Sex difference and intra-operative tidal volume: Insights from the LAS VEGAS study

BACKGROUND: One key element of lung-protective ventilation is the use of a low tidal volume (VT). A sex difference in use of low tidal volume ventilation (LTVV) has been described in critically ill ICU patients.OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to determine whether a sex difference in use of LTVV also exists in operating room patients, and if present what factors drive this difference.DESIGN, PATIENTS AND SETTING: This is a posthoc analysis of LAS VEGAS, a 1-week worldwide observational study in adults requiring intra-operative ventilation during general anaesthesia for surgery in 146 hospitals in 29 countries.MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Women and men were compared with respect to use of LTVV, defined as VT of 8 ml kg-1 or less predicted bodyweight (PBW). A VT was deemed 'default' if the set VT was a round number. A mediation analysis assessed which factors may explain the sex difference in use of LTVV during intra-operative ventilation.RESULTS: This analysis includes 9864 patients, of whom 5425 (55%) were women. A default VT was often set, both in women and men; mode VT was 500 ml. Median [IQR] VT was higher in women than in men (8.6 [7.7 to 9.6] vs. 7.6 [6.8 to 8.4] ml kg-1 PBW, P < 0.001). Compared with men, women were twice as likely not to receive LTVV [68.8 vs. 36.0%; relative risk ratio 2.1 (95% CI 1.9 to 2.1), P < 0.001]. In the mediation analysis, patients' height and actual body weight (ABW) explained 81 and 18% of the sex difference in use of LTVV, respectively; it was not explained by the use of a default VT.CONCLUSION: In this worldwide cohort of patients receiving intra-operative ventilation during general anaesthesia for surgery, women received a higher VT than men during intra-operative ventilation. The risk for a female not to receive LTVV during surgery was double that of males. Height and ABW were the two mediators of the sex difference in use of LTVV.TRIAL REGISTRATION: The study was registered at Clinicaltrials.gov, NCT01601223

A unified understanding of (γ, n) and (n, γ) reactions and direct neutron-multiplicity sorting

We discuss the γ-ray strength function toward a unified understanding of (γ,n) and (n,γ) reactions and propose a novel technique of direct neutron-multiplicity sorting to resolve the long-standing discrepancy between the Livermore and Scalya data of partial photoneutron cross sections

E3 and M2 transition strengths in Bi 83209

The 1i132›1h92(M2) and 3s12›2f72(E3) reduced proton transition probabilities in Bi83209 have been determined from the direct half-life measurements of the 1321+ and 121+ states using the Romanian array for ?-ray SPectroscopy in HEavy ion REactions (RoSPHERE). The 1321+ and 121+ states were found to have T12=0.120(15) ns and T12=9.02(24) ns respectively. Angular distribution measurements were used to determine an E3/M2 mixing ratio of ?=-0.184(13) for the 1609 keV ?-ray transition deexciting the 1321+ state. This value for ? was combined with the measured half-life to give reduced transition probabilities of B(E3,1321+›921-)=12(2)×103e2fm6 and B(M2,1321+›921-)=38(5)µN2fm2. These values are in good agreement with calculations within the finite Fermi system. The extracted value of B(E3,121+›721-)=6.3(2)×103e2fm6 can be explained by a small (~6%) admixture in the wave function of the 121+ state. © 2016 American Physical Society.Science Foundation Ireland National Science Foundation Science and Technology Facilities CouncilThe staff of the Horia Hulubei National Institute of Physics and Nuclear Engineering (IFIN-HH), Bucharest, Romania are thanked for their excellent technical support during this experiment. This work was supported by a UK NuSTAR grant (ST/G000697/1) from the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) and by NSF Grant No. PHY-1404442. O.J.R. acknowledges support from Science Foundation Ireland under Grant No. 12/IP/1288. T.A. acknowledges support from Almajmaah University, Saudi Arabia. The work of N.M.F. has been funded by the Sectoral Operational Programme Human Resources Development 2007-2013 of the Ministry of European Funds through the Financial Agreement POSDRU/159/1.5/S/132397. P.H.R. acknowledges support from the UK National Measurement Office (NMO)

Biostratigraphic re-evaluation of the lower to middle Miocene succession in the Eastern Carpathians: a case study related to the oil fields of the Diapir Fold Zone, Romania

Romania has a long history of hydrocarbon production and tens of thousands of boreholes have penetrated Miocene strata. Many well cores or cuttings have been either lost or damaged, but lab reports containing valuable petrographic, paleontological and structural data are still available. Most of the knowledge of the subsurface relies on old descriptions and interpretations used by the oil industry. These data have not been recently updated, while research results from the last decade suggest potential changes in stratigraphy, especially for the lower to middle Miocene succession. In order to update, calibrate, and reduce uncertainties regarding the subsurface stratigraphic record, we have reviewed the lab reports and used equivalent field samples for an updated interpretation of the lower to middle Miocene succession. Core and cutting descriptions from boreholes covering an area of ~10,000 km2 in the Diapir Fold Zone of the Eastern Carpathians have been selected and biostratigraphically re-evaluated based on microfossils and calcareous nannofossils. In many cases, highly uncertain ages were previously interpreted as Oligocene and early Miocene. Our recent data suggest that most of the lower Miocene is either difficult to determine or has been reinterpreted as middle Miocene (e.g., Cornu and Doftana formations). This significant change in ages requires an updated model for the timing of regional structural evolution and may open new exploration opportunities in this highly mature hydrocarbon area. This study demonstrates the need for a new complete and reliable stratigraphic framework for the whole Miocene stratigraphic record of the Eastern Carpathian

GDR cross sections updated in the IAEA-CRP

The Coordinated Research Project (CRP) with the code F41032 has been launched by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in 2016 as a 5-year project with the scientific goal being two-fold: 1) updating the 2000 photonuclear data library and 2) constructing a reference database of photon strength functions. We report the experimental technique and methodology used for the former goal and selected giant-dipole resonance (GDR) data updated in the IAEA-CRP

GDR cross sections updated in the IAEA-CRP

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Developing reliable reaction gamma-ray data

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Reference database for photon strength functions

Photon strength functions describing the average response of the nucleus to an electromagnetic probe are key input information in the theoretical modelling of nuclear reactions. Consequently they are important for a wide range of fields such as nuclear structure, nuclear astrophysics, medical isotope production, fission and fusion reactor technologies. They are also sources of information for widely used reaction libraries such as the IAEA Reference Input Parameter Library and evaluated data files such as EGAF. In the past two decades, the amount of reaction gamma-ray data measured to determine photon strength functions has grown rapidly. Different experimental techniques have led to discrepant results and users are faced with the dilemma of which (if any) of the divergent data to adopt. We report on a coordinated effort to compile and assess the existing experimental data on photon strength functions from the giant dipole resonance region to energies below the neutron separation energy. The assessment of the discrepant data at energies around or below the neutron separation energy has been possible only in a few cases where adequate information on the model-dependent analysis and estimation of uncertainties was available. In the giant dipole resonance region, we adopt the recommendations of the new IAEA photonuclear data library. We also present global empirical and semi-microscopic models that describe the photon strength functions in the entire energy region and reproduce reasonably well most of the experimental data. The compiled experimental photon strengths and recommended model calculations are available from the PSF database hosted at the IAEA (http://www-nds.iaea.org/PSFdatabase).SCOPUS: re.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Photon-flux determination by the Poisson-fitting technique with quenching corrections

Single- and multi-photon spectra of pulsed -ray beams produced at 17, 34, and 40 MeV in the laser Compton scattering were measured with an 8” 12” NaI(Tl) detector. By using the experimental single-photon spectra as the probability function of generating random numbers, response functions of the NaI(Tl) detector to -fold photons ( = 2, 3, 4 ...) were constructed. The least-square fits to the experimental multi-photon spectra by the Poisson distribution consisting of the response functions were made. The multi-photon spectra measured at 17 and 34 MeV follow the Poisson distribution. A quenching phenomenon of multi-photon spectra was observed for 40 MeV -rays as a result of the saturation at the photomultiplier tube of the NaI(Tl) detector. The original Poisson distributions were restored from the quenched spectra using a saturation curve in the form of with =e. We discuss the accuracy of photon-flux determination