429 research outputs found
Quasiparticle Density of States of Clean and Dirty s-Wave Superconductors in the Vortex State
The quasiparticle density of states (DOS) in the vortex state has been probed
by specific heat measurements under magnetic fields (H) for clean and dirty
s-wave superconductors, Y(Ni1-xPtx)2B2C and Nb1-xTaxSe2. We find that the
quasiparticle DOS per vortex is appreciably H-dependent in the clean-limit
superconductors, while it is H-independent in the dirty superconductors as
expected from a conventional rigid normal electron core picture. We discuss
possible origins for our observations in terms of the shrinking of the vortex
core radius with increasing H.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, to appear in J. Phys. Soc. Jpn. Vol. 68 No.
Peri‐operative cardiac arrest in children as reported to the 7th National Audit Project of the Royal College of Anaesthetists
The 7th National Audit Project of the Royal College of Anaesthetists studied peri‐operative cardiac arrest. An activity survey estimated UK paediatric anaesthesia annual caseload as 390,000 cases, 14% of the UK total. Paediatric peri‐operative cardiac arrests accounted for 104 (12%) reports giving an incidence of 3 in 10,000 anaesthetics (95%CI 2.2–3.3 per 10,000). The incidence of peri‐operative cardiac arrest was highest in neonates (27, 26%), infants (36, 35%) and children with congenital heart disease (44, 42%) and most reports were from tertiary centres (88, 85%). Frequent precipitants of cardiac arrest in non‐cardiac surgery included: severe hypoxaemia (20, 22%); bradycardia (10, 11%); and major haemorrhage (9, 8%). Cardiac tamponade and isolated severe hypotension featured prominently as causes of cardiac arrest in children undergoing cardiac surgery or cardiological procedures. Themes identified at review included: inappropriate choices and doses of anaesthetic drugs for intravenous induction; bradycardias associated with high concentrations of volatile anaesthetic agent or airway manipulation; use of atropine in the place of adrenaline; and inadequate monitoring. Overall quality of care was judged by the panel to be good in 64 (62%) cases, which compares favourably with adults (371, 52%). The study provides insight into paediatric anaesthetic practice, complications and peri‐operative cardiac arrest
Diffuse versus square-well confining potentials in modelling @C atoms
Attention: this version- of the manuscript differs from its previously
uploaded version- (arXiv:1112.6158v1) and subsequently published in 2012 J.
Phys. B \textbf{45} 105102 only by a removed typo in Eq.(2) of version-;
there was the erroneous factor "2" in both terms in the right-hand-side of the
Eq.(2) of version-. Now that the typo is removed, Eq.(2) is correct.
A perceived advantage for the replacement of a discontinuous square-well
pseudo-potential, which is often used by various researchers as an
approximation to the actual C cage potential in calculations of
endohedral atoms @C, by a more realistic diffuse potential is
explored. The photoionization of endohedral H@C and Xe@C is
chosen as the case study. The diffuse potential is modelled by a combination of
two Woods-Saxon potentials. It is demonstrated that photoionization spectra of
@C atoms are largely insensitive to the degree of diffuseness
of the potential borders, in a reasonably broad range of 's.
Alternatively, these spectra are found to be insensitive to discontinuity of
the square-well potential either. Both potentials result in practically
identical calculated spectra. New numerical values for the set of square-well
parameters, which lead to a better agreement between experimental and
theoretical data for @C spectra, are recommended for future studies.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figure
Enhanced Radiative Auger Emission From Lithiumlike S13+16
The radiative Auger emission (RAE) from 0.946.25-MeV/u 16S13+ (lithiumlike) projectiles excited in collisions with He target atoms has been measured. For these highly stripped ions the intensity of RAE photons relative to K x-ray emission is enhanced by about a factor of five compared with theoretical calculations and an earlier experimental measurement for S ions with few electron vacancies. The enhancement of RAE for S13+ is qualitatively similar to results reported previously for lithiumlike 23V20+; however, some differences between S and V are evident. © 1990 The American Physical Society
Deputy Director
Nonresidential Buildings to be effective on July 1, 2014 now include the following Energy Commission approved and adopted Nonsubstantive errata
Living near Main Streets and Respiratory Symptoms in Adults: The Swiss Cohort Study on Air Pollution and Lung Diseases in Adults
The Swiss Cohort Study on Air Pollution and Lung Diseases in Adults (SAPALDIA), conducted in 1991 (SAPALDIA 1) in eight areas among 9,651 randomly selected adults aged 18-60 years, reported associations among the prevalence of respiratory symptoms, nitrogen dioxide, and particles with an aerodynamic diameter of less than 10 μg/m3. Later, 8,047 subjects reenrolled in 2002 (SAPALDIA 2). The effects of individually assigned traffic exposures on reported respiratory symptoms were estimated, while controlling for socioeconomic and exposure- and health-related factors. The risk of attacks of breathlessness increased for all subjects by 13% (95% confidence interval: 3, 24) per 500-m increment in the length of main street segments within 200 m of the home and decreased in never smokers by 12% (95% confidence interval: 0, 22) per 100-m increment in distance from home to a main street. Living within 20 m of a main street increased the risks of regular phlegm by 15% (95% confidence interval: 0, 31) and wheezing with breathing problems by 34% (95% confidence interval: 0, 79) in never smokers. In 2002, the effects related to road distance were different from those in 1991, which could be due to changes in the traffic pollution mixture. These findings among a general population provide strong confirmation that living near busy streets leads to adverse respiratory health effect
Verifying a Computational Method for Predicting Extreme Ground Motion
Large earthquakes strike infrequently and close-in recordings are uncommon. This situation makes it difficult to predict the ground motion very close to earthquake-generating faults, if the prediction is to be based on readily available observations. A solution might be to cover the Earth with seismic instruments so that one could rely on the data from previous events to predict future shaking. However, even in the case of complete seismic data coverage for hundreds of years, there would still be
one type of earthquake that would be difficult to predict: those very rare earthquakes that produce very large ground motion
Peri-operative cardiac arrest:management and outcomes of patients analysed in the 7th National Audit Project of the Royal College of Anaesthetists
Altered expression of microRNA in the airway wall in chronic asthma: miR-126 as a potential therapeutic target
Background: The role of microRNAs (miRNAs) in regulating gene expression is currently an area of intense interest. Relatively little is known, however, about the role of miRNAs in inflammatory and immunologically-driven disorders. In a mouse model, we have previously shown that miRNAs are potentially important therapeutic targets in allergic asthma, because inhibition of miR-126, one of a small subset of miRNAs upregulated in the airway wall, effectively suppressed Th2-driven airway inflammation and other features of asthma. In the present study, we extended investigation of the therapeutic potential of miRNA inhibition to our well-established model of chronic asthma. Methods: Female BALB/c mice were systemically sensitised with ovalbumin (OVA) and chronically challenged with low mass concentrations of aerosolised OVA for up to 6 weeks. Airway tissue was obtained by blunt dissection and RNA was isolated for miRNA profiling. On the basis of the results obtained, animals were subsequently treated with either an antagomir to miR-126 (ant-miR-126) or a scrambled control antagomir once weekly during the 6 weeks of chronic challenge, and the effects on airway inflammation and remodelling were assessed using established morphometric techniques. Results: Compared to naïve mice, there was selective upregulation of a modest number of miRNAs, notably miR-126, in the airway wall tissue of chronically challenged animals. The relative increase was maximal after 2 weeks of inhalational challenge and subsequently declined to baseline levels. Compared to treatment with the scrambled control, ant-miR-126 significantly reduced recruitment of intraepithelial eosinophils, but had no effect on the chronic inflammatory response, or on changes of airway remodelling. Conclusions: In this model of chronic asthma, there was an initial increase in expression of a small number of miRNAs in the airway wall, notably miR-126. However, this later declined to baseline levels, suggesting that sustained changes in miRNA may not be essential for perpetuation of chronic asthma. Moreover, inhibition of miR-126 by administration of an antagomir suppressed eosinophil recruitment into the airways but had no effect on chronic inflammation in the airway wall, or on changes of remodelling, suggesting that multiple miRNAs are likely to regulate the development of these lesions
- …