101 research outputs found
Hole concentration in a diluted ferromagnetic semiconductor
We consider a mean-field approach to the hole-mediated ferromagnetism in
III-V Mn-based semiconductor compounds to discuss the dependence of the hole
density on that of Mn sites in Ga_{1-x}Mn_xAs. The hole concentration, p, as a
function of the fraction of Mn sites, x, is parametrized in terms of the
product m*J_{pd}^2 (where m* is the hole effective mass and J_{pd} is the
Kondo-like hole/local-moment coupling), and the critical temperature Tc. By
using experimental data for these quantities, we have established the
dependence of the hole concentration with x, which can be associated with the
occurrence of a reentrant metal-insulator transition taking place in the hole
gas. We also calculate the dependence of the Mn magnetization with x, for
different temperatures (T), and found that as T increases, the width of the
composition-dependent magnetization decreases drammatically, and that the
magnetization maxima also decreases, indicating the need for quality-control of
Mn-doping composition in diluted magnetic semiconductor devices.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, RevTeX 3; Fig. 1 changed, new references adde
Structural and magnetic properties of GaMnAs layers with high Mn content grown by Migration Enhanced Epitaxy on GaAs(100) substrates
We have grown the ferromagnetic semiconductor GaMnAs containing up to 10% Mn
by migration enhanced epitaxy at a substrate temperature of 150^oC. The
alternate supply of As2 molecules and Ga and Mn atoms made it possible to grow
single crystalline GaMnAs layers at very low substrate temperature, at which
conventional molecular beam epitaxial growth under excess As supply is not
possible due to As condensation. Secondary ion mass spectroscopy and X-ray
diffraction measurements confirmed a higher Mn content in the films grown by
this method in comparison to the GaMnAs layers grown by low temperature
molecular beam epitaxy. The lattice constant of hypothetical zinc-blende
structure MnAs is determined to be 5.9 \AA, which deviates somewhat from
previously reported values. This deviation is ascribed to growth-condition
dependent density of point defects. It is stressed that this effect must be
taken into account for any assessment of Mn content from X-ray diffraction
data.
Magnetization measurements showed an onset of ferromagnetic ordering around
75 K for the GaMnAs layer with 10% Mn. This means that the trend of falling
Curie temperatures with increasing Mn concentrations above 5.5% is broken.
We tentatively assign this to the variation of the carrier concentration,
including contributions from donor and acceptor centers formed by antisite
defects and Mn doping, and increased density of magnetically active Mn ions.Comment: No LaTeX source; gzipped postscript text + 3 gzipped postscript
figure
Single-Band Model for Diluted Magnetic Semiconductors: Dynamical and Transport Properties and Relevance of Clustered States
Dynamical and transport properties of a simple single-band spin-fermion
lattice model for (III,Mn)V diluted magnetic semiconductors (DMS) is here
discussed using Monte Carlo simulations. This effort is a continuation of
previous work (G. Alvarez, Phys. Rev. Lett. 89, 277202 (2002)) where the static
properties of the model were studied. The present results support the view that
the relevant regime of J/t (standard notation) is that of intermediate
coupling, where carriers are only partially trapped near Mn spins, and locally
ordered regions (clusters) are present above the Curie temperature T_C. This
conclusion is based on the calculation of the resistivity vs. temperature, that
shows a soft metal to insulator transition near T_C, as well on the analysis of
the density-of-states and optical conductivity. In addition, in the clustered
regime a large magnetoresistance is observed in simulations. Formal analogies
between DMS and manganites are also discussed.Comment: Revtex4, 20 figures. References updated, minor changes to figures and
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Electronic structure and magnetism of Mn doped GaN
Mn doped semiconductors are extremely interesting systems due to their novel
magnetic properties suitable for the spintronics applications. It has been
shown recently by both theory and experiment that Mn doped GaN systems have a
very high Curie temperature compared to that of Mn doped GaAs systems. To
understand the electronic and magnetic properties, we have studied Mn doped GaN
system in detail by a first principles plane wave method. We show here the
effect of varying Mn concentration on the electronic and magnetic properties.
For dilute Mn concentration, states of Mn form an impurity band completely
separated from the valence band states of the host GaN. This is in contrast to
the Mn doped GaAs system where Mn states in the gap lie very close to the
valence band edge and hybridizes strongly with the delocalized valence band
states.
To study the effects of electron correlation, LSDA+U calculations have been
performed.
Calculated exchange interaction in (Mn,Ga)N is short ranged in contrary to
that in (Mn,Ga)As where the strength of the ferromagnetic coupling between Mn
spins is not decreased substantially for large Mn-Mn separation. Also, the
exchange interactions are anisotropic in different crystallographic directions
due to the presence or absence of connectivity between Mn atoms through As
bonds.Comment: 6 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.
Complementary effects of HDAC inhibitor 4-PB on gap junction communication and cellular export mechanisms support restoration of chemosensitivity of PDAC cells
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is a fatal disease and one of the cancer entities with the lowest life expectancy. Beside surgical therapy, no effective therapeutic options are available yet. Here, we show that 4-phenylbutyrate (4-PB), a known and well-tolerable inhibitor of histone deacetylases (HDAC), induces up to 70% apoptosis in all cell lines tested (Panc 1, T4M-4, COLO 357, BxPc3). In contrast, it leads to cell cycle arrest in only half of the cell lines tested. This drug increases gap junction communication between adjacent T3M-4 cells in a concentration-dependent manner and efficiently inhibits cellular export mechanisms in Panc 1, T4M-4, COLO 357 and BxPc3 cells. Consequently, in combination with gemcitabine 4-PB shows an overadditive effect on induction of apoptosis in BxPc3 and T3M-4 cells (up to 4.5-fold compared to single drug treatment) with accompanied activation of Caspase 8, BH3 interacting domain death agonist (Bid) and poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase family, member 1 (PARP) cleavage. Although the inhibition of the mitogen-activated protein kinase-pathway has no influence on fulminant induction of apoptosis, the inhibition of the JNK-pathway by SP600125 completely abolishes the overadditive effect induced by the combined application of both drugs, firstly reported by this study
Recombinant AAV-mediated HSVtk gene transfer with direct intratumoral injections and Tet-On regulation for implanted human breast cancer
BACKGROUND: HSVtk/ganciclovir (GCV) gene therapy has been extensively studied in tumors and relies largely on the gene expression of HSVtk. Most studies, however, have failed to demonstrate any significant benefit of a controlled gene expression strategy in cancer treatment. The Tet-On system is commonly used to regulate gene expression following Dox induction. We have evaluated the antitumor effect of HSVtk/ganciclovir gene therapy under Tet-On regulation by means of adeno-associated virus-2 (AAV-2)-mediated HSVtk gene transfer with direct intratumoral injections in mice bearing breast cancer tumors. METHODS: Recombinant adeno-associated virus-2 (rAAV) was constructed and transduced into MCF-7 cell line. GCV treatment to the rAAV infected MCF-7 cells was performed by MTT assay under the doxycycline (Dox) induction or without Dox induction at a vp (viral particle) number of ≥10(4 )/cell. The virus was administered intratumorally to nude mice that had also received GCV intraperitoneally. The antitumor effects were evaluated by measuring tumor regression and histological analysis. RESULTS: We have demonstrated that GCV treatment to the infected MCF-7 cells under the Dox induction was of more inhibited effects than those without Dox induction at ≥10(4 )vp/cell. In ex vivo experiments, tumor growth of BALB/C nude mice breast cancer was retarded after rAAV-2/HSVtk/Tet-On was injected into the tumors under the Dox induction. Infiltrating cells were also observed in tumors after Dox induction followed by GCV treatment and cells were profoundly damaged. The expression of HSVtk gene in MCF-7 cells and BALB/C nude mice tumors was up-regulated by Tet-On under Dox induction with reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR) analysis. CONCLUSION: The antitumor effect of rAAV-mediated HSVtk/GCV gene therapy under the Dox induction with direct intratumoral injections may be a useful treatment for breast cancer and other solid tumors
Impact of therapy on quality of life, neurocognitive function and their correlates in glioblastoma multiforme: a review
The maintenance of quality of life (QoL) in patients with high-grade glioma is an important endpoint during treatment, particularly in those with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) given its dismal prognosis despite limited advances in standard therapy. It has proven difficult to identify new therapies that extend survival in patients with recurrent GBM, so one of the primary aims of new therapies is to reduce morbidity, restore or preserve neurologic functions, and the capacity to perform daily activities. Apart from temozolomide, cytotoxic chemotherapeutic agents do not appear to significantly impact response or survival, but produce toxicity that is likely to negatively impact QoL. New biological agents, such as bevacizumab, can induce a clinically meaningful proportion of durable responses among patients with recurrent GBM with an acceptable safety profile. Emerging evidence suggests that bevacizumab produces an improvement or preservation of neurocognitive function in GBM patients, suggestive of QoL improvement, in most poor-prognosis patients who would otherwise be expected to show a sudden and rapid deterioration in QoL
Accuracy of inverse treatment planning on substitute CT images derived from MR data for brain lesions
Continence technologies whitepaper: Informing new engineering science research
Advances in healthcare technology for continence have historically been limited compared to other areas of medicine, reflecting the complexities of the condition and social stigma which act as a barrier to participation. This whitepaper has been developed to inspire and direct the engineering science community towards research opportunities that exist for continence technologies that address unmet needs in diagnosis, treatment and long-term management. Our aim is to pinpoint key challenges and highlight related research opportunities for novel technological advances. To do so, we draw on experience and expertise from academics, clinicians, patients and patient groups linked to continence healthcare. This is presented in four areas of consideration: the clinical pathway, patient perspective, research challenges and effective innovation. In each we introduce seminal research, background information and demonstrative case-studies, before discussing their relevance to engineering science researchers who are interested in approaching this overlooked but vital area of healthcare
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