538 research outputs found
Resistance spikes and domain wall loops in Ising quantum Hall ferromagnets
We explain the recent observation of resistance spikes and hysteretic
transport properties in Ising quantum Hall ferromagnets in terms of the unique
physics of their domain walls. Self-consistent RPA/Hartree-Fock theory is
applied to microscopically determine properties of the ground state and
domain-wall excitations. In these systems domain wall loops support
one-dimensional electron systems with an effective mass comparable to the bare
electron mass and may carry charge. Our theory is able to account
quantitatively for the experimental Ising critical temperature and to explain
characteristics of the resistive hysteresis loops.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
Magnetoresistivity in a Tilted Magnetic Field in p-Si/SiGe/Si Heterostructures with an Anisotropic g-Factor: Part II
The magnetoresistance components and were measured in
two p-Si/SiGe/Si quantum wells that have an anisotropic g-factor in a tilted
magnetic field as a function of temperature, field and tilt angle. Activation
energy measurements demonstrate the existence of a ferromagnetic-paramagnetic
(F-P) transition for a sample with a hole density of
=2\,cm. This transition is due to crossing of the
0 and 1 Landau levels. However, in another sample, with
=7.2\,cm, the 0 and 1 Landau
levels coincide for angles =0-70. Only for >
70 do the levels start to diverge which, in turn, results in the
energy gap opening.Comment: 5 pages, 6 figure
Quantum Hall ferromagnets, cooperative transport anisotropy, and the random field Ising model
We discuss the behaviour of a quantum Hall system when two Landau levels with
opposite spin and combined filling factor near unity are brought into energetic
coincidence using an in-plane component of magnetic field. We focus on the
interpretation of recent experiments under these conditions [Zeitler et al,
Phys. Rev. Lett. 86, 866 (2001); Pan et al, Phys. Rev. B 64, 121305 (2001)], in
which a large resistance anisotropy develops at low temperatures. Modelling the
systems involved as Ising quantum Hall ferromagnets, we suggest that this
transport anisotropy reflects domain formation induced by a random field
arising from isotropic sample surface roughness.Comment: 4 pages, submitted to Physical Review
Unusual conductance collapse in one-dimensional quantum structures
We report an unusual insulating state in one-dimensional quantum wires with a
non-uniform confinement potential. The wires consist of a series of closely
spaced split gates in high mobility GaAs/AlGaAs heterostructures. At certain
combinations of wire widths, the conductance abruptly drops over three orders
of magnitude, to zero on a linear scale. Two types of collapse are observed,
one occurring in multi-subband wires in zero magnetic field and one in single
subband wires in an in-plane field. The conductance of the wire in the collapse
region is thermally activated with an energy of the order of 1 K. At low
temperatures, the conductance shows a steep rise beyond a threshold DC
source-drain voltage of order 1 mV, indicative of a gap in the density of
states. Magnetic depopulation measurements show a decrease in the carrier
density with lowering temperature. We discuss these results in the context of
many-body effects such as charge density waves and Wigner crystallization in
quantum wires.Comment: 5 pages, 5 eps figures, revte
Biomarkers for exposure to ambient air pollution--comparison of carcinogen-DNA adduct levels with other exposure markers and markers for oxidative stress.
Human exposure to genotoxic compounds present in ambient air has been studied using selected biomarkers in nonsmoking Danish bus drivers and postal workers. A large interindividual variation in biomarker levels was observed. Significantly higher levels of bulky carcinogen-DNA adducts (75.42 adducts/10(8) nucleotides) and of 2-amino-apidic semialdehyde (AAS) in plasma proteins (56.7 pmol/mg protein) were observed in bus drivers working in the central part of Copenhagen, Denmark. In contrast, significantly higher levels of AAS in hemoglobin (55.8 pmol/mg protein), malondialdehyde in plasma (0. 96 nmol/ml plasma), and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH)-albumin adduct (3.38 fmol/ microg albumin) were observed in the suburban group. The biomarker levels in postal workers were similar to the levels in suburban bus drivers. In the combined group of bus drivers and postal workers, negative correlations were observed between bulky carcinogen-DNA adduct and PAH-albumin levels (p = 0.005), and between DNA adduct and [gamma]-glutamyl semialdehyde (GGS) in hemoglobin (p = 0.11). Highly significant correlations were found between PAH-albumin adducts and AAS in plasma (p = 0.001) and GGS in hemoglobin (p = 0.001). Significant correlations were also observed between urinary 8-oxo-7, 8-dihydro-2'-deoxyguanosine and AAS in plasma (p = 0.001) and PAH-albumin adducts (p = 0.002). The influence of the glutatione S-transferase (GST) M1 deletion on the correlation between the biomarkers was studied in the combined group. A significant negative correlation was only observed between bulky carcinogen-DNA adducts and PAH-albumin adducts (p = 0.02) and between DNA adduct and urinary mutagenic activity (p = 0.02) in the GSTM1 null group, but not in the workers who were homozygotes or heterozygotes for GSTM1. Our results indicate that some of the selected biomarkers can be used to distinguish between high and low exposure to environmental genotoxins
Anti-Inflammatory Cytokines Predominate in Acute Human Plasmodium knowlesi Infections
Plasmodium knowlesi has entered the human population of Southeast Asia. Naturally acquired knowlesi malaria is newly described with relatively little available data, including data on the host response to infection. Therefore pre-treatment cytokine and chemokine profiles were determined for 94 P. knowlesi, and for comparison, 20, P. vivax and 22 P. falciparum, patients recruited in Malaysian Borneo. Nine, five and one patient with P. knowlesi, P. falciparum and P. vivax respectively had complicated malaria as defined by World Health Organisation. Patients with uncomplicated P. knowlesi had lower levels of the pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-8 and TNFα than those with complicated disease (both p<0.05, Dunn's post test, DPT). The anti-inflammatory cytokines IL-1ra and IL-10 were detected in all patients in the study. IL-1ra, the most abundant cytokine measured, correlated with parasitaemia in P. knowlesi (rs = 0.47, p = <0.0001), P. vivax (rs = 0.61, p = 0.0042) and P. falciparum (rs = 0.57,p = 0.0054) malaria. IL-10 correlated with parasitaemia in both P. knowlesi (rs = 0.54, p = <0.0001) and P. vivax (rs = 0.78, p = <0.0001) infections. There were between group differences in soluble markers of macrophage activation (MIP-1β and MCP-1). P. knowlesi patients had significantly lower levels of MIP-1β than P. falciparum (DPT, p = <0.01). Uncomplicated P. knowlesi patients had significantly lower levels of MCP-1 than uncomplicated P. falciparum patients (DPT, p = <0.001). There was no significant difference between complicated and uncomplicated P. knowlesi infections. MCP-1, MIP-1β, IL-8 and TNFα increased in complicated P. knowlesi but decreased in complicated P. falciparum infections. Descriptions of human knowlesi malaria provide a comparative means to discover mediators of pathophysiology in severe P. knowlesi as well as P. falciparum malaria. Crucially, P. knowlesi may be the disease and experimental primate model for severe malaria
Magnetic Anisotropy in Quantum Hall Ferromagnets
We show that the sign of magnetic anisotropy energy in quantum Hall
ferromagnets is determined by a competition between electrostatic and exchange
energies. Easy-axis ferromagnets tend to occur when Landau levels whose states
have similar spatial profiles cross. We report measurements of integer QHE
evolution with magnetic-field tilt. Reentrant behavior observed for the QHE at high tilt angles is attributed to easy-axis anisotropy. This
interpretation is supported by a detailed calculation of the magnetic
anisotropy energy.Comment: 12 pages, 3 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. Let
Antimicrobial Doses in Continuous Renal Replacement Therapy: A Comparison of Dosing Strategies
properly cited. Purpose. Drug dose recommendations are not well defined in patients undergoing continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) due to limited published data. Several guidelines and pharmacokinetic equations have been proposed as tools for CRRT drug dosing. Dose recommendations derived from these methods have yet to be compared or prospectively evaluated. Methods. A literature search of PubMed, Micromedex, and Embase was conducted for 40 drugs commonly used in the ICU to gather pharmacokinetic data acquired from patients with acute and chronic kidney disease as well as healthy volunteers. These data and that obtained from drug package inserts were gathered for use in three published CRRT drug dosing equations. Doses calculated for a model patient using each method were compared to doses suggested in a commonly used dosing text. Results. Full pharmacokinetic data was available for 18, 31, and 40 agents using acute kidney injury, end stage renal disease, and normal patient data, respectively. On average, calculated doses differed by 30% or more from the doses recommended by the renal dosing text for >50% of the medications. Conclusion. Wide variability in dose recommendations for patients undergoing CRRT exists when these equations are used. Alternate, validated dosing methods need to be developed for this at-risk patient population
Highly Anisotropic Transport in the Integer Quantum Hall Effect
At very large tilt of the magnetic (B) field with respect to the plane of a
two-dimensional electron system the transport in the integer quantum Hall
regime at = 4, 6, and 8 becomes strongly anisotropic. At these filling
factors the usual {\em deep minima} in the magneto-resistance occur for the
current flowing {\em perpendicular} to the in-plane B field direction but
develop into {\em strong maxima} for the current flowing {\em parallel} to the
in-plane B field. The origin of this anisotropy is unknown but resembles the
recently observed anisotropy at half-filled Landau levels.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
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