3,737 research outputs found
Use of accelerometry to investigate physical activity in dogs receiving chemotherapy
Objectives:
To perform a preliminary study to assess whether single-agent palliative or adjuvant chemotherapy has an impact on objectively measured physical activity in dogs.
Methods:
Fifteen dogs with neoplasia (treatment group) wore ActiGraphâ„¢ accelerometers for 5-day periods before, during and after receiving single-agent adjuvant or palliative chemotherapy. Mean 5-day total physical activity and time spent in three different intensities of activity (sedentary, light-moderate and vigorous) before, during and after receiving chemotherapy were compared to a group of 15 healthy dogs (control group). Results were also compared within the treatment group across time.
Results:
Prior to chemotherapy, treated dogs tended to be less active than control dogs. Treatment group dogs were slightly more active at restaging than they were prior to treatment but had similar activity levels to control dogs. Marked effects of chemotherapy on physical activity were not detected. Physical activity was slightly lower in treated dogs during chemotherapy when compared to control dogs but there was a slight increase in physical activity of treated dogs during chemotherapy when compared with pretreatment recordings. There was little change in the mean 5-day total physical activity between treated dogs during chemotherapy and at restaging but a mild decrease in time spent sedentary and increase in time spent in light-moderate activity at this comparison of time points.
Clinical Significance:
Single-agent adjuvant or palliative chemotherapy had minimal impact on physical activity levels in dogs with neoplasia
Optical Properties of Crystals with Spatial Dispersion: Josephson Plasma Resonance in Layered Superconductors
We derive the transmission coefficient, , for grazing incidence of
crystals with spatial dispersion accounting for the excitation of multiple
modes with different wave vectors for a given frequency . The
generalization of the Fresnel formulas contains the refraction indices of these
modes as determined by the dielectric function . Near
frequencies , where the group velocity vanishes, depends
also on an additional parameter determined by the crystal microstructure. The
transmission is significantly suppressed, if one of the excited modes is
decaying into the crystal. We derive these features microscopically for the
Josephson plasma resonance in layered superconductors.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, epl.cls style file, minor change
Nonequilibrium effects due to charge fluctuations in intrinsic Josephson systems
Nonequilibrium effects in layered superconductors forming a stack of
intrinsic Josephson junctions are investigated. We discuss two basic
nonequilibrium effects caused by charge fluctuations on the superconducting
layers: a) the shift of the chemical potential of the condensate and b) charge
imbalance of quasi-particles, and study their influence on IV-curves and the
position of Shapiro steps.Comment: 17 pages, 2 figures, revised version slightly shortene
Expression of housekeeping markers in pluripotent or differentiating mouse embryonic stem cells (ESC) in response to ionising radiation (IR)
Interface steps in field effect devices
The charge doped into a semiconductor in a field effect transistor (FET) is
generally confined to the interface of the semiconductor. A planar step at the
interface causes a potential drop due to the strong electric field of the FET,
which in turn is screened by the doped carriers. We analyze the dipolar
electronic structure of a single step in the Thomas-Fermi approximation and
find that the transmission coefficient through the step is exponentially
suppressed by the electric field and the induced carrier density as well as by
the step height. In addition, the field enhancement at the step edge can
facilitate the electric breakthrough of the insulating layer. We suggest that
these two effects may lead to severe problems when engineering FET devices with
very high doping. On the other hand steps can give rise to interesting physics
in superconducting FETs by forming weak links and potentially creating atomic
size Josephson junctions.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, submitted to J. Appl. Phy
Charge-imbalance effects in intrinsic Josephson systems
We report on two types of experiments with intrinsic Josephson systems made
from layered superconductors which show clear evidence of nonequilibrium
effects: 1. In 2-point measurements of IV-curves in the presence of high-
frequency radiation a shift of the voltage of Shapiro steps from the canonical
value hf/(2e) has been observed. 2. In the IV-curves of double-mesa structures
an influence of the current through one mesa on the voltage measured on the
other mesa is detected. Both effects can be explained by charge-imbalance on
the superconducting layers produced by the quasi-particle current, and can be
described successfully by a recently developed theory of nonequilibrium effects
in intrinsic Josephson systems.Comment: 8pages, 9figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.
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