Coulomb singularities in scattering wave functions of spin-orbit-coupled states

We report on our analysis of the Coulomb singularity problem in the frame of the coupled channel scattering theory including spin-orbit interaction. We assume that the coupling between the partial wave components involves orbital angular momenta such that $\Delta l = 0, \pm 2$. In these conditions, the two radial functions, components of a partial wave associated to two values of the angular momentum $l$, satisfy a system of two second-order ordinary differential equations. We examine the difficulties arising in the analysis of the behavior of the regular solutions near the origin because of this coupling. First, we demonstrate that for a singularity of the first kind in the potential, one of the solutions is not amenable to a power series expansion. The use of the Lippmann-Schwinger equations confirms this fact: a logarithmic divergence arises at the second iteration. To overcome this difficulty, we introduce two auxilliary functions which, together with the two radial functions, satisfy a system of four first-order differential equations. The reduction of the order of the differential system enables us to use a matrix-based approach, which generalizes the standard Frobenius method. We illustrate our analysis with numerical calculations of coupled scattering wave functions in a solid-state system

Comparison of clinical outcomes between Magmaris and Orsiro drug eluting stent at 12 months: Pooled patient level analysis from BIOSOLVE II–III and BIOFLOW II trials

Background: The aim of this study was to compare the 12-month clinical outcomes of patients treated with Magmaris or Orsiro. Second generation drug-eluting absorbable metal scaffold Magmaris (Dreams 2G) has proved to be safe and effective in the BIOSOLVE-II study. Similarly, biodegradable polymer sirolimus-eluting stent, Orsiro has shown notable clinical results even in all-comer populations. Methods: Magmaris group patients were taken from the BIOSOLVE-II and BIOSOLVE-III trials, while the patients from Orsiro group were enrolled in BIOFLOW-II trial. The primary outcome was explored using a time-to-event assessment of the unadjusted clinical outcomes for target lesion failure (TLF) at 12 months, followed by a multivariate analysis adjusting for all the significantly different covariates between the groups. Results: The study population consisted of 482 patients (521 lesions), 184 patients (189 lesions) in Magmaris group and 298 patients (332 lesions) in Orsiro group. The mean age was 65.5 ± 10.8 and 62.7 ± 10.4 years in Magmaris and Orsiro groups, respectively (p = 0.005). Magmaris and Orsiro unadjusted TLF rates were 6.0 and 6.4% with no significant difference between the groups (p = 0.869). In the multivariate analysis, there were no meaningful differences between Magmaris and Orsiro groups. Finally, none of the groups presented device thrombosis cases at 12 months. Conclusion: At 12 months there were no significant differences between Magmaris and Orsiro groups neither in the unadjusted assessment nor in the multivariate analysis for target lesion failure. These results should be taken as hypothesis generating and may warrant a head to head comparison on a randomized fashion

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

The Changing Landscape for Stroke\ua0Prevention in AF: Findings From the GLORIA-AF Registry Phase 2

Background GLORIA-AF (Global Registry on Long-Term Oral Antithrombotic Treatment in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation) is a prospective, global registry program describing antithrombotic treatment patterns in patients with newly diagnosed nonvalvular atrial fibrillation at risk of stroke. Phase 2 began when dabigatran, the first non\u2013vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulant (NOAC), became available. Objectives This study sought to describe phase 2 baseline data and compare these with the pre-NOAC era collected during phase 1. Methods During phase 2, 15,641 consenting patients were enrolled (November 2011 to December 2014); 15,092 were eligible. This pre-specified cross-sectional analysis describes eligible patients\u2019 baseline characteristics. Atrial fibrillation disease characteristics, medical outcomes, and concomitant diseases and medications were collected. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results Of the total patients, 45.5% were female; median age was 71 (interquartile range: 64, 78) years. Patients were from Europe (47.1%), North America (22.5%), Asia (20.3%), Latin America (6.0%), and the Middle East/Africa (4.0%). Most had high stroke risk (CHA2DS2-VASc [Congestive heart failure, Hypertension, Age  6575 years, Diabetes mellitus, previous Stroke, Vascular disease, Age 65 to 74 years, Sex category] score  652; 86.1%); 13.9% had moderate risk (CHA2DS2-VASc = 1). Overall, 79.9% received oral anticoagulants, of whom 47.6% received NOAC and 32.3% vitamin K antagonists (VKA); 12.1% received antiplatelet agents; 7.8% received no antithrombotic treatment. For comparison, the proportion of phase 1 patients (of N = 1,063 all eligible) prescribed VKA was 32.8%, acetylsalicylic acid 41.7%, and no therapy 20.2%. In Europe in phase 2, treatment with NOAC was more common than VKA (52.3% and 37.8%, respectively); 6.0% of patients received antiplatelet treatment; and 3.8% received no antithrombotic treatment. In North America, 52.1%, 26.2%, and 14.0% of patients received NOAC, VKA, and antiplatelet drugs, respectively; 7.5% received no antithrombotic treatment. NOAC use was less common in Asia (27.7%), where 27.5% of patients received VKA, 25.0% antiplatelet drugs, and 19.8% no antithrombotic treatment. Conclusions The baseline data from GLORIA-AF phase 2 demonstrate that in newly diagnosed nonvalvular atrial fibrillation patients, NOAC have been highly adopted into practice, becoming more frequently prescribed than VKA in Europe and North America. Worldwide, however, a large proportion of patients remain undertreated, particularly in Asia and North America. (Global Registry on Long-Term Oral Antithrombotic Treatment in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation [GLORIA-AF]; NCT01468701