Observation of Spin Flips with a Single Trapped Proton

Radio-frequency induced spin transitions of one individual proton are observed for the first time. The spin quantum jumps are detected via the continuous Stern-Gerlach effect, which is used in an experiment with a single proton stored in a cryogenic Penning trap. This is an important milestone towards a direct high-precision measurement of the magnetic moment of the proton and a new test of the matter-antimatter symmetry in the baryon sector

Towards a high-precision measurement of the antiproton magnetic moment

The recent observation of single spins flips with a single proton in a Penning trap opens the way to measure the proton magnetic moment with high precision. Based on this success, which has been achieved with our apparatus at the University of Mainz, we demonstrated recently the first application of the so called double Penning-trap method with a single proton. This is a major step towards a measurement of the proton magnetic moment with ppb precision. To apply this method to a single trapped antiproton our collaboration is currently setting up a companion experiment at the antiproton decelerator of CERN. This effort is recognized as the Baryon Antibaryon Symmetry Experiment (BASE). A comparison of both magnetic moment values will provide a stringent test of CPT invariance with baryons.Comment: Submitted to LEAP 2013 conference proceeding

Heat dissipation after nonanatomical lung resection using a laser is mainly due to emission to the environment: an experimental ex vivo study

Laser-directed resection of lung metastases is performed more frequently in recent years. The energy-loaded laser rays heat up the lung tissue, considerably. It is still unclear which mechanism is more important for tissue heat dissipation: the lung perfusion or the tissue emission. Therefore, we created a special experimental model to investigate the spontaneous heat dissipation after nonanatomical lung resection using a diode-pumped laser with a high output power. Experiments were conducted on paracardiac pig lung lobes (n = 12) freshly dissected at the slaughterhouse. Nonanatomical resection of lung parenchyma was performed without lobe perfusion in group 1 (n = 6), while group 2 (n = 6) was perfused at a physiological pressure of 25 cm H(2)O at 37 °C with saline via the pulmonary artery. For this, we used a diode-pumped neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (Nd:YAG) LIMAX® 120 laser (Gebrüder Martin GmbH & Co. KG, Tuttlingen, Germany) with a wavelength of 1,318 nm and a power output of 100 W. Immediately after completing laser resection, the lungs were monitored with an infrared camera (Type IC 120LV; Trotec, Heinsberg, Germany) while allowed to cool down. The resection surface temperature was taken at 10-s intervals and documented in a freeze-frame until a temperature of 37 °C had been reached. The temperature drop per time unit was analyzed in both groups. Immediately after laser resection, the temperature at the lung surface was 84.33 ± 8.08 °C in group 1 and 76.75 ± 5.33 °C in group 2 (p = 0.29). Group 1 attained the final temperature of 37 °C after 182.95 ± 53.76 s, and group 2 after 121.70 ± 16.02 s (p = 0.01). The temperature drop occurred exponentially in both groups. We calculated both groups’ decays using nonlinear regression, which revealed nearly identical courses. The mean time of tissue temperature of >42 °C, as a surrogate marker for tissue damage, was 97.14 ± 26.90 s in group 1 and 65.00 ± 13.78 s in group 2 (p = 0.02). Heat emission to the environment surpasses heat reduction via perfusion in nonanatomically laser-resected lung lobes. In developing a cooling strategy, a topical cooling method would be promising

Validation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease recording in the Clinical Practice Research Datalink (CPRD-GOLD)

Objectives: The optimal method of identifying people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) from electronic primary care records is not known. We assessed the accuracy of different approaches using the Clinical Practice Research Datalink, a UK electronic health record database. Setting: 951 participants registered with a CPRD practice in the UK between 1 January 2004 and 31 December 2012. Individuals were selected for ≥1 of 8 algorithms to identify people with COPD. General practitioners were sent a brief questionnaire and additional evidence to support a COPD diagnosis was requested. All information received was reviewed independently by two respiratory physicians whose opinion was taken as the gold standard. Primary outcome measure: The primary measure of accuracy was the positive predictive value (PPV), the proportion of people identified by each algorithm for whom COPD was confirmed. Results: 951 questionnaires were sent and 738 (78%) returned. After quality control, 696 (73.2%) patients were included in the final analysis. All four algorithms including a specific COPD diagnostic code performed well. Using a diagnostic code alone, the PPV was 86.5% (77.5-92.3%) while requiring a diagnosis plus spirometry plus specific medication; the PPV was slightly higher at 89.4% (80.7-94.5%) but reduced case numbers by 10%. Algorithms without specific diagnostic codes had low PPVs (range 12.2-44.4%). Conclusions: Patients with COPD can be accurately identified from UK primary care records using specific diagnostic codes. Requiring spirometry or COPD medications only marginally improved accuracy. The high accuracy applies since the introduction of an incentivised disease register for COPD as part of Quality and Outcomes Framework in 2004

Atomic and nuclear physics with stored particles in ion traps

Trapping and cooling techniques play an increasingly important role in many areas of science. This review concentrates on recent applications of ion traps installed at accelerator facilities to atomic and nuclear physics such as mass spectrometry of radioactive isotopes, weak interaction studies, symmetry tests, determination of fundamental constants, laser spectroscopy, and spectroscopy of highly-charged ions. In addition, ion traps are proven to be extremely efficient devices for (radioactive) ion beam manipulation as, for example, retardation, accumulation, cooling, beam cleaning, charge-breeding, and bunching

Self-reported symptoms of chronic cough and breathlessness in working-age men in the city of Izhevsk, Russia: associations with cardiovascular disease risk factors and comorbidities.

INTRODUCTION: Very little is known about the prevalence of respiratory symptoms or their associations with other health conditions in Russia. METHODS: Between 2008 and 2010, a sample of 983 men resident in Izhevsk, Russia, took part in a cross-sectional survey. Presence of respiratory symptoms was determined from self-report of chronic productive cough and breathlessness assessed using the British Medical Research Council (MRC) breathlessness scale. Self-reported physical and mental health were measured using the 12-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-12). Hypertension was assessed from mean blood pressure measured at the health check and/or self-reported use of antihypertensive medication. Other comorbidities were assessed from self-report. Logistic regression models were fitted assessing the association between respiratory symptoms and comorbidities. Linear regression models were fitted to investigate the association between respiratory symptoms and self-reported health scores. All models were adjusted for age, education and smoking status. RESULTS: The age-standardised prevalence of cough and breathlessness was 20.9% (prevalence with breathlessness MRC grade 3 or above 3.7%). The majority of men with respiratory symptoms (87.3%) were current smokers. Cough and breathlessness were associated with substantially worse self-reported physical and mental health (test for trend with severity of breathlessness p<0.001). Those with chronic cough and grade 3 or above breathlessness had higher odds of having hypertension (OR 3.03; 95% CI 1.36 to 6.74), diabetes (OR 10.55; 95% CI 2.69 to 41.37), angina pectoris (OR 7.54; 95% CI 3.61 to 15.73), previous myocardial infarction (OR 7.61; 95% CI 2.10 to 27.4) and previous stroke (OR 6.61; 95% CI 1.75 to 23.34) compared with those without respiratory symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of respiratory symptoms was high. Strong associations were found between respiratory symptoms and cardiovascular comorbidities. These are of particular importance given the extremely high level of cardiovascular disease mortality in Russia