3,940 research outputs found
Sub-Nyquist Field Trial Using Time Frequency Packed DP-QPSK Super-Channel Within Fixed ITU-T Grid
Sub-Nyquist time frequency packing technique was demonstrated for the first
time in a super channel field trial transmission over long-haul distances. The
technique allows a limited spectral occupancy even with low order modulation
formats. The transmission was successfully performed on a deployed Australian
link between Sydney and Melbourne which included 995 km of uncompensated SMF
with coexistent traffic. 40 and 100 Gb/s co-propagating channels were
transmitted together with the super-channel in a 50 GHz ITU-T grid without
additional penalty. The super-channel consisted of eight sub-channels with
low-level modulation format, i.e. DP-QPSK, guaranteeing better OSNR robustness
and reduced complexity with respect to higher order formats. At the receiver
side, coherent detection was used together with iterative maximum-a-posteriori
(MAP) detection and decoding. A 975 Gb/s DP-QPSK super-channel was successfully
transmitted between Sydney and Melbourne within four 50GHz WSS channels (200
GHz). A maximum potential SE of 5.58 bit/s/Hz was achieved with an OSNR=15.8
dB, comparable to the OSNR of the installed 100 Gb/s channels. The system
reliability was proven through long term measurements. In addition, by closing
the link in a loop back configuration, a potential SE*d product of 9254
bit/s/Hz*km was achieved
Aortopulmonary Window with Interrupted Aortic Arch and Pulmonary Artery Sling: Diagnosis by Echocardiography and Magnetic Resonance Imaging: Case Report and Literature Review
Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/71570/1/j.1540-8175.1999.tb00796.x.pd
Treatment of classical Hodgkin lymphoma in young adults aged 18-30Â years with a modified paediatric Hodgkin lymphoma protocol. Results of a multicentre phase II clinical trial (CRUK/08/012)
This phase II trial was designed to determine the safety and efficacy of a modified paediatric risk-stratified protocol in young adults (18-30Â years) with classical Hodgkin Lymphoma. The primary end-point was neurotoxicity rate. The incidence of grade 3 neurotoxicity was 11% (80% CI, 5-19%); a true rate of neuropathy of >15% cannot be excluded. Neuropathy and associated deterioration in quality of life was largely reversible. The overall response rate was 100% with 40% complete remission (CR) rate. Twelve months disease-free survival (DFS) was 91%. We demonstrate that a risk-stratified paediatric combined modality treatment approach can be delivered to young adults without significant irreversible neuropathy
Radion and Holographic Brane Gravity
The low energy effective theory for the Randall-Sundrum two brane system is
investigated with an emphasis on the role of the non-linear radion in the brane
world. The equations of motion in the bulk is solved using a low energy
expansion method. This allows us, through the junction conditions, to deduce
the effective equations of motion for the gravity on the brane. It is shown
that the gravity on the brane world is described by a quasi-scalar-tensor
theory with a specific coupling function omega(Psi) = 3 Psi / 2(1-Psi) on the
positive tension brane and omega(Phi) = -3 Phi / 2(1+Phi) on the negative
tension brane, where Psi and Phi are non-linear realizations of the radion on
the positive and negative tension branes, respectively. In contrast to the
usual scalar-tensor gravity, the quasi-scalar-tensor gravity couples with two
kinds of matter, namely, the matters on both positive and negative tension
branes, with different effective gravitational coupling constants. In
particular, the radion disguised as the scalar fields Psi and Phi couples with
the sum of the traces of the energy momentum tensor on both branes. In the
course of the derivation, it has been revealed that the radion plays an
essential role to convert the non-local Einstein gravity with the generalized
dark radiation to the local quasi-scalar-tensor gravity. For completeness, we
also derive the effective action for our theory by substituting the bulk
solution into the original action. It is also shown that the
quasi-scalar-tensor gravity works as holograms at the low energy in the sense
that the bulk geometry can be reconstructed from the solution of the
quasi-scalar-tensor gravity.Comment: Revtex4, 18 pages, revised version, conclusions unchanged, references
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Cost-benefit analysis for commissioning decisions in GEO600
Gravitational wave interferometers are complex instruments, requiring years
of commissioning to achieve the required sensitivities for the detection of
gravitational waves, of order 10^-21 in dimensionless detector strain, in the
tens of Hz to several kHz frequency band. Investigations carried out by the
GEO600 detector characterisation group have shown that detector
characterisation techniques are useful when planning for commissioning work. At
the time of writing, GEO600 is the only large scale laser interferometer
currently in operation running with a high duty factor, 70%, limited chiefly by
the time spent commissioning the detector. The number of observable
gravitational wave sources scales as the product of the volume of space to
which the detector is sensitive and the observation time, so the goal of
commissioning is to improve the detector sensitivity with the least possible
detector down time. We demonstrate a method for increasing the number of
sources observable by such a detector, by assessing the severity of
non-astrophysical noise contaminations to efficiently guide commissioning. This
method will be particularly useful in the early stages and during the initial
science runs of the aLIGO and adVirgo detectors, as they are brought up to
design performance.Comment: 17 pages, 17 figures, 2 table
Brane World Effective Action at Low Energies and AdS/CFT Correspondence
A low energy iteration scheme to study nonlinear gravity in the brane world
is developed. As a result, we obtain the brane world effective action at low
energies. The relation between the geometrical approach and the approach using
the AdS/CFT correspondence is also clarified. In particular, we find
generalized dark radiation as homogeneous solutions in our iteration scheme.
Moreover, the precise correspondence between the bulk geometry and the brane
effective action is established, which gives a holographic view of the brane
world.Comment: Revtex4, 12 pages, references added. Version accepted for publicaton
in Phys. Rev.
A network analysis to identify pathophysiological pathways distinguishing ischaemic from non-ischaemic heart failure
Aims
Heart failure (HF) is frequently caused by an ischaemic event (e.g. myocardial infarction) but might also be caused by a primary disease of the myocardium (cardiomyopathy). In order to identify targeted therapies specific for either ischaemic or nonâischaemic HF, it is important to better understand differences in underlying molecular mechanisms.
Methods and results
We performed a biological physical proteinâprotein interaction network analysis to identify pathophysiological pathways distinguishing ischaemic from nonâischaemic HF. First, differentially expressed plasma protein biomarkers were identified in 1160 patients enrolled in the BIOSTATâCHF study, 715 of whom had ischaemic HF and 445 had nonâischaemic HF. Second, we constructed an enriched physical proteinâprotein interaction network, followed by a pathway overârepresentation analysis. Finally, we identified key network proteins. Data were validated in an independent HF cohort comprised of 765 ischaemic and 100 nonâischaemic HF patients. We found 21/92 proteins to be upâregulated and 2/92 downâregulated in ischaemic relative to nonâischaemic HF patients. An enriched network of 18 proteins that were specific for ischaemic heart disease yielded six pathways, which are related to inflammation, endothelial dysfunction superoxide production, coagulation, and atherosclerosis. We identified five key network proteins: acid phosphatase 5, epidermal growth factor receptor, insulinâlike growth factor binding proteinâ1, plasminogen activator urokinase receptor, and secreted phosphoprotein 1. Similar results were observed in the independent validation cohort.
Conclusions
Pathophysiological pathways distinguishing patients with ischaemic HF from those with nonâischaemic HF were related to inflammation, endothelial dysfunction superoxide production, coagulation, and atherosclerosis. The five key pathway proteins identified are potential treatment targets specifically for patients with ischaemic HF
Radiological characterisation in view of nuclear reactor decommissioning: On-site benchmarking exercise of a biological shield
Nearly all decommissioning and dismantling (D&D) projects are steered by the characterisation of the plant being dismantled. This radiological characterisation is a complex process that is updated and modified during the course of the D&D. One of the tools for carrying out this characterisation is the performance of in-situ measurements.
There is a wide variety of equipment and methodologies used to carry out on-site measurements, depending on the environment in which they are to be carried out and also on the specific objectives of the measurements and the financial and personnel resources available. The extent to which measurements carried out with different types of equipment or methodologies providing comparable results can be crucial in view of the D&D strategy development and the decision-making process.
This paper concerns an on-site benchmarking exercise carried out at the activated biological shield of Belgian Reactor 3 (BR3). This activity allows comparison and validation of characterisation methodologies and different equipment used as well as future interpretation of final results in terms of uncertainties and sensitivities. This paper describes the measurements and results from the analysis of this exercise. Other aspects of this exercise will be reported in separate papers. This paper provides an overview of the on-site benchmarking exercise, outlines the participating organisations and the measurement equipment used for total gamma, dose rate and gamma spectrometry measurements and finally, results obtained and their interpretations are discussed for each type of measurement as a function of detector type.
Regarding the dose measurements, results obtained by using a large variety of equipment are very consistent. In view of mapping the inner surface of the biological shield the most appropriate equipment tested might be the organic scintillator, the BGO or even the ionisation chamber. In addition, for mapping this surface, the most appropriate total gamma equipment tested might be the LaBr(Ce), the thick organic scintillator or the BGO. These measurements can only be used as a secondary parameter in a relative way. Results for the gamma spectrometry are very consistent for all the equipment used and the main parameters to be determined
Genetic Risk and Atrial Fibrillation in Patients with Heart Failure
Aims: To study the association between an atrial fibrillation (AF) genetic risk score with prevalent AF and all-cause mortality in patients with heart failure. Methods and results: An AF genetic risk score was calculated in 3759 European ancestry individuals (1783 with sinus rhythm, 1976 with AF) from the BIOlogy Study to TAilored Treatment in Chronic Heart Failure (BIOSTAT-CHF) by summing 97 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) alleles (ranging from 0â2) weighted by the natural logarithm of the relative SNP risk from the latest AF genome-wide association study. Further, we assessed AF risk variance explained by additive SNP variation, and performance of clinical or genetic risk factors, and the combination in classifying AF prevalence. AF was classified as AF or atrial flutter (AFL) at baseline electrocardiogram and/or a history of AF or AFL. The genetic risk score was associated with AF after multivariable adjustment. Odds ratio for AF prevalence per 1-unit increase genetic risk score was 2.12 (95% confidence interval 1.84â2.45, PÂ = 2.15 Ă 10â24) in the total cohort, 2.08 (1.72â2.50, PÂ = 1.30 Ă 10â14) in heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) and 2.02 (1.37â2.99, PÂ = 4.37 Ă 10â4) in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). AF-associated loci explained 22.9% of overall AF SNP heritability. Addition of the genetic risk score to clinical risk factors increased the C-index by 2.2% to 0.721. Conclusions: The AF genetic risk score was associated with increased AF prevalence in HFrEF and HFpEF. Genetic variation accounted for 22.9% of overall AF SNP heritability. Addition of genetic risk to clinical risk improved model performance in classifying AF prevalence
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Individualized decision aid for diverse women with lupus nephritis (IDEA-WON): A randomized controlled trial.
BackgroundTreatment decision-making regarding immunosuppressive therapy is challenging for individuals with lupus. We assessed the effectiveness of a decision aid for immunosuppressive therapy in lupus nephritis.Methods and findingsIn a United States multicenter, open-label, randomized controlled trial (RCT), adult women with lupus nephritis, mostly from racial/ethnic minority backgrounds with low socioeconomic status (SES), seen in in- or outpatient settings, were randomized to an individualized, culturally tailored, computerized decision aid versus American College of Rheumatology (ACR) lupus pamphlet (1:1 ratio), using computer-generated randomization. We hypothesized that the co-primary outcomes of decisional conflict and informed choice regarding immunosuppressive medications would improve more in the decision aid group. Of 301 randomized women, 298 were analyzed; 47% were African-American, 26% Hispanic, and 15% white. Mean age (standard deviation [SD]) was 37 (12) years, 57% had annual income of <$40,000, and 36% had a high school education or less. Compared with the provision of the ACR lupus pamphlet (n = 147), participants randomized to the decision aid (n = 151) had (1) a clinically meaningful and statistically significant reduction in decisional conflict, 21.8 (standard error [SE], 2.5) versus 12.7 (SE, 2.0; p = 0.005) and (2) no difference in informed choice in the main analysis, 41% versus 31% (p = 0.08), but clinically meaningful and statistically significant difference in sensitivity analysis (net values for immunosuppressives positive [in favor] versus negative [against]), 50% versus 35% (p = 0.006). Unresolved decisional conflict was lower in the decision aid versus pamphlet groups, 22% versus 44% (p < 0.001). Significantly more patients in the decision aid versus pamphlet group rated information to be excellent for understanding lupus nephritis (49% versus 33%), risk factors (43% versus 27%), medication options (50% versus 33%; p †0.003 for all); and the ease of use of materials was higher in the decision aid versus pamphlet groups (51% versus 38%; p = 0.006). Key study limitations were the exclusion of men, short follow-up, and the lack of clinical outcomes, including medication adherence.ConclusionsAn individualized decision aid was more effective than usual care in reducing decisional conflict for choice of immunosuppressive medications in women with lupus nephritis.Trial registrationClinicaltrials.gov, NCT02319525
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