Quantum phase transitions of atom-molecule Bose mixtures in a double-well potential

The ground state and spectral properties of Bose gases in double-well potentials are studied in two different scenarios: i) an interacting atomic Bose gas, and ii) a mixture of an atomic gas interacting with diatomic molecules. A ground state second-order quantum phase transition (QPT) is observed in both scenarios. For large attractive values of the atom-atom interaction, the ground-state is degenerate. For repulsive and small attractive interaction, the ground-state is not degenerate and is well approximated by a boson coherent state. Both systems depict an excited state quantum phase transition (ESQPT). For the mixed atom-molecule system the critical point of the ESQPT displays a discontinuity in the first derivative of the density of states.Comment: 25 pages, 18 figures. RevTex 4.1 (version to appear in Phys. Rev. E

Valuation and modeling of EQ-5D-5L health states using a hybrid approach

Background: The EQ-5D instrument is the most widely used preference-based health-related quality of life questionnaire in cost-effectiveness analysis of health care technologies. Recently, a version called EQ-5D-5L with 5 levels on each dimension was developed. This manuscript explores the performance of a hybrid approach for the modeling of EQ-5D-5L valuation data. Methods: Two elicitation techniques, the composite time trade-off, and discrete choice experiments, were applied to a sample of the Spanish population (n=1000) using a computer-based questionnaire. The sampling process consisted of 2 stages: stratified sampling of geographic area, followed by systematic sampling in each area. A hybrid regression model combining composite time trade-off and discrete choice data was used to estimate the potential value sets using main effects as starting point. The comparison between the models was performed using the criteria of logical consistency, goodness of fit, and parsimony. Results: Twenty-seven participants from the 1000 were removed following the exclusion criteria. The best-fitted model included 2 significant interaction terms but resulted in marginal improvements in model fit compared to the main effects model. We therefore selected the model results with main effects as a potential value set for this methodological study, based on the parsimony criteria. The results showed that the main effects hybrid model was consistent, with a range of utility values between 1 and -0.224. Conclusion: This paper shows the feasibility of using a hybrid approach to estimate a value set for EQ-5D-5L valuation data.</p

Enhanced antitumor activity of doxorubicin in breast cancer through the use of poly(butylcyanoacrylate) nanoparticles

The use of doxorubicin (DOX), one of the most effective antitumor molecules in the treatment of metastatic breast cancer, is limited by its low tumor selectivity and its severe side effects. Colloidal carriers based on biodegradable poly(butylcyanoacrylate) nanoparticles (PBCA NPs) may enhance DOX antitumor activity against breast cancer cells, thus allowing a reduction of the effective dose required for antitumor activity and consequently the level of associated toxicity. DOX loading onto PBCA NPs was investigated in this work via both drug entrapment and surface adsorption. Cytotoxicity assays with DOX-loaded NPs were performed in vitro using breast tumor cell lines (MCF-7 human and E0771 mouse cancer cells), and in vivo evaluating antitumor activity in immunocompetent C57BL/6 mice. The entrapment method yielded greater drug loading values and a controlled drug release profile. Neither in vitro nor in vivo cytotoxicity was observed for blank NPs. The 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50) of DOX-loaded PBCA NPs was significantly lower for MCF-7 and E0771 cancer cells (4 and 15 times, respectively) compared with free DOX. Furthermore, DOX-loaded PBCA NPs produced a tumor growth inhibition that was 40% greater than that observed with free DOX, thus reducing DOX toxicity during treatment. These results suggest that DOX-loaded PBCA NPs have great potential for improving the efficacy of DOX therapy against advanced breast cancers.This investigation was funded by FEDER, Plan Nacional de Investigación Científica, Desarrollo e Innovación Tecnológica (I + D + I), Instituto de Salud Carlos III (FIS) through projects Nos PI11/01862 and PI11/02571, and by the Consejería de Salud de la Junta de Andalucía through project No PI-0338. The authors wish to express their gratitude to G Ortiz Ferron (CIC, University of Granada, Spain) for his skillful assistance with cytometry experiments

Soil health -- a new challenge for microbiologists and chemists.

The original publication is available on LINK at http://revistes.iec.cat/index.php/IM/article/view/4c457c718d531.002 This work, including photographs and other illustrations, unless the contrary is indicated, is subject to an Attributions–Non-Commercial–ShareAlike 3.0 Creative Commons License, the full text of which can be consulted at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/. You are free to share, copy, distribute and transmit the work provided that the author is credited and reuse of the material is restricted to non-commercial purposes only and that if you alter, transform, or build upon this work, you may distribute the resulting work only under the same or similar license to this on

Acute onset of retinal detachment after posterior chamber phakic intraocular lens implantation

N&amp;uacute;ria Planas Dom&amp;egrave;nech, Lu&amp;iacute;s Arias, Sergi Prades, Octavi Pujol, Marc Rubio, Jose M CaminalDepartment of Ophthalmology, Hospital Universitari de Bellvitge, L&amp;rsquo;Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, SpainCase report: A 34-year-old man with severe myopia, presented with acute visual loss in his right eye. This occurred 3 hours after a posterior chamber phakic (PCP) intraocular lens (IOL) implantation, and was associated with a rhegmatogenous retinal detachment. Retinal retachment surgery was performed without complications, with the outcome showing good anatomical and functional results during a 2-year follow-up period.Discussion: Despite the fact that several authors have described retinal detachments following PCP IOL implantation in highly myopic patients, there is no evidence that this procedure increases the risk of retinal detachment in these patients. The occurrence of the retinal detachment immediately after the phakic IOL implantation supports the hypothesis that the surgical procedure could induce iatrogenic changes in patients with high myopia, which could increase the incidence of retinal detachment. In contrast to other reports, the interval between the PCP IOL implantation and the retinal detachment was only 3 hours in our patient. We believe this demonstrates the importance of performing a complete preoperative vitreoretinal examination in patients with severe myopia.Keywords: retinal detachment, phakic intraocular lens, myopi

Circulating concentrations of free triiodothyronine are associated with central adiposity and cardiometabolic risk factors in young euthyroid adults

Funding for open access charge: Universidad de Granada/CBUA. This study was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness via the Fondo de Investigacion Sanitaria del Instituto de Salud Carlos III (PI13/01393), by the Retos de la Sociedad program (DEP2016-79512-R), European Regional Development Funds (ERDF), the Spanish Ministry of Education (FPU13/04365), the Fundacion Iberoamericana de Nutricion (FINUT), the Redes Tematicas de Investigacion Cooperativa RETIC (Red SAMID RD16/0022), the AstraZeneca HealthCare Foundation, the University of Granada Plan Propio de Investigacion 2016-Excellence actions: Unit of Excellence on Exercise and Health (UCEES)-and Plan Propio de Investigacion 2018-the Programa Contratos-Puente and Contratos Perfeccionamiento de Doctores, the Junta de Andalucia, Consejeria de Conocimiento, Investigacion y Universidades (ERDF; ref. SOMM17/6107/UGR), and the Fundacion Alfonso Martin Escudero (grant awarded to GSD).Thyroid dysfunction is associated with classic cardiometabolic risk factors in humans. However, this relationship remains unclear in young euthyroid adults. The present work examines the associations of circulating thyroid hormones (THs) and thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) concentrations with body composition and cardiometabolic risk factors in young euthyroid adults. A total of 106 sedentary, euthyroid adults (72 women; 22 ± 2 years old) participated in this cross-sectional study. THs and TSH serum concentrations were determined in fasting conditions (6 h). Body composition (fat mass (FM), lean mass (LM), and visceral adipose tissue (VAT)) was determined by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, anthropometric parameters (weight, height, and waist circumference) were measured, and neck adipose tissue mass was quantified through computed tomography (CT) scanning. Cardiometabolic risk factors including fasting glucose and lipid metabolism markers, hepatic phosphatase and transaminases, and blood pressure were also assessed. Free triiodothyronine (FT3) concentration was positively associated with body mass index, LM, VAT, and waist circumference (all P ≤ 0.038). FT3 was also associated with glucose, insulin, HOMA-IR, fatty liver index, and blood pressure (all P < 0.024). All the associations were attenuated when adjusting for sex. In contrast, we found no associations of TSH or free thyroxine with any body composition parameter or cardiometabolic risk factors. In conclusion, FT3 is associated with central adiposity and cardiometabolic risk factors including insulin resistance, fatty liver index, and mean, systolic and diastolic blood pressure in young euthyroid adults. ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02365129.Universidad de Granada/CBUASpanish Government PI13/01393Retos de la Sociedad program DEP2016-79512-REuropean CommissionSpanish Government FPU13/04365Fundacion Iberoamericana de Nutricion (FINUT)Redes Tematicas de Investigacion Cooperativa RETIC Red SAMID RD16/0022AstraZenecaUniversity of Granada Plan Propio de Investigacion 2016-Excellence actions: Unit of Excellence on Exercise and Health (UCEES)Plan Propio de Investigacion 2018-the Programa Contratos-PuenteContratos Perfeccionamiento de DoctoresJunta de AndaluciaConsejeria de Conocimiento, Investigacion y Universidades (ERDF) SOMM17/6107/UGRFundacion Alfonso Martin Escuder

Uniformity of optical absorption in HgCdTe epilayer measured by infrared spectromicroscopy

Infrared absorption in HgCdTe epitaxial material has been investigated using infrared spectromicroscopy to study the uniformity at dimensions representative of typical infrared detectors. Infrared transmission measurements were performed on HgCdTe material using an infrared beam diameter of 9 μm. Line scans and area maps of transmission spectra were obtained to investigate statistical variations in infrared absorption. The HgCdTe material demonstrates a high degree of uniformity, with a standard deviation in absorption coefficient near the sensitive turn-on region of less than 3% and standard deviation in extracted Hg1-xCdxTeHg1-xCdxTe compositon of 3×10−4.3×10−4. © 2003 American Institute of Physics.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/69699/2/APPLAB-83-18-3701-1.pd

Nova shema za izravno upravljanje momentom asinkronih motora napajanih iz trofaznog izmjenjivača

This paper presents a novel controller based on Direct Torque Control (DTC) strategy. This controller is designed to be applied in the control of Induction Motors (IM) fed with a three-level Voltage Source Inverter (VSI). This type of inverter has several advantages over the standard two-level VSI, such as a greater number of levels in the output voltage waveforms, lower dV/dt, less harmonic distortion in voltage and current waveforms and lower switching frequencies. In the new controller, torque and stator flux errors are used together with the stator flux angular frequency to generate a reference voltage vector. Experimental results of the novel system are presented and compared with those obtained for Classical DTC system employing a two-level VSI. The new controller is shown to reduce the ripple in the torque and flux responses. Lower current distortion and switching frequency of the semiconductor devices are also obtained in the new system presented.U ovome se članku opisuje novi regulator zasnovan na strategiji izravnog upravljanja momentom i razvijen za primjenu u upravljanju asinkronim motorima napajanim iz trorazinskih izmjenjivača napona. Taj tip izmjenjivača ima nekoliko prednosti u odnosu na standardne dvorazinske izmjenjivače napona, kao što je veći broj razina u izlaznom valnom obliku napona, niži du/dt, manja distorzija harmonika u valnim oblicima napona i struje i niže frekvencije komutacije. U novom regulatoru moment i pogreške u statorskom toku koriste se zajedno s kutnom frekvencijom statora za tvorbu referentne vrijednosti vektora napona. Eksperimentalni su rezultati novog sustava prikazani i uspoređeni s rezultatima klasičnog sustava koji koristi dvorazinski pretvarač napona. Novi regulator pokazuje smanjeni šum u odzivima momenta i toka motora. U predloženom je sustavu također postignuta i manja distorzija struje i manja frekvencija komutacije poluvodičkih sklopova