1,028 research outputs found
Search for novel order in URu2Si2 by neutron scattering
We have made extensive reciprocal space maps in the heavy-fermion superconductor URu2Si2 using high-resolution time-of-flight single-crystal neutron diffraction to search for signs of a hidden order parameter related to the 17.5 K phase transition. Within the present sensitivity of the experiment (0.007 mu(B)/U-ion for sharp peaks), no additional features such as incommensurate structures or short-range order have been found in the (hOl) or (hhl) scattering planes. The only additional low-temperature scattering observed was the well-known tiny antiferromagnetic moment of 0.03 mu(B)/U-ion
'The smoking toolkit study': a national study of smoking and smoking cessation in England
Background: Up-to-date data tracking of national smoking patterns and cessation-related behaviour is required to evaluate and inform tobacco control strategies. The Smoking Toolkit Study (STS) was designed for this role. This paper describes the methodology of the STS and examines as far as possible the representativeness of the samples.Methods: The STS consists of monthly, cross sectional household interviews of adults aged 16 and over in England with smokers and recent ex-smokers in each monthly wave followed up by postal questionnaires three and six months later. Between November 2006 and December 2010 the baseline survey was completed by 90,568 participants. STS demographic, prevalence and cigarette consumption estimates are compared with those from the Health Survey for England (HSE) and the General Lifestyle Survey (GLF) for 2007-2009.Results: Smoking prevalence estimates of all the surveys were similar from 2008 onwards (e. g 2008 STS = 22.0%, 95% C. I. = 21.4% to 22.6%, HSE = 21.7%, 95% C. I. = 20.9% to 22.6%, GLF = 20.8%, 95% C. I. = 19.7% to 21.9%), although there was heterogeneity in 2007 (chi-square = 50.30, p < 0.001). Some differences were observed across surveys within sociodemographic sub-groups, although largely in 2007. Cigarette consumption was virtually identical in all surveys and years.Conclusion: There is reason to believe that the STS findings (see http://www.smokinginengland.info) are generalisable to the adult population of England
Is a combination of varenicline and nicotine patch more effective in helping smokers quit than varenicline alone? A randomised controlled trial
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited
Understanding the WMAP Cold Spot mystery
The first and third year data releases from the WMAP provide evidence of an
anomalous Cold Spot (CS) at galactic latitude b=-57deg and longitude l=209deg.
We have examined the properties of the CS in some detail in order to assess its
cosmological significance. We have performed a cluster analysis of the local
extrema in the CMB signal to show that the CS is actually associated with a
large group of extrema rather than just one. In the light of this we have
re-examined the properties of the WMAP ILC and co-added "cleaned" WCM maps,
which have previously been used for the analysis of the properties of the
signal in the vicinity of the CS. These two maps have remarkably similar
properties on equal latitude rings for |b|>30deg, as well as in the vicinity of
the CS. We have also checked the idea that the CMB signal has a non-Gaussian
tail, localized in the low multipole components of the signal. For each ring we
apply a linear filter with characteristic scale R, dividing the CMB signal in
two parts: the filtered part, with characteristic scale above that of the
filter R, and the difference between the initial and filtered signal. Using the
filter scale as a variable, we can maximize the skewness and kurtosis of the
smoothed signal and minimize these statistics for the difference between
initial and filtered signal. We have discovered that the shape of the CS is
formed primarily by the components of the CMB signal represented by multipoles
between 10<=L<=20, with a corresponding angular scale about 5-10 degs. This
signal leads to modulation of the whole CMB sky, clearly seen at |b|>30deg in
both the ILC and WCM maps, rather than a single localized feature. After
subtraction of this modulation, the remaining part of the CMB signal appears to
be consistent with statistical homogeneity and Gaussianity.Comment: 35 pages, 17 figure
Technique for Measuring Limb Occlusion Pressure that Facilitates Personalized Tourniquet Systems: A Randomized Trial
Synergy between the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope and the Square Kilometre Array
We provide an overview of the science benefits of combining information from the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) and the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST). We first summarise the capabilities and timeline of the LSST and overview its science goals. We then discuss the science questions in common between the two projects, and how they can be best addressed by combining the data from both telescopes. We describe how weak gravitational lensing and galaxy clustering studies with LSST and SKA can provide improved constraints on the causes of the cosmological acceleration. We summarise the benefits to galaxy evolution studies of combining deep optical multi-band imaging with radio observations. Finally, we discuss the excellent match between one of the most unique features of the LSST, its temporal cadence in the optical waveband, and the time resolution of the SKA
Purifying Selection in Deeply Conserved Human Enhancers Is More Consistent than in Coding Sequences
(c) 2014 De Silva et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited
Human depression: a new approach in quantitative psychiatry
The biomolecular approach to major depression disorder is explained by the different steps that involve cell membrane viscosity, Gsα protein and tubulin. For the first time it is hypothesised that a biomolecular pathway exists, moving from cell membrane viscosity through Gsα protein and Tubulin, which can condition the conscious state and is measurable by electroencephalogram study of the brain's γ wave synchrony
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