Opening Of New Channels Research Articles

Reflectance and fluorescence spectroscopy of ultrathin PTCDI-C5 films on muscovite mica

We have monitored the evolution of the optical properties of ultrathin N,N′-dipentylperylene-3,4,9,10-tetracarboxylic diimide (PTCDI-C5) molecular thin films during their growth on muscovite mica surfaces using differential reflectance spectroscopy (DRS) and fluorescence spectroscopy (FL). In the monolayer regime, the DRS shows a monomer-like absorption, whereas the FL reveals a transition from monomeric to excimer-like emission accompanied by a quenching of the intensity with the increase of coverage. The observed evolution of the FL signals can be explained by a two dimensional (2D) gas to condensed phase transition. The characteristic fluorescence of the condensed phase implies an enhancement of the intermolecular coupling and the opening of new channels for the relaxation of the excited state. The π–π stacking, which is manifested by both DR and FL spectroscopies, emergences only after the completion of the first monolayer. Finally, by analyzing the variation of the fluorescence spectrum, we have revealed the dewetting of the uncompleted PTCDI-C5 monolayer upon air exposure. This observation has been verified by atomic force microscopy (AFM).

PWE-409 Colorectal cancer care apps for patient and staff education – bringing medical education into the 21st century

Introduction Advancing technology has led to the opening of new channels for communication and access to information. Accordingly healthcare must keep pace with our increasing desire for choice in how we receive, interact and learn if we are to continue to strive for higher standards of care. In 2008, our group launched the first interactive DVD for patients with colorectal cancer, which described the diagnosis, treatment and follow-up of patients at our unit. This project won several awards within the UK for innovation and has led to the creation of a series of four titles which have played an important role in patient counselling/staff education within our centre. Following the feedback from this series, we were inspired to find avenues to widen the availability of these resources worldwide. This has led to the series being digitally enhanced and adapted as four interactive iOS apps currently available for worldwide download on tablet platform. Method The online applications designed as part of this initiative are: - 1. Patient Journey – the diagnosis, treatment and follow-up when diagnosed with a bowel tumour’: An educational app designed to inform, demystify and prepare patients and carers with bowel cancer for the journey ahead. 2. ‘Enhanced Recovery after Surgery (ERAS) for major bowel surgery’: An app designed to explain the concepts and benefits of ERAS to patients prior to major bowel surgery. 3. ‘Colorectal’: An educational app designed to give exposure to students/junior trainees regarding the anatomical/surgical principles of common colorectal procedures. 4. ‘Stepwise Approach for Laparoscopic Colorectal Surgery’: An interactive app to assist colorectal consultants/trainee surgeons who wish to gain proficiency in laparoscopic colorectal surgery Results Since our product launch in July 2014, there have been more than 5000 downloads worldwide. Downloads were noted across all world regions with 58% in the Asia-Pacific region, 26% in Europe and 12% in the USA and Canada. These applications are unique in that they contain extensive footage of real-life events coupled with surgical technique. This level of realism in the digital medium means the viewer can have many questions answered before their next consultation, resulting in a better informed patient ready for surgery. Conclusion These applications exemplify how utilising technology can advance practice and improve patient experience by providing an interactive format where patients can explore and understand their condition. Our vision is that this model can be used/adapted for widespread use to supplement current methods of patient/staff education, bringing the way we communicate, counsel and train into the 21 st century. Disclosure of interest None Declared.

Light non-degenerate composite partners at the LHC

We study the implications of a large degree of compositeness for the light generation quarks in composite pseudo-Nambu-Goldstone-boson Higgs models. We focus in particular on viable scenarios where the right-handed up-type quarks have a sizable mixing with the strong dynamics. For concreteness we assume the latter to be characterized by an SO(5)/SO(4) symmetry with fermionic resonances in the SO(4) singlet and fourplet representations. Singlet partners dominantly decay to a Higgs boson and jets. As no dedicated searches are currently looking for these final states, singlet partners can still be rather light. Conversely, some fourplet partners dominantly decay to an electroweak gauge boson and a jet, a signature which has been analyzed at the LHC. To constrain the parameter space of this scenario we have reinterpreted various LHC analyses. In the limit of first two generation degeneracy, as in minimal flavor violation or U(2)-symmetric flavor models, fourplet partners need to be relatively heavy, with masses above 1.8 TeV, or the level of compositeness needs to be rather small. The situation is rather different in models that deviate from the first two generation degeneracy paradigm, as the charm parton distribution functions are suppressed relative to the up quark ones. The right-handed charm quark can be composite and its partners being as light as 600 GeV, while the right-handed up quark needs either to be mostly elementary or to have its partners as heavy as 2 TeV. Models with fully composite singlet fermions are also analyzed, leading to similar conclusions. Finally, we consider the case where both the fourplet and the singlet states are present. In this case the bounds could be significantly weaken due to a combination of smaller production rates and the opening of new channels including cascade processes.

Insights into Minor Group Rhinovirus Uncoating: The X-ray Structure of the HRV2 Empty Capsid

Upon attachment to their respective receptor, human rhinoviruses (HRVs) are internalized into the host cell via different pathways but undergo similar structural changes. This ultimately results in the delivery of the viral RNA into the cytoplasm for replication. To improve our understanding of the conformational modifications associated with the release of the viral genome, we have determined the X-ray structure at 3.0 Å resolution of the end-stage of HRV2 uncoating, the empty capsid. The structure shows important conformational changes in the capsid protomer. In particular, a hinge movement around the hydrophobic pocket of VP1 allows a coordinated shift of VP2 and VP3. This overall displacement forces a reorganization of the inter-protomer interfaces, resulting in a particle expansion and in the opening of new channels in the capsid core. These new breaches in the capsid, opening one at the base of the canyon and the second at the particle two-fold axes, might act as gates for the externalization of the VP1 N-terminus and the extrusion of the viral RNA, respectively. The structural comparison between native and empty HRV2 particles unveils a number of pH-sensitive amino acid residues, conserved in rhinoviruses, which participate in the structural rearrangements involved in the uncoating process.

Influence of interdot hopping and intradot many-body interaction on conductance through parallel triple-quantum-dot device: Nonequilibrium Green’s function approach

By means of the nonequilibrium Green’s function technique, influence of interdot hoppings t’s and intradot many-body interaction U on electronic transport through parallel triple-quantum-dot (tQD) device in the Coulomb blockade regime are theoretically investigated. In the symmetrical tQD device with uniform interdot hopping t, as t increases starting from zero, the conductance is enhanced due to the opening of new channels for the electronic transport, but as t increases over its critical tc, the interdot hoppings have an opposite influence, which are well consistent with those obtained by the numerical renormalization-group method. The effect of the intradot electron interaction U on the electronic transport through the tQD device is strongly relative to the strength of t. For small t, U suppresses the electronic transport and the Coulomb blockade effect on the dots is dominant. However, for relatively strong t, a small U has a contribution to enhance the electronic transport through the device. These theoretical results can be applied to explain the recent experimental findings on a parallel tQD device. In the asymmetrical parallel tQD device, the symmetry-breaking in the interdot hoppings leads to the increasing on the electronic transport owing to the appearance of more resonance levels in the conductance spectrum. On the basis of this feature, it is proposed that we can obtain some devices with desirable transport properties, such as the molecular charge rectifier, through adjusting the interdot hoppings and the intradot many-body interaction.

Cross sections and low temperature rate coefficients for the H + CH+reaction: a quasiclassical trajectory study

The H + CH(+) reaction is studied by quasiclassical trajectory (QCT) calculations, along with phase space theory (PST) and quantum rigid rotor calculations, employing a global single-valued potential energy surface recently derived by our group. We report QCT total cross sections for each of the three channels, for low collision energies and different reactant rotational quantum numbers. At the lowest collision energies, all cross sections exhibit a capture-like behaviour, as expected from a barrierless reaction. At higher energies, there are important dynamical effects coming from the opening of new channels in the inelastic and reactive exchange collisions. The inelastic cross sections turn out to largely increase, while the reactive abstraction cross sections are declining faster than predicted by the capture theory. A large value of the reactant rotational quantum number tends to suppress these dynamical effects. The QCT rate coefficients are reported for a temperature range from 1-700 K. Below 20 K, the abstraction and exchange QCT rate coefficients are almost constant, as predicted by the capture theory. Above this temperature, the abstraction rate coefficient declines, while the exchange and inelastic rate coefficients are increasing, due to the opening of new channels. A good agreement is observed between the experimental abstraction rate coefficient and the QCT and PST ones. The QCT inelastic results are also compared with those obtained from rigid rotor close coupling (CCRR) calculations in order to check the ability of this approach to provide a reliable estimate of the inelastic rate coefficients for a reactive system without a barrier. The laws of variation as a function of temperature are found to be very similar and the curves are parallel above 20 K. However, reaction is not allowed in the rigid rotor approximation, therefore the CCRR results are about twice as large as their QCT counterparts.

Anxiety Levels in Cancer Patients and “Life Sound” Experience

For the hospitalized cancer patient, time takes on a rhythm which is very different from the external reality. Based on the idea that time represents a fundamental dimension of human existence and is connected to future plans, time spent waiting and memories, we carried out this experience entitled "Life Sound" project. The objectives of the project were to experiment different and unusual ways of spending time in hospital in order to improve the quality of life of the hospitalized cancer patient, to help the patient adapt to the hospital environment, to encourage awareness of self and to give a different meaning to time spent in the hospital. In particular, we evaluated the reduction in the levels of anxiety, in psychological suffering and the improvement in communication. We met with patients, family members, friends, volunteers and department personnel (doctors, psychologists, nurses) in a room in the Oncology and Hematology Department set aside specifically for recreation activities such as having a cup of tea while listening to music, talking, joking, listening to people's memories and celebrating birthdays, anniversaries and other special days. The study, which involved 109 patients, was carried out through the use of the questionnaire STAI-Y distributed before and after the event. The results showed a statistically significant difference in anxiety levels 2 hrs before participation (mean = 38.33) and 2 hrs after participation (mean = 34.77) in the program. This variation was also assessed based on gender, age, cancer stage, time since diagnosis and performance status but did not result in any statistically significant difference. The "Life Sound" project encourages the emergence of positive feelings, of a renewed willingness to invest in personal and caring relationships, which are connected to the patient's ability to face this illness, and the opening of new channels of communication with family members and hospital staff.

Análisis del uso del suelo por acuicultura en el delta del Canal del Dique entre 1986 y 2003 (Caribe colombiano)

In the southern region of Cartagena de Indias city (Colombia’s Caribbean coast), is the canal of the Dique, canalized natural arm of the Magdalena river that forms a three mouths delta. This delta is colonized by mangroves dominated mainly by Rhizophora mangle, Avicennia germinans, Laguncularia racemosa and Pelliciera rhizophorae. It was traditionally exploited for along time. Mangroves were degraded to be used for wood production for construction and for vegetal coal. Additionally, during the eighties an agro-industrial activity with the aquaculture infrastructure installation (ponds), predominated for breeding Penaeus vannamei shrimp and P. stylirostris for exportation. The development of the aquaculture industry induceda strong pressure on the sector of the canal of the Dique, transforming radically the delta’s landscape. The authors intend to show the evolution of the land use in the delta between 1986 and 2003, using a satellite track down with the Landsat TM, ETM, Spot HRV and HRG images (18 images in total). The interpretation of these images allowed mapping the dynamics of the surfaces that were converted into structures for aquaculture. The alteration of the delta’s hydrology (deviation of preexisting channels, opening of new channels, coastal lagoon drainage) was mapped as well. The aquaculture industry crisis, as a result of the appearance of the syndrome of Taura virus in the shrimp farms, began during 1992 and persisted up to1997. The results of this study show that the common belief of mangrove degradation due to the development of the aquaculture industry is not real. In the study area, mainly the surfaces of lagoons and salty swamps were used to establish aquaculture infrastructure. Spatial teledetection was a useful tool to carry out a satellite track down of the aquaculture development in the delta of a tropical zone: the canal of the Dique. The Landsat (TM andETM) and Spot (HRV and HRG) images chronicle used, allowed the accurate mapping (yearly or every two years) of the dynamics of the mangrove surface as well as the extension of the aqua culture ponds. Given their repetitive, synoptic and multispectral characters, satellite images constitute a fundamental instrument for coastal monitoring.

Mass and decays of Brout-Englert-Higgs scalar with extra generations

The higher bound on the mass of the Brout-Englert-Higgs scalar boson (BEH boson for brevity) arising from radiative corrections is not stable when the Standard Model is extended to include non-decoupling particles. In particular additional generation{s} of fermions allow for a heavier scalar. We investigate how the decay branchings of scalar boson are affected by the opening of new channels.

Venous ulceration: factors influencing recurrence after standard surgical procedures

Ninety patients with chronic venous ulceration were investigated to determine the extent of the incompetence of the venous valves. They were then treated by established surgical methods to control reflux. All wore fitted compression stockings and were regularly followed up. Forty-two patients had valvular incompetence confined to the perforating and superficial veins. All their ulcers healed and only one developed a minor recurrence during the three year follow-up. Nineteen patients had additional but limited incompetence of the deep veins; all their ulcers healed, but three developed a recurrence. Twenty-nine patients had extensive deep vein valvular incompetence including incompetence of the popliteal valve; in 12 of these patients either the ulcer failed to heal or the patient developed a recurrent ulcer within 18 months. Thirty-two other patients developed further venous reflux from the opening of new channels, including the perforating veins of the foot, and required sclerosants or local ligation. It was concluded that established surgical techniques, thoroughly performed, were very effective for the treatment of chronic venous ulceration provided the popliteal valves were competent. When the popliteal valves were incompetent the recurrence rate was unacceptably high and additional methods, including vein valve transplants, excision of the ulcer with skin grafting and lumbar sympathectomy, were considered. Nine of 11 patients who received a vein valve transplant had falls in their ambulant venous pressures, improvement in the nutrition of their skin and healing of their recurrent ulcers.

Electronic conductance of an orifice in a magnetic field.

We study the two-terminal magnetoconductance of a two-dimensional noninteracting electron gas through an orifice. The approximate conductance quantization for ballistic transport at vanishing magnetic field remains in weak magnetic fields, but the resonance structure associated with the opening of new channels is attenuated and eventually subdued. At high magnetic field the quantization steps are less pronounced and lag behind the number of open channels. An intuitive interpretation of the structure of the conductance in terms of cyclotron orbits is presented.

Phase transitions caused by the opening of new channels in electron-photon interactions

A microscopic model of phase transitions as radiative electron transitions between ground states of different phases is considered. Such a model predicts some new effects as characteristics phase radiation corresponding to transition energy, stimulated phase transitions etc.