22,047 research outputs found
Confined coherence in quasi-one-dimensional metals
We present a functional renormalization group calculation of the effect of
strong interactions on the shape of the Fermi surface of weakly coupled
metallic chains. In the regime where the bare interchain hopping is small, we
show that scattering processes involving large momentum transfers perpendicular
to the chains can completely destroy the warping of the true Fermi surface,
leading to a confined state where the renormalized interchain hopping vanishes
and a coherent motion perpendicular to the chains is impossible.Comment: 4 RevTex pages, 5 figures,final version as published by PR
How Do Schr\"odinger's Cats Die?
Recent experiments with superconducting qubits are motivated by the goal of
fabricating a quantum computer, but at the same time they illuminate the more
fundamental aspects of quantum mechanics. In this paper we analyze the physics
of switching current measurements from the point of view of macroscopic quantum
mechanics.Comment: 4 figures, 12 page
Alignments in quasar polarizations: pseudoscalar-photon mixing in the presence of correlated magnetic fields
We investigate the effects of pseudoscalar-photon mixing on electromagnetic
radiation in the presence of correlated extragalactic magnetic fields. We model
the Universe as a collection of magnetic domains and study the propagation of
radiation through them. This leads to correlations between Stokes parameters
over large scales and consistently explains the observed large-scale alignment
of quasar polarizations at different redshifts within the framework of the big
bang model.Comment: 12 pages, 5 figures, version published in PR
Deconfined Fermions but Confined Coherence?
The cuprate superconductors and certain organic conductors exhibit transport
which is qualitatively anisotropic, yet at the same time other properties of
these materials strongly suggest the existence of a Fermi surface and low
energy excitations with substantial free electron character. The former of
these features is very difficult to account for if the material possesses three
dimensional coherence, while the latter is inconsistent with a description
based on a two dimensional fixed point. We therefore present a new proposal for
these materials in which they are categorized by a fixed point at which
transport in one direction is not renormalization group irrelevant, but is
intrinsically incoherent, i.e. the incoherence is present in a pure system, at
zero temperature. The defining property of such a state is that single electron
coherence is confined to lower dimensional subspaces (planes or chains) so that
it is impossible to observe interference effects between histories which
involve electrons moving between these subspaces.Comment: 31 pages, REVTEX, 3 eps figures, epsf.tex macr
Nod1 signaling overcomes resistance of S. pneumoniae to opsonophagocytic killing
Airway infection by the Gram-positive pathogen Streptococcus pneumoniae (Sp) leads to recruitment of neutrophils but
limited bacterial killing by these cells. Co-colonization by Sp and a Gram-negative species, Haemophilus influenzae (Hi),
provides sufficient stimulus to induce neutrophil and complement-mediated clearance of Sp from the mucosal surface
in a murine model. Products from Hi, but not Sp, also promote killing of Sp by ex vivo neutrophil-enriched peritoneal
exudate cells. Here we identify the stimulus from Hi as its peptidoglycan. Enhancement of opsonophagocytic killing
was facilitated by signaling through nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-1 (Nod1), which is involved in
recognition of γ-D-glutamyl-meso-diaminopimelic acid (meso-DAP) contained in cell walls of Hi but not Sp. Neutrophils
from mice treated with Hi or compounds containing meso-DAP, including synthetic peptidoglycan fragments, showed
increased Sp killing in a Nod1-dependent manner. Moreover, Nod1-/- mice showed reduced Hi-induced clearance of Sp
during co-colonization. These observations offer insight into mechanisms of microbial competition and demonstrate
the importance of Nod1 in neutrophil-mediated clearance of bacteria in vivo
Vuvuzela: scalable private messaging resistant to traffic analysis
Private messaging over the Internet has proven challenging to implement, because even if message data is encrypted, it is difficult to hide metadata about who is communicating in the face of traffic analysis. Systems that offer strong privacy guarantees, such as Dissent [36], scale to only several thousand clients, because they use techniques with superlinear cost in the number of clients (e.g., each client broadcasts their message to all other clients). On the other hand, scalable systems, such as Tor, do not protect against traffic analysis, making them ineffective in an era of pervasive network monitoring.
Vuvuzela is a new scalable messaging system that offers strong privacy guarantees, hiding both message data and metadata. Vuvuzela is secure against adversaries that observe and tamper with all network traffic, and that control all nodes except for one server. Vuvuzela's key insight is to minimize the number of variables observable by an attacker, and to use differential privacy techniques to add noise to all observable variables in a way that provably hides information about which users are communicating. Vuvuzela has a linear cost in the number of clients, and experiments show that it can achieve a throughput of 68,000 messages per second for 1 million users with a 37-second end-to-end latency on commodity servers.National Science Foundation (U.S.) (Award CNS-1053143)National Science Foundation (U.S.) (Award CNS-1413920
Withdrawal of anticancer therapy in advanced disease: a systematic literature review
Abstract
Background
Current guidelines set out when to start anticancer treatments, but not when to stop as the end of life approaches. Conventional cytotoxic agents are administered intravenously and have major life-threatening toxicities. Newer drugs include molecular targeted agents (MTAs), in particular, small molecule kinase-inhibitors (KIs), which are administered orally. These have fewer life-threatening toxicities, and are increasingly used to palliate advanced cancer, generally offering additional months of survival benefit. MTAs are substantially more expensive, between £2-8 K per month, and perceived as easier to start than stop.
Methods
A systematic review of decision-making concerning the withdrawal of anticancer drugs towards the end of life within clinical practice, with a particular focus on MTAs. Nine electronic databases searched. PRISMA guidelines followed.
Results
Forty-two studies included. How are decisions made? Decision-making was shared and ongoing, including stopping, starting and trying different treatments. Oncologists often experienced ‘professional role dissonance’ between their self-perception as ‘treaters’, and talking about end of life care. Why are decisions made? Clinical factors: disease progression, worsening functional status, treatment side-effects. Non-clinical factors: physicians’ personal experience, values, emotions. Some patients continued treatment to maintain ‘hope’, often reflecting limited understanding of palliative goals. When are decisions made? Limited evidence reveals patients’ decisions based upon quality of life benefits. Clinicians found timing withdrawal particularly challenging. Who makes the decisions? Decisions were based within physician-patient interaction.
Conclusions
Oncologists report that decisions around stopping chemotherapy treatment are challenging, with limited evidence-based guidance outside of clinical trial protocols. The increasing availability of oral MTAs is transforming the management of incurable cancer; blurring boundaries between active treatment and palliative care. No studies specifically addressing decision-making around stopping MTAs in clinical practice were identified. There is a need to develop an evidence base to support physicians and patients with decision-making around the withdrawal of these high cost treatments
Dynamics of Josephson junctions and single-flux-quantum networks with superconductor-insulator-normal metal junction shunts
Within the framework of the microscopic model of tunneling, we modelled the
behavior of the Josephson junction shunted by the
Superconductor-Insulator-Normal metal (SIN) tunnel junction. We found that the
electromagnetic impedance of the SIN junction yields both the
frequency-dependent damping and dynamic reactance which leads to an increase in
the effective capacitance of the circuit. We calculated the dc I-V curves and
transient characteristics of these circuits and explained their quantitative
differences to the curves obtained within the resistively shunted junction
model. The correct operation of the basic single-flux-quanta circuits with such
SIN-shunted junctions, i.e. the Josephson transmission line and the toggle
flip-flop, have also been modelled.Comment: 8 pages incl. 7 figure
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