Rare histotype of sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, clinically suspected as corticobasal degeneration

Sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (sCJD) is a rare neurodegenerative disease that can mimic other neurological disorders. We present a case of sCJD in a 64-year-old man that presented with corticobasal syndrome and survived for 3 years. He presented initially with dementia, hemiparkinsonism and alien limb phenomenon and was diagnosed with corticobasal degeneration, ultimately progressing to immobility and akinetic mutism. With a normal MRI 1 year before onset, his neuroimaging 1 year later revealed abnormal DaTscan, cortical and hippocampal atrophy with ventricular dilatation on MRI, and diffusion-weighted cortical ribboning and thalamic hyperintensity. Postmortem, the patient’s brain was collected by the Parkinson’s UK Tissue Bank. Prion protein immunohistochemistry revealed widespread diffuse microvacuolar staining without kuru-type plaques. Hyperphosphorylated tau was only found in the entorhinal cortex and hippocampus. This case highlights the clinical heterogeneity of sCJD presentation and the important inclusion of CJD in the differential diagnosis of atypical presentations of neurodegenerative disease

Polarization states of polydomain epitaxial Pb(Zr1-xTix)O3 thin films and their dielectric properties

Ferroelectric and dielectric properties of polydomain (twinned) single-crystal Pb(Zr1-xTix)O3 thin films are described with the aid of a nonlinear thermodynamic theory, which has been developed recently for epitaxial ferroelectric films with dense laminar domain structures. For Pb(Zr1-xTix)O3 (PZT) films with compositions x = 0.9, 0.8, 0.7, 0.6, 0.5, and 0.4, the "misfit strain-temperature" phase diagrams are calculated and compared with each other. It is found that the equilibrium diagrams of PZT films with x > 0.7 are similar to the diagram of PbTiO3 films. They consist of only four different stability ranges, which correspond to the paraelectric phase, single-domain tetragonal ferroelectric phase, and two pseudo-tetragonal domain patterns. In contrast, at x = 0.4, 0.5, and 0.6, the equilibrium diagram displays a rich variety of stable polarization states, involving at least one monoclinic polydomain state. Using the developed phase diagrams, the mean out-of-plane polarization of a poled PZT film is calculated as a function of the misfit strain and composition. Theoretical results are compared with the measured remanent polarizations of PZT films grown on SrTiO3. Dependence of the out-of-plane dielectric response of PZT films on the misfit strain in the heterostructure is also reported.Comment: 23 pages, 4 figure

The social construction of 'dowry deaths'

The classification of cause of death is real in its consequences: for the reputation of the deceased, for her family, for those who may be implicated, and for epidemiological and social research and policies and practices that may follow from it. The study reported here refers specifically to the processes involved in classifying deaths of women from burns in India. In particular, it examines the determination of 'dowry death', a class used in India, but not in other jurisdictions. Classification of death is situated within a framework of special legal provisions intended to protect vulnerable women from dowry-related violence and abuse. The findings are based on 33 case studies tracked in hospital in real time, and interviews with 14 physicians and 14 police officers with experience of dealing with burns cases. The formal class into which any given death is allocated is shown to result from motivated accounting processes representing the interests and resources available to the doctors, victims, victim families, the victim's husband and his family, and ultimately, the police. These processes may lead to biases in research and to injustice in the treatment of victims and alleged offenders. Suggestions are made for methods of ameliorating the risks

Exact Perturbations for inflation with smooth exit

Toy models for the Hubble rate or the scalar field potential have been used to analyze the amplification of scalar perturbations through a smooth transition from inflation to the radiation era. We use a Hubble rate that arises consistently from a decaying vacuum cosmology, which evolves smoothly from nearly de Sitter inflation to radiation domination. We find exact solutions for super-horizon perturbations (scalar and tensor), and for sub-horizon perturbations in the vacuum- and radiation-dominated eras. The standard conserved quantity for super-horizon scalar perturbations is exactly constant for growing modes, and zero for the decaying modes.Comment: Minor errors correcte

A systematic review of tagging as a method to reduce theft in retail environments

Background: Retailers routinely use security tags to reduce theft. Presently, however, there has been no attempt to systematically review the literature on security tags. Guided by the acronym EMMIE, this paper set out to (1) examine the evidence that tags are effective at reducing theft, (2) identify the key mechanisms through which tags are expected to reduce theft and the conditions that moderate tag effectiveness, and (3) summarise information relevant to the implementation and economic costs of tagging. Methods: In this mixed-methods review, we performed systematic keyword searches of the published and unpublished literature, hand searched relevant journals, conducted forward and backward citation searches and consulted with four retailers. Studies were included if they reported an explicit goal of reducing the theft or shrinkage of items through the use of security tags in retail environments. Results: We identified 50 eligible studies, eight of which reported quantitative data on the effectiveness of tags in retail environments. Across these eight studies, five showed positive results associated with the introduction of tags, but heterogeneity in the type of tag and reported outcome measures precluded a meta-analysis. We identified three mechanisms through which tags might plausibly reduce theft-increase the risks, reduce the rewards, increase the effort-which were found to vary by tag type, and their activation dependent on five broad categories of moderator: retail store and staff, customers (including shoplifters), tag type, product type, and the involvement of the police and criminal justice system. Implementation challenges documented in the literature related mainly to staffing issues and tagging strategy. Finally, although estimates are available on the costs of tagging, our searches identified no highquality published economic evaluations of tagging. Conclusions: Through applying the EMMIE framework this review highlighted the complexity involved in security tagging in retail environments, whereby different kinds of tags are expected to reduce theft through different casual mechanisms which are dependent on a distinctive configuration of conditions. Based on the available evidence it is difficult to determine the effectiveness of tags as a theft reduction measure, albeit there is suggestive evidence that more visible tags are associated with greater reductions in theft than less visible tags

Beta-decay properties of 25^{25}Si and 26^{26}P

The $\beta$-decay properties of the neutron-deficient nuclei $^{25}$Si and $^{26}$P have been investigated at the GANIL/LISE3 facility by means of charged-particle and $\gamma$-ray spectroscopy. The decay schemes obtained and the Gamow-Teller strength distributions are compared to shell-model calculations based on the USD interaction. B(GT) values derived from the absolute measurement of the $\beta$-decay branching ratios give rise to a quenching factor of the Gamow-Teller strength of 0.6. A precise half-life of 43.7 (6) ms was determined for $^{26}$P, the $\beta$- (2)p decay mode of which is described

Football pollution: An investigation of spatial and temporal patterns of crime in and around stadia in England

Inspired by theories of environmental criminology, this paper is concerned with the criminogenic potential of football matches. Do matches generate patterns of crime within grounds and beyond them? If so, over what period and over what distance are these effects produced? Police-recorded data for five football stadia for a 6-year timeframe (2005-2010) are examined using non-parametric permutation tests. The spatial extent of any patterns are quantified and used to further examine differences in the temporal distribution of crime and incidents. Change in the spatial distribution of crime and incidents occurred around all five stadia and did so during those periods when the ambient population was elevated on match days. The results provide further support for theories of environmental criminology, suggesting that there is a higher risk of crime and incidents in the areas immediately around stadia during the hours when matches take place

Offenses around Stadiums: A Natural Experiment on Crime Attraction and Generation

Objectives: Inspired by ecological theories of crime, the aim of this study was to make use of a natural experiment to see if a U.K. soccer stadium generates or attracts crime in the area that surrounds it. Method: Data for theft and violent crime around Wembley stadium are analyzed to see if the rate (per-unit time and ambient population) of crime differ for days on which the stadium is used and those it is not. In addition, differences in the spatial and temporal distribution of crime are examined for these two types of days. Results: Analyses indicate that on days when the stadium is used, the rate of crime per-unit time is elevated, but that the rate per ambient population at risk is not. The spatial and temporal pattern of crime also clearly differs for the two types of days. For example, the level of crime is elevated in the surrounding area when the stadium is used relative to when it is not. Conclusions. The case study suggests that the facility studied contributes to levels of crime in the area that surrounds it. The research provides further support for ecological theories of crime and their utility in informing criminological understanding and policy-related questions