909 research outputs found
Atypical back pain in a child: subcutaneous lumbar abscess associated with chickenpox
Back pain in children has numerous possible causes. Although chickenpox is an extremely common and contagious condition in the paediatric population, it can be associated with potentially life-threatening musculoskeletal complications. We discuss the extremely unusual case of a child with an extensive subcutaneous lumbar abcess who presented with severe back pain associated with active chickenpox infection.Keywords: abscess, back pain, chickenpox, group A β-haemolytic streptococcus, varicella zoster viru
Detection of Novel Enterovirus with Emergency Department Based Syndromic Surveillance System in Taipei City
Comparative analysis of full genomic sequences among different genotypes of dengue virus type 3
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Although the previous study demonstrated the envelope protein of dengue viruses is under purifying selection pressure, little is known about the genetic differences of full-length viral genomes of DENV-3. In our study, complete genomic sequencing of DENV-3 strains collected from different geographical locations and isolation years were determined and the sequence diversity as well as selection pressure sites in the DENV genome other than within the E gene were also analyzed.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Using maximum likelihood and Bayesian approaches, our phylogenetic analysis revealed that the Taiwan's indigenous DENV-3 isolated from 1994 and 1998 dengue/DHF epidemics and one 1999 sporadic case were of the three different genotypes – I, II, and III, each associated with DENV-3 circulating in Indonesia, Thailand and Sri Lanka, respectively. Sequence diversity and selection pressure of different genomic regions among DENV-3 different genotypes was further examined to understand the global DENV-3 evolution. The highest nucleotide sequence diversity among the fully sequenced DENV-3 strains was found in the nonstructural protein 2A (mean ± SD: 5.84 ± 0.54) and envelope protein gene regions (mean ± SD: 5.04 ± 0.32). Further analysis found that positive selection pressure of DENV-3 may occur in the non-structural protein 1 gene region and the positive selection site was detected at position 178 of the NS1 gene.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our study confirmed that the envelope protein is under purifying selection pressure although it presented higher sequence diversity. The detection of positive selection pressure in the non-structural protein along genotype II indicated that DENV-3 originated from Southeast Asia needs to monitor the emergence of DENV strains with epidemic potential for better epidemic prevention and vaccine development.</p
Search for Small Trans-Neptunian Objects by the TAOS Project
The Taiwan-America Occultation Survey (TAOS) aims to determine the number of
small icy bodies in the outer reach of the Solar System by means of stellar
occultation. An array of 4 robotic small (D=0.5 m), wide-field (f/1.9)
telescopes have been installed at Lulin Observatory in Taiwan to simultaneously
monitor some thousand of stars for such rare occultation events. Because a
typical occultation event by a TNO a few km across will last for only a
fraction of a second, fast photometry is necessary. A special CCD readout
scheme has been devised to allow for stellar photometry taken a few times per
second. Effective analysis pipelines have been developed to process stellar
light curves and to correlate any possible flux changes among all telescopes. A
few billion photometric measurements have been collected since the routine
survey began in early 2005. Our preliminary result of a very low detection rate
suggests a deficit of small TNOs down to a few km size, consistent with the
extrapolation of some recent studies of larger (30--100 km) TNOs.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, IAU Symposium 23
Generation of arbitrary two dimensional motional state of a trapped ion
We present a scheme to generate an arbitrary two-dimensional quantum state of
motion of a trapped ion. This proposal is based on a sequence of laser pulses,
which are tuned appropriately to control transitions on the sidebands of two
modes of vibration. Not more than laser pulses are needed to
generate a pure state with upper phonon number and in the and
direction respectively.Comment: to appear in PR
An assessment of the strength of knots and splices used as eye terminations in a sailing environment
Research into knots, splices and other methods of forming an eye termination has been limited, despite the fact that they are essential and strongly affect the performance of a rope. The aim of this study was to carry out a comprehensive initial assessment of the breaking strength of eye terminations commonly used in a sailing environment, thereby providing direction for further work in the field. Supports for use in a regular tensile testing machine were specially developed to allow individual testing of each sample and a realistic spread of statistical data to be obtained. Over 180 break tests were carried out on four knots (the bowline, double bowline, figure-of-eight loop and perfection loop) and two splices (three-strand eye splice and braid-on-braid splice). The factors affecting their strength were investigated. A statistical approach to the analysis of the results was adopted. The type of knot was found to have a significant effect on the strength. This same effect was seen in both types of rope construction (three-strand and braid-on-braid). Conclusions were also drawn as to the effect of splice length, eye size, manufacturer and rope diameter on the breaking strength of splices. Areas of development and further investigation were identified
Lattice dielectric response of CdCu{3}Ti{4}O{12} and of CaCu{3}Ti{4}O{12} from first principles
Structural, vibrational, and lattice dielectric properties of
CdCu{3}Ti{4}O{12} are studied using density-functional theory within the local
spin-density approximation, and the results are compared with those computed
previously for CaCu{3}Ti{4}O{12}. Replacing Ca with Cd is found to leave many
calculated quantities largely unaltered, although significant differences do
emerge in zone-center optical phonon frequencies and mode effective charges.
The computed phonon frequencies of CdCu{3}Ti{4}O{12} are found to be in
excellent agreement with experiment, and the computed lattice contribution to
the intrinsic static dielectric constant (~60) also agrees exceptionally well
with a recent optical absorption experiment. These results provide further
support for a picture in which the lattice dielectric response is essentially
conventional, suggesting an extrinsic origin for the anomalous low-frequency
dielectric response recently observed in both materials.Comment: 5 pages; uses REVTEX macros. Also available at
http://www.physics.rutgers.edu/~dhv/preprints/lh_cdct/index.htm
Theory for Electron-Doped Cuprate Superconductors: d-wave symmetry order parameter
Using as a model the Hubbard Hamiltonian we determine various basic
properties of electron-doped cuprate superconductors like
and for a
spin-fluctuation-induced pairing mechanism. Most importantly we find a narrow
range of superconductivity and like for hole-doped cuprates -
symmetry for the superconducting order parameter. The superconducting
transition temperatures for various electron doping concentrations
are calculated to be much smaller than for hole-doped cuprates due to the
different Fermi surface and a flat band well below the Fermi level. Lattice
disorder may sensitively distort the symmetry via
electron-phonon interaction
Superconductivity in the two dimensional Hubbard Model.
Quasiparticle bands of the two-dimensional Hubbard model are calculated using
the Roth two-pole approximation to the one particle Green's function. Excellent
agreement is obtained with recent Monte Carlo calculations, including an
anomalous volume of the Fermi surface near half-filling, which can possibly be
explained in terms of a breakdown of Fermi liquid theory. The calculated bands
are very flat around the (pi,0) points of the Brillouin zone in agreement with
photoemission measurements of cuprate superconductors. With doping there is a
shift in spectral weight from the upper band to the lower band. The Roth method
is extended to deal with superconductivity within a four-pole approximation
allowing electron-hole mixing. It is shown that triplet p-wave pairing never
occurs. Singlet d_{x^2-y^2}-wave pairing is strongly favoured and optimal
doping occurs when the van Hove singularity, corresponding to the flat band
part, lies at the Fermi level. Nearest neighbour antiferromagnetic correlations
play an important role in flattening the bands near the Fermi level and in
favouring superconductivity. However the mechanism for superconductivity is a
local one, in contrast to spin fluctuation exchange models. For reasonable
values of the hopping parameter the transition temperature T_c is in the range
10-100K. The optimum doping delta_c lies between 0.14 and 0.25, depending on
the ratio U/t. The gap equation has a BCS-like form and (2*Delta_{max})/(kT_c)
~ 4.Comment: REVTeX, 35 pages, including 19 PostScript figures numbered 1a to 11.
Uses epsf.sty (included). Everything in uuencoded gz-compressed .tar file,
(self-unpacking, see header). Submitted to Phys. Rev. B (24-2-95
Weathering the Storm: Managing Older Adults With Breast Cancer Amid COVID-19 and Beyond
Caring for older patients with breast cancer presents unique clinical considerations because of preexisting and competing comorbidity, the potential for treatment-related toxicity, and the consequent impact on functional status. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, treatment decision making for older patients is especially challenging and encourages us to refocus our treatment priorities. While we work to avoid treatment delays and maintain therapeutic benefit, we also need to minimize the risk for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) exposures, myelosuppression, general chemotherapy toxicity, and functional decline. Herein, we propose multidisciplinary care considerations for the aging patient with breast cancer, with the goal to promote a team-based, multidisciplinary treatment approach during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. These considerations remain relevant as we navigate the "new normal" for the approximately 30% of breast cancer patients aged 70 years and older who are diagnosed in the United States annually and for the thousands of older patients living with recurrent and/or metastatic disease
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