6,880 research outputs found
Orbital Ordering and Spin-Ladder Formation in La2RuO5
The semiconductor-semiconductor transition of La2RuO5 is studied by means of
augmented spherical wave (ASW) electronic structure calculations as based on
density functional theory and the local density approximation. This transition
has lately been reported to lead to orbital ordering and a quenching of the
local spin magnetic moment. Our results hint towards an orbital ordering
scenario which, markedly different from the previously proposed scheme,
preserves the local S = 1 moment at the Ru sites in the low-temperature phase.
The unusual magnetic behaviour is interpreted by the formation of spin-ladders,
which result from the structural changes occurring at the transition and are
characterized by antiferromagnetic coupling along the rungs.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, for more information see
http://www.physik.uni-augsburg.de/~eyert
Clinical relevance of soluble c-erbB-2 for patients with metastatic breast cancer predicting the response to second-line hormone or chemotherapy
Concentrations of soluble c-erbB-2 were determined in the sera of 64 patients with distant metastasis from advanced breast cancer receiving second-line hormone or chemotherapy in comparison to 35 breast cancer patients without detectable recurrent disease and 17 healthy blood donors. The sera of non-metastatic breast cancer patients contained s-erbB-2 concentrations similar to those of healthy blood donors. Patients with distant metastasis from advanced breast cancer had significantly higher values of s-erbB-2 in comparison to patients with non-disseminated disease (mean: 59.6 vs. 11.6 U/ml; p = 0.022). A significant correlation was observed between s-erbB-2 serum levels and serum LDH concentrations (p < 0.001), levels of alkaline phosphatase (p < 0.001), and the presence of hepatic metastasis (p = 0.001). Time to tumor progression was significantly shorter in patients with s-erbB-2 levels above 40 U/ml (mean: 23.4 vs. 56.7 months; p = 0.002). Furthermore, breast cancer patients with hepatic metastasis and those with elevated s-erbB-2 serum levels above 40 U/ml had limited response to hormone or chemotherapy. Non-responders had significantly higher s-erbB-2 levels (mean: 270.3, range: 42-500 U/ml;) compared with the responder group (mean: 23.1, range: 0-149 U/ml; p < 0.001). Logistic regression analysis indicated that elevated s-erbB-2 serum levels above 40 U/ml independently predicted an unfavorable response to second-line hormone or chemotherapy in patients with advanced metastatic breast cancer. Copyright (C) 2002 S. KargerAG, Basel
Supercurrent through grain boundaries in the presence of strong correlations
Strong correlations are known to severely reduce the mobility of charge
carriers near half-filling and thus have an important influence on the current
carrying properties of grain boundaries in the high- cuprates. In this
work we present an extension of the Gutzwiller projection approach to treat
electronic correlations below as well as above half-filling consistently. We
apply this method to investigate the critical current through grain boundaries
with a wide range of misalignment angles for electron- and hole-doped systems.
For the latter excellent agreement with experimental data is found. We further
provide a detailed comparison to an analogous weak-coupling evaluation.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
Say Hi to Eliza. An Embodied Conversational Agent on the Web
The creation and support of Embodied Conversational Agents (ECAs) has been
quite challenging, as features required might not be straight-forward to
implement and to integrate in a single application. Furthermore, ECAs as
desktop applications present drawbacks for both developers and users; the
former have to develop for each device and operating system and the latter must
install additional software, limiting their widespread use. In this paper we
demonstrate how recent advances in web technologies show promising steps
towards capable web-based ECAs, through some off-the-shelf technologies, in
particular, the Web Speech API, Web Audio API, WebGL and Web Workers. We
describe their integration into a simple fully functional web-based 3D ECA
accessible from any modern device, with special attention to our novel work in
the creation and support of the embodiment aspects.Comment: 4 Pages, 1 figure, 17th International Conference Intelligence Virtual
Agents (IVA
Small mirrors do the trick: A simple, but effective method to study mirror self-recognition in chimpanzees
Mirror self-recognition (MSR) is considered an indicator of self-awareness. Standardized mirror tests reveal compelling evidence for MSR in a few non-human species, including all great apes. However, substantial inter-individual variation of MSR within species resulted in an ongoing methodological controversy, questioning the appropriateness of standard MSR tests for cross-species comparisons. Lack of motivation, in particular, is discussed as one possible cause for false negative results. Here, we compare the spontaneous behavioral response of 47 zoo-housed chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) to (i) standard body-sized, stationary mirrors and (ii) small, portable hand mirrors. We predicted that the monopolizability and maneuverability of small mirrors increase the chances of identifying MSR across a larger proportion of individuals. Chimpanzees both revealed a substantially higher frequency of general mirror-related behaviors and engaged in significantly more and longer behaviors specifically indicating MSR when provided with small mirrors compared to a large mirror. Handheld mirrors provide a more sensitive measure for MSR within and likely between primate species than the traditional large mirrors, and thereby are a potentially valuable tool for studying self-awareness across species
Magnetic excitations in two-leg spin 1/2 ladders: experiment and theory
Magnetic excitations in two-leg S=1/2 ladders are studied both experimentally
and theoretically. Experimentally, we report on the reflectivity, the
transmission and the optical conductivity sigma(omega) of undoped La_x Ca_14-x
Cu_24 O_41 for x=4, 5, and 5.2. Using two different theoretical approaches
(Jordan-Wigner fermions and perturbation theory), we calculate the dispersion
of the elementary triplets, the optical conductivity and the momentum-resolved
spectral density of two-triplet excitations for 0.2 <=
J_parallel/J_perpendicular <= 1.2. We discuss phonon-assisted two-triplet
absorption, the existence of two-triplet bound states, the two-triplet
continuum, and the size of the exchange parameters.Comment: 6 pages, 7 eps figures, submitted to SNS 200
Twist Defect in Chiral Photonic Structures
We demonstrate that twisting one part of a chiral photonic structure about
its helical axis produces a single circularly polarized localized mode that
gives rise to an anomalous crossover in propagation. Up to a crossover
thickness, this defect results in a peak in transmission and exponential
scaling of the linewidth for a circularly polarized wave with the same
handedness as structure. Above the crossover, however, the linewidth saturates
and the defect mode can be excited only by the oppositely polarized wave,
resulting in a peak in reflection instead of transmission.Comment: 12 page
A koherencia mint a lelki és testi egészség alapvető meghatározója a mai magyar társadalomban = Sense of coherence as an important determinant of mental and physical health
Az ún. salutogenezis modell olyan keretet kínál, amelyben a koherencia élmény bevezetésével lehetőség nyílik az „egész”-ség dinamikus értelmezésére. Vizsgálatunkban a Richard Rahe-féle, az „élet értelme” koherencia kérdőív összefüggéseit vizsgáltuk az egészségi állapottal. A Hungarostudy 2002 felmérés a 18 évesnél idősebb magyar népességet életkor, nem és terület szerint képviseli. 12 640 személlyel vettünk fel otthoni interjút. Az így vizsgált koherencia mutatót az egészségi állapot igen fontos előrejelzőjének találtuk. Ha az adatokat életkor, nem és iskolázottság szerint korrigáltuk, az egészségi állapot önbecslése mintegy 10-szer, a munkaképesség 8-szor jobb, a depresszió valószínűsége 7-szer alacsonyabb volt. Az „élet értelme” mutató igen szoros kapcsolatban áll az önhatékonysággal, a problémaorientált megbirkózással, a társas támogatással, ezzel szemben kevésbé függ az iskolázottságtól, az életkortól és a nemtől
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