Invariant expansion for the trigonal band structure of graphene

We present a symmetry analysis of the trigonal band structure in graphene, elucidating the transformational properties of the underlying basis functions and the crucial role of time-reversal invariance. Group theory is used to derive an invariant expansion of the Hamiltonian for electron states near the K points of the graphene Brillouin zone. Besides yielding the characteristic k-linear dispersion and higher-order corrections to it, this approach enables the systematic incorporation of all terms arising from external electric and magnetic fields, strain, and spin-orbit coupling up to any desired order. Several new contributions are found, in addition to reproducing results obtained previously within tight-binding calculations. Physical ramifications of these new terms are discussed.Comment: 10 pages, 1 figure; expanded version with more details and additional result

Long-term outcomes of breast cancer patients after endoscopic axillary lymph node dissection: a prospective analysis of 52 patients

Summary: Background. Reports on long-term outcomes after endoscopic axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) of breast cancer patients are still lacking in the medical literature. The objective of this prospective study was to assess the oncological and functional outcomes in breast cancer patients after endoscopic ALND. Methods. Fifty-five breast cancer patients were prospectively enrolled, of whom 52 were available for follow-up with a median of 71.9 months (range 11-96). The following oncological and functional endpoints were evaluated during follow-up at several time points: occurrence of local, axillary and distant metastases, seroma or infection, shoulder mobility (range of motion), numbness, pain, presence of lymphoedema as well as restriction in activities of daily living. Results. In 52 patients endoscopic ALND of level I and II was successfully performed. Two port-site metastases (2/52, 4%) occurred, one of which in a patient with negative axillary lymph nodes. The same patient suffered from the only axillary recurrence (1/52, 2%). Three patients (3/52, 6%) developed lymphoedema. No other functional adverse events (shoulder mobility, pain, numbness, hypertrophic scar) were noticed at the end of the observation period. Conclusion. The present investigation with long-term follow-up after endoscopic ALND - the first one in the literature - reveals minor morbidity, good functional and cosmetic results. In contrary to conventional surgery, the endoscopic procedure is associated with the occurrence of port-site metastases, not seen in the open approach. Axillary recurrences do not appear more frequently when compared with results after conventional ALND. In the meantime the less invasive sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy is the established standard technique in evaluating the axillary lymph node statu

Neurology

Contains research objectives and reports on six research projects.National Science Foundation (Grant G-16526)National Institutes of Health (Grant MH-04737-03)U.S. Public Health Service (B-3055-3)U.S. Public Health Service (B-3090-3)U.S. Public Health Service (MH-06175-01A1)Office of Naval Research (Nonr-1841(70))Air Force (AFOSR 155-63)Army Chemical Corps (DA- 18-108-405-CML-942

Search for Fingerprints of Tetrahedral Symmetry in 156Gd^{156}Gd

Theoretical predictions suggest the presence of tetrahedral symmetry as an explanation for the vanishing intra-band E2-transitions at the bottom of the odd-spin negative parity band in $^{156}Gd$. The present study reports on experiment performed to address this phenomenon. It allowed to determine the intra-band E2 transitions and branching ratios B(E2)/B(E1) of two of the negative-parity bands in $^{156}Gd$.Comment: presented by Q.T. Doan at XLII Zakopane School of Physics: Breaking Frontiers: Submicron Structures in Physics and Biology, May 2008. 5 pages, minor corrections. To be published in the proceeding

Neutron flux and spectrum in the Dresden Felsenkeller underground facility studied by moderated 3^3He counters

Ambient neutrons may cause significant background for underground experiments. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate their flux and energy spectrum in order to devise a proper shielding. Here, two sets of altogether ten moderated $^3$He neutron counters are used for a detailed study of the ambient neutron background in tunnel IV of the Felsenkeller facility, underground below 45 meters of rock in Dresden/Germany. One of the moderators is lined with lead and thus sensitive to neutrons of energies higher than 10 MeV. For each $^3$He counter-moderator assembly, the energy dependent neutron sensitivity was calculated with the FLUKA code. The count rates of the ten detectors were then fitted with the MAXED and GRAVEL packages. As a result, both the neutron energy spectrum from 10$^{-9}$ MeV to 300 MeV and the flux integrated over the same energy range were determined experimentally. The data show that at a given depth, both the flux and the spectrum vary significantly depending on local conditions. Energy integrated fluxes of $(0.61 \pm 0.05)$, $(1.96 \pm 0.15)$, and $(4.6 \pm 0.4) \times 10^{-4}$ cm$^{-2}$ s$^{-1}$, respectively, are measured for three sites within Felsenkeller tunnel IV which have similar muon flux but different shielding wall configurations. The integrated neutron flux data and the obtained spectra for the three sites are matched reasonably well by FLUKA Monte Carlo calculations that are based on the known muon flux and composition of the measurement room walls.Comment: 10 figures, 4 tables; to be published in Phys. Rev.

Bosonization for Wigner-Jordan-like Transformation : Backscattering and Umklapp-processes on Fictitious Lattice

We analyze the asymptotic behavior of the exponential form in the fermionic density operators as the function of ruling parameter Q. In the particular case Q=\pi this exponential associates with the Wigner-Jordan transformation for XY spin chain model. We compare the bosonization approach and the evaluation via the Toeplitz determinant. The use of Szego-Kac theorem suggests that at Q>\pi/3 the divergent series for intrinsic logarithm provides a bosonized solution and faster decaying one, found as the logarithm's value on another sheet of the complex plane. The second solution is revealed as umklapp-process on the fictitious lattice while originates from backscattering terms in bosonized density. Our finding preserves in a wide range of fermion filling ratios.Comment: 8 pages, REVTEX, 3 eps figures, accepted to Phys.Rev.

Erträge und Bodenparameter nach 20 Jahren Direktsaat und Pflug

Seit 1994 werden auf der Dauerbeobachtungsfläche Oberacker am Inforama Rütti in Zollikofen auf einem schwach humosen sandigen Lehm die beiden Anbausysteme Direktsaat und Pflug miteinander verglichen. In einem Streifenversuch mit sechs verschiedenen Parzellen werden im Rahmen einer Fruchtfolge die sechs Kulturen Eiweisserbsen – Winterweizen – Ackerbohnen – Wintergerste – Zuckerrüben – Silomais angebaut. Nach 20 Versuchsjahren wurden die Nährstoffversorgung des Bodens untersucht und die Erträge statistisch ausgewertet. Die Bodenproben wurden schichtweise bis in eine Tiefe von 50 cm entnommen und auf organischen Kohlenstoff (Corg), Stickstofftotalgehalt (Ntot), Phosphor (P), Calcium (Ca), Kalium (K), Magnesium (Mg), pH-Wert und Lagerungsdichte untersucht. Im Gegensatz zum Pflugsystem waren bei Direktsaat Corg, Ntot, K und Mg in der obersten Bodenschicht angereichert, der pH-Wert war tiefer und P und Ca zeigten leichte Konzentrationsmaxima bei rund 20 cm Tiefe. Über das ganze Bodenprofil betrachtet war der Vorrat an Corg und allen untersuchten Nährelementen in beiden Systemen vergleichbar hoch. Der über 20 Jahre gemittelte Relativertrag ist bei der Direktsaat im Vergleich zum Pflug um 2,6 % tendenziell, aber nicht signifikant höher. Bei der langjährig auf die Direktsaat abgestimmten Fruchtfolge (ab 2000 ohne Kartoffeln) mit permanenter Bodenbedeckung erbrachten Wintergetreide und Leguminosen im Direktsaatsystem sogar signifikant höhere Erträge als bei gepflügten Böden

The polo-like kinase 1 (PLK1) inhibitor NMS-P937 is effective in a new model of disseminated primary CD56+ acute monoblastic leukaemia

CD56 is expressed in 15–20% of acute myeloid leukaemias (AML) and is associated with extramedullary diffusion, multidrug resistance and poor prognosis. We describe the establishment and characterisation of a novel disseminated model of AML (AML-NS8), generated by injection into mice of leukaemic blasts freshly isolated from a patient with an aggressive CD56+ monoblastic AML (M5a). The model reproduced typical manifestations of this leukaemia, including presence of extramedullary masses and central nervous system involvement, and the original phenotype, karyotype and genotype of leukaemic cells were retained in vivo. Recently Polo-Like Kinase 1 (PLK1) has emerged as a new candidate drug target in AML. We therefore tested our PLK1 inhibitor NMS-P937 in this model either in the engraftment or in the established disease settings. Both schedules showed good efficacy compared to standard therapies, with a significant increase in median survival time (MST) expecially in the established disease setting (MST = 28, 36, 62 days for vehicle, cytarabine and NMS-P937, respectively). Importantly, we could also demonstrate that NMS-P937 induced specific biomarker modulation in extramedullary tissues. This new in vivo model of CD56+ AML that recapitulates the human tumour lends support for the therapeutic use of PLK1 inhibitors in AML