Mechanisms of Manganese-Assisted Nonradiative Recombination in Cd(Mn)Se/Zn(Mn)Se Quantum Dots

Mechanisms of nonradiative recombination of electron-hole complexes in Cd(Mn)Se/Zn(Mn)Se quantum dots accompanied by interconfigurational excitations of Mn$^{2+}$ ions are analyzed within the framework of single electron model of deep {\it 3d}-levels in semiconductors. In addition to the mechanisms caused by Coulomb and exchange interactions, which are related because of the Pauli principle, another mechanism due to {\it sp-d} mixing is considered. It is shown that the Coulomb mechanism reduces to long-range dipole-dipole energy transfer from photoexcited quantum dots to Mn$^{2+}$ ions. The recombination due to the Coulomb mechanism is allowed for any states of Mn$^{2+}$ ions and {\it e-h} complexes. In contrast, short-range exchange and ${\it sp-d}$ recombinations are subject to spin selection rules, which are the result of strong {\it lh-hh} splitting of hole states in quantum dots. Estimates show that efficiency of the {\it sp-d} mechanism can considerably exceed that of the Coulomb mechanism. The phonon-assisted recombination and processes involving upper excited states of Mn$^{2+}$ ions are studied. The increase in PL intensity of an ensemble of quantum dots in a magnetic field perpendicular to the sample growth plane observed earlier is analyzed as a possible manifestation of the spin-dependent recombination.Comment: 14 pages, 2 figure

Countering the Australian 'ndrangheta: The criminalisation of mafia behaviour in Australia between national and comparative criminal law

Mafia-type criminal groups belonging to, or originated from, the Calabrian ‘ndrangheta from Southern Italy, have been object of recent academic research and media attention in Australia. The Australian ‘ndrangheta, as qualified form of organised crime, poses new challenges for law enforcement in the country. This paper briefly looks at the strategies to fight organised crime in Australia, with specific focus on anti-association laws. By using a comparative approach, the paper will look at the criminalisation of mafias as qualified forms of organised crime in other two jurisdictions, Italy and the USA, to advocate for an effective mafia criminalisation in Australia. In conclusion, this paper will argue that, in order to also fight mafia phenomena, criminal law in Australia should focus on behaviours of organised crime groups rather than only on the criminalisation of proscribed associations and their illegal activities

Temporal variance of disturbance did not affect diversity and structure of a marine fouling community in north-eastern New Zealand

Natural heterogeneity in ecological parameters, like population abundance, is more widely recognized and investigated than variability in the processes that control these parameters. Experimental ecologists have focused mainly on the mean intensity of predictor variables and have largely ignored the potential to manipulate variances in processes, which can be considered explicitly in experimental designs to explore variation in causal mechanisms. In the present study, the effect of the temporal variance of disturbance on the diversity of marine assemblages was tested in a field experiment replicated at two sites on the northeast coast of New Zealand. Fouling communities grown on artificial settlement substrata experienced disturbance regimes that differed in their inherent levels of temporal variability and timing of disturbance events, while disturbance intensity was identical across all levels. Additionally, undisturbed assemblages were used as controls. After 150 days of experimental duration, the assemblages were then compared with regard to their species richness, abundance and structure. The disturbance effectively reduced the average total cover of the assemblages, but no consistent effect of variability in the disturbance regime on the assemblages was detected. The results of this study were corroborated by the outcomes from simultaneous replicate experiments carried out in each of eight different biogeographical regions around the world

Measurement and Modeling of Particle Radiation in Coal Flames

This work aims at developing a methodology that can provide information of in-flame particle radiation in industrial-scale flames. The method is based on a combination of experimental and modeling work. The experiments have been performed in the high-temperature zone of a 77 kWth swirling lignite flame. Spectral radiation, total radiative intensity, gas temperature, and gas composition were measured, and the radiative intensity in the furnace was modeled with an axisymmetric cylindrical radiation model using Mie theory for the particle properties and a statistical narrow-band model for the gas properties. The in-flame particle radiation was measured with a Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometer connected to a water-cooled probe via fiber optics. In the cross-section of the flame investigated, the particles were found to be the dominating source of radiation. Apart from giving information about particle radiation and temperature, the methodology can also provide estimates of the amount of soot radiation and the maximum contribution from soot radiation compared to the total particle radiation. In the center position in the flame, the maximum contribution from soot radiation was estimated to be less than 40% of the particle radiation. As a validation of the methodology, the modeled total radiative intensity was compared to the total intensity measured with a narrow angle radiometer and the agreement in the results was good, supporting the validity of the used approach

Psychological interventions as vaccine adjuvants: a systematic review

Objectives: The effectiveness of vaccines is known to be altered by a range of psychological factors. We conducted a systematic review to evaluate the effects of psychological interventions on the ability of vaccines to protect against disease, as measured by antibody responses. Methods: Electronic databases (EMBASE, Medline, PsychINFO, CINAHL) were searched from their inception to 6th February 2018.Results: The search yielded 9 eligible trials conducted with 1603 participants and four broad categories of intervention: meditation/mindfulness (n=3), massage (n=3), expressive writing (n=2) and cognitive behavioural stress management (n=1). Some evidence of benefit on the antibody response to vaccination was observed in 6/9 of all trials and in 4/7 of randomised controlled trials. However, effects on antibody levels were often mixed, with only 3 of 6 trials showing benefit demonstrating an improvement in all antibody outcomes and at all time points assessed. Trials demonstrating benefit also provided direct or indirect evidence of adequate adherence with the intervention; and in 50% of these trials, there was also evidence that the intervention was effective in changing the mediating psychological constructs targeted by the intervention.Conclusions: This literature is characterised by considerable heterogeneity in terms of intervention type, vaccine type, age of participants and the temporal relationship between vaccination and intervention. We conclude that there is early evidence to suggest that psychological interventions may enhance the antibody response to vaccination. However, the effects are inconsistent, with the greatest likelihood of benefit seen in trials evidencing adequate adherence with the intervention. Future work would benefit from rigorous intervention development that focuses on achieving adequate adherence and large well-controlled randomised trials with a focus on an agreed set of outcomes

Impact of Reduced Rainfall on Above Ground Dry Matter Production of Semi-natural Grassland in South Gloucestershire, UK: A Rainfall Manipulation Study

In the United Kingdom, agricultural grasslands cover 40% of the land area, make up 89% of the total agricultural area and are an important land use for ecosystem services and food security. Climate change predictions suggest that the United Kingdom will experience more frequent and severe periods of drought that may impact these grasslands. As part of the Drought Risk and You (DRY) project, a field experiment in which rain shelters reduced precipitation reaching the vegetation by approximately 50%, was set up in the South West of England. The experiment ran for 3years, from October 2015 to October 2018. The study was carried out at two locations in the catchment of the Bristol River Frome. Both sites were species-rich semi-natural pastures that had received no inputs of fertilizer or herbicide for many years. Automatic weather stations recorded environmental conditions, especially rainfall, within the experimental area. The existing agricultural management regimes were approximated by cutting the vegetation in the plots, by hand, at the appropriate times of year. The effect of rainfall reduction on plant growth was assessed by biomass sampling. At both sites, the rainfall reduction treatment had only small effects on total above ground dry matter production (biomass). These effects were much smaller than the year-to-year variation in total biomass. Our results suggested that well-established permanent pastures in the South West of England were able to tolerate a 3-year period of reduced water supply. The observed year-to-year variation in biomass demonstrated how important the timing of dry weather is for biomass production, and this will be reflected in effects on yield and quality of hay

Effects of Dimethyl Fumarate on Brain Atrophy in Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis: Pooled Analysis Phase 3 DEFINE and CONFIRM Studies

OBJECTIVE: In the pivotal DEFINE and CONFIRM trials for dimethyl fumarate (DMF), patterns of brain volume changes were different, potentially due to low sample sizes and because MRIs were analyzed at two different reading centers. We evaluated effects of DMF on brain volume change in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) through reanalysis of pooled images from DEFINE/CONFIRM trials in one reading center. METHODS: MRIs from DEFINE/CONFIRM at weeks 0, 24, 48, and 96 from patients randomized to twice-daily DMF or placebo (PBO) were reanalyzed at the Cleveland Clinic to measure brain parenchymal fraction (BPF). To account for pseudoatrophy, brain volume estimates were re-baselined to calculate changes for weeks 48–96. RESULTS: Across studies, 301 and 314 patients receiving DMF and PBO, respectively, had analyzable MRIs. In weeks 0–48, mean ± SE percentage change in BPF was −0.44 ± 0.04 vs. −0.34 ± 0.04% in DMF vs. PBO, respectively, whereas in weeks 48–96, mean ± SE percentage change in BPF was −0.27 ± 0.03 vs. −0.41 ± 0.04% in DMF vs. PBO, respectively. The mixed-effect model for repeated measures showed similar results: in weeks 48–96, estimated change (95% confidence interval) in BPF was −0.0021 (−0.0027, −0.0016) for DMF vs. −0.0033 (−0.0039, −0.0028) for PBO (35.9% reduction; p = 0.0025). CONCLUSIONS: The lower rate of whole brain volume loss with DMF in this pooled BPF analysis in the second year vs. PBO is consistent with its effects on relapses, disability, and MRI lesions. Brain volume changes in the first year may be explained by pseudoatrophy effects also described in other MS clinical trials

A chromosome conformation capture ordered sequence of the barley genome

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Psychological impact of lung cancer screening using a novel antibody blood test followed by imaging : the ECLS randomized controlled trial

This work was supported by the Scottish Government and Oncimmune Ltd. Follow-up data collection for psychological outcome measures was supported by Oncimmune Ltd.Background: The Early CDT®-Lung antibody blood test plus serial computed tomography scans for test-positives (TPGs) reduces late-stage lung cancer presentation. This study assessed the psychological outcomes of this approach. Methods: Randomized controlled trial (n = 12 208) comparing psychological outcomes 1-12 months post-recruitment in a subsample (n = 1032) of TPG, test-negative (TNG) and control groups (CG). Results: Compared to TNG, TPG had lower positive affect (difference between means (DBM), 3 months (3m: -1.49 (-2.65, - 0.33)), greater impact of worries (DBM 1m: 0.26 (0.05, 0.47); 3m: 0.28 (0.07, 0.50)), screening distress (DBM 1m: 3.59 (2.28, 4.90); 3m: 2.29 (0.97, 3.61); 6m: 1.94 (0.61, 3.27)), worry about tests (odds ratio (OR) 1m: 5.79 (2.66, 12.63) and more frequent lung cancer worry (OR 1m: 2.52 (1.31, 4.83); 3m: 2.43 (1.26, 4.68); 6m: 2.87 (1.48, 5.60)). Compared to CG, TPG had greater worry about tests (OR 1m: 3.40 (1.69, 6.84)). TNG had lower negative affect (log-transformed DBM 3m: -0.08 (-0.13, -0.02)), higher positive affect (DBM 1m: 1.52 (0.43, 2.61); 3m: 1.43 (0.33, 2.53); 6m: 1.27 (0.17, 2.37)), less impact of worries (DBM 3m: -0.27 (-0.48, -0.07)) and less-frequent lung cancer worry (OR 3m: 0.49 (0.26, 0.92)). Conclusions: Negative psychological effects in TPG and positive effects in TNG were short-lived and most differences were small.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Laryngeal transplantation in minipigs: vascular, myologic and functional outcomes

There is no effective way of replacing all the functions of the larynx in those requiring laryngectomy. Regenerative medicine offers promise, but cannot presently deliver implants with functioning neuromuscular units. A single well-documented laryngeal transplant in man was a qualified success, but more information is required before clinical trials may be proposed. We studied the early response of the larynx to laryngeal transplantation between 17 pairs of NIH minipigs full matched at the MHC2 locus. Following iterative technical improvements, pigs had good swallowing and a patent airway at 1 week. No significant changes in mucosal blood flux were observed compared with pre-operative measurements. Changes in muscle morphology and fibre phenotype were observed in transplant muscles retrieved after 7 days: the levels of fast and slow myosin heavy chain (MyHC) protein were reduced and embryonic MyHC was up regulated consistent with denervation induced atrophy. At 1 week laryngeal transplantation can result in good swallowing, and is not associated with clinical evidence of ischemia-reperfusion injury in MHC-matched pigs