest 1D subband, significantly exceeding previous in-plane g-factor values in AlGaAs/GaAs QPCs, and approaching that in InGaAs/InP QPCs. We show that g* is highly sensitive to confinement potential, particularly for the lowest 1D subband. This suggests careful management of the QPC's confinement potential may enable the high g* desirable for spintronic applications without resorting to narrow-gap materials such as InAs or InSb. The 0.7 anomaly and zero-bias peak are also highly sensitive to confining potential, explaining the conflicting density dependencies of the 0.7 anomaly in the literature.Comment: 23 pages, 7 figure

Restricted and unrestricted Hartree-Fock calculations of conductance for a quantum point contact

Very short quantum wires (quantum contacts) exhibit a conductance structure at a value of conductance close to $0.7 \times 2e^2/h$. It is believed that the structure arises due to the electron-electron interaction, and it is also related to electron spin. However details of the mechanism of the structure are not quite clear. Previously we approached the problem within the restricted Hartree-Fock approximation. This calculation demonstrated a structure similar to that observed experimentally. In the present work we perform restricted and unrestricted Hartree-Fock calculations to analyze the validity of the approximations. We also consider dependence of the effect on the electron density in leads. The unrestricted Hartree-Fock method allows us to analyze trapping of the single electron within the contact. Such trapping would result in the Kondo model for the ``0.7 structure''. The present calculation confirms the spin-dependent bound state picture and does not confirm the Kondo model scenario.Comment: 6 pages, 9 figure

STECF Evaluation of Fisheries Dependent Information (STECF-15-12)

STEC

The Incremental Cooperative Design of Preventive Healthcare Networks

This document is the Accepted Manuscript version of the following article: Soheil Davari, 'The incremental cooperative design of preventive healthcare networks', Annals of Operations Research, first published online 27 June 2017. Under embargo. Embargo end date: 27 June 2018. The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10479-017-2569-1.In the Preventive Healthcare Network Design Problem (PHNDP), one seeks to locate facilities in a way that the uptake of services is maximised given certain constraints such as congestion considerations. We introduce the incremental and cooperative version of the problem, IC-PHNDP for short, in which facilities are added incrementally to the network (one at a time), contributing to the service levels. We first develop a general non-linear model of this problem and then present a method to make it linear. As the problem is of a combinatorial nature, an efficient Variable Neighbourhood Search (VNS) algorithm is proposed to solve it. In order to gain insight into the problem, the computational studies were performed with randomly generated instances of different settings. Results clearly show that VNS performs well in solving IC-PHNDP with errors not more than 1.54%.Peer reviewe

The ToyBox pre-school obesity prevention intervention for use in Scotland : results of a feasibility cluster randomised controlled trial (cRCT)

Objective: The ToyBox intervention was successful at increasing physical activity and reducing sedentary behaviour in pre-school children across Europe. The intervention involves teacher-led activities over 18 weeks which aim to increase physical activity, reduce sedentary behaviour, and promote healthy snacking and water consumption. We adapted the Toybox Europe intervention for preschools in Scotland using a co-production approach. This study aimed to test the feasibility of our adapted intervention in children attending preschools in relatively deprived areas of Glasgow, Scotland, who are considered hard to reach. Methods: The feasibility cRCT involved six preschools (three intervention, three control); control was usual curriculum. Participants were 3-5 year old children attending preschools in Glasgow, UK, and their parents. Outcomes of interest were recruitment rates, willingness to be randomised, attrition rates, questionnaire completion rate and acceptability of measurement methods. Measurements were taken at baseline and 18 weeks; anthropometry, physical activity, sleep and sedentary time using the activPal accelerometer (wear time = 7 days; 3 days considered valid), body composition via bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA), and measures of diet and home screen time via parental questionnaire. Results: Cluster level recruitment rate was 9% (11/112 preschools) and the individual level recruitment rate was 18% (42/231 children). 36 children (16 girls) provided at least one valid measurement at baseline and follow-up (attrition rate = 16.6%). All clusters were willing to be randomised. Anthropometric measures were acceptable and feasible. Parental questionnaire response rates were low (20%). 61% of the sample provided valid accelerometer data at baseline, 27% for baseline and followup. BIA was not feasible due to poor participant compliance with protocol. Conclusions: Recruitment rates of both preschools and children was lower than anticipated compared with Toybox Europe. However, for those children who took part, the adapted intervention and the measurement methods appeared acceptable and feasible. An ongoing process evaluation will help identify ways in which recruitment of preschools, and recruitment and retention of participants, can be maximised in areas of deprivatio

Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 2CC due to NEFH variants causes a progressive, non-length-dependent, motor-predominant phenotype

Objective: Neurofilaments are the major scaffolding proteins for the neuronal cytoskeleton, and variants in NEFH have recently been described to cause axonal Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease type 2CC (CMT2CC). Methods: In this large observational study, we present phenotype–genotype correlations on 30 affected and 3 asymptomatic mutation carriers from eight families. Results: The majority of patients presented in adulthood with motor-predominant and lower limb-predominant symptoms and the average age of onset was 31.0±15.1 years. A prominent feature was the development of proximal weakness early in the course of the disease. The disease progressed rapidly, unlike other Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT) subtypes, and half of the patients (53%) needed to use a wheelchair on average 24.1 years after symptom onset. Furthermore, 40% of patients had evidence of early ankle plantarflexion weakness, a feature which is observed in only a handful of CMT subtypes. Neurophysiological studies and MRI of the lower limbs confirmed the presence of a non-length-dependent neuropathy in the majority of patients. All families harboured heterozygous frameshift variants in the last exon of NEFH, resulting in a reading frameshift to an alternate open reading frame and the translation of approximately 42 additional amino acids from the 3' untranslated region (3′-UTR). Conclusions: This phenotype–genotype study highlights the unusual phenotype of CMT2CC, which is more akin to spinal muscular atrophy rather than classic CMT. Furthermore, the study will enable more informative discussions on the natural history of the disease and will aid in NEFH variant interpretation in the context of the disease’s unique molecular genetics

Expedition 382 Preliminary Report: Iceberg Alley and Subantarctic Ice and Ocean Dynamics

This is the final version. Available from International Ocean Discovery Program via the DOI in this record. International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) Expedition 382, Iceberg Alley and Subantarctic Ice and Ocean Dynamics, investigated the long-term climate history of Antarctica, seeking to understand how polar ice sheets responded to changes in insolation and atmospheric CO2 in the past and how ice sheet evolution influenced global sea level and vice versa. Five sites (U1534–U1538) were drilled east of the Drake Passage: two sites at 53.2°S at the northern edge of the Scotia Sea and three sites at 57.4°–59.4°S in the southern Scotia Sea. We recovered continuously deposited late Neogene sediment to reconstruct the past history and variability in Antarctic Ice Sheet (AIS) mass loss and associated changes in oceanic and atmospheric circulation. The sites from the southern Scotia Sea (Sites U1536–U1538) will be used to study the Neogene flux of icebergs through “Iceberg Alley,” the main pathway along which icebergs calved from the mar- gin of the AIS travel as they move equatorward into the warmer wa- ters of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC). In particular, sediments from this area will allow us to assess the magnitude of iceberg flux during key times of AIS evolution, including the following: • The middle Miocene glacial intensification of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet, • The mid-Pliocene warm period, • The late Pliocene glacial expansion of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, • The mid-Pleistocene transition (MPT), and • The “warm interglacials” and glacial terminations of the last 800 ky. We will use the geochemical provenance of iceberg-rafted detritus and other glacially eroded material to determine regional sources of AIS mass loss. We will also address interhemispheric phasing of ice sheet growth and decay, study the distribution and history of land-based versus marine-based ice sheets around the continent over time, and explore the links between AIS variability and global sea level. By comparing north–south variations across the Scotia Sea be- tween the Pirie Basin (Site U1538) and the Dove Basin (Sites U1536 and U1537), Expedition 382 will also deliver critical information on how climate changes in the Southern Ocean affect ocean circulation through the Drake Passage, meridional overturning in the region, water mass production, ocean–atmosphere CO2 transfer by wind- induced upwelling, sea ice variability, bottom water outflow from the Weddell Sea, Antarctic weathering inputs, and changes in oceanic and atmospheric fronts in the vicinity of the ACC. Comparing changes in dust proxy records between the Scotia Sea and Antarctic ice cores will also provide a detailed reconstruction of changes in the Southern Hemisphere westerlies on millennial and orbital timescales for the last 800 ky. Extending the ocean dust record beyond the last 800 ky will help to evaluate dust-climate couplings since the Pliocene, the potential role of dust in iron fertilization and atmospheric CO2 drawdown during glacials, and whether dust input to Antarctica played a role in the MPT. The principal scientific objective of Subantarctic Front Sites U1534 and U1535 at the northern limit of the Scotia Sea is to recon- struct and understand how ocean circulation and intermediate water formation responds to changes in climate with a special focus on the connectivity between the Atlantic and Pacific basins, the “cold water route.” The Subantarctic Front contourite drift, deposited between 400 and 2000 m water depth on the northern flank of an east–west trending trough off the Chilean continental shelf, is ideally situated to monitor millennial- to orbital-scale variability in the export of Antarctic Intermediate Water beneath the Subantarctic Front. During Expedition 382, we recovered continuously deposited sediments from this drift spanning the late Pleistocene (from ~0.78 Ma to recent) and from the late Pliocene (~3.1–2.6 Ma). These sites are expected to yield a wide array of paleoceanographic records that can be used to interpret past changes in the density structure of the Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean, track migrations of the Sub- antarctic Front, and give insights into the role and evolution of the cold water route over significant climate episodes, including the following: • The most recent warm interglacials of the late Pleistocene and • The intensification of Northern Hemisphere glaciation.National Science Foundatio