Geometrical frustration in the spin liquid beta'-Me3EtSb[Pd(dmit)2]2 and the valence bond solid Me3EtP[Pd(dmit)2]2

We show that the electronic structures of the title compounds predicted by density functional theory (DFT) are well described by tight binding models. We determine the frustration ratio, J'/J, of the Heisenberg model on the anisotropic triangular lattice, which describes the spin degrees of freedom in the Mott insulating phase for a range of Pd(dmit)2 salts. All of the antiferromagnetic materials studied have J'/J 0.9, consistent with predictions for the Heisenberg model. All salts with 0.5 < J'/J < 0.9, where many-body theories find a number of competing ground states, are known, experimentally, to be charge ordered, valence bond solids or spin liquids.Comment: Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. Lett. 4+11 pages, 3+15 figures, major rewrite, added calculations of Hubbard

Towards the parameterisation of the Hubbard model for salts of BEDT-TTF: A density functional study of isolated molecules

We calculate the effective Coulomb repulsion between electrons/holes, U, and site energy for an isolated BEDT-TTF [bis(ethylenedithio)tetrathiafulvalene] molecule in vacuo. U=4.2 \pm 0.1 eV for 44 experimental geometries taken from a broad range of conformations, polymorphs, anions, temperatures, and pressures (the quoted `error' is one standard deviation). Hence we conclude that U is essentially the same for all of the compounds studied. This shows that the strong (hydrostatic and chemical) pressure dependence observed in the phase diagrams of the BEDT-TTF salts is not due to U. Therefore, if the Hubbard model is sufficient to describe the phase diagram of the BEDT-TTF salts there must be significant pressure dependence on the intramolecular terms in the Hamiltonian and/or the reduction of the Hubbard U due to the interaction of the molecule with the polarisable crystal environment. The renormalised value of U is significantly smaller than the bare value of the Coulomb integral: F_0=5.2\pm0.1 eV across the same set of geometries, emphasising the importance of using the renormalised value of U. The site energy (for holes), xi=5.0\pm0.2 eV, varies only a little more than U across the same set of geometries. However, we argue that this plays a key role in understanding the role of disorder in ET salts in general and in explaining the difference between the beta_L and beta_H phases of beta-(BEDT-TTF)_2I_3 in particular.Comment: 13 pages, 6 figures, also see animations at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3K2kP8hWpZI, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIz1cRsSdEs and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNzUBAS6AFM, Expanded discussion of renormalisation effects. To appear in J. Chem. Phy

The ecology and population genetics of a complex of cryptic bumblebee species

Bumblebees are ecologically and economically important as pollinators, but some species are suffering severe declines and range contractions. In this thesis, three cryptic bumblebee species are studied to elucidate differences in their distribution, ecology and population genetics. As a result of their high morphological similarity, very little is known about the lucorum complex species: B. lucorum, B, cryptarum and B. magnus. In this study, their distributions across Great Britain were assessed using molecular methods, revealing that B. lucorum was the most abundant and most generalist of the three species, whereas B. magnus was the rarest and most specialised, occurring almost exclusively on heathland. Additionally, both B. magnus and B. cryptarum were more likely to be present at sites with cooler summer temperatures. Cryptic species represent interesting models to investigate the levels of niche differentiation required to avoid competitive exclusion. Characterising the niches of these species at a single site across the flight season revealed differences along three niche dimensions: temporal activity, weather sensitivity and forage-resource use. These species exhibited asymmetric niche overlap; a combination of ecological divergence and spatio-temporal heterogeneity may contribute to maintaining them in sympatry. Population genetic studies can be highly informative for understanding species ecology and for conservation management. The differences in habitat specialisation exhibited by these bumblebee species provide the opportunity to test conflicting hypotheses about links between dispersal and ecological specialisation: are habitat specialists selected to have low or high dispersal ability? Based on microsatellite analysis, the generalist B. lucorum had high levels of genetic diversity and little population structure across large spatial scales. The habitat specialist B. magnus had the lowest genetic diversity but similar levels of population differentiation to the moderate generalist, B. cryptarum. However, unlike B. cryptarum, B. magnus population differentiation was not affected by geographic distance, suggesting that this specialist species may maintain effective dispersal across large scales despite being restricted to a fragmented habitat. Bergmann’s rule is a well-known ecogeographic rule describing geographical patterns of body size variation, whereby larger endothermic species are found more commonly at higher latitudes. Ectotherms, including insects, have been suggested to follow converse Bergmann’s gradients, but the facultatively endothermic nature of bumblebees makes it unclear which pattern they should adhere to. This thesis reports caste-specific differences in body size between the three lucorum complex species in agreement with Bergmann’s rule: queens and males of B. cryptarum and B. magnus, which were found more commonly at higher latitudes and at sites with cooler temperatures, were larger than those of B. lucorum. Population genetic studies of invertebrates generally require the destruction of large numbers of individuals, which is often undesirable. Testing a variety of faecal collection and DNA extraction methods demonstrated that it is possible to obtain DNA of sufficient quality for genotyping from bumblebee faeces, without harming the individuals. This method would be valuable for studies of rare or declining bee species, for queens in reintroduction projects, and may be applicable to other arthropods. Overall this thesis contributes substantially to our knowledge of the ecology and population genetics of three important pollinator species. It provides data to inform species conservation, as well as understanding of ecosystem functioning and population dynamics. Furthermore, it successfully uses these cryptic species as a model to test several fundamental ecological theories

Spatial compression impairs prism adaptation in healthy individuals

Neglect patients typically present with gross inattention to one side of space following damage to the contralateral hemisphere. While prism-adaptation (PA) is effective in ameliorating some neglect behaviors, the mechanisms involved and their relationship to neglect remain unclear. Recent studies have shown that conscious strategic control (SC) processes in PA may be impaired in neglect patients, who are also reported to show extraordinarily long aftereffects compared to healthy participants. Determining the underlying cause of these effects may be the key to understanding therapeutic benefits. Alternative accounts suggest that reduced SC might result from a failure to detect prism-induced reaching errors properly either because (a) the size of the error is underestimated in compressed visual space or (b) pathologically increased error-detection thresholds reduce the requirement for error correction. The purpose of this study was to model these two alternatives in healthy participants and to examine whether SC and subsequent aftereffects were abnormal compared to standard PA. Each participant completed three PA procedures within a MIRAGE mediated reality environment with direction errors recorded before, during and after adaptation. During PA, visual feedback of the reach could be compressed, perturbed by noise, or represented veridically. Compressed visual space significantly reduced SC and aftereffects compared to control and noise conditions. These results support recent observations in neglect patients, suggesting that a distortion of spatial representation may successfully model neglect and explain neglect performance while adapting to prisms

Spatial compression impairs prism adaptation in healthy individuals

Neglect patients typically present with gross inattention to one side of space following damage to the contralateral hemisphere. While prism-adaptation (PA) is effective in ameliorating some neglect behaviors, the mechanisms involved and their relationship to neglect remain unclear. Recent studies have shown that conscious strategic control (SC) processes in PA may be impaired in neglect patients, who are also reported to show extraordinarily long aftereffects compared to healthy participants. Determining the underlying cause of these effects may be the key to understanding therapeutic benefits. Alternative accounts suggest that reduced SC might result from a failure to detect prism-induced reaching errors properly either because (a) the size of the error is underestimated in compressed visual space or (b) pathologically increased error-detection thresholds reduce the requirement for error correction. The purpose of this study was to model these two alternatives in healthy participants and to examine whether SC and subsequent aftereffects were abnormal compared to standard PA. Each participant completed three PA procedures within a MIRAGE mediated reality environment with direction errors recorded before, during and after adaptation. During PA, visual feedback of the reach could be compressed, perturbed by noise, or represented veridically. Compressed visual space significantly reduced SC and aftereffects compared to control and noise conditions. These results support recent observations in neglect patients, suggesting that a distortion of spatial representation may successfully model neglect and explain neglect performance while adapting to prisms

Four layer bandage compared with short stretch bandage for venous leg ulcers: systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials with data from individual patients

&lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Objective:&lt;/b&gt; To compare the effectiveness of two types of compression treatment (four layer bandage and short stretch bandage) in people with venous leg ulceration.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Design:&lt;/b&gt; Systematic review and meta-analysis of patient level data.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Data:&lt;/b&gt; sources Electronic databases (the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, the Cochrane Wounds Group Specialised Register, Medline, Embase, CINAHL, and National Research Register) and reference lists of retrieved articles searched to identify relevant trials and primary investigators. Primary investigators of eligible trials were invited to contribute raw data for re-analysis.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Review:&lt;/b&gt; methods Randomised controlled trials of four layer bandage compared with short stretch bandage in people with venous leg ulceration were eligible for inclusion. The primary outcome for the meta-analysis was time to healing. Cox proportional hazards models were run to compare the methods in terms of time to healing with adjustment for independent predictors of healing. Secondary outcomes included incidence and number of adverse events per patient.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Results:&lt;/b&gt; Seven eligible trials were identified (887 patients), and patient level data were retrieved for five (797 patients, 90% of known randomised patients). The four layer bandage was associated with significantly shorter time to healing: hazard ratio (95% confidence interval) from multifactorial model based on five trials was 1.31 (1.09 to 1.58), P=0.005. Larger ulcer area at baseline, more chronic ulceration, and previous ulceration were all independent predictors of delayed healing. Data from two trials showed no evidence of a difference in adverse event profiles between the two bandage types.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&lt;b&gt;Conclusions:&lt;/b&gt; Venous leg ulcers in patients treated with four layer bandages heal faster, on average, than those of people treated with the short stretch bandage. Benefits were consistent across patients with differing prognostic profiles.&lt;/p&gt

The effect of caffeine mouth rinse on self-paced cycling performance

The aim of the study was to determine whether caffeine mouth rinse would improve 30 min self-paced cycling trial. Twelve healthy active males (age 20.5±0.7 years, mass 87.4±18.3 kg) volunteered for the study. They attended the laboratory on 3 separate occasions performing a 30 min self-paced cycling trial. On one occasion water was given as a mouth rinse for 5 s (PLA), on another occasion a 6.4% maltodextrin (CHO) solution was given for 5 s and finally a caffeine solution (containing 32 mg of caffeine dissolved in 125 ml water; CAF) was given for 5 s. Distance cycled, heart rate, ratings of perceived exertion, cadence, speed and power output were recorded throughout all trials. Distance cycled during the CAF mouth rinse trial (16.2±2.8 km) was significantly greater compared to PLA trial (14.9±2.6 km). There was no difference between CHO and CAF trials (P=0.89). Cadence, power and velocity were significantly greater during the CAF trial compared to both PLA and CHO (P0.05). Caffeine mouth rinse improves 30 min cycling performance by allowing the participant to increase cadence, power and velocity without a concurrent increase in perceived exertion and heart rate

Pediatric venous thromboembolism in relation to adults

ObjectiveThis review was performed to analyze the current knowledge and controversies in the pathophysiology, diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes of pediatric venous thromboembolism (VTE) compared with adults.MethodsSearches of the MEDLINE database and manual searches of the references of selected articles were performed to select reports for their relevance and quality of information on the similarities and differences in pathophysiology, diagnosis, and treatment of VTE in children and adults.ResultsSymptomatic VTE incidence is reported at a rate of 0.07 in every 10,000 children, which is significantly lower than the rate in adults. Pulmonary emboli in adolescents are rarely fatal, unlike in adults. VTE recurrence is also much lower in children. Young age has been shown to be protective of VTE, whereas central venous catheters are very important in pediatric venous thrombosis. The incidence of postthrombotic syndrome varies from 20% to 65%, with mild symptoms in most children. Cerebral and visceral vein thrombosis may lead to severe morbidity and death. Some factors of thrombophilia have a significant effect in the pediatric population; however, its overall significance is controversial. Most data on VTE treatment are extrapolated from studies in adults. Children with acute VTE should be treated with anticoagulation therapy. Treatment duration depends on the nature of the thrombosis and previous VTE events.ConclusionsThere is a paucity of prospective randomized studies with data determining not only the effect of VTE but also the treatment options in children. Thrombophilia is a risk factor for pediatric VTE, but its significance has not been thoroughly investigated. Guidelines specific to children for antithrombotic therapy, prophylaxis, and optimal duration need re-evaluation and support by strong evidence

Radio-frequency reflectometry on an undoped AlGaAs/GaAs single electron transistor

Radio frequency reflectometry is demonstrated in a sub-micron undoped AlGaAs/GaAs device. Undoped single electron transistors (SETs) are attractive candidates to study single electron phenomena due to their charge stability and robust electronic properties after thermal cycling. However these devices require a large top-gate which is unsuitable for the fast and sensitive radio frequency reflectometry technique. Here we demonstrate rf reflectometry is possible in an undoped SET.Comment: Four pages, three figures, one supplementary fil