20,614 research outputs found
Split Fracture: A Complication of Cerclage Wiring of Acute Patellar Fracture
Introduction: Iatrogenic patellar fracture is reported as a complication of patella procedures, such as medial patellofemoral ligament reconstruction, reconstruction of the anterior cruciate ligament of the knee using bone-patellar tendon-bone technique, and resurfacing the patella in total knee arthroplasty.
Case Presentation: A 65-year-old lady with right patella fracture was treated with open reduction and cerclage wiring. An iatrogenic split fracture was noted during tension of the cerclage wire and was successfully managed by screw fixation of the split fracture.
Conclusions: Split fracture is a rare complication of circumferential cerclage wiring of patellar fracture. The surgeon should be aware of the contributing factors in order to avoid this complication
A balanced homodyne detector for high-rate Gaussian-modulated coherent-state quantum key distribution
We discuss excess noise contributions of a practical balanced homodyne
detector in Gaussian-modulated coherent-state (GMCS) quantum key distribution
(QKD). We point out the key generated from the original realistic model of GMCS
QKD may not be secure. In our refined realistic model, we take into account
excess noise due to the finite bandwidth of the homodyne detector and the
fluctuation of the local oscillator. A high speed balanced homodyne detector
suitable for GMCS QKD in the telecommunication wavelength region is built and
experimentally tested. The 3dB bandwidth of the balanced homodyne detector is
found to be 104MHz and its electronic noise level is 13dB below the shot noise
at a local oscillator level of 8.5*10^8 photon per pulse. The secure key rate
of a GMCS QKD experiment with this homodyne detector is expected to reach
Mbits/s over a few kilometers.Comment: 22 pages, 11 figure
A size of ~1 AU for the radio source Sgr A* at the centre of the Milky Way
Although it is widely accepted that most galaxies have supermassive black
holes (SMBHs) at their centers^{1-3}, concrete proof has proved elusive.
Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*)^4, an extremely compact radio source at the center of
our Galaxy, is the best candidate for proof^{5-7}, because it is the closest.
Previous Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) observations (at 7mm) have
detected that Sgr A* is ~2 astronomical unit (AU) in size^8, but this is still
larger than the "shadow" (a remarkably dim inner region encircled by a bright
ring) arising from general relativistic effects near the event horizon^9.
Moreover, the measured size is wavelength dependent^{10}. Here we report a
radio image of Sgr A* at a wavelength of 3.5mm, demonstrating that its size is
\~1 AU. When combined with the lower limit on its mass^{11}, the lower limit on
the mass density is 6.5x10^{21} Msun pc^{-3}, which provides the most stringent
evidence to date that Sgr A* is an SMBH. The power-law relationship between
wavelength and intrinsic size (The size is proportional to wavelength^{1.09}),
explicitly rules out explanations other than those emission models with
stratified structure, which predict a smaller emitting region observed at a
shorter radio wavelength.Comment: 18 pages, 4 figure
Cosmology and the Hubble Constant: On the Megamaser Cosmology Project (MCP)
The Hubble constant Ho describes not only the expansion of local space at
redshift z ~ 0, but is also a fundamental parameter determining the evolution
of the universe. Recent measurements of Ho anchored on Cepheid observations
have reached a precision of several percent. However, this problem is so
important that confirmation from several methods is needed to better constrain
Ho and, with it, dark energy and the curvature of space. A particularly direct
method involves the determination of distances to local galaxies far enough to
be part of the Hubble flow through water vapor (H2O) masers orbiting nuclear
supermassive black holes. The goal of this article is to describe the relevance
of Ho with respect to fundamental cosmological questions and to summarize
recent progress of the the `Megamaser Cosmology Project' (MCP) related to the
Hubble constant.Comment: 10 pages, 7 postscript figures (8 ps files), IAU Symposium 287, uses
iaus.cl
The Megamaser Cosmology Project. III. Accurate Masses of Seven Supermassive Black Holes in Active Galaxies with Circumnuclear Megamaser Disks
Observations of HO masers from circumnuclear disks in active galaxies for
the Megamaser Cosmology Project allow accurate measurement of the mass of
supermassive black holes (BH) in these galaxies. We present the Very Long
Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) images and kinematics of water maser emission in
six active galaxies: NGC~1194, NGC~2273, NGC~2960 (Mrk~1419), NGC~4388,
NGC~6264 and NGC~6323. We use the Keplerian rotation curves of these six
megamaser galaxies, plus a seventh previously published, to determine accurate
enclosed masses within the central pc of these galaxies, smaller than
the radius of the sphere of influence of the central mass in all cases. We also
set lower limits to the central mass densities of between 0.12 and 60 ~pc. For six of the seven disks, the high central
densities rule out clusters of stars or stellar remnants as the central
objects, and this result further supports our assumption that the enclosed mass
can be attributed predominantly to a supermassive black hole. The seven BHs
have masses ranging between 0.76 and 6.510. The BH mass
errors are \%, dominated by the uncertainty of the Hubble constant.
We compare the megamaser BH mass determination with other BH mass measurement
techniques. The BH mass based on virial estimation in four galaxies is
consistent with the megamaser BH mass given the latest empirical value of
, but the virial mass uncertainty is much greater. MCP
observations continue and we expect to obtain more maser BH masses in the
future.Comment: 18 pages, 4 figures. This paper has been submitted to ApJ. An updated
version of this paper will be posted when it gets accepte
Mid-Infrared Images of Luminous Infrared Galaxies in a Merging Sequence
We report mid-infrared observations of several luminous infrared galaxies
(LIGs) carried out with the Infrared Space Observatory. Our sample was chosen
to represent different phases of a merger sequence of galaxy-galaxy interaction
with special emphasis on early/intermediate stages of merging. The mid-infrared
emission of these LIGs shows extended structures for the early and intermediate
mergers, indicating that most of the mid-infrared luminosities are not from a
central active galactic nucleus (AGN). Both the infrared hardness (indicated by
the IRAS 12, 25, and 60 \micron flux density ratios) and the peak-to-total
flux density ratios of these LIGs increase as projected separation of these
interacting galaxies become smaller, consistent with increasing star formation
activities that are concentrated to a smaller area as the merging process
advances. These observations provide among the first observational constraint
of largely theoretically based scenarios.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures, please refer to ApJ Letters for the final
versio
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