Photoemission and the Origin of High Temperature Superconductivity

The condensation energy can be shown to be a moment of the change in the occupied part of the spectral function when going from the normal to the superconducting state. As a consequence, there is a one to one correspondence between the energy gain associated with forming the superconducting ground state, and the dramatic changes seen in angle resolved photoemission spectra. Some implications this observation has are offered.Comment: 4 pages, M2S conference proceeding

The effects of intertarget-interval certainty and length on autonomic and cortical reactivity in type A and type B males

The purpose of this study was to examine the psychophysiological effects of waiting and uncertainty in young Type A and Type B males. It was hypothesized that Type subjects would exhibit greater sympathetically medicated cardiovascular changes (as measured by pulse transit time) than Type B subjects on a reaction time task where the intertarget interval (ITI) was relatively long as opposed to short, and when the ITI was uncertain or unpredictable. The prediction on ITI length was based on the notion that Type A subjects have a preference for a more rapid pacing of activities. It was also hypothesized that Type A subjects would evidence greater cortical reactivity when target stimulus occurrence was uncertain or unpredictable. The combination of relatively long and uncertain ITIs was also expected to enhance cardiovascular and cortical responses in Type As relative to Bs

A multicenter retrospective study of childhood brucellosis in Chicago, Illinois from 1986 to 2008

SummaryObjectivesTo determine risk factors in children for the acquisition of Brucella, clinical presentation, treatment, and disease outcomes.MethodsA retrospective multicenter chart review was undertaken of children identified with brucellosis from 1986 to 2008 at three tertiary care centers in Chicago, Illinois, USA. The charts were reviewed for data regarding risk factors for acquisition, clinical presentation, and outcomes.ResultsTwenty-one charts were available for review. The median age was 6.5 years (range 2–14 years); 62% were female. Ethnic background was 67% Hispanic and 24% Arabic. Risk factors included travel to an endemic area (86%), particularly Mexico, and consumption of unpasteurized milk products (76%). Common findings included fever (95%), bacteremia (86%), elevated liver transaminases (80%), constitutional symptoms (76%), splenomegaly (60%), and hepatomegaly (55%). Relapse occurred in three of six subjects started on single drug treatment, but in only one of 15 subjects who started on two or more drugs (p=0.053). No relapses occurred in children whose initial therapy included rifampin or those administered three-drug regimens.ConclusionsBrucella is an infrequent pathogen but should be considered in children with compatible epidemiologic and clinical characteristics. Blood cultures should be obtained, and initial therapy with two or more drugs may decrease the risk of relapse

Pore fluid modeling approach to identify recent meltwater signals on the west Antarctic Peninsula

The sensitivity of sea level to melting from polar ice sheets and glaciers during recent natural and anthropogenic climate fluctuations is poorly constrained beyond the period of direct observation by satellite. We have investigated glacial meltwater events during the Anthropocene by adapting the pioneering approach of modeling trends in d18O in the pore waters of deep‐sea cores, previously used to constrain the size of ice sheets during the Last Glacial Maximum. We show that during recent warm periods, meltwater from glacier retreat drains into the coastal fjords, leaving a signature of depleted d18O values and low Cl concentrations in the pore water profiles of rapidly accumulating sediments. Here we model such pore water profiles in a piston core to constrain the timing and magnitude of an ice sheet retreat event at Caley Glacier on the west Antarctic Peninsula, and the result is compared with local ice front movement. This approach of pore water modeling was then applied in another kasten core and tested by a series of sensitivity analyses. The results suggest that our approach may be applied in fjords of different sedimentary settings to reconstruct the glacier history and allow insight into the sensitivity of polar glaciers to abrupt warming events

Quasiparticles in the superconducting state of Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8

Recent improvements in momentum resolution by a factor of 32 lead to qualitatively new ARPES results on the spectra of Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8 (Bi2212) along the (pi,pi) direction, where there is a node in the superconducting gap. With improved resolution, we now see the intrinsic lineshape, which indicates the presence of true quasiparticles at the Fermi momentum in the superconducting state, and lack thereof in the normal state. The region of momentum space probed here is relevant for charge transport, motivating a comparison of our results to conductivity measurements by infrared reflectivity.Comment: revised paper with new figure

Webteaching: sequencing of subject matter in relation to prior knowledge of pupils

Two experiments are discussed in which the sequencing procedure of webteaching is compared with a linear sequence for the presentation of text material.\ud \ud In the first experiment variations in the level of prior knowledge of pupils were studied for their influence on the sequencing mode of text presentation. Prior knowledge greatly reduced the effect of the size of sequencing procedures.\ud \ud In the second experiment pupils with a low level of prior knowledge studied a text, following either a websequence or a linear sequence. Webteaching was superior to linear teaching on a number of dependent variables. It is concluded that webteaching is an effective sequencing procedure in those cases where substantial new learning is required

An evaluation of strategies used by the Landscapes and Policy Hub to achieve interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research

The report presents an evaluation of the Landscapes and Policy Hub's approach to interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research. The hub was a national, four year, $15 million collaborative research program. The focus of the evaluation was for researchers to reflect on the effectiveness of strategies used by the hub to facilitate interdisciplinarity (where researchers from different disciplines work together to solve problems) and transdisciplinarity (where researchers from different disciplines work in partnership with research users to solve problems). The evaluation was commissioned in the final phase of the hub’s life in the interests of improving performance of future interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research. It was based on a number of strategies that had been implemented by the hub to encourage and facilitate interdisciplinary research occurring in partnership with research users. The aim of the evaluation was to improve performance of future interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research. Six recommendations are presented

Electron-fluctuation interaction in a non-Fermi superconductor

We studied the influence of the amplitude fluctuations of a non-Fermi superconductor on the energy spectrum of the 2D Anderson non-Fermi system. The classical fluctuations give a temperature dependence in the pseudogap induced in the fermionic excitations.Comment: revtex fil