1,378 research outputs found

    Graphene formed on SiC under various environments: Comparison of Si-face and C-face

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    The morphology of graphene on SiC {0001} surfaces formed in various environments including ultra-high vacuum, 1 atm of argon, and 10^-6 to 10^-4 Torr of disilane is studied by atomic force microscopy, low-energy electron microscopy, and Raman spectroscopy. The graphene is formed by heating the surface to 1100 - 1600 C, which causes preferential sublimation of the Si atoms. The argon atmosphere or the background of disilane decreases the sublimation rate so that a higher graphitization temperature is required, thus improving the morphology of the films. For the (0001) surface, large areas of monolayer-thick graphene are formed in this way, with the size of these areas depending on the miscut of the sample. Results on the (000-1) surface are more complex. This surface graphitizes at a lower temperature than for the (0001) surface and consequently the growth is more three-dimensional. In an atmosphere of argon the morphology becomes even worse, with the surface displaying markedly inhomogeneous nucleation, an effect attributed to unintentional oxidation of the surface during graphitization. Use of a disilane environment for the (000-1) surface is found to produce improved morphology, with relatively large areas of monolayer-thick graphene.Comment: 22 pages, 11 figures, Proceedings of STEG-2 Conference; eliminated Figs. 4 and 7 from version 1, for brevity, and added Refs. 18, 29, 30, 31 together with associated discussio

    Interpretation of High Energy String Scattering in terms of String Configurations

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    High energy string scattering at fixed momentum transfer, known to be dominated by Regge trajectory exchange, is interpreted by identifying families of string states which induce each type of trajectory exchange. These include the usual leading trajectory Ī±(t)=Ī±ā€²t+1\alpha(t)=\alpha^\prime t+1 and its daughters as well as the ``sister'' trajectories Ī±m(t)=Ī±(t)/māˆ’(māˆ’1)/2\alpha_m(t)=\alpha(t)/m-(m-1)/2 and their daughters. The contribution of the sister Ī±m\alpha_m to high energy scattering is dominated by string excitations in the mthm^{th} mode. Thus, at large āˆ’t-t, string scattering is dominated by wee partons, consistently with a picture of string as an infinitely composite system of ``constituents'' which carry zero energy and momentum.Comment: 14 pages, phyzzx, psfig required, Florida Preprint UFIFT-94-

    The Planckian Conspiracy: String Theory and the Black Hole Information Paradox

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    It has been argued that the consistency of quantum theory with black hole physics requires nonlocality not present in ordinary effective field theory. We examine the extent to which such nonlocal effects show up in the perturbative S-matrix of string theory.Comment: 13 pages, harvma

    Targeting atypical protein kinase C iota reduces viability in glioblastoma stem-like cells via a notch signaling mechanism

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    In a previous study, Protein Kinase C iota (PRKCI) emerged as an important candidate gene for glioblastoma (GBM) stem-like cell (GSC) survival. Here, we show that PKCĪ¹ is overexpressed and activated in patient derived GSCs compared with normal neural stem cells and normal brain lysate, and that silencing of PRKCI in GSCs causes apoptosis, along with loss of clonogenicity and reduced proliferation. Notably, PRKCI silencing reduces tumor growth in vivo in a xenograft mouse model. PKCĪ¹ has been intensively studied as a therapeutic target in non-small cell lung cancer, resulting in the identification of an inhibitor, aurothiomalate (ATM), which disrupts the PKCĪ¹/ERK signaling axis. However, we show that, although sensitive to pharmacological inhibition via a pseudosubstrate peptide inhibitor, GSCs are much less sensitive to ATM, suggesting that PKCĪ¹ acts along a different signaling axis in GSCs. Gene expression profiling of PRKCI-silenced GSCs revealed a novel role of the Notch signaling pathway in PKCĪ¹ mediated GSC survival. A proximity ligation assay showed that Notch1 and PKCĪ¹ are in close proximity in GSCs. Targeting PKCĪ¹ in the context of Notch signaling could be an effective way of attacking the GSC population in GBM

    The additional value of CT images interpretation in the differential diagnosis of benign vs. malignant primary bone lesions with 18F-FDG-PET/CT

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    Objective: To evaluate the value of a dedicated interpretation of the CT images in the differential diagnosis of benign vs. malignant primary bone lesions with 18fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography/computed tomography (18F-FDG-PET/CT). Materials and methods: In 50 consecutive patients (21 women, 29 men, mean age 36.9, age range 11-72) with suspected primary bone neoplasm conventional radiographs and 18F-FDG-PET/CT were performed. Differentiation of benign and malignant lesions was separately performed on conventional radiographs, PET alone (PET), and PET/CT with specific evaluation of the CT part. Histology served as the standard of reference in 46 cases, clinical, and imaging follow-up in four cases. Results: According to the standard of reference, conventional 17 lesions were benign and 33 malignant. Sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy in assessment of malignancy was 85%, 65% and 78% for conventional radiographs, 85%, 35% and 68% for PET alone and 91%, 77% and 86% for combined PET/CT. Median SUVmax was 3.5 for benign lesions (range 1.6-8.0) and 5.7 (range 0.8-41.7) for malignant lesions. In eight patients with bone lesions with high FDG-uptake (SUVmaxā€‰ā‰„ā€‰2.5) dedicated CT interpretation led to the correct diagnosis of a benign lesion (three fibrous dysplasias, two osteomyelitis, one aneurysmatic bone cyst, one fibrous cortical defect, 1 phosphaturic mesenchymal tumor). In four patients with lesions with low FDG-uptake (SUVmaxā€‰<ā€‰2.5) dedicated CT interpretation led to the correct diagnosis of a malignant lesion (three chondrosarcomas and one leiomyosarcoma). Combined PET/CT was significantly more accurate in the differentiation of benign and malignant lesions than PET alone (pā€‰=ā€‰.039). There was no significant difference between PET/CT and conventional radiographs (pā€‰=ā€‰.625). Conclusion: Dedicated interpretation of the CT part significantly improved the performance of FDG-PET/CT in differentiation of benign and malignant primary bone lesions compared to PET alone. PET/CT more commonly differentiated benign from malignant primary bone lesions compared with conventional radiographs, but this difference was not significan

    Heavy Mesons in Two Dimensions

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    The large mass limit of QCD uncovers symmetries that are not present in the QCD lagrangian. These symmetries have been applied to physical (finite mass) systems, such as B and D mesons. We explore the validity of this approximation in the 't Hooft model (two-dimensional QCD in the large-N approximation). We find that the large mass approximation is good, even at the charm mass, for form factors, but it breaks down for the pseudoscalar decay constant.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures inc
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