Minimum Sobolev norm interpolation of derivative data

We study the problem of reconstructing a function on a manifold satisfying some mild conditions, given data on the values and some derivatives of the function at arbitrary points on the manifold. While the problem of finding a polynomial of two variables with total degree $\le n$ given the values of the polynomial and some of its derivatives at exactly the same number of points as the dimension of the polynomial space is sometimes impossible, we show that such a problem always has a solution in a very general situation if the degree of the polynomials is sufficiently large. We give estimates on how large the degree should be, and give explicit constructions for such a polynomial even in a far more general case. As the number of sampling points at which the data is available increases, our polynomials converge to the target function on the set where the sampling points are dense. Numerical examples in single and double precision show that this method is stable and of high-order

Mobility of Dislocations in Aluminum

The velocities of individual dislocations of edge and mixed types in pure aluminum single crystals were determined as a function of applied‐resolved shear stress and temperature. The dislocation velocities were determined from measurements of the displacements of individual dislocations produced by stress pulses of known duration. The Berg‐Barrett x‐ray technique was employed to observe the dislocations, and stress pulses of 15 to 108 μsec duration were applied by propagating torsional waves along the axes of [111]‐oriented cylindrical crystals. Resolved shear stresses up to 16×10^6 dynes∕cm^2 were applied at temperatures ranging from −150° to +70°C, and dislocation velocities were found to vary from 10 to 2800 cm∕sec over these ranges of stress and temperature. The experimental conditions were such that the dislocation velocities were not significantly influenced by impurities, dislocation curvature, dislocation‐dislocation interactions, or long‐range internal stress fields in the crystals. The velocity of dislocations is found to be linearly proportional to the applied‐resolved shear stress, and to decrease with increasing temperature. Qualitative comparison of these results with existing theories leads to the conclusion that the mobility of individual dislocations in pure aluminum is governed by dislocation‐phonon interactions. The phonon‐viscosity theory of dislocation mobility can be brought into agreement with the experimental results by reasonable choices of the values of certain constants appearing in the theory

Nonword Repetition and Interactions Among Vocabulary, Phonotactic probability, and Phonological Awareness in Four Linguistic Groups

The current study was designed to compare the English nonword repetition accuracy in 7-year-old monolingual English, Korean–English bilingual, Chinese–English bilingual, and Spanish–English bilingual children. The relationships among nonword repetition accuracy, vocabulary, phonological awareness, and phonotactic probability in each group of children were also examined. The results indicated significant differences among the groups’ accuracy of consonants and vowels by syllable length. Different correlational patterns emerged among nonword repetition accuracy, vocabulary, and phonological awareness. Theoretical and clinical implications for the use of nonword repetition tasks for children from various linguistic backgrounds are discussed

The interferon-stimulated gene IFITM3 restricts infection and pathogenesis of arthritogenic and encephalitic alphaviruses

Host cells respond to viral infections by producing type I interferon (IFN), which induces the expression of hundreds of interferon-stimulated genes (ISGs). Although ISGs mediate a protective state against many pathogens, the antiviral functions of the majority of these genes have not been identified. IFITM3 is a small transmembrane ISG that restricts a broad range of viruses, including orthomyxoviruses, flaviviruses, filoviruses, and coronaviruses. Here, we show that alphavirus infection is increased in Ifitm3(−/−) and Ifitm locus deletion (Ifitm-del) fibroblasts and, reciprocally, reduced in fibroblasts transcomplemented with Ifitm3. Mechanistic studies showed that Ifitm3 did not affect viral binding or entry but inhibited pH-dependent fusion. In a murine model of chikungunya virus arthritis, Ifitm3(−/−) mice sustained greater joint swelling in the ipsilateral ankle at days 3 and 7 postinfection, and this correlated with higher levels of proinflammatory cytokines and viral burden. Flow cytometric analysis suggested that Ifitm3(−/−) macrophages from the spleen were infected at greater levels than observed in wild-type (WT) mice, results that were supported by experiments with Ifitm3(−/−) bone marrow-derived macrophages. Ifitm3(−/−) mice also were more susceptible than WT mice to lethal alphavirus infection with Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus, and this was associated with greater viral burden in multiple organs. Collectively, our data define an antiviral role for Ifitm3 in restricting infection of multiple alphaviruses. IMPORTANCE The interferon-induced transmembrane protein 3 (IFITM3) inhibits infection of multiple families of viruses in cell culture. Compared to other viruses, much less is known about the antiviral effect of IFITM3 on alphaviruses. In this study, we characterized the antiviral activity of mouse Ifitm3 against arthritogenic and encephalitic alphaviruses using cells and animals with a targeted gene deletion of Ifitm3 as well as deficient cells transcomplemented with Ifitm3. Based on extensive virological analysis, we demonstrate greater levels of alphavirus infection and disease pathogenesis when Ifitm3 expression is absent. Our data establish an inhibitory role for Ifitm3 in controlling infection of alphaviruses

A finite element analysis of a silicon based double quantum dot structure

We present the results of a finite-element solution of the Laplace equation for the silicon-based trench-isolated double quantum-dot and the capacitively-coupled single-electron transistor device architecture. This system is a candidate for charge and spin-based quantum computation in the solid state, as demonstrated by recent coherent-charge oscillation experiments. Our key findings demonstrate control of the electric potential and electric field in the vicinity of the double quantum-dot by the electric potential applied to the in-plane gates. This constitutes a useful theoretical analysis of the silicon-based architecture for quantum information processing applications

How young people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds experience mental health: some insights for mental health nurses

This article reports on a part of a study which looked at the mental health of culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) young people. The research sought to learn from CALD young people, carers, and service providers experiences relevant to the mental health of this group of young people. The ultimate goal was to gain insights that would inform government policy, service providers, ethnic communities and most importantly the young people themselves. To this end, qualitative interviews were undertaken with 123 CALD young people, 41 carers and 14 mental health service providers in Queensland, Western Australia and South Australia. Only one aspect of the study will be dealt with here, namely the views of the young CALD participants, which included risk factors, coping strategies and recommendations about how they could be supported in their struggle to maintain mental health. One of the most important findings of the study relates to the resilience of these young people and an insight into the strategies that they used to cope. The efforts of these young people to assist us in our attempts to understand their situation deserve to be rewarded by improvements in the care that we provide. To this end this article sets out to inform mental health nurses of the results of the study so that they will be in a position to better understand the needs and strengths of their CALD clients and be in a better position to work effectively with them

Strain-Modified RKKY Interaction in Carbon Nanotubes

For low-dimensional metallic structures, such as nanotubes, the exchange coupling between localized magnetic dopants is predicted to decay slowly with separation. The long-range character of this interaction plays a significant role in determining the magnetic order of the system. It has previously been shown that the interaction range depends on the conformation of the magnetic dopants in both graphene and nanotubes. Here we examine the RKKY interaction in carbon nanotubes in the presence of uniaxial strain for a range of different impurity configurations. We show that strain is capable of amplifying or attenuating the RKKY interaction, significantly increasing certain interaction ranges, and acting as a switch: effectively turning on or off the interaction. We argue that uniaxial strain can be employed to significantly manipulate magnetic interactions in carbon nanotubes, allowing an interplay between mechanical and magnetic properties in future spintronic devices. We also examine the dimensional relationship between graphene and nanotubes with regards to the decay rate of the RKKY interaction.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figures, submitte

Use of record-linkage to handle non-response and improve alcohol consumption estimates in health survey data: a study protocol

<p>Introduction: Reliable estimates of health-related behaviours, such as levels of alcohol consumption in the population, are required to formulate and evaluate policies. National surveys provide such data; validity depends on generalisability, but this is threatened by declining response levels. Attempts to address bias arising from non-response are typically limited to survey weights based on sociodemographic characteristics, which do not capture differential health and related behaviours within categories. This project aims to explore and address non-response bias in health surveys with a focus on alcohol consumption.</p> <p>Methods and analysis: The Scottish Health Surveys (SHeS) aim to provide estimates representative of the Scottish population living in private households. Survey data of consenting participants (92% of the achieved sample) have been record-linked to routine hospital admission (Scottish Morbidity Records (SMR)) and mortality (from National Records of Scotland (NRS)) data for surveys conducted in 1995, 1998, 2003, 2008, 2009 and 2010 (total adult sample size around 40 000), with maximum follow-up of 16 years. Also available are census information and SMR/NRS data for the general population. Comparisons of alcohol-related mortality and hospital admission rates in the linked SHeS-SMR/NRS with those in the general population will be made. Survey data will be augmented by quantification of differences to refine alcohol consumption estimates through the application of multiple imputation or inverse probability weighting. The resulting corrected estimates of population alcohol consumption will enable superior policy evaluation. An advanced weighting procedure will be developed for wider use.</p> <p>Ethics and dissemination: Ethics approval for SHeS has been given by the National Health Service (NHS) Multi-Centre Research Ethics Committee and use of linked data has been approved by the Privacy Advisory Committee to the Board of NHS National Services Scotland and Registrar General. Funding has been granted by the MRC. The outputs will include four or five public health and statistical methodological international journal and conference papers.</p&gt

Benchmarking high fidelity single-shot readout of semiconductor qubits

Determination of qubit initialisation and measurement fidelity is important for the overall performance of a quantum computer. However, the method by which it is calculated in semiconductor qubits varies between experiments. In this paper we present a full theoretical analysis of electronic single-shot readout and describe critical parameters to achieve high fidelity readout. In particular, we derive a model for energy selective state readout based on a charge detector response and examine how to optimise the fidelity by choosing correct experimental parameters. Although we focus on single electron spin readout, the theory presented can be applied to other electronic readout techniques in semiconductors that use a reservoir.Comment: 19 pages, 8 figure