2,066 research outputs found
The effect of the electric field on the nucleation of the nanometer periodic structure of adatoms in GaAs semiconductor under the action of laser irradiation
In the paper, the effect of the electric field on the conditions of formation
and on the period of the surface superlattice of adatoms in -GaAs
semiconductor is investigated. It is established that in GaAs semiconductor, an
increase in the electric field strength, depending on the direction, leads to
an increase or decrease of the critical temperature (the critical concentration
of adatoms), at which the formation of self-organized nanostructure is
possible. It is shown that in strongly alloyed -GaAs semiconductor, an
increase of the electric field strength leads to a monotonous change (decrease
or increase depending on the direction of the electric field) of the period of
self-organized surface nanostructures of adatoms.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures. arXiv admin note: text overlap with
arXiv:1512.0780
Family support and cardiac rehabilitation: A comparative study of the experiences of South Asian and White-European patients and their carer's living in the United Kingdom
Background: Effective lifestyle modification facilitated by cardiac rehabilitation is known to reduce the occurrence of adverse coronary events and mortality. South Asians have poorer outcomes after a myocardial infarction than the general UK population, but little is known about their experiences of family support, cardiac rehabilitation and lifestyle change. Aims: To explore the nature of family support available to a sample of South Asian and White-European cardiac patients and to highlight similarities and differences between these groups with regard to cardiac rehabilitation and lifestyle modification. Methods: Using a qualitative approach, semi-structured interviews (in 1 of 6 languages) were conducted by researchers with; 45 South Asian patients and 37 carers and 20 White-European patients and 17 carers. Interviews were conducted in a home setting, up to eighteen months after discharge from hospital following myocardial infarction, coronary artery bypass surgery or unstable angina. Results: The main themes that emerged related to the provision of advice and information, family support and burden, dietary change and exercise regimes. Conclusions: Several cultural and ethnic differences were identified between patients and their families alongside similarities, irrespective of ethnicity. These may represent generic characteristics of recovery after a cardiac event. Health professionals should develop a cultural repertoire to engage with diversity and difference. Not every difficulty a person encounters as they try to access appropriate service delivery can be attributed to ethnic background. By improving services generally, support for South Asian populations can be improved. The challenge is to know when ethnicity makes a difference and mediates a person's relationship with service support and when it does not. (C) 2007 European Society of Cardiology. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved
Overexpression of melanoma inhibitory activity (MIA) enhances extravasation and metastasis of A-mel 3 melanoma cells in vivo
The secreted MIA protein is strongly expressed by advanced primary and metastatic melanomas but not in normal melanocytes. Previous studies have shown that MIA serum levels correlate with clinical tumour progression in melanoma patients. To provide direct evidence that MIA plays a role in metastasis of malignant melanomas, A-mel 3 hamster melanoma cells were transfected with sense- and antisense rhMIA cDNA and analysed subsequently for changes in their tumorigenic and metastatic potential. Enforced expression of MIA in A-mel 3 cells significantly increased their metastatic potential without affecting primary tumour growth, cell proliferation or apoptosis rate in hamsters, compared with control or antisense transfected cells. Additionally, MIA overexpressing transfectants showed a higher rate of both tumour cell invasion and extravasation. Cells transfected with MIA antisense generally exerted an opposite response. The above changes in function attributed to the expression of MIA may underlie the contribution of MIA to the malignant phenotype. Š 2000 Cancer Research Campaig
Signs of low frequency dispersions in disordered binary dielectric mixtures (50-50)
Dielectric relaxation in disordered dielectric mixtures are presented by
emphasizing the interfacial polarization. The obtained results coincide with
and cause confusion with those of the low frequency dispersion behavior. The
considered systems are composed of two phases on two-dimensional square and
triangular topological networks. We use the finite element method to calculate
the effective dielectric permittivities of randomly generated structures. The
dielectric relaxation phenomena together with the dielectric permittivity
values at constant frequencies are investigated, and significant differences of
the square and triangular topologies are observed. The frequency dependent
properties of some of the generated structures are examined. We conclude that
the topological disorder may lead to the normal or anomalous low frequency
dispersion if the electrical properties of the phases are chosen properly, such
that for ``slightly'' {\em reciprocal mixture}--when , and
--normal, and while for ``extreme'' {\em reciprocal
mixture}--when , and --anomalous
low frequency dispersions are obtained. Finally, comparison with experimental
data indicates that one can obtain valuable information from simulations when
the material properties of the constituents are not available and of
importance.Comment: 13 pages, 7 figure
Post-Disaster Housing Reconstruction in Sri Lanka: What Methodology?
Research methodology is the procedural framework within which the research is conducted. This includes the overall
approach to a problem that could be put into practice in a research process, from the theoretical underpinning to the
collection and analysis of data. Choice of methodology depends on the primary drivers: topic to be researched and the
specific research questions. Hence, methodological perspectives of managing stakeholder expectations of PDHR context
are composed of research philosophies, research strategy, research design, and research techniques. This research belonged
to social constructivism or interpretivism within a philosophical continuum. The nature of the study was more toward
subjectivism where human behavior favored voluntary stance. Ontological, methodological, epistemological, and axiological
positioning carried the characteristics of idealism, ideographic, anti-positivism, and value laden, respectively. Data collection
comprises two phases, preliminary and secondary. Exploratory interviews with construction experts in the United Kingdom
and Sri Lanka were carried out to refine the interview questions and identify the case studies. Case study interviews during
the secondary phase took place in Sri Lanka. Data collected at the preliminary stage were used to assess the attributes of
power, legitimacy/proximity, and urgency of stakeholders to the project using Stakeholder Circle⢠software. Moreover,
the data collected at secondary phase via case studies will be analyzed with NVivo 8. This article aims to discuss these
methodological underpinnings in detail applied in a post-disaster housing reconstruction context in Sri Lanka
Can processes make relationships work? The Triple Helix between structure and action
This contribution seeks to explore how complex adaptive theory can be applied at the conceptual level to unpack Triple Helix models. We use two cases to examine this issue â the Finnish Strategic Centres for Science, Technology & Innovation (SHOKs) and the Canadian Business-led Networks of Centres of Excellence (BL-NCE). Both types of centres are organisational structures that aspire to be business-led, with a considerable portion of their activities driven by (industrial) usersâ interests and requirements. Reflecting on the centresâ activities along three dimensions â knowledge generation, consensus building and innovation â we contend that conceptualising the Triple Helix from a process perspective will improve the dialogue between stakeholders and shareholders
MULTIFUNCTIONAL ANALOG DEVICE BASED ON AMPLIFIERS WITH REGULATED GAIN
In this article analog device capable to make portion of different functions in wide frequency band is discussed. Some recommendations for possible application examples are offered
The Role of Scientometric Thresholds for the Evaluation of Grant Applications
The present study focuses on data from the Russian Science Foundation (RSF). The authors analyze the effect of using quantitative indicators in grant allocation by using the natural experiment with the increasing publication threshold for principal investigators between two waves of grant selections in 2014 and 2017. The authors selected the relatively new RSF as our case study due to its policy to establish a publication threshold for grantsâ principal investigators. The policy change provides the authors with the opportunity to study whether reliance on bibliometric indicators brings better results in the project evaluation process. This analysis included two groups of researchers: 1) physicists and 2) social sciences and humanities scholars. Scopus was sourced to collect bibliographic data, while the foundationâs website was used to check data on the funded projects. The following questions are explored in detail: whether the policy affected the distribution of funds to researchers with a better publication record, the strategies of increasing publications by individual researchers, and the differences, if any, in policy effects between disciplines. The authors found that the selection among physicists in the first wave was already effective as the grant recipients are prolific authors who publish many highly cited papers before 2014. In addition, the results indicated that the group of research leaders in physics did not significantly change between the two selected waves of competitions (from 2014 to 2017). Although social scientists demonstrated a relatively weak ability to publish internationally, the increase in scientometric expectations has improved the publication record regarding the quantity and quality of publications
The conceptual and practical ethical dilemmas of using health discussion board posts as research data.
Increasing numbers of people living with a long-term health condition are putting personal health information online, including on discussion boards. Many discussion boards contain material of potential use to researchers; however, it is unclear how this information can and should be used by researchers. To date there has been no evaluation of the views of those individuals sharing health information online regarding the use of their shared information for research purposes
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