Entanglement between living bacteria and quantized light witnessed by Rabi splitting

We model recent experiments on living sulphur bacteria interacting with quantised light, using the Dicke model. The strong coupling achieved between the bacteria and the light indicates that during the experiment the bacteria (treated as dipoles) and the quantized light are entangled. The vacuum Rabi splitting, which was measured in the experiment for a range of different parameters, can be used as an entanglement witness

Trading off Time, Carbon, Active Travel, and Health: What do People Really Think about Traffic-reduction Measures?

An online survey polled a socio-demographically representative sample of approximately 2,000 UK residents concerning their attitudes to traffic restrictions that lead to longer car trips. Specifically, to what extent would respondents accept delays to everyday local car journeys if these were offset by reductions in NO2, greenhouse gas emissions or vehicular traffic, or by increases in active travel? Responses suggested high levels of acceptance of delay but this varied by nature of impact (less openness to increased active travel) and socio-demographic attribute (gender, educational attainment, car ownership, ethnicity, housing tenure, prior presence of local traffic restrictions). In particular, there were lower levels of delay acceptance amongst men, respondents without degree-level qualifications, and those in households with two or more cars. These findings are relevant to those communicating about traffic restrictions, in terms of which audiences they target and how they present impacts

An exploration of attitudes towards pedigree dogs and their disorders as expressed by a sample of companion animal veterinarians in New Zealand

Aims: To explore veterinary perception of pedigree dogs within New Zealand, with particular focus on inherited disorders and how these affect animal health and welfare. Methods: An online questionnaire was distibuted to members of the Companian Animal Society (CAS) of the New Zealand Veterinary Association (NZVA) using an online survey system. Data were analysed using SPSS predictive analytical software v21.0 for Windows (IBM Inc., Chicago IL, USA). Responses which were incomplete or ambiguous were classified as missing. Results were considered significant if p≤0.05. Results: The most commonly identified breeds were Boxer, German Shepherd (GSD), Bulldog, Shar Pei, West Highland White Terrier (WHWT), and Cavalier King Charles Spaniel (CKCS). The most commonly identified inherited disorders were Hip dysplasia, Elbow dysplasia, Atopy, Skin problems, Cardiac disease, and Brachycephalic syndromes. Veterinarians felt little had changed in the attitudes of breeders and owners of pedigree dogs toward inherited disorders, and that legislative change was unlikely to decrease the prevalence of inherited disorders in pedigree dogs. Veterinarians possessed a strong sense of obligation to treat the problems arising from inherited disorders, and to try to prevent propagation of inherited disorder through breeding advisement. Veterinarians gave a number of suggestions to decrease the prevalence of inherited disorders with in pedigree dogs. Conclusion: Inherited disorders appear to be a significant issue in a number of pedigree breeds in New Zealand, though the breed-disorder associations identified by veterinarians in New Zealand occasionally differ from those within the literature. This may reflect a unique New Zealand context resulting from being a geographically (and genetically) isolated country. Veterinarians are concerned about inherited disorders in pedigree dogs, seem supportive of measures to improve the welfare of pedigree dogs, and appear motivated to assist in decreasing the prevalence of inherited disorders. Uncertainties remain over how veterinarians assess the importance of inherited disorders, and how this may impact advice given to breeders and clients. Further exploration of inherited disorders in the specific New Zealand context would be beneficial. Clinical Relevance: The prevalence and perceived importance of inherited disorders will impact how the clinician advises his/her clients. An understanding of the most common breed-associated inherited disorders, and how these impact animal health and welfare is critical to provide prudent guidance to pedigree breeders and dog owners in clinical practice

Magnetic Properties of Epitaxial and Polycrystalline Fe/Si Multilayers

Fe/Si multilayers with antiferromagnetic interlayer coupling have been grown via ion-beam sputtering on both glass and single-crystal substrates. High-angle x-ray diffraction measurements show that both sets of films have narrow Fe peaks, implying a large crystallite size and crystalline iron silicide spacer layers. Low-angle x-ray diffraction measurements show that films grown on glass have rougher interfaces than those grown on single-crystal substrates. The multilayers grown on glass have a larger remanent magnetization than the multilayers grown on single-crystal substrates. The observation of magnetocrystalline anisotropy in hysteresis loops and $(hkl)$ peaks in x-ray diffraction demonstrates that the films grown on MgO and Ge are epitaxial. The smaller remanent magnetization in Fe/Si multilayers with better layering suggests that the remanence is not an intrinsic property.Comment: 9 pages, RevTex, 4 figures available by fax. Send email to [email protected] for more info. Submitted to '95 MMM proceeding

Does early surgery improve outcomes for periprosthetic fractures of the hip and knee? : A systematic review and meta-analysis

Open access via Springer Compact AgreementPeer reviewedPublisher PD

A review of trauma and orthopaedic randomised clinical trials published in high-impact general medical journals

Acknowledgements The authors are grateful for Shaun Treweek for his expert insight into the nuances of Randomised Clinical Trial design. Funding The authors did not receive support from any organisation for the submitted work.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Evaluation of elicitation methods to quantify Bayes linear models

The Bayes linear methodology allows decision makers to express their subjective beliefs and adjust these beliefs as observations are made. It is similar in spirit to probabilistic Bayesian approaches, but differs as it uses expectation as its primitive. While substantial work has been carried out in Bayes linear analysis, both in terms of theory development and application, there is little published material on the elicitation of structured expert judgement to quantify models. This paper investigates different methods that could be used by analysts when creating an elicitation process. The theoretical underpinnings of the elicitation methods developed are explored and an evaluation of their use is presented. This work was motivated by, and is a precursor to, an industrial application of Bayes linear modelling of the reliability of defence systems. An illustrative example demonstrates how the methods can be used in practice

Autoimmune hyperphosphatemic tumoral calcinosis in a patient with FGF23 autoantibodies

Hyperphosphatemic familial tumoral calcinosis (HFTC)/hyperostosis-hyperphosphatemia syndrome (HHS) is an autosomal recessive disorder of ectopic calcification due to deficiency of or resistance to intact fibroblast growth factor 23 (iFGF23). Inactivating mutations in FGF23, N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase 3 (GALNT3), or KLOTHO (KL) have been reported as causing HFTC/HHS. We present what we believe is the first identified case of autoimmune hyperphosphatemic tumoral calcinosis in an 8-year-old boy. In addition to the classical clinical and biochemical features of hyperphosphatemic tumoral calcinosis, the patient exhibited markedly elevated intact and C-terminal FGF23 levels, suggestive of FGF23 resistance. However, no mutations in FGF23, KL, or FGF receptor 1 (FGFR1) were identified. He subsequently developed type 1 diabetes mellitus, which raised the possibility of an autoimmune cause for hyperphosphatemic tumoral calcinosis. Luciferase immunoprecipitation systems revealed markedly elevated FGF23 autoantibodies without detectable FGFR1 or Klotho autoantibodies. Using an in vitro FGF23 functional assay, we found that the FGF23 autoantibodies in the patient's plasma blocked downstream signaling via the MAPK/ERK signaling pathway in a dose-dependent manner. Thus, this report describes the first case, to our knowledge, of autoimmune hyperphosphatemic tumoral calcinosis with pathogenic autoantibodies targeting FGF23. Identification of this pathophysiology extends the etiologic spectrum of hyperphosphatemic tumoral calcinosis and suggests that immunomodulatory therapy may be an effective treatment

Embedded-Cluster Calculations in a Numeric Atomic Orbital Density-Functional Theory Framework

We integrate the all-electron electronic structure code FHI-aims into the general ChemShell package for solid-state embedding (QM/MM) calculations. A major undertaking in this integration is the implementation of pseudopotential functionality into FHI-aims to describe cations at the QM/MM boundary through effective core potentials and therewith prevent spurious overpolarization of the electronic density. Based on numeric atomic orbital basis sets, FHI-aims offers particularly efficient access to exact exchange and second order perturbation theory, rendering the established QM/MM setup an ideal tool for hybrid and double-hybrid level DFT calculations of solid systems. We illustrate this capability by calculating the reduction potential of Fe in the Fe-substituted ZSM-5 zeolitic framework and the reaction energy profile for (photo-)catalytic water oxidation at TiO2(110).Comment: 12 pages, 4 figure