6,709 research outputs found
The superficial brachial artery : a case report
A superficial brachial artery is an anomalous branch of the brachial artery that runs superficial to the median nerve; it is usually associated with a deep brachial branch that runs deep to this nerve. A case is described of a superficial brachial artery. It is of the type where the artery terminates in the cubital fossa by division into radial and ulnar arteries. It is associated with a superficial ulnar artery, and a deep brachial artery that is continued into the forearm as the common interosseous artery, a rare occurrence. The clinical importance and the dangers of this vascular anomaly are discussed. In reparative surgery, an accurate knowledge of the relationship, course and particularly the possible variations of the brachial artery is of considerable importance.peer-reviewe
Feasibility study and design of a robust low-noise amplifier operating at millimeter-wave for high reliability applications
A feasibility study and the corresponding design flow for robust millimeter wave GaN LNAs is provided in this paper. Particular attention is devoted to the selection of the optimum geometry of the first stage active device. A trade-off is shown between noise performance and robustness requirements. The beneficial effects of source degenerative feedback are shown. The LNA's simulated performance are gain > 20B, NF < 1.7dB and power handling capability verified up to +20 dBm input power in CW operation. This design is well suited for operation in high reliability systems, such as space operation on airborne applications
A numerical study of the effects of primordial non-Gaussianities on weak lensing statistics
While usually cosmological initial conditions are assumed to be Gaussian,
inflationary theories can predict a certain amount of primordial
non-Gaussianity which can have an impact on the statistical properties of the
lensing observables. In order to evaluate this effect, we build a large set of
realistic maps of different lensing quantities starting from light-cones
extracted from large dark-matter only N-body simulations with initial
conditions corresponding to different levels of primordial local
non-Gaussianity strength . Considering various statistical
quantities (PDF, power spectrum, shear in aperture, skewness and bispectrum) we
find that the effect produced by the presence of primordial non-Gaussianity is
relatively small, being of the order of few per cent for values of compatible with the present CMB constraints and reaching at most 10-15
per cent for the most extreme cases with . We also discuss
the degeneracy of this effect with the uncertainties due to the power spectrum
normalization and matter density parameter , finding
that an error in the determination of () of about 3
(10) per cent gives differences comparable with non-Gaussian models having
. These results suggest that the possible presence of an
amount of primordial non-Gaussianity corresponding to is not
hampering a robust determination of the main cosmological parameters in present
and future weak lensing surveys, while a positive detection of deviations from
the Gaussian hypothesis is possible only breaking the degeneracy with other
cosmological parameters and using data from deep surveys covering a large
fraction of the sky.Comment: accepted by MNRA
NASA Sample Return Missions: Recovery Operations
The Utah Test and Training Range (UTTR), southwest of Salt Lake City, Utah, is the site of all NASA unmanned sample return missions. To date these missions include the Genesis solar wind samples (2004) and Stardust cometary and interstellar dust samples (2006). NASAs OSIRIS-REx Mission will return its first asteroid sample at UTTR in 2023
Deuteron Magnetic and Quadrupole Moments with a Poincar\'e Covariant Current Operator in the Front-Form Dynamics
The deuteron magnetic and quadrupole moments are unambiguosly determined
within the front-form Hamiltonian dynamics, by using a new current operator
which fulfills Poincar\'e, parity and time reversal covariance, together with
hermiticity and the continuity equation. For both quantities the usual
disagreement between theoretical and experimental results is largely removed.Comment: To appear in Phys. Rev. Let
Electroexcitation of the P33(1232), P11(1440), D13(1520), S11(1535) at Q^2=0.4 and 0.65(GeV/c)^2
Using two approaches: dispersion relations and isobar model, we have analyzed
recent high precision CLAS data on cross sections of \pi^0, \pi^+, and \eta
electroproduction on protons, and the longitudinally polarized electron beam
asymmetry for p(\vec{e},e'p)\pi^0 and p(\vec{e},e'n)\pi^+. The contributions of
the resonances P33(1232), P11(1440), D13(1520), S11(1535) to \pi
electroproduction and S11(1535) to \eta electroproduction are found. The
results obtained in the two approaches are in good agreement with each other.
There is also good agreement between amplitudes of the \gamma^* N \to S11(1535)
transition found in \pi and \eta electroproduction. For the first time accurate
results are obtained for the longitudinal amplitudes of the P11(1440),
D13(1520) and S11(1535) electroexcitation on protons.Comment: 9 pages, 9 figure
Beta defensin-2 is reduced in central but not in distal airways of smoker COPD patients
Background: Altered pulmonary defenses in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) may promote distal airways bacterial colonization. The expression/activation of Toll Like receptors (TLR) and beta 2 defensin (HBD2) release by epithelial cells crucially affect pulmonary defence mechanisms. Methods: The epithelial expression of TLR4 and of HBD2 was assessed in surgical specimens from current smokers COPD (s-COPD; n = 17), ex-smokers COPD (ex-s-COPD; n = 8), smokers without COPD (S; n = 12), and from non-smoker non-COPD subjects (C; n = 13). Results: In distal airways, s-COPD highly expressed TLR4 and HBD2. In central airways, S and s-COPD showed increased TLR4 expression. Lower HBD2 expression was observed in central airways of s-COPD when compared to S and to ex-s-COPD. s-COPD had a reduced HBD2 gene expression as demonstrated by real-time PCR on micro-dissected bronchial epithelial cells. Furthermore, HBD2 expression positively correlated with FEV1/FVC ratio and inversely correlated with the cigarette smoke exposure. In a bronchial epithelial cell line (16 HBE) IL-1β significantly induced the HBD2 mRNA expression and cigarette smoke extracts significantly counteracted this IL-1 mediated effect reducing both the activation of NFkB pathway and the interaction between NFkB and HBD2 promoter. Conclusions: This study provides new insights on the possible mechanisms involved in the alteration of innate immunity mechanisms in COPD. © 2012 Pace et al
Early Impact of the Affordable Care Act on Uptake of Long-acting Reversible Contraceptive Methods
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) required most private insurance plans to cover contraceptive services without patient cost-sharing as of January 2013 for most plans. Whether the ACA’s mandate has impacted long-acting reversible contraceptives (LARC) use is unknown
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