Are L-myc genotypes prognostic markers in non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) in our Chinese patients?

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P53 intron 2 polymorphisms and mutations in non-small cell lung carcinoma in Hong Kong

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Effect of annealing on the performance of CrO3/ZnO light emitting diodes

Heterojunction CrO3/ZnO light emitting diodes have been fabricated. Their performance was investigated for different annealing temperature for ZnO nanorods. Annealing in oxygen atmosphere had significant influence on carrier concentration in the nanorods, as well as on the emission spectra of the nanorods. Surprisingly, annealing conditions, which yield the lowest band edge-to-defect emission ratio in the photoluminescence spectra, result in the highest band edge-to-defect emission ratio in the electroluminescence spectra. The influence of the native defects on ZnO light emitting diode performance is discussed. © 2009 American Institute of Physics.published_or_final_versio

Low energy electron irradiation induced deep level defects in 6H-SiC: The implication for the microstructure of the deep levels E1/E 2

The deep level defects in 6H-SiC induced by low energy electron irradiation was investigated. Electron energies of 0.2, 0.3, 0.5 and 1.7 MeV were used to produce the deep level defects in the n-type 6H-SiC materials. The deep level transient spectroscopy (DLTS) technique, combined with isochronal thermal annealing experiments, was used for the study of the defects. It was observed that deep levels ED1, E1/E2 and Ei were created with irradiation energies of 0.3 MeV or greater than that. The deep levels were found to be associated with primary atom displacement on the C atom of SiC sublattice and had microstructure containing the carbon vacancy.published_or_final_versio

Wavelength tuning in GaAsAlGaAs quantum wells by InAs submonolayer insertion

Wavelength tuning of exciton emissions has been achieved simply by inserting an InAs submonolayer at the centre of GaAs quantum wells during molecular beam epitaxy growth. Photoluminescence measurements show that the emission energy can be effectively tuned from the quantum-well-determined energy down to less than the band gap of GaAs, depending on the well width as well as the InAs layer thickness. Using the effective-mass approximation, the tuning effect can be well predicted theoretically The results reported here may provide an alternative way to tune the wavelength in optoelectronic devices

Heavy electrons and the symplectic symmetry of spin

The recent discovery of two heavy fermion materials PuCoGa_{5} and NpPd_{5}Al_{2} which transform directly from Curie paramagnets into superconductors, reveals a new class of superconductor where local moments quench directly into a superconducting condensate. A powerful tool in the description of heavy fermion metals is the large N expansion, which expands the physics in powers of 1/N about a solvable limit where particles carry a large number (N) of spin components. As it stands, this method is unable to jointly describe the spin quenching and superconductivity which develop in PuCoGa_{5} and NpPd_{5}Al_{2}. Here, we solve this problem with a new class of large N expansion that employs the symplectic symmetry of spin to protect the odd time-reversal parity of spin and sustain Cooper pairs as well-defined singlets. With this method we show that when a lattice of magnetic ions exchange spin with their metallic environment in two distinct symmetry channels, they are able to simultaneously satisfy both channels by forming a condensate of composite pairs between between local moments and electrons. In the tetragonal crystalline environment relevant to PuCoGa_{5} and NpPd_{5}Al_{2} the lattice structure selects a natural pair of spin exchange channels, giving rise to the prediction of a unique anisotropic paired state with g-wave symmetry. This pairing mechanism predicts a large upturn in the NMR relaxation rate above T_{c}, a strong enhancement of Andreev reflection in tunneling measurements and an enhanced superconducting transition temperature T_{c} in Pu doped Np_{1-x}Pu_{x}Pd_{5}Al_{2}.Comment: This is a substantially revised version of the original paper, focussing on the high temperature heavy electron superconductors PuCoGa_5 and NpPd_5Al_2. A substantially revised supplementary online material to this paper can be found in arXiv 0710.1128v

Serotonin and corticosterone rhythms in mice exposed to cigarette smoke and in patients with COPD:implication for COPD-associated neuropathogenesis

The circadian timing system controls daily rhythms of physiology and behavior, and disruption of clock function can trigger stressful life events. Daily exposure to cigarette smoke (CS) can lead to alteration in diverse biological and physiological processes. Smoking is associated with mood disorders, including depression and anxiety. Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) have abnormal circadian rhythms, reflected by daily changes in respiratory symptoms and lung function. Corticosterone (CORT) is an adrenal steroid that plays a considerable role in stress and anti-inflammatory responses. Serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine; 5HT) is a neurohormone, which plays a role in sleep/wake regulation and affective disorders. Secretion of stress hormones (CORT and 5HT) is under the control of the circadian clock in the suprachiasmatic nucleus. Since smoking is a contributing factor in the development of COPD, we hypothesize that CS can affect circadian rhythms of CORT and 5HT secretion leading to sleep and mood disorders in smokers and patients with COPD. We measured the daily rhythms of plasma CORT and 5HT in mice following acute (3 d), sub-chronic (10 d) or chronic (6 mo) CS exposure and in plasma from non-smokers, smokers and patients with COPD. Acute and chronic CS exposure affected both the timing (peak phase) and amplitude of the daily rhythm of plasma CORT and 5HT in mice. Acute CS appeared to have subtle time-dependent effects on CORT levels but more pronounced effects on 5HT. As compared with CORT, plasma 5HT was slightly elevated in smokers but was reduced in patients with COPD. Thus, the effects of CS on plasma 5HT were consistent between mice and patients with COPD. Together, these data reveal a significant impact of CS exposure on rhythms of stress hormone secretion and subsequent detrimental effects on cognitive function, depression-like behavior, mood/anxiety and sleep quality in smokers and patients with COPD

Narcissism and prosocial behavior

There are many motivations for prosocial behavior, some more altruistic and some more egoistic. We posit that more narcissistic people may perform prosocial acts strategically, for example, to improve their reputations or to receive something in return

Immediate pre-meal water ingestion decreases voluntary food intake in lean young males

Purpose: Consuming 375-500 ml of water 30 min before a meal has been shown to reduce energy intake in older, but not younger adults. This study investigated the effects of ingesting a water preload immediately pre-meal (<1 min before eating) on within-meal ad-libitum energy intake in non-obese young males. Methods: Fourteen healthy males (mean (SD) age 27 (3) y, Height 1.83 (0.05) m, body weight 80.47 (9.89) kg, body fat 17.5 (4.0) %, body mass index 24.0 (2.5) kg/m2) completed a familiarisation trial and two experimental trials in randomised counterbalanced order. Subjects arrived at the laboratory overnight fasted and consumed an ad-libitum porridge breakfast. Immediately prior to the meal, subjects consumed either a 568 ml (1 pint) water preload (preload trial) or no preload (control trial). Visual analogue scale questionnaires to assess hunger, fullness and satisfaction were completed before and after the meal in both trials, as well as after the water preload. Results: Ad-libitum energy intake was greater (P<0.001) during control (2551 (562) kJ) than preload (1967 (454) kJ). Ad-libitum water intake was also greater (P<0.001) during control (318 (226-975) ml) than preload (116 (0-581) ml). The water preload increased fullness and satisfaction and decreased hunger compared to pre-trial (P<0.001) and the control trial (P<0.001). Conclusion: This study demonstrates that consumption of a 568 ml water preload immediately before a meal reduces energy intake in non-obese young males. This might therefore be an effective strategy to suppress energy intake in this population and possibly assist with weight management

Differential cross sections and spin density matrix elements for the reaction gamma p -> p omega

High-statistics differential cross sections and spin density matrix elements for the reaction gamma p -> p omega have been measured using the CLAS at Jefferson Lab for center-of-mass (CM) energies from threshold up to 2.84 GeV. Results are reported in 112 10-MeV wide CM energy bins, each subdivided into cos(theta_CM) bins of width 0.1. These are the most precise and extensive omega photoproduction measurements to date. A number of prominent structures are clearly present in the data. Many of these have not previously been observed due to limited statistics in earlier measurements