Controlled growth of magnetic oxide layers by liquid phase epitaxy

Imperial Users onl

Philadelphia Progressivism 1910-1915: a reappraisal

For the most part scholars have debated the definition of progressive while virtually ignoring the applicability of the term movement. The progressives must agree on a common program, subscribe to common set of values and channel their efforts toward achieving a common purpose. None of these conditions are found in an examination of Philadelphia politics from 1910 until 1915. In addition this investigation does not support the contention that reformers are identifiable by the singularity and consistency of their political behavior

Cloning, purification and characterization of the 6-phospho-3-hexulose isomerase YckF from Bacillus subtilis

The enzyme 6-phospho-3-hexulose isomerase (YckF) from Bacillus subtilis has been prepared and crystallized in a form suitable for X-ray crystallographic analysis. Crystals were grown by the hanging-drop method at 291 K using polyethylene glycol 2000 monomethylether as precipitant. They diffract beyond 1.7 A using an in-house Cu Kalpha source and belong to either space group P6(5)22 or P6(1)22, with unit-cell parameters a = b = 72.4, c = 241.2 A, and have two molecules of YckF in the asymmetric unit

CURRENT CHALLENGES IN ATRIAL FIBRILLATION ABLATION

Full version unavailable due to 3rd party copyright restrictions.The ablative management of atrial fibrillation, despite a number of landmark discoveries, remains one of the most challenging fields in interventional electrophysiology. It is generally accepted that successful isolation of the pulmonary veins is a highly effective way of managing paroxysmal forms of AF. However, despite almost a decade of research into alternative lesion patterns, the solution to persistent AF remains beyond our grasp. A variety of strategies have been proposed to target key areas in the atria; these use various complex mapping systems, usually based on tailored lesion sets to try and improve outcomes. None have proven to be the golden bullet. We have investigated the role of a lesion set intended to alter the electrical properties of the posterior wall of the left atrium. Commonly known as the ‘box-set’, this pattern has shown promise in early studies and may provide some key insights into future developments. Surgical ablation using the Epicor system aims to deliver the box-set lesion, outcomes have previously been documented but each series has its limitations. In our series, very late outcomes are reported to show an 80% freedom from AF rate in patients with paroxysmal AF pre-operatively and only 20% in those with long-standing persistent forms. The reason behind this dramatic variation is explored through the invasive electrophysiologal assessment of both successful and unsuccessful cases. We report a clear correlation between the successful isolation of the posterior wall and long-term freedom from AF. Though surgical ablation may be an acceptable approach for some, the ultimate goal is a lesion set that can be delivered purely endocardially. We explore the outcome of one such empirical pattern based on the box-set concept delivered through linear catheter technology and report outcomes broadly similar to alternative patterns

The Cawdor estates in south-west Wales in the nineteenth century.

This work is a consideration of the role and influence of the Cawdor estate in southwest Wales in the nineteenth century. The estate was by far the largest in this remote area, and consequently its influence spread far and wide. The fundamental belief in the stability of the land to produce an income for the owner was at its zenith when this study commences. However, as the nineteenth century progressed this belief was eroded by a combination of democratic, political and economic forces, until, by the first decade of the twentieth century, it seemed that all that was left for the majority of landowners was to sell-off their estates and abandon their so recently unassailable position of power and influence. This study examines the role of the Cawdor estate in this century-long demise and investigates how the Earls Cawdor reacted to the erosion of their influence. As such the study examines the main sources of their wealth-the agricultural estate, and to a lesser extent the industrial estate. As a major part of the agricultural estate was let out to tenant fanners, the treatment of tenants takes precedence, since without their rent the Cawdors would have enjoyed no life of conspicuous wealth. Exploitation of mineral wealth also assisted in swelling the Cawdor coffers; thus an examination of the industrial estate is undertaken to ascertain the extent of such involvement. As a concomitant to the expansion of the Cawdors' industrial estate, their role in the development of the infrastructure of south-west Wales will also come under scrutiny. As Anglican Christian paternalists the Cawdors' responsibility towards the established church and its revival and to the moral well-being of the poor via their education, will be explored. These areas brought the Cawdors into conflict with the fast-growing nonconformist denominations and the accompanying political Liberalism, and their reaction to these, and to the growing call for the new phenomenon of democracy are examined to ascertain how, if at all, the Cawdors were able to change their paternalist philosophy in order to cope with the newer political and religious forces. As leaders of the two counties of Pembrokeshire and Cannarthenshire their input to the political arena, both at a local level as Lords Lieutenant and magistrates, and at national levels as Welsh MPs, will establish their vital contribution (or not) to the political well-being of Wales. Finally, a picture will be drawn of the Cawdors' leisure pursuits in the countryside-hunting and shooting, horse racing and yachting-and of their life in the Metropolis, where much of their income from the estates was spent, whether at the theatre or in the purchase of art with which they adorned their homes. In conclusion, the impact that the Cawdors wrought on the immediate locality of south-west Wales and further afield will be assessed in order to decide whether they were a force for the good or otherwise

What a Good Local Development Plan Should Contain: A Proposed Model

A good local land development plan is vital in a community's strategy to control its destiny. This article suggests essential and fundamental features of such a "good plan," exceeding the merely minimal plan but remaining realistic for most North Carolina communities. The suggested model plan is based on a project conducted jointly by a research team from the Department of City and Regional Planning and the Division of Community Assistance and funded by the North Carolina Clean Water Management Trust Fund. The study included a survey and evaluation of local comprehensive land use plans from across the state in 1998. Based on that information, a review of the growing literature on good planning practices, and the advice of a state-wide advisory committee, the research team formulated Guidelines for North Carolina Local Governmental Development Plans. This article is adapted and condensed from those guidelines. This article focuses on the scope of development issues the plan should address, the elements it should contain, and certain essential features of its approach. The suggestions are meant to characterize the plan of any community, small or large, municipality or county. What will vary is the methodology that communities use to complete the recommended components

Robustness of adiabatic quantum computation

We study the fault tolerance of quantum computation by adiabatic evolution, a quantum algorithm for solving various combinatorial search problems. We describe an inherent robustness of adiabatic computation against two kinds of errors, unitary control errors and decoherence, and we study this robustness using numerical simulations of the algorithm.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figures, REVTe

The Extragalactic Distance Scale Key Project XXVII. A Derivation of the Hubble Constant Using the Fundamental Plane and Dn-Sigma Relations in Leo I, Virgo, and Fornax

Using published photometry and spectroscopy, we construct the fundamental plane and D_n-Sigma relations in Leo I, Virgo and Fornax. The published Cepheid P-L relations to spirals in these clusters fixes the relation between angular size and metric distance for both the fundamental plane and D_n-Sigma relations. Using the locally calibrated fundamental plane, we infer distances to a sample of clusters with a mean redshift of cz \approx 6000 \kms, and derive a value of H_0=78+- 5+- 9 km/s/Mpc (random, systematic) for the local expansion rate. This value includes a correction for depth effects in the Cepheid distances to the nearby clusters, which decreased the deduced value of the expansion rate by 5% +- 5%. If one further adopts the metallicity correction to the Cepheid PL relation, as derived by the Key Project, the value of the Hubble constant would decrease by a further 6%+- 4%. These two sources of systematic error, when combined with a +- 6% error due to the uncertainty in the distance to the Large Magellanic Cloud, a +- 4% error due to uncertainties in the WFPC2 calibration, and several small sources of uncertainty in the fundamental plane analysis, combine to yield a total systematic uncertainty of +- 11%. We find that the values obtained using either the CMB, or a flow-field model, for the reference frame of the distant clusters, agree to within 1%. The Dn-Sigma relation also produces similar results, as expected from the correlated nature of the two scaling relations. A complete discussion of the sources of random and systematic error in this determination of the Hubble constant is also given, in order to facilitate comparison with the other secondary indicators being used by the Key Project.Comment: 21 pages, 3 figures, Accepted for publication in Ap

When “perverts” were religious: the Protestant sexualisation of asceticism in nineteenth-century Britain, India and Ireland

Anti-Catholic polemics from the mid-nineteenth century made frequent comparison between religious practices in Britain, Ireland and India. The supposed atrocities taking place at locations such as Lough Dearg in Country Donegal and at ‘Juggernaut’ (Jagganath) at Puri were denounced in terms which hinted strongly at a striking combination of extreme asceticism and perverse sexual enjoyment. In the same period the word ‘perversion’, which had hitherto referred to apostasy, started to develop connotations of sexual deviance. Protestant sexualised readings of Catholic and Hindu asceticism appear to have been an important site for the development of conceptions of deviant sexuality in general and masochism in particular