636 research outputs found
MR perfusion imaging: correlation with PET and quantitative angiography
4. Conclusions: The presented MR approach reliably identifies patients with anatomically and hemodynamically signiticant coronary artery stenoses. This is due to the fact, that the pulse sequence used produces a substantial change in signal intensity in the perfused versus poorly perfused myocardial regions. Analysis of upslope in this setting rather than of other parameters provides a very sensitive and specific measure of myocardial ischemia. As upslope is a semiquantitative measure of absolute perfusion, even patients with triple vessel disease may be evaluated using this method. This is not the case when using conventional nuclear techniques. Furthermore, the spatial resolution of the MR images permits one to resolve the subendocardial layers of the myocardium, which thus can be evaluated separately from the entire wall. Again, this is not possible using nuclear cardiology perfusion imaging. The robustness of this MR perfusion imaging approach and the fact, that most of the heart can be covered may qualify for its clinical application in the management of coronary artery diseas
Controlled enhancement or suppression of exchange biasing using impurity -layers
The effects of inserting impurity -layers of various elements into a
Co/IrMn exchange biased bilayer, at both the interface, and at given points
within the IrMn layer a distance from the interface, has been investigated.
Depending on the chemical species of dopant, and its position, we found that
the exchange biasing can be either strongly enhanced or suppressed. We show
that biasing is enhanced with a dusting of certain magnetic impurities, present
at either at the interface or sufficiently far away from the Co/IrMn interface.
This illustrates that the final spin structure at the Co/IrMn interface is not
only governed by interface structure/roughness but is also mediated by local
exchange or anisotropy variations within the bulk of the IrMn
Factors influencing the life table statistics of the cassava mealybug Phenacoccus manihoti
Detailed age-specific life table studies were carried out under controlled conditions to measure the effect of temperature, leaf quality ( = age), variety and plant drought stress on net production rate (R0), intrinsic rate of increase (rm) and generation time (G) of Phenacoccus manihoti Mat.-Ferr. in order to explain changes in population densities observed in the field. The developmental threshold calculated from our data and results published by various authors was 14.7°C. At 35°C all mealybugs died before reaching the adult stage. Mealybugs reared on leaves of different ages showed little differences in rm, and the higher occurrence of P. manihoti on plant tips and oldest leaves could not be explained with better nutritive value of these plant parts alone. Cassava varieties have a strong influence on the intrinsic rate of increase, which could explain differences in results published by other authors. Plant drought stress had little influence on the life table statistics, but rainfall is assumed to be a determinant factor in the dynamics of the mealybu
Systematic study of d-wave superconductivity in the 2D repulsive Hubbard model
The cluster size dependence of superconductivity in the conventional
two-dimensional Hubbard model, commonly believed to describe high-temperature
superconductors, is systematically studied using the Dynamical Cluster
Approximation and Quantum Monte Carlo simulations as cluster solver. Due to the
non-locality of the d-wave superconducting order parameter, the results on
small clusters show large size and geometry effects. In large enough clusters,
the results are independent of the cluster size and display a finite
temperature instability to d-wave superconductivity.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures; updated with version published in PRL; added
values of Tc obtained from fit
The Pulsed Neutron Beam EDM Experiment
We report on the Beam EDM experiment, which aims to employ a pulsed cold
neutron beam to search for an electric dipole moment instead of the established
use of storable ultracold neutrons. We present a brief overview of the basic
measurement concept and the current status of our proof-of-principle Ramsey
apparatus
Compact 20-pass thin-disk amplifier insensitive to thermal lensing
We present a multi-pass amplifier which passively compensates for distortions
of the spherical phase front occurring in the active medium. The design is
based on the Fourier transform propagation which makes the output beam
parameters insensitive to variation of thermal lens effects in the active
medium. The realized system allows for 20 reflections on the active medium and
delivers a small signal gain of 30 with M = 1.16. Its novel geometry
combining Fourier transform propagations with 4f-imaging stages as well as a
compact array of adjustable mirrors allows for a layout with a footprint of 400
mm x 1000 mm.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figure
Combined density-functional and dynamical cluster quantum Monte Carlo calculations for three-band Hubbard models for hole-doped cuprate superconductors
Using a combined local density functional theory (LDA-DFT) and quantum Monte
Carlo (QMC) dynamic cluster approximation approach, the parameter dependence of
the superconducting transition temperature Tc of several single-layer
hole-doped cuprate superconductors with experimentally very different Tcmax is
investigated. The parameters of two different three-band Hubbard models are
obtained using the LDA and the downfolding Nth-order muffin-tin orbital
technique with N=0 and 1 respectively. QMC calculations on 4-site clusters show
that the d-wave transition temperature Tc depends sensitively on the
parameters. While the N=1 MTO basis set which reproduces all three
bands leads to a d-wave transition, the N=0 set which merely reproduces the LDA
Fermi surface and velocities does not
Ecology of the African maize stalk borer, Bussolea fusca (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) with special reference to insect-plant interactions
Busseola fusca (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) is an important pest of maize and sorghum in sub-Saharan Africa. One century after its first description by Fuller in 1901, inaccurate information based on earlier reports are still propagated on its distribution (e.g., absent from the lower altitudes in East Africa) and host plant range (e.g., feeding on a large range of wild grass species). This review provides updated information on the biology, distribution and genetics of B. fusca with emphasis on insect-plant interactions. Related to this, new avenues of stem borer management are proposed
A novel FLEX supplemented QMC approach to the Hubbard model
This paper introduces a novel ansatz-based technique for solution of the
Hubbard model over two length scales. Short range correlations are treated
exactly using a dynamical cluster approximation QMC simulation, while
longer-length-scale physics requiring larger cluster sizes is incorporated
through the introduction of the fluctuation exchange (FLEX) approximation. The
properties of the resulting hybrid scheme are examined, and the description of
local moment formation is compared to exact results in 1D. The effects of
electron-electron coupling and electron doping on the shape of the
Fermi-surface are demonstrated in 2D. Causality is examined in both 1D and 2D.
We find that the scheme is successful if QMC clusters of are used
(with sufficiently high temperatures in 1D), however very small QMC clusters of
lead to acausal results
Purinergic P2X7 receptors regulate secretion of interleukin-1 receptor antagonist and beta cell function and survival
In obesity, beta cells activate compensatory mechanisms to adapt to the higher insulin demand. Interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1Ra) prevents obesity-induced hyperglycaemia and is a potent target for the treatment of diabetes, but the mechanisms of its secretion and regulation in obesity are unknown. In the present study, we hypothesise the regulation of IL-1Ra secretion by purinergic P2X7 receptors in islets.
Production and regulation of P2X7 were studied in pancreatic sections from lean and obese diabetic patients, non-diabetic controls and in isolated islets. IL-1Ra, IL-1β and insulin secretion, glucose tolerance and beta cell mass were studied in P2x7 (also known as P2Rx7)-knockout mice.
P2X7 levels were elevated in beta cells of obese patients, but downregulated in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Elevated glucose and non-esterified fatty acids rapidly activated P2X7 and IL-1Ra secretion in human islets, and this was inhibited by P2X7 blockade. In line with our results in vitro, P2x7-knockout mice had a lower capacity to secrete IL-1Ra. They exhibited severe and rapid hyperglycaemia, glucose intolerance and impaired beta cell function in response to a high-fat/high-sucrose diet, were unable to compensate by increasing their beta cell mass in response to the diet and showed increased beta cell apoptosis.
Our study shows a tight correlation of P2X7 activation, IL-1Ra secretion and regulation of beta cell mass and function. The increase in P2X7 production is one mechanism that may explain how beta cells compensate by adapting to the higher insulin demand. Disturbances within that system may result in the progression of diabetes
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