617 research outputs found
Interspinous process device versus standard conventional surgical decompression for lumbar spinal stenosis: Randomized controlled trial
Abstract
Objective To assess whether interspinous process device implantation
is more effective in the short term than conventional surgical
decompression for patients with intermittent neurogenic claudication
due to lumbar spinal stenosis.
Design Randomized controlled trial.
Setting Five neurosurgical centers (including one academic and four
secondary level care centers) in the Netherlands.
Participants 203 participants were referred to the Leiden-The Hague
Spine Prognostic Study Group between October 2008 and September
2011; 159 participants with intermittent neurogenic claudication due to
lumbar spinal stenosis at one or two levels with an indication for surgery
were randomized.
Interventions 80 participants received an interspinous process device
and 79 participants underwent spinal bony decompression.
Main outcome measures The primary outcome at short term (eight
weeks) and long term (one year) follow-up was the Zurich Claudication
Questionnaire score. Repeated measurements were made to compare
outcomes over time.
Results At eight weeks, the success rate according to the Zurich
Claudication Questionnaire for the interspinous process device group
(63%, 95% confidence interval 51% to 73%) was not superior to that for
A dual point description of mesoscopic superconductors
We present an analysis of the magnetic response of a mesoscopic
superconductor, i.e. a system of sizes comparable to the coherence length and
to the London penetration depth. Our approach is based on special properties of
the two dimensional Ginzburg-Landau equations, satisfied at the dual point
Closed expressions for the free energy and the
magnetization of the superconductor are derived. A perturbative analysis in the
vicinity of the dual point allows us to take into account vortex interactions,
using a new scaling result for the free energy. In order to characterize the
vortex/current interactions, we study vortex configurations that are out of
thermodynamical equilibrium. Our predictions agree with the results of recent
experiments performed on mesoscopic aluminium disks.Comment: revtex, 20 pages, 9 figure
Rings and rigidity transitions in network glasses
Three elastic phases of covalent networks, (I) floppy, (II) isostatically
rigid and (III) stressed-rigid have now been identified in glasses at specific
degrees of cross-linking (or chemical composition) both in theory and
experiments. Here we use size-increasing cluster combinatorics and constraint
counting algorithms to study analytically possible consequences of
self-organization. In the presence of small rings that can be locally I, II or
III, we obtain two transitions instead of the previously reported single
percolative transition at the mean coordination number , one from a
floppy to an isostatic rigid phase, and a second one from an isostatic to a
stressed rigid phase. The width of the intermediate phase and the
order of the phase transitions depend on the nature of medium range order
(relative ring fractions). We compare the results to the Group IV
chalcogenides, such as Ge-Se and Si-Se, for which evidence of an intermediate
phase has been obtained, and for which estimates of ring fractions can be made
from structures of high T crystalline phases.Comment: 29 pages, revtex, 7 eps figure
The Planetary Nebula Luminosity Function at the Dawn of Gaia
The [O III] 5007 Planetary Nebula Luminosity Function (PNLF) is an excellent
extragalactic standard candle. In theory, the PNLF method should not work at
all, since the luminosities of the brightest planetary nebulae (PNe) should be
highly sensitive to the age of their host stellar population. Yet the method
appears robust, as it consistently produces < 10% distances to galaxies of all
Hubble types, from the earliest ellipticals to the latest-type spirals and
irregulars. It is therefore uniquely suited for cross-checking the results of
other techniques and finding small offsets between the Population I and
Population II distance ladders. We review the calibration of the method and
show that the zero points provided by Cepheids and the Tip of the Red Giant
Branch are in excellent agreement. We then compare the results of the PNLF with
those from Surface Brightness Fluctuation measurements, and show that, although
both techniques agree in a relative sense, the latter method yields distances
that are ~15% larger than those from the PNLF. We trace this discrepancy back
to the calibration galaxies and argue that, due to a small systematic error
associated with internal reddening, the true distance scale likely falls
between the extremes of the two methods. We also demonstrate how PNLF
measurements in the early-type galaxies that have hosted Type Ia supernovae can
help calibrate the SN Ia maximum magnitude-rate of decline relation. Finally,
we discuss how the results from space missions such as Kepler and Gaia can help
our understanding of the PNLF phenomenon and improve our knowledge of the
physics of local planetary nebulae.Comment: 12 pages, invited review at the conference "The Fundamental Cosmic
Distance Scale: State of the Art and Gaia Perspective", to appear in
Astrophysics and Space Scienc
In search of green political economy: steering markets, innovation and the case of the zero carbon homes agenda in England
Advocates of a democratic ‘Green state’ challenge Hayekian free-market environmentalist proposals for a minimal state and the emphasis of ecological modernisation discourses on technological innovation as the primary route towards ecological sustainability. However, these more strongly pro-market traditions raise important questions and provide useful insights concerning the challenges of translating the political ideology of ‘ecologism’ into practical proposals for democratic governance. Hayekian thought raises vital questions concerning the capacity of political processes to address complex challenges of coordinating the formulation and delivery of the sustainability objectives of ecologism. Scholarship on ecological modernisation and the ‘new regulation’ offer important insights into how shifting interrelationships between the state and private sector in the policy process might enable this challenge to be more effectively addressed. These areas for further developing proposals for a Green state are illustrated here through a case study of the zero carbon homes policy agenda in England
Ebola virus disease: an update on post-exposure prophylaxis
The massive outbreak of Ebola virus disease in west Africa between 2013 and 2016 resulted in intense efforts to evaluate the efficacy of several specific countermeasures developed through years of preclinical work, including the first clinical trials for therapeutics and vaccines. In this Review, we discuss how the experience and data generated from that outbreak have helped to advance the understanding of the use of these countermeasures for post-exposure prophylaxis against Ebola virus infection. In future outbreaks, post-exposure prophylaxis could play an important part in reducing community transmission of Ebola virus by providing more immediate protection than does immunisation as well as providing additional protection for health-care workers who are inadvertently exposed over the course of their work. We propose provisional guidance for use of post-exposure prophylaxis in Ebola virus disease and identify the priorities for future preparedness and further research
Demonstration of the temporal matter-wave Talbot effect for trapped matter waves
We demonstrate the temporal Talbot effect for trapped matter waves using
ultracold atoms in an optical lattice. We investigate the phase evolution of an
array of essentially non-interacting matter waves and observe matter-wave
collapse and revival in the form of a Talbot interference pattern. By using
long expansion times, we image momentum space with sub-recoil resolution,
allowing us to observe fractional Talbot fringes up to 10th order.Comment: 17 pages, 7 figure
Kaon Production and Kaon to Pion Ratio in Au+Au Collisions at \snn=130 GeV
Mid-rapidity transverse mass spectra and multiplicity densities of charged
and neutral kaons are reported for Au+Au collisions at \snn=130 GeV at RHIC.
The spectra are exponential in transverse mass, with an inverse slope of about
280 MeV in central collisions. The multiplicity densities for these particles
scale with the negative hadron pseudo-rapidity density. The charged kaon to
pion ratios are and
for the most central collisions. The ratio is lower than the same
ratio observed at the SPS while the is higher than the SPS result.
Both ratios are enhanced by about 50% relative to p+p and +p
collision data at similar energies.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, 1 tabl
Longitudinal double-spin asymmetry and cross section for inclusive neutral pion production at midrapidity in polarized proton collisions at sqrt(s) = 200 GeV
We report a measurement of the longitudinal double-spin asymmetry A_LL and
the differential cross section for inclusive Pi0 production at midrapidity in
polarized proton collisions at sqrt(s) = 200 GeV. The cross section was
measured over a transverse momentum range of 1 < p_T < 17 GeV/c and found to be
in good agreement with a next-to-leading order perturbative QCD calculation.
The longitudinal double-spin asymmetry was measured in the range of 3.7 < p_T <
11 GeV/c and excludes a maximal positive gluon polarization in the proton. The
mean transverse momentum fraction of Pi0's in their parent jets was found to be
around 0.7 for electromagnetically triggered events.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. D (RC
Azimuthal anisotropy and correlations in p+p, d+Au and Au+Au collisions at 200 GeV
We present the first measurement of directed flow () at RHIC. is
found to be consistent with zero at pseudorapidities from -1.2 to 1.2,
then rises to the level of a couple of percent over the range . The latter observation is similar to data from NA49 if the SPS rapidities
are shifted by the difference in beam rapidity between RHIC and SPS.
Back-to-back jets emitted out-of-plane are found to be suppressed more if
compared to those emitted in-plane, which is consistent with {\it jet
quenching}. Using the scalar product method, we systematically compared
azimuthal correlations from p+p, d+Au and Au+Au collisions. Flow and non-flow
from these three different collision systems are discussed.Comment: Quark Matter 2004 proceeding, 4 pages, 3 figure
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