569 research outputs found
Finite element modeling of resistive surface layers by micro‐contact impedance spectroscopy
Micro‐contact impedance spectroscopy (MCIS) is potentially a powerful tool for the exploration of resistive surface layers on top of a conductive bulk or substrate material. MCIS employs micro‐contacts in contrast to conventional IS where macroscopic electrodes are used. To extract the conductivity of each region accurately using MCIS requires the data to be corrected for geometry. Using finite element modeling on a system where the resistivity of the surface layer is at least a factor of ten greater than the bulk/substrate, we show how current flows through the two layers using two typical micro‐contact configurations. This allows us to establish if and what is the most accurate and reliable method for extracting conductivity values for both regions. For a top circular micro‐contact and a full bottom counter electrode, the surface layer conductivity (σs) can be accurately extracted using a spreading resistance equation if the thickness is ~10 times the micro‐contact radius; however, bulk conductivity (σb) values can not be accurately determined. If the contact radius is 10 times the thickness of the resistive surface, a geometrical factor using the micro‐contact area provides accurate σs values. In this case, a spreading resistance equation also provides a good approximation for σb. For two top circular micro‐contacts on thin resistive surface layers, the MCIS response from the surface layer is independent of the contact separation; however, the bulk response is dependent on the contact separation and at small separations contact interference occurs. As a consequence, there is not a single ideal experimental setup that works; to obtain accurate σs and σb values the micro‐contact radius, surface layer thickness and the contact separation must all be considered together. Here we provide scenarios where accurate σs and σb values can be obtained that highlight the importance of experimental design and where appropriate equations can be employed for thin and thick resistive surface layers
Ambiguities in the partial-wave analysis of pseudoscalar-meson photoproduction
Ambiguities in pseudoscalar-meson photoproduction, arising from incomplete
experimental data, have analogs in pion-nucleon scattering. Amplitude
ambiguities have important implications for the problems of amplitude
extraction and resonance identification in partial-wave analysis. The effect of
these ambiguities on observables is described. We compare our results with
those found in earlier studies.Comment: 12 pages of text. No figure
Triggering synchronized oscillations through arbitrarily weak diversity in close-to-threshold excitable media
It is shown that arbitrarily weak (frozen) heterogeneity can induce global
synchronized oscillations in excitable media close to threshold. The work is
carried out on networks of coupled van der Pol-FitzHugh-Nagumo oscillators. The
result is shown to be robust against the presence of internal dynamical noise.Comment: 4 pages (RevTeX 3 style), 5 EPS figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. E
(16 aug 2001
Emergence of Anti-Cancer Drug Resistance: Exploring the Importance of the Microenvironmental Niche via a Spatial Model
Practically, all chemotherapeutic agents lead to drug resistance. Clinically,
it is a challenge to determine whether resistance arises prior to, or as a
result of, cancer therapy. Further, a number of different intracellular and
microenvironmental factors have been correlated with the emergence of drug
resistance. With the goal of better understanding drug resistance and its
connection with the tumor microenvironment, we have developed a hybrid
discrete-continuous mathematical model. In this model, cancer cells described
through a particle-spring approach respond to dynamically changing oxygen and
DNA damaging drug concentrations described through partial differential
equations. We thoroughly explored the behavior of our self-calibrated model
under the following common conditions: a fixed layout of the vasculature, an
identical initial configuration of cancer cells, the same mechanism of drug
action, and one mechanism of cellular response to the drug. We considered one
set of simulations in which drug resistance existed prior to the start of
treatment, and another set in which drug resistance is acquired in response to
treatment. This allows us to compare how both kinds of resistance influence the
spatial and temporal dynamics of the developing tumor, and its clonal
diversity. We show that both pre-existing and acquired resistance can give rise
to three biologically distinct parameter regimes: successful tumor eradication,
reduced effectiveness of drug during the course of treatment (resistance), and
complete treatment failure
Tunable local polariton modes in semiconductors
We study the local states within the polariton bandgap that arise due to deep
defect centers with strong electron-phonon coupling. Electron transitions
involving deep levels may result in alteration of local elastic constants. In
this case, substantial reversible transformations of the impurity polariton
density of states occur, which include the appearance/disappearance of the
polariton impurity band, its shift and/or the modification of its shape. These
changes can be induced by thermo- and photo-excitation of the localized
electron states or by trapping of injected charge carriers. We develop a simple
model, which is applied to the center in . Further possible
experimental realizations of the effect are discussed.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figure
Emergent global oscillations in heterogeneous excitable media: The example of pancreatic beta cells
Using the standard van der Pol-FitzHugh-Nagumo excitable medium model I
demonstrate a novel generic mechanism, diversity, that provokes the emergence
of global oscillations from individually quiescent elements in heterogeneous
excitable media. This mechanism may be operating in the mammalian pancreas,
where excitable beta cells, quiescent when isolated, are found to oscillate
when coupled despite the absence of a pacemaker region.Comment: See home page http://lec.ugr.es/~julya
Clinical-Community Collaboration: A Strategy to Improve Retention and Outcomes in Low-Income Minority Youth in Family-Based Obesity Treatment
Background: Clinical-community collaboration is a promising strategy for pediatric obesity treatment, but current research is limited. This study examined the effect of a family-based treatment program embedded in a primary care clinic on retention and changes in child weight status at 1 year. Methods: Children (2-16 years, BMI ≥85th percentile, 87.0% Hispanic) and their parents were recruited from a single pediatric clinic for Healthy Hawks Primary Plus (HHP+). Children were referred by physicians and enrolled by a bilingual clinic-based recruitment coordinator. Participants received 12 weekly 2-hour sessions focused on lifestyle modification and health behavior change and then received bimonthly follow-up visits with their clinic-based physician through 1-year follow-up. Child body mass index (BMI) percentage of the 95th percentile (%BMIp95) was measured as the primary outcome at baseline, postintervention, and 1-year follow-up. Random effect multilevel models assessed changes in child weight status over time accounting for clustering by family. To further evaluate the impact, HHP+ retention and changes in child weight status were compared to a standard 12-week treatment program only. Results: HHP+ participants had significantly better retention at 1 year (73.9%, p ≤ 0.001) compared to the standard treatment program (38.3%). In HHP+, physician visit attendance was significantly correlated with retention at 1 year (r = 0.69, p ≤ 0.001), and HHP+ completers had significant reductions in %BMIp95 between baseline and 1-year follow-up (p = 0.03). Conclusion: Clinical-community partnerships might be a promising strategy to improve retention and reduce child weight status in populations currently underrepresented in obesity treatment
Technology Components as Adjuncts to Family-Based Pediatric Obesity Treatment in Low-Income Minority Youth
Background: Strategies to treat pediatric obesity are needed, especially among high-need populations. Technology is an innovative approach; however, data on technology as adjuncts to in-person treatment programs are limited. Methods: A total of 64 children [body mass index (BMI) ≥85th percentile, mean age = 9.6 ± 3.1 years, 32.8% female, 84.4% Hispanic] were recruited to participate in one of three cohorts of a family-based behavioral group (FBBG) treatment program: FBBG only, TECH1, and TECH2. Rolling, nonrandomized recruitment was used to enroll participants into three cohorts from May 2014 to February 2015. FBBG began in May 2014 and received the standard, in-person 12-week treatment only (n = 21); TECH1 began in September 2014 and received FBBG plus a digital tablet equipped with a fitness app (FITNET) (n = 20); TECH2 began in February 2015 and received FBBG and FITNET, plus five individually tailored TeleMed health-coaching sessions delivered via Skype (n = 23). Child BMI z-score (BMI-z) was assessed at baseline and postintervention. Secondary aims examined weekly FBBG attendance, feasibility/acceptability of FITNET and Skype, and the effect of technology engagement on BMI-z. Results: FBBG and TECH1 participants did not show significant reductions in BMI-z postintervention [FBBG: β = -0.05(0.04), p = 0.25; TECH1: β = -0.006(0.06), p = 0.92], but TECH2 participants did [β = -0.09(0.02), p < 0.001] and TeleMed session participation was significantly associated with BMI-z reduction [β = -0.04(0.01), p = 0.01]. FITNET use and FBBG attendance were not associated with BMI-z in any cohort. Overall, participants rated the technology as highly acceptable. Conclusions: Technology adjuncts are feasible, used by hard-to-reach participants, and show promise for improving child weight status in obesity treatment programs
The nuclear energy density functional formalism
The present document focuses on the theoretical foundations of the nuclear
energy density functional (EDF) method. As such, it does not aim at reviewing
the status of the field, at covering all possible ramifications of the approach
or at presenting recent achievements and applications. The objective is to
provide a modern account of the nuclear EDF formalism that is at variance with
traditional presentations that rely, at one point or another, on a {\it
Hamiltonian-based} picture. The latter is not general enough to encompass what
the nuclear EDF method represents as of today. Specifically, the traditional
Hamiltonian-based picture does not allow one to grasp the difficulties
associated with the fact that currently available parametrizations of the
energy kernel at play in the method do not derive from a genuine
Hamilton operator, would the latter be effective. The method is formulated from
the outset through the most general multi-reference, i.e. beyond mean-field,
implementation such that the single-reference, i.e. "mean-field", derives as a
particular case. As such, a key point of the presentation provided here is to
demonstrate that the multi-reference EDF method can indeed be formulated in a
{\it mathematically} meaningful fashion even if does {\it not} derive
from a genuine Hamilton operator. In particular, the restoration of symmetries
can be entirely formulated without making {\it any} reference to a projected
state, i.e. within a genuine EDF framework. However, and as is illustrated in
the present document, a mathematically meaningful formulation does not
guarantee that the formalism is sound from a {\it physical} standpoint. The
price at which the latter can be enforced as well in the future is eventually
alluded to.Comment: 64 pages, 8 figures, submitted to Euroschool Lecture Notes in Physics
Vol.IV, Christoph Scheidenberger and Marek Pfutzner editor
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