Vacuum Rabi splitting and strong coupling dynamics for surface plasmon polaritons and Rhodamine 6G molecules

We report on strong coupling between surface plasmon polaritons (SPP) and Rhodamine 6G (R6G) molecules, with double vacuum Rabi splitting energies up to 230 and 110 meV. In addition, we demonstrate the emission of all three energy branches of the strongly coupled SPP-exciton hybrid system, revealing features of system dynamics that are not visible in conventional reflectometry. Finally, in analogy to tunable-Q microcavities, we show that the Rabi splitting can be controlled by adjusting the interaction time between waveguided SPPs and R6G deposited on top of the waveguide. The interaction time can be controlled with sub-fs precision by adjusting the length of the R6G area with standard lithography methods.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Effects of empagliflozin on blood pressure and markers of arterial stiffness and vascular resistance in patients with type 2 diabetes

Peer reviewe

Airway obstruction in competetive swimmers.

Background: Swimming has been shown to cause beneficial effects on lung function. However, increased adverse effects have been hypothesized due to the air quality of indoor swimming pools. Objectives: To compare competitive swimmers present lung function to swimmers twenty to thirty years ago and examine the associations between lung function and medical history and reported respiratory symptoms in present swimmers. Methods: One hundred swimmers, 47 females and 53 males were studied with flow-volume spirometry. These findings were compared with ones obtained 20 - 30 years ago among 98 swimmers, 40 females and 58 males. Forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1), forced expiratory volume (FVC) and their ratio (FEV%) were analysed for airways obstruction. Associations between lung function and asthma, allergy, and respiratory symptoms were examined using questionnaire. In addition airways inflammation was measured with exhaled nitric oxide measurement (FENO) in present swimmers. Airborne trichloramine was measured in air of indoor swimming pools. Results: Airway obstruction was found in 15%, 15 out of 100 studied swimmers, which all reported physician diagnosed asthma and/or family history of asthma. Most, 12 out of 15 of swimmers with obstruction finding, were males. Twenty to thirty years ago obstruction was found in 17 of the 98 swimmers. Airborne concentrations of trichloramine in the present swimming pools, were low, less than 0.1 mg/m3. Conclusion: Airway obstruction was associated with asthma and family history of asthma. There was no increase in obstruction findings among competitive swimmers within 2 - 3 decades. Measured concentrations of trichloramine raised no concern on swimmers health.</p

Balancing profitability of energy production, societal impacts and biodiversity in offshore wind farm design

The global demand for renewable energy is on the rise. Expansion of onshore wind energy is in many parts of the world limited by societal acceptance, and also ecological impacts are a concern. Here, pragmatic methods are developed for the integration of high-dimensional spatial data in offshore wind energy planning. Over 150 spatial data layers are created, which either oppose or support offshore wind energy development, and represent ecological, societal, and economic factors. The method is tested in Finland, where interest in developing offshore wind energy is growing. Analyses were done using a spatial prioritization approach, originally developed for the prioritization of high dimensional ecological data, and rarely used in planning offshore wind energy. When all criteria are integrated, it is possible to find a balanced solution where offshore wind farms cause little disturbance to biodiversity and society, while at the same time yielding high profitability for wind energy production. Earlier proposed areas for offshore wind farms were also evaluated. They were generally well suited for wind power, with the exception of a couple of areas with comparatively high environmental impacts. As an outcome, new areas well suited for large scale wind power deployment were recognized, where construction costs would be moderate and disturbance to biodiversity, marine industries and people limited. A novel tradeoff visualization method was also developed for the conflicts and synergies of offshore energy deployment, which could ease the dialogue between different stakeholders in a spatial planning context. Overall, this study provides a generic and transparent approach for well-informed analysis of offshore wind energy development potential when conflict resolution between biodiversity, societal factors and economic profits is needed. The proposed approach is replicable elsewhere in the world. It is also structurally suitable for the planning of impact avoidance and conflict resolution in the context of other forms of construction or resource extraction.Peer reviewe

From a rare inhabitant into a potential pest - status of the nun moth in Finland based on pheromone trapping

Forests are affected by climate change in various ways. This includes abiotic factors such as droughts, but also biotic damage by pest insects. There are numerous examples from cases where pest insects have benefitted from longer growing seasons or from warmer summers. Similarly, new pest insects have been able to expand their range due to climatic conditions that have changed from hostile to tolerable. Such seems to be the case with the nun moth (Lymantria monacha), an important defoliator of coniferous trees in Europe. For centuries, the species has had massive outbreaks across Central-Europe, while it has been a rare inhabitant in Northern Europe. Recently, the nun moth population in Finland has not only expanded in range, but also grown more abundant. This research note describes the results from the first years (2018-2019) of a monitoring program that is being conducted with pheromone traps across central and southern Finland. So far, the northernmost individuals were trapped near the 64 N degrees. However, there were more southern locations where no moths were trapped. The species was present in every trapping site below the latitude of 62 N degrees. More importantly, at some sites the abundance of the nun moth suggested that local forest damage may already occur. Given the current climatic scenarios for Fennoscandia, it is likely that the nun moth populations will continue to grow. which is why systematic surveys on their abundance and range expansions will be topical

Improving the surface structure of high quality Sr2FeMoO6 thin films for multilayer structures

Two sets of Sr2FeMoO6 thin films were prepared with pulsed laser deposition and the effect of the laserfluence and the deposition temperature was investigated. The Sr2FeMoO6 thin films showed clear evi-dence of impurity phases when the laser fluence was altered. Phase pure films resulted through thewhole temperature range between 900 ◦C and 1050 ◦C when a proper laser fluence was used. Films fabri-cated at lower deposition temperatures resulted with smaller surface roughnesses around 5 nm, higherCurie temperatures and with relatively high saturation magnetization values. The Curie temperaturewas determined from the minimum of the first order derivative and results showed the highest values of350 K and above. The films with the highest Curie temperature reached zero magnetization above 400 K.The results indicate that both high microstructural and high magnetic quality Sr2FeMoO6 thin films canbe obtained with a deposition temperature between 900 ◦C and 950 ◦C. This provides better fabricationparameters for the upcoming SFMO multilayer structures.</p

First-principles simulation of intrinsic collision cascades in KCl and NaCl to test interatomic potentials at energies between 5 and 350 eV

Theoretical interatomic potentials for KCl and NaCl are tested at energies 5–350 eV against experimental data from intrinsic collision cascades. The collisional scattering of Cl with Cl, K, and Na atoms was observed from Doppler-shifted γ rays depopulating an excited state in recoiling Cl36 produced through the thermal neutron capture Cl35(n,γ)36Cl. The collisional scattering was simulated with molecular dynamics. Interatomic potentials from the present Iab initioP atomic cluster calculations are proposed for the Cl-Cl, Cl-K, and Cl-Na interactions in KCl and NaCl.Peer reviewe

Simvastatin improves the sexual health-related quality of life in men aged 40 years and over with erectile dysfunction : Additional data from the Erectile Dysfunction and Statin trial

© 2014 Trivedi et al. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited.Background: Erectile dysfunction is prevalent in men over 40 years, affecting their quality of life and that of their partners. The aims of this study were:a)To evaluate the internal reliability of the male erectile dysfunction specific quality of life (MED-QoL) scale and explore its factor structure.b)To evaluate the effect of simvastatin on subscales of the MED-QoL in men over forty years with erectile dysfunction. Methods: This is a double blind randomised controlled trial of 40 mg simvastatin or placebo given once daily for six months to men over forty years with untreated erectile dysfunction, who were not at high cardiovascular risk and were not on anti-hypertensive or lipid-lowering medication. 173 eligible men were recruited from 10 general practices in East of England. Data were collected at two points over 30 weeks. We report on the factor structure of MED-QoL, the internal reliability of the scale and the derived subscales, and the effect of simvastatin on MED-QoL subscales. Results: An initial analysis of the MED-QoL items suggested that a number of items should be removed (MED-QoL-R). Exploratory factor analysis identified three subscales within the MED-QoL-R which accounted for 96% of the variance, related to feelings of Control, initiating Intimacy, and Emotional response to erectile dysfunction. The alpha value for the revised scale (MED-Qol-R) was >0.95 and exceeded .82 for each subscale. Regression analysis showed that patients in the placebo group experienced a significantly reduced feeling of Control over erectile dysfunction than those in the statin group. Those in the placebo group had significantly lower Emotional response than those in the statin group at the close of trial, but there was no significant treatment effect on Intimacy. Conclusions: Our revised MED-QoL-R identified three subscales. Secondary analysis showed a significant improvement in sexual health related quality of life, specifically in relation to perception of control and emotional health in men with untreated erectile dysfunction given 40 mg simvastatin for six months. Trial registration: Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN66772971.Peer reviewe

Succinic semialdehyde dehydrogenase deficiency: in vitro and in silico characterization of a novel pathogenic missense variant and analysis of the mutational spectrum of ALDH5A1

Succinic semialdehyde dehydrogenase deficiency (SSADHD) is a rare, monogenic disorder affecting the degradation of the main inhibitory neurotransmitter \u3b3-amino butyric acid (GABA). Pathogenic variants in the ALDH5A1 gene that cause an enzymatic dysfunction of succinic semialdehyde dehydrogenase (SSADH) lead to an accumulation of potentially toxic metabolites, including \u3b3-hydroxybutyrate (GHB). Here, we present a patient with a severe phenotype of SSADHD caused by a novel genetic variant c.728T &gt; C that leads to an exchange of leucine to proline at residue 243, located within the highly conserved nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD)+ binding domain of SSADH. Proline harbors a pyrrolidine within its side chain known for its conformational rigidity and disruption of protein secondary structures. We investigate the effect of this novel variant in vivo, in vitro, and in silico. We furthermore examine the mutational spectrum of all previously described disease-causing variants and computationally assess all biologically possible missense variants of ALDH5A1 to identify mutational hotspots