Parity effect in ground state localization of antiferromagnetic chains coupled to a ferromagnet

We investigate the ground states of antiferromagnetic Mn nanochains on Ni(110) by spin-polarized scanning tunneling microscopy in combination with theory. While the ferrimagnetic linear trimer experimentally shows the predicted collinear classical ground state, no magnetic contrast was observed for dimers and tetramers where non-collinear structures were expected based on ab-initio theory. This striking observation can be explained by zero-point energy motion for even numbered chains derived within a classical equation of motion leading to non classical ground states. Thus, depending on the parity of the chain length, the system shows a classical or a quantum behavior.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures and supplementary informatio

Adjusting Reality: The Contingency Dilemma in the Context of Popularised Practices of Digital Self-Tracking of Health Data

The practice of digital self-tracking of health data addresses inter-related contingencies on the micro and macro level: on the micro level, digital self-tracking can be perceived as facilitation of lifeworld contingencies and the expression of the way contingency is dealt with in (socially) exhausted societies. Together, these can be understood as a strategy of the "privatization of contingency." The attempt to reduce the individual’s contingency of action is accompanied by the increase of lifeworld contingency, resulting in a contingency dilemma in contemporary self-tracking which produces (new) dependencies and vulnerabilities with respect to the technology used. Through a multilevel analysis of digital self-tracking and an empirical study on vulnerable self-trackers, a number of those pathological effects of the contingency dilemma are examined using methods from pragmatism and theory of conventions, while highlighting a possible solution to this dilemma

Die EU als Solidargemeinschaft

Als mögliche Quelle europäischer Solidarität wird ein arbeitsteilig-anerkennungstheoretisches Solidaritätsverständnis entwickelt, das die Unzulänglichkeiten anderer Solidaritätsquellen überwinden helfen kann. Anschließend an eine Kritik am Primat der Marktintegration, wird die Rolle der europäischen Gewerkschaftsbewegung und die Bedeutung einer europäischen Arbeitslosenversicherung als institutionelle Ausgestaltung dieser Solidarität und ihre mögliche Funktion bei der Überwindung der Desintegrationstendenzen im Gefolge der jüngsten Krisen diskutiert

The Prevalence of Mental Illness in Homeless People in Germany

BACKGROUND The number of homeless people in Germany is increasing. Studies from multiple countries have shown that most homeless people suffer from mental illnesses that require treatment. Accurate figures on the prevalence of mental illness among the homeless in Germany can help improve care structures for this vulnerable group. METHODS We carried out a systematic review and meta-analysis on the prevalence of mental illness among homeless people in Germany. RESULTS 11 pertinent studies published from 1995 to 2013 were identified. The overall study population consisted of 1220 homeless people. The pooled prevalence of axis I disorders was 77.4%, with a 95% confidence interval [95% CI] of [71.3; 82.9]. Substance-related disorders were the most common type of disorder, with a pooled prevalence of 60.9% [53.1; 68.5]. The most common among these was alcoholism, with a prevalence of 55.4% [49.2; 61.5]. There was marked heterogeneity across studies. CONCLUSION In Germany, the rate of mental illness requiring treatment is higher among the homeless than in the general population. The development and implementation of suitable care models for this marginalized and vulnerable group is essential if their elevated morbidity and mortality are to be reduced

Annual proxy data from Lago Grande di Monticchio (southern Italy) between 76 and 112 ka: new chronological constraints and insights on abrupt climatic oscillations

We present new annual sedimentological proxies and sub-annual element scanner data from the Lago Grande di Monticchio (MON) sediment record for the sequence 76–112 thousand years before present (ka). They are combined with the previously published decadal to centennial resolved pollen assemblage in order to provide a comprehensive reconstruction of six major abrupt stadial spells (MON 1–6) in the central Mediterranean during the early phase of the last glaciation. These climatic oscillations are defined by intervals of thicker varves and high Ti-counts and coincide with episodes of forest depletion interpreted as Mediterranean stadial conditions (cold winter/dry summer). Our chronology, labelled as MON-2014, has been updated for the study interval by tephrochronology and repeated and more precise varve counts and is independent from ice-core and speleothem chronologies. The high-resolution Monticchio data then have been compared in detail with the Greenland ice-core δ¹⁸O record (NorthGRIP) and the northern Alps speleothem δ¹⁸O_calcite data (NALPS). Based on visual inspection of major changes in the proxy data, MON 2–6 are suggested to correlate with Greenland stadials (GS) 25–20. MON 1 (Woillard event), the first and shortest cooling spell in the Mediterranean after a long phase of stable interglacial conditions, has no counterpart in the Greenland ice core, but coincides with the lowest isotope values at the end of the gradual decrease in δ¹⁸O_ice in NorthGRIP during the second half of the Greenland interstadial (GI) 25. MON 3 is the least pronounced cold spell and shows gradual transitions, whereas its NorthGRIP counterpart GS 24 is characterized by sharp changes in the isotope records. MON 2 and MON 4 are the longest and most pronounced oscillations in the MON sediments in good agreement with their counterparts identified in the ice and spelethem records. The length of MON 4 (correlating with GS 22) supports the duration of stadial proposed by the NALPS timescales and suggests ca. 500 year longer duration than calculated by the ice-core chronologies GICC05_modelext and AICC2012. Absolute dating of the cold spells provided by the MON-2014 chronology shows good agreement among the MON-2014, the GICC05_modelext and the NALPS timescales for the period between 112 and 100 ka. In contrast, the MON-2014 varve chronology dates the oscillations MON 4 to MON 6 (92–76 ka) as ca. 3500 years older than the most likely corresponding stadials GS 22 to GS 20 by the other chronologies

Housing situation and healthcare for patients in a psychiatric centre in Berlin, Germany: a cross-sectional patient survey

OBJECTIVE: To determine the housing situation among people seeking psychiatric treatment in relation to morbidity and service utilisation. DESIGN: Cross-sectional patient survey. SETTING: Psychiatric centre with a defined catchment area in Berlin, Germany, March-September 2016. PARTICIPANTS: 540 psychiatric inpatients including day clinics (43.2% of all admitted patients in the study period (n=1251)). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Housing status 30 days prior the interview as well as influencing variables including service use, psychiatric morbidity and sociodemographic variables. RESULTS: In our survey, 327 participants (68.7%) currently rented or owned an own apartment; 62 (13.0%) reported to be homeless (living on the street or in shelters for homeless or refugees); 87 (18.3%) were accommodated in sociotherapeutic facilities. Participants without an own apartment were more likely to be male and younger and to have a lower level of education. Homeless participants were diagnosed with a substance use disorder significantly more often (74.2%). Psychotic disorders were the highest among homeless participants (29.0%). Concerning service use, we did neither find a lower utilisation of ambulatory services nor a higher utilisation of hospital-based care among homeless participants. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings underline the need for effective housing for people with mental illness. Despite many sociotherapeutic facilities, a concerning number of people with mental illness is living in homelessness. Especially early interventions addressing substance use might prevent future homelessness

The impact of routine outcome measurement on treatment processes in community mental health care: approach and methods of the MECCA study

Three issues characterise the background to the MECCA study: A) Throughout Europe, most patients with severe forms of psychotic disorders are cared for in the community. The challenge now is to make processes in community mental health care more effective. B) There are widespread calls to implement regular outcome measurement in routine settings. This, however, is more likely to happen, if it provides a direct benefit to clinicians and patients. C) Whilst user involvement is relatively ?" easy to achieve on a political level, new mechanisms may have to be established to make the views of patients feed into individual treatment decisions. The MECCA study is a cluster randomised controlled trial following the same protocol in community mental health teams in six European countries. In the experimental group, patients' subjective quality of life, treatment satisfaction and wishes for different or additional help are assessed in key worker-patient meetings every two months and intended to inform the therapeutic dialogue and treatment decisions. The trial tests the hypothesis that the intervention - as compared to current best standard practice - will lead to a better outcome in terms of quality of life and other criteria in patients with psychotic disorders over a one year period. This more favourable outcome is assumed to be mediated through different treatment input based on more appropriate joint decisions or a more positive therapeutic relationship in line with a partnership model of care or both. Moreover, the study will hopefully reveal new insights into how therapeutic processes in community mental health care work and how they can be optimise

C58 on Au(111): a scanning tunneling microscopy study

C58 fullerenes were adsorbed onto room temperature Au(111) surface by low-energy (~6 eV) cluster ion beam deposition under ultrahigh vacuum conditions. The topographic and electronic properties of the deposits were monitored by means of scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM at 4.2 K). Topographic images reveal that at low coverages fullerene cages are pinned by point dislocation defects on the herringbone reconstructed gold terraces (as well as by step edges). At intermediate coverages, pinned monomers, act as nucleation centres for the formation of oligomeric C58 chains and 2D islands. At the largest coverages studied, the surface becomes covered by 3D interlinked C58 cages. STM topographic images of pinned single adsorbates are essentially featureless. The corresponding local densities of states are consistent with strong cage-substrate interactions. Topographic images of [C58]n oligomers show a stripe-like intensity pattern oriented perpendicular to the axis connecting the cage centers. This striped pattern becomes even more pronounced in maps of the local density of states. As supported by density functional theory, DFT calculations, and also by analogous STM images previously obtained for C60 polymers (M. Nakaya et al., J. Nanosci. Nanotechnol. 11, 2829 (2011)), we conclude that these striped orbital patterns are a fingerprint of covalent intercage bonds. For thick C58 films we have derived a band gap of 1.2 eV from scanning tunnelling spectroscopy data, STS, confirming that the outermost C58 layer behaves as a wide band semiconductor