351 research outputs found
Passive mechanical obstacles vs impairment of neurological command in infant vs adult-acquired spastic paresis
Obstacles mĂ©caniques passifs vs dĂ©ficit de commande neurologique dans la parĂ©sie spastique de lâadulte dâorigine infantile et dâorigine acquise
Controlled switching of N\'eel caps in flux-closure magnetic dots
While magnetic hysteresis usually considers magnetic domains, the switching
of the core of magnetic vortices has recently become an active topic. We
considered Bloch domain walls, which are known to display at the surface of
thin films flux-closure features called N\'eel caps. We demonstrated the
controlled switching of these caps under a magnetic field, occurring via the
propagation of a surface vortex. For this we considered flux-closure states in
elongated micron-sized dots, so that only the central domain wall can be
addressed, while domains remain unaffected.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
Emotional Facial Expression Detection in the Peripheral Visual Field
BACKGROUND: In everyday life, signals of danger, such as aversive facial expressions, usually appear in the peripheral visual field. Although facial expression processing in central vision has been extensively studied, this processing in peripheral vision has been poorly studied. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Using behavioral measures, we explored the human ability to detect fear and disgust vs. neutral expressions and compared it to the ability to discriminate between genders at eccentricities up to 40°. Responses were faster for the detection of emotion compared to gender. Emotion was detected from fearful faces up to 40° of eccentricity. CONCLUSIONS: Our results demonstrate the human ability to detect facial expressions presented in the far periphery up to 40° of eccentricity. The increasing advantage of emotion compared to gender processing with increasing eccentricity might reflect a major implication of the magnocellular visual pathway in facial expression processing. This advantage may suggest that emotion detection, relative to gender identification, is less impacted by visual acuity and within-face crowding in the periphery. These results are consistent with specific and automatic processing of danger-related information, which may drive attention to those messages and allow for a fast behavioral reaction
Interacting Preformed Cooper Pairs in Resonant Fermi Gases
We consider the normal phase of a strongly interacting Fermi gas, which can
have either an equal or an unequal number of atoms in its two accessible spin
states. Due to the unitarity-limited attractive interaction between particles
with different spin, noncondensed Cooper pairs are formed. The starting point
in treating preformed pairs is the Nozi\`{e}res-Schmitt-Rink (NSR) theory,
which approximates the pairs as being noninteracting. Here, we consider the
effects of the interactions between the Cooper pairs in a Wilsonian
renormalization-group scheme. Starting from the exact bosonic action for the
pairs, we calculate the Cooper-pair self-energy by combining the NSR formalism
with the Wilsonian approach. We compare our findings with the recent
experiments by Harikoshi {\it et al.} [Science {\bf 327}, 442 (2010)] and
Nascimb\`{e}ne {\it et al.} [Nature {\bf 463}, 1057 (2010)], and find very good
agreement. We also make predictions for the population-imbalanced case, that
can be tested in experiments.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures, accepted version for PRA, discussion of the
imbalanced Fermi gas added, new figure and references adde
Some Directions for Performance Improvement of Li-Ion Batteries out of Usual Paths
Recent developments at IMN will be shared on several research directions out of usual paths for performance improvement of Li-ion batteries. We will focus on innovative surface modifications of electrode components, new electrode compositions and architectures, and failure mechanism upon cycling by in-depth characterization through coupled advanced spectroscopic techniques.
A molecular grafting approach has been proposed as a way to modify the interfacial chemical reactivity of oxide materials, which is detrimental to their long-term energy storage properties as electrodes of Li-ion batteries. Surface derivatization of powder oxide materials such as Li1.2V3O8 and Li(Mn,Ni)2O4 was accomplished by in situ electrografting of a diazonium salt during Li-ion intercalation, leading to a covalently bonded organic multilayer. Charge transfer is not impeded, while electrolyte decomposition is inhibited thus increasing the cycle life and decreasing the self-discharge. Carbon additives of classical porous electrodes occupy a large volume fraction which is lost for charge storage. Redox functionalization of the surface of some carbon additives has been successfully achieved through non-covalent grafting chemistry using multi-redox pyrene molecules synthesized on purpose. Such functionalized carbon additives have been used to increase the stored energy and power of C-coated LFP porous electrodes.
Thicker electrodes are needed for higher energy density Li-ion batteries. We evaluate different directions in order to design new innovative electrode architectures for such a purpose. Our grafting chemistry has been further developed to achieve molecular junctions between non-carbon-coated LFP and multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) using a designed thiophene-based conjugated molecule. The strategy enables original architecturing of the cathode of Li-ion batteries, with the individual MWCNT being electronically nanocontacted at the surface of LFP grains. This advancement leads to much higher specific capacity and better capacity retention for non calendared thick electrodes, for which the electronic wiring of the electroactive material grains is a critical issue. Another direction followed is the use of conducting polymer additives in porous electrodes, which are able to act as both conducting fillers and mechanical reinforcement materials. We have synthesized a new form of lithium doped PANI, the excellent properties of which in terms of specific capacity, stability on cycling and rate capability will be presented. The coating of bare LFP particles with thin layers of this new Li-doped PANI allows surpassing the performance of commercial carbon coated LFP thick electrodes. The role of this PANI additive into millimetric thick electrodes of NMC material will also be discussed.
Future developments of higher energy density Si-based Li-ion batteries depend on the mastering of side reactions at the Si anode. We will compare the SEI composition and morphology at the Si surface upon cycling in half cell and full Li-ion cell configurations using a combination of 7Li, 19F MAS NMR, XPS, TOF-SIMS and STEM-EELS. The origin of the much faster aging of Si-based full cells versus half cells and future directions for improvement will be discusse
Recommendations for the use of next-generation sequencing (NGS) for patients with metastatic cancers: a report from the ESMO Precision Medicine Working Group
Next-generation sequencing (NGS) allows sequencing of a high number of nucleotides in a short time frame at an affordable cost. While this technology has been widely implemented, there are no recommendations from scientific societies about its use in oncology practice. The European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) is proposing three levels of recommendations for the use of NGS. Based on the current evidence, ESMO recommends routine use of NGS on tumour samples in advanced non-squamous non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC), prostate cancers, ovarian cancers and cholangiocarcinoma. In these tumours, large multigene panels could be used if they add acceptable extra cost compared with small panels. In colon cancers, NGS could be an alternative to PCR. In addition, based on the KN158 trial and considering that patients with endometrial and small-cell lung cancers should have broad access to anti-programmed cell death 1 (anti-PD1) antibodies, it is recommended to test tumour mutational burden (TMB) in cervical cancers, well- and moderately-differentiated neuroendocrine tumours, salivary cancers, thyroid cancers and vulvar cancers, as TMB-high predicted response to pembrolizumab in these cancers. Outside the indications of multigene panels, and considering that the use of large panels of genes could lead to few clinically meaningful responders, ESMO acknowledges that a patient and a doctor could decide together to order a large panel of genes, pending no extra cost for the public health care system and if the patient is informed about the low likelihood of benefit. ESMO recommends that the use of off-label drugs matched to genomics is done only if an access programme and a procedure of decision has been developed at the national or regional level. Finally, ESMO recommends that clinical research centres develop multigene sequencing as a tool to screen patients eligible for clinical trials and to accelerate drug development, and prospectively capture the data that could further inform how to optimise the use of this technology
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