1,066 research outputs found
Abrupt changes in alpha decay systematics as a manifestation of collective nuclear modes
An abrupt change in decay systematics around the N=126 neutron shell
closure is discussed. It is explained as a sudden hindrance of the clustering
of the nucleons that eventually form the particle. This is because the
clustering induced by the pairing mode acting upon the four nucleons is
inhibited if the configuration space does not allow a proper manifestation of
the pairing collectivity.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. C, a few new references
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The detection of patients at risk of gastrointestinal toxicity during pelvic radiotherapy by electronic nose and FAIMS : a pilot study
It is well known that the electronic nose can be used to identify differences between human health and disease for a range of disorders. We present a pilot study to investigate if the electronic nose and a newer technology, FAIMS (Field Asymmetric Ion Mobility Spectrometry), can be used to identify and help inform the treatment pathway for patients receiving pelvic radiotherapy, which frequently causes gastrointestinal side-effects, severe in some. From a larger group, 23 radiotherapy patients were selected where half had the highest levels of toxicity and the others the lowest. Stool samples were obtained before and four weeks after radiotherapy and the volatiles and gases emitted analysed by both methods; these chemicals are products of fermentation caused by gut microflora. Principal component analysis of the electronic nose data and wavelet transform followed by Fisher discriminant analysis of FAIMS data indicated that it was possible to separate patients after treatment by their toxicity levels. More interestingly, differences were also identified in their pre-treatment samples. We believe these patterns arise from differences in gut microflora where some combinations of bacteria result to give this olfactory signature. In the future our approach may result in a technique that will help identify patients at “high risk” even before radiation treatment is started
The views and practice of oncologists towards nutritional support in patients receiving chemotherapy
Malnutrition in patients with cancer is common and an adverse prognostic indicator. A questionnaire answered by 357 (72%) UK specialist oncological trainees suggests that they lack the ability to identify factors that place patients at risk from malnutrition. Major barriers to effective nutritional practice included lack of guidelines, knowledge and time
Spin-flip processes and ultrafast magnetization dynamics in Co - unifying the microscopic and macroscopic view of femtosecond magnetism
The femtosecond magnetization dynamics of a thin cobalt film excited with
ultrashort laser pulses has been studied using two complementary pump-probe
techniques, namely spin-, energy- and time-resolved photoemission and
time-resolved magneto-optical Kerr effect. Combining the two methods it is
possible to identify the microscopic electron spin-flip mechanisms responsible
for the ultrafast macroscopic magnetization dynamics of the cobalt film. In
particular, we show that electron-magnon excitation does not affect the overall
magnetization even though it is an efficient spin-flip channel on the sub-200
fs timescale. Instead we find experimental evidence for the relevance of
Elliott-Yafet type spin-flip processes for the ultrafast demagnetization taking
place on a time scale of 300 fs.Comment: 12 pages, 3 figures; accepted by Physical Review Letter
Energy-resolved electron-spin dynamics at surfaces of p-doped GaAs
Electron-spin relaxation at different surfaces of p-doped GaAs is
investigated by means of spin, time and energy resolved 2-photon photoemission.
These results are contrasted with bulk results obtained by time-resolved
Faraday rotation measurements as well as calculations of the Bir-Aronov-Pikus
spin-flip mechanism. Due to the reduced hole density in the band bending region
at the (100) surface the spin-relaxation time increases over two orders of
magnitude towards lower energies. At the flat-band (011) surface a constant
spin relaxation time in agreement with our measurements and calculations for
bulk GaAs is obtained.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure
Shape of primary proton spectrum in multi-TeV region from data on vertical muon flux
It is shown, that primary proton spectrum, reconstructed from sea-level and
underground data on muon spectrum with the use of QGSJET 01, QGSJET II, NEXUS
3.97 and SIBYLL 2.1 interaction models, demonstrates not only model-dependent
intensity, but also model-dependent form. For correct reproduction of muon
spectrum shape primary proton flux should have non-constant power index for all
considered models, except SIBYLL 2.1, with break at energies around 10-15 TeV
and value of exponent before break close to that obtained in ATIC-2 experiment.
To validate presence of this break understanding of inclusive spectra behavior
in fragmentation region in p-air collisions should be improved, but we show,
that it is impossible to do on the basis of the existing experimental data on
primary nuclei, atmospheric muon and hadron fluxes.Comment: Submitted to Phys. Rev.
Inhibition of the mitochondrial pyruvate carrier protects from excitotoxic neuronal death.
Glutamate is the dominant excitatory neurotransmitter in the brain, but under conditions of metabolic stress it can accumulate to excitotoxic levels. Although pharmacologic modulation of excitatory amino acid receptors is well studied, minimal consideration has been given to targeting mitochondrial glutamate metabolism to control neurotransmitter levels. Here we demonstrate that chemical inhibition of the mitochondrial pyruvate carrier (MPC) protects primary cortical neurons from excitotoxic death. Reductions in mitochondrial pyruvate uptake do not compromise cellular energy metabolism, suggesting neuronal metabolic flexibility. Rather, MPC inhibition rewires mitochondrial substrate metabolism to preferentially increase reliance on glutamate to fuel energetics and anaplerosis. Mobilizing the neuronal glutamate pool for oxidation decreases the quantity of glutamate released upon depolarization and, in turn, limits the positive-feedback cascade of excitotoxic neuronal injury. The finding links mitochondrial pyruvate metabolism to glutamatergic neurotransmission and establishes the MPC as a therapeutic target to treat neurodegenerative diseases characterized by excitotoxicity
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