Transformation Optics Approach to Plasmon-Exciton Strong Coupling in Nanocavities

We investigate the conditions yielding plasmon-exciton strong coupling at the single emitter level in the gap between two metal nanoparticles. A quasi-analytical transformation optics approach is developed that makes possible a thorough exploration of this hybrid system incorporating the full richness of its plasmonic spectrum. This allows us to reveal that by placing the emitter away from the cavity center, its coupling to multipolar dark modes of both even and odd parity increases remarkably. This way, reversible dynamics in the population of the quantum emitter takes place in feasible implementations of this archetypal nanocavity.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

Multidisciplinary consensus statement on the clinical management of patients with pancreatic cancer

Pancreatic cancer (PC) remains one of the most aggressive tumors with an increasing incidence rate and reduced survival. Although surgical resection is the only potentially curative treatment for PC, only 15-20% of patients are resectable at diagnosis. To select the most appropriate treatment and thus improve outcomes, the diagnostic and therapeutic strategy for each patient with PC should be discussed within a multidisciplinary expert team. Clinical decision-making should be evidence-based, considering the staging of the tumor, the performance status and preferences of the patient. The aim of this guideline is to provide practical and evidence-based recommendations for the management of PC

Effective interactions of colloids on nematic films

The elastic and capillary interactions between a pair of colloidal particles trapped on top of a nematic film are studied theoretically for large separations $d$. The elastic interaction is repulsive and of quadrupolar type, varying as $d^{-5}$. For macroscopically thick films, the capillary interaction is likewise repulsive and proportional to $d^{-5}$ as a consequence of mechanical isolation of the system comprised of the colloids and the interface. A finite film thickness introduces a nonvanishing force on the system (exerted by the substrate supporting the film) leading to logarithmically varying capillary attractions. However, their strength turns out to be too small to be of importance for the recently observed pattern formation of colloidal droplets on nematic films.Comment: 13 pages, accepted by EPJ

¿Qué hacemos con el quiste pilonidal?

La enfermedad pilonidal, es una infección aguda o crónica que suele afectar la región sacrococcígea. Se trata de una afección frecuente y que aparece descripta por primera vez por Mayo en 1833. Su curso es benigno (0.1% se malignizan a carcinoma escamoso) y sorprende cuando se comparan estos datos con la magnitud de la morbilidad y el riesgo de recidivas. Existen diversas modalidades de tratamiento para la enfermedad pilonidal, y se describen operaciones no resectivas, como el desteche, operación de Buie o marsupializacion, hasta la resección total de la misma y la reparación del defecto con un colgajo. Toda esa gama de cirugías se han ido utilizando y modificando en post de objetivos comunes como son acortar el tiempo de cicatrización con una vuelta a las actividades más rápida y lograr un menor indice de recidivas. El objetivo de la presente publicación es mostrar la utilización del cierre mediante colgajo de Dufourmentel como alternativa valida para el tratamiento de la enfermedad pilonidal sea esta complicada o no. Para ello se presentan 7 casos operados entre el 1/8/2019 y 1/6/2022 donde se utilizo la técnica de resección y cierre primario mediante colgajo.Facultad de Ciencias Médica

Herschel Far-IR counterparts of SDSS galaxies: Analysis of commonly used Star Formation Rate estimates

We study a hundred of galaxies from the spectroscopic Sloan Digital Sky Survey with individual detections in the Far-Infrared Herschel PACS bands (100 or 160 $\mu$m) and in the GALEX Far-UltraViolet band up to z$\sim$0.4 in the COSMOS and Lockman Hole fields. The galaxies are divided into 4 spectral and 4 morphological types. For the star forming and unclassifiable galaxies we calculate dust extinctions from the UV slope, the H$\alpha$/H$\beta$ ratio and the $L_{\rm IR}/L_{\rm UV}$ ratio. There is a tight correlation between the dust extinction and both $L_{\rm IR}$ and metallicity. We calculate SFR$_{total}$ and compare it with other SFR estimates (H$\alpha$, UV, SDSS) finding a very good agreement between them with smaller dispersions than typical SFR uncertainties. We study the effect of mass and metallicity, finding that it is only significant at high masses for SFR$_{H\alpha}$. For the AGN and composite galaxies we find a tight correlation between SFR and L$_{IR}$ ($\sigma\sim$0.29), while the dispersion in the SFR - L$_{UV}$ relation is larger ($\sigma\sim$0.57). The galaxies follow the prescriptions of the Fundamental Plane in the M-Z-SFR space.Comment: 24 pages, 23 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA

Caffeine supplementation improves physical performance without affecting fatigue level: a double-blind crossover study.

This study examined the effect of caffeine supplementation (CAFF) in a Wingate test (WT), and the behaviour of blood lactate concentrations (BLa) and neuromuscular fatigue (NMF), measured as reduced countermovement jump (CMJ) performance, in response to the WT. In a double-blind crossover study, 16 participants attended the laboratory twice, separated by a 72-hour window. In the sessions, participants first ingested 6 mg·kg-1 of either CAFF or placebo (PLAC), and then performed a WT. BLa was measured before (L-pre), and 0.5 min (L-post-0.5) and 3.5 min (L-post-3.5) after conducting the WT. The CMJ test was conducted before (CMJ pre), after (CMJ post), and 3 min after completing (CMJ post-3) the WT. The results indicated that CAFF enhanced peak power (Wpeak: + 3.22%; p = 0.040), time taken to reach Wpeak (T_Wpeak: -18.76%; p = 0.001) and mean power (Wmean: + 2.7%; p = 0.020). A higher BLa was recorded for CAFF at L-post-0.5 (+ 13.29%; p = 0.009) and L-post-3.5 (+ 10.51%; p = 0.044) compared to PLAC. CAFF improved peak power (PP; + 3.44%; p = 0.003) and mean power (MP; + 4.78%; p = 0.006) at CMJ pre, compared to PLAC, whereas PP and MP were significantly diminished at CMJ post and CMJ post-3 compared to pre (p < 0.001 for all comparisons) under both the CAFF and PLAC conditions. PP and MP were increased at post-3 compared to post (p < 0.001 for all comparisons) for both conditions. In conclusion, CAFF increased WT performance and BLa without affecting NMF measured by CMJ. Thus, CAFF may allow athletes to train with higher workloads and enhance the supercompensation effects after an adequate recovery period.post-print756 K

Effects of caffeine supplementation on physical performance and mood dimensions in elite and trained-recreational athletes.

Background: Caffeine supplementation (CAFF) has an established ergogenic effect on physical performance and the psychological response to exercise. However, few studies have compared the response to CAFF intake among athletes of different competition level. This study compares the acute effects of CAFF on anaerobic performance, mood and perceived effort in elite and moderately-trained recreational athletes. Methods: Participants for this randomized, controlled, crossover study were 8 elite athletes (in the senior boxing national team) and 10 trained-recreational athletes. Under two experimental conditions, CAFF supplementation (6 mg/kg) or placebo (PLAC), the athletes completed a Wingate test. Subjective exertion during the test was recorded as the rating of perceived exertion (RPE) both at the general level (RPEgeneral) and at the levels muscular (RPEmuscular) and cardiorespiratory (RPEcardio). Before the Wingate test, participants completed the questionnaires Profiles of Moods States (POMS) and Subjective Vitality Scale (SVS). Results: In response to CAFF intake, improvements were noted in Wpeak (11.22 ± 0.65 vs 10.70 ± 0.84; p = 0.003; η2 p =0.44), Wavg (8.75 ± 0.55 vs 8.41 0.46; p = 0.001; η2 p =0.53) and time taken to reach Wpeak (7.56 ± 1.58 vs 9.11 ± 1.53; p < 0.001; η2 p =0.57) both in the elite and trained-recreational athletes. However, only the elite athletes showed significant increases in tension (+ 325%), vigor (+ 31%) and SVS (+ 28%) scores after the intake of CAFF compared to levels recorded under the condition PLAC (p < 0.05). Similarly, levels of vigor after consuming CAFF were significantly higher in the elite than the trained-recreational athletes (+ 5.8%). Conclusions: CAFF supplementation improved anaerobic performance in both the elite and recreational athletes. However, the ergogenic effect of CAFF on several mood dimensions and subjective vitality was greater in the elite athletes.post-print700 K

Dental Malocclusion and Its Relation to the Podal System

Background and Objective: This study analyzes the possibility that Stomatognathic and Postural systems are related by muscle chains. Malocclusion may influence the posture, contact between the foot and the ground, center of mass, footprint or vice-versa. This study aimed to verify whether there is a relationship between dental occlusion and podal system.Materials and Methods: A cross-cutting, descriptive study was carried out on 409 children (222 boys and 187 girls) between 8 and 14 years old. Dental occlusion was assessed on the sagittal plane (Angle's classification) the contact between the foot and the ground and the center of mass were evaluated using a stabilometric platform.Results: There was a statistically significant relationship between the plantigrade phase, the contact surface area and center of gravity. There was a prevalence of molar and canine Angle's class II malocclusion. In molar class II, an anterior center of gravity was predominant, in class I it was centered and in class III, it was posterior. There was significant correlation between malocclusions and the FPI (foot posture index) of the left foot and the height of the scaphoid in the right foot (P &lt; 0.001).Conclusions: Some authors agree with our results. There is still much uncertainty in terms of showing a relationship between both systems. In addition, there is scarce scientific evidence on the topic. Some kind of relationship between the two systems has been proven. Studies that evaluate a group of subjects in a longitudinal manner are necessary to enable the changes taking place in both systems to be defined

MAGIC observation of the GRB 080430 afterglow

6 páginas, 1 figura.-- El Pdf del artículo es la versión pre-print: arXiv:1004.3665v2.-- MAGIC Collaboration: et al.[Context]: Gamma-ray bursts are cosmological sources emitting radiation from the gamma-rays to the radio band. Substantial observational efforts have been devoted to the study of gamma-ray bursts during the prompt phase, i.e. the initial burst of high-energy radiation, and during the long-lasting afterglows. In spite of many successes in interpreting these phenomena, there are still several open key questions about the fundamental emission processes, their energetics and the environment. [Aims]: Independently of specific gamma-ray burst theoretical recipes, spectra in the GeV/TeV range are predicted to be remarkably simple, being satisfactorily modeled with power-laws, and therefore offer a very valuable tool to probe the extragalactic background light distribution. Furthermore, the simple detection of a component at very-high energies, i.e. at ~100 GeV, would solve the ambiguity about the importance of various possible emission processes, which provide barely distinguishable scenarios at lower energies. [Methods]: We used the results of the MAGIC telescope observation of the moderate resdhift (z ~ 0.76) GRB 080430 at energies above about 80 GeV, to evaluate the perspective for late-afterglow observations with ground based GeV/TeV telescopes. [Results]: We obtained an upper limit of F95% CL = 5.5 × 10-11 erg cm-2 s-1 for the very-high energy emission of GRB 080430, which cannot set further constraints on the theoretical scenarios proposed for this object also due to the difficulties in modeling the low-energy afterglow. Nonetheless, our observations show that Cherenkov telescopes have already reached the required sensitivity to detect the GeV/TeV emission of GRBs at moderate redshift (z ≲ 0.8), provided the observations are carried out at early times, close to the onset of their afterglow phase.The support of the German BMBF and MPG, the Italian INFN and Spanish MICINN is gratefully acknowledged. This work was also supported by ETH Research Grant TH 34/043, by the Polish MNiSzW Grant N N203 390834, and by the YIP of the Helmholtz Gemeinschaft.Peer reviewe