2,026 research outputs found
Processing experiments on non-Czochralski silicon sheet
A program is described which supports and promotes the development of processing techniques which may be successfully and cost-effectively applied to low-cost sheets for solar cell fabrication. Results are reported in the areas of process technology, cell design, cell metallization, and production cost simulation
The mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) kinase mediates haloperidol-induced cataleptic behavior.
The mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) is a ubiquitously expressed serine/threonine kinase protein complex (mTORC1 or mTORC2) that orchestrates diverse functions ranging from embryonic development to aging. However, its brain tissue-specific roles remain less explored. Here, we have identified that the depletion of the mTOR gene in the mice striatum completely prevented the extrapyramidal motor side effects (catalepsy) induced by the dopamine 2 receptor (D2R) antagonist haloperidol, which is the most widely used typical antipsychotic drug. Conversely, a lack of striatal mTOR in mice did not affect catalepsy triggered by the dopamine 1 receptor (D1R) antagonist SCH23390. Along with the lack of cataleptic effects, the administration of haloperidol in mTOR mutants failed to increase striatal phosphorylation levels of ribosomal protein pS6 (S235/236) as seen in control animals. To confirm the observations of the genetic approach, we used a pharmacological method and determined that the mTORC1 inhibitor rapamycin has a profound influence upon post-synaptic D2R-dependent functions. We consistently found that pretreatment with rapamycin entirely prevented (in a time-dependent manner) the haloperidol-induced catalepsy, and pS6K (T389) and pS6 (S235/236) signaling upregulation, in wild-type mice. Collectively, our data indicate that striatal mTORC1 blockade may offer therapeutic benefits with regard to the prevention of D2R-dependent extrapyramidal motor side effects of haloperidol in psychiatric illness
Localization of Charged Quantum Particles in a Static Random Magnetic Field
We consider a charged quantum particle in a random magnetic field with
Gaussian, delta-correlated statistics. We show that although the single
particle properties are peculiar, two particle quantities such as the diffusion
constant can be calculated in perturbation theory. We map the problem onto a
non-linear sigma-model for Q-matrices of unitary symmetry with renormalized
diffusion coefficient for which all states are known to be localized in
dimensions. Our results compare well with recent numerical data.Comment: REVTEX, 12 pages, 1 figure attached as a postscript file. To appear
in Phys.Rev.
Localization length in a random magnetic field
Kubo formula is used to get the d.c conductance of a statistical ensemble of
two dimensional clusters of the square lattice in the presence of random
magnetic fluxes. Fluxes traversing lattice plaquettes are distributed uniformly
between minus one half and plus one half of the flux quantum. The localization
length is obtained from the exponential decay of the averaged conductance as a
function of the cluster side. Standard results are recovered when this
numerical approach is applied to Anderson model of diagonal disorder. The
localization length of the complex non-diagonal model of disorder remains well
below 10 000 (in units of the lattice constant) in the main part of the band in
spite of its exponential increase near the band edges.Comment: 12 two-column pages including 10 figures (epsfig), revtex, to appear
in PR
Rehabilitating antisocial personalities: treatment through self-governance strategies
Offenders with antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) are widely assumed to reject psychotherapeutic intervention. Some commentators, therefore, argue that those with the disorder are better managed in the criminal justice system, where, following the introduction of indeterminate sentences, engagement with psychological treatment is coercively linked to the achievement of parole. By comparison, National Institute of Clinical Excellence guidelines on the management and treatment of ASPD recommend that those who are treatment seeking should be considered for admission to specialist psychiatric hospitals. The rationale is that prison-based interventions are underresourced, and the treatment of ASPD is underprioritised. The justification is that offenders with ASPD can be rehabilitated, if they are motivated. One problem, however, is that little is known about why offenders with ASPD seek treatment or what effect subsequent treatment has on their self-understanding. The aim of this paper is to address these unresolved issues. It draws on the findings of Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) funded qualitative study examining the experiences of sentenced male offenders admitted to a specialist personality disorder ward within the medium secure estate and the medical practitioners who treat them. The data are analysed with reference to Michel Foucaultâs work on governmentality and strategy in power relations. Two arguments are advanced: first, offenders with ASPD are motivated by legal coercive pressures to implement a variety of Foucauldian-type strategies to give the false impression of treatment progress. Second, and related, treatment does not result in changes in self-understanding in the resistive client with ASPD. This presupposes that, in respect of this group at least, Foucault was mistaken in his claim that resistive behaviours merely mask the effectiveness of treatment norms over time. Nevertheless, the paper concludes that specialist treatment in the hospital setting can effect changes in the resistive offenderâs self-understanding, but not if the completion of treatment results, as is commonplace, in his prison readmission
SMASH 1 : A VERY FAINT GLOBULAR CLUSTER DISRUPTING in the OUTER REACHES of the LMC?
We present the discovery of a very faint stellar system, SMASH 1, that is potentially a satellite of the Large Magellanic Cloud. Found within the Survey of the Magellanic Stellar History (SMASH), SMASH 1 is a compact (rh=9.1-3.4+5.9pc) and very low luminosity (Mv=-1.0±0.9,Lv=102.3±0.4Lâ ) stellar system that is revealed by its sparsely populated main sequence and a handful of red giant branch candidate member stars. The photometric properties of these stars are compatible with a metal-poor ([Fe/H]=-2.2) and old (13 Gyr) isochrone located at a distance modulus of âŒ18.8, i.e., a distance of . Situated at 11.°3 from the LMC in projection, its three-dimensional distance from the Cloud is 13 kpc, consistent with a connection to the LMC, whose tidal radius is at least . Although the nature of SMASH 1 remains uncertain, its compactness favors it being a stellar cluster and hence dark-matter free. If this is the case, its dynamical tidal radius is only âČ19 pc at this distance from the LMC, and smaller than the system's extent on the sky. Its low luminosity and apparent high ellipticity (Ï”=0.62-0.21+0.17) with its major axis pointing toward the LMC may well be the tell-tale sign of its imminent tidal demise.Peer reviewe
Fine structure splitting cancellation in highly asymmetric InAs/InP droplet epitaxy quantum dots
We find the single exciton's fine structure splitting (FSS), which splits its
degenerate ground state manifold into singlets, nearly vanishes in highly
asymmetric quantum dots due to the cancellation of splitting effects with
markedly different origin. The dots simulated are those that emerge on top of
etch pits through the droplet epitaxy growth process; these etch pit dots break
square () spatial symmetry, which has been previously associated with
small FSS. Configuration interaction calculations predict a vanishing FSS at a
specific finite etch pit displacement from the center of the dot, for a
structure far from square symmetry. We thus predict that highly asymmetric
quantum dots may still display negligible fine structure splitting, providing
new avenues for high-fidelity generation of indistinguishable, polarization
entangled photon pairs on demand
Wavefunction and level statistics of random two dimensional gauge fields
Level and wavefunction statistics have been studied for two dimensional
clusters of the square lattice in the presence of random magnetic fluxes.
Fluxes traversing lattice plaquettes are distributed uniformly between - (1/2)
Phi_0 and (1/2) Phi_0 with Phi_0 the flux quantum. All considered statistics
start close to the corresponding Wigner-Dyson distribution for small system
sizes and monotonically move towards Poisson statistics as the cluster size
increases. Scaling is quite rapid for states close to the band edges but really
difficult to observe for states well within the band. Localization properties
are discussed considering two different scenarios. Experimental measurement of
one of the considered statistics --wavefunction statistics seems the most
promising one-- could discern between both possibilities. A real version of the
previous model, i.e., a system that is invariant under time reversal, has been
studied concurrently to get coincidences and differences with the Hermitian
model.Comment: 12 twocolumnn pages in revtex style, 17 postscript figures, to be
published in PRB, send comments to [email protected]
Tight-binding study of the influence of the strain on the electronic properties of InAs/GaAs quantum dots
We present an atomistic investigation of the influence of strain on the
electronic properties of quantum dots (QD's) within the empirical tight-binding (ETB) model with interactions up to 2nd nearest neighbors
and spin-orbit coupling. Results for the model system of capped pyramid-shaped
InAs QD's in GaAs, with supercells containing atoms are presented and
compared with previous empirical pseudopotential results. The good agreement
shows that ETB is a reliable alternative for an atomistic treatment. The strain
is incorporated through the atomistic valence force field model. The ETB
treatment allows for the effects of bond length and bond angle deviations from
the ideal InAs and GaAs zincblende structure to be selectively removed from the
electronic-structure calculation, giving quantitative information on the
importance of strain effects on the bound state energies and on the physical
origin of the spatial elongation of the wave functions. Effects of dot-dot
coupling have also been examined to determine the relative weight of both
strain field and wave function overlap.Comment: 22 pages, 7 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. B (in press) In the
latest version, added Figs. 3 and 4, modified Fig. 5, Tables I and II,.and
added new reference
The characteristics of sexual abuse in sport: A multidimensional scaling analysis of events described in media reports
Most research on sexual abuse has been conducted within family settings (Fergusson & Mullen, 1999). In recent years, following several high profile convictions and scandals, research into sexual abuse has also encompassed institutional and community settings such as sport and the church (Gallagher, 2000; Wolfe et al., 2003). Research into sexual abuse in sport, for example, began with both prevalence studies (Kirby & Greaves, 1996; Leahy, Pretty & Tenenbaum, 2002) and qualitative analyses of the processes and experiences of athlete sexual abuse (Brackenridge, 1997; Cense & Brackenridge, 2001, Toftegaard Nielsen, 2001). From such work, descriptions of the modus operandi of abusers in sport, and the experiences and consequences for athlete victims, have been provided, informing both abuse prevention work and coach education. To date, however, no study has provided empirical support for multiple associations or identified patterns of sex offending in sport in ways that might allow comparisons with research-generated models of offending outside sport. This paper reports on an analysis of 159 cases of criminally defined sexual abuse, reported in the print media over a period of 15 years. The main aim of the study was to identify the nature of sex offending in sport focusing on the methods and locations of offences. The data were analysed using multidimensional scaling (MDS), as a data reduction method, in order to identify the underlying themes within the abuse and explore the inter-relationships of behaviour, victim and context variables. The findings indicate that there are specific themes that can be identified within the perpetrator strategies that include âintimateâ, âaggressiveâ, and ââdominantâ modes of interaction. The same patterns that are described here within the specific context of sport are consistent with themes that emerge from similar behavioural analyses of rapists (Canter & Heritage, 1990; Bishopp, 2003) and child molester groups (Canter, Hughes & Kirby, 1998). These patterns show a correspondence to a broader behavioural model â the interpersonal circumplex (e.g., Leary 1957). Implications for accreditation and continuing professional education of sport psychologists are noted
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