320 research outputs found
Calculation of the conductance of a graphene sheet using the Chalker-Coddington network model
The Chalker-Coddington network model (introduced originally as a model for
percolation in the quantum Hall effect) is known to map onto the
two-dimensional Dirac equation. Here we show how the network model can be used
to solve a scattering problem in a weakly doped graphene sheet connected to
heavily doped electron reservoirs. We develop a numerical procedure to
calculate the scattering matrix with the aide of the network model. For
numerical purposes, the advantage of the network model over the honeycomb
lattice is that it eliminates intervalley scattering from the outset. We avoid
the need to include the heavily doped regions in the network model (which would
be computationally expensive), by means of an analytical relation between the
transfer matrix through the weakly doped region and the scattering matrix
between the electron reservoirs. We test the network algorithm by calculating
the conductance of an electrostatically defined quantum point contact and
comparing with the tight-binding model of graphene. We further calculate the
conductance of a graphene sheet in the presence of disorder in the regime where
intervalley scattering is suppressed. We find an increase in conductance that
is consistent with previous studies. Unlike the tight-binding model, the
network model does not require smooth potentials in order to avoid intervalley
scattering.Comment: 10 pages, 12 figure
A circumpolar parasite: Evidence of a cryptic undescribed species of sucking louse, Linognathus sp., collected from Arctic foxes, Vulpes lagopus, in Nunavut (Canada) and Svalbard (Norway)
The North has experienced unprecedented rates of warming over the past few decades, impacting the survival and development of insects and the pathogens that they carry. Since 2019, Arctic foxes from Canada (Nunavut) have been observed with fur loss inconsistent with natural shedding of fur. Adult lice were collected from Arctic foxes from Nunavut (n = 1) and Svalbard (n = 2; Norway) and were identified as sucking lice (suborder Anoplura). Using conventional PCR targeting the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 gene (cox1), lice from Canada and Svalbard were 100% similar (8 pooled samples from Nunavut and 3 pooled samples from Svalbard), indicating that there is potential gene flow between ectoparasites on Scandinavian and North American Arctic fox populations. The cox1 sequences of Arctic fox lice and dog sucking lice (Linognathus setosus) had significant differences (87% identity), suggesting that foxes may harbour a cryptic species that has not previously been recognised. Conventional PCR targeting the gltA gene for Bartonella bacteria amplified DNA from an unknown gammaproteobacteria from two pooled louse samples collected from Svalbard foxes. The amplified sequences were 100% identical to each other but were only 78% like Proteus mirabilis reported in GenBank (CP053614), suggesting that lice on Arctic foxes may carry unique microorganisms that have yet to be described.publishedVersio
AC transport properties of single and bilayer graphene
We have performed a theoretical study of electronic transport in single and
bilayer graphene based on the standard linear-response (Kubo) formalism and
continuum-model descriptions of the graphene band structure. We are focusing
especially on the interband contribution to the optical conductivity.
Analytical results are obtained for a variety of situations, which allow clear
identification of features in the conductivity that are associated with
relevant electronic energy scales. Our work extends previous numerical studies
and elucidates ways to infer electronic properties of graphene samples from
optical-conductivity measurements.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, contribution to EP2DS-18, to appear in Physica
Guidance on global interprofessional education and collaborative practice research : discussion paper
Phase I of the DiaVACCS screening trial: Study design, methods, population demographics and baseline results
Background. Human papillomavirus (HPV)-based primary screening guidelines are based on screening test performance and prevalence data generated in high-resource areas with low HIV infection rates. There is an urgent need for local data on infection and disease prevalence, as well as screening test performance, among both HIV-positive and HIV-negative South African (SA) women, in order to inform updated screening guidelines. Objectives. This study describes the baseline characteristics of participants in the cross-sectional phase of the multicentric DIAgnosis in Vaccine And Cervical Cancer Screen (DiaVACCS) screening trial. The objective was to determine the prevalence of positive screening and pre-invasive disease using different tests and strategies in the SA HIV-positive and HIV-negative population.Methods. A total of 1 104 women aged 25 - 65 years and eligible for screening were included, 465 HIV positive and 639 HIV negative. Visual inspection and molecular and cytological screening tests were done on self-sampled and healthcare worker-collected specimens. All participants who screened positive and 49.1% of those who screened negative were invited for colposcopy and biopsy, and those qualifying for treatment were recalled for large loop excision of the transformation zone as part of the trial. The worst histology result for each participant was used, and for untested women, multiple imputation was used to estimate verification biasadjusted histology values.Results. Visual inspection was positive in 50.4% of HIV-positive v. 20.9% of HIV-negative women, cytology (atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance) in 39.9% v. 17.0%, and high-risk HPV DNA in 41.2% v. 19.6%. Overall, high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion-positive cytology peaked in the age group 30 - 39 years at 16.7%. After adjustment for verification bias, histological diagnosis of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN)2+ was suspected in 44.7% v. 23.5% and CIN3+ in 23.3% v. 10.2% of HIV-positive and negative women, respectively. Invasive cancer was diagnosed in 15 women (1.95% of histological studies performed), and verification bias adjustment suggested 20 cases (1.8% of the study population).Conclusion. The baseline findings from the DiaVACCS trial confirm a high prevalence of HPV-related cervical pathology in the SA HIV-negative screening population, showing a clear need to reach these women with a screening programme. Among HIV-positive women, prevalence values were almost doubled. The prevalence of existing invasive cervical cancer was 1 - 2% of all women. Further analysis of the performance of single and multiple screening tests between the two subgroups will contribute to the choice of the most effective strategies to identify women at risk of developing invasive cancer
Glucocorticoids associate with cardiometabolic risk factors in black South Africans
Circulating glucocorticoids are associated with metabolic syndrome and related cardiometabolic risk factors in non-Africans. This study investigated these associations in Africans, whose metabolic phenotype reportedly differs from Europeans. Adiposity, blood pressure, glycaemia, insulin resistance, and lipid profile, were measured in 316 African men and 788 African women living in Soweto, Johannesburg. The 2009 harmonized criteria were used to define metabolic syndrome. Serum glucocorticoids were measured using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. Cortisol was associated with greater odds presenting with metabolic syndrome (odds ratio (95% CI) =1.50 (1.04, 2.17) and higher systolic (beta coefficient, β (95% CI) =0.04 (0.01, 0.08)) and diastolic (0.05 (0.02, 0.09)) blood pressure, but higher HDL (0.10 (0.02, 0.19)) and lower LDL (−0.14 (−0.24, −0.03)) cholesterol concentrations, in the combined sample of men and women. In contrast, corticosterone was only associated with higher insulin sensitivity (Matsuda index; 0.22 (0.03, 0.41)), but this was not independent of BMI. Sex-specific associations were observed, such that both cortisol and corticosterone were associated with higher fasting glucose (standardized β (95% CI): 0.24 (0.12, 0.36) for cortisol and 0.12 (0.01, 0.23) for corticosterone) and HbA1c (0.13 (0.01, 0.25) for cortisol and 0.12 (0.01, 0.24) for corticosterone) in men only, but lower HbA1c (0.10 (−0.20, −0.01) for cortisol and −0.09 (−0.18, −0.03) for corticosterone) in women only. Our study reports for the first time that associations between circulating glucocorticoid concentrations and key cardiometabolic risk factors exhibit both glucocorticoid- and sex-specificity in Africans
Broken symmetry states and divergent resistance in suspended bilayer graphene
Graphene [1] and its bilayer have generated tremendous excitement in the
physics community due to their unique electronic properties [2]. The intrinsic
physics of these materials, however, is partially masked by disorder, which can
arise from various sources such as ripples [3] or charged impurities [4].
Recent improvements in quality have been achieved by suspending graphene flakes
[5,6], yielding samples with very high mobilities and little charge
inhomogeneity. Here we report the fabrication of suspended bilayer graphene
devices with very little disorder. We observe fully developed quantized Hall
states at magnetic fields of 0.2 T, as well as broken symmetry states at
intermediate filling factors , , and . The
devices exhibit extremely high resistance in the state that grows
with magnetic field and scales as magnetic field divided by temperature. This
resistance is predominantly affected by the perpendicular component of the
applied field, indicating that the broken symmetry states arise from many-body
interactions.Comment: 23 pages, including 4 figures and supplementary information; accepted
to Nature Physic
The Keldysh action of a multi-terminal time-dependent scatterer
We present a derivation of the Keldysh action of a general multi-channel
time-dependent scatterer in the context of the Landauer-B\"uttiker approach.
The action is a convenient building block in the theory of quantum transport.
This action is shown to take a compact form that only involves the scattering
matrix and reservoir Green functions. We derive two special cases of the
general result, one valid when reservoirs are characterized by well-defined
filling factors, the other when the scatterer connects two reservoirs. We
illustrate its use by considering Full Counting Statistics and the Fermi Edge
Singularity.Comment: 13 pages, 2 figures, submitted to PR
Coherent Stranski-Krastanov growth in 1+1 dimensions with anharmonic interactions: An equilibrium study
The formation of coherently strained three-dimensional islands on top of the
wetting layer in Stranski-Krastanov mode of growth is considered in a model in
1+1 dimensions accounting for the anharmonicity and non-convexity of the real
interatomic forces. It is shown that coherent 3D islands can be expected to
form in compressed rather than in expanded overlayers beyond a critical lattice
misfit. In the latter case the classical Stranski-Krastanov growth is expected
to occur because the misfit dislocations can become energetically favored at
smaller island sizes. The thermodynamic reason for coherent 3D islanding is the
incomplete wetting owing to the weaker adhesion of the edge atoms. Monolayer
height islands with a critical size appear as necessary precursors of the 3D
islands. The latter explains the experimentally observed narrow size
distribution of the 3D islands. The 2D-3D transformation takes place by
consecutive rearrangements of mono- to bilayer, bi- to trilayer islands, etc.,
after exceeding the corresponding critical sizes. The rearrangements are
initiated by nucleation events each next one requiring to overcome a lower
energetic barrier. The model is in good qualitative agreement with available
experimental observations.Comment: 12 pages text, 15 figures, Accepted in Phys.Rev.B, Vol.61, No2
Association Between Human Immunodeficiency Virus Viremia and compromised Neutralization of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Beta Variant
- …