2,370 research outputs found
Electrodynamics of superconducting pnictide superlattices
It has been recently reported (S. Lee et al., Nature Materials 12, 392, 2013)
that superlattices where layers of the 8% Co-doped BaFe2As2 superconducting
pnictide are intercalated with non superconducting ultrathin layers of either
SrTiO3 or of oxygen-rich BaFe2As2, can be used to control flux pinning, thereby
increasing critical fields and currents, without significantly affecting the
critical temperature of the pristine superconducting material. However, little
is known about the electron properties of these systems. Here we investigate
the electrodynamics of these superconducting pnictide superlattices in the
normal and superconducting state by using infrared reflectivity, from THz to
visible range. We find that multi-gap structure of these superlattices is
preserved, whereas some significant changes are observed in their electronic
structure with respect to those of the original pnictide. Our results suggest
that possible attempts to further increase the flux pinning may lead to a
breakdown of the pnictide superconducting properties.Comment: 4 pages, two figure
Rehabilitation following surgery for lumbar spinal stenosis: a Cochrane review
Study Design
A systematic review of randomised controlled trials (RCTs)
Objective
To determine the effects of active rehabilitation on functional outcome following lumbar spinal stenosis surgery when compared with 'usual postoperative care'.
Summary of background data
Surgery rates for lumbar spinal stenosis have risen, yet outcomes remain suboptimal. Post-operative rehabilitation has been suggested as a tool to improve post-operative function but, to date, there is limited evidence to support its use.
Methods
CENTRAL (The Cochrane Library), the Cochrane Back Review Group Trials Register, MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL and PEDro electronic databases were searched. Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) comparing the effectiveness of active rehabilitation with usual care in adults with lumbar spinal stenosis who had undergone primary spinal decompression surgery were included. Two authors independently selected studies, assessed the risk of bias, and extracted the data in line with the recommendations of the Cochrane Back Review Group. Study results were pooled in a meta-analysis when appropriate using functional status as the primary outcome, with secondary outcomes including measures of leg pain, low back pain, and global improvement/general health. The GRADE approach was used to assess the quality of the evidence.
Results
Our searches yielded 1,726 articles, of which three studies (N = 373 participants) were suitable for inclusion in meta-analysis. All included studies were deemed to have low risk of bias; no study had unacceptably high dropout rates. There was moderate evidence suggesting that active rehabilitation was more effective than usual care in improving both short- and long-term functional status following surgery. Similar findings were noted for secondary outcomes, including short-term improvement in low back pain and long-term improvement in both low back pain and leg pain.
Conclusions
We obtained moderate-quality evidence indicating that postoperative active rehabilitation after decompression surgery for lumbar spinal stenosis is more effective than usual care. Further work is required particularly with respect to the cost effectiveness of such interventions
Molecular ions in L1544. I. Kinematics
We have mapped the dense dark core L1544 in H13CO+(1-0), DCO+(2-1),
DCO+(3-2), N2H+(1-0), NTH+(3-2), N2D+(2-1), N2D+(3-2), C18O(1-0), and C17O(1-0)
using the IRAM 30-m telescope. We have obtained supplementary observations of
HC18O+(1-0), HC17O+(1-0), and D13CO+(2-1). Many of the observed maps show a
general correlation with the distribution of dust continuum emission in
contrast to C18O(1-0) and C17O(1-0) which give clear evidence for depletion of
CO at positions close to the continuum peak. In particular N2D+(2-1) and (3-2)
and to a lesser extent N2H+(1-0) appear to be excellent tracers of the dust
continuum. We find that the tracers of high density gas (in particular N2D+)
show a velocity gradient along the minor axis of the L1544 core and that there
is evidence for larger linewidths close to the dust emission peak. We interpret
this using the model of the L1544 proposed by Ciolek & Basu (2000) and by
comparing the observed velocities with those expected on the basis of their
model. The results show reasonable agreement between observations and model in
that the velocity gradient along the minor axis and the line broadening toward
the center of L1544 are predicted by the model. This is evidence in favour of
the idea that amipolar diffusion across field lines is one of the basic
processes leading to gravitational collapse. However, line widths are
significantly narrower than observed and are better reproduced by the Myers &
Zweibel (2001) model which considers the quasistatic vertical contraction of a
layer due to dissipation of its Alfvenic turbulence, indicating the importance
of this process for cores in the verge of forming a star.Comment: 24 pages, 9 figures, to be published in Ap
Confinement effects on glass forming liquids probed by DMA
Many molecular glass forming liquids show a shift of the glass transition T-g
to lower temperatures when the liquid is confined into mesoporous host
matrices. Two contrary explanations for this effect are given in literature:
First, confinement induced acceleration of the dynamics of the molecules leads
to an effective downshift of T-g increasing with decreasing pore size. Second,
due to thermal mismatch between the liquid and the surrounding host matrix,
negative pressure develops inside the pores with decreasing temperature, which
also shifts T-g to lower temperatures. Here we present dynamic mechanical
analysis measurements of the glass forming liquid salol in Vycor and Gelsil
with pore sizes of d=2.6, 5.0 and 7.5 nm. The dynamic complex elastic
susceptibility data can be consistently described with the assumption of two
relaxation processes inside the pores: A surface induced slowed down relaxation
due to interaction with rough pore interfaces and a second relaxation within
the core of the pores. This core relaxation time is reduced with decreasing
pore size d, leading to a downshift of T-g proportional to 1/d in perfect
agreement with recent differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) measurements.
Thermal expansion measurements of empty and salol filled mesoporous samples
revealed that the contribution of negative pressure to the downshift of T-g is
small (<30%) and the main effect is due to the suppression of dynamically
correlated regions of size xi when the pore size xi approaches
SCFAs strongly stimulate PYY production in human enteroendocrine cells.
Peptide-YY (PYY) and Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 (GLP-1) play important roles in the regulation of food intake and insulin secretion, and are of translational interest in the field of obesity and diabetes. PYY production is highest in enteroendocrine cells located in the distal intestine, mirroring the sites where high concentrations of short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) are produced by gut microbiota. We show here that propionate and butyrate strongly increased expression of PYY but not GCG in human cell line and intestinal primary culture models. The effect was predominantly attributable to the histone deacetylase inhibitory activity of SCFA and minor, but significant contributions of FFA2 (GPR43). Consistent with the SCFA-dependent elevation of PYY gene expression, we also observed increased basal and stimulated PYY hormone secretion. Interestingly, the transcriptional stimulation of PYY was specific to human-derived cell models and not reproduced in murine primary cultures. This is likely due to substantial differences in PYY gene structure between mouse and human. In summary, this study revealed a strong regulation of PYY production by SCFA that was evident in humans but not mice, and suggests that high fibre diets elevate plasma concentrations of the anorexigenic hormone PYY, both by targeting gene expression and hormone secretion
Multi-gap superconductivity in a BaFe1.84Co0.16As2 film from optical measurements at terahertz frequencies
We measured the THz reflectance properties of a high quality epitaxial thin
film of the Fe-based superconductor BaFeCoAs with
T=22.5 K. The film was grown by pulsed laser deposition on a DyScO
substrate with an epitaxial SrTiO intermediate layer. The measured
spectrum, i.e. the reflectivity ratio between the superconducting and
normal state reflectance, provides clear evidence of a superconducting gap
close to 15 cm. A detailed data analysis shows that a
two-band, two-gap model is absolutely necessary to obtain a good description of
the measured spectrum. The low-energy gap results to be
well determined (=15.50.5 cm), while the value of the
high-energy gap is more uncertain (=557 cm).
Our results provide evidence of a nodeless isotropic double-gap scenario, with
the presence of two optical gaps corresponding to 2 values close
to 2 and 7.Comment: Published Versio
A hepatitis C avidity test for determining recent and past infections in both plasma and dried blood spots
DBS testing has been used successfully to detect HCV antibody positive individuals. Determining how long someone has been infected is important for surveillance initiatives. Antibody avidity is a method that can be used to calculate recency of infection. A HCV avidity assay was evaluated for both plasma and DBS. Study design: To measure antibody avidity a commercial HCV ELISA was modified using 7 M urea. The plasma samples were split into: group 1 (recently infected N = 19), group 2 (chronic carrier N = 300) and group 3 (resolved infection N = 82). Mock DBS made from group 1 (N = 12), group 2 (N = 50), group 3 (N = 25) and two seroconverter panels were evaluated. 133 DBS taken from patients known to have a resolved infection or be a chronic carrier were also tested. The avidity assay cut-off was set at AI †30 for a recent infection. Using sequential samples the assay could detect a recent infection in the first 4â5 months from the point of infection. Most of the false positive results (AI < 30 among cases known not to have had recent infection) were detected among known resolved infections, in both the plasma and DBS; as a result, a testing algorithm has been designed incorporating both PCR and two dilution factors. The sensitivity and specificity of the assay on plasma was 100% and 99.3%, respectively, while DBS had 100% sensitivity and 98.3% specificity. The HCV avidity assay can be used to distinguish between chronic and recent infection using either plasma or DBS as the sample type
Infrared response of ordered polarons in layered perovskites
We report on the infrared absorption spectra of three oxides where charged
superlattices have been recently observed in diffraction experiments. In
LaSrNiO, polaron localization is found to suppress the
low-energy conductivity through the opening of a gap and to split the
- vibrational manifold of the oxygen octahedra. Similar effects
are detected in SrLaMnO and in LaNiO, with
peculiar differences related to the type of charge ordering.Comment: File latex, 11 p. + 3 Figures, to appear on Phys. Rev. B (Rapid
Commun.), 1 Oct. 1996. The figures will be faxed upon request.
E-mail:[email protected] Fax: +39-6-446315
Ocjena toÄnosti jednog nivelmana
Ocjena toÄnosti jednog nivelmana
- âŠ