3,209 research outputs found
Using adiabatic coupling techniques in atom-chip waveguide structures
Adiabatic techniques are well known tools in multi-level electron systems to
transfer population between different states with high fidelity. Recently it
has been realised that these ideas can also be used in ultra-cold atom systems
to achieve coherent manipulation of the atomic centre-of-mass states. Here we
present an investigation into a realistic setup using three atomic waveguides
created on top of an atom chip and show that such systems hold large potential
for the observation of adiabatic phenomena in experiments.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication in Physica Scripta for
the CEWQO2009 proceeding
Analysis of decoders for convolutional codes by stochastic sequential machine methods
Decoder analysis for convolutional codes by stochastic sequential machine mode
Exposure to indoor mouldy odour increases the risk of asthma in older adults living in social housing
This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from MDPI via the DOI in this record Background: Indoor dampness is thought to affect around 16% of European homes. It is generally accepted that increased exposure to indoor dampness and mould contamination (e.g., spores and hyphae) increases the risk of developing and/or exacerbating asthma. Around 30% of people in theWestern world have an allergic disease (e.g., allergy, wheeze and asthma). The role of indoor mould contamination in the risk of allergic diseases in older adults is yet to be fully explored. This is of interest because older people spend more time indoors, as well as facing health issues due to the ageing process, and may be at greater risk of developing and/or exacerbating asthma as a result of indoor dampness. Methods: Face-to-face questionnaires were carried out with 302 participants residing in social housing properties located in South West England. Self-reported demographic, mould contamination (i.e., presence of mould growth and mouldy odour) and health information was linked with the asset management records (e.g., building type, age and levels of maintenance). Multivariate logistic regression was used to calculate the odd ratios and confidence intervals of developing and/or exacerbating asthma, wheeze and allergy with exposure to reported indoor mould contamination. We adjusted for a range of factors that may affect asthma outcomes, which include age, sex, current smoking, presence of pets, education, and building type and age. To assess the role of mould contamination in older adults, we compared younger adults to those aged over 50 years. Results: Doctor-diagnosed adult asthma was reported by 26% of respondents, 34% had current wheeze while 18% had allergies. Asthma was common among subjects exposed to reported visible mould (32%) and reported mouldy odour (42%). Exposure to visible mould growth and mouldy odour were risk factors for asthma, but not for wheeze or allergy. Exposure to mouldy odour increased the risk of asthma in adults over the age of 50 years (odds ratio (OR) 2.4, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.10–5.34) and the risk was higher for females than for males (OR 3.5, 95% CI 1.37–9.08). These associations were modified by a range of built environment characteristics. Conclusions: We found that older adults living in social (public) housing properties, specifically women, may be at higher risk of asthma when exposed to mouldy odour, which has a number of implications for policy makers and practitioners working in the health and housing sector. Additional measures should be put in place to protect older people living in social housing against indoor damp and mould contamination.European Regional Development Fund (ERDF
Proton Lifetime and Baryon Number Violating Signatures at the LHC in Gauge Extended Models
There exist a number of models in the literature in which the weak
interactions are derived from a chiral gauge theory based on a larger group
than SU(2)_L x U(1)_Y. Such theories can be constructed so as to be
anomaly-free and consistent with precision electroweak measurements, and may be
interpreted as a deconstruction of an extra dimension. They also provide
interesting insights into the issues of flavor and dynamical electroweak
symmetry breaking, and can help to raise the mass of the Higgs boson in
supersymmetric theories. In this work we show that these theories can also give
rise to baryon and lepton number violating processes, such as nucleon decay and
spectacular multijet events at colliders, via the instanton transitions
associated with the extended gauge group. For a particular model based on
SU(2)_1 x SU(2)_2, we find that the violating scattering cross sections
are too small to be observed at the LHC, but that the lower limit on the
lifetime of the proton implies an upper bound on the gauge couplings.Comment: 36 page
Evidence for a change in the nuclear mass surface with the discovery of the most neutron-rich nuclei with 17<Z <25
The results of measurements of the production of neutron-rich nuclei by the
fragmentation of a 76-Ge beam are presented. The cross sections were measured
for a large range of nuclei including fifteen new isotopes that are the most
neutron-rich nuclides of the elements chlorine to manganese (50-Cl, 53-Ar,
55,56-K, 57,58-Ca, 59,60,61-Sc, 62,63-Ti, 65,66-V, 68-Cr, 70-Mn). The enhanced
cross sections of several new nuclei relative to a simple thermal evaporation
framework, previously shown to describe similar production cross sections,
indicates that nuclei in the region around 62-Ti might be more stable than
predicted by current mass models and could be an indication of a new island of
inversion similar to that centered on 31-Na.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, to be published in Physical Review Letters, 200
Making the Case for “Whole System” Approaches Integrating Public Health and Housing
This is the final version. Available on open from MDPI via the DOI in this recordHousing conditions have been an enduring focus for public health activity throughout the modern public health era. However, the nature of the housing and health challenge has changed in response to an evolution in the understanding of the diverse factors influencing public health. Today, the traditional public health emphasis on the type and quality of housing merges with other wider determinants of health. These include the neighbourhood, community, and “place” where a house is located, but also the policies which make access to a healthy house possible and affordable for everyone. Encouragingly, these approaches to policy and action on housing have the potential to contribute to the “triple win” of health and well-being, equity, and environmental sustainability. However, more effective housing policies (and in public health in general) that adopt more systemic approaches to addressing the complex interactions between health, housing, and wider environment are needed. This paper illustrates some of the key components of the housing and health challenge in developed countries, and presents a conceptual model to co-ordinate activities that can deliver the “triple win.” This is achieved by offering a perspective on how to navigate more effectively, inclusively and across sectors when identifying sustainable housing interventions.This research was supported in part by funding provided by: (1) the South West Academic Health Science Network (grant number SW AHSN G005) and the European Regional Development Fund (grant number SZ07660) for the SMARTLINE Project; (2) the Eaga Charitable Trust; (3) the National Institute for Health Research Health Protection Research Unit (NIHR HPRU) in Environmental Change and Health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in partnership with Public Health England, and in collaboration with the University of Exeter, University College London, and the Met Office; and (4) the European Commission Horizon 2020 funded INHERIT project, coordinated by EuroHealthNet (grant number 667364)
Application of flood risk modelling in a web-based geospatial decision support tool for coastal adaptation to climate change
This is the discussion paper that was under review for the for the journal Natural Hazards and Earth
System Sciences (NHESS).The final paper is available from the publisher via DOI: 10.5194/nhess-15-1457-2015A pressing problem facing coastal decision makers
is the conversion of “high-level” but plausible climate
change assessments into an effective basis for climate change
adaptation at the local scale. Here, we describe a web-based,
geospatial decision support tool (DST) that provides an assessment
of the potential flood risk for populated coastal
lowlands arising from future sea-level rise, coastal storms,
and high river flows. This DST has been developed to support
operational and strategic decision making by enabling
the user to explore the flood hazard from extreme events,
changes in the extent of the flood-prone areas with sea-level
rise, and thresholds of sea-level rise where current policy and
resource options are no longer viable. The DST is built in an
open-source GIS that uses freely available geospatial data.
Flood risk assessments from a combination of LISFLOODFP
and SWAB (Shallow Water And Boussinesq) models are
embedded within the tool; the user interface enables interrogation
of different combinations of coastal and river events
under rising-sea-level scenarios. Users can readily vary the
input parameters (sea level, storms, wave height and river
flow) relative to the present-day topography and infrastructure
to identify combinations where significant regime shifts
or “tipping points” occur. Two case studies demonstrate the
attributes of the DST with respect to the wider coastal community
and the UK energy sector. Examples report on the assets
at risk and illustrate the extent of flooding in relation to
infrastructure access. This informs an economic assessment
of potential losses due to climate change and thus provides
local authorities and energy operators with essential information
on the feasibility of investment for building resilience
into vulnerable components of their area of responsibilit
193 Can we predict the outcome for recovery of plantar heel pain? An international prospective cohort study
UV Properties of Galactic Globular Clusters with GALEX I. The Color-Magnitude Diagrams
We present GALEX data for 44 Galactic globular clusters obtained during 3
GALEX observing cycles between 2004 and 2008. This is the largest homogeneous
data set on the UV photometric properties of Galactic globular clusters ever
collected. The sample selection and photometric analysis are discussed, and
color-magnitude diagrams are presented. The blue and intermediate-blue
horizontal branch is the dominant feature of the UV color-magnitude diagrams of
old Galactic globular clusters. Our sample is large enough to display the
remarkable variety of horizontal branch shapes found in old stellar
populations. Other stellar types that are obviously detected are blue
stragglers and post core-He burning stars. The main features of UV
color-magnitude diagrams of Galactic globular clusters are briefly discussed.
We establish the locus of post-core He burning stars in the UV color-magnitude
diagram and present a catalog of candidate AGB-manqu \'e, post early-AGB, and
post-AGB stars within our cluster sample.Comment: Accepted for publication by The Astronomical Journal. 46 pages,
including 21 Figures and 3 tables. All data will be made publicly available
by the time the article is published. In the meantime, please contact the
authors for data requests. Revised version fixed error with figure numbers
and caption
- …