3,223 research outputs found
Organs from animals for man
In the following review some of the problems of xenotransplantation shall be discussed, based on the few experimental data available so far and on reports in the literature describing investigations which may be of importance for xenotransplantation. The impact of gravity on the upright posture of man versus almost all other mammals, the dysfunction between enzymes and hormones in different species and the lack of interactions between interleukins, cytokines and vasoactive substances will be taken into consideration. The question must be asked whether different levels of carrier molecules or serum proteins play a role in the physiological network. Even though the development of transgenic animals or other imaginative manipulations may lead to the acceptance of any type of xenografted organ, it has to be established for how long the products of the xenografts are able to act in the multifactorial orchestra. We are far from understanding xenogeneic molecular mechanisms involved in toxicity, necrosis and apoptosis or even reperfusion injury and ischemia in addition to the immediate mechanisms of the hyperacute xenogeneic rejection. Here, cell adhesion, blood clotting and vasomotion collide and bring micro-and macrocirculation to a standstill. All types of xenogeneic immunological mechanisms studied so far were found to have a more serious impact than those seen in allogeneic transplantation. In addition we are now only beginning to understand that so-called immunological parameters in allogeneic mechanisms act also in a true physiological manner in the xenogeneic situation. These molecular mechanisms occur behind the curtain of hyperacute, accelerated, acute or chronic xenograft rejection of which only some folds have been lifted to allow glimpses of part of the total scene. Other obstacles are likely to arise when long-term survival is achieved. These obstacles include retroviral infections, transfer of prions and severe side effects of the massive immunosuppression which will be needed. Moral, ethical and religious concerns are under debate and the species-specific production of proteins of the foreign donor species developed for clinical use suddenly appears to be a greater problem than anticipated
Injection locking of two frequency-doubled lasers with 3.2 GHz offset for driving Raman transitions with low photon scattering in Ca
We describe the injection locking of two infrared (794 nm) laser diodes which
are each part of a frequency-doubled laser system. An acousto-optic modulator
(AOM) in the injection path gives an offset of 1.6 GHz between the lasers for
driving Raman transitions between states in the hyperfine split (by 3.2 GHz)
ground level of Ca. The offset can be disabled for use in
Ca. We measure the relative linewidth of the frequency-doubled beams
to be 42 mHz in an optical heterodyne measurement. The use of both injection
locking and frequency doubling combines spectral purity with high optical
power. Our scheme is applicable for providing Raman beams across other ion
species and neutral atoms where coherent optical manipulation is required.Comment: 3 pages, 3 figure
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Assessment of mechanical properties and microstructure characterizing techniques in their ability to quantify amount of cold work in 316l alloy
Stress corrosion cracking (SCC) behavior is a matter of concern for structural materials, namely, stainless steels and nickel alloys, in nuclear power plants. High levels of cold work (CW) have shown to both reduce crack initiation times and increase crack growth rates. Cold working has numerous effects on a material, including changes in microstructure, mechanical properties, and residual stress state, yet it is typically reported as a simple percent change in geometry. There is need to develop a strategy for quantitative assessment of cold-work level in order to better understand stress corrosion cracking test data. Five assessment techniques, commonly performed alongside stress corrosion cracking testing (optical microscopy (OM), electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD), X-ray diffraction (XRD), tensile testing, and hardness testing) are evaluated with respect to their ability to quantify the level of CW in a component. The test material is stainless steel 316L that has been cold-rolled to three conditions: 0%, 20%, and 30% CW. Measurement results for each assessment method include correlation with CW condition and repeatability data. Measured values showed significant spatial variation, illustrating that CW level is not uniform throughout a component. Mechanical properties (tensile testing, hardness) were found to correlate most linearly with the amount of imparted CW
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Enhancing engagement in evidence-based tobacco cessation treatment for smokers with mental illness: A pilot randomized trial.
ObjectiveTo evaluate the efficacy of a brief telephone-delivered Motivational Interviewing (MI)-based intervention to facilitate engagement in evidence-based cessation treatment for Veterans with mental illness referred to smoking cessation treatment.Methods86 military Veteran smokers with mental illness were recruited from a tobacco cessation consult clinic and randomized to receive either a MI-based treatment engagement intervention (TE; n = 48) or a non-MI assessment and information control (CON; n = 38) condition. Intervention was delivered during a single brief telephone contact. Primary engagement outcomes were 1) attending a treatment session within 30 days and 2) combination treatment (attending session plus using pharmacotherapy). Cessation outcomes included self-reported 24 h cessation attempts and 7 day point abstinence at 3 months post-intervention. Outcomes were assessed at 1 and 3 months post intervention.ResultsOutcome analyses included 85 participants (47 TE, 38 CON) using an intent-to-treat analytic approach. Participants were on average 49.5 (13.4) years old, 88% Male, 59% white, 18% African American and 14% Hispanic/Latino(a). Following intervention delivery TE and CON participants did not differ on likelihood of attending a treatment session during the subsequent 30 days (47% vs 45%, respectively). A significant difference was observed when classified as utilizing combination treatment, 40% of TE versus 18% of CON reported use of smoking cessation medication and behavioral counseling (p = 0.04). No statistical differences were observed for cessation outcomes, although more TE than CON participants reported 7 day point abstinence at 3 months post-intervention (30% vs 18%).ConclusionsThe present pilot study provides initial evidence for the feasibility, acceptability and efficacy of a telephone delivered TE intervention for enhancing engagement in combinationevidence evidence-based treatment in a sample of Veteran smokers with mental illness referred to smoking cessation treatment. Smokers with mental illness typically have greater difficulty stopping smoking than those without mental illness. Increased engagement in combination treatment thus has the potential to increase quit rates and ultimately reduce the burden of tobacco use for this population
Optimizing Stimulation and Analysis Protocols for Neonatal fMRI
The development of brain function in young infants is poorly understood. The core challenge is that infants have a limited behavioral repertoire through which brain function can be expressed. Neuroimaging with fMRI has great potential as a way of characterizing typical development, and detecting abnormal development early. But, a number of methodological challenges must first be tackled to improve the robustness and sensitivity of neonatal fMRI. A critical one of these, addressed here, is that the hemodynamic response function (HRF) in pre-term and term neonates differs from that in adults, which has a number of implications for fMRI. We created a realistic model of noise in fMRI data, using resting-state fMRI data from infants and adults, and then conducted simulations to assess the effect of HRF of the power of different stimulation protocols and analysis assumptions (HRF modeling). We found that neonatal fMRI is most powerful if block-durations are kept at the lower range of those typically used in adults (full on/off cycle duration 25-30s). Furthermore, we show that it is important to use the age-appropriate HRF during analysis, as mismatches can lead to reduced power or even inverted signal. Where the appropriate HRF is not known (for example due to potential developmental delay), a flexible basis set performs well, and allows accurate post-hoc estimation of the HRF
Diffusion Enhancement in a Periodic Potential under High-Frequency Space-Dependent Forcing
We study the long-time behavior of underdamped Brownian particle moving
through a viscous medium and in a systematic potential, when it is subjected to
a space-dependent high-frequency periodic force. When the frequency is very
large, much larger than all other relevant system-frequencies, there is a
Kapitsa time-window wherein the effect of frequency dependent forcing can be
replaced by a static effective potential. Our new analysis includes the case
when the forcing, in addition to being frequency-dependent, is space-dependent
as well. The results of the Kapitsa analysis then lead to additional
contributions to the effective potential. These are applied to the numerical
calculation of the diffusion coefficient (D) for a Brownian particle moving in
a periodic potential. Presented are numerical results, which are in excellent
agreement with theoretical predictions and which indicate a significant
enhancement of D due to the space-dependent forcing terms. In addition we study
the transport property (current) of underdamped Brownian particles in a ratchet
potential.Comment: RevTex 6 pages, 5 figure
High-fidelity quantum logic gates using trapped-ion hyperfine qubits
We demonstrate laser-driven two-qubit and single-qubit logic gates with
fidelities 99.9(1)% and 99.9934(3)% respectively, significantly above the
approximately 99% minimum threshold level required for fault-tolerant quantum
computation, using qubits stored in hyperfine ground states of calcium-43 ions
held in a room-temperature trap. We study the speed/fidelity trade-off for the
two-qubit gate, for gate times between 3.8s and 520s, and develop a
theoretical error model which is consistent with the data and which allows us
to identify the principal technical sources of infidelity.Comment: 1 trap, 2 ions, 3 nines. Detailed write-up of arXiv:1406.5473
including single-qubit gate data als
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