509 research outputs found
Multiepoch Radial Velocity Observations of L Dwarfs
We report on the development of a technique for precise radial-velocity
measurements of cool stars and brown dwarfs in the near infrared. Our technique
is analogous to the Iodine (I2) absorption cell method that has proven so
successful in the optical regime. We rely on telluric CH4 absorption features
to serve as a wavelength reference, relative to which we measure Doppler shifts
of the CO and H2O features in the spectra of our targets. We apply this
technique to high-resolution (R~50,000) spectra near 2.3 micron of nine L
dwarfs taken with the Phoenix instrument on Gemini-South and demonstrate a
typical precision of 300 m/s. We conduct simulations to estimate our expected
precision and show our performance is currently limited by the signal-to-noise
of our data. We present estimates of the rotational velocities and systemic
velocities of our targets. With our current data, we are sensitive to
companions with M sin i > 2MJ in orbits with periods less than three days. We
identify no companions in our current data set. Future observations with
improved signal-to-noise should result in radial-velocity precision of 100 m/s
for L dwarfs.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ, 24 pages, 7 figure
Complete Genome Sequences of Mycobacterium smegmatis Phages Chewbacca, Reptar3000, and Riparian, Isolated in Las Vegas, Nevada
Here, we present the complete genome sequences of Mycobacterium smegmatis phages Chewbacca, Reptar3000, and Riparian, isolated from soil in Las Vegas, NV. The phages were isolated and annotated by undergraduate students enrolled in the Phage Discovery course offered by the School of Life Sciences at the University of Nevada, Las Vega
Fluid gels: a new feedstock for high viscosity jetting
Suspensions of gel particles which are pourable or spoonable at room temperature can be created by shearing a gelling biopolymer through its gelation (thermal or ion mediated) rather than allowing quiescent cooling – thus the term ‘fluid gel’ may be used to describe the resulting material. As agar gelation is thermoreversible this type of fluid gel is able to be heated again to melt agar gel particles to varying degrees then re-form a network quiescently upon cooling, whose strength depends on the temperature of re-heating, determining the amount of agar solubilised and subsequently able to partake in re-gelation. Using this principle, for the first time fluid gels have been applied to a high viscosity 3D printing process wherein the printing temperature (at the nozzle) is controllable. This allows the use of ambient temperature feedstocks and by altering the nozzle temperature, the internal nature (presence or absence of gel particles) and gel strength of printed droplets differs. If the nozzle prints at different temperatures for each layer a structure with modulated texture could be created
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Radically open-dialectical behavior therapy for adult anorexia nervosa: feasibility and outcomes from an inpatient program
Background
Anorexia Nervosa (AN) is a highly life-threatening disorder that is extremely difficult to treat. There is evidence that family-based therapies are effective for adolescent AN, but no treatment has been proven to be clearly effective for adult AN. The methodological challenges associated with studying the disorder have resulted in recommendations that new treatments undergo preliminary testing prior to being evaluated in a randomized clinical trial. The aim of this study was to provide preliminary evidence on the effectiveness of a treatment
program based on a novel adaptation of Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) for adult Anorexia Nervosa (Radically Open-DBT; RO-DBT) that conceptualizes AN as a disorder of
overcontrol.
Methods
Forty-seven individuals diagnosed with Anorexia Nervosa-restrictive type (AN-R; mean admission body mass index = 14.43) received the adapted DBT inpatient program (mean
length of treatment = 21.7 weeks).
Results
Seventy-two percent completed the treatment program demonstrating substantial increases in body mass index (BMI; mean change in BMI = 3.57) corresponding to a large effect size (d = 1.91). Thirty-five percent of treatment completers were in full remission, and an additional
55% were in partial remission resulting in an overall response rate of 90%. These same individuals demonstrated significant and large improvements in eating-disorder related psychopathology symptoms (d = 1.17), eating disorder-related quality of life (d = 1.03), and reductions in psychological distress (d = 1.34).
Conclusions
RO-DBT was associated with significant improvements in weight gain, reductions in eating disorder symptoms, decreases in eating-disorder related psychopathology and increases in eating disorder-related quality of life in a severely underweight sample. These findings provide preliminary support for RO-DBT in treating AN-R suggesting the importance of further evaluation examining long-term outcomes using randomized controlled trial methodology
Grade IV Liver Injury Following Mechanical Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation with Postoperative Three‐dimensional Evaluation
A 48‐year‐old female presented to the emergency department with chest pain and collapsed at the front desk. She was reanimated with mechanical
chest compression, and after coronary angiography, a left anterior descending/diagonal bifurcation mini‐crush stenting was performed. Few hours after
the procedure, the patient showed severe hypotension. Abdominal ultrasound and computed tomography (CT) scan evidenced a massive subcapsular
liver hematoma (Grade IV, American association for the surgery of trauma (AAST) liver injury scale) of the right lobe with extrahepatic blushing.
Transhepatic embolization was attempted but without benefit, so the patient underwent emergency laparotomy for damage control surgery with
perihepatic packing. After hemodynamic stabilization, right hepatectomy was performed with a favorable outcome and full recovery. The patient CT
scan was retrospectively processed to obtain a virtual model visualizable through a head‐mounted display. The virtual reconstruction could improve
the comprehension of the injury and the liver surgical anatomy for educational purpose, and it could represent a new tool for preoperative planning
Arthroscopic Imbrication of the Anterior Bundle of the Elbow Medial Collateral Ligament With a 70° Arthroscope (MI70 Procedure).
Most medial collateral injuries require very challenging therapeutic management, even for expert surgeons. After the failure of conservative treatment, the physician's first choice should be a minimally invasive surgical technique. Reconstruction of the medial collateral ligament of the elbow with graft is the most described, demanding, and time-consuming procedure compared to plication of the ligament. This Technical Note aims to validate the results concerning a surgical technique, the MI70 procedure, elaborated to imbricate the anterior bundle of the medial collateral ligament and the anteromedial capsule through a suture anchor, through a 70° scope vision (MI70)
One Year Clinical Outcomes of Renal Artery Stenting: The Results of ODORI Registry
The safety, efficacy and long term clinical benefits of renal artery revascularization by stenting are still a matter of debate. The aim of our study was to define the safety and efficacy of renal artery stenting with the Tsunami peripheral stent (Terumo Corporation, Tokyo, Japan). The ODORI was a prospective, multicentre registry which enrolled 251 consecutive patients, (276 renal arteries) in 36 centres across Europe. The primary endpoint was acute procedural success defined as <30% residual stenosis after stent placement. Secondary endpoints included major adverse events, blood pressure control, serum creatinine level, and target lesion revascularization (TLR) at 6 and 12 months. Patients were 70 ± 10 years old, 59% were male, 33% had diabetes, and 96% hypertension. The main indications for renal stent implantation were hypertension in 83% and renal salvage in 39%. Direct stent implantation was performed in 76% of the cases. Acute success rate was 100% with residual stenosis of 2.5 ± 5.4%. Systolic/diastolic blood pressure decreased from a mean of 171/89 at baseline to 142/78 mmHg at 6 months (p < 0.0001 vs. baseline), and 141/80 mmHg at 12 months (p < 0.0001 vs. baseline). Mean serum creatinine concentration did not change significantly in the total population. However, there was significant improvement in the highest tercile (from 283 μmol/l at baseline to 205 and 209 μmol/l at 6 and 12 months respectively). At 12-months, rates of restenosis and TLR were 6.6 and 0.8% respectively. The 12 month cumulative rate of all major clinical adverse events was 6.4% while the rate of device or procedure related events was 2.4%. In hypertensive patients with atherosclerotic renal artery stenosis Tsunami peripheral balloon-expandable stent provides a safe revascularization strategy, with a potential beneficial impact on hypertension control and renal function in the highest risk patients
Teaching anatomy in a modern medical course: an integrated approach at Vialba Medical School in Milan
Introduction
The course of Anatomy in Vialba Medical School \u2013 University of Milan, integrates systemic, topographic and development anatomy,
dissection laboratory, peer-teaching, flipped classroom, clinical correlation to radiology and surgery.
Methods
An anonymous questionnaire based on a five-point Likert scale was submitted to 162 students who had passed the exam of Anatomy.
Students evaluated the importance given during study to morphology, relations and variations of organs, the usefulness of different tools in preparing the exam of anatomy. Finally, the impact of the new design course of Anatomy on students\u2019 progress was assessed.
Results
The results showed that most of the students found very useful dissections, multimedia sources and 3D virtual models. 3D virtual models, dissections and physical models were indicated as the most important tools that should be available for learning Anatomy; instead, medical imaging received a low score. Students focused the study on morphology and relations between organs much more than anatomical variations. Lastly, students who followed the new design course of anatomy showed a significant better performance when compared to students of the previous academic years, in particular on the anatomy of neck, thoracic and abdominopelvic cavity, and neuroanatomy.
Conclusions
Our study underlines the positive impact of the integration of traditional methods and innovative solutions in learning anatomy, but also the critical approach to radiologic imaging and anatomical variability
Relationship of morpho-sedimentological variations to the fate of Hg- and Zn-polluted sediments in the contaminated site of Porto Marghera, Lagoon of Venice, Italy.
New data collected from twenty-six sites during 2008 in the contaminated Site of National Interest (SIN) of Porto Mar-
ghera within the Lagoon of Venice (Italy), which has been affected by the presence of an industrial zone for the last 80
years, were compared with data from a campaign performed in the same site 30 years before (1976-1978). The SIN was
found to be heavily polluted in the earlier study, and several tons of Hg and Zn are still stored in soils and industrial
channel sediments, potentially affecting the lagoon part of the SIN. Bathymetric variations, grain-size, Hg and Zn con-
tent in sediments were analysed. The severe contamination of the late 1970s (Hg 1.7 µg/g; Zn 754 µg/g) had fallen by
the late 2000s (Hg 0.9 µg/g; Zn 225 µg/g). The fall in Hg and Zn contamination over the 30-year period was mainly
linked to the patterns of geomorphological change inside the SIN that affected two distinct sub-areas: 1) a stable-depo-
sitional (SD) area in the Northern part, which exerted a “dilution” effect on contaminants, with significant deposition
(~11%) of coarse-grained sediments (63 - 8 µm), and 2) an area characterised by moderate-to-severe-erosion (MSE) to
the South, which saw the loss (~13%) of pollutant-bearing fine-grained sediments (<8 µm). A budget calculation in the
MSE sub-area showed a loss of ~2.5 tons for Hg and ~700 tons for Zn over three decades, most of which was exported
to other parts of the LV or at the open sea. A similar amount is still stored in the SD area, which will be subject to ero-
sion if hydrodynamic conditions change in the future. This study provides useful support to decision-making systems by
helping to select hot-spots for remediation measures
Development and multi-site validation of a new condition-specific quality of life measure for eating disorders
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