Optically guided linear Mach Zehnder atom interferometer

We demonstrate a horizontal, linearly guided Mach Zehnder atom interferometer in an optical waveguide. Intended as a proof-of-principle experiment, the interferometer utilises a Bose-Einstein condensate in the magnetically insensitive |F=1,mF=0> state of Rubidium-87 as an acceleration sensitive test mass. We achieve a modest sensitivity to acceleration of da = 7x10^-4 m/s^2. Our fringe visibility is as high as 38% in this optically guided atom interferometer. We observe a time-of-flight in the waveguide of over half a second, demonstrating the utility of our optical guide for future sensors.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures. Submitted to Phys. Rev.

Precision atomic gravimeter based on Bragg diffraction

We present a precision gravimeter based on coherent Bragg diffraction of freely falling cold atoms. Traditionally, atomic gravimeters have used stimulated Raman transitions to separate clouds in momentum space by driving transitions between two internal atomic states. Bragg interferometers utilize only a single internal state, and can therefore be less susceptible to environmental perturbations. Here we show that atoms extracted from a magneto-optical trap using an accelerating optical lattice are a suitable source for a Bragg atom interferometer, allowing efficient beamsplitting and subsequent separation of momentum states for detection. Despite the inherently multi-state nature of atom diffraction, we are able to build a Mach-Zehnder interferometer using Bragg scattering which achieves a sensitivity to the gravitational acceleration of $\Delta g/g = 2.7\times10^{-9}$ with an integration time of 1000s. The device can also be converted to a gravity gradiometer by a simple modification of the light pulse sequence.Comment: 13 pages, 11 figure

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Recent Rural Radio Talks Dairy Hygiene is Important; - D.C. Mickle Farm Water Supplies; - K. Needham Handling the Apple Crop; - K. Whitely Renovation of Irrigated Pastures; - Dairying division More About Lupinosis; - H. W. Bennetts Progress in Doublegee Control; - Norman Halse Changing Practices in Tobacco Growing in W.A.; - G. A. Pearce Progress in doublegee control; - G.A. Pearce Some Uses of Radio Isotopes in Agriculture; - E. N. Fitzpatrick Guildford Grass—Sign of a Run-Down Pasture; - R. A. Bettenay Silage and when to feed it; - R. Bettenay Ants in the Apiary; - R. S. Coleman Bacterial Canker of Stone Fruits; - Olga M. Goss Poison Plants in the Home Garden; - R. D. Royce The Cabbage White Butterfly; - C. F. H. Jenkins Summer Treatments for San Jose Scale; - C. F. H. Jenkins Preparations for Fodder Conservation; - H.G. Cariss Sudan Grass Survived Dry Summer; - R.A. Bettenay Root Maggot Flies; - J. A. Button Fallowing for Cropping; - A.S. Wild Feeding for Milk Quality; - L. C. Snook The Rabbit— Friend or Foe. A. R. Tomlinso

Rehabilitation of face-processing skills in an adolescent with prosopagnosia: Evaluation of an online perceptual training programme

In this paper we describe the case of EM: a female adolescent who acquired prosopagnosia following encephalitis at the age of eight. Initial neuropsychological and eye-movement investigations indicated that EM had profound difficulties in face perception as well as face recognition. EM underwent 14 weeks of perceptual training in an online programme that attempted to improve her ability to make fine-grained discriminations between faces. Following training, EM’s face perception skills had improved, and the effect generalized to untrained faces. Eye-movement analyses also indicated that EM spent more time viewing the inner facial features post-training. Examination of EM’s face recognition skills revealed an improvement in her recognition of personally-known faces when presented in a laboratory-based test, although the same gains were not noted in her everyday experiences with these faces. In addition, EM did not improve on a test assessing the recognition of newly encoded faces. One month after training, EM had maintained the improvement on the eye-tracking test, and to a lesser extent, her performance on the familiar faces test. This pattern of findings is interpreted as promising evidence that the programme can improve face perception skills, and with some adjustments, may at least partially improve face recognition skills

Association Between p.Leu54Met Polymorphism at the Paraoxonase-1 Gene and Plantar Fascia Thickness in Young Subjects With Type 1 Diabetes

OBJECTIVE— In type 1 diabetes, plantar fascia, a collagen-rich tissue, is susceptible to glycation and oxidation. Paraoxonase-1 (PON1) is an HDL-bound antioxidant enzyme. PON1 polymorphisms have been associated with susceptibility to macro- and microvascular complications. We investigated the relationship between plantar fascia thickness (PFT) and PON1 gene variants, p.Leu54Met, p.Gln192Arg, and c.-107C>T, in type 1 diabetes

Identifying Hallmark Symptoms of Developmental Prosopagnosia for Non-Experts

Developmental prosopagnosia (DP) is characterised by a severe and relatively selective deficit in face recognition, in the absence of neurological injury. Because public and professional awareness of DP is low, many adults and children are not identified for formal testing. This may partly result from the lack of appropriate screening tools that can be used by non-experts in either professional or personal settings. To address this issue, the current study sought to (a) explore when DP can first be detected in oneself and another, and (b) identify a list of the condition’s everyday behavioural manifestations. Questionnaires and interviews were administered to large samples of adult DPs, their unaffected significant others, and parents of children with the condition; and data were analysed using inductive content analysis. It was found that DPs have limited insight into their difficulties, with most only achieving realisation in adulthood. Nevertheless, the DPs’ reflections on their childhood experiences, together with the parental responses, revealed specific indicators that can potentially be used to spot the condition in early childhood. These everyday hallmark symptoms may aid the detection of individuals who would benefit from objective testing, in oneself (in adults) or another person (for both adults and children)

Solving the border control problem: evidence of enhanced face matching in individuals with extraordinary face recognition skills.

Photographic identity documents (IDs) are commonly used despite clear evidence that unfamiliar face matching is a difficult and error-prone task. The current study set out to examine the performance of seven individuals with extraordinary face recognition memory, so called “super recognisers” (SRs), on two face matching tasks resembling border control identity checks. In Experiment 1, the SRs as a group outperformed control participants on the “Glasgow Face Matching Test”, and some case-by-case comparisons also reached significance. In Experiment 2, a perceptually difficult face matching task was used: the “Models Face Matching Test”. Once again, SRs outperformed controls both on group and mostly in case-by-case analyses. These findings suggest that SRs are considerably better at face matching than typical perceivers, and would make proficient personnel for border control agencies

Genomic testing for children with interstitial and diffuse lung disease (chILD): Parent satisfaction, understanding and health-related quality of life

Objective Research is needed to determine best practice for genomic testing in the context of child interstitial or diffuse lung disease (chILD). We explored parent’s and child’s health-related quality of life (HRQoL), parents’ perceived understanding of a genomic testing study, satisfaction with information and the study and decisional regret to undertake genomic testing. Methods Parents of children with diagnosed or suspected chILD who were enrolled in a genomic sequencing study were invited to complete questionnaires pretesting (T1) and after receiving the result (T2). Results Parents’ (T1, n=19; T2, n=17) HRQoL was lower than population norms. Study satisfaction (T1) and perceived understanding (T2) were positively correlated (rs=0.68, p=0.014). Satisfaction with information (T1 and T2) and decisional regret (T2) were negatively correlated (T1 rs=−0.71, p=0.01; T2 rs=−0.56, p=0.03). Parents reported wanting more frequent communication with staff throughout the genomic sequencing study, and greater information about the confidentiality of test results. Conclusions Understanding of genomic testing, satisfaction with information and participation and decisional regret are inter-related. Pretest consultations are important and can allow researchers to explain confidentiality of data and the variable turnaround times for receiving a test result. Staff can also update parents when there will be delays to receiving a result.Lauren Kelada, Claire Wakefield, Nada Vidic, David S Armstrong, Bruce Bennetts, Kirsten Boggs, John Christodoulou, Joanne Harrison, Gladys Ho, Nitin Kapur, Suzanna Lindsey-Temple, Tim McDonald, David Mowat, André Schultz, Hiran Selvadurai, Andrew Tai, Adam Jaff

DOR/Tp53inp2 and Tp53inp1 Constitute a Metazoan Gene Family Encoding Dual Regulators of Autophagy and Transcription

Human DOR/TP53INP2 displays a unique bifunctional role as a modulator of autophagy and gene transcription. However, the domains or regions of DOR that participate in those functions have not been identified. Here we have performed structure/function analyses of DOR guided by identification of conserved regions in the DOR gene family by phylogenetic reconstructions. We show that DOR is present in metazoan species. Invertebrates harbor only one gene, DOR/Tp53inp2, and in the common ancestor of vertebrates Tp53inp1 may have arisen by gene duplication. In keeping with these data, we show that human TP53INP1 regulates autophagy and that different DOR/TP53INP2 and TP53INP1 proteins display transcriptional activity. The use of molecular evolutionary information has been instrumental to determine the regions that participate in DOR functions. DOR and TP53INP1 proteins share two highly conserved regions (region 1, aa residues 28–42; region 2, 66–112 in human DOR). Mutation of conserved hydrophobic residues in region 1 of DOR (that are part of a nuclear export signal, NES) reduces transcriptional activity, and blocks nuclear exit and autophagic activity under autophagy-activated conditions. We also identify a functional and conserved LC3-interacting motif (LIR) in region 1 of DOR and TP53INP1 proteins. Mutation of conserved acidic residues in region 2 of DOR reduces transcriptional activity, impairs nuclear exit in response to autophagy activation, and disrupts autophagy. Taken together, our data reveal DOR and TP53INP1 as dual regulators of transcription and autophagy, and identify two conserved regions in the DOR family that concentrate multiple functions crucial for autophagy and transcription