105 research outputs found
Direct and correlated effects of various selection strategies in performance tests of bulls
International audienc
Suppression of the structural phase transition and lattice softening in slightly underdoped Ba(1-x)K(x)Fe2As2 with electronic phase separation
We present x-ray powder diffraction (XRPD) and neutron diffraction
measurements on the slightly underdoped iron pnictide superconductor
Ba(1-x)K(x)Fe2As2, Tc = 32K. Below the magnetic transition temperature Tm =
70K, both techniques show an additional broadening of the nuclear Bragg peaks,
suggesting a weak structural phase transition. However, macroscopically the
system does not break its tetragonal symmetry down to 15 K. Instead, XRPD
patterns at low temperature reveal an increase of the anisotropic microstrain
proportionally in all directions. We associate this effect with the electronic
phase separation, previously observed in the same material, and with the effect
of lattice softening below the magnetic phase transition. We employ density
functional theory to evaluate the distribution of atomic positions in the
presence of dopant atoms both in the normal and magnetic states, and to
quantify the lattice softening, showing that it can account for a major part of
the observed increase of the microstrain.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figure
Measurement of unique magnetic and superconducting phases in oxygen-doped high-temperature superconductors La<sub>2-x</sub>Sr<sub>x</sub>CuO<sub>4+y</sub>
We present a combined magnetic neutron scattering and muon spin rotation
study of the nature of the magnetic and superconducting phases in
electronically phase separated La(2-x)Sr(x)CuO(4+y), x = 0.04, 065, 0.09. For
all samples, we find long-range modulated magnetic order below T_N ~ T_c = 39
K. In sharp contrast wit oxygen-stoichiometric La(2-x)Sr(x)CuO(4), we find that
the magnetic propagation vector as well as the ordered magnetic moment is
independent of Sr content and consistent with that of the 'striped' cuprates.
Our study provides direct proof that superoxygenation in La(2-x)Sr(x)CuO(4+y)
allows the spin stripe ordered phase to emerge and phase separate from
superconducting regions with the hallmarks of optimally doped
oxygen-stoichiometric La(2-x)Sr(x)CuO(4)
Glassy low-energy spin fluctuations and anisotropy gap in La<sub>1.88</sub>Sr<sub>0.12</sub>CuO<sub>4</sub>
We present high-resolution triple-axis neutron scattering studies of the
high-temperature superconductor La1.88Sr0.12CuO4 (Tc=27 K). The temperature
dependence of the low-energy incommensurate magnetic fluctuations reveals
distinctly glassy features. The glassiness is confirmed by the difference
between the ordering temperature TN ~ Tc inferred from elastic neutron
scattering and the freezing temperature Tf ~ 11 K obtained from muon spin
rotation studies. The magnetic field independence of the observed excitation
spectrum as well as the observation of a partial suppression of magnetic
spectral weight below 0.75 meV for temperatures smaller than Tf, indicate that
the stripe frozen state is capable of supporting a spin anisotropy gap, of a
magnitude similar to that observed in the spin and charge stripe ordered ground
state of La1.875Ba0.125CuO4. The difference between TN and Tf implies that the
significant enhancement in a magnetic field of nominally elastic incommensurate
scattering is caused by strictly in-elastic scattering -- at least in the
temperature range between Tf and Tc -- which is not resolved in the present
experiment. Combining the results obtained from our study of La1.88Sr0.12CuO4
with a critical reappraisal of published neutron scattering work on samples
with chemical composition close to p=0.12, where local probes indicate a sharp
maximum in Tf(p), we arrive at the view that the low-energy fluctuations are
strongly dependent on composition in this regime, with anisotropy gaps
dominating only sufficiently close to p=0.12 and superconducting spin gaps
dominating elsewhere.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figure
Renal Artery Stenting in Consecutive High-Risk Patients With Atherosclerotic Renovascular Disease:A Prospective 2-Center Cohort Study
BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to prospectively evaluate the effects of renal artery stenting in consecutive patients with severe atherosclerotic renal artery stenosis and highârisk clinical presentations as defined in a national protocol developed in 2015. METHODS AND RESULTS: Since the protocol was initiated, 102 patients have been referred for revascularization according to the following highârisk criteria: severe renal artery stenosis (âĽ70%) with true resistant hypertension, rapidly declining kidney function, or recurrent heart failure/sudden pulmonary edema. At baseline, the mean 24âhour ambulatory systolic blood pressure was 166.2 mm Hg (95% CI, 162.0â170.4), the defined daily dose of antihypertensive medication was 6.5 (95% CI, 5.8â7.3), and the estimated glomerular filtration rate was 41.1 mL/min per 1.73m(2) (95% CI, 36.6â45.6). In 96 patients with available 3âmonth followâup data, mean 24âhour ambulatory systolic blood pressure decreased by 19.6 mm Hg (95% CI, 15.4â23.8; P<0.001), the defined daily dose of antihypertensive medication was reduced by 52% (95% CI, 41%â62%; P<0.001), and estimated glomerular filtration rate increased by 7.8 mL/min per 1.73m(2) (95% CI, 4.5â11.1; P<0.001). All changes persisted after 24 month followâup. Among 17 patients with a history of hospitalization for acute decompensated heart failure, 14 patients had no new episodes after successful revascularization. CONCLUSIONS: In this prospective cohort study, we observed a reduction in blood pressure and antihypertensive medication, an increase in estimated glomerular filtration rate, and a decrease in new hospital admissions attributable to heart failure/sudden pulmonary edema after renal artery stenting. REGISTRATION: URL: https://clinicaltrials.gov. Identifier: NCT02770066
Long-Term Health Outcomes in Children Born to Mothers with Diabetes: A Population-Based Cohort Study
BACKGROUND: To examine whether prenatal exposure to parental type 1 diabetes, type 2 diabetes, or gestational diabetes is associated with an increased risk of malignant neoplasm or diseases of the circulatory system in the offspring. METHODS/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We conducted a population-based cohort study of 1,781,576 singletons born in Denmark from 1977 to 2008. Children were followed for up to 30 years from the day of birth until the onset of the outcomes under study, death, emigration, or December 31, 2009, whichever came first. We used Cox proportional hazards model to estimate hazard ratios (HR) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) for the outcomes under study while adjusting for potential confounders. An increased risk of malignant neoplasm was found in children prenatally exposed to maternal type 2 diabetes (HRâ=â2.2, 95%CI: 1.5-3.2). An increased risk of diseases of the circulatory system was found in children exposed to maternal type 1 diabetes (HRâ=â2.2, 95%CI: 1.6-3.0), type 2 diabetes (HRâ=â1.4, 95%CI: 1.1-1.7), and gestational diabetes (HRâ=â1.3, 95%CI: 1.1-1.6), but results were attenuated after excluding children with congenital malformations. An increased risk of diseases of the circulatory system was also found in children exposed to paternal type 2 diabetes (HRâ=â1.5, 95%CI: 1.1-2.2) and the elevated risk remained after excluding children with congenital malformations. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that susceptibility to malignant neoplasm is modified partly by fetal programming. Diseases of the circulatory system may be modified by genetic factors, other time-stable family factors, or fetal programming
Gene expression signatures for colorectal cancer microsatellite status and HNPCC
The majority of microsatellite instable (MSI) colorectal cancers are sporadic, but a subset belongs to the syndrome hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC). Microsatellite instability is caused by dysfunction of the mismatch repair (MMR) system that leads to a mutator phenotype, and MSI is correlated to prognosis and response to chemotherapy. Gene expression signatures as predictive markers are being developed for many cancers, and the identification of a signature for MMR deficiency would be of interest both clinically and biologically. To address this issue, we profiled the gene expression of 101 stage II and III colorectal cancers (34 MSI, 67 microsatellite stable (MSS)) using high-density oligonucleotide microarrays. From these data, we constructed a nine-gene signature capable of separating the mismatch repair proficient and deficient tumours. Subsequently, we demonstrated the robustness of the signature by transferring it to a real-time RT-PCR platform. Using this platform, the signature was validated on an independent test set consisting of 47 tumours (10 MSI, 37 MSS), of which 45 were correctly classified. In a second step, we constructed a signature capable of separating MMR-deficient tumours into sporadic MSI and HNPCC cases, and validated this by a mathematical cross-validation approach. The demonstration that this two-step classification approach can identify MSI as well as HNPCC cases merits further gene expression studies to identify prognostic signatures
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