Equation of state of bismuth to 222 GPa and comparison of gold and platinum pressure scales to 145 GPa

The equation-of-state (EoS) of bcc-bismuth was determined using the Pt pressure scale. Unit cell volumes of Bi, Pt, and Au were also measured simultaneously to megabar pressures by X-ray powder diffraction using a diamond anvil cell and a synchronus radiation source. The results suggest that Au pressure scale gave lower pressure than the Pt pressure scale

Dynamics of two atoms coupled to a cavity field

We investigate the interaction of two two-level atoms with a single mode cavity field. One of the atoms is exactly at resonance with the field, while the other is well far from resonance and hence is treated in the dispersive limit. We find that the presence of the non-resonant atom produces a shift in the Rabi frequency of the resonant atom, as if it was detuned from the field. We focus on the discussion of the evolution of the state purity of each atom.Comment: LaTex, 2 figure

Hybrid copula mixed models for combining case-control and cohort studies in meta-analysis of diagnostic tests

Copula mixed models for trivariate (or bivariate) meta-analysis of diagnostic test accuracy studies accounting (or not) for disease prevalence have been proposed in the biostatistics literature to synthesize information. However, many systematic reviews often include case-control and cohort studies, so one can either focus on the bivariate meta-analysis of the case-control studies or the trivariate meta-analysis of the cohort studies, as only the latter contains information on disease prevalence. In order to remedy this situation of wasting data we propose a hybrid copula mixed model via a combination of the bivariate and trivariate copula mixed model for the data from the case-control studies and cohort studies, respectively. Hence, this hybrid model can account for study design and also due to its generality can deal with dependence in the joint tails. We apply the proposed hybrid copula mixed model to a review of the performance of contemporary diagnostic imaging modalities for detecting metastases in patients with melanoma

LSD1 is essential for oocyte meiotic progression by regulating CDC25B expression in mice

Mammalian oocytes are arrested at prophase I until puberty when hormonal signals induce the resumption of meiosis I and progression to meiosis II. Meiotic progression is controlled by CDK1 activity and is accompanied by dynamic epigenetic changes. Although the signalling pathways regulating CDK1 activity are well defined, the functional significance of epigenetic changes remains largely unknown. Here we show that LSD1, a lysine demethylase, regulates histone H3 lysine 4 di-methylation (H3K4me2) in mouse oocytes and is essential for meiotic progression. Conditional deletion of Lsd1 in growing oocytes results in precocious resumption of meiosis and spindle and chromosomal abnormalities. Consequently, most Lsd1-null oocytes fail to complete meiosis I and undergo apoptosis. Mechanistically, upregulation of CDC25B, a phosphatase that activates CDK1, is responsible for precocious meiotic resumption and also contributes to subsequent spindle and chromosomal defects. Our findings uncover a functional link between LSD1 and the major signalling pathway governing meiotic progression

A comprehensive study of the open cluster NGC 6866

We present CCD $UBVRI$ photometry of the field of the open cluster NGC 6866. Structural parameters of the cluster are determined utilizing the stellar density profile of the stars in the field. We calculate the probabilities of the stars being a physical member of the cluster using their astrometric data and perform further analyses using only the most probable members. The reddening and metallicity of the cluster were determined by independent methods. The LAMOST spectra and the ultraviolet excess of the F and G type main-sequence stars in the cluster indicate that the metallicity of the cluster is about the solar value. We estimated the reddening $E(B-V)=0.074 \pm 0.050$ mag using the $U-B$ vs $B-V$ two-colour diagram. The distance modula, the distance and the age of NGC 6866 were derived as $\mu = 10.60 \pm 0.10$ mag, $d=1189 \pm 75$ pc and $t = 813 \pm 50$ Myr, respectively, by fitting colour-magnitude diagrams of the cluster with the PARSEC isochrones. The Galactic orbit of NGC 6866 indicates that the cluster is orbiting in a slightly eccentric orbit with $e=0.12$. The mass function slope $x=1.35 \pm 0.08$ was derived by using the most probable members of the cluster.Comment: 14 pages, including 16 figures and 7 tables, accepted for publication in MNRAS. Table 4 in the manuscript will be published electronicall

Electric field-induced translocation of single-stranded DNA through a polarized carbon nanotube membrane

Molecular dynamics simulations based on a novel polarizable nanotube model were performed to study the dynamics in translocation of a single-stranded deoxyribonucleic acid oligonucleotide through a polarized carbon nanotube membrane by an applied electric field. The study revealed a nonlinear dependence of translocation velocity and an inverse quadratic dependence of translocation time on the electric field strength, as well as a threshold electric field below which the translocation process becomes impossible. The translocation rate was found to be pore-size dependent. The polarizable nanotube model developed for this study provides a useful platform for investigating the dynamics of a range of bionanosystems. © 2007 American Institute of Physics.published_or_final_versio

Understanding the Persistence of Caste: A Commentary on Cotterill, Sidanius, Bhardwaj and Kumar (2014)

We contextualise Cotterill, Sidanius, Bhardwaj, and Kumar’s (2014) paper within a broader literature on caste and collective mobilisation. Cotterill and colleagues’ paper represents a fresh and timely attempt to make sense of the persistence of caste from the perspective of Social Dominance Theory. Cotterill and colleagues, however, do not examine caste differences in the endorsement of karma, and take behavioural asymmetry among lower castes for granted. Cotterill and colleagues also adhere to a Varna model of the caste system that arguably is simplistic and benefits the upper castes of Indian society. We caution that emphasising behavioural asymmetry and endorsing the Varna model might further stigmatise lower castes, especially Dalits, and feed into a conformity bias already predominant in caste-related psychological research. We argue that the conceptualisation and operationalisation of Right-Wing Authoritarianism, Social Dominance Orientation and legitimising myths in the Indian context needs to take into account the particular meaning and functions of these constructs in specific intergroup contexts, and for identity positions salient within these contexts. We contend that any examination aimed at better understanding the nature of social hierarchy and oppression within the caste system and Indian society in general remains inconclusive without including a focus on the construction and contestation of social categories and social identities

Fluorescence sensing technologies for ophthalmic diagnosis

Personalized and point-of-care (POC) diagnoses are critical for ocular physiology and disease diagnosis. Real-time monitoring and continuous sampling abilities of tear fluid and user-friendliness have become the key characteristics for the applied ophthalmic techniques. Fluorescence technologies, as one of the most popular methods that can fulfill the requirements of clinical ophthalmic applications for optical sensing, have been raised and applied for tear sensing and diagnostic platforms in recent decades. Wearable sensors in this case have been increasingly developed for ocular diagnosis. Contact lenses, as one of the commercialized and popular tools for ocular dysfunction, have been developed as a platform for fluorescence sensing in tears diagnostics and real-time monitoring. Numbers of biochemical analytes have been examined through developed fluorescent contact lens sensors, including pH values, electrolytes, glucose, and enzymes. These sensors have been proven for monitoring ocular conditions, enhancing and detecting medical treatments, and tracking efficiency of related ophthalmic surgeries at POC settings. This review summarizes the applied ophthalmic fluorescence sensing technologies in tears for ocular diagnosis and monitoring. In addition, the cooperation of fabricated fluorescent sensor with mobile phone readout devices for diagnosing ocular diseases with specific biomarkers continuously is also discussed. Further perspectives for the developments and applications of fluorescent ocular sensing and diagnosing technologies are also provided

Detecting time-fragmented cache attacks against AES using Performance Monitoring Counters

Cache timing attacks use shared caches in multi-core processors as side channels to extract information from victim processes. These attacks are particularly dangerous in cloud infrastructures, in which the deployed countermeasures cause collateral effects in terms of performance loss and increase in energy consumption. We propose to monitor the victim process using an independent monitoring (detector) process, that continuously measures selected Performance Monitoring Counters (PMC) to detect the presence of an attack. Ad-hoc countermeasures can be applied only when such a risky situation arises. In our case, the victim process is the AES encryption algorithm and the attack is performed by means of random encryption requests. We demonstrate that PMCs are a feasible tool to detect the attack and that sampling PMCs at high frequencies is worse than sampling at lower frequencies in terms of detection capabilities, particularly when the attack is fragmented in time to try to be hidden from detection