72 research outputs found
Stiff monatomic gold wires with a spinning zigzag geometry
Using first principles density functional calculations, gold monatomic wires
are found to exhibit a zigzag shape which remains under tension, becoming
linear just before breaking. At room temperature they are found to spin, what
explains the extremely long apparent interatomic distances shown by electron
microscopy.The zigzag structure is stable if the tension is relieved, the wire
holding its chainlike shape even as a free-standing cluster. This unexpected
metallic-wire stiffness stems from the transverse quantization in the wire, as
shown in a simple free electron model.Comment: 4 pages, latex, 5 figures, submitted to PR
Broadband microwave photonic fully tunable filter using a single heterogeneously integrated III-V/SOI-microdisk-based phase shifter
This paper was published in OPTICS EXPRESS and is made available as an electronic reprint with the permission of OSA. The paper can be found at the following URL on the OSA website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1364/OE.20.010796. Systematic or multiple reproduction or distribution to multiple locations via electronic or other means is prohibited and is subject to penalties under lawA broadband microwave photonic phase shifter based on a single III-V microdisk resonator heterogeneously integrated on and coupled to a nanophotonic silicon-on-insulator waveguide is reported. The phase shift tunability is accomplished by modifying the effective index through carrier injection. A comprehensive semi-analytical model aiming at predicting its behavior is formulated and confirmed by measurements. Quasi-linear and continuously tunable 2 pi phase shifts at radiofrequencies greater than 18 GHz are experimentally demonstrated. The phase shifter performance is also evaluated when used as a key element in tunable filtering schemes. Distortion-free and wideband filtering responses with a tuning range of similar to 100% over the free spectral range are obtained. (C) 2012 Optical Society of AmericaThe authors wish to acknowledge the technical support given by Rajesh Kumar and Pauline Mechet, as well as the financial support of the European Commission Seventh Framework Programme (FP 7) through the projects GOSPEL, WADIMOS and HISTORIC; the Generalitat Valenciana through the Microwave Photonics research Excellency award programme GVA PROMETEO 2008/092 and also the Plan Nacional I + D TEC2011-29120-C05-05 and TEC2008-06145.Lloret Soler, JA.; Morthier, G.; Ramos Pascual, F.; Sales Maicas, S.; Van Thourhout, D.; Spuesens, T.; Olivier, N.... (2012). Broadband microwave photonic fully tunable filter using a single heterogeneously integrated III-V/SOI-microdisk-based phase shifter. Optics Express. 20(10):10796-10806. doi:10.1364/OE.20.010796S1079610806201
Quantum point contact on graphite surface
The conductance through a quantum point contact created by a sharp and hard
metal tip on the graphite surface has features which to our knowledge have not
been encountered so far in metal contacts or in nanowires. In this paper we
first investigate these features which emerge from the strongly directional
bonding and electronic structure of graphite, and provide a theoretical
understanding for the electronic conduction through quantum point contacts. Our
study involves the molecular-dynamics simulations to reveal the variation of
interlayer distances and atomic structure at the proximity of the contact that
evolves by the tip pressing toward the surface. The effects of the elastic
deformation on the electronic structure, state density at the Fermi level, and
crystal potential are analyzed by performing self-consistent-field
pseudopotential calculations within the local-density approximation. It is
found that the metallicity of graphite increases under the uniaxial compressive
strain perpendicular to the basal plane. The quantum point contact is modeled
by a constriction with a realistic potential. The conductance is calculated by
representing the current transporting states in Laue representation, and the
variation of conductance with the evolution of contact is explained by taking
the characteristic features of graphite into account. It is shown that the
sequential puncturing of the layers characterizes the conductance.Comment: LaTeX, 11 pages, 9 figures (included), to be published in Phys. Rev.
B, tentatively scheduled for 15 September 1998 (Volume 58, Number 12
Heat conductance is strongly anisotropic for pristine silicon nanowires
We compute atomistically the heat conductance for ultra-thin pristine silicon
nanowires (SiNWs) with diameters ranging from 1 to 5 nm. The room temperature
thermal conductance is found to be highly anisotropic: wires oriented along the
direction have 50-75% larger conductance than wires oriented along the
and directions. We show that the anisotropies can be qualitatively
understood and reproduced from the bulk phonon band structure. Ab initio
density functional theory (DFT) is used to study the thinnest wires, but
becomes computationally prohibitive for larger diameters, where we instead use
the Tersoff empirical potential model (TEP). For the smallest wires, the
thermal conductances obtained from DFT- and TEP calculations agree within 10%.
The presented results could be relevant for future phonon-engineering of
nanowire devices.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figure
Risk factors for non-diabetic renal disease in diabetic patients
Background. Diabetic patients with kidney disease have a high prevalence of non-diabetic renal disease (NDRD). Renal and
patient survival regarding the diagnosis of diabetic nephropathy (DN) or NDRD have not been widely studied. The aim of
our study is to evaluate the prevalence of NDRD in patients with diabetes and to determine the capacity of clinical and
analytical data in the prediction of NDRD. In addition, we will study renal and patient prognosis according to the renal
biopsy findings in patients with diabetes.
Methods. Retrospective multicentre observational study of renal biopsies performed in patients with diabetes from 2002 to
2014.
Results. In total, 832 patients were included: 621 men (74.6%), mean age of 61.7 6 12.8 years, creatinine was 2.8 6 2.2 mg/dL
and proteinuria 2.7 (interquartile range: 1.2â5.4) g/24 h. About 39.5% (n ÂŒ 329) of patients had DN, 49.6% (n ÂŒ 413) NDRD and
10.8% (n Œ 90) mixed forms. The most frequent NDRD was nephroangiosclerosis (NAS) (n Œ 87, 9.3%). In the multivariate
logistic regression analysis, older age [odds ratio (OR) ÂŒ 1.03, 95% CI: 1.02â1.05, P < 0.001], microhaematuria (OR ÂŒ 1.51, 95%
CI: 1.03â2.21, P ÂŒ 0.033) and absence of diabetic retinopathy (DR) (OR ÂŒ 0.28, 95% CI: 0.19â0.42, P < 0.001) were independently
associated with NDRD. KaplanâMeier analysis showed that patients with DN or mixed forms presented worse renal
prognosis than NDRD (P < 0.001) and higher mortality (P Œ 0.029). In multivariate Cox analyses, older age (P < 0.001), higher
serum creatinine (P < 0.001), higher proteinuria (P < 0.001), DR (P Œ 0.007) and DN (P < 0.001) were independent risk factors for
renal replacement therapy. In addition, older age (P < 0.001), peripheral vascular disease (P Œ 0.002), higher creatinine
(P Œ 0.01) and DN (P Œ 0.015) were independent risk factors for mortality.
Conclusions. The most frequent cause of NDRD is NAS. Elderly patients with microhaematuria and the absence of DR are
the ones at risk for NDRD. Patients with DN presented worse renal prognosis and higher mortality than those with NDRD.
These results suggest that in some patients with diabetes, kidney biopsy may be useful for an accurate renal diagnosis and
subsequently treatment and prognosis
KAP Degradation by Calpain Is Associated with CK2 Phosphorylation and Provides a Novel Mechanism for Cyclosporine A-Induced Proximal Tubule Injury
The use of cyclosporine A (CsA) is limited by its severe nephrotoxicity that includes reversible vasoconstrictor effects and proximal tubule cell injury, the latter associated whith chronic kidney disease progression. The mechanisms of CsA-induced tubular injury, mainly on the S3 segment, have not been completely elucidated. Kidney androgen-regulated protein (KAP) is exclusively expressed in kidney proximal tubule cells, interacts with the CsA-binding protein cyclophilin B and its expression diminishes in kidneys of CsA-treated mice. Since we reported that KAP protects against CsA toxicity in cultured proximal tubule cells, we hypothesized that low KAP levels found in kidneys of CsA-treated mice might correlate with proximal tubule cell injury. To test this hypothesis, we used KAP Tg mice developed in our laboratory and showed that these mice are more resistant to CsA-induced tubular injury than control littermates. Furthermore, we found that calpain, which was activated by CsA in cell cultures and kidney, is involved in KAP degradation and observed that phosphorylation of serine and threonine residues found in KAP PEST sequences by protein kinase CK2 enhances KAP degradation by calpain. Moreover, we also observed that CK2 inhibition protected against CsA-induced cytotoxicity. These findings point to a novel mechanism for CsA-induced kidney toxicity that might be useful in developing therapeutic strategies aimed at preventing tubular cell damage while maintaining the immunosuppressive effects of CsA
Incidence, clinical characteristics and management of inflammatory bowel disease in Spain: large-scale epidemiological study
(1) Aims: To assess the incidence of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in Spain, to describe the main epidemiological and clinical characteristics at diagnosis and the evolution of the disease, and to explore the use of drug treatments. (2) Methods: Prospective, population-based nationwide registry. Adult patients diagnosed with IBDâCrohnâs disease (CD), ulcerative colitis (UC) or IBD unclassified (IBD-U)âduring 2017 in Spain were included and were followed-up for 1 year. (3) Results: We identified 3611 incident cases of IBD diagnosed during 2017 in 108 hospitals covering over 22 million inhabitants. The overall incidence (cases/100, 000 person-years) was 16 for IBD, 7.5 for CD, 8 for UC, and 0.5 for IBD-U; 53% of patients were male and median age was 43 years (interquartile range = 31â56 years). During a median 12-month follow-up, 34% of patients were treated with systemic steroids, 25% with immunomodulators, 15% with biologics and 5.6% underwent surgery. The percentage of patients under these treatments was significantly higher in CD than UC and IBD-U. Use of systemic steroids and biologics was significantly higher in hospitals with high resources. In total, 28% of patients were hospitalized (35% CD and 22% UC patients, p < 0.01). (4) Conclusion: The incidence of IBD in Spain is rather high and similar to that reported in Northern Europe. IBD patients require substantial therapeutic resources, which are greater in CD and in hospitals with high resources, and much higher than previously reported. One third of patients are hospitalized in the first year after diagnosis and a relevant proportion undergo surgery. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland
A922 Sequential measurement of 1 hour creatinine clearance (1-CRCL) in critically ill patients at risk of acute kidney injury (AKI)
Meeting abstrac
Growth of nanostructures by cluster deposition : a review
This paper presents a comprehensive analysis of simple models useful to
analyze the growth of nanostructures obtained by cluster deposition. After
detailing the potential interest of nanostructures, I extensively study the
first stages of growth (the submonolayer regime) by kinetic Monte-Carlo
simulations. These simulations are performed in a wide variety of experimental
situations : complete condensation, growth with reevaporation, nucleation on
defects, total or null cluster-cluster coalescence... The main scope of the
paper is to help experimentalists analyzing their data to deduce which of those
processes are important and to quantify them. A software including all these
simulation programs is available at no cost on request to the author. I
carefully discuss experiments of growth from cluster beams and show how the
mobility of the clusters on the surface can be measured : surprisingly high
values are found. An important issue for future technological applications of
cluster deposition is the relation between the size of the incident clusters
and the size of the islands obtained on the substrate. An approximate formula
which gives the ratio of the two sizes as a function of the melting temperature
of the material deposited is given. Finally, I study the atomic mechanisms
which can explain the diffusion of the clusters on a substrate and the result
of their mutual interaction (simple juxtaposition, partial or total
coalescence...)Comment: To be published Rev Mod Phys, Oct 99, RevTeX, 37 figure
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Dietary αâLinolenic Acid, Marine Ïâ3 Fatty Acids, and Mortality in a Population With High Fish Consumption: Findings From the PREvenciĂłn con DIeta MEDiterrĂĄnea (PREDIMED) Study
Background: Epidemiological evidence suggests a cardioprotective role of αâlinolenic acid (ALA), a plantâderived Ïâ3 fatty acid. It is unclear whether ALA is beneficial in a background of high marine Ïâ3 fatty acids (longâchain nâ3 polyunsaturated fatty acids) intake. In persons at high cardiovascular risk from Spain, a country in which fish consumption is customarily high, we investigated whether meeting the International Society for the Study of Fatty Acids and Lipids recommendation for dietary ALA (0.7% of total energy) at baseline was related to allâcause and cardiovascular disease mortality. We also examined the effect of meeting the society's recommendation for longâchain nâ3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (â„500 mg/day). Methods and Results: We longitudinally evaluated 7202 participants in the PREvenciĂłn con DIeta MEDiterrĂĄnea (PREDIMED) trial. Multivariableâadjusted Cox regression models were fitted to estimate hazard ratios. ALA intake correlated to walnut consumption (r=0.94). During a 5.9ây followâup, 431 deaths occurred (104 cardiovascular disease, 55 coronary heart disease, 32 sudden cardiac death, 25 stroke). The hazard ratios for meeting ALA recommendation (n=1615, 22.4%) were 0.72 (95% CI 0.56â0.92) for allâcause mortality and 0.95 (95% CI 0.58â1.57) for fatal cardiovascular disease. The hazard ratios for meeting the recommendation for longâchain nâ3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n=5452, 75.7%) were 0.84 (95% CI 0.67â1.05) for allâcause mortality, 0.61 (95% CI 0.39â0.96) for fatal cardiovascular disease, 0.54 (95% CI 0.29â0.99) for fatal coronary heart disease, and 0.49 (95% CI 0.22â1.01) for sudden cardiac death. The highest reduction in allâcause mortality occurred in participants meeting both recommendations (hazard ratio 0.63 [95% CI 0.45â0.87]). Conclusions: In participants without prior cardiovascular disease and high fish consumption, dietary ALA, supplied mainly by walnuts and olive oil, relates inversely to allâcause mortality, whereas protection from cardiac mortality is limited to fishâderived longâchain nâ3 polyunsaturated fatty acids. Clinical Trial Registration URL: http://www.Controlled-trials.com/. Unique identifier: ISRCTN35739639
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