38,313 research outputs found
Successful medical management of a domestic longhair cat with subdural intracranial empyema and multifocal pneumonia
Magnetic properties of Co doped Nb clusters
From magnetic deflection experiments on isolated Co doped Nb clusters we made
the interesting observation of some clusters being magnetic, while others
appear to be non-magnetic. There are in principle two explanations for this
behavior. Either the local moment at the Co site is completely quenched or it
is screened by the delocalized electrons of the cluster, i.e. the Kondo effect.
In order to reveal the physical origin, we conducted a combined theoretical and
experimental investigation. First, we established the ground state geometry of
the clusters by comparing the experimental vibrational spectra with those
obtained from a density functional theory study. Then, we performed an analyses
based on the Anderson impurity model. It appears that the non-magnetic clusters
are due to a complete quenching of the local Co moment and not due to the Kondo
effect. In addition, the magnetic behavior of the clusters can be understood
from an inspection of their electronic structure. Here magnetism is favored
when the effective hybridization around the chemical potential is small, while
the absence of magnetism is signalled by a large effective hybridization around
the chemical potential.Comment: 14 pages, 8 figure
Atom interferometry gravity-gradiometer for the determination of the Newtonian gravitational constant G
We developed a gravity-gradiometer based on atom interferometry for the
determination of the Newtonian gravitational constant \textit{G}. The
apparatus, combining a Rb fountain, Raman interferometry and a juggling scheme
for fast launch of two atomic clouds, was specifically designed to reduce
possible systematic effects. We present instrument performances and show that
the sensor is able to detect the gravitational field induced by source masses.
A discussion of projected accuracy for \textit{G} measurement using this new
scheme shows that the results of the experiment will be significant to
discriminate between previous inconsistent values.Comment: 9 pages,9 figures, Submitte
High-energy terahertz surface optical rectification
The interest in surface terahertz emitters lies in their extremely thin active region, typically hundreds of atomic layers, and the agile surface scalability. The ultimate limit in the achievable emission is determined by the saturation of the several different mechanisms concurring to the THz frequency conversion. Although there is a very prolific debate about the contribution of each process, surface optical rectification has been highlighted as the dominant process at high excitation, but the effective limits in the conversion are largely unknown.
The current state of the art suggests that in field-induced optical rectification a maximum limit of the emission may exist and it is ruled by the photocarrier induced neutralisation of the medium's surface field. This would represent the most important impediment to the application of surface optical rectification in high-energy THz emitters.
We experimentally unveil novel physical insights in the THz conversion at high excitation energies mediated by the ultrafast surface optical rectification process. The main finding is that the expected total saturation of the Terahertz emission vs pump energy does not actually occur. At high energy, the surface field region contracts towards the surface. We argue that this mechanism weakens the main saturation process, re-establishing a clearly observable quadratic dependence between the emitted THz energy and the excitation. This is relevant in enabling access to intense generation at high fluences
Emergence of quasiparticle Bloch states in artificial crystals crafted atom-by-atom
The interaction of electrons with a periodic potential of atoms in
crystalline solids gives rise to band structure. The band structure of existing
materials can be measured by photoemission spectroscopy and accurately
understood in terms of the tight-binding model, however not many experimental
approaches exist that allow to tailor artificial crystal lattices using a
bottom-up approach. The ability to engineer and study atomically crafted
designer materials by scanning tunnelling microscopy and spectroscopy (STM/STS)
helps to understand the emergence of material properties. Here, we use atom
manipulation of individual vacancies in a chlorine monolayer on Cu(100) to
construct one- and two-dimensional structures of various densities and sizes.
Local STS measurements reveal the emergence of quasiparticle bands, evidenced
by standing Bloch waves, with tuneable dispersion. The experimental data are
understood in terms of a tight-binding model combined with an additional
broadening term that allows an estimation of the coupling to the underlying
substrate.Comment: 7 figures, 12 pages, main text and supplementary materia
Hepatitis B and C co-Infection are independent predictors of progressive kidney disease in HIV-positive, antiretroviral-treated adults
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is an important cause of morbidity and mortality in HIV-positive individuals. Hepatitis C (HCV) co-infection has been associated with increased risk of CKD, but prior studies lack information on potential mechanisms. We evaluated the association between HCV or hepatitis B (HBV) co-infection and progressive CKD among 3,441 antiretroviral-treated clinical trial participants. Progressive CKD was defined as the composite of end-stage renal disease, renal death, or significant glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) decline (25% decline to eGFR 800,000 IU/ml had increased odds (OR 3.07; 95% CI 1.60–5.90). Interleukin-6, hyaluronic acid, and the FIB-4 hepatic fibrosis index were higher among participants who developed progressive CKD, but were no longer associated with progressive CKD after adjustment. Future studies should validate the relationship between HCV viremia and CKD
Diagnostic utility and validity of 1,2-o-dilauryl-rac-glycero-3-glutaric acid-(6'-methylresorufin) ester (DGGR) lipase activity in horses with colic.
Little is known about the clinical usefulness in horses of the 1,2-o-dilauryl-rac-glycero-3-glutaric acid-(6'-methylresorufin) ester (DGGR) lipase assay, a biomarker used in other species for the detection of pancreatitis. The main objectives of this study were to evaluate the prevalence of increased DGGR-lipase activity in horses with signs of colic and investigate its association with, and validity to diagnose, underlying gastrointestinal diseases, treatment method (medical or surgical), and outcome (survival or non-survival). Clinical data from 192 horses presented for colic to a teaching hospital were analysed retrospectively. DGGR-lipase activity was measured in frozen plasma collected within 24h of presentation. Non-parametric tests and Chi-squared or Fisher's exact tests were used to evaluate differences and associations between DGGR-lipase activity and continuous and categorical variables or outcomes, respectively. Measures of the validity of DGGR-lipase as a diagnostic test were also calculated. Increased DGGR-lipase activity above published reference limits was demonstrated in 30.2% of horses with signs of colic, and was above 2x the upper reference limit (URL) in 15.6%. The median DGGR-lipase activity in horses with large bowel displacement or torsion was significantly higher than the median activity for large bowel impaction and for gastric impaction, dilation, or ulceration. DGGR-lipase activity >2x URL was significantly associated with surgical treatment, strangulating disease, and non-survival. However, as a diagnostic or screening test for these target outcomes, DGGR-lipase activity was poor to fair consequent to poor sensitivity, poor negative likelihood ratio, and an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve, with optimal cut-offs based on the Youden Index, within reference limits
Efficient heterocyclisation by (di)terpene synthases
While cyclic ether forming terpene synthases are known, the basis for such heterocyclisation is unclear. Here it is reported that numerous (di)terpene synthases, particularly including the ancestral ent-kaurene synthase, efficiently produce isomers of manoyl oxide from the stereochemically appropriate substrate. Accordingly, such heterocyclisation is easily accomplished by terpene synthases. Indeed, the use of single residue changes to induce production of the appropriate substrate in the upstream active site leads to efficient bifunctional enzymes producing isomers of manoyl oxide, representing novel enzymatic activity
Topologies of nodal sets of random band limited functions
It is shown that the topologies and nestings of the zero and nodal sets of
random (Gaussian) band limited functions have universal laws of distribution.
Qualitative features of the supports of these distributions are determined. In
particular the results apply to random monochromatic waves and to random real
algebraic hyper-surfaces in projective space.Comment: 62 pages. Major revision following referee repor
- …