Observation of non-exponential magnetic penetration profiles in the Meissner state - A manifestation of non-local effects in superconductors

Implanting fully polarized low energy muons on the nanometer scale beneath the surface of a superconductor in the Meissner state enabled us to probe the evanescent magnetic field profile B(z)(0<z<=200nm measured from the surface). All the investigated samples [Nb: kappa \simeq 0.7(2), Pb: kappa \simeq 0.6(1), Ta: kappa \simeq 0.5(2)] show clear deviations from the simple exponential B(z) expected in the London limit, thus revealing the non-local response of these superconductors. From a quantitative analysis within the Pippard and BCS models the London penetration depth lambda_L is extracted. In the case of Pb also the clean limit coherence length xi0 is obtained. Furthermore we find that the temperature dependence of the magnetic penetration depth follows closely the two-fluid expectation 1/lambda^2 \propto 1-(T/T_c)^4. While B(z) for Nb and Pb are rather well described within the Pippard and BCS models, for Ta this is only true to a lesser degree. We attribute this discrepancy to the fact that the superfluid density is decreased by approaching the surface on a length scale xi0. This effect, which is not taken self-consistently into account in the mentioned models, should be more pronounced in the lowest kappa regime consistently with our findings.Comment: accepted in PRB 14 pages, 17 figure

The relationship of health/food literacy and salt awareness to daily sodium and potassium intake among a workplace population in Switzerland

Background and aims: High sodium (Na) and low potassium (K) intake are associated with hypertension and CVD risk. This study explored the associations of health literacy (HL), food literacy (FL), and salt awareness with salt intake, K intake, and Na/K ratio in a workplace intervention trial in Switzerland. Methods and results: The study acquired baseline data from 141 individuals, mean age 44.6 years. Na and K intake were estimated from a single 24-h urine collection. We applied validated instruments to assess HL and FL, and salt awareness. Multiple linear regression was used to investigate the association of explanatory variables with salt intake, K intake, and Na/K. Mean daily salt intake was 8.9 g, K 3.1 g, and Na/K 1.18. Salt intake was associated with sex (p <0.001), and K intake with sex (p <0.001), age (p = 0.02), and waist-to-height ratio (p = 0.03), as was Na/K. HL index and FL score were not significantly associated with salt or K intake but the awareness variable "salt content impacts food/menu choice" was associated with salt intake (p = 0.005). Conclusion: To achieve the established targets for population Na and K intake, health-related knowledge, abilities, and skills related to Na/salt and K intake need to be promoted through combined educational and structural interventions. (C) 2017 The Italian Society of Diabetology, the Italian Society for the Study of Atherosclerosis, the Italian Society of Human Nutrition, and the Department of Clinical Medicine and Surgery, Federico II University. Published by Elsevier B.V.Peer reviewe

Sublinear-Time Language Recognition and Decision by One-Dimensional Cellular Automata

After an apparent hiatus of roughly 30 years, we revisit a seemingly neglected subject in the theory of (one-dimensional) cellular automata: sublinear-time computation. The model considered is that of ACAs, which are language acceptors whose acceptance condition depends on the states of all cells in the automaton. We prove a time hierarchy theorem for sublinear-time ACA classes, analyze their intersection with the regular languages, and, finally, establish strict inclusions in the parallel computation classes $\mathsf{SC}$ and (uniform) $\mathsf{AC}$. As an addendum, we introduce and investigate the concept of a decider ACA (DACA) as a candidate for a decider counterpart to (acceptor) ACAs. We show the class of languages decidable in constant time by DACAs equals the locally testable languages, and we also determine $\Omega(\sqrt{n})$ as the (tight) time complexity threshold for DACAs up to which no advantage compared to constant time is possible.Comment: 16 pages, 2 figures, to appear at DLT 202

Effect of hosts on competition among clones and evidence of differential selection between pathogenic and saprophytic phases in experimental populations of the wheat pathogen Phaeosphaeria nodorum

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Monoculture, multi-cropping and wider use of highly resistant cultivars have been proposed as mechanisms to explain the elevated rate of evolution of plant pathogens in agricultural ecosystems. We used a mark-release-recapture experiment with the wheat pathogen <it>Phaeosphaeria nodorum </it>to evaluate the impact of two of these mechanisms on the evolution of a pathogen population. Nine <it>P. nodorum </it>isolates marked with ten microsatellite markers and one minisatellite were released onto five replicated host populations to initiate epidemics of Stagonospora nodorum leaf blotch. The experiment was carried out over two consecutive host growing seasons and two pathogen collections were made during each season.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A total of 637 pathogen isolates matching the marked inoculants were recovered from inoculated plots over two years. Genetic diversity in the host populations affected the evolution of the corresponding <it>P. nodorum </it>populations. In the cultivar mixture the relative frequencies of inoculants did not change over the course of the experiment and the pathogen exhibited a low variation in selection coefficients.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our results support the hypothesis that increasing genetic heterogeneity in host populations may retard the rate of evolution in associated pathogen populations. Our experiment also provides indirect evidence of fitness costs associated with host specialization in <it>P. nodorum </it>as indicated by differential selection during the pathogenic and saprophytic phases.</p

A technique to train new oculomotor behavior in patients with central macular scotomas during reading related tasks using scanning laser ophthalmoscopy: immediate functional benefits and gains retention

BACKGROUND: Reading with a central scotoma involves the use of preferred retinal loci (PRLs) that enable both letter resolution and global viewing of word. Spontaneously developed PRLs however often privilege spatial resolution and, as a result, visual span is commonly limited by the position of the scotoma. In this study we designed and performed the pilot trial of a training procedure aimed at modifying oculomotor behavior in subjects with central field loss. We use an additional fixation point which, when combined with the initial PRL, allows the fulfillment of both letter resolution and global viewing of words. METHODS: The training procedure comprises ten training sessions conducted with the scanning laser ophthalmoscope (SLO). Subjects have to read single letters and isolated words varying in length, by combining the use of their initial PRL with the one of an examiner's selected trained retinal locus (TRL). We enrolled five subjects to test for the feasibility of the training technique. They showed stable maculopathy and persisting major reading difficulties despite previous orthoptic rehabilitation. We evaluated ETDRS visual acuity, threshold character size for single letters and isolated words, accuracy for paragraphed text reading and reading strategies before, immediately after SLO training, and three months later. RESULTS: Training the use of multiple PRLs in patients with central field loss is feasible and contributes to adapt oculomotor strategies during reading related tasks. Immediately after SLO training subjects used in combination with their initial PRL the examiner's selected TRL and other newly self-selected PRLs. Training gains were also reflected in ETDRS acuity, threshold character size for words of different lengths and in paragraphed text reading. Interestingly, subjects benefited variously from the training procedure and gains were retained differently as a function of word length. CONCLUSION: We designed a new procedure for training patients with central field loss using scanning laser ophthalmoscopy. Our initial results on the acquisition of newly self-selected PRLs and the development of new oculomotor behaviors suggest that the procedure aiming primarily at developing an examiner's selected TRL might have initiated a more global functional adaptation process

As repercussões do cuidado na vida do cuidador familiar do idoso com demência de Alzheimer

Nos últimos anos tem aumentado progressivamente o número de famílias que se tem confrontado com a situação de cuidar de familiares idosos em condição de dependência, principalmente quando esta é provocada em virtude da Doença de Alzheimer (DA). O objetivo deste estudo é o de investigar as repercussões do cuidado na vida do cuidador familiar de idoso com demência de Alzheimer. Através da epistemologia qualitativa utilizou-se a técnica da entrevista na modalidade de história de vida temática aplicada a vinte cuidadores de idosos cadastrados na Associação Brasileira de Alzheimer do estado do Amazonas (ABRAZ-AM). Os resultados mostraram que as renúncias aparecem nos depoimentos dos familiares como uma repercussão significativa do cuidado. A privação social em função do cuidado é uma realidade presente na vida dos cuidadores deste estudo. A raiva, a impaciência, o medo, a solidão e a vergonha são sentimentos vivenciados pelos cuidadores em seu cotidiano, que se alternam com sentimentos de satisfação, felicidade, compaixão e de retribuição. É importante salientar que neste estudo, a situação de cuidado vivenciada pelos cuidadores é permeada por sentimentos que se contrapõem, em determinados momentos se configurando como desagradáveis e em outros momentos como agradáveis. Sendo assim, percebe-se que é possível e relevante os profissionais da saúde identificarem esses aspectos favorecedores de prazer na relação de cuidado, buscando exaltá-los perante os outros. Dessa forma, a possibilidade de enfrentar da melhor forma os percalços deve ser considerada uma realidade eminentemente presente no cotidiano de cuidado.In recent years there has been a progressive increase in the number of families confronted with the situation of caring for elderly relatives in a dependent condition, principally as a result of Alzheimer's disease. The objective of the present study was to investigate the repercussions of such care in the life of family caregivers of elderly relatives with Alzheimer's disease. By means of qualitative epistemology, the interview technique was used in the thematic life history modality, and applied to 20 caregivers of elderly individuals enrolled in the Brazilian Association of Alzheimer's Disease in the State of Amazonas, Northern Brazil. The results showed that renouncements emerge in the caregivers' testimonies as a significant repercussion of care. Social deprivation is a reality that is present in the lives of all the caregivers who took part in this study. Anger, impatience, fear, loneliness and shame are feelings experienced by the caregivers in their everyday lives, intermingling with feelings of satisfaction, happiness, compassion and retribution. It is important to highlight that in the present study the care situation lived by the caregivers was permeated by opposing feelings, being considered unpleasant in certain moments and pleasant in others. Thus, it is perceived that it is possible and relevant for the health professionals to identify the pleasure-promoting aspects in the care relationship, praising them before the others. Therefore, the possibility of facing the mishaps in the best possible way should be considered as an eminently present reality in the daily routine of care

Measurement of Energy Correlators inside Jets and Determination of the Strong Coupling Formula Presented

Energy correlators that describe energy-weighted distances between two or three particles in a hadronic jet are measured using an event sample of $\sqrt{s}$=13 TeV proton-proton collisions collected by the CMS experiment and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 36.3 fb$^{−1}$. The measured distributions are consistent with the trends in the simulation that reveal two key features of the strong interaction: confinement and asymptotic freedom. By comparing the ratio of the measured three- and two-particle energy correlator distributions with theoretical calculations that resum collinear emissions at approximate next-to-next-to-leading-logarithmic accuracy matched to a next-to-leading-order calculation, the strong coupling is determined at the Z boson mass: α$_S$ (m$_Z$)=0.1229 $\frac{0.0040}{-0.0050}$ , the most precise α$_S$m$_Z$ value obtained using jet substructure observable

Search for a resonance decaying to a W boson and a photon in proton-proton collisions at s \sqrt{s} = 13 TeV using leptonic W boson decays

A search for a new charged particle X with mass between 0.3 and 2.0 TeV decaying to a W boson and a photon is presented, using proton-proton collision data at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, collected by the CMS experiment and corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 138 fb−1. Particle X has electric charge ±1 and is assumed to have spin 0. The search is performed using the electron and muon decays of the W boson. No significant excess above the predicted background is observed. The upper limit at 95% confidence level on the product of the production cross section of the X and its branching fraction to a W boson and a photon is found to be 94 (137) fb for a 0.3 TeV resonance and 0.75 (0.81) fb for a 2.0 TeV resonance, for an X width-to-mass ratio of 0.01% (5%). This search presents the most stringent constraints to date on the existence of such resonances across the probed mass range. A statistical combination with an earlier study based on the hadronic decay mode of the W boson is also performed, and the upper limit at 95% confidence level for a 2.0 TeV resonance is reduced to 0.50 (0.63) fb for an X width-to-mass ratio of 0.01% (5%)