Navigating Transience

With advancing age, does the act of collecting and collections serve a purpose? Experimental psychologist Daniel Krawczyk claims that the act of collecting is deeply embedded in how the human brain registers time. Building upon the premise of Krawczyk’s research, I delve into a journey of collecting as I trace its evolution from childhood to adulthood, and its significance amidst the rapid digitalization of the modern world. Through the lens of the transitional object and with a commitment to the preservation of memories, this thesis examines the intricate relationship between humans and their possessions. It proposes that the intimate activity of collecting and collection building not only soothes anxiety, it also helps to infuse belonging as we navigate the transient nature of our lives. By intertwining personal narratives with reflections on contemporary jewelry as a portable wearable art, I offer a nuanced exploration of the enduring allure of collecting as a way to archive experience in the modern era

Suspended optical waveguides in InP for optomechanical applications

Optical micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) based on suspended optical waveguides offer a range of interesting applications, e.g. in optical communications and sensing. In particular, if the waveguide dimensions are sufficiently small and thus the evanescent field of propagating light extends beyond the guiding material into air, two closely spaced parallel waveguides become optically coupled with a coupling strength that is strongly dependent on the waveguide separation. This effect can be exploited for mechanically actuated optical switching, tuning of micro-resonators, or even for changing the speed of light. &more..

Time Dependence of Few-Body Forster Interactions Among Ultracold Rydberg Atoms

Rubidium Rydberg atoms in either |mj| sublevel of the 36p3/2 state can exchange energy via Stark-tuned Förster resonances, including two-, three-, and four-body dipole-dipole interactions. Three-body interactions of this type were first reported and categorized by Faoro et al. [Nat. Commun. 6, 8173 (2015)] and their Borromean nature was confirmed by Tretyakov et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 119, 173402 (2017)]. We report the time dependence of the N-body Förster resonance N×36p3/2,|mj|=1/2→36s1/2+37s1/2+(N−2)×36p3/2,|mj|=3/2, for N=2, 3, and 4, by measuring the fraction of initially excited atoms that end up in the 37s1/2 state as a function of time. The essential features of these interactions are captured in an analytical model that includes only the many-body matrix elements and neighboring atom distribution. A more sophisticated simulation reveals the importance of beyond-nearest-neighbor interactions and of always-resonant interactions

Changes in the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratios before and after percutaneous coronary intervention and their impact on the prognosis of patients with acute coronary syndrome

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to prospectively observe the changes in the neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) before and after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and their impact on the prognosis of patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS). METHODS: Blood samples from 205 patients with ACS were collected at admission and at 24h and 30 days postPCI to observe changes in the complete blood count. The Cox multivariate regression model was used to analyze the factors influencing major adverse cardiac events (MACE) after PCI in patients with ACS. A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to evaluate the predictive value of inflammation indicators for MACE after PCI. RESULTS: Following PCI, NLR and PLR first increased postoperatively and then decreased within 30 days after PCI. Cox multivariate regression analysis showed that NLR and PLR at 24h post-PCI and acute ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction were independent influencing factors for the incidence of MACE after PCI. The ROC curve analysis showed that the NLR at 24h post-PCI was a better predictor of the incidence of MACE. The NLR at 24h post-PCI was significantly correlated with the number and length of implanted stents and operation duration. CONCLUSIONS: After PCI, patients with ACS had an increased neutrophil proportion and NLR. The NLR at 24h post-PCI was a better predictor of the incidence of postoperative MACE

A MEMS device for continuously tunable optical buffering

We present design and fabrication of free-standing InP optical waveguides for MEMS-actuated optical buffering. A continuously tunable delay time of 10ps is predicted in a 1mm long device with the operation voltage of 3V