200 research outputs found
The Effect Of 3d Printing Machine Parameters In Extrusion Process Of Biocomposite Materials (Pmma And Ha) On Dimensional Accuracy
Bone implants are medical procedures involving replacement or reconstruction of missing or damaged bones with the patient's ones, natural substitutes or artificial substitutes. The widely used bone cement is a polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) based composite material. To improve bioactivity, PMMA is combined with hydroxyapatite (HA). The manual formation can make bone implants during surgery. However, the method requires a longer operation time and raises the possibility of a higher error. Therefore, 3D printing technology is used to improve the quality of bone implants. One of the machines that can be used is the 3D printing machine, the property of the Product Design and Development Laboratory of Universitas Gadjah Mada. This machine needs to be tested to determine the accuracy of the prints, which is one indicator of product quality. Several machine parameters can be set in this machine setting. This study aims to determine the effect of three parameters, those are perimeter speed or edge print speed (20-40 mm / s), infill speed or inner print speed (50 - 70 mm / s), and fill angle or inner slope of inner printing (45 - 90 ° C). Before printing complex shapes, the machine was tested in advance with a more straightforward specimen design, which is a specimen design of flexural strength test. Response surface experiment design is used to determine the effect of three parameters on the dimensional accuracy which is measured through dimensional error. The results show that these three factors have no significant impact on the dimensional error, but the resulting error is still high. Therefore, it is necessary to adjust the design size before printing
Optical pulse-shaping for internal cooling of molecules
We consider the use of pulse-shaped broadband femtosecond lasers to optically
cool rotational and vibrational degrees of freedom of molecules. Since this
approach relies on cooling rotational and vibrational quanta by exciting an
electronic transition, it is most easily applicable to molecules with similar
ground and excited potential energy surfaces, such that the vibrational state
is usually unchanged during electronic relaxation. Compared with schemes that
cool rotations by exciting vibrations, this approach achieves internal cooling
on the orders-of- magnitude faster electronic decay timescale and is
potentially applicable to apolar molecules. For AlH+, a candidate species, a
rate-equation simulation indicates that rovibrational equilibrium should be
achievable in 8 \mu s. In addition, we report laboratory demonstration of
optical pulse shaping with sufficient resolution and power for rotational
cooling of AlH+
Revisiting the SN1987A gamma-ray limit on ultralight axion-like particles
We revise the bound from the supernova SN1987A on the coupling of ultralight
axion-like particles (ALPs) to photons. In a core-collapse supernova, ALPs
would be emitted via the Primakoff process, and eventually convert into gamma
rays in the magnetic field of the Milky Way. The lack of a gamma-ray signal in
the GRS instrument of the SMM satellite in coincidence with the observation of
the neutrinos emitted from SN1987A therefore provides a strong bound on their
coupling to photons. Due to the large uncertainty associated with the current
bound, we revise this argument, based on state-of-the-art physical inputs both
for the supernova models and for the Milky-Way magnetic field. Furthermore, we
provide major amendments, such as the consistent treatment of
nucleon-degeneracy effects and of the reduction of the nuclear masses in the
hot and dense nuclear medium of the supernova. With these improvements, we
obtain a new upper limit on the photon-ALP coupling: g_{a\gamma} < 5.3 x
10^{-12} GeV^{-1}, for m_a < 4.4 x 10^{-10} eV, and we also give its dependence
at larger ALP masses. Moreover, we discuss how much the Fermi-LAT satellite
experiment could improve this bound, should a close-enough supernova explode in
the near future.Comment: Accepted for publication in JCAP (December 22nd, 2014
Axion-like particle effects on the polarization of cosmic high-energy gamma sources
Various satellite-borne missions are being planned whose goal is to measure
the polarization of a large number of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). We show that the
polarization pattern predicted by current models of GRB emission can be
drastically modified by the existence of very light axion-like particles
(ALPs), which are present in many extensions of the Standard Model of particle
physics. Basically, the propagation of photons emitted by a GRB through cosmic
magnetic fields with a domain-like structure induces photon-ALP mixing, which
is expected to produce a strong modification of the original photon
polarization. Because of the random orientation of the magnetic field in each
domain, this effect strongly depends on the orientation of the photon line of
sight. As a consequence, photon-ALP conversion considerably broadens the
original polarization distribution. Searching for such a peculiar feature
through future high-statistics polarimetric measurements is therefore a new
opportunity to discover very light ALPs.Comment: Final version (21 pages, 8 eps figures). Matches the version
published on JCAP. Added a Section on the effects of cosmic expansion on
photon-ALP conversions. Figures modified to take into account this effect.
References updated. Conclusions unchanged
Detecting early kidney damage in horses with colic by measuring matrix metalloproteinase -9 and -2, other enzymes, urinary glucose and total proteins
BACKGROUND: The aim of the study was to investigate urine matrix metalloproteinase (MMP-2 and -9) activity, alkaline phosphatase/creatinine (U-AP/Cr) and gamma-glutamyl-transpeptidase/creatinine (U-GGT/Cr) ratios, glucose concentration, and urine protein/creatinine (U-Prot/Cr) ratio and to compare data with plasma MMP-2 and -9 activity, cystatin-C and creatinine concentrations in colic horses and healthy controls. Horses with surgical colic (n = 5) were compared to healthy stallions (n = 7) that came for castration. Blood and urine samples were collected. MMP gelatinolytic activity was measured by zymography. RESULTS: We found out that horses with colic had significantly higher urinary MMP-9 complex and proMMP-9 activities than horses in the control group. Colic horses also had higher plasma MMP-2 activity than the control horses. Serum creatinine, although within reference range, was significantly higher in the colic horses than in the control group. There was no significant increase in urinary alkaline phosphatase, gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase or total proteins in the colic horses compared to the control group. A human cystatin-C test (Dako Cytomation latex immunoassay(® )based on turbidimetry) did not cross react with equine cystatin-C. CONCLUSION: The results indicate that plasma MMP-2 may play a role in the pathogenesis of equine colic and urinary MMP-9 in equine kidney damage
The manipulation of massive ro-vibronic superpositions using time-frequency-resolved coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (TFRCARS): from quantum control to quantum computing
Molecular ro-vibronic coherences, joint energy-time distributions of quantum
amplitudes, are selectively prepared, manipulated, and imaged in
Time-Frequency-Resolved Coherent Anti-Stokes Raman Scattering (TFRCARS)
measurements using femtosecond laser pulses. The studies are implemented in
iodine vapor, with its thermally occupied statistical ro-vibrational density
serving as initial state. The evolution of the massive ro-vibronic
superpositions, consisting of 1000 eigenstates, is followed through
two-dimensional images. The first- and second-order coherences are captured
using time-integrated frequency-resolved CARS, while the third-order coherence
is captured using time-gated frequency-resolved CARS. The Fourier filtering
provided by time integrated detection projects out single ro-vibronic
transitions, while time-gated detection allows the projection of arbitrary
ro-vibronic superpositions from the coherent third-order polarization. Beside
the control and imaging of chemistry, the controlled manipulation of massive
quantum coherences suggests the possibility of quantum computing. We argue that
the universal logic gates necessary for arbitrary quantum computing - all
single qubit operations and the two-qubit controlled-NOT (CNOT) gate - are
available in time resolved four-wave mixing in a molecule. The molecular
rotational manifold is naturally "wired" for carrying out all single qubit
operations efficiently, and in parallel. We identify vibronic coherences as one
example of a naturally available two-qubit CNOT gate, wherein the vibrational
qubit controls the switching of the targeted electronic qubit.Comment: PDF format. 59 pages, including 22 figures. To appear in Chemical
Physic
Non-Thermal Insights on Mass and Energy Flows Through the Galactic Centre and into the Fermi Bubbles
We construct a simple model of the star-formation- (and resultant supernova-)
driven mass and energy flows through the inner ~200 pc (in diameter) of the
Galaxy. Our modelling is constrained, in particular, by the non-thermal radio
continuum and {\gamma}-ray signals detected from the region. The modelling
points to a current star-formation rate of 0.04 - 0.12 M\msun/year at 2{\sigma}
confidence within the region with best-fit value in the range 0.08 - 0.12
M\msun/year which - if sustained over 10 Gyr - would fill out the ~ 10^9 M\msun
stellar population of the nuclear bulge. Mass is being accreted on to the
Galactic centre (GC) region at a rate ~0.3M\msun/year. The region's
star-formation activity drives an outflow of plasma, cosmic rays, and
entrained, cooler gas. Neither the plasma nor the entrained gas reaches the
gravitational escape speed, however, and all this material fountains back on to
the inner Galaxy. The system we model can naturally account for the
recently-observed ~> 10^6 'halo' of molecular gas surrounding the Central
Molecular Zone out to 100-200 pc heights. The injection of cooler,
high-metallicity material into the Galactic halo above the GC may catalyse the
subsequent cooling and condensation of hot plasma out of this region and
explain the presence of relatively pristine, nuclear-unprocessed gas in the GC.
The plasma outflow from the GC reaches a height of a few kpc and is
compellingly related to the recently-discovered Fermi Bubbles. Our modelling
demonstrates that ~ 10^9 M\msun of hot gas is processed through the GC over 10
Gyr. We speculate that the continual star-formation in the GC over the age of
the Milky Way has kept the SMBH in a quiescent state thus preventing it from
significantly heating the coronal gas, allowing for the continual accretion of
gas on to the disk and the sustenance of star formation on much wider scales in
the Galaxy [abridged].Comment: 30 pages, 35 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRAS (20/04/2012).
Minor textual revision
Laparoscopy in management of appendicitis in high-, middle-, and low-income countries: a multicenter, prospective, cohort study.
BACKGROUND: Appendicitis is the most common abdominal surgical emergency worldwide. Differences between high- and low-income settings in the availability of laparoscopic appendectomy, alternative management choices, and outcomes are poorly described. The aim was to identify variation in surgical management and outcomes of appendicitis within low-, middle-, and high-Human Development Index (HDI) countries worldwide. METHODS: This is a multicenter, international prospective cohort study. Consecutive sampling of patients undergoing emergency appendectomy over 6 months was conducted. Follow-up lasted 30 days. RESULTS: 4546 patients from 52 countries underwent appendectomy (2499 high-, 1540 middle-, and 507 low-HDI groups). Surgical site infection (SSI) rates were higher in low-HDI (OR 2.57, 95% CI 1.33-4.99, p = 0.005) but not middle-HDI countries (OR 1.38, 95% CI 0.76-2.52, p = 0.291), compared with high-HDI countries after adjustment. A laparoscopic approach was common in high-HDI countries (1693/2499, 67.7%), but infrequent in low-HDI (41/507, 8.1%) and middle-HDI (132/1540, 8.6%) groups. After accounting for case-mix, laparoscopy was still associated with fewer overall complications (OR 0.55, 95% CI 0.42-0.71, p < 0.001) and SSIs (OR 0.22, 95% CI 0.14-0.33, p < 0.001). In propensity-score matched groups within low-/middle-HDI countries, laparoscopy was still associated with fewer overall complications (OR 0.23 95% CI 0.11-0.44) and SSI (OR 0.21 95% CI 0.09-0.45). CONCLUSION: A laparoscopic approach is associated with better outcomes and availability appears to differ by country HDI. Despite the profound clinical, operational, and financial barriers to its widespread introduction, laparoscopy could significantly improve outcomes for patients in low-resource environments. TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT02179112
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