432 research outputs found
Aging at Criticality in Model C Dynamics
We study the off-equilibrium two-point critical response and correlation
functions for the relaxational dynamics with a coupling to a conserved density
(Model C) of the O(N) vector model. They are determined in an \epsilon=4-d
expansion for vanishing momentum. We briefly discuss their scaling behaviors
and the associated scaling forms are determined up to first order in epsilon.
The corresponding fluctuation-dissipation ratio has a non trivial large time
limit in the aging regime and, up to one-loop order, it is the same as that of
the Model A for the physically relevant case N=1. The comparison with
predictions of local scale invariance is also discussed.Comment: 13 pages, 1 figur
Prognostic value of natriuretic peptides for all-cause mortality, right ventricular failure, major adverse events, and myocardial recovery in advanced heart failure patients receiving a left ventricular assist device: a systematic review
Aims: Major adverse event (MAE) rates during left ventricular assist device (LVAD) therapy in advanced heart failure (HF) patients are high, and impair quality of life and survival. Prediction and risk stratification of MAEs in order to improve patient selection and thereby outcome during LVAD therapy is therefore warranted. Circulating natriuretic peptides (NPs) are strong predictors of MAEs and mortality in chronic HF patients. However, whether NPs can identify patients who are at risk of MAEs and mortality or tend toward myocardial recovery after LVAD implantation is unclear. The aim of this systematic review is to analyze the prognostic value of circulating NP levels before LVAD implantation for all-cause mortality, MAEs and myocardial recovery after LVAD implantation.Methods and Results: Electronic databases were searched for studies analyzing circulating NP in adults with advanced HF before LVAD implantation in relation to mortality, MAEs, or myocardial recovery after LVAD implantation. Twenty-four studies published between 2008 and 2021 were included. Follow-up duration ranged from 48 hours to 5 years. Study sample size ranged from 14 to 15,138 patients. Natriuretic peptide levels were not predictive of all-cause mortality. However, NPs were predictive of right ventricular failure (RVF) and MAEs such as ventricular arrhythmias, moderate or severe aortic regurgitation, and all-cause rehospitalization. No relation between NPs and myocardial recovery was found.Conclusion: This systematic review found that NP levels before LVAD implantation are not predictive of all-cause mortality after LVAD implantation. Thus, NP levels may be of limited value in patient selection for LVAD therapy. However, NPs help in risk stratification of MAEs and may be used to identify patients who are at risk for RVF, ventricular arrhythmias, moderate or severe aortic regurgitation, and all-cause rehospitalization after LVAD implantation.Cardiolog
Subthalamic responses to motor cortex stimulation:Selective targeting of the subthalamic motor area
Introduction: Over the last decades, it has been shown consistently that deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) alleviates motor symptoms in Parkinson (PD) patients. However, in a substantial number of patients the beneficial effects of STN DBS are overshadowed by cognitive and/or limbic alterations. These side effects of STN DBS are thought to be caused by stimulation of the associative and limbic pathways that run through the STN. We hypothesize that an optimal effect of STN DBS on the motor symptoms without inducing cognitive and limbic side effects can be achieved by selective stimulation of the STN motor region by improved targeting. To achieve this goal, we made use of the cortico-subthalamic projection. We hypothesize that in PD patients motor cortex stimulation (MCS) evokes a specific response in the dorsolateral part of the STN, supposedly the STN motor area, that can be seen in both single unit activity and local field potentials (LFP). Material and Methods: Here we describe the results of one PD patient in which we performed MCS during the intra-operative STN microrecordings. In total, we measured single unit activity of eight neurons at various locations in the STN and LFP’s at the same locations. Data were analyzed using Matlab. All recordings were high pass filtered, the stimulus artifact was removed by time shifting, peristimulus time histograms were constructed from which significant excitatory and inhibitory responses were determined using the change point analysis. Results: The STN neurons had an average spontaneous firing rate of 64.6±36.3 Hz. Within the STN responses to MCS were seen, while outside the borders of the STN no responses were found. Responses differed between ventro-dorsal regions in the anterior-posterior and medio-lateral plane. In the anterior and lateral electrode at dorsal levels of the STN a significant early excitation (~10-50ms) and subsequent inhibition (50-110ms) were seen. The lateral electrode also showed a late excitation (~115-170ms). The responses we found were partially similar to reports in animal studies, but we did not observe the typical triphasic response. Conclusion: We found responses in the STN during MCS, which were significantly different in the dorsally recorded neurons in the lateral and anterior trajectory compared to the neurons recorded in other regions of the STN. In the near future MCS could be a novel tool to determine the motor area of the STN to optimize targeting for DBS in PD patients, thereby preventing cognitive and limbic side effect
PET imaging during hypoglycaemia to study adipose tissue metabolism
Contains fulltext :
205513.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)BACKGROUND: Disturbances in adipose tissue glucose uptake may play a role in the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes, yet its examination by 2-deoxy-2-[(18) F]fluorodeoxyglucose ([(18) F]FDG) PET/CT is challenged by relatively low uptake kinetics. We tested the hypothesis that performing [(18) F]FDG PET/CT during a hypoglycaemic clamp would improve adipose tissue tracer uptake to allow specific comparison of adipose tissue glucose handling between people with or without type 2 diabetes. DESIGN: We enrolled participants with or without diabetes who were at least overweight, to undergo a hyperinsulinaemic hypoglycaemic clamp or a hyperinsulinaemic euglycaemic clamp (n = 5 per group). Tracer uptake was quantified using [(18) F]FDG PET/CT. RESULTS: Hypoglycaemic clamping increased [(18) F]FDG uptake in visceral adipose tissue of healthy participants (P = 0.002). During hypoglycaemia, glucose uptake in visceral adipose tissue of type 2 diabetic participants was lower as compared to healthy participants (P < 0.0005). No significant differences were observed in skeletal muscle, liver or pancreas. CONCLUSIONS: The present findings indicate that [(18) F]FDG PET/CT during a hypoglycaemic clamp provides a promising new research tool to evaluate adipose tissue glucose metabolism. Using this method, we observed a specific impairment in visceral adipose tissue [(18) F]FDG uptake in type 2 diabetes, suggesting a previously underestimated role for adipose tissue glucose handling in type 2 diabetes
Relaxation phenomena at criticality
The collective behaviour of statistical systems close to critical points is
characterized by an extremely slow dynamics which, in the thermodynamic limit,
eventually prevents them from relaxing to an equilibrium state after a change
in the thermodynamic control parameters. The non-equilibrium evolution
following this change displays some of the features typically observed in
glassy materials, such as ageing, and it can be monitored via dynamic
susceptibilities and correlation functions of the order parameter, the scaling
behaviour of which is characterized by universal exponents, scaling functions,
and amplitude ratios. This universality allows one to calculate these
quantities in suitable simplified models and field-theoretical methods are a
natural and viable approach for this analysis. In addition, if a statistical
system is spatially confined, universal Casimir-like forces acting on the
confining surfaces emerge and they build up in time when the temperature of the
system is tuned to its critical value. We review here some of the theoretical
results that have been obtained in recent years for universal quantities, such
as the fluctuation-dissipation ratio, associated with the non-equilibrium
critical dynamics, with particular focus on the Ising model with Glauber
dynamics in the bulk. The non-equilibrium dynamics of the Casimir force acting
in a film is discussed within the Gaussian model.Comment: Talk delivered at Statphys23, Genova, Italy, July 9-13, 2007. 8
pages, 7 figure
The Hubble Effective Potential
We generalize the effective potential to scalar field configurations which
are proportional to the Hubble parameter of a homogeneous and isotropic
background geometry. This may be useful in situations for which curvature
effects are significant. We evaluate the one loop contribution to the Hubble
Effective Potential for a massless scalar with arbitrary conformal and quartic
couplings, on a background for which the deceleration parameter is constant.
Among other things, we find that inflationary particle production leads to
symmetry restoration at late times.Comment: 32 pages, 6 figures, version 2 published in JCAP with some typoes
corrected and two additional reference
Exact multilocal renormalization on the effective action : application to the random sine Gordon model statics and non-equilibrium dynamics
We extend the exact multilocal renormalization group (RG) method to study the
flow of the effective action functional. This important physical quantity
satisfies an exact RG equation which is then expanded in multilocal components.
Integrating the nonlocal parts yields a closed exact RG equation for the local
part, to a given order in the local part. The method is illustrated on the O(N)
model by straightforwardly recovering the exponent and scaling
functions. Then it is applied to study the glass phase of the Cardy-Ostlund,
random phase sine Gordon model near the glass transition temperature. The
static correlations and equilibrium dynamical exponent are recovered and
several new results are obtained. The equilibrium two-point scaling functions
are obtained. The nonequilibrium, finite momentum, two-time response and
correlations are computed. They are shown to exhibit scaling forms,
characterized by novel exponents , as well as
universal scaling functions that we compute. The fluctuation dissipation ratio
is found to be non trivial and of the form . Analogies and
differences with pure critical models are discussed.Comment: 33 pages, RevTe
Giants On Deformed Backgrounds
We study giant graviton probes in the framework of the three--parameter
deformation of the AdS_5 x S^5 background. We examine both the case when the
brane expands in the deformed part of the geometry and the case when it blows
up into AdS. Performing a detailed analysis of small fluctuations around the
giants, the configurations turn out to be stable. Our results hold even for the
supersymmetric Lunin-Maldacena deformation.Comment: LaTex, 28 pages, uses JHEP3; v2: minor corrections, references added;
v3: final version accepted for publication in JHE
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