3,360 research outputs found
Magneto-exciton in planar type II quantum dots
We study an exciton in a type II quantum dot, where the electron is confined
in the dot, but the hole is located in the barrier material. The exciton
properties are studied as a function of a perpendicular magnetic field using a
Hartree-fock mesh calculation. Our model system consists of a planar quantum
disk. Angular momentum (l) transitions are predicted with increasing magnetic
field. We also study the transition from a type I to a type II quantum dot
which is induced by changing the confinement potential of the hole. For
sufficiently large magnetic fields a re-entrant behaviour is found from
to and back to , which results in a transition
from type II to type I.Comment: 6 pages, 12 figure
Proprioceptive changes impair balance control in individuals with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Copyright @ 2013 Janssens et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.Introduction: Balance deficits are identified as important risk factors for falling in individuals with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). However, the specific use of proprioception, which is of primary importance during balance control, has not been studied in individuals with COPD. The objective was to determine the specific proprioceptive control strategy during postural balance in individuals with COPD and healthy controls, and to assess whether this was related to inspiratory muscle weakness. Methods: Center of pressure displacement was determined in 20 individuals with COPD and 20 age/gender-matched controls during upright stance on an unstable support surface without vision. Ankle and back muscle vibration were applied to evaluate the relative contribution of different proprioceptive signals used in postural control. Results: Individuals with COPD showed an increased anterior-posterior body sway during upright stance (p=0.037). Compared to controls, individuals with COPD showed an increased posterior body sway during ankle muscle vibration (p=0.047), decreased anterior body sway during back muscle vibration (p=0.025), and increased posterior body sway during simultaneous ankle-muscle vibration (p=0.002). Individuals with COPD with the weakest inspiratory muscles showed the greatest reliance on ankle muscle input when compared to the stronger individuals with COPD (p=0.037). Conclusions: Individuals with COPD, especially those with inspiratory muscle weakness, increased their reliance on ankle muscle proprioceptive signals and decreased their reliance on back muscle proprioceptive signals during balance control, resulting in a decreased postural stability compared to healthy controls. These proprioceptive changes may be due to an impaired postural contribution of the inspiratory muscles to trunk stability. Further research is required to determine whether interventions such as proprioceptive training and inspiratory muscle training improve postural balance and reduce the fall risk in individuals with COPD.This work was supported by the Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO) grants 1.5.104.03, G.0674.09, G.0598.09N and G.0871.13N
Resonant backward scattering of light by a two-side-open subwavelength metallic slit
The backward scattering of TM-polarized light by a two-side-open
subwavelength slit in a metal film is analyzed. We show that the reflection
coefficient versus wavelength possesses a Fabry-Perot-like dependence that is
similar to the anomalous behavior of transmission reported in the study [Y.
Takakura, Phys. Rev. Lett. \textbf{86}, 5601 (2001)]. The open slit totally
reflects the light at the near-to-resonance wavelengths. In addition, we show
that the interference of incident and resonantly backward-scattered light
produces in the near-field diffraction zone a spatially localized wave whose
intensity is 10-10 times greater than the incident wave, but one order of
magnitude smaller than the intra-cavity intensity. The amplitude and phase of
the resonant wave at the slit entrance and exit are different from that of a
Fabry-Perot cavity.Comment: 5 figure
Impaired Postural Control Reduces Sit-to-Stand-to-Sit Performance in Individuals with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
Abstract
Background: Functional activities, such as the sit-to-stand-to-sit (STSTS) task, are often impaired in individuals with chronic
obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The STSTS task places a high demand on the postural control system, which has
been shown to be impaired in individuals with COPD. It remains unknown whether postural control deficits contribute to
the decreased STSTS performance in individuals with COPD.
Methods: Center of pressure displacement was determined in 18 individuals with COPD and 18 age/gender-matched
controls during five consecutive STSTS movements with vision occluded. The total duration, as well as the duration of each
sit, sit-to-stand, stand and stand-to-sit phase was recorded.
Results: Individuals with COPD needed significantly more time to perform five consecutive STSTS movements compared to healthy controls (1966 vs. 1364 seconds, respectively; p = 0.001). The COPD group exhibited a significantly longer stand phase (p = 0.028) and stand-to-sit phase (p = 0.001) compared to the control group. In contrast, the duration of the sit phase (p = 0.766) and sit-to-stand phase (p = 0.999) was not different between groups.
Conclusions: Compared to healthy individuals, individuals with COPD needed significantly more time to complete those phases of the STSTS task that require the greatest postural control. These findings support the proposition that suboptimal postural control is an important contributor to the decreased STSTS performance in individuals with COPD
Systematics of heavy-ion fusion hindrance at extreme sub-barrier energies
The recent discovery of hindrance in heavy-ion induced fusion reactions at
extreme sub-barrier energies represents a challenge for theoretical models.
Previously, it has been shown that in medium-heavy systems, the onset of fusion
hindrance depends strongly on the "stiffness" of the nuclei in the entrance
channel. In this work, we explore its dependence on the total mass and the
-value of the fusing systems and find that the fusion hindrance depends in a
systematic way on the entrance channel properties over a wide range of systems.Comment: Submitted to Phys. Rev. Lett., 5 pages, 3 figure
Synchrotron Radiation Induced X-Ray Microanalysis: A Realistic Alternative for Electron- and Ion-Beam Microscopy?
Synchrotron radiation induced X-ray micro fluorescence analysis (μ-SRXRF) is compared with more conventional microanalytical techniques such as secondary ion microscopy (SIMS) and electron probe X-ray microanalysis (EPXMA) for two typical microanalytical applications. μ-SRXRF and EPXMA are employed for the analysis of individual particles, showing the complementary character of both techniques. By means of element mapping of trace constituents in a heterogeneous feldspar material, the strong and weak points of μ-SRXRF in comparison to EPXMA and SIMS are illustrated. The most striking difference between μ-SRXRF and the other two microanalytical methods is the ability of SRXRF to probe deep into the investigated material, whereas SIMS and EPXMA only investigate the upper surface of the material. The possibilities of μ-SRXRF using radiation from bending magnets of third generation synchrotron rings are briefly discussed. μ-SRXRF is considered to be a valuable method for the analysis of major, minor and trace elements which can be used profitably m parallel with electron-and ion-beam methods
Enhanced transmission versus localization of a light pulse by a subwavelength metal slit: Can the pulse have both characteristics?
The existence of resonant enhanced transmission and collimation of light
waves by subwavelength slits in metal films [for example, see T.W. Ebbesen et
al., Nature (London) 391, 667 (1998) and H.J. Lezec et al., Science, 297, 820
(2002)] leads to the basic question: Can a light be enhanced and simultaneously
localized in space and time by a subwavelength slit? To address this question,
the spatial distribution of the energy flux of an ultrashort (femtosecond)
wave-packet diffracted by a subwavelength (nanometer-size) slit was analyzed by
using the conventional approach based on the Neerhoff and Mur solution of
Maxwell's equations. The results show that a light can be enhanced by orders of
magnitude and simultaneously localized in the near-field diffraction zone at
the nm- and fs-scales. Possible applications in nanophotonics are discussed.Comment: 5 figure
Single and vertically coupled type II quantum dots in a perpendicular magnetic field: exciton groundstate properties
The properties of an exciton in a type II quantum dot are studied under the
influence of a perpendicular applied magnetic field. The dot is modelled by a
quantum disk with radius , thickness and the electron is confined in the
disk, whereas the hole is located in the barrier. The exciton energy and
wavefunctions are calculated using a Hartree-Fock mesh method. We distinguish
two different regimes, namely (the hole is located at the radial
boundary of the disk) and (the hole is located above and below the
disk), for which angular momentum transitions are predicted with
increasing magnetic field. We also considered a system of two vertically
coupled dots where now an extra parameter is introduced, namely the interdot
distance . For each and for a sufficient large magnetic field,
the ground state becomes spontaneous symmetry broken in which the electron and
the hole move towards one of the dots. This transition is induced by the
Coulomb interaction and leads to a magnetic field induced dipole moment. No
such symmetry broken ground states are found for a single dot (and for three
vertically coupled symmetric quantum disks). For a system of two vertically
coupled truncated cones, which is asymmetric from the start, we still find
angular momentum transitions. For a symmetric system of three vertically
coupled quantum disks, the system resembles for small the pillar-like
regime of a single dot, where the hole tends to stay at the radial boundary,
which induces angular momentum transitions with increasing magnetic field. For
larger the hole can sit between the disks and the state
remains the groundstate for the whole -region.Comment: 11 pages, 16 figure
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