Single-mode tuneable laser operation of hybrid microcavities based on CdSe/CdS core/shell colloidal nanorods on silica microspheres

Colloidal core/shell semiconductor nanonorystals have generated a great deal of interest as gain media in recent years due to a number of salient properties originating from their small size and the associated quantum confinement [1]. These include low-threshold and temperature-insensitive lasing, reduced trapping of excited carriers, and the possibility to alleviate non-radiative Auger recombination by engineering the wavefunction distributions of the electrons, and holes within their volume. Here, single-mode, tuneable operation of fiber-coupled hybrid lasers based on colloidal CdSe/CdS core/shell nanorods on silica microspheres is reported

Multiple retrospective analysis of survival and evaluation of 4 cardiac death predictors in a population of dogs affected by 5 degenerative mitral valve disease in ACVIM class C treated 6 with different therapeutic protocols

Clinical records of dogs with spontaneous degenerative mitral valve disease (DMVD) with clinical signs related to congestive heart failure (CHF) that had been recruited during routine clinical practice, between 2001 and 2018 at the Cardiology Unit of the Veterinary Teaching Hospital (University of Milan) were included in this retrospective cohort study. Baseline echocardiographic data were evaluated. Median survival times (MSTs) were calculated. Data on therapeutic treatment, ISACHC or ACVIM classes were reviewed based on the inclusion period and type of endpoint (i.e. cardiac death or death for other causes). The main goal of this data review was to retrospectively evaluate 259 clinical records of subjects belonging to ACVIM C class examined between 2001 to 2018 together with the 202 examined between 2010 to 2018. The MSTs of these subjects was 531 d (2001-2018) and 335.5 d (2010-2018), respectively. Univariate survival regression analysis for subjects included from 2010 to 2018 showed the following variables as being significantly related to cardiac death (CD): LA/Ao ratio (HR 2.754, p=0.000), E wave (HR 2.961, p=0.000), E/A ratio (HR 1.372, p=0.000), EDVI (HR 1.007, p=0.000), ESVI (HR 1.012, p=0.026), Allo(d) (HR 4.018, p=0.000) andAllo(s) (HR 2.674, p=0.049), age (HR 1.006, p=0.009) and PH severity (HR=1.309, p=0.012). Multivariate analysis, adjusted for age, showed that the only variable that determined a statistically significant difference in MST was PH severity (HR 1.334, p=0.033). The type of therapeutic treatment within this class was not significant for the MST of the subjects

Le cardiomiopatie secondarie nel gatto : quando l\u2019ipertrofia non dipende dal cuore

Feline hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is the most common acquired heart disease seen in felines. Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is a term used when there is no known cause, however secondary, is brought about by other conditions such as high blood pressure, hyperthyroidism etc. Cats with secondary hypertrophic cardiomyopathy tend to be older than cats affected by HCM, the cardiac alterations as excessive thickening of the left ventricular wall, papillary muscles and septum detected by echocardiographic examination and other clinical symptoms tend to have resolution after appropriated therapy of hyperthyroidism and systemic hypertension

Cardiomyopathy in boxer dogs : a retrospective study of the clinical presentation, diagnostic findings and survival

Objectives: To retrospectively compare and contrast the clinical presentation, diagnostic findings and survival in Boxer dogs with cardiomyopathy, with or without left ventricular (LV) systolic failure. Animals, materials and methods: Medical records of Boxers referred between 1993 and 2008 in which a diagnosis of ventricular arrhythmias and/or cardiomyopathy was made, were reviewed. Dogs were divided into two groups according to their left ventricular (LV) systolic diameter, group A normal (20 dogs) or group B dilated (59 dogs). Results: Dogs in group A had a better outcome than dogs in group B (median survival time of 124 and 17 weeks respectively, p < 0.001). In group B, dogs with a history of collapse had a worse outcome (median survival time of 10 weeks) compared with dogs not showing collapse (median survival time 24 weeks) (p = 0.031). Conclusions: The majority of dogs, in this UK study, presented with the myocardial dysfunction form of the disease, with LV dilation and congestive heart failure signs. The prognosis was worse in dogs with LV dilation compared to dogs with a normal LV and ventricular arrhythmias. In the Boxers with LV dilation, dogs with collapse had a worse prognosis than those without

The non-perturbative unquenched quark model

In recent years states in the quarkonium spectrum not expected in the naive quark model have appeared and created a lot of interest. In the theoretical side the study of the effect of meson-meson thresholds in the spectrum have been performed in different approximations. In a quark model framework, and in the spirit of the Cornell model, when a meson-meson threshold is included, the coupling to all the quark-antiquark states have to be considered. In practice only the closest states are included perturbatively. In this contribution we will present a framework in which we couple quark-antiquark states with meson-meson states non-perturbatively, taking into account effectively the coupling to all quark-antiquark states. The method will be applied to the study of the X(3872) and a comparison with the perturbative calculation will be performed

Survival and Prognostic Factors in Cats with Restrictice Cardiomyoathy : A Review of 103 Cases

Restrictive cardiomyopathy (RCM), which approximately accounts for 20% of referred feline (CMs), is a primary myocardial disorder characterized by diastolic dysfunction and a poor prognosis. Large studies focusing on RCM in the cat are scant. The aims of this retrospective study were to describe epidemiological characteristics and to analyze prognostic factors affecting survival in cats with RCM. The clinical archives of the Clinica Veterinaria Gran Sasso (Italy) and of the cardiology unit of DIMEVET (University of Milan, Italy) from 1997 to 2015 were reviewed for all cats diagnosed with RCM based on an echocardiographic exam. The diagnosis was based on distinctive echocardiographic phenotype of left atrial/biatrial enlargement, normal left ventricular (LV) wall thickness, and restrictive LV filling pattern with pulsed Doppler echocardiography. Inclusion criteria were any patient with a complete case record and an echocardiographic diagnosis of RCM. Cats diagnosed with another form of cardiomyopathies CMs, with congenital heart disease, with hypertension or hyperthyroidism or those with incomplete case records were excluded. Follow-up status and cause of death were determined by reviewing the medical records or by phone interviews with the owners. One hundred three cats (61 male and 42 female) were included in the study with a mean age of 10 years (SD 4.45) and a median weight of 3.8 kg (IQR 3.2-5 kg); most of the cats were domestic shorthair (67%) or Persians (18%). Almost all cats were showing clinical signs (96%). Dyspnea was the most common clinical sign, being evident in 82.5% of the cats. Dyspnea was attributable to pleural effusion (PE) in 50 cats, pulmonary edema in 22 cats and both in 13 cats. Hind limb paresis or paralysis due to aortic thromboembolism was evident in 14 cats. Follow-up information was available for 67 cats. Median survival time (MST) in cats with RCM was 133 days. A statistically significant different (p=0.004) MST was identified in cats with dyspnea (68 days) and in cats without dyspnea (731 days). Likewise a statistically significant (p=0.004) different MST was identified in cats with PE (68 days) and in cats without PE (186 days). MST of cats with dyspnea/PE is in this study significantly shorter than MST in cats without dyspnea/PE. The present results confirmed that cats with RCM had short survival time (MST 133 days), but worse prognosis should be prospected to the owner in cats with dyspnea or PE. Better prognosis may be prospected only in cats without dyspnea

Pulmonary ballon valvuloplasty in 95 dogs: effect of valve morphology on immediate and late outcome

Pulmonic stenosis (PS) is one of the most common congenital heart defects in dogs. Pulmonary balloon valvuloplasty (PBV) is now the treatment of choice for PS in humans as in dogs. In human PBV has gained acceptance as the first option in the management of PS in any age group (newborn, children, adult) and any valve morphology (typical or dysplastic). Valve morphology, hinge point diameter and immediate higher residual gradient are identified as the most significant independent predictors of long term results. Concerning dogs, only few studies analyzed the importance of valve morphology as selection criteria for PBV. The first purpose of this retrospective study is evaluating if valve morphology is an important factor for successful PBV as it has been confirmed for human. PBV was performed in 95 dogs (75 type A PS, 16 a type B and 4 intermediate type). The mean peak Doppler gradient before PBV was 124 mmHg (\ub140) in dogs with type A (range 45-227 mmHg) and 133 mmHg (\ub130) in dogs with type B (range 65-182 mmHg). The mean peak Doppler gradient after the PBV (24h) was for the type A 49 mmHg (\ub121) (range 15-104 mmHg) and for the type B 68 mmHg (\ub124) (range 35-109 mmHg), documenting a significant reduction of gradient in both groups (P<0,0001). The mean peak Doppler gradient at 1 year was 55 mmHg (\ub120) in dogs with type A (range 15-110 mmHg) and 73 mmHg (\ub131) in dogs with type B (range 25-119 mmHg), confirming a persistent gradient reduction in both groups (P<0,0001). The mean pressure gradient after the procedure at 24h (P<0,001) and at 1 year (P<0,05) between group A and B resulted to be lower in type A, suggesting better results. The PBV was considered successful (more than 50% reduction in pressure gradient from baseline) in 65 dog with type A (90%) and in 7 dogs with PS type B (54%). The PBV was performed without significant complications in 93% of dogs (88 dogs: 71 with type A, 13 with type B and 4 with intermediate type). Our study allows the following conclusions: PBV is effective in type A and B PS, furthermore PBV is more effective in type A. In human literature similar results are reported. The PBV of patient with dysplastic valve was less effective (61,11%) when compared with those with typical PS (80,59%). Despite the success rate was lower in the dysplastic group, PBV is still considered the first treatment option in both types of PS. Finally PBV in type B (or dysplastic) may avoided or delayed the need of surgery and provided a good long outcome in dogs as it occurs in humans

Multi-photon, multi-mode polarization entanglement in parametric down-conversion

We study the quantum properties of the polarization of the light produced in type II spontaneous parametric down-conversion in the framework of a multi-mode model valid in any gain regime. We show that the the microscopic polarization entanglement of photon pairs survives in the high gain regime (multi-photon regime), in the form of nonclassical correlation of all the Stokes operators describing polarization degrees of freedom

Reliability of symmetric dimethylarginine in dogs with myxomatous mitral valve disease as kidney biomarker

The most common cause of heart failure in the canine population is myxomatous mitral valve disease, sometimes complicated by chronic kidney disease. Many studies have been done on the use of symmetric dimethylarginine as biomarker of renal impairment in dogs affected by chronic kidney disease, few studies have examined his reliability as biomarker in dogs affected by heart diseases. Aim of this study was to evaluate symmetric dimethylarginine in dogs affected by mitral valve disease in order to assess his reliability in heart diseases. This was a retrospective case-control study on a clinical population of dogs affected by mitral valve disease (cases) vs healthy dogs (controls). Both groups underwent a complete physical evaluation, echocardiographic examination, complete blood count, biochemical panel, including serum creatinine and urea and urine analysis with protein-to-creatinine ratio. Serum was frozen and sent to IDEXX laboratories for symmetric dimethylarginine determination. General linear model was applied to data. A total number of 24 cases and 7 controls were included. Symmetric dimethylarginine value was in the reference value in the 75% (n=18) of cases, and in the 43% (n=3) of controls. Once set symmetric dimethylarginine as dependent variable, no statistical significant differences were found for each variable considered (breed, age, sex, weight, class of cardiomyopathy, presence/absence of valvular disease, presence/absence of congestive heart failure, pharmacological therapy, creatinine and urea concentration). Blood concentration of SDMA resulted not influenced by the variables mentioned above, so it could be considered a reliable marker of early renal impairment in dogs affected by mitral valve disease

Iron status in dogs with myxomatous mitral valve disease

In humans, iron deficiency represents a relevant occurrence in heart failure (HF), with or without anaemia, and is associated with the worst outcome. Moreover, chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a well-known comorbidity of HF and is strongly associated with the risk of developing anaemia. The most common cause of HF in dogs is myxomatous mitral valve disease (MMVD). To the best of our knowledge, no studies have examined the iron status in dogs with HF, with and without CKD. The aim of this retrospective study was to evaluate the iron status in dogs affected by MMVD and how strong is the relation with HF. The retrospective study included 54 dogs with complete case records, echocardiography and laboratory analyses. Iron status was evaluated by measuring serum iron concentration (SIC), unsaturated iron binding capacity (UIBC), total iron binding capacity (TIBC), and percentage of saturation (%SAT). The prevalence of dogs showing low serum iron concentration (SIC) was 18% in the whole population, 33% in symptomatic patients, 100% in dogs with acute decompensated HF. No significant differences in SIC, UIBC, TIBC and %SAT median values were found among dogs classified in different ACVIM (American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine) classes, between symptomatic and non-symptomatic patients, and among IRIS (International Renal Interest Society) classes. Azotemic and non-azotemic patients presented a significant difference in SIC mean values (p=0.02). Generalised linear model (GLM) revealed that dogs with low SIC were at higher risk of being included in a higher ACVIM class (OR=6.383, p-value=0.014). Log-rank analysis showed shorter survival in dogs with low SIC (p=0.020), multivariate Cox analysis revealed that only HF symptoms can affect survival