First results of a cryogenic optical photon counting imaging spectrometer using a DROID array

Context. In this paper we present the first system test in which we demonstrate the concept of using an array of Distributed Read Out Imaging Devices (DROIDs) for optical photon detection. Aims. After the successful S-Cam 3 detector the next step in the development of a cryogenic optical photon counting imaging spectrometer under the S-Cam project is to increase the field of view using DROIDs. With this modification the field of view of the camera has been increased by a factor of 5 in area, while keeping the number of readout channels the same. Methods. The test has been performed using the flexible S-Cam 3 system and exchanging the 10x12 Superconducting Tunnel Junction array for a 3x20 DROID array. The extra data reduction needed with DROIDs is performed offline. Results. We show that, although the responsivity (number of tunnelled quasiparticles per unit of absorbed photon energy, e- /eV) of the current array is too low for direct astronomical applications, the imaging quality is already good enough for pattern detection, and will improve further with increasing responsivity. Conclusions. The obtained knowledge can be used to optimise the system for the use of DROIDs.Comment: 7 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publicaiton in A&

Electron cyclotron mass in undoped CdTe/CdMnTe quantum wells

Optically detected cyclotron resonance of two-dimensional electrons has been studied in nominally undoped CdTe/(Cd,Mn)Te quantum wells. The enhancement of carrier quantum confinement results in an increase of the electron cyclotron mass from 0.099$m_0$ to 0.112$m_0$ with well width decreasing from 30 down to 3.6 nm. Model calculations of the electron effective mass have been performed for this material system and good agreement with experimental data is achieved for an electron-phonon coupling constant $\alpha$=0.32

Mechanochemical action of the dynamin protein

Dynamin is a ubiquitous GTPase that tubulates lipid bilayers and is implicated in many membrane severing processes in eukaryotic cells. Setting the grounds for a better understanding of this biological function, we develop a generalized hydrodynamics description of the conformational change of large dynamin-membrane tubes taking into account GTP consumption as a free energy source. On observable time scales, dissipation is dominated by an effective dynamin/membrane friction and the deformation field of the tube has a simple diffusive behavior, which could be tested experimentally. A more involved, semi-microscopic model yields complete predictions for the dynamics of the tube and possibly accounts for contradictory experimental results concerning its change of conformation as well as for plectonemic supercoiling.Comment: 17 pages, 4 figures; typos corrected, reference adde

Women and Illegal Activities: Gender Differences and Women's Willingness to Comply Over Time

In recent years the topics of illegal activities such as corruption or tax evasion have attracted a great deal of attention. However, there is still a lack of substantial empirical evidence about the determinants of compliance. The aim of this paper is to investigate empirically whether women are more willing to be compliant than men and whether we observe (among women and in general) differences in attitudes among similar age groups in different time periods (cohort effect) or changing attitudes of the same cohorts over time (age effect) using data from eight Western European countries from the World Values Survey and the European Values Survey that span the period from 1981 to 1999. The results reveal higher willingness to comply among women and an age rather than a cohort effect. Working Paper 06-5

Defining dual diagnosis : a qualitative study of the views of health care workers

Background: \u27Dual diagnosis\u27 is the term of choice in many countries to describe clients with co-occurring mental health and alcohol and other drug (AOD) issues. However, it is not known if its meaning is consistently represented within and across health care services. This uncertainty has significant implications for referral, consultation and research.Aim: To obtain information about the way that different health care professionals understand the term \u27dual diagnosis\u27.Method: Twenty-nine health care workers across five service types (medical, mental health, AOD, dual diagnosis and community health) in Victoria, Australia were interviewed about their understanding of the term \u27dual diagnosis\u27.Results: The findings indicated that service providers working in AOD and Mental Health had a shared general understanding of what was meant by \u27dual diagnosis\u27, despite uncertainties about more specific inclusion criteria. In contrast, medical and community health staff lacked a similar shared understanding, and were more likely to recommend change, but offered no consensus on alternatives.Conclusion: The results indicate that while the term \u27dual diagnosis\u27 has value in efficiently directing attention to the complexity of treatment issues, health practitioners cannot assume it will convey the intended meaning outside mental health or AOD services. Clear articulation of the intended definition may be a necessary requirement in wider health care communication. <br /

Suited for Success? : Suits, Status, and Hybrid Masculinity

This document is the Accepted Manuscript version. The final, definitive version of this paper has been published in Men and Masculinities, March 2017, doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/1097184X17696193, published by SAGE Publishing, All rights reserved.This article analyzes the sartorial biographies of four Canadian men to explore how the suit is understood and embodied in everyday life. Each of these men varied in their subject positions—body shape, ethnicity, age, and gender identity—which allowed us to look at the influence of men’s intersectional identities on their relationship with their suits. The men in our research all understood the suit according to its most common representation in popular culture: a symbol of hegemonic masculinity. While they wore the suit to embody hegemonic masculine configurations of practice—power, status, and rationality—most of these men were simultaneously marginalized by the gender hierarchy. We explain this disjuncture by using the concept of hybrid masculinity and illustrate that changes in the style of hegemonic masculinity leave its substance intact. Our findings expand thinking about hybrid masculinity by revealing the ways subordinated masculinities appropriate and reinforce hegemonic masculinity.Peer reviewe

Quasi-qualitative evaluation of Progressive Counting in secure accommodation in Scotland:An exploratory cluster case study

This was the first study to introduce a brief exposure therapy, within a trauma-informed phase approach, into a secure facility in Scotland. An exploratory cluster case study was used to identify the perceptions of the first three youth who completed Progressive Counting (PC), a novel approach to brief exposure, within the Fairy Tale Model. The youth and their newly trained therapist received a semi-structured interview at 3 months following the completion of therapy. In-depth interviews involving rating scales and open-ended questions were conducted by telephone and digitally recorded. A quasi-qualitative approach was used to analyze data. Independent ratings by two researchers checked for inter-rater reliability. A retrospective expert rating was provided for treatment fidelity. Youth reported a range of gains in relation to program objectives including reduced distress and putting trauma into the past. Challenges of implementation are discussed. More rigorous evaluation of PC, including randomized control trials, is needed before PC can be recommended as a treatment of choice

Volcanic Contribution to Decadal Changes in Tropospheric Temperature

Despite continued growth in atmospheric levels of greenhouse gases, global mean surface and tropospheric temperatures have shown slower warming since 1998 than previously. Possible explanations for the slow-down include internal climate variability, external cooling influences and observational errors. Several recent modelling studies have examined the contribution of early twenty-first-century volcanic eruptions to the muted surface warming. Here we present a detailed analysis of the impact of recent volcanic forcing on tropospheric temperature, based on observations as well as climate model simulations. We identify statistically significant correlations between observations of stratospheric aerosol optical depth and satellite-based estimates of both tropospheric temperature and short-wave fluxes at the top of the atmosphere. We show that climate model simulations without the effects of early twenty-first-century volcanic eruptions overestimate the tropospheric warming observed since 1998. In two simulations with more realistic volcanic influences following the 1991 Pinatubo eruption, differences between simulated and observed tropospheric temperature trends over the period 1998 to 2012 are up to 15% smaller, with large uncertainties in the magnitude of the effect. To reduce these uncertainties, better observations of eruption-specific properties of volcanic aerosols are needed, as well as improved representation of these eruption-specific properties in climate model simulations

Our Globally Changing Climate

Since the Third U.S. National Climate Assessment (NCA3) was published in May 2014, new observations along multiple lines of evidence have strengthened the conclusion that Earth's climate is changing at a pace and in a pattern not explainable by natural influences. While this report focuses especially on observed and projected future changes for the United States, it is important to understand those changes in the global context (this chapter). The world has warmed over the last 150 years, especially over the last six decades, and that warming has triggered many other changes to Earth's climate. Evidence for a changing climate abounds, from the top of the atmosphere to the depths of the oceans. Thousands of studies conducted by tens of thousands of scientists around the world have documented changes in surface, atmospheric, and oceanic temperatures; melting glaciers; disappearing snow cover; shrinking sea ice; rising sea level; and an increase in atmospheric water vapor. Rainfall patterns and storms are changing, and the occurrence of droughts is shifting

Pilot Study of a Group-Based Psychosocial Trauma Recovery Program in Secure Accommodation in Scotland

The current study is the first to implement and evaluate a group-based trauma-specific program for adolescents in a secure accommodation facility in Scotland. A randomized control and qualitative pilot study compared an intervention group (n = 10), who received Teaching Recovery Techniques, to a waitlist control group (n = 7). Measures included subjective units of disturbance (SUDs), standardized trauma symptom questionnaires, and analysis of behavior monitoring logs. Adolescent interviews (n = 10) and a presenter focus group (n = 4) assessed program experience and views on future development. Sessions were video-ed and analyzed for program adherence. Analysis involved MANOVA, and a quasi-qualitative thematic approach for participant views. Adolescents reported high SUDs and a range of trauma symptoms. A large effect size was found for reduced SUDs and positive trends were identified for symptoms and behavior change in the intervention group. Program adaptations included smaller groups, the use of visual materials and liaison with care staff to facilitate generalization. Recommendations are made for program development and large scale evaluation