Fabrication and analogue applications of nanoSQUIDs using Dayem bridge junctions

We report here recent work at the U.K. National Physical Laboratory on developing nanoscale SQUIDs using Dayem bridge Josephson junctions. The advantages are simplicity of fabrication, exceptional low-noise performance, toward the quantum limit, and a range of novel applications. Focused ion beam patterned Nb SQUID, possessing exceptionally low noise (∼200 nΦ0/Hz1/2 above 1 kHz), and operating above 4.2 K can be applied to measurement of nanoscale magnetic objects or coupled to nanoelectromechanical resonators, as well as single particle detection of photons, protons, and ions. The limited operating temperature range may be extended by exposing the Dayem bridges to carefully controlled ion beam implantation, leading to nonreversible changes in junction transition temperature.The work reported here was supported in part by the EMRP projects ‘MetNEMS’ NEW-08 and ‘BioQUART’SIB-06. The EMRP is jointly funded by the EMRP participating countries within EURAMET and the European Union

Novel methods of fabrication and metrology of superconducting nanostructures

As metrology extends toward the nanoscale, a number of potential applications and new challenges arise. By combining photolithography with focused ion beam and/or electron beam methods, superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs) with loop dimensions down to 200 nm and superconducting bridge dimensions of the order 80 nm have been produced. These SQUIDs have a range of potential applications. As an illustration, we describe a method for characterizing the effective area and the magnetic penetration depth of a structured superconducting thin film in the extreme limit, where the superconducting penetration depth $lambda$ is much greater than the film thickness and is comparable with the lateral dimensions of the device

From Traditional to Modern : Domain Adaptation for Action Classification in Short Social Video Clips

Short internet video clips like vines present a significantly wild distribution compared to traditional video datasets. In this paper, we focus on the problem of unsupervised action classification in wild vines using traditional labeled datasets. To this end, we use a data augmentation based simple domain adaptation strategy. We utilise semantic word2vec space as a common subspace to embed video features from both, labeled source domain and unlablled target domain. Our method incrementally augments the labeled source with target samples and iteratively modifies the embedding function to bring the source and target distributions together. Additionally, we utilise a multi-modal representation that incorporates noisy semantic information available in form of hash-tags. We show the effectiveness of this simple adaptation technique on a test set of vines and achieve notable improvements in performance.Comment: 9 pages, GCPR, 201

The molecular cloning and characterisation of cDNA coding for the alpha subunit of the acetylcholine receptor

The published version of this article is available at Oxford Journals in Nucleic Acids Research at http://nar.oxfordjournals.org/content/10/19/5809.full.pdf+htmlA rare cDNA coding for most of the α subunit of the Torpedo nicotinic acetylcholine receptor has been cloned into bacteria. The use of a mismatched oligonucleotide primer of reverse transcriptase facilitated the design of an efficient, specific probe for recombinant bacteria. DNA sequence analysis has enabled the elucidation of a large part of the polypeptide primary sequence which is discussed in relation to its acetylcholine binding activity and the location of receptor within the plasma membrane. When used as a radioactive probe, the cloned cDNA binds specifically to a single Torpedo mRNA species of about 2350 nucleotides in length but fails to show significant cross-hybridisation with a subunit mRNA extracted from cat muscle

1-3 Piezocomposite design optimised for high frequency kerfless transducer arrays

Piezocomposites that can operate at frequencies above 30 MHz without spurious modes are required in order to develop sufficiently sensitive high frequency arrays for high resolution imaging. However, scaling down of conventional piezocomposite fabrication techniques becomes increasingly difficult as dimensions decrease with increasing frequency. The approach presented here is to use micro-moulded 1-3 piezocomposites and a distribution of piezoelectric segment size and separation. Innovative approaches to composite pattern design, based on a randomized spatial distribution, are presented. Micro-moulding techniques are shown to be suitable for fabricating composites with dimensions required for high frequency composites. Randomized piezocomposite patterns are modeled and are shown to suppress spurious modes

Physical conditions in the primitive solar nebula

Physical conditions for model of primitive solar nebul

Low prevalence of an acute phase response in asymptomatic children from a malaria-endemic area of Papua New Guinea

Levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), a classic marker for the acute phase response (APR), were measured in children with asymptomatic malaria infection in the Amele region of Papua New Guinea (PNG). Despite the presence of parasitemia, the prevalence of CRP levels consistent with an APR (CRP > 10 (xg/mL) was very low (< 10%). Splenomegaly was significantly associated with increased parasitemia (P < 0.001) and CRP levels (P < 0.001), highlighting the importance of splenomegaly as an indicator of recent high density infection in this population. Multivariate analysis showed that CRP levels were significantly associated with splenomegaly, fever, hemoglobin, and age (P < 0.002). CRP levels also increased with increasing parasitemia (P < 0.001) but remained < 3.5 (xg/mL. The low levels of CRP indicate that children in the Amele modulate inflammation associated with malaria

Measures to eradicate multidrug-resistant organism outbreaks: How much does it cost?

This study aimed to assess the economic burden of infection control measures that succeeded in eradicating multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs) in emerging epidemic contexts in hospital settings. The MEDLINE, EMBASE and Ovid databases were systematically interrogated for original English-language articles detailing costs associated with strict measures to eradicate MDROs published between 1 January 1974 and 2 November 2014. This study was conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses guidelines. Overall, 13 original articles were retrieved reporting data on several MDROs, including glycopeptide-resistant enterococci (n = 5), carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriacae (n = 1), methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (n = 5), and carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (n = 2). Overall, the cost of strict measures to eradicate MDROs ranged from €285 to €57 532 per positive patient. The major component of these overall costs was related to interruption of new admissions, representing €2466 to €47 093 per positive patient (69% of the overall mean cost; range, 13-100%), followed by mean laboratory costs of €628 to €5849 (24%; range, 3.3-56.7%), staff reinforcement costs of €6204 to €148 381 (22%; range, 3.3-52%), and contact precautions costs of €166 to €10 438 per positive patient (18%; range, 0.7-43.3%). Published data on the economic burden of strict measures to eradicate MDROs are limited, heterogeneous, and weakened by several methodological flaws. Novel economic studies should be performed to assess the financial impact of current policies, and to identify the most cost-effective strategies to eradicate emerging MDROs in healthcare facilities

Past and present potential distribution of the Iberian Abies species: A phytogeographic approach using pollen data and species distribution models

This is the accepted version of the following article: Alba-Sánchez, F., López-Sáez, J. A., Pando, B. B.-d., Linares, J. C., Nieto-Lugilde, D. and López-Merino, L. (2010), Past and present potential distribution of the Iberian Abies species: a phytogeographic approach using fossil pollen data and species distribution models. Diversity and Distributions, 16: 214–228, which has been published in final form at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1472-4642.2010.00636.x/abstract.Aim - Quaternary palaeopalynological records collected throughout the Iberian Peninsula and species distribution models (SDMs) were integrated to gain a better understanding of the historical biogeography of the Iberian Abies species (i.e. Abies pinsapo and Abies alba). We hypothesize that SDMs and Abies palaeorecords are closely correlated, assuming a certain stasis in climatic and topographic ecological niche dimensions. In addition, the modelling results were used to assign the fossil records to A. alba or A. pinsapo, to identify environmental variables affecting their distribution, and to evaluate the ecological segregation between the two taxa. Location - The Iberian Peninsula. Methods - For the estimation of past Abies distributions, a hindcasting process was used. Abies pinsapo and A. alba were modelled individually, first calibrating the model for their current distributions in relation to the present climate, and then projecting it into the past—the last glacial maximum (LGM) and the Middle Holocene periods—in relation to palaeoclimate simulations. The resulting models were compared with Iberian-wide fossil pollen records to detect areas of overlap. Results - The overlap observed between past Abies refugia—inferred from fossil pollen records—and the SDMs helped to construct the Quaternary distribution of the Iberian Abies species. SDMs yielded two well-differentiated potential distributions: A. pinsapo throughout the Baetic mountain Range and A. alba along the Pyrenees and Cantabrian Range. These results propose that the two taxa remained isolated throughout the Quaternary, indicating a significant geographical and ecological segregation. In addition, no significant differences were detected comparing the three projections (present-day, Mid-Holocene and LGM), suggesting a relative climate stasis in the refuge areas during the Quaternary. Main conclusions - Our results confirm that SDM projections can provide a useful complement to palaeoecological studies, offering a less subjective and spatially explicit hypothesis concerning past geographic patterns of Iberian Abies species. The integration of ecological-niche characteristics from known occurrences of Abies species in conjunction with palaeoecological studies could constitute a suitable tool to define appropriate areas in which to focus proactive conservation strategies.The Andalusian Innovation, Science, and Industry Regional Ministry and the National Plan of the Spanish Government