Development of the Magnetic Excitations of Charge-Stripe Ordered La(2-x)Sr(x)NiO(4) on Doping Towards Checkerboard Charge Order

The magnetic excitation spectrums of charge stripe ordered La(2-x)Sr(x)NiO(4) x = 0.45 and x = 0.4 were studied by inelastic neutron scattering. We found the magnetic excitation spectrum of x = 0.45 from the ordered Ni^2+ S = 1 spins to match that of checkerboard charge ordered La(1.5)Sr(0.5)NiO(4). The distinctive asymmetry in the magnetic excitations above 40 meV was observed for both doping levels, but an additional ferromagnetic mode was observed in x = 0.45 and not in the x = 0.4. We discuss the origin of crossover in the excitation spectrum between x = 0.45 and x = 0.4 with respect to discommensurations in the charge stripe structure.Comment: 4 Figures. To be appear in the J. Kor. Phys. Soc. as a proceedings paper from the ICM 2012 conferenc

Four layer bandage compared with short stretch bandage for venous leg ulcers: systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials with data from individual patients

<p><b>Objective:</b> To compare the effectiveness of two types of compression treatment (four layer bandage and short stretch bandage) in people with venous leg ulceration.</p> <p><b>Design:</b> Systematic review and meta-analysis of patient level data.</p> <p><b>Data:</b> sources Electronic databases (the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, the Cochrane Wounds Group Specialised Register, Medline, Embase, CINAHL, and National Research Register) and reference lists of retrieved articles searched to identify relevant trials and primary investigators. Primary investigators of eligible trials were invited to contribute raw data for re-analysis.</p> <p><b>Review:</b> methods Randomised controlled trials of four layer bandage compared with short stretch bandage in people with venous leg ulceration were eligible for inclusion. The primary outcome for the meta-analysis was time to healing. Cox proportional hazards models were run to compare the methods in terms of time to healing with adjustment for independent predictors of healing. Secondary outcomes included incidence and number of adverse events per patient.</p> <p><b>Results:</b> Seven eligible trials were identified (887 patients), and patient level data were retrieved for five (797 patients, 90% of known randomised patients). The four layer bandage was associated with significantly shorter time to healing: hazard ratio (95% confidence interval) from multifactorial model based on five trials was 1.31 (1.09 to 1.58), P=0.005. Larger ulcer area at baseline, more chronic ulceration, and previous ulceration were all independent predictors of delayed healing. Data from two trials showed no evidence of a difference in adverse event profiles between the two bandage types.</p> <p><b>Conclusions:</b> Venous leg ulcers in patients treated with four layer bandages heal faster, on average, than those of people treated with the short stretch bandage. Benefits were consistent across patients with differing prognostic profiles.</p&gt

Coupled magnetic and ferroelectric excitations in PbFe_{1/2}Nb_{1/2}O_{3}

A neutron scattering investigation of the magnetoelectric coupling in PbFe_{1/2}Nb_{1/2}O_{3} (PFN) has been undertaken. Ferroelectric order occurs below 400 K, as evidenced by the softening with temperature and subsequent recovery of the zone center transverse optic phonon mode energy (\hbar \Omega_{0}). Over the same temperature range, magnetic correlations become resolution limited on a terahertz energy scale. In contrast to the behavior of nonmagnetic disordered ferroelectrics (namely Pb(Mg,Zn)_{1/3}Nb_{2/3}O_{3}), we report the observation of a strong deviation from linearity in the temperature dependence of (\hbar \Omega_{0})^{2}. This deviation is compensated by a corresponding change in the energy scale of the magnetic excitations, as probed through the first moment of the inelastic response. The coupling between the short-range ferroelectric and antiferromagnetic correlations is consistent with calculations showing that the ferroelectricity is driven by the displacement of the body centered iron site, illustrating the multiferroic nature of magnetic lead based relaxors in the dynamical regime.Comment: (8 pages, 5 figures, Physical Review B 88, 094105 (2013)

Cluster-based Haldane state in edge-shared tetrahedral spin-cluster chain: Fedotovite K2_2Cu3_3O(SO4_4)3_3

Fedotovite K$_2$Cu$_3$O(SO$_4$)$_3$ is a candidate of new quantum spin systems, in which the edge-shared tetrahedral (EST) spin-clusters consisting of Cu$^{2+}$ are connected by weak inter-cluster couplings to from one-dimensional array. Comprehensive experimental studies by magnetic susceptibility, magnetization, heat capacity, and inelastic neutron scattering measurements reveal the presence of an effective $S$ = 1 Haldane state below $T \cong 4$ K. Rigorous theoretical studies provide an insight into the magnetic state of K$_2$Cu$_3$O(SO$_4$)$_3$: an EST cluster makes a triplet in the ground state and one-dimensional chain of the EST induces a cluster-based Haldane state. We predict that the cluster-based Haldene state emerges whenever the number of tetrahedra in the EST is $even$

Assessing the effectiveness of business support services in England: evidence from a theory based evaluation

In England, publicly supported advisory services for small firms are organised primarily through the Business Link (BL) network. Based on the programme theory underlying this business support services we develop four propositions and test these empirically using data from a new survey of over 3,000 English small firms. Our empirical results provide a broad validation of the programme theory underlying BL assistance for small firms in England during 2003, and more limited support for its effectiveness. More specifically, we find strong support for the value of BL operators maintaining a high profile as a way of boosting take-up. We also find some support for the approach to market segmentation adopted by BL allowing more intensive assistance to be targeted on younger firms and those with limited liability status. In terms of the outcomes of BL support, and allowing for issues of sample selection, we find no significant effects on growth from ‘other’ assistance but do find positive and significant employment growth effects from intensive assistance. This provides partial support for the programme theory assertion that BL support will lead to improvements in business growth performance and stronger support for the proposition that there would be differential outcomes from intensive and other assistance. The positive employment growth outcomes identified here from intensive assistance, even allowing for sample selection, suggest something of an improvement in the effectiveness of the BL network since the late 1990s

Loss of CLN7 results in depletion of soluble lysosomal proteins and impaired mTOR reactivation

Defects in the MFSD8 gene encoding the lysosomal membrane protein CLN7 lead to CLN7 disease, a neurodegenerative lysosomal storage disorder belonging to the group of neuronal ceroid lipofuscinoses (NCLs). Here we have performed a SILAC-based quantitative analysis of the lysosomal proteome using Cln7-deficient mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) from a Cln7 knockout (ko) mouse model. From 3335 different proteins identified, we detected 56 soluble lysosomal proteins and 29 highly abundant lysosomal membrane proteins. Quantification revealed that the amounts of 12 different soluble lysosomal proteins were significantly reduced in Cln7 ko MEFs compared with wild type controls. One of the most significantly depleted lysosomal proteins was Cln5 protein that underlies another distinct NCL disorder. Expression analyses showed that the mRNA expression, biosynthesis, intracellular sorting and proteolytic processing of Cln5 were not affected, whereas the depletion of mature Cln5 protein was due to increased proteolytic degradation by cysteine proteases in Cln7 ko lysosomes. Considering the similar phenotypes of CLN5 and CLN7 patients, our data suggest that depletion of CLN5 may play an important part in the pathogenesis of CLN7 disease. In addition, we found a defect in the ability of Cln7 ko MEFs to adapt to starvation conditions as shown by impaired mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 reactivation, reduced autolysosome tubulation and increased perinuclear accumulation of autolysosomes compared to controls. In summary, depletion of multiple soluble lysosomal proteins suggest a critical role of CLN7 for lysosomal function, which may contribute to the pathogenesis and progression of CLN7 disease

Impulsivity in disorders of food and drug misuse.

BACKGROUND: Evidence suggests some overlap between the pathological use of food and drugs, yet how impulsivity compares across these different clinical disorders remains unclear. Substance use disorders are commonly characterized by elevated impulsivity, and impulsivity subtypes may show commonalities and differences in various conditions. We hypothesized that obese subjects with binge-eating disorder (BED) and abstinent alcohol-dependent cohorts would have relatively more impulsive profiles compared to obese subjects without BED. We also predicted decision impulsivity impairment in obesity with and without BED. METHOD: Thirty obese subjects with BED, 30 without BED and 30 abstinent alcohol-dependent subjects and age- and gender-matched controls were tested on delay discounting (preference for a smaller immediate reward over a larger delayed reward), reflection impulsivity (rapid decision making prior to evidence accumulation) and motor response inhibition (action cancellation of a prepotent response). RESULTS: All three groups had greater delay discounting relative to healthy volunteers. Both obese subjects without BED and alcohol-dependent subjects had impaired motor response inhibition. Only obese subjects without BED had impaired integration of available information to optimize outcomes over later trials with a cost condition. CONCLUSIONS: Delay discounting appears to be a common core impairment across disorders of food and drug intake. Unexpectedly, obese subjects without BED showed greater impulsivity than obese subjects with BED. We highlight the dissociability and heterogeneity of impulsivity subtypes and add to the understanding of neurocognitive profiles across disorders involving food and drugs. Our results have therapeutic implications suggesting that disorder-specific patterns of impulsivity could be targeted.V.V. is a Wellcome Trust Intermediate Fellow in Clinical Neurosciences (Wellcome Trust grant no. WT093705MA). Y.W. is supported by the Fyssen Fondation. N.A.H. is a Wellcome Trust Intermediate Fellow in Clinical Neurosciences. The BCNI is supported by both the Wellcome Trust and Medical Research Council.This is the accepted manuscript. The final version is available from CUP at http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S003329171400183

RAPID BLEEDING REGION DETECTION IN WIRELESS CAPSULE ENDOSCOPY VIDEOS

Wireless Capsule Endoscopy (WCC) is a medical imaging technique used to examine parts of the gastrointestinal tract. Computer aided detection is used to increase the speed of detection, better performance and reduce the time. Before finding the bleeding regions the edge regions are first detected and removed. Both the edge and the bleeding regions will share the same Hue value and the luminance should be same for the bleeding and the non -bleeding regions .We use a canny edge detector operator for detecting the edge regions in L channel. Canny edge detector is used to detect more edge pixels and preserve more bleeding pixels based up on canny edge algorithm. This method in edge removal algorithm includes edge detection, edge dilation and edge masking. After the removal of edges, those regions are made in to segment through super-pixel segmentation and regions are classified using Artificial Neural Network by Radial Bias Function (RBF).Â