3,170 research outputs found
Microstructural evolution throughout the structural transition in 1111 oxy-pnictides
The microstructural evolution throughout the first order tetragonal to
orthorhombic structural transition is analyzed by powder diffraction analysis
for two different systems belonging to the class of compounds referred to as
1111 oxy-pnictides: (La1-yYy)FeAsO and SmFeAs(O1-xFx). Both systems are
characterized by a similar behaviour: on cooling microstrain along the
tetragonal hh0 direction takes place and increases as the temperature is
decreased. Just above the structural transition microstrain reaches its maximum
value and then is abruptly suppressed by symmetry breaking. No volume
discontinuity throughout the first order transition is observed and a
groupsubgroup relationship holds between the tetragonal and the orthorhombic
structures, thus suggesting that orbital ordering drives symmetry breaking.
Microstrain reflects a distribution of lattice parameters in the tetragonal
phase and explains the occurrence of anisotropic properties commonly attributed
to nematic correlations; in this scenario the nematic behaviour is induced by
the tendency towards ordering of Fe orbitals
Study protocol for a double blind, randomised, placebo-controlled trial of continuous subpectoral local anaesthetic infusion for pain and shoulder function following mastectomy: SUB-pectoral Local anaesthetic Infusion following MastEctomy (SUBLIME) study.
INTRODUCTION: Over 16 000 mastectomies are performed in England and Wales annually. Acute postoperative pain and nausea are common. The most frequently occurring long-term complications are chronic pain (up to 50%) and reduced shoulder function (reported at 35%). Regional techniques that improve acute postoperative pain relief may reduce the incidence of these complications. This study assesses the effectiveness of a 24-hour continuous local anaesthetic in the subpectoral plane in improving postoperative pain and quality of life in patients undergoing mastectomy. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: This is a randomised, double blind, placebo-controlled, two-centre, parallel group trial in women undergoing mastectomy with or without axillary involvement. One hundred and sixty participants will be randomised in a 1:1 ratio to receive either 0.25% levobupivacaine or 0.9% saline by subpectoral infusion postoperatively for 24 h. All participants will be provided with an intravenous morphine patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) system. Participants will be followed-up for 24 h in hospital and at approximately 14 days and 6 months postoperatively. Joint primary outcome measures are total morphine consumption and total pain score (captured via patient-recorded visual analogue scale (VAS) 4 hourly) during the first 24 h postoperatively. Primary statistical analysis of total pain is based on the area under the curve of pain versus time graph. Secondary outcomes include PCA attempts in first 24 h; VAS pain scores and shoulder function by goniometry at 24 h, 14 days (approximately) and 6 months; Verbal Rating Scale pain scores in first 24 h; Brief Pain Inventory and Oxford Shoulder Score at 6 months; duration of hospital stay; incidence of postoperative nausea and vomiting; cost-effectiveness. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: The study is approved by the South West England Research Ethics Committee (12/SW/0149). RESULTS: will be published in a peer-reviewed journal and presented at local, national and international scientific meetings. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ISRCTN46621916. EudraCT 2011-005775-16
Macro- and micro-strain in GaN nanowires on Si(111)
We analyze the strain state of GaN nanowire ensembles by x-ray diffraction.
The nanowires are grown by molecular beam epitaxy on a Si(111) substrate in a
self-organized manner. On a macroscopic scale, the nanowires are found to be
free of strain. However, coalescence of the nanowires results in micro-strain
with a magnitude from +-0.015% to +-0.03%.This micro-strain contributes to the
linewidth observed in low-temperature photoluminescence spectra
Integrated Photonic Sensing
Loss is a critical roadblock to achieving photonic quantum-enhanced
technologies. We explore a modular platform for implementing integrated
photonics experiments and consider the effects of loss at different stages of
these experiments, including state preparation, manipulation and measurement.
We frame our discussion mainly in the context of quantum sensing and focus
particularly on the use of loss-tolerant Holland-Burnett states for optical
phase estimation. In particular, we discuss spontaneous four-wave mixing in
standard birefringent fibre as a source of pure, heralded single photons and
present methods of optimising such sources. We also outline a route to
programmable circuits which allow the control of photonic interactions even in
the presence of fabrication imperfections and describe a ratiometric
characterisation method for beam splitters which allows the characterisation of
complex circuits without the need for full process tomography. Finally, we
present a framework for performing state tomography on heralded states using
lossy measurement devices. This is motivated by a calculation of the effects of
fabrication imperfections on precision measurement using Holland-Burnett
states.Comment: 19 pages, 7 figure
From antiferromagnetism to superconductivity in Fe 1+y(Te1-x,Sex) (0 < x < 0.20): a neutron powder diffraction analysis
The nuclear and magnetic structure of Fe1+y(Te1-x,Sex) (0 < x < 0.20)
compounds was analyzed between 2 K and 300 K by means of Rietveld refinement of
neutron powder diffraction data. Samples with x < 0.075 undergo a tetragonal to
monoclinic phase transition at low temperature, whose critical temperature
decreases with increasing Se content; this structural transition is strictly
coupled to a long range antiferromagnetic ordering at the Fe site. Both the
transition to a monoclinic phase and the long range antiferromagnetism are
suppressed for 0.10 < x < 0.20. The onset of the structural and of the magnetic
transition remains coincident with the increase of Se substitution. The low
temperature monoclinic crystal structure has been revised. Superconductivity
arises for x > 0.05, therefore a significant region where superconductivity and
long range antiferromagnetism coexist is present in the pseudo-binary FeTe -
FeSe phase diagram.Comment: 33 pages, 4 tables, 13 figure
Quantum teleportation and entanglement swapping with linear optics logic gates
We report on the usage of a linear optics phase gate for distinguishing all
four Bell states simultaneously in a quantum teleportation and entanglement
swapping protocol. This is demonstrated by full state tomography of the one and
two qubit output states of the two protocols, yielding average state fidelities
of about 0.83 and 0.77, respectively. In addition, the performance of the
teleportation channel is characterised by quantum process tomography. The non
classical properties of the entanglement swapping output states are further
confirmed by the violation of a CHSH-type Bell inequality of 2.14 on average.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figure
Temporal Modulation of Traveling Waves in the Flow Between Rotating Cylinders With Broken Azimuthal Symmetry
The effect of temporal modulation on traveling waves in the flows in two
distinct systems of rotating cylinders, both with broken azimuthal symmetry,
has been investigated. It is shown that by modulating the control parameter at
twice the critical frequency one can excite phase-locked standing waves and
standing-wave-like states which are not allowed when the system is rotationally
symmetric. We also show how previous theoretical results can be extended to
handle patterns such as these, that are periodic in two spatial direction.Comment: 17 pages in LaTeX, 22 figures available as postscript files from
http://www.esam.nwu.edu/riecke/lit/lit.htm
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