4,435 research outputs found
The long-term prognostic significance of 6-minute walk test distance in patients with chronic heart failure
Background. The 6-minute walk test (6-MWT) is used to assess patients with chronic heart failure (CHF). The prognostic significance of the 6-MWT distance during long-term followup ( > 5 years) is unclear. Methods. 1,667 patients (median [inter-quartile range, IQR]) (age 72 [65-77] ; 75% males) with heart failure due to left ventricular systolic impairment undertook a 6-MWT as part of their baseline assessment and were followed up for 5 years. Results. At 5 years' followup, those patients who died (n = 959) were older at baseline and had a higher log NT pro-BNP than those who survived to 5 years (n = 708). 6-MWT distance was lower in those who died [163 (153) m versus 269 (160) m; P 360 m. 6-MWT distance was a predictor of all-cause mortality (HR 0.97; 95% CI 0.96-0.97; Chi-square = 184.1; P < 0.0001). Independent predictors of all-cause mortality were decreasing 6-MWT distance, increasing age, increasing NYHA classification, increasing log NT pro-BNP, decreasing diastolic blood pressure, decreasing sodium, and increasing urea. Conclusion. The 6-MWT is an important independent predictor of all-cause mortality following long-term followup in patients with CHF. © 2014 Lee Ingle et al
Metastability and the Casimir Effect in Micromechanical Systems
Electrostatic and Casimir interactions limit the range of positional
stability of electrostatically-actuated or capacitively-coupled mechanical
devices. We investigate this range experimentally for a generic system
consisting of a doubly-clamped Au suspended beam, capacitively-coupled to an
adjacent stationary electrode. The mechanical properties of the beam, both in
the linear and nonlinear regimes, are monitored as the attractive forces are
increased to the point of instability. There "pull-in" occurs, resulting in
permanent adhesion between the electrodes. We investigate, experimentally and
theoretically, the position-dependent lifetimes of the free state (existing
prior to pull-in). We find that the data cannot be accounted for by simple
theory; the discrepancy may be reflective of internal structural instabilities
within the metal electrodes.Comment: RevTex, 4 pages, 4 figure
Performance of silicon solar cell assemblies
Solar cell assembly current-voltage characteristics, thermal-optical properties, and power performance were determined. Solar cell cover glass thermal radiation, optical properties, confidence limits, and temperature intensity effects on maximum power were discussed
The relation between repeated 6-minute walk test performance and outcome in patients with chronic heart failure
Objective: To assess the prognostic implications of the 6-minute walk test (6-MWT) distance measured twice, one year apart, in a large sample of patients with chronic heart failure (CHF) followed for an extended period ( > . 8. years from baseline). Material and methods: Patients undertook a 6-MWT at baseline and at one year, and were followed up for 8. years from baseline. Results: Six hundred patients (median [inter-quartile range, IQR]) (age 78 [72-84] years; 75% males; body mass index 27 [25-31] kg·m -2 ; left ventricular ejection fraction 34 [26-38] %) were included. At baseline, median 6-MWT distance was 232 (60-386) m. There was no significant change in 6-MWT distance at one year (change -12m; P=0.533). During a median follow-up of 8.0years in survivors, 396patients had died (66%). Four variables were independent predictors of all-cause mortality in a multivariable Cox model (adjusted for body mass index, age, QRS duration, left ventricular ejection fraction); increasing NT pro-BNP, decreasing 6-MWT distance at 1year, decreasing haemoglobin, and increasing urea. Conclusions: Distance walked during the 6-MWT is an independent predictor of all-cause mortality in patients with CHF. In survivors, the 6-MWT distance is stable at 1 year. The 6-MWT distance at 1 year carries similar prognostic information. © 2014 Elsevier Masson SAS
High-Frequency Nanofluidics: An Experimental Study using Nanomechanical Resonators
Here we apply nanomechanical resonators to the study of oscillatory fluid
dynamics. A high-resonance-frequency nanomechanical resonator generates a
rapidly oscillating flow in a surrounding gaseous environment; the nature of
the flow is studied through the flow-resonator interaction. Over the broad
frequency and pressure range explored, we observe signs of a transition from
Newtonian to non-Newtonian flow at , where is a
properly defined fluid relaxation time. The obtained experimental data appears
to be in close quantitative agreement with a theory that predicts purely
elastic fluid response as
Anomalous suppression of the shot noise in a nanoelectromechanical system
In this paper we report a relaxation-induced suppression of the noise for a
single level quantum dot coupled to an oscillator with incoherent dynamics in
the sequential tunneling regime. It is shown that relaxation induces
qualitative changes in the transport properties of the dot, depending on the
strength of the electron-phonon coupling and on the applied voltage. In
particular, critical thresholds in voltage and relaxation are found such that a
suppression below 1/2 of the Fano factor is possible. Additionally, the current
is either enhanced or suppressed by increasing relaxation, depending on bias
being greater or smaller than the above threshold. These results exist for any
strength of the electron-phonon coupling and are confirmed by a four states toy
model.Comment: 7 pages, 7 eps figures, submitted to PRB; minor changes in the
introductio
Development of a composite model derived from cardiopulmonary exercise tests to predict mortality risk in patients with mild-to-moderate heart failure
Objective: Cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) is used to predict outcome in patients with mild-to-moderate heart failure (HF). Single CPET-derived variables are often used, but we wanted to see if a composite score achieved better predictive power. Methods: Retrospective analysis of patient records at the Department of Cardiology, Castle Hill Hospital, Kingston-upon-Hull. 387 patients [median (25th-75th percentile)] [age 65 (56-72) years; 79% males; LVEF 34 (31-37) %] were included. Patients underwent a symptomlimited, maximal CPET on a treadmill. During a median follow up of 8.6 ± 2.1 years in survivors, 107 patients died. Survival models were built and validated using a hybrid approach between the bootstrap and Cox regression. Nine CPET-derived variables were included. Z-score defined each variable's predictive strength. Model coefficients were converted to a risk score. Results: Four CPET-related variables were independent predictors of all-cause mortality in the survival model: the presence of exertional oscillatory ventilation (EOV), increasing slope of the relation between ventilation and carbon dioxide production (VE/VCO2 slope), decreasing oxygen uptake efficiency slope (OUES), and an increase in the lowest ventilatory equivalent for carbon dioxide (VEqCO2 nadir). Individual predictors of mortality ranged from 0.60 to 0.71 using Harrell’s C-statistic, but the optimal combination of EOV + VE/VCO2 slope + OUES + VEqCO2 nadir reached 0.75. The Hull CPET risk score had a significantly higher area under the curve (0.78) when compared to the Heart Failure Survival Score (AUC=0.70;
Development of a human model for the study of effects of hypoxia, exercise, and sildenafil on cardiac and vascular function in chronic heart failure
Background: Pulmonary hypertension is associated with poor outcome in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF) and may be a therapeutic target. Our aims were to develop a noninvasive model for studying pulmonary vasoreactivity in CHF and characterize sildenafil's acute cardiovascular effects. Methods and Results: In a crossover study, 18 patients with CHF participated 4 times [sildenafil (2 × 20 mg)/or placebo (double-blind) while breathing air or 15% oxygen] at rest and during exercise. Oxygen saturation (SaO2) and systemic vascular resistance were recorded. Left and right ventricular (RV) function and transtricuspid systolic pressure gradient (RVTG) were measured echocardiographically. At rest, hypoxia caused SaO2 (P = 0.001) to fall and RVTG to rise (5 ± 4 mm Hg; P = 0.001). Sildenafil reduced SaO2 (−1 ± 2%; P = 0.043), systemic vascular resistance (−87 ± 156 dyn·s−1·cm−2; P = 0.034), and RVTG (−2 ± 5 mm Hg; P = 0.05). Exercise caused cardiac output (2.1 ± 1.8 L/min; P < 0.001) and RVTG (19 ± 11 mm Hg; P < 0.0001) to rise. The reduction in RVTG with sildenafil was not attenuated by hypoxia. The rise in RVTG with exercise was not substantially reduced by sildenafil. Conclusions: Sildenafil reduces SaO2 at rest while breathing air, this was not exacerbated by hypoxia, suggesting increased ventilation–perfusion mismatching due to pulmonary vasodilation in poorly ventilated lung regions. Sildenafil reduces RVTG at rest and prevents increases caused by hypoxia but not by exercise. This study shows the usefulness of this model to evaluate new therapeutics in pulmonary hypertension
Quantum Effects in the Mechanical Properties of Suspended Nanomechanical Systems
We explore the quantum aspects of an elastic bar supported at both ends and
subject to compression. If strain rather than stress is held fixed, the system
remains stable beyond the buckling instability, supporting two potential
minima. The classical equilibrium transverse displacement is analogous to a
Ginsburg-Landau order parameter, with strain playing the role of temperature.
We calculate the quantum fluctuations about the classical value as a function
of strain. Excitation energies and quantum fluctuation amplitudes are compared
for silicon beams and carbon nanotubes.Comment: RevTeX4. 5 pages, 3 eps figures. Submitted to Physical Review Letter
Strong feedback and current noise in nanoelectromechanical systems
We demonstrate the feasibility of a strong feedback regime for a
single-electron tunneling device weakly coupled to an underdamped single-mode
oscillator. In this regime, mechanical oscillations are generated and the
current is strongly modified whereas the current noise is parametrically big
with respect to the Poisson value. This regime requires energy dependence of
the tunnel amplitudes. For sufficiently fast tunnel rates the mechanical
contribution to current noise can exceed the Poisson value even beyond the
strong feedback regime.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
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