789 research outputs found
CO2 adsorption in Y zeolite: a structural and dynamic view by a novel principal-component-analysis-assisted in situ single-crystal X-ray diffraction experiment
Contribution of ultrasound in the assessment of nerve diseases
Background and purpose:  Recently, ultrasound (US) has been used to assess the peripheral nervous system; however, there is no real study about its possible significant role in routine practice. Our study aims to assess the contribution of US as a routine tool in a neurophysiological laboratory. Methods:  The study assesses 130 patients who presented clinical suspicion of peripheral nerve diseases, excluding motor neuron disease, radiculopathy, hereditary and acquired polyneuropathy. All patients were clinically, neurophysiologically and sonographically assessed in the same session by the same neurologist/neurophysiologist. To avoid interpretation bias, two independent and blinded clinicians, different than the examiners performing electrodiagnosis and US, reviewed clinical, neurophysiological and US findings (also data about follow-up, when available) and classified the contribution of US as follows: Contributive (US had influence on the diagnostic and therapeutic strategies), Confirming (US confirmed the clinical and neurophysiological diagnosis), Non-Confirming (US findings were normal) and Incorrect (US findings led to incorrect diagnosis). Results:  US impacted, namely modified the diagnostic and therapeutic path in 42.3% of cases (55 patients); US had a confirmatory role in 40% (52 patients); US did not confirm clinical and neurophysiological diagnosis in 17.7% (23 cases); no incorrect US findings were observed. Conclusion:  US complements neurophysiological assessment even in routine practice, and this confirms the increasing interest in US for a multidimensional evaluation of peripheral nerve system disease
Strangeness Enhancement in Heavy Ion Collisions - Evidence for Quark-Gluon-Matter ?
The centrality dependence of (multi-)strange hadron abundances is studied for
Pb(158 AGeV)Pb reactions and compared to p(158 GeV)Pb collisions. The
microscopic transport model UrQMD is used for this analysis. The predicted
Lambda/pi-, Xi-/pi- and Omega-/pi- ratios are enhanced due to rescattering in
central Pb-Pb collisions as compared to peripheral Pb-Pb or p-Pb collisions. A
reduction of the constituent quark masses to the current quark masses m_s \sim
230 MeV, m_q \sim 10 MeV, as motivated by chiral symmetry restoration, enhances
the hyperon yields to the experimentally observed high values. Similar results
are obtained by an ad hoc overall increase of the color electric field strength
(effective string tension of kappa=3 GeV/fm). The enhancement depends strongly
on the kinematical cuts. The maximum enhancement is predicted around
midrapidity. For Lambda's, strangeness suppression is predicted at
projectile/target rapidity. For Omega's, the predicted enhancement can be as
large as one order of magnitude. Comparisons of Pb-Pb data to proton induced
asymmetric (p-A) collisions are hampered due to the predicted strong asymmetry
in the various rapidity distributions of the different (strange) particle
species. In p-Pb collisions, strangeness is locally (in rapidity) not
conserved. The present comparison to the data of the WA97 and NA49
collaborations clearly supports the suggestion that conventional (free)
hadronic scenarios are unable to describe the observed high (anti-)hyperon
yields in central collisions. The doubling of the strangeness to nonstrange
suppression factor, gamma_s \approx 0.65, might be interpreted as a signal of a
phase of nearly massless particles.Comment: published version, discussion on strange mesons and new table added,
extended discussion on strange baryon yields. Latex, 20 pages, including 5
eps-figure
Letter to Editor: Carpal tunnel syndrome due to an atypical deep soft tissue leiomyoma: The risk of misdiagnosis and mismanagement
A response to Chalidis et al: Carpal tunnel syndrome due to an atypical deep soft tissue leiomyoma: The risk of misdiagnosis and mismanagement. World J Surg Oncol 2007, 5:92
Single-fiber conduction velocity test allows earlier detection of abnormalities in diabetes
Introduction: The purpose of this study was to determine whether single-fiber conduction velocity (SF-CV) of a small number of axons increases sensitivity for identification of motor nerve conduction alterations in patients with diabetes. Methods: Twenty-one consecutive diabetic patients in good metabolic control were studied. For each patient, conventional (C-CV) and SF-CV results were correlated with the presence of neuropathic symptoms. Results: Nine of 21 patients reported symptoms suggestive of mild nerve impairment. Three patients had abnormal sural nerve CV, 1 of whom also had abnormal motor nerve conduction. Eighteen patients had normal findings on conventional tests, 3 of whom had slowing of SF-CV. Conclusions: SF-CV is able to detect mild myelin damage with higher sensitivity than conventional tests. The use of SF-CV may be a helpful tool in the early identification of diabetic polyneuropathy, and it may be useful for tailoring an approach to diabetic polyneuropathy. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc
A Novel Manufacturing Technology for RF MEMS Devices on Ceramic Substrates
Microelectromechanical systems are often used for their enormous capability and good qualities in T/R modules especially for space modular applications. High isolation and very low insertion loss are guaranteed by their intrinsic working principle. This is a very robust, flexible, and low-cost technology, and it provides high reliability, good reproducibility, and complete fulfillment of technical requirements
Possible Evidence of Disoriented Chiral Condensates from the Anomaly in Omega and AntiOmega Abundances at the SPS
No conventional picture of nucleus-nucleus collisions has yet been able to
explain the abundance of Omega and AntiOmega in central collisions between Pb
nuclei at 158 A GeV at the CERN SPS. We argue that such a deviation from
predictions of statistical thermal models and numerical simulations is evidence
that they are produced as topological defects in the form of skyrmions arising
from the formation of disoriented chiral condensates. The estimated domain size
falls in the right range to be consistent with the so far non-observation of
DCC from the distribution of neutral pions.Comment: paper presented at the ICPAQGP-2001, Jaipur, Indi
Rapidity distributions around mid-rapidity of strange particles in Pb-Pb collisions at 158 GeV/c
The production at central rapidity of K0s, Lambda, Xi and Omega particles in
Pb-Pb collisions at 158 A GeV/c has been measured by the NA57 experiment over a
centrality range corresponding to the most central 53% of the inelastic Pb-Pb
cross section. In this paper we present the rapidity distribution of each
particle in the central rapidity unit as a function of the event centrality.
The distributions are analyzed based on hydrodynamical models of the
collisions.Comment: 15 pages, 10 figure
Strangeness enhancements at central rapidity in 40 A GeV/c Pb-Pb collisions
Results are presented on neutral kaon, hyperon and antihyperon production in
Pb-Pb and p-Be interactions at 40 GeV/c per nucleon. The enhancement pattern
follows the same hierarchy as seen in the higher energy data - the enhancement
increases with the strangeness content of the hyperons and with the centrality
of collision. The centrality dependence of the Pb-Pb yields and enhancements is
steeper at 40 than at 158 A GeV/c. The energy dependence of strangeness
enhancements at mid-rapidity is discussed.Comment: 15 pages, 10 figures and 3 tables. Presented at International
Conference on Strangeness in Quark Matter (SQM2009), Buzios, Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil, 27 Sept - 2 Oct 2009. Submitted to J.Phys.G: Nucl.Part.Phys, one
reference adde
New results from the NA57 experiment
We report results from the experiment NA57 at CERN SPS on hyperon production
at midrapidity in Pb-Pb collisions at 158 GeV/ and 40 GeV/.
, and yields are compared with those from the STAR
experiment at the higher energy of the BNL RHIC. , , \
and preliminary transverse mass spectra are presented and interpreted
within the framework of a hydro-dynamical blast wave model.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures, contribution to the proceedings of The XXXVIIIth
Rencontres de Moriond "QCD and High Energy Hadronic Interactions
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