3,930 research outputs found
Injection of photoelectrons into dense argon gas
The injection of photoelectrons in a gaseous or liquid sample is a widespread
technique to produce a cold plasma in a weakly--ionized system in order to
study the transport properties of electrons in a dense gas or liquid. We report
here the experimental results of photoelectron injection into dense argon gas
at the temperatureT=142.6 K as a function of the externally applied electric
field and gas density. We show that the experimental data can be interpreted in
terms of the so called Young-Bradbury model only if multiple scattering effects
due to the dense environment are taken into account when computing the
scattering properties and the energetics of the electrons.Comment: 18 pages, 10 figures, figure nr. 10 has been redrawn, to be submitted
to Plasma Sources Science and Technolog
Point-of-care measurement of blood lactate in children admitted with febrile illness to an African District Hospital.
BACKGROUND: Lactic acidosis is a consistent predictor of mortality owing to severe infectious disease, but its detection in low-income settings is limited to the clinical sign of "deep breathing" because of the lack of accessible technology for its measurement. We evaluated the use of a point-of-care (POC) diagnostic device for blood lactate measurement to assess the severity of illness in children admitted to a district hospital in Tanzania. METHODS: Children between the ages of 2 months and 13 years with a history of fever were enrolled in the study during a period of 1 year. A full clinical history and examination were undertaken, and blood was collected for culture, microscopy, complete blood cell count, and POC measurement of blood lactate and glucose. RESULTS: The study included 3248 children, of whom 164 (5.0%) died; 45 (27.4%) of these had raised levels of blood lactate (>5 mmol/L) but no deep breathing. Compared with mortality in children with lactate levels of ≤ 3 mmol/L, the unadjusted odds of dying were 1.6 (95% confidence interval [CI].8-3.0), 3.4 (95% CI, 1.5-7.5), and 8.9 (95% CI, 4.7-16.8) in children with blood lactate levels of 3.1-5.0, 5.1-8.0, or >8.0 mmol/L, respectively. The prevalence of raised lactate levels (>5 mmol/L) was greater in children with malaria than in children with nonmalarial febrile illness (P < .001) although the associated mortality was greater in slide-negative children. CONCLUSIONS: POC lactate measurement can contribute to the assessment of children admitted to hospital with febrile illness and can also create an opportunity for more hospitals in resource-poor settings to participate in clinical trials of interventions to reduce mortality associated with hyperlactatemia
On the precise connection between the GRW master-equation and master-equations for the description of decoherence
We point out that the celebrated GRW master-equation is invariant under
translations, reflecting the homogeneity of space, thus providing a particular
realization of a general class of translation-covariant Markovian
master-equations. Such master-equations are typically used for the description
of decoherence due to momentum transfers between system and environment.
Building on this analogy we show the exact relationship between the GRW
master-equation and decoherence master-equations, further providing a
collisional decoherence model formally equivalent to the GRW master-equation.
This allows for a direct comparison of order of magnitudes of relevant
parameters. This formal analogy should not lead to confusion on the utterly
different spirit of the two research fields, in particular it has to be
stressed that the decoherence approach does not lead to a solution of the
measurement problem. Building on this analogy however the feasibility of the
extension of spontaneous localization models in order to avoid the infinite
energy growth is discussed. Apart from a particular case considered in the
paper, it appears that the amplification mechanism is generally spoiled by such
modifications.Comment: 9 pages, latex, no figures, to appear on J. Phys.
Normal saline resuscitation worsens lactic acidosis in experimental sepsis
It is well established that infusing large amounts of normal saline causes hyperchloremic acidosis, yet the clinical relevance of this is unknown.\ud
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We found that infusion of normal saline, compared with a balanced crystalloid, worsens lactic acidosis in experimental sepsis
Phenotype standardization for statin-induced myotoxicity
Statins are widely used lipid-lowering drugs that are effective in reducing cardiovascular disease risk. Although they are generally well tolerated, they can cause muscle toxicity, which can lead to severe rhabdomyolysis. Research in this area has been hampered to some extent by the lack of standardized nomenclature and phenotypic definitions. We have used numerical and descriptive classifications and developed an algorithm to define statin-related myotoxicity phenotypes, including myalgia, myopathy, rhabdomyolysis, and necrotizing autoimmune myopathy.</p
Theory of decoherence in a matter wave Talbot-Lau interferometer
We present a theoretical framework to describe the effects of decoherence on
matter waves in Talbot-Lau interferometry. Using a Wigner description of the
stationary beam the loss of interference contrast can be calculated in closed
form. The formulation includes both the decohering coupling to the environment
and the coherent interaction with the grating walls. It facilitates the
quantitative distinction of genuine quantum interference from the expectations
of classical mechanics. We provide realistic microscopic descriptions of the
experimentally relevant interactions in terms of the bulk properties of the
particles and show that the treatment is equivalent to solving the
corresponding master equation in paraxial approximation.Comment: 20 pages, 4 figures (minor corrections; now in two-column format
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