Contrasting the Surface Phonon Dispersion of Pb_{0.7}Sn_{0.3}Se in Its Topologically Trivial and Nontrivial Phases.

We report inelastic He atom scattering measurements of the (001) surface phonon dispersion of the topological crystalline insulator Pb_{0.7}Sn_{0.3}Se. This material exhibits a temperature-dependent topological transition, so we measure the surface dispersion curves in both the trivial and nontrivial phases. We identify that, peculiarly, most surface modes are resonances, rather than pure surface states. We find that a shear vertical surface resonance branch around 9.0 meV dramatically changes on going from the trivial to the topological phase. We associate this remarkable change with the emergence of surface Dirac fermions. We use the measured dispersion of this resonance branch to determine the corresponding mode-dependent electron-phonon coupling λ_{ν}(q).

Measurement of the phason dispersion of misfit dislocations on the Au(111) surface.

We report measurements of the acoustic and optical phason dispersion curves associated with the lattice of partial dislocations on the reconstructed (111) surface of gold. Our measurements of these low energy (<0.5 meV) weakly dispersive modes have been enabled by the very high resolution of the novel helium spin-echo technique. The results presented here constitute the first measurement of the phason dispersion of misfit dislocations, and possibly of excitations associated with any type of crystalline dislocations.

Electron-phonon coupling on the surface of the topological insulator Bi2Se3 determined from surface-phonon dispersion measurements.

In this Letter, we report measurements of the coupling between Dirac fermion quasiparticles (DFQs) and phonons on the (001) surface of the strong topological insulator Bi2Se3. While most contemporary investigations of this coupling have involved examining the temperature dependence of the DFQ self-energy via angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy measurements, we employ inelastic helium-atom scattering to explore, for the first time, this coupling from the phonon perspective. Using a Hilbert transform, we are able to obtain the imaginary part of the phonon self-energy associated with a dispersive surface-phonon branch identified in our previous work [Phys. Rev. Lett. 107, 186102 (2011)] as having strong interactions with the DFQs. From this imaginary part of the self-energy we obtain a branch-specific electron-phonon coupling constant of 0.43, which is stronger than the values reported from the angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy measurements.

Interaction of phonons and dirac fermions on the surface of Bi2Se3: a strong Kohn anomaly.

We report the first measurements of phonon dispersion curves on the (001) surface of the strong three-dimensional topological insulator Bi2Se3. The surface phonon measurements were carried out with the aid of coherent helium beam surface scattering techniques. The results reveal a prominent signature of the exotic metallic Dirac fermion quasiparticles, including a strong Kohn anomaly. The signature is manifest in a low energy isotropic convex dispersive surface phonon branch with a frequency maximum of 1.8 THz and having a V-shaped minimum at approximately 2kF that defines the Kohn anomaly. Theoretical analysis attributes this dispersive profile to the renormalization of the surface phonon excitations by the surface Dirac fermions. The contribution of the Dirac fermions to this renormalization is derived in terms of a Coulomb-type perturbation model.

Neurobehavioral effects among inhabitants around mobile phone base stations.

BACKGROUND: There is a general concern on the possible hazardous health effects of exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic radiations (RFR) emitted from mobile phone base station antennas on the human nervous system. AIM: To identify the possible neurobehavioral deficits among inhabitants living nearby mobile phone base stations. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted on (85) inhabitants living nearby the first mobile phone station antenna in Menoufiya governorate, Egypt, 37 are living in a building under the station antenna while 48 opposite the station. A control group (80) participants were matched with the exposed for age, sex, occupation and educational level. All participants completed a structured questionnaire containing: personal, educational and medical histories; general and neurological examinations; neurobehavioral test battery (NBTB) [involving tests for visuomotor speed, problem solving, attention and memory]; in addition to Eysenck personality questionnaire (EPQ). RESULTS: The prevalence of neuropsychiatric complaints as headache (23.5%), memory changes (28.2%), dizziness (18.8%), tremors (9.4%), depressive symptoms (21.7%), and sleep disturbance (23.5%) were significantly higher among exposed inhabitants than controls: (10%), (5%), (5%), (0%), (8.8%) and (10%), respectively (P<0.05). The NBTB indicated that the exposed inhabitants exhibited a significantly lower performance than controls in one of the tests of attention and short-term auditory memory [Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test (PASAT)]. Also, the inhabitants opposite the station exhibited a lower performance in the problem solving test (block design) than those under the station. All inhabitants exhibited a better performance in the two tests of visuomotor speed (Digit symbol and Trailmaking B) and one test of attention (Trailmaking A) than controls. The last available measures of RFR emitted from the first mobile phone base station antennas in Menoufiya governorate were less than the allowable standard level. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS: Inhabitants living nearby mobile phone base stations are at risk for developing neuropsychiatric problems and some changes in the performance of neurobehavioral functions either by facilitation or inhibition. So, revision of standard guidelines for public exposure to RER from mobile phone base station antennas and using of NBTB for regular assessment and early detection of biological effects among inhabitants around the stations are recommended.

Endoscopic diagnosis of gastric varices.

In this retrospective study, the presence and appearance of gastric varices were analyzed among patients presenting at Kasr El Aini Hospital with variceal bleeding during the period from 1984 to 1989. Two groups of patients were studied. The first group included 970 patients with documented variceal bleeding with no history of sclerotherapy. Of these patients 6.7%, had concomitant gastric varices, and 27.1% had direct gastric extension of esophageal varices (mostly of grade 3). Gastric varices alone, without esophageal varices, were found in five cases (0.5%). The second group was a subgroup, and included 376 patients who underwent complete sclerotherapeutic eradication of varices restricted to the esophagus and were without gastric varices at the first presentation. Eleven of these patients (2.9%) developed secondary gastric varices. There was no correlation between the risk of bleeding from primary gastric varices (seen at the first presentation) and the grade of the esophageal varices. There were more bleeding episodes from large gastric varices (35.4% for the cauliflower and 16.9% for the cystic forms) than from the small varices, i.e. ruga-like and network-like gastric varices. The study also shows that the secondary development of gastric varices after endoscopic variceal sclerotherapy is a rare event, and that there was no risk of bleeding from the secondary gastric varices. Patients with esophageal varices with gastric extension had a small risk of bleeding from their gastric varices (5.2%).