Nuclear Magnetic Resonance in Low-Symmetry Superconductors

We consider the nuclear spin-lattice relaxation rate, $1/T_1T$ in superconductors with accidental nodes. We show that a Hebel-Slichter-like peak occurs even in the absence of an isotropic component of the superconducting gap. The logarithmic divergence found in clean, non-interacting models is controlled by both disorder and electron-electron interactions. However, for reasonable parameters, neither of these effects removes the peak altogether.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figure

Shareholder Voting and Directors’ Remuneration Report Legislation: Say on Pay in the U.K. (CRI 2009-004)

This paper investigates shareholder voting in the UK. The Directors’ Remuneration Report (DRR) Regulations of 2002 gave shareholders a mandatory non-binding vote on boardroom pay. First, using data on about 50,000 resolutions over the period 2002 to 2007 we find that less than 10% of shareholders abstain or vote against the mandated Directors’ Remuneration Report (DRR) resolution. Second, investors are more likely to vote against DRR resolutions compared to non-pay resolutions. Third, shareholders are more likely to vote against general executive pay resolutions, such as stock options, long term incentive plans and bonus resolutions compared to non-pay resolutions. Forth, firms with higher CEO pay attract greater voting dissent. Fifth, there is little evidence that CEO pay is lower in firms that previously experienced high levels of shareholder dissent. In addition, there is little evidence that the equity pay-mix, representing better owner-manager alignment, is greater in such firms. Currently, we find limited evidence that, on average, ‘say on pay’ materially alters the subsequent level and design of CEO compensation

Time-Optimal Transfer of Coherence

We provide exact analytical solutions for the problem of time-optimal transfer of coherence from one spin polarization to a three-fold coherence in a trilinear Ising chain with a fixed energy available and subject to local controls with a non negligible time cost. The time of transfer is optimal and consistent with a previous numerical result obtained assuming instantaneous local controls.Comment: Published version (with typos in eqs. (25)-(27) corrected

The envirome and the connectome: exploring the structural noise in the human brain associated with socioeconomic deprivation

Complex cognitive functions are widely recognized to be the result of a number of brain regions working together as large-scale networks. Recently, complex network analysis has been used to characterize various structural properties of the large scale network organization of the brain. For example, the human brain has been found to have a modular architecture i.e. regions within the network form communities (modules) with more connections between regions within the community compared to regions outside it. The aim of this study was to examine the modular and overlapping modular architecture of the brain networks using complex network analysis. We also examined the association between neighborhood level deprivation and brain network structure – modularity and grey nodes. We compared network structure derived from anatomical MRI scans of 42 middle-aged neurologically healthy men from the least (LD) and the most deprived (MD) neighborhoods of Glasgow with their corresponding random networks. Cortical morphological covariance networks were constructed from the cortical thickness derived from the MRI scans of the brain. For a given modularity threshold, networks derived from the MD group showed similar number of modules compared to their corresponding random networks, while networks derived from the LD group had more modules compared to their corresponding random networks. The MD group also had fewer grey nodes – a measure of overlapping modular structure. These results suggest that apparent structural difference in brain networks may be driven by differences in cortical thicknesses between groups. This demonstrates a structural organization that is consistent with a system that is less robust and less efficient in information processing. These findings provide some evidence of the relationship between socioeconomic deprivation and brain network topology

Virtually optimized insoles for offloading the diabetic foot: a randomized crossover study

Integration of objective biomechanical measures of foot function into the design process for insoles has been shown to provide enhanced plantar tissue protection for individuals at-risk of plantar ulceration. The use of virtual simulations utilizing numerical modeling techniques offers a potential approach to further optimize these devices. In a patient population at-risk of foot ulceration, we aimed to compare the pressure offloading performance of insoles that were optimized via numerical simulation techniques against shape-based devices. Twenty participants with diabetes and at-risk feet were enrolled in this study. Three pairs of personalized insoles: one based on shape data and subsequently manufactured via direct milling; and two were based on a design derived from shape, pressure, and ultrasound data which underwent a finite element analysis-based virtual optimization procedure. For the latter set of insole designs, one pair was manufactured via direct milling, and a second pair was manufactured through 3D printing. The offloading performance of the insoles was analyzed for forefoot regions identified as having elevated plantar pressures. In 88% of the regions of interest, the use of virtually optimized insoles resulted in lower peak plantar pressures compared to the shape-based devices. Overall, the virtually optimized insoles significantly reduced peak pressures by a mean of 41.3 kPa (p < 0.001, 95% CI [31.1, 51.5]) for milled and 40.5 kPa (p < 0.001, 95% CI [26.4, 54.5]) for printed devices compared to shape-based insoles. The integration of virtual optimization into the insole design process resulted in improved offloading performance compared to standard, shape-based devices.Full Tex

Automated reduction of submillimetre single-dish heterodyne data from the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope using ORAC-DR

With the advent of modern multi-detector heterodyne instruments that can result in observations generating thousands of spectra per minute it is no longer feasible to reduce these data as individual spectra. We describe the automated data reduction procedure used to generate baselined data cubes from heterodyne data obtained at the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope. The system can automatically detect baseline regions in spectra and automatically determine regridding parameters, all without input from a user. Additionally it can detect and remove spectra suffering from transient interference effects or anomalous baselines. The pipeline is written as a set of recipes using the ORAC-DR pipeline environment with the algorithmic code using Starlink software packages and infrastructure. The algorithms presented here can be applied to other heterodyne array instruments and have been applied to data from historical JCMT heterodyne instrumentation.Comment: 18 pages, 13 figures, submitted to Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Societ

Peripheral inflammation is associated with remote global gene expression changes in the brain

Background: Although the central nervous system (CNS) was once considered an immunologically privileged site, in recent years it has become increasingly evident that cross talk between the immune system and the CNS does occur. As a result, patients with chronic inflammatory diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease or psoriasis, are often further burdened with neuropsychiatric symptoms, such as depression, anxiety and fatigue. Despite the recent advances in our understanding of neuroimmune communication pathways, the precise effect of peripheral immune activation on neural circuitry remains unclear. Utilizing transcriptomics in a well-characterized murine model of systemic inflammation, we have started to investigate the molecular mechanisms by which inflammation originating in the periphery can induce transcriptional modulation in the brain.&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; Methods: Several different systemic and tissue-specific models of peripheral toll-like-receptor-(TLR)-driven (lipopolysaccharide (LPS), lipoteichoic acid and Imiquimod) and sterile (tumour necrosis factor (TNF) and 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA)) inflammation were induced in C57BL/6 mice. Whole brain transcriptional profiles were assessed and compared 48 hours after intraperitoneal injection of lipopolysaccharide or vehicle, using Affymetrix GeneChip microarrays. Target gene induction, identified by microarray analysis, was validated independently using qPCR. Expression of the same panel of target genes was then investigated in a number of sterile and other TLR-dependent models of peripheral inflammation.&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; Results: Microarray analysis of whole brains collected 48 hr after LPS challenge revealed increased transcription of a range of interferon-stimulated genes (ISGs) in the brain. In addition to acute LPS challenge, ISGs were induced in the brain following both chronic LPS-induced systemic inflammation and Imiquimod-induced skin inflammation. Unique to the brain, this transcriptional response is indicative of peripherally triggered, interferon-mediated CNS inflammation. Similar models of sterile inflammation and lipoteichoic-acid-induced systemic inflammation did not share the capacity to trigger ISG induction in the brain.&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; Conclusions: These data highlight ISG induction in the brain as being a consequence of a TLR-induced type I interferon response. As considerable evidence links type I interferons to psychiatric disorders, we hypothesize that interferon production in the brain could represent an important mechanism, linking peripheral TLR-induced inflammation with behavioural changes.&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt

The Resolved Outer Population of NGC6822 with WFPC2

We present F336W (U), F439W (B), F555W (V), and F675W (R) Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2) photometry of two outer regions of the Local Group dwarf irregular galaxy NGC6822. The NE region is ~13 arcmin from the galaxy centre, while the W region lies 10 arcmin out, and within the wispy low surface brightness outer regions of the galaxy. The fields are not crowded and contain few NGC 6822 stars. We discuss errors and uncertainties and find that the W region contains a main sequence that extends to stars of about 2 solar masses, with an age of about 200 Myr. The NE region has no main sequence or stars younger than 1 Gyr, but does contain some luminous red stars that are not matched in the W field. These stars are not clumped in the field. The results suggest that the W region may be a trace of a tidal event that triggered the current star-formation in this isolated galaxy.Comment: 12 pages including 2 tables, plus 4 figures (#1 omitted) To appear in PAS