1,018 research outputs found
Introduction
This chapter provides an overview of the book theme, motivating the need for high-performance and time-predictable embedded computing. It describes the challenges introduced by the need for time-predictability on the one hand, and high-performance on the other, discussing on a high level how these contradictory requirements can be simultaneously supported
Hand-carried ultrasound performed at bedside in cardiology inpatient setting – a comparative study with comprehensive echocardiography
BACKGROUND: Hand-carried ultrasound (HCU) devices have been demonstrated to improve the diagnosis of cardiac diseases over physical examination, and have the potential to broaden the versatility in ultrasound application. The role of these devices in the assessment of hospitalized patients is not completely established. In this study we sought to perform a direct comparison between bedside evaluation using HCU and comprehensive echocardiography (CE), in cardiology inpatient setting. METHODS: We studied 44 consecutive patients (mean age 54 ± 18 years, 25 men) who underwent bedside echocardiography using HCU and CE. HCU was performed by a cardiologist with level-2 training in the performance and interpretation of echocardiography, using two-dimensional imaging, color Doppler, and simple calliper measurements. CE was performed by an experienced echocardiographer (level-3 training) and considered as the gold standard. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in cardiac chamber dimensions and left ventricular ejection fraction determined by the two techniques. The agreement between HCU and CE for the detection of segmental wall motion abnormalities was 83% (Kappa = 0.58). There was good agreement for detecting significant mitral valve regurgitation (Kappa = 0.85), aortic regurgitation (kappa = 0.89), and tricuspid regurgitation (Kappa = 0.74). A complete evaluation of patients with stenotic and prosthetic dysfunctional valves, as well as pulmonary hypertension, was not possible using HCU due to its technical limitations in determining hemodynamic parameters. CONCLUSION: Bedside evaluation using HCU is helpful for assessing cardiac chamber dimensions, left ventricular global and segmental function, and significant valvular regurgitation. However, it has limitations regarding hemodynamic assessment, an important issue in the cardiology inpatient setting
A High Statistics Measurement of the Lambdac+ Lifetime
A high statistics measurement of the Lambdac+ lifetime from the Fermilab
fixed-target FOCUS photoproduction experiment is presented. We describe the
analysis technique with particular attention to the determination of the
systematic uncertainty. The measured value of 204.6 +/- 3.4 (stat.) +/- 2.5
(syst.) fs from 8034 +/- 122 Lambdac -> pKpi decays represents a significant
improvement over the present world average.Comment: Submitted to Physical Review Letter
Search for CP Violation in the decays D+ -> K_S pi+ and D+ -> K_S K+
A high statistics sample of photo-produced charm from the FOCUS(E831)
experiment at Fermilab has been used to search for direct CP violation in the
decays D+->K_S pi+ and D+ -> K_S K+. We have measured the following asymmetry
parameters relative to D+->K-pi+pi+: A_CP(K_S pi+) = (-1.6 +/- 1.5 +/- 0.9)%,
A_CP(K_S K+) = (+6.9 +/- 6.0 +/- 1.5)% and A_CP(K_S K+) = (+7.1 +/- 6.1 +/-
1.2)% relative to D+->K_S pi+. The first errors quoted are statistical and the
second are systematic. We also measure the relative branching ratios:
\Gamma(D+->\bar{K0}pi+)/\Gamma(D+->K-pi+pi+) = (30.60 +/- 0.46 +/- 0.32)%,
\Gamma(D+->\bar{K0}K+)/\Gamma(D+->K-pi+pi+) = (6.04 +/- 0.35 +/- 0.30)% and
\Gamma(D+->\bar{K0}K+)/\Gamma(D+->\bar{K0}pi+) = (19.96 +/- 1.19 +/- 0.96)%.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
A Measurement of the Ds+ Lifetime
A high statistics measurement of the Ds+ lifetime from the Fermilab
fixed-target FOCUS photoproduction experiment is presented. We describe the
analysis of the two decay modes, Ds+ -> phi(1020)pi+ and Ds+ ->
\bar{K}*(892)0K+, used for the measurement. The measured lifetime is 507.4 +/-
5.5 (stat.) +/- 5.1 (syst.) fs using 8961 +/- 105 Ds+ -> phi(1020)pi+ and 4680
+/- 90 Ds+ -> \bar{K}*(892)0K+ decays. This is a significant improvement over
the present world average.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, 2 tables, submitted to PR
New FOCUS results on charm mixing and CP violation
We present a summary of recent results on CP violation and mixing in the
charm quark sector based on a high statistics sample collected by
photoproduction experiment FOCUS (E831 at Fermilab). We have measured the
difference in lifetimes for the decays: and . This translates into a measurement of the mixing parameter in
the \d0d0 system, under the assumptions that is an equal mixture of
CP odd and CP even eigenstates, and CP violation is negligible in the neutral
charm meson system. We verified the latter assumption by searching for a CP
violating asymmetry in the Cabibbo suppressed decay modes , and . We show preliminary
results on a measurement of the branching ratio .Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures, requires espcrc2.sty. Presented by S.Bianco at
CPConf2000, September 2000, Ferrara (Italy). In this revision, fixed several
stylistic flaws, add two significant references, fixed a typo in Tab.
A measurement of branching ratios of and hadronic decays to four-body final states containing a
We have studied hadronic four-body decays of and mesons with a
in the final state using data recorded during the 1996-1997 fixed-target
run at Fermilab high energy photoproduction experiment FOCUS. We report a new
branching ratio measurement of . We make the first observation
of three new decay modes with branching ratios ,
\Gamma(D^+\to\K_S K^+ K^-\pi^+)/\Gamma(D^+\to K_S
\pi^+\pi^+\pi^-)=0.0077\pm0.0015\pm0.0009, and , where
in each case the first error is statistical and the second error is systematic.Comment: 4 pages, 1 table, 2 figures, submitted to Physical Review Letter
Anatomic mapping of the collateral branches of the external carotid artery with regard to daily clinical practice
Background: To identify the anatomical variations of the main branches of the external carotid artery (lingual, facial, occipital, ascending pharyngeal and sternocleidomastoid), giving information about the calibers and origins with the aim of creating a new classification useful in clinical practice. Material and methods: 193 human embalmed body-donors were dissected. The data collected were analyzed using the Chi² test. The results of previous studies were reviewed. Results: The majority of the anterior arterial branches (superior thyroid, facial and lingual artery) were observed with an independent origin, respectively, classified as pattern I (80.83%, 156/193). In 17.62% (34/193) a linguofacial trunk, pattern II, has been observed, only in 1,04% (2/193) a thyrolingual trunk, pattern III, has been found and in one case (1/193, 0.52%) one thyrolinguofacial trunk, pattern IV, was found. Depending on the posterior branches (occipital and ascending pharyngeal), four different types could be determined: type a, the posterior arteries originated independently, type b, the posterior arteries originated in a common trunk, type c, the ascending pharyngeal artery was absent, type d, the occipital artery was absent. Conclusion: Anatomical variations in these arteries are relevant in daily clinical practice due to growing applications, e.g., in Interventional Radiology techniques. Knowledge of these anatomical references could help clinicians in the interpretation of the carotid system
Search for CP violation in D0 and D+ decays
A high statistics sample of photoproduced charm particles from the FOCUS
(E831) experiment at Fermilab has been used to search for CP violation in the
Cabibbo suppressed decay modes D+ to K-K+pi+, D0 to K-K+ and D0 to pi-pi+. We
have measured the following CP asymmetry parameters: A_CP(K-K+pi+) = +0.006 +/-
0.011 +/- 0.005, A_CP(K-K+) = -0.001 +/- 0.022 +/- 0.015 and A_CP(pi-pi+) =
+0.048 +/- 0.039 +/- 0.025 where the first error is statistical and the second
error is systematic. These asymmetries are consistent with zero with smaller
errors than previous measurements.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figure
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