Superelastic conducting fibers with improved properties and functionalities are needed for diverse applications. Here we report the fabrication of highly stretchable (up to 1320%) sheath-core ...conducting fibers created by wrapping carbon nanotube sheets oriented in the fiber direction on stretched rubber fiber cores. The resulting structure exhibited distinct short- and long-period sheath buckling that occurred reversibly out of phase in the axial and belt directions, enabling a resistance change of less than 5% for a 1000% stretch. By including other rubber and carbon nanotube sheath layers, we demonstrated strain sensors generating an 860% capacitance change and electrically powered torsional muscles operating reversibly by a coupled tension-to-torsion actuation mechanism. Using theory, we quantitatively explain the complementary effects of an increase in muscle length and a large positive Poisson's ratio on torsional actuation and electronic properties.
Performance of the LHCb RICH detector at the LHC Adinolfi, M.; Aglieri Rinella, G.; Albrecht, E. ...
The European physical journal. C, Particles and fields,
05/2013, Volume:
73, Issue:
5
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
The LHCb experiment has been taking data at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN since the end of 2009. One of its key detector components is the Ring-Imaging Cherenkov (RICH) system. This ...provides charged particle identification over a wide momentum range, from 2–100 GeV/
c
. The operation and control, software, and online monitoring of the RICH system are described. The particle identification performance is presented, as measured using data from the LHC. Excellent separation of hadronic particle types (
π
, K, p) is achieved.
Genetic variation can affect drug response in multiple ways, although it remains unclear how rare genetic variants affect drug response. The electronic Medical Records and Genomics (eMERGE) Network, ...collaborating with the Pharmacogenomics Research Network, began eMERGE‐PGx, a targeted sequencing study to assess genetic variation in 82 pharmacogenes critical for implementation of “precision medicine.” The February 2015 eMERGE‐PGx data release includes sequence‐derived data from ∼5,000 clinical subjects. We present the variant frequency spectrum categorized by variant type, ancestry, and predicted function. We found 95.12% of genes have variants with a scaled Combined Annotation‐Dependent Depletion score above 20, and 96.19% of all samples had one or more Clinical Pharmacogenetics Implementation Consortium Level A actionable variants. These data highlight the distribution and scope of genetic variation in relevant pharmacogenes, identifying challenges associated with implementing clinical sequencing for drug treatment at a broader level, underscoring the importance for multifaceted research in the execution of precision medicine.
Several methods exist to measure CP violation observables related to the CKM unitarity triangle angle γ using B meson decays. These observables are different for every B meson decay considered, ...although the information they contain on γ is encoded in a similar way for all of them. This paper describes a strategy for a simultaneous measurement of γ using several B meson decays that takes into account possible correlations between them based on the methodologies described in J. Garra Ticó, arXiv:1804.05597. Sensitivity studies demonstrate that the simultaneous analysis of several B meson decay modes results in smaller uncertainties and improved statistical behavior compared to a combination of standalone measurements.
Since the publication of the first epidemiological study to establish the connection between long‐term exposure to atmospheric pollution and effects on human health, major efforts have been dedicated ...to estimate the attributable mortality burden, especially in the context of the Global Burden of Disease (GBD). In this work, we review the estimates of excess mortality attributable to outdoor air pollution at the global scale, by comparing studies available in the literature. We find large differences between the estimates, which are related to the exposure response functions as well as the number of health outcomes included in the calculations, aspects where further improvements are necessary. Furthermore, we show that despite the considerable advancements in our understanding of health impacts of air pollution and the consequent improvement in the accuracy of the global estimates, their precision has not increased in the last decades. We offer recommendations for future measurements and research directions, which will help to improve our understanding and quantification of air pollution‐health relationships.
Plain Language Summary
In this work we review the estimates of excess mortality attributable to outdoor air pollution at the global scale, by comparing studies available in the literature. We find large differences between the estimates, mainly caused by mathematical function used to describe the pollution‐health link, as well as the number of health outcomes included in the calculations. We showed that, despite the considerable advancements in our understanding of health impacts of air pollution, the precision of the estimates has not increased in the last decades. We offer recommendations for future measurements and research directions, which will help to improve our understanding and quantification of air pollution‐health relationships.
Key Points
Large differences are present in the published estimates of excess mortality attributable to outdoor air pollution at the global scale
The differences are mostly due to the exposure response functions as well as the number of health outcomes included in the calculations
Although the accuracy of the global estimates has improved, their precision has not increased in the last decades
BACKGROUND Women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) frequently exhibit central obesity, glucose intolerance, atherogenic dyslipidaemia and hypertension which are characteristic features of the ...metabolic syndrome (MetS). METHODS A total of 295 premenopausal Chinese women with PCOS diagnosed by the Rotterdam criteria (mean age: 30.2 ± 6.4 years) and 98 control subjects without PCOS were evaluated for prevalence of MetS and cardiovascular risk factors, including dyslipidaemia and dysglycaemia. RESULTS Using the 2005 modified Adult Treatment Panel III criteria, MetS (presence of three or more risk factors) was found in 24.9% of PCOS women compared to 3.1% of controls. The prevalence of MetS in PCOS women increased from 16.7% at under 30 years of age to 53.3% at over 40 years. MetS was also more prevalent in overweight and obese (41.3%) than normal-weight PCOS women (0.9%). However, multivariate regression analysis showed that women with PCOS had a 5-fold increase in risk of MetS (odds ratio 4.90; 95% confidence interval: 1.35–17.84) compared with women without PCOS even after controlling for age and BMI, suggesting PCOS alone is an independent risk factor for MetS. CONCLUSIONS There is high prevalence of MetS in Hong Kong Chinese women with PCOS despite their relatively young age. Recognition of these cardiometabolic risk factors requires a high level of awareness in conjunction with early and regular screening.
In this work we report for the first time measurements of the dielectric loss of single-crystal SrTiO
under the application of hydrostatic pressure up to 20 kbar and temperatures down to 200 mK which ...allow us to comment on the evolution of new fundamental material properties and their relationship with the recently discovered quantum critical phenomena in this material. The well known 18 K peak or shoulder was no longer observed after pressure was applied, even after subsequently removing it, suggesting it is associated with the twin walls formed at the 110 K cubic-tetragonal transition. The family of familiar peaks were all seen to increase in temperature linearly with pressure and the height of the 9.4 K peak was drastically suppressed by even the smallest pressures. This peak is discussed in the context of a postulated ferroelectric quantum critical point in SrTiO
and the behaviour of its size linked to the position of this point on the recently established phase diagram.
We study the nonlinear evolution of the resistive tearing mode in slab geometry in two dimensions. We show that, in the strongly driven regime (large delta'), a collapse of the X point occurs once ...the island width exceeds a certain critical value approximately 1/delta'. A current sheet is formed and the reconnection is exponential in time with a growth rate proportional eta(1/2), where eta is the resistivity. If the aspect ratio of the current sheet is sufficiently large, the sheet can itself become tearing-mode unstable, giving rise to secondary islands, which then coalesce with the original island. The saturated state depends on the value of delta'. For small delta', the saturation amplitude is proportional delta' and quantitatively agrees with the theoretical prediction. If delta' is large enough for the X-point collapse to have occurred, the saturation amplitude increases noticeably and becomes independent of delta'.
Summary
Background Null mutations in the filaggrin gene (FLG) cause ichthyosis vulgaris (IV) and predispose to atopic dermatitis (AD). Cohort studies in Europe and Japan have reported an FLG ...mutation carrier frequency of between 14% and 56%, but the prevalent European FLG mutations are rare or absent in Chinese patients with IV and AD.
Objectives To investigate further the spectrum of FLG‐null mutations in Chinese patients and to compare it with that in other populations.
Methods We conducted comprehensive FLG genetic analysis in a discovery cohort of 92 Singaporean Chinese individuals with IV and/or moderate‐to‐severe AD. All detected FLG mutations were then screened in a cohort of 425 patients with AD and 440 normal controls.
Results In total, 22 FLG‐null mutations, of which 14 are novel, were identified in this study; the combined null FLG genotype of 17 mutations detected in cases and controls showed strong association with AD Fisher’s exact test; P = 5·3 × 10−9; odds ratio (OR) 3·3, palmar hyperlinearity (Fisher’s exact test; P = 9·0 × 10−15; OR 5·8), keratosis pilaris (Fisher’s exact test; P = 0·001; OR 4·7) and with increased severity of AD (permutation test; P = 0·0063).
Conclusions This study emphasizes the wider genetic landscape of FLG‐null mutations in Asia that is slowly emerging.
Context. The upcoming new generation of optical spectrographs on four-meter-class telescopes, with their huge multiplexing capabilities, excellent spectral resolution, and unprecedented wavelength ...coverage, will provide invaluable information for reconstructing the history of star formation in individual galaxies up to redshifts of about 0.7. Aims. We aim at defining simple but robust and meaningful physical parameters that can be used to trace the coexistence of widely diverse stellar components: younger stellar populations superimposed on the bulk of older ones. Methods. We produced spectra of galaxies closely mimicking data from the forthcoming Stellar Populations at intermediate redshifts Survey (StePS), a survey that uses the WEAVE spectrograph on the William Herschel Telescope. First, we assessed our ability to reliably measure both ultraviolet and optical spectral indices in galaxies of different spectral types for typically expected signal-to-noise ratios. We then analyzed such mock spectra with a Bayesian approach, deriving the probability density function of r- and u-band light-weighted ages as well as of their difference. Results. We find that the ultraviolet indices significantly narrow the uncertainties in estimating the r- and u-band light-weighted ages and their difference in individual galaxies. These diagnostics, robustly retrievable for large galaxy samples even when observed at moderate signal-to-noise ratios, allow us to identify secondary episodes of star formation up to an age of ∼0.1 Gyr for stellar populations older than ∼1.5 Gyr, pushing up to an age of ∼1 Gyr for stellar populations older than ∼5 Gyr. Conclusions. The difference between r-band and u-band light-weighted ages is shown to be a powerful diagnostic to characterize and constrain extended star-formation histories and the presence of young stellar populations on top of older ones. This parameter can be used to explore the interplay between different galaxy star-formation histories and physical parameters such as galaxy mass, size, morphology, and environment.
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