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Thin film porous membranes for catalytic sensors
This paper reports on new and surprising experimental data for catalytic film gas sensing resistors coated with nanoporous sol-gel films to impart selectivity and durability to the sensor structure. This work is the result of attempts to build selectivity and reactivity to the surface of a sensor by modifying it with a series of sol-gel layers. The initial sol-gel SiO{sub 2} layer applied to the sensor surprisingly showed enhanced O{sub 2} interaction with H{sub 2} and reduced susceptibility to poisons such as H{sub 2}S
Anisotropic intrinsic lattice thermal conductivity of phosphorene from first principles
Phosphorene, the single layer counterpart of black phosphorus, is a novel
two-dimensional semiconductor with high carrier mobility and a large
fundamental direct band gap, which has attracted tremendous interest recently.
Its potential applications in nano-electronics and thermoelectrics call for a
fundamental study of the phonon transport. Here, we calculate the intrinsic
lattice thermal conductivity of phosphorene by solving the phonon Boltzmann
transport equation (BTE) based on first-principles calculations. The thermal
conductivity of phosphorene at is
(zigzag) and
(armchair), showing an obvious anisotropy along different directions. The
calculated thermal conductivity fits perfectly to the inverse relation with
temperature when the temperature is higher than Debye temperature (). In comparison to graphene, the minor contribution around
of the ZA mode is responsible for the low thermal conductivity of
phosphorene. In addition, the representative mean free path (MFP), a critical
size for phonon transport, is also obtained.Comment: 5 pages and 6 figures, Supplemental Material available as
http://www.rsc.org/suppdata/cp/c4/c4cp04858j/c4cp04858j1.pd
Haloperidol and Ziprasidone for Treatment of Delirium in Critical Illness
BACKGROUND:
There are conflicting data on the effects of antipsychotic medications on delirium in patients in the intensive care unit (ICU).
METHODS:
In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, we assigned patients with acute respiratory failure or shock and hypoactive or hyperactive delirium to receive intravenous boluses of haloperidol (maximum dose, 20 mg daily), ziprasidone (maximum dose, 40 mg daily), or placebo. The volume and dose of a trial drug or placebo was halved or doubled at 12-hour intervals on the basis of the presence or absence of delirium, as detected with the use of the Confusion Assessment Method for the ICU, and of side effects of the intervention. The primary end point was the number of days alive without delirium or coma during the 14-day intervention period. Secondary end points included 30-day and 90-day survival, time to freedom from mechanical ventilation, and time to ICU and hospital discharge. Safety end points included extrapyramidal symptoms and excessive sedation.
RESULTS:
Written informed consent was obtained from 1183 patients or their authorized representatives. Delirium developed in 566 patients (48%), of whom 89% had hypoactive delirium and 11% had hyperactive delirium. Of the 566 patients, 184 were randomly assigned to receive placebo, 192 to receive haloperidol, and 190 to receive ziprasidone. The median duration of exposure to a trial drug or placebo was 4 days (interquartile range, 3 to 7). The median number of days alive without delirium or coma was 8.5 (95% confidence interval [CI], 5.6 to 9.9) in the placebo group, 7.9 (95% CI, 4.4 to 9.6) in the haloperidol group, and 8.7 (95% CI, 5.9 to 10.0) in the ziprasidone group (P=0.26 for overall effect across trial groups). The use of haloperidol or ziprasidone, as compared with placebo, had no significant effect on the primary end point (odds ratios, 0.88 [95% CI, 0.64 to 1.21] and 1.04 [95% CI, 0.73 to 1.48], respectively). There were no significant between-group differences with respect to the secondary end points or the frequency of extrapyramidal symptoms.
CONCLUSIONS:
The use of haloperidol or ziprasidone, as compared with placebo, in patients with acute respiratory failure or shock and hypoactive or hyperactive delirium in the ICU did not significantly alter the duration of delirium. (Funded by the National Institutes of Health and the VA Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center; MIND-USA ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01211522 .)
A Naturally Small Cosmological Constant on the Brane?
There appears to be no natural explanation for the cosmological constant's
small size within the framework of local relativistic field theories. We argue
that the recently-discussed framework for which the observable universe is
identified with a p-brane embedded within a higher-dimensional `bulk'
spacetime, has special properties that may help circumvent the obstacles to
this understanding. This possibility arises partly due to several unique
features of the brane proposal. These are: (1) the potential such models
introduce for partially breaking supersymmetry, (2) the possibility of having
low-energy degrees of freedom which are not observable to us because they are
physically located on a different brane, (3) the fundamental scale may be much
smaller than the Planck scale. Furthermore, although the resulting cosmological
constant in the scenarios we outline is naturally suppressed by weak coupling
constants of gravitational strength, it need not be exactly zero, raising the
possibility it could be in the range favoured by recent cosmological
observations.Comment: 7 pages. Powercounting arguments clarified, and comparison between
the induced cosmological constant and supersymmetric mass splittings made
more explici
Overview of the SME: Implications and Phenomenology of Lorentz Violation
The Standard Model Extension (SME) provides the most general
observer-independent field theoretical framework for investigations of Lorentz
violation. The SME lagrangian by definition contains all Lorentz-violating
interaction terms that can be written as observer scalars and that involve
particle fields in the Standard Model and gravitational fields in a generalized
theory of gravity. This includes all possible terms that could arise from a
process of spontaneous Lorentz violation in the context of a more fundamental
theory, as well as terms that explicitly break Lorentz symmetry. An overview of
the SME is presented, including its motivations and construction. Some of the
theoretical issues arising in the case of spontaneous Lorentz violation are
discussed, including the question of what happens to the Nambu-Goldstone modes
when Lorentz symmetry is spontaneously violated and whether a Higgs mechanism
can occur. A minimal version of the SME in flat Minkowski spacetime that
maintains gauge invariance and power-counting renormalizability is used to
search for leading-order signals of Lorentz violation. Recent Lorentz tests in
QED systems are examined, including experiments with photons, particle and
atomic experiments, proposed experiments in space and experiments with a
spin-polarized torsion pendulum.Comment: 40 pages, Talk presented at Special Relativity: Will it Survive the
Next 100 Years? Potsdam, Germany, February, 200
Abelian Magnetic Monopole Dominance in Quark Confinement
We prove Abelian magnetic monopole dominance in the string tension of QCD.
Abelian and monopole dominance in low energy physics of QCD has been confirmed
for various quantities by recent Monte Carlo simulations of lattice gauge
theory. In order to prove this dominance, we use the reformulation of continuum
Yang-Mills theory in the maximal Abelian gauge as a deformation of a
topological field theory of magnetic monopoles, which was proposed in the
previous article by the author. This reformulation provides an efficient way
for incorporating the magnetic monopole configuration as a topological
non-trivial configuration in the functional integral. We derive a version of
the non-Abelian Stokes theorem and use it to estimate the expectation value of
the Wilson loop. This clearly exhibits the role played by the magnetic monopole
as an origin of the Berry phase in the calculation of the Wilson loop in the
manifestly gauge invariant manner. We show that the string tension derived from
the diagonal (abelian) Wilson loop in the topological field theory (studied in
the previous article) converges to that of the full non-Abelian Wilson loop in
the limit of large Wilson loop. Therefore, within the above reformulation of
QCD, this result (together with the previous result) completes the proof of
quark confinement in QCD based on the criterion of the area law of the full
non-Abelian Wilson loop.Comment: 33 pages, Latex, no figures, version accepted for publication in
Phys. Rev. D (additions of sec. 4.5 and references, and minor changes
Incorporating clinical parameters to improve the accuracy of angiography-derived computed fractional flow reserve
Aims
Angiography-derived fractional flow reserve (angio-FFR) permits physiological lesion assessment without the need for an invasive pressure wire or induction of hyperaemia. However, accuracy is limited by assumptions made when defining the distal boundary, namely coronary microvascular resistance (CMVR). We sought to determine whether machine learning (ML) techniques could provide a patient-specific estimate of CMVR and therefore improve the accuracy of angio-FFR.
Methods and results
Patients with chronic coronary syndromes underwent coronary angiography with FFR assessment. Vessel-specific CMVR was computed using a three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics simulation with invasively measured proximal and distal pressures applied as boundary conditions. Predictive models were created using non-linear autoregressive moving average with exogenous input (NARMAX) modelling with computed CMVR as the dependent variable. Angio-FFR (VIRTUheart™) was computed using previously described methods. Three simulations were run: using a generic CMVR value (Model A); using ML-predicted CMVR based upon simple clinical data (Model B); and using ML-predicted CMVR also incorporating echocardiographic data (Model C). The diagnostic (FFR ≤ or >0.80) and absolute accuracies of these models were compared. Eighty-four patients underwent coronary angiography with FFR assessment in 157 vessels. The mean measured FFR was 0.79 (±0.15). The diagnostic and absolute accuracies of each personalized model were: (A) 73% and ±0.10; (B) 81% and ±0.07; and (C) 89% and ±0.05, P < 0.001.
Conclusion
The accuracy of angio-FFR was dependent in part upon CMVR estimation. Personalization of CMVR from standard clinical data resulted in a significant reduction in angio-FFR error
Strategies to Improve Recruitment to a De-escalation Trial:a Mixed-methods Study of the OPTIMA Prelim Trial in Early Breast Cancer
Aims:
De-escalation trials are challenging and sometimes may fail due to poor recruitment. The OPTIMA Prelim randomised controlled trial (ISRCTN42400492) randomised patients with early stage breast cancer to chemotherapy versus ‘test-directed’ chemotherapy, with a possible outcome of no chemotherapy, which could confer less treatment relative to routine practice. Despite encountering challenges, OPTIMA Prelim reached its recruitment target ahead of schedule. This study reports the root causes of recruitment challenges and the strategies used to successfully overcome them.
Materials and methods:
A mixed-methods recruitment intervention (QuinteT Recruitment Intervention) was used to investigate the recruitment difficulties and feedback findings to inform interventions and optimise ongoing recruitment. Quantitative site-level recruitment data, audio-recorded recruitment appointments (n = 46), qualitative interviews (n = 22) with trialists/recruiting staff (oncologists/nurses) and patient-facing documentation were analysed using descriptive, thematic and conversation analyses. Findings were triangulated to inform a ‘plan of action’ to optimise recruitment.
Results:
Despite best intentions, oncologists' routine practices complicated recruitment. Discomfort about deviating from the usual practice of recommending chemotherapy according to tumour clinicopathological features meant that not all eligible patients were approached. Audio-recorded recruitment appointments revealed how routine practices undermined recruitment. A tendency to justify chemotherapy provision before presenting the randomised controlled trial and subtly indicating that chemotherapy would be more/less beneficial undermined equipoise and made it difficult for patients to engage with OPTIMA Prelim. To tackle these challenges, individual and group recruiter feedback focussed on communication issues and vignettes of eligible patients were discussed to address discomforts around approaching patients. ‘Tips’ documents concerning structuring discussions and conveying equipoise were disseminated across sites, together with revisions to the Patient Information Sheet.
Conclusions:
This is the first study illuminating the tension between oncologists' routine practices and recruitment to de-escalation trials. Although time and resources are required, these challenges can be addressed through specific feedback and training as the trial is underway
Growing Tomorrow’s Teachers Together: The CaBan Initial Teacher Education Partnership
In this paper we outline the philosophy and research foundations underpinning the development of CaBan – an Initial Teacher Education (ITE) Partnership developed for the purpose of educating the teachers of tomorrow for North Wales. CaBan represents an ambitious ‘learning partnership’ of five partners consisting of regional schools, Bangor University, University of Chester, the regional school improvement service (GwE), and the Collaborative Institute for Education Research, Evidence and Impact (CIEREI). Each partner plays a key role in fulfilling our ambitions to contribute to Our National Mission and achieve our vision of ‘Growing Tomorrow’s Teachers Together.’ At its core, the goal of CaBan is to support our new Associate Teachers (ATs) to become creative, inspiring and highly skilled teachers who will contribute to the delivery of A curriculum for Wales – a curriculum for life (Welsh Government, 2015). In this paper we outline: (i) our basic vision and mission as a learning partnership; (ii) the evidence to support our strategic pedagogical position with respect to growing tomorrow’s teachers; (iii) the crucial role of mentoring in the development of our ATs as critically reflective practitioners; (iv) how we integrate research as a fundamental element of all we do; (v) how our programme design is underpinned by the notion of professional enquiry and career long professional learning (vi) the specific modes of learning that help nurture ATs’ sense of their ‘teaching self’; and crucially (vii) the importance of Welsh culture and the Welsh language in education and the role the CaBan partnership has in building capacity to help realise Welsh Government’s vision for a million Welsh speakers by 2050
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