Chiral Spin Textures of Strongly Interacting Particles in Quantum Dots

We probe for statistical and Coulomb induced spin textures among the low-lying states of repulsively-interacting particles confined to potentials that are both rotationally and time-reversal invariant. In particular, we focus on two-dimensional quantum dots and employ configuration-interaction techniques to directly compute the correlated many-body eigenstates of the system. We produce spatial maps of the single-particle charge and spin density and verify the annular structure of the charge density and the rotational invariance of the spin field. We further compute two-point spin correlations to determine the correlated structure of a single component of the spin vector field. In addition, we compute three-point spin correlation functions to uncover chiral structures. We present evidence for both chiral and quasi-topological spin textures within energetically degenerate subspaces in the three- and four-particle system.Comment: 13 pages, 17 figures, 1 tabl

Ground-based optical transmission spectrum of the hot Jupiter HAT-P-1b

Time-series spectrophotometric studies of exoplanets during transit using ground-based facilities are a promising approach to characterize their atmospheric compositions. We aim to investigate the transit spectrum of the hot Jupiter HAT-P-1b. We compare our results to those obtained at similar wavelengths by previous space-based observations. We observed two transits of HAT-P-1b with the Gemini Multi-Object Spectrograph (GMOS) instrument on the Gemini North telescope using two instrument modes covering the 320 - 800 nm and 520 - 950 nm wavelength ranges. We used time-series spectrophotometry to construct transit light curves in individual wavelength bins and measure the transit depths in each bin. We accounted for systematic effects. We addressed potential photometric variability due to magnetic spots in the planet's host star with long-term photometric monitoring. We find that the resulting transit spectrum is consistent with previous Hubble Space Telescope (HST) observations. We compare our observations to transit spectroscopy models that marginally favor a clear atmosphere. However, the observations are also consistent with a flat spectrum, indicating high-altitude clouds. We do not detect the Na resonance absorption line (589 nm), and our observations do not have sufficient precision to study the resonance line of K at 770 nm. We show that even a single Gemini/GMOS transit can provide constraining power on the properties of the atmosphere of HAT-P-1b to a level comparable to that of HST transit studies in the optical when the observing conditions and target and reference star combination are suitable. Our 520 - 950 nm observations reach a precision comparable to that of HST transit spectra in a similar wavelength range of the same hot Jupiter, HAT-P-1b. However, our GMOS transit between 320 - 800 nm suffers from strong systematic effects and yields larger uncertainties.Comment: A&A, accepted, 16 pages, 8 figures, 5 table

Calcitonin Gene Peptides: The Diagnostic Value of Measurement in Medullary Thyroid Carcinoma

The calcitonin gene encodes a family of peptides, at least three of which normally circulate in man: calcitonin (CT), a calcium-lowering hormone; katacalcin (KC), a peptide of unknown function; and calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), a neuropeptide and potent vasodilator. In a study of 45 patients with medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC), plasma CGRP was elevated in approximately 50% of cases. Furthermore, CGRP levels did not correlate with CT levels. However, plasma KC was elevated in all cases, with a good correlation with CT levels, as has been noted previously. Measurement of CT or KC appears to be superior to measurement of CGRP for the detection of MTC

The animal origins of disgust : reports of basic disgust in nonhuman great apes

Intrinsic to an evolved disease avoidance account of disgust is Darwin’s assumption of continuity between the emotional lives of humans and animals. However, beyond the case of avoiding stimuli that taste bad, there has been little exploration of the existence of basic disgust elicitors in animals. Moreover, one influential perspective holds that disgust is unique to humans--a preadaptation of distaste that expands through culture to include a wide range of elicitors (e.g., Rozin, 2015). The present study represents a broad-scope investigation into disgust-like responses that might be present in nonhuman great ape species. A survey of aversions, contamination reactions, and signs of disgust in nonhuman great apes (principally chimpanzees) was collected from 74 great ape researchers, fieldworkers, and keepers. Overall, the results suggest that nonhuman great apes share with humans an aversion to a restricted range of core pathogen sources, which extends beyond distaste to resemble human disgust. However, in nonhuman great apes, this aversion is muted. Candidates for this difference between humans and other great apes are considered, including frequent exposure to basic disgust elicitors in nonhuman great apes and increased dependence on meat-eating in hominin ancestry. We suggest that differences in disgust–like behavior between humans and nonhuman great apes reflect the specific ecological standpoint of the animal and that rather than being unique to humans, disgust is a continuation of the armoury of disease avoidance behavior ubiquitous in animals.PostprintPeer reviewe

Saturated and trans-fatty acids in UK takeaway food

The aim of the study was to analyze the saturated fatty acid (SFA) and trans-fatty acid (TFA) contents of popular takeaway foods in the UK (including English, pizza, Chinese, Indian and kebab cuisine). Samples of meals were analyzed by an accredited public analyst laboratory for SFA and TFA. The meals were highly variable for SFA and TFA. English and Pizza meals had the highest median amount of SFA with 35.7 g/meal; Kebab meals were high in TFA with up to 5.2 g/meal. When compared to UK dietary reference values, some meals exceeded SFA and TFA recommendations from just one meal. Takeaway food would be an obvious target to reduce SFA and TFA contents and increase the potential of meeting UK recommendations. Strategies such as reformulation and smaller takeaway portion sizes warrant investigation

\u3cem\u3eBorrelia burgdorferi\u3c/em\u3e RevA Significantly Affects Pathogenicity and Host Response in the Mouse Model of Lyme Disease

The Lyme disease spirochete, Borrelia burgdorferi, expresses RevA and numerous outer surface lipoproteins during mammalian infection. As an adhesin that promotes bacterial interaction with fibronectin, RevA is poised to interact with the extracellular matrix of the host. To further define the role(s) of RevA during mammalian infection, we created a mutant that is unable to produce RevA. The mutant was still infectious to mice, although it was significantly less well able to infect cardiac tissues. Complementation of the mutant with a wild-type revA gene restored heart infectivity to wild-type levels. Additionally, revA mutants led to increased evidence of arthritis, with increased fibrotic collagen deposition in tibiotarsal joints. The mutants also induced increased levels of the chemokine CCL2, a monocyte chemoattractant, in serum, and this increase was abolished in the complemented strain. Therefore, while revA is not absolutely essential for infection, deletion of revA had distinct effects on dissemination, arthritis severity, and host response

Antibiotic prescribing in UK out-of-hours primary care services: a realist-informed scoping review of training and guidelines for healthcare professionals

Background: Antibiotic overuse has contributed to antimicrobial resistance, which is a global public health problem. In the UK, despite the fall in rates of antibiotic prescription since 2013, prescribing levels remain high in comparison with other European countries. Prescribing in out-of-hours (OOH) care provides unique challenges for prudent prescribing, for which professionals may not be prepared. Aim: To explore the guidance available to professionals on prescribing antibiotics for common infections in OOH primary care within the UK, with a focus on training resources, guidelines, and clinical recommendations. Design & setting: A realist-informed scoping review of peer-reviewed articles and grey literature. Method: The review focused on antibiotic prescribing OOH (for example, clinical guidelines and training videos). General prescribing guidance was searched whenever OOH-focused resources were unavailable. Electronic databases and websites of national agencies and professional societies were searched following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) standards. Findings were organised according to realist review components, that is, mechanisms, contexts, and outcomes. Results: In total, 46 clinical guidelines and eight training resources were identified. Clinical guidelines targeted adults and children, and included recommendations on prescription strategy, spectrum of the antibiotic prescribed, communication with patients, treatment duration, and decision-making processes. No clinical guidelines or training resources focusing specifically on OOH were found. Conclusion: The results highlight a lack of knowledge about whether existing resources address the challenges faced by OOH antibiotic prescribers. Further research is needed to explore the training needs of OOH health professionals, and whether further OOH-focused resources need to be developed given the rates of antibiotic prescribing in this setting

Effects of the pattern of glucocorticoid replacement on neural processing, emotional reactivity and well-being in healthy male individuals:study protocol for a randomised controlled trial

BACKGROUND: Deviation from the physiological glucocorticoid dynamics (circadian and underlying ultradian rhythmicity) is a common characteristic of various neuropsychiatric and endocrine disorders as well as glucocorticoid-based therapeutics. These states may be accompanied by neuropsychiatric symptomatology, suggesting continuous dynamic glucocorticoid equilibrium is essential for brain homeostasis. METHODS/DESIGN: The study consists of two parts. The preliminary stage of the study aims to validate (technically and pharmacologically) and optimise three different patterns of systemic cortisol administration in man. These patterns are based on the combinatory administration of metyrapone, to suppress endogenous cortisol production, and concurrent hydrocortisone replacement. The second, subsequent, core part of the study is a randomised, double-blinded, placebo-controlled, crossover study, where participants (healthy male individuals aged 18–60 years) will undergo all three hydrocortisone replacement schemes. During these infusion regimes, we plan a number of neurobehavioural tests and imaging of the brain to assess neural processing, emotional reactivity and perception, mood and self-perceived well-being. The psychological tests include: ecological momentary assessment, P1vital Oxford Emotional Test Battery and Emotional Potentiated Startle Test, Leeds Sleep Evaluation Questionnaire and the visual working memory task (n-back). The neuroimaging protocol combines magnetic resonance sequences that capture data related to the functional and perfusion status of the brain. DISCUSSION: Results of this clinical trial are designed to evaluate the impact (with possible mechanistic insights) of different patterns of daily glucocorticoid dynamics on neural processing and reactivity related to emotional perception and mood. This evidence should contribute to the optimisation of the clinical application of glucocorticoid-based therapeutics. TRIAL REGISTRATION: UK Clinical Research Network, IRAS Ref: 106181, UKCRN-ID-15236 (23 October 2013

The Victorian Newsletter (Spring 1997)

The Victorian Newsletter is sponsored for the Victorian Group of Modern Language Association by Western Kentucky University and is published twice annually.From "Ladies' Business" to "Real Business": Elizabeth Gaskell' s Capitalist Fantasy in North and South / Pamela Corpron Parker -- Aesthetic Intertexuality as Cultural Critique: Vernon Lee Rewrites History through Walter Pater's "La Gioconda" / Christa Zorn -- Romance and the Self-Made Man: Gaskell Rewrites Brontë / Catherine Barnes Stevenson -- Wilde's Gracious Enclosures: A Brief Tour / Gareth Noon -- Reconceiving the Mother: Deconstructing the Madonna in Aurora Leigh / Patricia Murphy -- The Domination of Dorian Gray / Barri J. Gold -- Trollope's Admirable Women and Their Literary Sisters: A Continuing Quest for the Bearer of the Country House Tradition / Yoko Hatano -- Books Receive

The Victorian Newsletter (Fall 1981)

The Victorian Newsletter is sponsored for the Victorian Group of Modern Language Association by the Western Kentucky University and is published twice annually.Tennyson and Carlyle: A Source for "The Eagle" / Paul F. Mattheisen -- The Schooling of John Bull: Form and Moral in Talbot Baines Reed's Boys' Stories and in Kipling's Stalky & Co. / Patrick Scott -- How It Struck A Contemporary: Tennyson's "Lancelot and Elaine" and Pre-Raphaelite Art / Catherine Barnes Stevenson -- Amours de Voyage and Matthew Arnold in Love: An Inquiry / Eugene R. August -- Tennyson's "Ulysses" as Rhetorical Monologue / Mary Saunders -- The Mathematical References to the Adoption of the Gregorian Calendar in Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland / Laurence Dreyer -- Self-Helpers and Self-Seekers: Some Changing Attitudes to Wealth, 1840-1910 / J. L. Winte