3,813 research outputs found
Suppressed Superconductivity of the Surface Conduction Layer in BiSrCaCuO Single Crystals Probed by {\it c}-Axis Tunneling Measurements
We fabricated small-size stacks on the surface of
BiSrCaCuO (BSCCO-2212) single crystals with the bulk
transition temperature 90 K, each containing a few intrinsic
Josephson junctions. Below a critical temperature ( ), we have
observed a weakened Josephson coupling between the CuO superconducting
double layer at the crystal surface and the adjacent one located deeper inside
a stack. The quasiparticle branch in the data of the weakened Josephson
junction (WJJ) fits well to the tunneling characteristics of a d-wave
superconductor()/insulator/d-wave superconductor (DID) junction. Also,
the tunneling resistance in the range agrees well with the
tunneling in a normal metal/insulator/d-wave superconductor (NID) junction. In
spite of the suppressed superconductivity at the surface layer the symmetry of
the order parameter appears to remain unaffected.Comment: 13 pages, 6 figure
In Vitro Chemosensitivity Using the Histoculture Drug Response Assay in Human Epithelial Ovarian Cancer
The choice of chemotherapeutic drugs to treat patients with epithelial ovarian cancer has not depended on individual patient characteristics. We have investigated the correlation between in vitro chemosensitivity, as determined by the histoculture drug response assay (HDRA), and clinical responses in epithelial ovarian cancer. Fresh tissue samples were obtained from 79 patients with epithelial
ovarian cancer. The sensitivity of these samples to 11 chemotherapeutic agents was tested using the HDRA method according to established methods, and we analyzed the results retrospectively. HDRA showed that they were more chemosensitive to carboplatin, topotecan and belotecan, with inhibition rates of 49.2%, 44.7%, and 39.7%, respectively, than to cisplatin, the traditional drug of choice in epithelial ovarian cancer. Among the 37 patients with FIGO stage Ⅲ/Ⅳ serous adenocarcinoma
who were receiving carboplatin combined with paclitaxel, those with carboplatin-sensitive samples on HDRA had a significantly longer median disease-free interval than patients with carboplatin-
resistant samples (23.2 vs. 13.8 months, p<0.05), but median overall survival did not differ significantly
(60.4 vs. 37.3 months, p=0.621). In conclusion, this study indicates that HDRA could provide useful information for designing individual treatment strategies in patients with epithelial ovarian cancer
A Case Report of Painless Moving Toes Syndrome
This is the first report of a case of painless moving toes syndrome with radiculopathy. The patient presented with bilateral painless moving toes and unilateral subclinical sacral (S1) radiculopathy. Bilateral movements with the unilateral lesion, and fluctuation with postural changes and distant muscle contraction suggest that the underlying pathomechanism was a central reorganization in the spinal level
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