Laser velocimeter for simultaneous two-dimensional velocity measurements

Laser velocimeter provides simultaneous orthogonal measurements in manner which minimizes many problems attending prior systems, and allows spatial traversing of flowfield in order to obtain velocity profiles. Velocimeter permits rapid interrogation of unsteady flows where area of interest is of the order of one meter in extent and flow does not vary appreciably over time of about one second

Emergency Portacaval Shunt Versus Rescue Portacaval Shunt in a Randomized Controlled Trial of Emergency Treatment of Acutely Bleeding Esophageal Varices in Cirrhosis—Part 3

Emergency treatment of bleeding esophageal varices in cirrhosis is of singular importance because of the high mortality rate. Emergency portacaval shunt is rarely used today because of the belief, unsubstantiated by long-term randomized trials, that it causes frequent portal-systemic encephalopathy and liver failure. Consequently, portacaval shunt has been relegated solely to salvage therapy when endoscopic and pharmacologic therapies have failed. Question: Is the regimen of endoscopic sclerotherapy with rescue portacaval shunt for failure to control bleeding varices superior to emergency portacaval shunt? A unique opportunity to answer this question was provided by a randomized controlled trial of endoscopic sclerotherapy versus emergency portacaval shunt conducted from 1988 to 2005. Unselected consecutive cirrhotic patients with acute bleeding esophageal varices were randomized to endoscopic sclerotherapy (n = 106) or emergency portacaval shunt (n = 105). Diagnostic workup was completed and treatment was initiated within 8 h. Failure of endoscopic sclerotherapy was defined by strict criteria and treated by rescue portacaval shunt (n = 50) whenever possible. Ninety-six percent of patients had more than 10 years of follow-up or until death. Comparison of emergency portacaval shunt and endoscopic sclerotherapy followed by rescue portacaval shunt showed the following differences in measurements of outcomes: (1) survival after 5 years (72% versus 22%), 10 years (46% versus 16%), and 15 years (46% versus 0%); (2) median post-shunt survival (6.18 versus 1.99 years); (3) mean requirements of packed red blood cell units (17.85 versus 27.80); (4) incidence of recurrent portal-systemic encephalopathy (15% versus 43%); (5) 5-year change in Child’s class showing improvement (59% versus 19%) or worsening (8% versus 44%); (6) mean quality of life points in which lower is better (13.89 versus 27.89); and (7) mean cost of care per year ($39,200 versus$216,700). These differences were highly significant in favor of emergency portacaval shunt (all p < 0.001). Emergency portacaval shunt was strikingly superior to endoscopic sclerotherapy as well as to the combination of endoscopic sclerotherapy and rescue portacaval shunt in regard to all outcome measures, specifically bleeding control, survival, incidence of portal-systemic encephalopathy, improvement in liver function, quality of life, and cost of care. These results strongly support the use of emergency portacaval shunt as the first line of emergency treatment of bleeding esophageal varices in cirrhosis

Treatment with ETC-1002 alone and in combination with ezetimibe lowers LDL cholesterol in hypercholesterolemic patients with or without statin intolerance

BackgroundETC-1002 is an oral, once-daily, first-in-class medication being developed to treat hypercholesterolemia.ObjectivesTo compare 2 doses of ETC-1002, alone or combined with ezetimibe 10 mg (EZE), vs EZE monotherapy for lowering low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C).MethodsThis phase 2b, multicenter, double-blind trial-evaluated hypercholesterolemic patients (LDL-C, 130 to 220 mg/dL) with (n = 177) or without (n = 171) muscle-related intolerance to ≥2 statins; 1 at lowest approved dose. Subjects were randomized to 12-week treatment with ETC-1002 120 mg or ETC-1002 180 mg alone, EZE alone, ETC-1002 120 mg plus EZE, or ETC-1002 180 mg plus EZE.ResultsEZE alone lowered LDL-C by 21%, whereas ETC-1002 monotherapy with 120 mg or 180 mg reduced LDL-C by 27% (P = .0008 vs EZE) and 30% (P < .0001 vs EZE), respectively. The combination of ETC-1002, 120 mg or 180 mg plus EZE reduced LDL-C by 43% and 48%, respectively (both P < .0001 vs EZE). ETC-1002 alone or combined with EZE also reduced non–high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, total cholesterol, apolipoprotein B, LDL particle number, and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein compared with EZE alone. Across all treatment groups, statin-intolerant patients reported more muscle-related adverse events than did statin-tolerant patients. ETC-1002 was safe and well tolerated, and rates of muscle-related adverse events were similar in all treatment groups.ConclusionsIn patients with and without statin intolerance, daily treatment with ETC-1002 120 mg and 180 mg alone or with EZE reduced LDL-C more than EZE alone and had a similar tolerability profile (NCT01941836)

Broadband Dielectric Spectroscopy of Ruddlesden-Popper Srn+1_{n+1}Tin_{n}O3n+1_{3n+1} (nn = 1, 2, 3) Thin Films

We explore the frequency-dependent relative permittivity of Ruddlesden-Popper series Sr(n+1)Ti(n)O(3n+1) (n =1,2,3) thin films as a function of temperature and dc electric field. Interdigitated capacitors and coplanar waveguides were used to extract the frequency response from 500 Hz to 40 GHz. At room temperature, the in-plane relative permittivities obtained for Sr(n+1)Ti(n)O(3n+1) (n =1,2,3) were 42+/-3, 54+/-3, and 77+/-2, respectively, and were independent of frequency. At low temperatures, permittivity increases and electric field tunability develops in Sr(4)Ti(3)O(10)

Inverse Symmetry Breaking on the lattice: an accurate MC study

We present here a new MC study of ISB at finite temperature in a $Z_2\times Z_2$ $\lambda\phi^4$ model in four dimensions. The results of our simulations, even if not conclusive, are favourable to ISB. Detection of the effect required measuring some critical couplings with six-digits precision, a level of accuracy that could be achieved only by a careful use of FSS techniques. The gap equations for the Debye masses, resulting from the resummation of the ring diagrams, seem to provide a qualitatively correct description of the data, while the simple one-loop formulae appear to be inadequate.Comment: 23 pages, 7 figures, Section 6 revised, in press on Nucl. Phys.

TESLA Technical Design Report Part III: Physics at an e+e- Linear Collider

The TESLA Technical Design Report Part III: Physics at an e+e- Linear ColliderComment: 192 pages, 131 figures. Some figures have reduced quality. Full quality figures can be obtained from http://tesla.desy.de/tdr. Editors - R.-D. Heuer, D.J. Miller, F. Richard, P.M. Zerwa

Neurology

Contains reports on eight research projects.U.S. Navy (Office of Naval Research (Nonr-1841(70))U. S. Public Health Service (MH-06175-02)U. S. Air Force (AF49(638)-1313)U. S. Public Health Service (B-3055-4)U. S. Public Health Service (B-3090-4

Developing a National Alfalfa Information System

Using state-of-the-art telecommunication technologies, this project is developing a comprehensive knowledge resource for alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.); the National Alfalfa Information System (NAIS). This project will serve as an improved model for Extension educational programs. Alfalfa is the most important forage crop in the USA and grown worldwide for feeding millions of livestock and in many cropping systems. As a legume, it is important in sustaining the environment and the productivity of agriculture. Information needs are present in every state and internationally. The NAIS is being developed through national and international cooperation, putting the best science-based alfalfa information and expertise at the fingertips of producers, consultants, extension workers, instructors, researchers, and users. Collaboratively developed materials will reduce duplication of effort. To make the knowledge easy-to-use, educational design, communication, and information science professionals are working with alfalfa experts in creating a WWW system and Web-aware CD-ROM. To ensure content quality, peer-review by members of multiple professional societies is included. A significant result will be around-the-clock availability of up-to-date, easy-to-use, and peerreviewed information. Shared workload and the peer-review process can influence faculty morale, efficiency, and effectiveness, an adjunct to maximizing the utilization of alfalfa worldwide by making the best information readily available