Can fuzzy logic make things more clear?

Intensive care is a complex environment involving many signals, data and observations. Clinical decision support and artificial intelligence using fuzzy logic and closed loop techniques are methods that might help us to handle this complexity in a safe, effective and efficient way. Merouani and colleagues have performed a study using fuzzy logic and closed loop techniques to more effectively wean patients with sepsis from norepinephrine infusion

Levels of protein C and activated protein C: what do they mean?

Acute pancreatitis is a local inflammatory process that leads to a systemic inflammatory response in the majority of cases, and sometimes leads to multiple organ failure. It is obvious that coagulation and especially the protein C system are involved in this disease. The present commentary is related to a study in patients with pancreatitis with and without multiple organ failure in which protein C and activated protein C levels were studied. The protein C system and other studies analyzing (activated) protein C levels are discussed

Coherent and incoherent pumping of electrons in double quantum dots

We propose a new mode of operation of an electron pump consisting of two weakly coupled quantum dots connected to reservoirs. An electron can be transferred within the device at zero bias voltage when it is subjected to electromagnetic radiation, thereby exciting the double dot. The excited state can decay by transferring charge from one lead and to the other lead in one direction. Depending on the energies of the intermediate states in the pumping cycle, which are controlled by the gate voltages, this transport is either incoherent via well-known sequential tunneling processes, or coherent via a inelastic co-tunneling process. The latter novel mode of operation is possible only when interdot Coulomb charging is important. The D.C. transport through the system can be controlled by the frequency of the applied radiation. We concentrate on the resonant case, when the frequency matches the energy difference for exciting an electron from one dot into the other. The resonant peaks in the pumping current should be experimentally observable. We have developed a density matrix approach which describes the dynamics of the system on timescales much larger than the period of the applied irradiation. In contrast to previous works we additionally consider the case of slow modulation of the irradiation amplitude. Harmonic modulation produces additional sidepeaks in the photoresponse, and pulsed modulation can be used to resolve the Rabi frequency in the time-averaged current.Comment: 5 pages, 6 figures. This is an extension of cond-mat/9707310 "A coherent double-quantum-dot electron pump" This version has been accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. B. Changes: Added references. Corrected typos. Changed content mainly the introduction. Regime of device operation is now specified more precisely. A stability diagram has been added as a figure has been adde

Septic Shock with Purpura in Children: an experimental and clinical approach

Septic shock with purpura is a rapidly evolving clinical picture characterized by sepsis (tachycardia, tachypnea, fever), shock (hypotension or signs of end-organ failure) and a spectrum of coagulation disorders (ranging from petechiae, purpura to ecchymoses). It is mainly (80 %) caused by N. meningitidis (group A, B or C). However, occasionally other micro-organisms such as Haemophilus influenzae, Haemophilus aegyptius, Streptococcus group A, group B streptococcus, streptococcus pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas species and Capnocytophagus canimorsus can be detected as a causative agent. Even viruses can under certain conditions cause a comparable clinical picture. Approximately 80 % of the patients is below the age of 18 years, and 50 % below the age of 5 years. The development of the disease in older patients is partly due to the presence of a deficiency in the immune system (complement deficiency, spleen extirpation, diabetes mellitus). The occurrence in children is related to the absence of antibodies, although it is assumed that these children are healthy except for an agerelated immaturity oftheir immune system. The mortality ranges from 15 - 40 %, depending on the selection of the patients