3,586 research outputs found
CNOT and Bell-state analysis in the weak-coupling cavity QED regime
We propose an interface between the spin of a photon and the spin of an
electron confined in a quantum dot embedded in a microcavity operating in the
weak coupling regime. This interface, based on spin selective photon reflection
from the cavity, can be used to construct a CNOT gate, a multi-photon entangler
and a photonic Bell-state analyzer. Finally, we analyze experimental
feasibility, concluding that the schemes can be implemented with current
technology.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure
Topotecan-vincristine-doxorubicin in stage 4 high risk neuroblastoma patients failing to achieve a complete metastatic response to rapid COJEC : a SIOPEN study
Purpose : Metastatic response to induction therapy for high-risk neuroblastoma is a prognostic factor. In the International Society of Paediatric Oncology Europe Neuroblastoma (SIOPEN) HR-NBL-1 protocol, only patients with metastatic complete response (CR) or partial response (PR) with <= three abnormal skeletal areas on iodine 123-metaiodobenzylguanidine ([I-123] mIBG) scintigraphy and no bone marrow disease proceed to high dose therapy (HDT). In this study, topotecan-vincristine-doxorubicin (TVD) was evaluated in patients failing to achieve these criteria, with the aim of improving the metastatic response rate.
Materials and Methods : Patients with metastatic high-risk neuroblastoma who had not achieved the SIOPEN criteria for HDT after induction received two courses of topotecan 1.5 mg/m(2)/day for 5 days, followed by a 48-hour infusion of vincristine, 2 mg/m(2), and doxorubicin, 45 mg/m(2).
Results : Sixty-three patients were eligible and evaluable. Following two courses of TVD, four (6.4%) patients had an overall CR, while 28 (44.4%) had a PR with a combined response rate of 50.8% (95% confidence interval [CI], 37.9 to 63.6). Of these, 23 patients achieved a metastatic CR or a PR with <= 3 mIBG skeletal areas and no bone marrow disease (36.5%; 95% CI, 24.7 to 49.6) and were eligible to receive HDT. Toxicity was mostly haematological, affecting 106 of the 126 courses (84.1%; 95% CI, 76.5 to 90.0), and dose reduction was necessary in six patients. Stomatitis was the second most common nonhematological toxicity, occurring in 20 patients (31.7%).
Conclusion : TVD was effective in improving the response rate of high-risk neuroblastoma patients after induction with COJEC enabling them to proceed to HDT. However, the long-term benefits of TVD needs to be determined in randomized clinical trials
Constant-angle surfaces in liquid crystals
We discuss some properties of surfaces in R3 whose unit normal has constant angle with an assigned direction field. The constant angle condition can be rewritten as an Hamilton-Jacobi equation correlating the surface and the direction field. We focus on examples motivated by the physics of interfaces in liquid crystals and of layered fluids, and discuss the properties of the constant-angle surfaces when the direction field is singular along a line (disclination) or at a point (hedgehog defect
Transformations of public spaces - sustainable and ethical approach to architectural and urban design using mixed cultural background
Transformations of public spaces are an integral part of city life. These processes although addressing site specific problems are universal for the urban centres across European countries struggling with desurbanisation, social exclusion, massive tourism, climate change and pollution
An improved constraint satisfaction adaptive neural network for job-shop scheduling
Copyright @ Springer Science + Business Media, LLC 2009This paper presents an improved constraint satisfaction adaptive neural network for job-shop scheduling problems. The neural network is constructed based on the constraint conditions of a job-shop scheduling problem. Its structure and neuron connections can change adaptively according to the real-time constraint satisfaction situations that arise during the solving process. Several heuristics are also integrated within the neural network to enhance its convergence, accelerate its convergence, and improve the quality of the solutions produced. An experimental study based on a set of benchmark job-shop scheduling problems shows that the improved constraint satisfaction adaptive neural network outperforms the original constraint satisfaction adaptive neural network in terms of computational time and the quality of schedules it produces. The neural network approach is also experimentally validated to outperform three classical heuristic algorithms that are widely used as the basis of many state-of-the-art scheduling systems. Hence, it may also be used to construct advanced job-shop scheduling systems.This work was supported in part by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) of UK under Grant EP/E060722/01 and in part by the National Nature Science Fundation of China under Grant 60821063 and National Basic Research Program of China under Grant 2009CB320601
A Quantitative Theory of Mechanical Unfolding of a Homopolymer Globule
We propose the quantitative mean-field theory of mechanical unfolding of a
globule formed by long flexible homopolymer chain collapsed in poor solvent and
subjected to extensional deformation. We demonstrate that depending on the
degree of polymerization and solvent quality (quantified by the Flory-Huggins
parameter) the mechanical unfolding of the collapsed chain may either
occur continuously (by passing a sequence of uniformly elongated
configurations) or involves intra-molecular micro-phase coexistence of a
collapsed and a stretched segment followed by an abrupt unraveling transition.
The force-extension curves are obtained and quantitatively compared to our
recent results of numerical self-consistent field (SCF) simulations. The phase
diagrams for extended homopolymer chains in poor solvent comprising one- and
two-phase regions are calculated for different chain length or/and solvent
quality.Comment: 24 pages, 18 figure
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Anisotropy of the Topopah Spring Member Tuff
Mechanical properties of the tuffaceous rocks within Yucca Mountain are needed for near and far-field modeling of the potential nuclear waste repository. If the mechanical properties are significantly anisotropic (i.e., direction-dependent), a more complex model is required. Relevant data from tuffs tested in earlier studies indicate that elastic and strength properties are anisotropic. This scoping study confirms the elastic anisotropy and concludes some tuffs are transversely isotropic. An approach for sampling and testing the rock to determine the magnitude of the anisotropy is proposed
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