Andreev reflection between a normal metal and the FFLO superconductor

We consider a process of the Andreev reflection between a normal metal and the s-wave superconductor in the FFLO state. It is shown that the process takes place if the energy of the incoming electron is bound within the finite interval called the Andreev window. The position of the window determines the value of the non-zero total momentum of Cooper pairs and the value of the gap

Upside-down swimming behaviour of free-ranging narwhals

© 2007 Dietz et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 2.0, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. The definitive version was published in BMC Ecology 7 (2007): 14, doi:10.1186/1472-6785-7-14.Free-ranging narwhals (Monodon monoceros) were instrumented in Admiralty Inlet, Canada with both satellite tags to study migration and stock separation and short-term, high-resolution digital archival tags to explore diving and feeding behaviour. Three narwhals were equipped with an underwater camera pod (Crittercam), another individual was equipped with a digital archival tag (DTAG), and a fifth with both units during August 2003 and 2004. Crittercam footage indicated that of the combined 286 minutes of recordings, 12% of the time was spent along the bottom. When the bottom was visible in the camera footage, the narwhals were oriented upside-down 80% of the time (range: 61 100%). The DTAG data (14.6 hours of recordings) revealed that during time spent below the surface, the two tagged narwhals were supine an average of 13% (range: 9–18%) of the time. Roughly 70% of this time spent in a supine posture occurred during the descent. Possible reasons for this upside-down swimming behaviour are discussed. No preference for a clockwise or counter-clockwise direction of roll was observed, discounting the possibility that rolling movements contribute to the asymmetric left-handed helical turns of the tusk.This study was funded by the National Environmental Research Institute, the Greenland Institute of Natural Resources (organized by Mads Peter Heide-Jørgensen), the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, the Nunavut Wildlife Research Trust Fund and the Danish Cooperation for the Environment in the Arctic (DANCEA). Ari D. Shapiro received financial support from the WHOI Academic Programs Office, the National Science Foundation Research Fellowship and the National Defense Science & Engineering Graduate Fellowship

Mapping research trends of universal health coverage from 1990 to 2019: Bibliometric analysis

Background: Universal health coverage (UHC) is one of many ambitious, health-related, sustainable development goals. Sharing various experiences of achieving UHC, in terms of challenges, pitfalls, and future prospects, can help policy and decision-makers reduce the likelihood of committing errors. As such, scholarly articles and technical reports are of paramount importance in shedding light on the determinants that make it possible to achieve UHC. Objective: The purpose of this study is to conduct a comprehensive analysis of UHC-related scientific literature from 1990 to 2019. Methods: We carried out a bibliometric analysis of papers related to UHC published from January 1990 to September 2019 and indexed in Scopus via VOSviewer (version 1.6.13; CWTS). Relevant information was extracted: the number of papers published, the 20 authors with the highest number of publications in the field of UHC, the 20 journals with the highest number of publications related to UHC, the 20 most active funding sources for UHC-related research, the 20 institutes and research centers that have produced the highest number of UHC-related research papers, the 20 countries that contributed the most to the research field of UHC, the 20 most cited papers, and the latest available impact factors of journals in 2018 that included the UHC-related items under investigation. Results: In our analysis, 7224 articles were included. The publication trend was increasing, showing high interest in the scientific community. Most researchers were from the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada, with Thailand being a notable exception. The Lancet accounted for 3.95 of published UHC-related research. Among the top 20 funding sources, the World Health Organization (WHO), the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) accounted for 1.41, 1.34, and 1.02 of published UHC-related research, respectively. The highest number of citations was found for articles published in The Lancet, the American Journal of Psychiatry, and the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). The top keywords were �health insurance,� �insurance,� �healthcare policy,� �healthcare delivery,� �economics,� �priority,� �healthcare cost,� �organization and management,� �health services accessibility,� �reform,� �public health,� and �health policy.� Conclusions: The findings of our study showed an increasing scholarly interest in UHC and related issues. However, most research concentrated in middle- and high-income regions and countries. Therefore, research in low-income countries should be promoted and supported, as this could enable a better understanding of the determinants of the barriers and obstacles to UHC achievement and improve global health. © Mahboubeh Khaton Ghanbari, Masoud Behzadifar, Leila Doshmangir, Mariano Martini, Ahad Bakhtiari, Mahtab Alikhani, Nicola Luigi Bragazz

Aorto-venous fistula between an abdominal aortic aneurysm and an aberrant renal vein: a case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>The potential complications of an abdominal aortic aneurysm include rupture, compression of surrounding structures, thrombo-embolic events and fistula. The most common site of arterio-venous fistula is the inferior vena cava. Fistula involving a renal vein is particularly uncommon.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>This report describes a 54-year-old Caucasian woman who was admitted to the emergency department with fatigue, severe dyspnea and bilateral lower limb edema. In the first instance this anamnesis suggested possible heart failure. In fact, our patient presented with multi-organ system failure due to a fistula between an infra-renal aortic aneurysm and an aberrant retro-aortic renal vein.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>To our knowledge, this is the first report of a woman with a fistula between an infra-renal aortic aneurysm and an aberrant retro-aortic left renal vein. Aorto-venous fistulas may be asymptomatic or may present with symptoms characteristic of arterio-venous shunting and/or aneurysm rupture. This type of fistula is a rare cause of heart failure. Clinical examination and imaging are essential for detection.</p