Non-Abelian magnetic monopole in a Bose-Einstein condensate

Recently, an effective non-Abelian magnetic field with a topology of a monopole was shown to emerge from the adiabatic motion of multilevel atoms in spatially varying laser fields [J. Ruseckas et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 95, 010404 (2005)]. We study this monopole in a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) of degenerate dressed states and find that the topological charge of the pseudospin cancels the monopole charge resulting in a vanishing gauge invariant charge. As a function of the laser wavelength, different stationary states are classified in terms of their effect to the monopole part of the magnetic field and a cross-over to vortex ground state is observed.Comment: 5 pages, 1 color figure; v2 modified according to referees' suggestions, some typos corrected; v3 minor modifications, published versio

Environmental responsibility in hospital care : findings from a qualitative study

Objective: To identify the key elements of environmental responsibility in hospital care and the stakeholders involved. Background: Hospital care causes a significant global environmental burden, which threatens human health and wellbeing. Environmental responsibility has been identified as an essential part of patient care with regard to health promotion and wellbeing of humans, but it has often been regarded as a secondary issue in hospitals. In addition, the lack of organizational structures and administrative as well as managerial support inhibit the promotion of environmental responsibility in hospitals. Methods: We used a qualitative study with semi-structured interviews and document analysis. Our data was drawn from the environmental managers of five Finnish university hospitals and documents on their environmental programs. Results: We found that the aim of environmental responsibility in hospital care was to avoid unnecessary emissions, and that it was guided by the authorities and by ethical values. It included targets for sustainable use of material, electricity, water and transport. Environmental responsibility required the involvement of several stakeholders, including administrators, environmental manager, immediate leaders, environmental support people, staff and patients. Implementation of environmental responsibility was promoted by collaboration, education, diverse initiatives to motivate staff, and continuously developing practices. Conclusions: Environmental responsibility extended throughout a hospital organization. Staff was in a key position to implement it, but they needed versatile organizational support, including education, clear procedures, defined roles, and a motivational culture and facilities. Implications for hospital management: This study yields new knowledge that will provide information for the development of organisational structures with respect to environmental responsibility in hospital care. Keywords: Environmental manager, Environmental program, Environmental responsibility, Hospital, Key informan

Splitting times of doubly quantized vortices in dilute Bose-Einstein condensates

Recently, the splitting of a topologically created doubly quantized vortex into two singly quantized vortices was experimentally investigated in dilute atomic cigar-shaped Bose-Einstein condensates [Y. Shin et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 93, 160406 (2004)]. In particular, the dependency of the splitting time on the peak particle density was studied. We present results of theoretical simulations which closely mimic the experimental set-up. Contrary to previous theoretical studies, claiming that thermal excitations are the essential mechanism in initiating the splitting, we show that the combination of gravitational sag and time dependency of the trapping potential alone suffices to split the doubly quantized vortex in time scales which are in good agreement with the experiments. We also study the dynamics of the resulting singly quantized vortices which typically intertwine--especially, a peculiar vortex chain structure appears for certain parameter values.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure

Ground-State Dirac Monopole

We show theoretically that a monopole defect, analogous to the Dirac magnetic monopole, may exist as the ground state of a dilute spin-1 Bose-Einstein condensate. The ground-state monopole is not attached to a single semi-infinite Dirac string, but forms a point where the circulation of a single vortex line is reversed. Furthermore, the three-dimensional dynamics of this monopole defect are studied after the magnetic field pinning the monopole is removed and the emergence of antimonopoles is observed. Our scheme is experimentally realizable with the present-day state of the art

Perusterveydenhuollon ja erikoissairaanhoidon puheterapeuttien työhyvinvointi:työtyytyväisyys, työperäinen stressi ja työn laatu

Tiivistelmä. Tämän pro gradu -tutkielman tarkoituksena oli selvittää perusterveydenhuollossa ja erikoissairaanhoidossa työskentelevien puheterapeuttien työhyvinvointia. Työhyvinvointia tutkittiin työtyytyväisyyden, työperäisen stressin ja työn laatuun liittyvien tekijöiden näkökulmasta. Lisäksi näissä organisaatioissa työskentelevien puheterapeuttien kokemuksia vertailtiin keskenään. Tutkimus toteutettiin Webropol-kyselynä, johon vastasi 304 puheterapeuttia. Vastaajista perusterveydenhuollossa työskenteli 229 ja erikoissairaanhoidossa 75. Tutkimusta varten kehitettiin kyselylomake, joka koostui yhteensä 52 kysymyksestä ja väittämästä. Kysely jaettiin kolmeen osa-alueeseen, joista ensimmäisessä kysyttiin vastaajien taustatekijöitä. Toisessa osassa kartoitettiin työn laatuun liittyviä tekijöitä ja viimeinen osa käsitteli työtyytyväisyyttä ja työperäisen stressin kokemista. Tulokset osoittivat, että puheterapeutit ovat melko tyytyväisiä työhönsä, vaikka stressiäkin koetaan. Työtyytyväisyyden ja taustatekijöiden välillä ei ollut tilastollisesti merkitseviä yhteyksiä. Taustatekijöistä työperäisen stressiin oli tilastollisesti erittäin merkitsevästi yhteydessä ylitöiden tekeminen. Lisäksi stressin ja työorganisaation väliltä löytyi yhteys. Suuntaa-antavia yhteyksiä löytyi jonkin verran sekä työtyytyväisyyden että stressin osalta. Suurin osa työn laatuun liittyvistä tekijöistä oli yhteydessä työtyytyväisyyteen ja työperäiseen stressiin. Työn laatuun liittyvät tekijät myös selittivät työtyytyväisyyttä ja stressiä. Työtyytyväisyyden osalta perusterveydenhuollon ja erikoissairaanhoidon puheterapeuttien välillä oli ero tyytyväisyydessä työympäristöön. Perusterveydenhuollon puheterapeutit olivat erikoissairaanhoidon puheterapeutteja tyytyväisempiä työympäristöönsä. Työperäisen stressin osalta ryhmät erosivat tilastollisesti merkitsevästi toisistaan. Perusterveydenhuollon puheterapeutit kokivat stressiä enemmän. Ryhmien välisiä eroja löytyi myös muutaman työn laatuun liittyvän tekijän kohdalla. Esimerkiksi arviointi- ja kuntoutusjaksojen riittävä pituus sekä jonossa olevien asiakkaiden vaikutus työskentelylle erotteli ryhmiä. Tämän työn tulokset ovat samansuuntaisia kuin aiemmissa tutkimuksissa, mutta myös eroavaisuuksia oli havaittavissa esimerkiksi taustatekijöiden kohdalla. Työn laatuun liittyvien tekijöiden kautta saatiin erilaista näkökulmaa työhyvinvoinnin tutkimiseen. Tutkimus toi tärkeää tietoa puheterapeuttien työhyvinvoinnista, koska aihetta ei ole tutkittu riittävästi. Tutkimuksen suhteellisen suuren vastaajamäärän vuoksi tuloksia voidaan pitää luotettavina ja yleistettävinä ainakin työtyytyväisyyden ja työperäisen stressin osalta. Tutkimuksen avulla voidaan myös kehittää puheterapeuttien työhyvinvointia, jotta tyytyväisyys työhön säilyisi ja toisaalta työperäisen stressin määrä pysyisi kohtuullisena. Työhyvinvointitutkimus tukee paitsi puheterapeuttien työskentelyä ja työssä jaksamista, myös laadukkaiden puheterapiapalveluiden tarjoamista

Cardiac Involvement in Fabry Disease: JACC Review Topic of the Week

Fabry disease (FD) is a rare X-linked inherited lysosomal storage disorder caused by deficient α-galactosidase A activity that leads to an accumulation of globotriasylceramide (Gb3) in affected tissues, including the heart. Cardiovascular involvement usually manifests as left ventricular hypertrophy, myocardial fibrosis, heart failure, and arrhythmias, which limit quality of life and represent the most common causes of death. Following the introduction of enzyme replacement therapy, early diagnosis and treatment have become essential to slow disease progression and prevent major cardiac complications. Recent advances in the understanding of FD pathophysiology suggest that in addition to Gb3 accumulation, other mechanisms contribute to the development of Fabry cardiomyopathy. Progress in imaging techniques have improved diagnosis and staging of FD-related cardiac disease, suggesting a central role for myocardial inflammation and setting the stage for further research. In addition, with the recent approval of oral chaperone therapy and new treatment developments, the FD-specific treatment landscape is rapidly evolving

Effect of Inhaled Xenon on Cerebral White Matter Damage in Comatose Survivors of Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest: A Randomized Clinical Trial

IMPORTANCE: Evidence from preclinical models indicates that xenon gas can prevent the development of cerebral damage after acute global hypoxic-ischemic brain injury but, thus far, these putative neuroprotective properties have not been reported in human studies. OBJECTIVE: To determine the effect of inhaled xenon on ischemic white matter damage assessed with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: A randomized single-blind phase 2 clinical drug trial conducted between August 2009 and March 2015 at 2 multipurpose intensive care units in Finland. One hundred ten comatose patients (aged 24-76 years) who had experienced out-of-hospital cardiac arrest were randomized. INTERVENTIONS: Patients were randomly assigned to receive either inhaled xenon combined with hypothermia (33°C) for 24 hours (n = 55 in the xenon group) or hypothermia treatment alone (n = 55 in the control group). MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: The primary end point was cerebral white matter damage as evaluated by fractional anisotropy from diffusion tensor MRI scheduled to be performed between 36 and 52 hours after cardiac arrest. Secondary end points included neurological outcome assessed using the modified Rankin Scale (score 0 [no symptoms] through 6 [death]) and mortality at 6 months. RESULTS: Among the 110 randomized patients (mean age, 61.5 years; 80 men [72.7%]), all completed the study. There were MRI data from 97 patients (88.2%) a median of 53 hours (interquartile range [IQR], 47-64 hours) after cardiac arrest. The mean global fractional anisotropy values were 0.433 (SD, 0.028) in the xenon group and 0.419 (SD, 0.033) in the control group. The age-, sex-, and site-adjusted mean global fractional anisotropy value was 3.8% higher (95% CI, 1.1%-6.4%) in the xenon group (adjusted mean difference, 0.016 [95% CI, 0.005-0.027], P = .006). At 6 months, 75 patients (68.2%) were alive. Secondary end points at 6 months did not reveal statistically significant differences between the groups. In ordinal analysis of the modified Rankin Scale, the median (IQR) value was 1 (1-6) in the xenon group and 1 (0-6) in the control group (median difference, 0 [95% CI, 0-0]; P = .68). The 6-month mortality rate was 27.3% (15/55) in the xenon group and 34.5% (19/55) in the control group (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.49 [95% CI, 0.23-1.01]; P = .053). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Among comatose survivors of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, inhaled xenon combined with hypothermia compared with hypothermia alone resulted in less white matter damage as measured by fractional anisotropy of diffusion tensor MRI. However, there was no statistically significant difference in neurological outcomes or mortality at 6 months. These preliminary findings require further evaluation in an adequately powered clinical trial designed to assess clinical outcomes associated with inhaled xenon among survivors of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. TRIAL REGISTRATION: clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT00879892

A multifrequency analysis of radio variability of blazars

We have carried out a multifrequency analysis of the radio variability of blazars, exploiting the data obtained during the extensive monitoring programs carried out at the University of Michigan Radio Astronomy Observatory (UMRAO, at 4.8, 8, and 14.5 GHz) and at the Metsahovi Radio Observatory (22 and 37 GHz). Two different techniques detect, in the Metsahovi light curves, evidences of periodicity at both frequencies for 5 sources (0224+671, 0945+408, 1226+023, 2200+420, and 2251+158). For the last three sources consistent periods are found also at the three UMRAO frequencies and the Scargle (1982) method yields an extremely low false-alarm probability. On the other hand, the 22 and 37 GHz periodicities of 0224+671 and 0945+408 (which were less extensively monitored at Metsahovi and for which we get a significant false-alarm probability) are not confirmed by the UMRAO database, where some indications of ill-defined periods about a factor of two longer are retrieved. We have also investigated the variability index, the structure function, and the distribution of intensity variations of the most extensively monitored sources. We find a statistically significant difference in the distribution of the variability index for BL Lac objects compared to flat-spectrum radio quasars (FSRQs), in the sense that the former objects are more variable. For both populations the variability index steadily increases with increasing frequency. The distribution of intensity variations also broadens with increasing frequency, and approaches a log-normal shape at the highest frequencies. We find that variability enhances by 20-30% the high frequency counts of extragalactic radio-sources at bright flux densities, such as those of the WMAP and Planck surveys.Comment: A&A accepted. 12 pages, 16 figure