3,399 research outputs found
Block Copolymer at Nano-Patterned Surfaces
We present numerical calculations of lamellar phases of block copolymers at
patterned surfaces. We model symmetric di-block copolymer films forming
lamellar phases and the effect of geometrical and chemical surface patterning
on the alignment and orientation of lamellar phases. The calculations are done
within self-consistent field theory (SCFT), where the semi-implicit relaxation
scheme is used to solve the diffusion equation. Two specific set-ups, motivated
by recent experiments, are investigated. In the first, the film is placed on
top of a surface imprinted with long chemical stripes. The stripes interact
more favorably with one of the two blocks and induce a perpendicular
orientation in a large range of system parameters. However, the system is found
to be sensitive to its initial conditions, and sometimes gets trapped into a
metastable mixed state composed of domains in parallel and perpendicular
orientations. In a second set-up, we study the film structure and orientation
when it is pressed against a hard grooved mold. The mold surface prefers one of
the two components and this set-up is found to be superior for inducing a
perfect perpendicular lamellar orientation for a wide range of system
parameters
Probabilistic teleportation of unknown two-particle state via POVM
We propose a scheme for probabilistic teleportation of unknown two-particle
state with partly entangled four-particle state via POVM. In this scheme the
teleportation of unknown two-particle state can be realized with certain
probability by performing two Bell state measurements, a proper POVM and a
unitary transformation.Comment: 5 pages, no figur
Trust as a mediator in the relationship between childhood sexual abuse and IL-6 level in adulthood
Childhood sexual abuse (CSA) has been shown to predict the coupling of depression and inflammation in adulthood. Trust within intimate relationships, a core element in marital relations, has been shown to predict positive physical and mental health outcomes, but the mediating role of trust in partners in the association between CSA and inflammation in adulthood requires further study. The present study aimed to examine the impact of CSA on inflammatory biomarkers (IL-6 and IL-1β) in adults with depression and the mediating role of trust. A cross-sectional survey data set of adults presenting with mood and sleep disturbance was used in the analysis. CSA demonstrated a significant negative correlation with IL-6 level (r = -0.28, p<0. 01) in adults with clinically significant depression, while trust showed a significant positive correlation with IL-6 level (r = 0.36, p < .01). Sobel test and bootstrapping revealed a significant mediating role for trust between CSA and IL-6 level. CSA and trust in partners were revealed to have significant associations with IL-6 level in adulthood. Counterintuitively, the directions of association were not those expected. Trust played a mediating role between CSA and adulthood levels of IL-6. Plausible explanations for these counterintuitive findings are discussed
Quantum secure direct communication network with superdense coding and decoy photons
A quantum secure direct communication network scheme is proposed with quantum
superdense coding and decoy photons. The servers on a passive optical network
prepare and measure the quantum signal, i.e., a sequence of the -dimensional
Bell states. After confirming the security of the photons received from the
receiver, the sender codes his secret message on them directly. For preventing
a dishonest server from eavesdropping, some decoy photons prepared by measuring
one photon in the Bell states are used to replace some original photons. One of
the users on the network can communicate any other one. This scheme has the
advantage of high capacity, and it is more convenient than others as only a
sequence of photons is transmitted in quantum line.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figur
Derivation of continuum stochastic equations for discrete growth models
We present a formalism to derive the stochastic differential equations (SDEs)
for several solid-on-solid growth models. Our formalism begins with a mapping
of the microscopic dynamics of growth models onto the particle systems with
reactions and diffusion. We then write the master equations for these
corresponding particle systems and find the SDEs for the particle densities.
Finally, by connecting the particle densities with the growth heights, we
derive the SDEs for the height variables. Applying this formalism to discrete
growth models, we find the Edwards-Wilkinson equation for the symmetric
body-centered solid-on-solid (BCSOS) model, the Kardar-Parisi-Zhang equation
for the asymmetric BCSOS model and the generalized restricted solid-on-solid
(RSOS) model, and the Villain--Lai--Das Sarma equation for the conserved RSOS
model. In addition to the consistent forms of equations for growth models, we
also obtain the coefficients associated with the SDEs.Comment: 5 pages, no figur
Treatment with Methylphenidate for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and the Risk of All-Cause Poisoning in Children and Adolescents:A Self-Controlled Case Series Study
BACKGROUND: Children and adolescents with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are at higher risk of all-cause poisoning by drugs and chemicals (intentional or accidental). Currently, there is limited data on whether medication treatment for ADHD can reduce the risk of all-cause poisoning. METHODS: Patients aged 5–18 years with a methylphenidate (MPH) prescription and an incident poisoning diagnosis between January 2001 and June 2020 were identified from the Hong Kong Clinical Data Analysis and Reporting System. A self-controlled case series study design was used to compare the incidence rate ratios (IRRs) of all-cause poisoning during different risk windows (30 days before the first MPH prescription, exposure periods within 30 days of the first prescription, and periods of subsequent exposure) compared with the reference window (other non-exposure periods). RESULTS: 42,203 patients were prescribed ADHD medication in Hong Kong during the study period. Of these, 417 patients who had both an MPH prescription and poisoning incident recorded were included in the main analysis. Compared with other non-exposed periods, a higher risk of poisoning was found in the 30 days before the first prescription (IRR 2.64, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.33–5.22) and exposure periods within 30 days of the first prescription (IRR 2.18, 95% CI 1.06–4.48), but not during prolonged exposure. However, compared with 30 days before the first prescription as well as exposure periods within 30 days of the first prescription, there was a lower risk during the subsequent exposure (IRRs 0.49 and 0.60, respectively). Similar results to the main analysis were also found in the subgroup analysis of intentional poisoning and females, but not in that of accidental poisoning and males. CONCLUSIONS: The risk of all-cause poisoning was higher shortly before and after the first MPH prescription and became lower during the subsequent prescription period. Our results do not support an association between the use of MPH and an increased risk of all-cause poisoning in children and adolescents and, in fact, suggest that longer-term use of MPH may be associated with a lower risk of all-cause poisoning, although this latter finding requires further study. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40263-021-00824-x
Paclitaxel induces immunogenic cell death in ovarian cancer via TLR4/IKK2/SNARE-dependent exocytosis
Emerging evidence shows that the efficacy of chemotherapeutic drugs are reliant on their capability to induce immunogenic cell death (ICD), thus transforming dying tumor cells into antitumor vaccines. We wanted to uncover potential therapeutic strategies that target ovarian cancer by having a better understanding of the standard-of-care chemotherapy treatment. Here, we showed in ovarian cancer that paclitaxel induced ICD-associated DAMPs (i.e. damage-associated molecular patterns, such as CALR exposure, ATP secretion and HMGB1 release) in vitro and elicited significant antitumor responses in tumor vaccination assays in vivo. Paclitaxel-induced TLR4 signaling was essential to the release of DAMPs, which lead to the activation of NF-κB-mediated CCL2 transcription and IKK2-mediated SNARE-dependent vesicle exocytosis, thus exposing CALR on the cell surface. Paclitaxel induced ER stress, which triggered PERK activation and eIF2α phosphorylation independent of TLR4. Paclitaxel chemotherapy induced T cell infiltration in ovarian tumors of the responsive patients; CALR expression in primary ovarian tumors also correlated with patients' survival and patient response to chemotherapy. These findings suggest that the effectiveness of paclitaxel relied upon the activation of antitumor immunity through ICD via TLR4 and highlighted the importance of CALR expression in cancer cells as an indicator of response to paclitaxel chemotherapy in ovarian cancer
Efficient electronic entanglement concentration assisted with single mobile electron
We present an efficient entanglement concentration protocol (ECP) for mobile
electrons with charge detection. This protocol is quite different from other
ECPs for one can obtain a maximally entangled pair from a pair of
less-entangled state and a single mobile electron with a certain probability.
With the help of charge detection, it can be repeated to reach a higher success
probability. It also does not need to know the coefficient of the original
less-entangled states. All these advantages may make this protocol useful in
current distributed quantum information processing.Comment: 6pages, 3figure
Organization of Block Copolymers using NanoImprint Lithography: Comparison of Theory and Experiments
We present NanoImprint lithography experiments and modeling of thin films of
block copolymers (BCP). The NanoImprint lithography is used to align
perpendicularly lamellar phases, over distances much larger than the natural
lamellar periodicity. The modeling relies on self-consistent field calculations
done in two- and three-dimensions. We get a good agreement with the NanoImprint
lithography setups. We find that, at thermodynamical equilibrium, the ordered
BCP lamellae are much better aligned than when the films are deposited on
uniform planar surfaces
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