469 research outputs found
The barium iron ruthenium oxide system
In the system BaFe(1-x)Ru(x)O(3-y), three phases, separated by immiscibility gaps, are present: an Fe-rich phase (x = 0 to 0.75) with hexagonal BaTiO3 structure (6H; sequence (hcc)2), a Ru-rich phase (x = 0.9) of hexagonal 4H-type (sequence (hc)2), and the pure Ru compounds BaRuO3 with rhombohedral 9R structure (sequence (hhc)3). By vibrational spectroscopic investigations in the 6H phase a transition from n-type semiconduction (Fe-rich compounds with complete O lattice) can be detected. The 4H and 9R stacking polytypes are good, metal-like conductors. The lattice parameters are given
Improved Semileptonic Form Factor Calculations in Lattice QCD
We investigate the computational efficiency of two stochastic based
alternatives to the Sequential Propagator Method used in Lattice QCD
calculations of heavy-light semileptonic form factors. In the first method, we
replace the sequential propagator, which couples the calculation of two of the
three propagators required for the calculation, with a stochastic propagator so
that the calculations of all three propagators are independent. This method is
more flexible than the Sequential Propagator Method but introduces stochastic
noise. We study the noise to determine when this method becomes competitive
with the Sequential Propagator Method, and find that for any practical
calculation it is competitive with or superior to the Sequential Propagator
Method. We also examine a second stochastic method, the so-called ``one-end
trick", concluding it is relatively inefficient in this context. The
investigation is carried out on two gauge field ensembles, using the
non-perturbatively improved Wilson-Sheikholeslami-Wohlert action with N_f=2
mass-degenerate sea quarks. The two ensembles have similar lattice spacings but
different sea quark masses. We use the first stochastic method to extract
-improved, matched lattice results for the semileptonic form
factors on the ensemble with lighter sea quarks, extracting f_+(0)
Charm quark system at the physical point of 2+1 flavor lattice QCD
We investigate the charm quark system using the relativistic heavy quark
action on 2+1 flavor PACS-CS configurations previously generated on lattice. The dynamical up-down and strange quark masses are set to
the physical values by using the technique of reweighting to shift the quark
hopping parameters from the values employed in the configuration generation. At
the physical point, the lattice spacing equals GeV and the
spatial extent fm. The charm quark mass is determined by the
spin-averaged mass of the 1S charmonium state, from which we obtain m_{\rm
charm}^{\msbar}(\mu = m_{\rm charm}^{\msbar}) = 1.260(1)(6)(35) GeV, where the
errors are due to our statistics, scale determination and renormalization
factor. An additional systematic error from the heavy quark is of order
, which is estimated to be a percent
level if the factor analytic in is of order unity. Our
results for the charmed and charmed-strange meson decay constants are
MeV, MeV, again up to the heavy quark
errors of order . Combined with the CLEO
values for the leptonic decay widths, these values yield , , where the last error is on
account of the experimental uncertainty of the decay widths.Comment: 16 pages, 12 figure
Nucleotide sequence of cDNA encoding the precursor of the 23 kDa photosystem II protein of tomato
Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/43431/1/11103_2004_Article_BF00019216.pd
Core reconstruction in pseudopotential calculations
A new method is presented for obtaining all-electron results from a
pseudopotential calculation. This is achieved by carrying out a localised
calculation in the region of an atomic nucleus using the embedding potential
method of Inglesfield [J.Phys. C {\bf 14}, 3795 (1981)]. In this method the
core region is \emph{reconstructed}, and none of the simplifying approximations
(such as spherical symmetry of the charge density/potential or frozen core
electrons) that previous solutions to this problem have required are made. The
embedding method requires an accurate real space Green function, and an
analysis of the errors introduced in constructing this from a set of numerical
eigenstates is given. Results are presented for an all-electron reconstruction
of bulk aluminium, for both the charge density and the density of states.Comment: 14 pages, 5 figure
Micro-manufacturing : research, technology outcomes and development issues
Besides continuing effort in developing MEMS-based manufacturing techniques, latest effort in Micro-manufacturing is also in Non-MEMS-based manufacturing. Research and technological development (RTD) in this field is encouraged by the increased demand on micro-components as well as promised development in the scaling down of the traditional macro-manufacturing processes for micro-length-scale manufacturing. This paper highlights some EU funded research activities in micro/nano-manufacturing, and gives examples of the latest development in micro-manufacturing methods/techniques, process chains, hybrid-processes, manufacturing equipment and supporting technologies/device, etc., which is followed by a summary of the achievements of the EU MASMICRO project. Finally, concluding remarks are given, which raise several issues concerning further development in micro-manufacturing
Quality assurance guidelines for superficial hyperthermia clinical trials: II. Technical requirements for heating devices
Quality assurance (QA) guidelines are essential to provide uniform execution of clinical trials with uniform quality hyperthermia treatments. This document outlines the requirements for appropriate QA of all current superficial heating equipment including electromagnetic (radiative and capacitive), ultrasound, and infrared heating techniques. Detailed instructions are provided how to characterize and document the performance of these hyperthermia applicators in order to apply reproducible hyperthermia treatments of uniform high quality. Earlier documents used specific absorption rate (SAR) to define and characterize applicator performance. In these QA guidelines, temperature rise is the leading parameter for characterization of applicator performance. The intention of this approach is that characterization can be achieved with affordable equipment and easy-to-implement procedures. These characteristics are essential to establish for each individual applicator the specific maximum size and depth of tumors that can be heated adequately. The guidelines in this document are supplemented with a second set of guidelines focusing on the clinical application. Both sets of guidelines were developed by the European Society for Hyperthermic Oncology (ESHO) Technical Committee with participation of senior Society of Thermal Medicine (STM) members and members of the Atzelsberg Circle
Advanced Methods for Dose and Regimen Finding During Drug Development: Summary of the EMA/EFPIA Workshop on Dose Finding (London 4-5 December 2014)
Inadequate dose selection for confirmatory trials is currently still one of the most challenging issues in drug development, as illustrated by high rates of late-stage attritions in clinical development and postmarketing commitments required by regulatory institutions. In an effort to shift the current paradigm in dose and regimen selection and highlight the availability and usefulness of well-established and regulatory-acceptable methods, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) in collaboration with the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries Association (EFPIA) hosted a multistakeholder workshop on dose finding (London 4-5 December 2014). Some methodologies that could constitute a toolkit for drug developers and regulators were presented. These methods are described in the present report: they include five advanced methods for data analysis (empirical regression models, pharmacometrics models, quantitative systems pharmacology models, MCP-Mod, and model averaging) and three methods for study design optimization (Fisher information matrix (FIM)-based methods, clinical trial simulations, and adaptive studies). Pairwise comparisons were also discussed during the workshop; however, mostly for historical reasons. This paper discusses the added value and limitations of these methods as well as challenges for their implementation. Some applications in different therapeutic areas are also summarized, in line with the discussions at the workshop. There was agreement at the workshop on the fact that selection of dose for phase III is an estimation problem and should not be addressed via hypothesis testing. Dose selection for phase III trials should be informed by well-designed dose-finding studies; however, the specific choice of method(s) will depend on several aspects and it is not possible to recommend a generalized decision tree. There are many valuable methods available, the methods are not mutually exclusive, and they should be used in conjunction to ensure a scientifically rigorous understanding of the dosing rationale
A qualitative study on the effects of psychoactive substance use upon artistic creativity
Background: Psychoactive substance use has often been claimed to help generate and facilitate the artistic creative process.
Aims: The present study explored the role of artistsâ substance use in their creative processes and their efforts to balance between enhancement and relaxation.
Methods: Semi-structured interviews concerning the artistic creative process and the role of psychoactive substance use were recorded with 72 artists and analyzed using content analysis. The participants were classified according to their substance use in three groups (Cannabis Group, Alcohol Group, and Control Group).
Results: Results show that both alcohol and cannabis were used to facilitate creativity and the emotional states that are necessary for the artistic creative process. Participants in the Control group reported that listening to music might function as a mind-altering tool. It was also found that for some artists, substance use is not only characteristic to creation, but it is also part of their everyday lives.
Conclusion: Artists are aware of the balancing phenomenon during the artistic creative process. Whether psychoactive substance(s) or other environmental stimuli (such as music) are used to reach the required effect appears to depend upon the individual
Host and microbiome features of secondary infections in lethal covid-19
Secondary infections contribute significantly to covid-19 mortality but driving factors remain poorly understood. Autopsies of 20 covid-19 cases and 14 controls from the first pandemic wave complemented with microbial cultivation and RNA-seq from lung tissues enabled description of major organ pathologies and specification of secondary infections. Lethal covid-19 segregated into two main death causes with either dominant diffuse alveolar damage (DAD) or secondary pneumonias. The lung microbiome in covid-19 showed a reduced biodiversity and increased prototypical bacterial and fungal pathogens in cases of secondary pneumonias. RNA-seq distinctly mirrored death causes and stratified DAD cases into subgroups with differing cellular compositions identifying myeloid cells, macrophages and complement C1q as strong separating factors suggesting a pathophysiological link. Together with a prominent induction of inhibitory immune-checkpoints our study highlights profound alterations of the lung immunity in covid-19 wherein a reduced antimicrobial defense likely drives development of secondary infections on top of SARS-CoV-2 infection
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