The Effect of Patient Weight and Provider Training and Experience on Dosing of Rocuronium

Introduction. Maintenance dosing of neuromuscular blocking agents is complex and varies with patient, procedure, and clinical situation. With this in mind, we sought to identify factors impacting the maintenance dosing of neuromuscular blockers as a step toward identifying best practice with respect to minimizing residual neuromuscular blockade. Methods. Cases utilizing rocuronium from July 1, 2010, to June 30, 2014, at the sponsoring institution were analyzed. Using a mixed model to account for repeated measures, patients were analyzed by dose and weight category as defined by the World Health Organization (eight categories ranging from very severely underweight to very severely obese) as well as by the administering provider’s level of experience. Results. The study included 12,671 patients with a mean age of 49.7 (SD 16.7). Increasing weight category and higher levels of provider experience were associated with higher doses for rocuronium. There were no differences in initial dose or in frequency of maintenance dosing by weight category after controlling for case length. Discussion. The two dosing patterns identified, higher doses for overweight patients and higher doses administered by experienced providers, are modifiable factors that could enhance patient safety

Dissipative dynamics of quantum discord under quantum chaotic environment

We investigate the dissipative dynamics of quantum discord in a decoherence model with two initially entangled qubits in addition to a quantum kicked top. The two qubits are uncoupled during the period of our study and one of them interacts with the quantum kicked top. We find that the long time behavior of quantum discord could be well described by the fidelity decay of the quantum kicked top; for short time behavior, however, the phase of the amplitude of the fidelity decay is necessary to provide more specific information about the system. We have made comparison between the quantum kicked top and multi-mode oscillator system in describing environment, and also compared the dynamics of the entanglement with that of quantum discord.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, and Accepted by Europhysics Letter

Probing the role of single defects on the thermodynamics of electric-field induced phase transitions

The kinetics and thermodynamics of first order transitions is universally controlled by defects that act as nucleation sites and pinning centers. Here we demonstrate that defect-domain interactions during polarization reversal processes in ferroelectric materials result in a pronounced fine structure in electromechanical hysteresis loops. Spatially-resolved imaging of a single defect center in multiferroic BiFeO3 thin film is achieved, and the defect size and built-in field are determined self-consistently from the single-point spectroscopic measurements and spatially-resolved images. This methodology is universal and can be applied to other reversible bias-induced transitions including electrochemical reactions.Comment: 34 pages,4 figures, high quality figures are available upon request, submitted to Phys. Rev. Let

Cooper Pair Formation in U(1) Gauge Theory of High Temperature Superconductivity

We study the two-dimensional spin-charge separated Ginzburg-Landau theory containing U(1) gauge interactions as a semi-phenomenological model describing fluctuating condensates in high temperature superconductivity. Transforming the original GL action, we abstract the effective action of Cooper pair. Especially, we clarify how Cooper pair correlation evolves in the normal state from the point of view of spin-charge separation. Furthermore, we point out how Cooper pair couples to gauge field in a gauge-invariant way, stressing the insensitivity of Cooper pair to infrared gauge field fluctuation.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures included, submitted to J. Phys. Soc. Jp

Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless Transition in Spin-Charge Separated Superconductor

A model for spin-charge separated superconductivity in two dimensions is introduced where the phases of the spinon and holon order parameters couple gauge-invariantly to a statistical gauge-field representing chiral spin-fluctuations. The model is analyzed in the continuum limit and in the low-temperature limit. In both cases we find that physical electronic phase correlations show a superconducting-normal phase transition of the Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless type, while statistical gauge-field excitations are found to be strictly gapless. The normal-to-superconductor phase boundary for this model is also obtained as a function of carrier density, where we find that its shape compares favorably with that of the experimentally observed phase diagram for the oxide superconductors.Comment: 35 pages, TeX, CSLA-P-93-

Plasma deposition of constrained layer damping coatings

Plasma techniques are used to generate constrained layer damping (CLD) coatings on metallic substrates. The process involves the deposition of relatively thick, hard ceramic layers on to soft polymeric damping materials while maintaining the integrity of both layers. Reactive plasma sputter-deposition from an aluminium alloy target is used to deposit alumina layers, with Young's modulus in the range 77-220GPa and thickness up to 335 μ, on top of a silicone film. This methodology is also used to deposit a 40 μ alumina layer on a conventional viscoelastic damping film to produce an integral damping coating. Plasma CLD systems are shown to give at least 50 per cent more damping than equivalent metal-foil-based treatments. Numerical methods for rapid prediction of the performance of such coatings are discussed and validated by comparison with experimental results

Red Carbon Thin Film: A Carbon-Oxygen Semiconductor with Tunable Properties by Amine Vapors and Its Carbonization toward Carbon Thin Films

The requirements for organic semiconductor materials and new methods for their synthesis at low temperature have risen over the last decades, especially due to concerns of sustainability. Herein, the synthesis of a carbon/oxygen molecular semiconductor thin film, which is promptly reactive toward amines, is presented. This allows for tuning the semiconductor properties and application as amine vapor sensors for a scope of analogous amines. The gas-to-solid phase reaction causes a significant change of the films’ optical properties, blue-shifting the absorption and the photoluminescence spectra from the red to the near UV spectral range. The irreversible chemical reaction between the thin film and the amine vapor is also exploited for the preparation of nitrogen-containing thin carbon films. The herein presented materials and methods will be of interest for gas sensing applications as well as for the development of tunable semiconductors and heteroatom-doped thin films