2,708 research outputs found
Valley Splitting Theory of SiGe/Si/SiGe Quantum Wells
We present an effective mass theory for SiGe/Si/SiGe quantum wells, with an
emphasis on calculating the valley splitting. The theory introduces a valley
coupling parameter, , which encapsulates the physics of the quantum well
interface. The new effective mass parameter is computed by means of a tight
binding theory. The resulting formalism provides rather simple analytical
results for several geometries of interest, including a finite square well, a
quantum well in an electric field, and a modulation doped two-dimensional
electron gas. Of particular importance is the problem of a quantum well in a
magnetic field, grown on a miscut substrate. The latter may pose a numerical
challenge for atomistic techniques like tight-binding, because of its
two-dimensional nature. In the effective mass theory, however, the results are
straightforward and analytical. We compare our effective mass results with
those of the tight binding theory, obtaining excellent agreement.Comment: 13 pages, 7 figures. Version submitted to PR
Resonant X-Ray Scattering from the Quadrupolar Ordering Phase of CeB_6
We theoretically investigate the origin of the resonant x-ray scattering
(RXS) signal near the Ce absorption edge in the quadrupolar ordering
phase of CeB, considering the intersite interaction between the
states in the initial state. The anisotropic charge distribution of the
states modulates the states through the intra-atomic Coulomb interaction
and thereby generates a large RXS superlattice intensity. The temperature and
magnetic field dependence indicates that the induced dipolar and octupolar
orders have little influence on the RXS spectra, in good agreement with the
recent experiment.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Momentum dependence of the energy gap in the superconducting state of optimally doped Bi2(Sr,R)2CuOy (R=La and Eu)
The energy gap of optimally doped Bi2(Sr,R)2CuOy (R=La and Eu) was probed by
angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) using a vacuum ultraviolet
laser (photon energy 6.994 eV) or He I resonance line (21.218 eV) as photon
source. The results show that the gap around the node at sufficiently low
temperatures can be well described by a monotonic d-wave gap function for both
samples and the gap of the R=La sample is larger reflecting the higher Tc.
However, an abrupt deviation from the d-wave gap function and an opposite R
dependence for the gap size were observed around the antinode, which represent
a clear disentanglement between the antinodal pseudogap and the nodal
superconducting gap.Comment: Submitted as the proceedings of LT2
Adhesion and Endocytosis of Calcium Oxalate Crystals on Renal Tubular Cells
The present investigation was designed to study interactions between Madin-Darby canine kidney (MOCK) cells and calcium oxalate monohydrate (COM) crystals and to clarify the significance of these crystal-cell interactions in stone pathogenesis.
MOCK cells cultured in the presence of COM crystals showed a time-dependent uptake of crystals; this was specific for COM crystals. In the dynamic model system designed to study these phenomena under more physiological conditions, COM crystals adhered to the cell surface and were subsequently internalized. In this endocytotic process, the microvilli of the cell appeared to play an important role. The observation by scanning electron microscopy of complexes consisting of aggregated COM crystals and cell debris led us to speculate that adhesion and endocytosis of crystals might provide the calculus nidus for aggregation and retention of crystals in the renal tubule. Furthermore, glycosaminoglycans and the macromolecular fraction of human urine were shown to have the ability to inhibit the cellular uptake of crystals.
Evidence that similar processes may also occur in vivo was obtained using an experimental stone model in rats. Our experiments revealed that most of the COM crystals adhered to the tubular cells and some crystals were endocytosed by the cell. Thus, these crystal-cell interactions might be one of the earliest processes in the formation of kidney stones. Further elucidation of the mechanism and the regulatory factors involved in this process may provide new insight into stone pathogenesis
Effects of human hair and nail proteins and their films on rat mast cells
The original publication is available at www.springerlink.comArticleJOURNAL OF MATERIALS SCIENCE-MATERIALS IN MEDICINE. 19(6): 2335-2342 (2008)journal articl
Fluctuation Effects on the Quadrupolar Ordering in Magnetic Field
Effects of magnetic field on the quadrupolar ordering are investigated with
inclusion of fluctuation of order parameters. For the simplest model with the
nearest-neighbor quadrupolar interaction, the transition temperature and the
specific heat are derived by the use of the recently proposed effective medium
theory. It is shown that magnetic field H has two competing effects on the
quadrupolar ordering; one is to encourage the ordering by suppressing the
fluctuation among different components of order parameters, and the other is to
block the ordering as in antiferromagnets. The former is found to be of order
H^2 and the latter of order H^4. Hence the fluctuation is suppressed for weak
fields, and the transition temperature increases with magnetic field. The
fluctuation effect is so strong that the entropy released at the quadrupolar
ordering is only about half of the full value ln 4 even without the Kondo
effect.Comment: 10 pages including 3 Postscript figure
Depletion of protein kinase C (PKC) by 12- O -tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA) enhances platinum drug sensitivity in human ovarian carcinoma cells
Down-regulation of protein kinase C (PKC) by 12- O -tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA) enhances the sensitivity of human ovarian carcinoma 2008 cells to various types of platinum compounds such as cisplatin (DDP), carboplatin and (–)-(R)-2-aminomethylpyrrolidine (1,1-cyclobutanedicarboxylato)-platinum(II) monohydrate (DWA) by a factor of two- to threefold. TPA enhanced the sensitivity of the DDP-resistant 2008/C13*5.25 subline to each of these three drugs to the same extent as for the 2008 cells. The extent of PKC down-regulation and drug sensitization depended on the duration of TPA exposure; maximum effect was achieved with a 48 h pretreatment. Sensitization was TPA concentration-dependent and was maximal at 0.05 μM TPA. 2008 cells expressed only the PKCα and PKCζ isoforms. Western blot analysis revealed that whereas the expression of PKCα was reduced by TPA the level of PKCζ was not affected. These results suggest that PKCα is the isotype responsive to TPA in these cells and that platinum drug sensitivity can be modulated by this isoform alone. In parallel to its effect on PKCα, TPA decreased cellular glutathione content by 30 ± 3 (standard deviation (s.d.) % in 2008 cells and by 41 ± 3 (s.d.) % in 2008/C13*5.25 cells. TPA also increased accumulation of DDP and DWA by 70%, although this effect was limited to the 2008/C13*5.25 cells. TPA rendered 2008 and 2008/C13*5.25 cells resistant to cadmium chloride by a factor of 3.7 and 3.6-fold respectively, suggesting a significant increase in cellular metallothionein content. Although the mechanism of TPA induced sensitization is not yet fully understood, this study points to a central role for PKCα in modulating platinum drug sensitivity. © 2000 Cancer Research Campaig
Evaluation of the microseismic motion at the KAGRA site based on the ocean wave data
The microseismic motion, which is the ambient ground vibration caused by
ocean waves, affects ground-based gravitational detectors. In this study, we
characterized the properties of the microseismic motion at the KAGRA site and
the ocean waves at 13 coasts of Japan, such as the seasonal variation and the
correlation between them. As a result, it almost succeeded to explain the
microseismic motion at the KAGRA site by the principal components of the ocean
wave data. One possible application of this study is the microseismic forecast
and its example is also shown
Size Dependence In The Disordered Kondo Problem
We study here the role randomly-placed non-magnetic scatterers play on the
Kondo effect. We show that spin relaxation effects (with time )in the
vertex corrections to the Kondo self-energy lead to an exact cancellation of
the singular temperature dependence arising from the diffusion poles. For a
thin film of thickness and a mean-free path , disorder provides a
correction to the Kondo resistivity of the form
that explains both the disorder and sample-size depression of the Kondo effect
observed by Blachly and Giordano (PRB {\bf 51}, 12537 (1995)).Comment: 11 pages, LaTeX, 2 Postscript figure
Resonant X-Ray Scattering from CeB
We calculate the resonant x-ray scattering (RXS) spectra near the Ce absorption edge in CeB, on the basis of a microscopic model that the
states of Ce are atomic while the states form an energy band with a
reasonable density of states. In the initial state, we employ an effective
Hamiltonian of Shiina {\it et al}. in the antiferro-quadrupole (AFQ) ordering
phase, while we construct the wave function consistent with the neutron
scattering experiment in the magnetic ground state. In the intermediate state,
we take full account of the intra-atomic Coulomb interaction. Without assuming
any lattice distortion, we obtain sufficient RXS intensities on the AFQ
superlattice spot. We obtain the spectral shape, the temperature and magnetic
field dependences in good agreement with the experiment, thus demonstrating the
mechanism that the intensity is brought about by the modulation of states
through the anisotropic term of the - Coulomb interaction. In the
magnetic ground state, a small pre-edge peak is found by the process. On
the magnetic superlattice spot, we get a finite but considerably small
intensity. The magnetic form factor is briefly discussed.Comment: Latex, 10 pages, 12 figures. To be published in J. Phys. Soc. Jpn.,
Vol.71, No. 7 (2002
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