247 research outputs found
Two-particle propagator and magnetic susceptibility in the Hubbard model- An improved treatment
We treat the two-particle Green's function in the Hubbard model using the
recently developed tau-CPA, a hybrid treatment that applies the
coherent-potential approximation (CPA) up to a time tau related to the inverse
of the band width, after which the system is averaged using the virtual-crystal
approximation (VCA). This model, with suitable approximations, does predict
magnetism for a modified Stoner criterion. The evaluation of the two-particle
propagator in the tau-CPA requires the solution of the pure CPA, within whose
formalism the vertex correction and the weighted Green's functions are
obtained. The dynamical susceptibility, including the vertex correction and the
weighted scattering by the residual interaction, is calculated and shows a spin
wave spectrum in the ferromagnetic regime
Systematic computation of crystal field multiplets for X-ray core spectroscopies
We present a new approach to computing multiplets for core spectroscopies,
whereby the crystal field is constructed explicitly from the positions and
charges of surrounding atoms. The simplicity of the input allows the
consideration of crystal fields of any symmetry, and in particular facilitates
the study of spectroscopic effects arising from low symmetry environments. The
interplay between polarization directions and crystal field can also be
conveniently investigated. The determination of the multiplets proceeds from a
Dirac density functional atomic calculation, followed by the exact
diagonalization of the Coulomb, spin-orbit and crystal field interactions for
the electrons in the open shells. The eigenstates are then used to simulate
X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy and Resonant Inelastic X-ray Scattering spectra.
In examples ranging from high symmetry down to low symmetry environment,
comparisons with experiments are done with unadjusted model parameters as well
as with semi-empirically optimized ones. Furthermore, predictions for the RIXS
of low-temperature MnO and for Dy in a molecular complex are proposed.Comment: Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.
Acidic pH reduces VEGF-mediated endothelial cell responses by downregulation of VEGFR-2; relevance for anti-angiogenic therapies.
Anti-angiogenic treatments targeting the vascular endothelial growth factor or its receptors have shown clinical benefits. However, impact on long-term survival remains limited. Solid tumors display an acidic microenvironment that profoundly influences their biology. Consequences of acidity on endothelial cells and anti-angiogenic therapies remain poorly characterized and hence are the focus of this study. We found that exposing endothelial cells to acidic extracellular pH resulted in reduced cell proliferation and migration. Also, whereas VEGF increased endothelial cell proliferation and survival at pH 7.4, it had no effect at pH 6.4. Furthermore, in acidic conditions, stimulation of endothelial cells with VEGF did not result in activation of downstream signaling pathways such as AKT. At a molecular level, acidity significantly decreased the expression of VEGFR-2 by endothelial cells. Consequently, anti-angiogenic therapies that target VEGFR-2 such as sunitinib and sorafenib failed to block endothelial cell proliferation in acidic conditions. In vivo, neutralizing tumor acidity with sodium bicarbonate increased the percentage of endothelial cells expressing VEGFR-2 in tumor xenografts. Furthermore, combining sodium bicarbonate with sunitinib provided stronger anti-cancer activity than either treatment alone. Histological analysis showed that sunitinib had a stronger anti-angiogenic effect when combined with sodium bicarbonate. Overall, our results show that endothelial cells prosper independently of VEGF in acidic conditions partly as a consequence of decreased VEGFR-2 expression. They further suggest that strategies aiming to raise intratumoral pH can improve the efficacy of anti-VEGF treatments
Alveolar echinococcosis of the liver: Diffusion-weighted MRI findings and potential role in lesion characterisation
PURPOSE: To report the diffusion-weighted MRI findings in alveolar echinococcosis (AE) of the liver and evaluate the potential role of apparent diffusion coefficients (ADCs) in the characterisation of lesions. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively included 22 patients with 63 AE liver lesions (≥1cm), examined with 3-T liver MRI, including a free-breathing diffusion-weighted single-shot echo-planar imaging sequence (b-values=50, 300 and 600s/mm(2)). Two radiologists jointly assessed the following lesion features: size, location, presence of cystic and/or solid components (according to Kodama's classification system), relative contrast enhancement, and calcifications (on CT). The ADCtotal, ADCmin and ADCmax were measured in each lesion and the surrounding liver parenchyma. RESULTS: Three type 1, 19 type 2, 17 type 3, three type 4 and 21 type 5 lesions were identified. The mean (±SD) ADCtotal, ADCmin and ADCmax for all lesions were 1.73±0.50, 0.76±0.38 and 2.63±0.76×10(-3)mm(2)/s, respectively. The mean ADCtotal for type 1, type 2, type 3, type 4 and type 5 lesions were 1.97±1.01, 1.76±0.53, 1.73±0.41, 1.15±0.42 and 1.76±0.44×10(-3)mm(2)/s, respectively. No significant differences were found between the five lesion types, except for type 4 (p=0.0363). There was a significant correlation between the presence of a solid component and low ADCmin (r=0.39, p=0.0016), whereas an inverse correlation was found between the relative contrast enhancement and ADCtotal (r=-0.34, p=0.0072). CONCLUSION: The ADCs of AE lesions are relatively low compared to other cystic liver lesions, which may help in the differential diagnosis. Although ADCs are of little use to distinguish between the five lesion types, their low value reflects the underlying solid component
Anisotropic spin fluctuations and multiple superconducting gaps in hole-doped Ba_0.7K_0.3Fe_2As_2: NMR in a single crystal
We report the first ^{75}As-NMR study on a single crystal of the hole-doped
iron-pnictide superconductor Ba_{0.7}K_{0.3}Fe_2As_{2} (T_c = 31.5 K). We find
that the Fe antiferromagnetic spin fluctuations are anisotropic and are weaker
compared to underdoped copper-oxides or cobalt-oxide superconductors. The spin
lattice relaxation rate 1/T_1 decreases below T_c with no coherence peak and
shows a step-wise variation at low temperatures, which is indicative of
multiple superconducting gaps, as in the electron-doped
Pr(La)FeAsOF. Furthermore, no evidence was obtained for a
microscopic coexistence of a long-range magnetic and superconductivity
Doping Dependence of Collective Spin and Orbital Excitations in Spin 1 Quantum Antiferromagnet LaSrNiO Observed by X-rays
We report the first empirical demonstration that resonant inelastic x-ray
scattering (RIXS) is sensitive to \emph{collective} magnetic excitations in
systems by probing the Ni -edge of LaSrNiO (). The magnetic excitation peak is asymmetric, indicating the
presence of single and multi spin-flip excitations. As the hole doping level is
increased, the zone boundary magnon energy is suppressed at a much larger rate
than that in hole doped cuprates. Based on the analysis of the orbital and
charge excitations observed by RIXS, we argue that this difference is related
to the orbital character of the doped holes in these two families. This work
establishes RIXS as a probe of fundamental magnetic interactions in nickelates
opening the way towards studies of heterostructures and ultra-fast pump-probe
experiments.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, see ancillary files for the supplemental materia
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