408 research outputs found
Precision Measurement of Vibrational Quanta in Tritium Hydride (HT)
Saturated absorption measurements of transitions in the (2-0) band of
radioactive tritium hydride (HT) are performed with the ultra-sensitive
NICE-OHMS intracavity absorption technique in the range 1460-1510 nm. The
hyperfine structure of rovibrational transitions of HT, in contrast to that of
HD, exhibits a single isolated hyperfine component, allowing for the accurate
determination of hyperfineless rovibrational transition frequencies, resulting
in R(0) = (22) kHz and R(1) = (21)
kHz. This corresponds to an accuracy three orders of magnitude better than
previous measurements in tritiated hydrogen molecules. Observation of an
isolated component in P(1) with reversed signal amplitude contradicts models
for line shapes in HD based on cross-over resonances.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, Accepte
Open thoracic or thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm repair after previous abdominal aortic aneurysm surgery
ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to provide insight into the incidence of thoracic and thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm repair following previous infrarenal abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) surgery and to determine whether thoracic or thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm repair after prior infrarenal AAA surgery is associated with higher mortality and morbidity rates.MethodsMEDLINE, Cochrane Library CENTRAL, and EMBASE databases were searched for relevant articles. Selected articles were critically appraised and meta-analyses were performed.ResultsA total of 12.4% of patients with thoracic aortic aneurysms and 18.7% of patients with thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysms have had prior AAA surgery. The chance of developing a thoracic aortic aneurysm in patients with AAA is 2.2% and 2.5% for developing a thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm. The mean time interval between prior AAA surgery and subsequent thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm surgery or detection is 8.0 years with a wide variation between individuals. Surgery in these patients is technically feasible. The 30-day mortality of patients undergoing open thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm repair does not significantly differ from patients without prior AAA surgery and the 30-day mortality is 11.8%. No data were available about mortality of patients with prior AAA repair undergoing thoracic aortic aneurysm surgery. Morbidity risks are higher in patients with thoracic or thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysms. Prior AAA repair was a significant risk factor for neurological deficit after thoracic or thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysms surgery with relative risks (RRs) of 11.1 (95% confidence interval [CI] 3.8-32.3, P value < .0001) and 2.90 (95% CI 1.26-6.65, P value = .008), respectively. Prior AAA repair was a significant risk factor for developing renal failure in patients undergoing thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm repair (RR 3.47, 95% CI 1.74-6.91, P value = .0001). Determinants of the prognosis in these patients include distal aortic perfusion, distal extent of the landing zone of the graft, drainage of cerebrospinal fluid for thoracic aortic aneurysm repair and age, history of cardiac diseases, extent of the aneurysm, rupture, amount of estimated blood loss, aortic clamp time, and visceral ischemic times for thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm repair.ConclusionsA considerable group of patients with thoracic or thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysms have had prior AAA repair. The risk of postoperative morbidity is increased in these patients. Mortality appears to be similar for patients with thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysms. Patients with prior AAA repair undergoing thoracic or thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm repair should be provided maximum care to protect their spinal cord and renal function
Monitoring of tritium purity during long-term circulation in the KATRIN test experiment LOOPINO using laser Raman spectroscopy
The gas circulation loop LOOPINO has been set up and commissioned at Tritium
Laboratory Karlsruhe (TLK) to perform Raman measurements of circulating tritium
mixtures under conditions similar to the inner loop system of the neutrino-mass
experiment KATRIN, which is currently under construction. A custom-made
interface is used to connect the tritium containing measurement cell, located
inside a glove box, with the Raman setup standing on the outside. A tritium
sample (purity > 95%, 20 kPa total pressure) was circulated in LOOPINO for more
than three weeks with a total throughput of 770 g of tritium. Compositional
changes in the sample and the formation of tritiated and deuterated methanes
CT_(4-n)X_n (X=H,D; n=0,1) were observed. Both effects are caused by hydrogen
isotope exchange reactions and gas-wall interactions, due to tritium {\beta}
decay. A precision of 0.1% was achieved for the monitoring of the T_2
Q_1-branch, which fulfills the requirements for the KATRIN experiment and
demonstrates the feasibility of high-precision Raman measurements with tritium
inside a glove box
Hysteresis effect due to the exchange Coulomb interaction in short-period superlattices in tilted magnetic fields
We calculate the ground-state of a two-dimensional electron gas in a
short-period lateral potential in magnetic field, with the Coulomb
electron-electron interaction included in the Hartree-Fock approximation. For a
sufficiently short period the dominant Coulomb effects are determined by the
exchange interaction. We find numerical solutions of the self-consistent
equations that have hysteresis properties when the magnetic field is tilted and
increased, such that the perpendicular component is always constant. This
behavior is a result of the interplay of the exchange interaction with the
energy dispersion and the spin splitting. We suggest that hysteresis effects of
this type could be observable in magneto-transport and magnetization
experiments on quantum-wire and quantum-dot superlattices.Comment: 3 pages, 3 figures, Revtex, to appear in Phys. Rev.
Accurate reference gas mixtures containing tritiated molecules: Their production and ramanâbased analysis
Highly accurate, quantitative analyses of mixtures of hydrogen isotopologuesâboth the stable species, H, D2, and HD, and the radioactive species, T, HT, and DTâare of great importance in fields as diverse as deuteriumâtritium fusion, neutrino mass measurements using tritium ÎČ-decay, or for photonuclear experiments in which hydrogenâdeuterium targets are used. In this publication we describe a production, handling, and analysis facility capable of fabricating well-defined gas samples, which may contain any of the stable and radioactive hydrogen isotopologues, with sub-percent accuracy for the relative species concentrations. The production is based on precise manometric gas mixing of H, D, and T. The heteronuclear isotopologues HD, HT, and DT are generated via controlled, in-line catalytic reaction or by ÎČ-induced self-equilibration, respectively. The analysis was carried out using an in-line intensity- and wavelength-calibrated Raman spectroscopy system. This allows for continuous monitoring of the composition of the circulating gas during the self-equilibration or catalytic evolution phases. During all procedures, effects, such as exchange reactions with wall materials, were considered with care. Together with measurement statistics, these and other systematic effects were included in the determination of composition uncertainties of the generated reference gas samples. Measurement and calibration accuracy at the level of 1% was achieved
Light scattering from a periodically modulated two dimensional electron gas with partially filled Landau levels
We study light scattering from a periodically modulated two dimensional
electron gas in a perpendicular magnetic field. If a subband is partially
filled, the imaginary part of the dielectric function as a function of
frequency contains additional discontinuities to the case of completely filled
subbands. The positions of the discontinuities may be determined from the
partial filling factor and the height of the discontinuity can be directly
related to the modulation potential. The light scattering cross section
contains a new peak which is absent for integer filling.Comment: RevTex, 4 figures. To appear in Phys. Rev. B as a brief repor
The Dutch version of the Spinal Appearance Questionnaire for adolescents with idiopathic scoliosis:patient-based cross-cultural adaptation and measurement properties evaluation
Purpose: Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) affects the appearance of spine and trunk. The Spinal Appearance Questionnaire (SAQ) assesses the perception of appearance in AIS patients. The aim of this study is to translate and culturally adapt the recommended short version of the SAQ into Dutch and to test its measurement properties. Methods: A Dutch SAQ (14-item; appearance and expectations domains) was developed following guidelines for translation and cross-cultural adaptation. The COSMIN Study Design checklist was used for measurement properties evaluation. In this multicenter study, the Dutch SAQ, SRS-22R and NPRS (back pain) were administered to 113 AIS patients (aged 15.4 years [SD 2.2], 21.2% male). Floor and ceiling effects were evaluated for content analysis. For reliability, internal consistency (Cronbachâs alpha) and testâretest reliability (ICC; n = 34) were evaluated. Predefined hypotheses of relationships with other questionnaires and between subgroups based on scoliosis severity (radiological and clinical) were tested for construct validity. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was performed to investigate the validity of the underlying structure of this 14-item questionnaire. Results: No floor and ceiling effects were found for domains and total scores. Cronbachâs alpha ranged from 0.84 to 0.89. ICCs varied from 0.76 to 0.77. For construct validity, 89% (8/9) of the predefined hypotheses were confirmed. Significant higher scores for the appearance domain were found for subgroups based on radiological (Cobb angle; > 25.0°) and clinical outcomes. (Angle of Trunk Rotation; > 9.0°). A two-factor structure was found (EV 5.13; 36.63% explained variance). Conclusion: The Dutch SAQ is an adequate, valid and reliable instrument to evaluate patientsâ perception of appearance in AIS. Level of evidence: Level Iâdiagnostic studies.</p
The Quantum Hall Effect of Interacting Electrons in a Periodic Potential
We consider the influence of an external periodic potential on the fractional
quantum Hall effect of two-dimensional interacting electron systems. For many
electrons on a torus, we find that the splitting of incompressible ground state
degeneracies by a weak external potential diminishes as at
large system size . We present numerical results consistent with a scenario
in which diverges at continuous phase transitions from fractional to
integer quantum Hall states which occur with increasing external potential
strength.Comment: 4 pages, REVTeX, 3 epsf-embedded color postscript figures, submitted
to PRB (Rapid Comm.), added reference in revised versio
Coulomb effects on the quantum transport of a two-dimensional electron system in periodic electric and magnetic fields
The magnetoresistivity tensor of an interacting two-dimensional electron
system with a lateral and unidirectional electric or magnetic modulation, in a
perpendicular quantizing magnetic field, is calculated within the Kubo
formalism. The influence of the spin splitting of the Landau bands and of the
density of states (DOS) on the internal structure of the Shubnikov-de Haas
oscillations is analyzed. The Coulomb electron - electron interaction is
responsible for strong screening and exchange effects and is taken into account
in a screened Hartree-Fock approximation, in which the exchange contribution is
calculated self-consistently with the DOS at the Fermi level. This
approximation describes both the exchange enhancement of the spin splitting and
the formation of compressible edge strips, unlike the simpler Hartree and
Hartree-Fock approximations, which yield either the one or the other.Comment: 20 pages, revtex, 7 ps figures, to appear in Phys. Rev.
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