561 research outputs found
Xenogeneic, extracorporeal liver perfusion in primates improves the ratio of branched-chain amino acids to aromatic amino acids (Fischer's ratio)
In fulminant hepatic failure (FHF), the development of hepatic encephalopathy is associated with grossly abnormal concentrations of plasma amino acids (PAA). Normalization of the ratio of branched-chain amino acids to aromatic amino acids (Fischer's ratio) correlates with clinical improvement. This study evaluated changes in PAA metabolism during 4 h of isolated, normothermic extracorporeal liver perfusion using a newly designed system containing human blood and a rhesus monkey liver. Bile and urea production were within the physiological range. Release of the transaminases AST, ALT and LDH were minimal. The ratio of branched (valine, leucine, isoleucine) to aromatic (tyrosine, phenylalanine) amino acids increased significantly. These results indicate that a xenogeneic extracorporeal liver perfusion system is capable of significantly increasing Fischer's ratio and may play a role in treating and bridging patients in FHF in the future
Longitudinal magnon in the tetrahedral spin system Cu2Te2O5Br2 near quantum criticality
We present a comprehensive study of the coupled tetrahedra-compound
Cu2Te2O5Br2 by theory and experiments in external magnetic fields. We report
the observation of a longitudinal magnon in Raman scattering in the ordered
state close to quantum criticality. We show that the excited
tetrahedral-singlet sets the energy scale for the magnetic ordering temperature
T_N. This energy is determined experimentally. The ordering temperature T_N has
an inverse-log dependence on the coupling parameters near quantum criticality
Collective Singlet Excitations and Evolution of Raman Spectral Weights in the 2D Spin Dimer Compound SrCu2(BO3)2
We present a Raman light scattering study of the two-dimensional quantum spin
system SrCu2(BO3)2 and show that the magnetic excitation spectrum has a rich
structure, including several well-defined bound state modes at low temperature,
and a scattering continuum and quasielastic light scattering contributions at
high temperature. The key to the understanding of the unique features of
SrCu2(BO3)2 is the presence of strong interactions between well-localized
triplet excitations in the network of orthogonal spin dimers realized in this
compound. Based on our analysis of the Heisenberg model relevant for this
material, we argue that the collective excitations involving two and
three-particle singlet bound states have large binding energies and are
observed as well-defined peaks in the Raman spectrum.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures. Revised version, to appear in Phys. Rev. Lett.
(2000
Density and Pair Correlation Function of Confined Identical Particles: the Bose-Einstein Case
Two basic correlation functions are calculated for a model of
harmonically interacting identical particles in a parabolic potential well. The
density and the pair correlation function of the model are investigated for the
boson case. The dependence of these static response properties on the complete
range of the temperature and of the number of particles is obtained. The
calculation technique is based on the path integral approach of symmetrized
density matrices for identical particles in a parabolic confining well.Comment: 8 pages (REVTEX) + 6 figures (postscript
Thermodynamics of Coupled Identical Oscillators within the Path Integral Formalism
A generalization of symmetrized density matrices in combination with the
technique of generating functions allows to calculate the partition function of
identical particles in a parabolic confining well. Harmonic two-body
interactions (repulsive or attractive) are taken into account. Also the
influence of a homogeneous magnetic field, introducing anisotropy in the model,
is examined. Although the theory is developed for fermions and bosons, special
attention is payed to the thermodynamic properties of bosons and their
condensation.Comment: 13 REVTEX pages + 9 postscript figure
Magnetism of a tetrahedral cluster spin-chain
We discuss the magnetic properties of a dimerized and completely frustrated
tetrahedral spin-1/2 chain. Using a combination of exact diagonalization and
bond-operator theory the quantum phase diagram is shown to incorporate a
singlet-product, a dimer, and a Haldane phase. In addition we consider one-,
and two-triplet excitations in the dimer phase and evaluate the magnetic Raman
cross section which is found to be strongly renormalized by the presence of a
two-triplet bound state. The link to a novel tellurate materials is clarified.Comment: 8 pages, 8 figure
Intraosseous Schwannoma (Neurilemmoma) of the Cervical Spine
Purpose: To report on an extremely rare tumour located in the cervical spine, its treatment and result.
Review of the literature
Increasing survival gap between young and elderly gastric cancer patients
INTRODUCTION: This study investigates the treatment and survival of young versus elderly potentially curable gastric cancer patients in the Netherlands. PATIENTS AND METHODS: All noncardia gastric cancer patients with potentially curable gastric cancer according to stage (cTx-3, cNx-3, and cMx-0) diagnosed between 1989 and 2013 were selected from the Netherlands Cancer Registry. Trends in treatment and overall survival were compared between young patients (younger than 70 years) and elderly patients (70 years or older). Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to examine the probability of patients undergoing surgery and chemotherapy in the most recent period. Multivariable Cox regression analysis was used to identify independent factors associated with survival. RESULTS: In total, 8107 young and 13,814 elderly gastric cancer patients were included. There was a major increase in the proportion of patients treated with resection and chemotherapy after 2004-2008. In young patients the increase was from 2.6% in 1999-2003 to 63% in 2009-2013 (p < 0.01). Also an increase was noticed among elderly patients, from 0.1% to 16% (p < 0.01). Median survival increased from 2004 to 2008 onward particularly in young patients and to a lesser extent in elderly patients (from 28 to 41 months vs from 11 to 13 months). Multivariable Cox regression analyses confirmed that overall survival improved for young and elderly patients. DISCUSSION: Young patients experienced a stronger improvement in survival than elderly patients, resulting in an increasing survival gap. The literature shows this is a problem not only in the Netherlands but also throughout Europe. The dissimilarity in treatment between young and elderly patients could be the reason for this difference
A special irreducible matrix representation of the real Clifford algebra C(3,1)
4x4 Dirac (gamma) matrices (irreducible matrix representations of the
Clifford algebras C(3,1), C(1,3), C(4,0)) are an essential part of many
calculations in quantum physics. Although the final physical results do not
depend on the applied representation of the Dirac matrices (e.g. due to the
invariance of traces of products of Dirac matrices), the appropriate choice of
the representation used may facilitate the analysis. The present paper
introduces a particularly symmetric real representation of 4x4 Dirac matrices
(Majorana representation) which may prove useful in the future. As a byproduct,
a compact formula for (transformed) Pauli matrices is found. The consideration
is based on the role played by isoclinic 2-planes in the geometry of the real
Clifford algebra C(3,0) which provide an invariant geometric frame for it. It
can be generalized to larger Clifford algebras.Comment: 23 pages LaTeX, to appear in the J. Math. Phys. (v2: appendix B on
Pauli matrices and references are added, minor other changes
Ground state order and spin-lattice coupling in tetrahedral spin systems Cu2Te2O5X2
High-resolution ac susceptibility and thermal conductivity measurement on
Cu2Te2O5X2(X=Br,Cl) single crystals are reported. For Br-sample, sample
dependence prevents to distinguish between possibilities of magnetically
ordered and spin-singlet ground states. In Cl-sample a three-dimensional
transition at 18.5 K is accompanied by almost isotropic behavior of
susceptibility and almost switching behavior of thermal conductivity. Thermal
conductivity studies suggest the presence of a tremendous spin-lattice coupling
characterizing Cl- but not Br-sample. Below the transition Cl-sample is in a
complex magnetic state involving AF order but also the elements consistent with
the presence of a gap in the excitation spectrum.Comment: version accepted for publication in Phys.Rev.B-Rapid Communicatio
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