4,449 research outputs found
R-values in Low Energy e^+e^- Annihilation
This presentation briefly summarizes the recent measurements of R-values in
low energy e^+e^- annihilation. The new experiments aimed at reducing the
uncertainties in R-values and performed with the upgraded Beijing Spectrometer
(BESII) at Beijing Electron Positron Collider (BEPC) in Beijing and with CMD-2
and SND at VEEP-2M in Novosibirsk are reviewed and discussed.Comment: 17 pages, 10 figures, invited presentation at the XIX International
Symposium on Lepton and Photon Interactions at High Energy, Stanford
University, August 199
The Nearby Supernova Factory
The Nearby Supernova Factory (SNfactory) is an ambitious project to find and
study in detail approximately 300 nearby Type Ia supernovae (SNe~Ia) at
redshifts 0.03<z<0.08. This program will provide an exceptional data set of
well-studied SNe in the nearby smooth Hubble flow that can be used as
calibration for the current and future programs designed to use SNe to measure
the cosmological parameters. The first key ingredient for this program is a
reliable supply of Hubble-flow SNe systematically discovered in unprecedented
numbers using the same techniques as those used in distant SNe searches. In
2002, 35 SNe were found using our test-bed pipeline for automated SN search and
discovery. The pipeline uses images from the asteroid search conducted by the
Near Earth Asteroid Tracking group at JPL. Improvements in our subtraction
techniques and analysis have allowed us to increase our effective SN discovery
rate to ~12 SNe/month in 2003.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures to be published in New Astronomy Review
Spin Dynamics in the Magnetic Chains Arrays of Sr14Cu24O41: a Neutron Inelastic scattering Investigation
Below about 150 K, the spin arrangement in the chain arrays of Sr14Cu24O41 is
shown to develop in two dimensions (2D). Both the correlations and the
dispersion of the observed elementary excitations agree well with a model of
interacting dimers. Along the chains, the intra- and inter-dimer distances are
equal to 2 and about 3 times the distance (c) between neighboring Cu ions.
While the intra-dimer coupling is J about 10 meV, the inter-dimer couplings
along and between the chains are of comparable strenght, J// about -1.1 meV and
Jperp about 1.7 meV, respectively. This remarkable 2D arrangement satisfies the
formal Cu valence of the undoped compound. Our data suggest also that it is
associated with a relative sliding of one chain with respect to the next one,
which, as T decreases, develops in the chain direction. A qualitative analysis
shows that nearest inter-dimer spin correlations are ferromagnetic, which, in
such a 2D structure, could well result from frustration effects.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures, submitted to Phys.Rev.B, date of receipt 29 June
199
Social deprivation and exposure to health promotion. A study of the distribution of health promotion resources to schools in England
This article has been made available through the Brunel Open Access Publishing Fund and is available from the specified link - Copyright @ 2010 Chivu and ReidpathBACKGROUND: Area deprivation is a known determinant of health. It is also known that area deprivation is associated with lower impact health promotion. It is less well known, however, whether deprived areas are less responsive to health promotion, or whether they are less exposed. Using data from a national, school-based campaign to promote vaccination against the human papilloma virus (HPV), the relationship between area deprivation and exposure was examined.
METHODS: Taking advantage of a health promotion campaign to provide information to schools about HPV vaccination, a cross sectional study was conducted to examine the relationship between area level, social deprivation, and take-up of (i.e., exposure to) available health promotion material. The sample was 4,750 schools across England, including government maintained and independent schools. The relationship between area deprivation and exposure was examined using bi- and multivariate logistic regression.
RESULTS: It was found that schools in the least deprived quintile had 1.32 times the odds of requesting health promotion materials than schools in the most deprived areas (p = .01). This effect was independent of the school size, the type of school, and the geographic region.
Conclusion
The relationship between area deprivation and the impact of health promotion may be due, at least in part, to differential levels of exposure. The study was limited in scope, pointing to the need for more research, but also points to potentially important policy implications
Determinants of antibody persistence across doses and continents after single-dose rVSV-ZEBOV vaccination for Ebola virus disease: an observational cohort study.
BACKGROUND: The recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus (rVSV) vaccine expressing the Zaire Ebola virus (ZEBOV) glycoprotein is efficacious in the weeks following single-dose injection, but duration of immunity is unknown. We aimed to assess antibody persistence at 1 and 2 years in volunteers who received single-dose rVSV-ZEBOV in three previous trials. METHODS: In this observational cohort study, we prospectively followed-up participants from the African and European phase 1 rVSV-ZEBOV trials, who were vaccinated once in 2014-15 with 300â000 (low dose) or 10-50 million (high dose) plaque-forming units (pfu) of rVSV-ZEBOV vaccine to assess ZEBOV glycoprotein (IgG) antibody persistence. The primary outcome was ZEBOV glycoprotein-specific IgG geometric mean concentrations (GMCs) measured yearly by ELISA compared with 1 month (ie, 28 days) after immunisation. We report GMCs up to 2 years (Geneva, Switzerland, including neutralising antibodies up to 6 months) and 1 year (LambarĂ©nĂ©, Gabon; Kilifi, Kenya) after vaccination and factors associated with higher antibody persistence beyond 6 months, according to multivariable analyses. Trials and the observational study were registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (Geneva: NCT02287480 and NCT02933931; Kilifi: NCT02296983) and the Pan-African Clinical Trials Registry (LambarĂ©nĂ© PACTR201411000919191). FINDINGS: Of 217 vaccinees from the original studies (102 from the Geneva study, 75 from the LambarĂ©nĂ© study, and 40 from the Kilifi study), 197 returned and provided samples at 1 year (95 from the Geneva study, 63 from the LambarĂ©nĂ©, and 39 from the Kilifi study) and 90 at 2 years (all from the Geneva study). In the Geneva group, 44 (100%) of 44 participants who had been given a high dose (ie, 10-50 million pfu) of vaccine and who were seropositive at day 28 remained seropositive at 2 years, whereas 33 (89%) of 37 who had been given the low dose (ie, 300â000 pfu) remained seropositive for 2 years (p=0·042). In participants who had received a high dose, ZEBOV glycoprotein IgG GMCs decreased significantly between their peak (at 1-3 months) and month 6 after vaccination in Geneva (p0·05). Neutralising antibodies seem to be less durable, with seropositivity dropping from 64-71% at 28 days to 27-31% at 6 months in participants from the Geneva study. INTERPRETATION: Antibody responses to single-dose rVSV-ZEBOV vaccination are sustained across dose ranges and settings, a key criterion in countries where booster vaccinations would be impractical. FUNDING: The Wellcome Trust and Innovative Medicines Initiative 2 Joint Undertaking
A layering model for superconductivity in the borocarbides
We propose a superlattice model to describe superconductivity in layered
materials, such as the borocarbide families with the chemical formul\ae\
BC and BC, with being (essentially) a rare earth, and a
transition metal. We assume a single band in which electrons feel a local
attractive interaction (negative Hubbard-) on sites representing the B
layers, while U=0 on sites representing the C layers; the multi-band
structure is taken into account minimally through a band offset . The
one-dimensional model is studied numerically through the calculation of the
charge gap, the Drude weight, and of the pairing correlation function. A
comparison with the available information on the nature of the electronic
ground state (metallic or superconducting) indicates that the model provides a
systematic parametrization of the whole borocarbide family.Comment: 4 figure
Berry's phase for large spins in external fields
It is shown that even for large spins the fundamental difference between
integer and half-integer spins persists. In a quasi-classical description this
difference enters via Berry's connection. This general phenomenon is derived
and illustrated for large spins confined to a plane by crystalline electric
fields. Physical realizations are rare-earth Nickel Borocarbides. Magnetic
moments for half-integer spin
(Dy, ) and magnetic susceptibilities for integer spin
(Ho, ) are calculated. Experiments are proposed to furnish evidence
for the predicted fundamental difference.Comment: 4 pages RevTe
- âŠ