Proximity-induced ferromagnetism and chemical reactivity in few-layer VSe2 heterostructures

Among transition-metal dichalcogenides, mono and few-layers thick VSe2 has gained much recent attention following claims of intrinsic room-temperature ferromagnetism in this system, which have nonetheless proved controversial. Here, we address the magnetic and chemical properties of Fe/VSe2 heterostructure by combining element sensitive x-ray absorption spectroscopy and photoemission spectroscopy. Our x-ray magnetic circular dichroism results confirm recent findings that both native mono/few-layer and bulk VSe2 do not show intrinsic ferromagnetic ordering. Nonetheless, we find that ferromagnetism can be induced, even at room temperature, after coupling with a Fe thin film layer, with antiparallel alignment of the moment on the V with respect to Fe. We further consider the chemical reactivity at the Fe/VSe2 interface and its relation with interfacial magnetic coupling

Non Fermi Liquid behavior in the under-screened Kondo model

Using the Schwinger boson spin representation, we reveal a new aspect to the physics of a partially screened magnetic moment in a metal, as described by the spin $S$ Kondo model. We show that the residual ferromagnetic interaction between a partially screened spin and the electron sea destabilizes the Landau Fermi liquid, forming a singular Fermi liquid with a $1/ (T \ln ^{4} (T_{K}/T))$ divergence in the low temperature specific heat coefficient $C_{V}/T$. A magnetic field $B$ tunes this system back into Landau Fermi liquid with a Fermi temperature proportional to $B \ln^2 (T_K/B)$. We discuss a possible link with field-tuned quantum criticality in heavy electron materials.Comment: References corrected. Minor changes to tex

Anomalous magnetic splitting of the Kondo resonance

The splitting of the Kondo resonance in the density of states of an Anderson impurity in finite magnetic field is calculated from the exact Bethe-ansatz solution. The result gives an estimate of the electron spectral function for nonzero magnetic field and Kondo temperature, with consequences for transport experiments on quantum dots in the Kondo regime. The strong correlations of the Kondo ground state cause a significant low-temperature reduction of the peak splitting. Explicit formulae are found for the shift and broadening of the Kondo peaks. A likely cause of the problems of large-N approaches to spin-1/2 impurities at finite magnetic field is suggested.Comment: 4 pages, 2 eps figures; published versio

Distribution and exploitation of oyster resources along the southeast and southwest coasts of India

The oysters are sedentary bivalve molluscs which are gregarious and found in aggregates attached by their right shell valve to hard substrata, forming oyster beds or oyster banks in varied environments, intertidal and subtidal zones in shallow coastal waters, bays, creeks, lagoons, backwaters and estuarine environment. In India, natural stocks of oysters are exploited on a small scale at a number of places as a subsistence fishery and oysters are not cultured commercially

Charge Kondo effect toward a non-Fermi-liquid fixed point in the orbitally degenerate exchange model

We show that a Kondo-type model with an orbital degeneracy has a new non-Fermi-liquid fixed point. Near the fixed point the spin degrees of freedom are completely quenched, and the residual charge degrees of freedom lead to the multi-channel Kondo effect. Anomalous behavior appears in electric and thermal properties, but the magnetic susceptibility should show the local Fermi-liquid behavior. The non-Fermi-liquid fixed point becomes unstable against perturbations breaking the particle-hole symmetry. We derive these results using the third-order scaling for a spherically symmetric model with a fictitious spin. In contrast to the Coqblin-Schrieffer model, the present model respects different time-reversal properties of multipole operators.Comment: 4 pages, 2 eps figures, to appear in J. Phys. Soc. Jpn. 68 No.

Hadron Spectrum with Wilson fermions

We present results of a high statistics study of the quenched spectrum using Wilson fermions at $\beta=6.0$ on $32^3 \times 64$ lattices. We calculate the masses of mesons and baryons composed of both degenerate and non-degenerate quarks. Using non-degenerate quark combinations allows us to study baryon mass splittings in detail. We find significant deviations from the lowest order chiral expansion, deviations that are consistent with the expectations of quenched chiral perturbation theory. We find that there is a $\sim 20$ systematic error in the extracted value of $m_s$, depending on the meson mass ratio used to set its value. Using the largest estimate of $m_s$ we find that the extrapolated octet mass-splittings are in agreement with the experimental values, as is $M_\Delta - M_N$, while the decuplet splittings are 30% smaller than experiment. Combining our results with data from the GF11 collaboration we find considerable ambiguity in the extrapolation to the continuum limit. Our preferred values are $M_N / M_\rho = 1.38(7)$ and $M_\Delta / M_\rho = 1.73(10)$, suggesting that the quenched approximation is good to only $\sim 10-15$. We also analyze the $O(ma)$ discretization errors in heavy quark masses.Comment: 52 pages. Tex. Modified "axis" source for figures also included. Needs macro packages lanlmac and epsf. Uses hyperbasics if available. Significant number of typographical errors correcte

Protocol for a prospective study evaluating circulating tumour cells status to predict radical prostatectomy treatment failure in localised prostate cancer patients (C-ProMeta-1)

BACKGROUND: Treatment decisions in prostate cancer (PCa) rely on disease stratification between localised and metastatic stages, but current imaging staging technologies are not sensitive to micro-metastatic disease. Circulating tumour cells (CTCs) status is a promising tool in this regard. The Parsortix® CTC isolation system employs an epitope-independent approach based on cell size and deformability to increase the capture rate of CTCs. Here, we present a protocol for prospective evaluation of this method to predict post radical prostatectomy (RP) PCa cancer recurrence. METHODS: We plan to recruit 294 patients diagnosed with unfavourable intermediate, to high and very high-risk localised PCa. Exclusion criteria include synchronous cancer diagnosis or prior PCa treatment, including hormone therapy. RP is performed according to the standard of care. Two blood samples (20 ml) are collected before and again 3-months after RP. The clinical team are blinded to CTC results and the laboratory researchers are blinded to clinical information. Treatment failure is defined as a PSA ≥ 0.2 mg/ml, start of salvage treatment or imaging-proven metastatic lesions. The CTC analysis entails enumeration and RNA analysis of gene expression in captured CTCs. The primary outcome is the accuracy of CTC status to predict post-RP treatment failure at 4.5 years. Observed sensitivity, positive and negative predictive values will be reported. Specificity will be presented over time. DISCUSSION: CTC status may reflect the true potential for PCa metastasis and may predict clinical outcomes better than the current PCa progression risk grading systems. Therefore establishing a robust biomarker for predicting treatment failure in localized high-risk PCa would significantly enhance guidance in treatment decision-making, optimizing cure rates while minimizing unnecessary harm from overtreatment. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ISRCTN17332543

Assessment of energy efficiency and sustainability scenarios in the transport system

Background Energy Policy is one of the main drivers of Transport Policy. A number of strategies to reduce current energy consumption trends in the transport sector have been designed over the last decades. They include fuel taxes, more efficient technologies and changing travel behavior through demand regulation. But energy market has a high degree of uncertainty and the effectiveness of those policy options should be assessed. Methods A scenario based assessment methodology has been developed in the frame of the EU project STEPS. It provides an integrated view of Energy efficiency, environment, social and competitiveness impacts of the different strategies. It has been applied at European level and to five specific Regions. Concluding remarks The results are quite site specific dependent. However they show that regulation measures appear to be more effective than new technology investments. Higher energy prices could produce on their turn a deterioration of competitiveness and a threat for social goals

‘Post-race’ racism in the narratives of ‘Brexit’ voters

Although a growing body of scholarship seeks to understand the motivations behind the ‘Brexit’ vote – including that which centralises explorations of racism, nationalism and post-colonialism – little consideration has been given to the ways in which ‘post-race’ racisms underpin the narratives of Leave voters. This article draws on data generated through 13 semi-structured interviews to examine the subtle and subterranean ways in which xeno-racism is articulated in the accounts of some Leave voters in the Greater Manchester city of Salford: a city that saw a higher percentage of the electorate (56.8%) vote to leave the EU than the national average (51.9%). Whilst restricting immigration was a key motivator of Leave voters in our research, interviewees vehemently rejected accusations of racism. Instead, couching their views in seemingly non-racial ways, they framed their concerns about immigration as a ‘legitimate’ response to a victimised whiteness. Thus, in discussing our data, we argue that far from living in a ‘post-racial’ epoch, racisms continue to thrive through new modes of articulation. These new racisms emerge from the shadows at key times, such as the EU Referendum, and refashion themselves in ways that are considered more palatable than the older (explicit) racisms of past