Dissecting the Discourse of Social Licence to Operate

The term “social licence to operate”, or SLO, has increasingly featured in public discussion about commercial operations in the marine environment. As part of the Sustainable Seas National Challenge, we are studying how this term is being used in New Zealand and its implications for industry-community relations

Functional renormalization group in the broken symmetry phase: momentum dependence and two-parameter scaling of the self-energy

We include spontaneous symmetry breaking into the functional renormalization group (RG) equations for the irreducible vertices of Ginzburg-Landau theories by augmenting these equations by a flow equation for the order parameter, which is determined from the requirement that at each RG step the vertex with one external leg vanishes identically. Using this strategy, we propose a simple truncation of the coupled RG flow equations for the vertices in the broken symmetry phase of the Ising universality class in D dimensions. Our truncation yields the full momentum dependence of the self-energy Sigma (k) and interpolates between lowest order perturbation theory at large momenta k and the critical scaling regime for small k. Close to the critical point, our method yields the self-energy in the scaling form Sigma (k) = k_c^2 sigma^{-} (k | xi, k / k_c), where xi is the order parameter correlation length, k_c is the Ginzburg scale, and sigma^{-} (x, y) is a dimensionless two-parameter scaling function for the broken symmetry phase which we explicitly calculate within our truncation.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures, puplished versio

Landau functions for non-interacting bosons

We discuss the statistics of Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) in a canonical ensemble of N non-interacting bosons in terms of a Landau function L_N^{BEC} (q) defined by the logarithm of the probability distribution of the order parameter q for BEC. We also discuss the corresponding Landau function for spontaneous symmetry breaking (SSB), which for finite N should be distinguished from L_N^{BEC}. Only for intinite N BEC and SSB can be described by the same Landau function which depends on the dimensionality and on the form of the external potential in a surprisingly complex manner. For bosons confined by a three-dimensional harmonic trap the Landau function exhibits the usual behavior expected for continuous phase transitions.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures; final version to appear as a rapid communication in Physical Review A. Abstract modified and typos correcte

Optical Properties of Strained Graphene

The optical conductivity of graphene strained uniaxially is studied within the Kubo-Greenwood formalism. Focusing on inter-band absorption, we analyze and quantify the breakdown of universal transparency in the visible region of the spectrum, and analytically characterize the transparency as a function of strain and polarization. Measuring transmittance as a function of incident polarization directly reflects the magnitude and direction of strain. Moreover, direction-dependent selection rules permit identification of the lattice orientation by monitoring the van-Hove transitions. These photoelastic effects in graphene can be explored towards atomically thin, broadband optical elements

Therapies with CCL25 require controlled release via microparticles to avoid strong inflammatory reactions

Background: Chemokine therapy with C-C motif chemokine ligand 25 (CCL25) is currently under investigation as a promising approach to treat articular cartilage degeneration. We developed a delayed release mechanism based on Poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) microparticle encapsulation for intraarticular injections to ensure prolonged release of therapeutic dosages. However, CCL25 plays an important role in immune cell regulation and inflammatory processes like T-cell homing and chronic tissue inflammation. Therefore, the potential of CCL25 to activate immune cells must be assessed more thoroughly before further translation into clinical practice. The aim of this study was to evaluate the reaction of different immune cell subsets upon stimulation with different dosages of CCL25 in comparison to CCL25 released from PLGA particles. Results: Immune cell subsets were treated for up to 5 days with CCL25 and subsequently analyzed regarding their cytokine secretion, surface marker expression, polarization, and migratory behavior. The CCL25 receptor C-C chemokine receptor type 9 (CCR9) was expressed to a different extent on all immune cell subsets. Direct stimulation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) with high dosages of CCL25 resulted in strong increases in the secretion of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), interleukin-8 (IL-8), interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta), tumor-necrosis-factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma), upregulation of human leukocyte antigen-DR (HLA-DR) on monocytes and CD4(+) T-cells, as well as immune cell migration along a CCL25 gradient. Immune cell stimulation with the supernatants from CCL25 loaded PLGA microparticles caused moderate increases in MCP-1, IL-8, and IL-1 beta levels, but no changes in surface marker expression or migration. Both CCL25-loaded and unloaded PLGA microparticles induced an increase in IL-8 and MCP-1 release in PBMCs and macrophages, and a slight shift of the surface marker profile towards the direction of M2-macrophage polarization. Conclusions: While supernatants of CCL25 loaded PLGA microparticles did not provoke strong inflammatory reactions, direct stimulation with CCL25 shows the critical potential to induce global inflammatory activation of human leukocytes at certain concentrations. These findings underline the importance of a safe and reliable release system in a therapeutic setup. Failure of the delivery system could result in strong local and systemic inflammatory reactions that could potentially negate the benefits of chemokine therapy

Non-perturbative renormalization-group approach to zero-temperature Bose systems

We use a non-perturbative renormalization-group technique to study interacting bosons at zero temperature. Our approach reveals the instability of the Bogoliubov fixed point when $d\leq 3$ and yields the exact infrared behavior in all dimensions $d>1$ within a rather simple theoretical framework. It also enables to compute the low-energy properties in terms of the parameters of a microscopic model. In one-dimension and for not too strong interactions, it yields a good picture of the Luttinger-liquid behavior of the superfluid phase.Comment: v1) 6 pages, 8 figures; v2) added references; v3) corrected typo

Varicella zoster and fever rash surveillance in Lao People’s Democratic Republic

Background In Lao PDR, the epidemiology of varicella infection is uncertain, since it is not a notifiable disease and VZV outbreaks are rarely reported as fever/rash (F/R) diseases. Methods We estimated the seroprevalence of VZV (IgG ELISA) in different age cohorts (9 months to 46 years; N = 3139) and investigated VZV and 6 other viruses in patients during F/R outbreaks and in an ad hoc sentinel site in the context of the national reporting system (IgM ELISA, PCR). Results At least 80% of the sampled population had evidence of VZV infection before the age of 15. The largest increase in seroprevalence occurred between the age groups 1 to 5 and 6 to 7 year-olds. A VZV outbreak (clade 2) also occurred in this age group mostly during the first year of primary school (median age 6 years, interquartile range 4.0–7.5). During a dengue outbreak, 6% had varicella. At our F/R sentinel site, 14% of children with viral etiology were laboratory diagnosed as varicella and among others, a sizeable number of measles (N = 12) and rubella cases (N = 25) was detected compared to those reported for the whole country (N = 56 and 45), highlighting nationwide a large challenge of underreporting or misdiagnosis of these notifiable diseases because of lack of diagnostic laboratory capacity. Conclusion We recommend strengthening the clinical and laboratory diagnosis of VZV, measles and rubella, the surveillance and reporting of notifiable F/R diseases by retraining of healthcare workers and by setting up sentinel sites and enhancing laboratory capacity

Imaging-guided chest biopsies: techniques and clinical results

Background This article aims to comprehensively describe indications, contraindications, technical aspects, diagnostic accuracy and complications of percutaneous lung biopsy. Methods Imaging-guided biopsy currently represents one of the predominant methods for obtaining tissue specimens in patients with lung nodules; in many cases treatment protocols are based on histological information; thus, biopsy is frequently performed, when technically feasible, or in case other techniques (such as bronchoscopy with lavage) are inconclusive. Results Although a coaxial system is suitable in any case, two categories of needles can be used: fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) and core-needle biopsy (CNB), with the latter demonstrated to have a slightly higher overall sensitivity, specificity and accuracy. Conclusion Percutaneous lung biopsy is a safe procedure even though a few complications are possible: pneumothorax, pulmonary haemorrhage and haemoptysis are common complications, while air embolism and seeding are rare, but potentially fatal complications

Damping of phase fluctuations in superfluid Bose gases

Using Popov's hydrodynamic approach we derive an effective Euclidean action for the long-wavelength phase fluctuations of superfluid Bose gases in D dimensions. We then use this action to calculate the damping of phase fluctuations at zero temperature as a function of D. For D >1 and wavevectors | k | << 2 mc (where m is the mass of the bosons and c is the sound velocity) we find that the damping in units of the phonon energy E_k = c | k | is to leading order gamma_k / E_k = A_D (k_0^D / 2 pi rho) (| k | / k_0)^{2 D -2}, where rho is the boson density and k_0 =2 mc is the inverse healing length. For D -> 1 the numerical coefficient A_D vanishes and the damping is proportional to an additional power of |k | /k_0; a self-consistent calculation yields in this case gamma_k / E_k = 1.32 (k_0 / 2 pi rho)^{1/2} |k | / k_0. In one dimension, we also calculate the entire spectral function of phase fluctuations.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, published versio