846 research outputs found
Portable light transmission measuring system for preserved corneas
BACKGROUND: The authors have developed a small portable device for the objective measurement of the transparency of corneas stored in preservative medium, for use by eye banks in evaluation prior to transplantation. METHODS: The optical system consists of a white light, lenses, and pinholes that collimate the white light beams and illuminate the cornea in its preservative medium, and an optical filter (400–700 nm) that selects the range of the wavelength of interest. A sensor detects the light that passes through the cornea, and the average corneal transparency is displayed. In order to obtain only the tissue transparency, an electronic circuit was built to detect a baseline input of the preservative medium prior to the measurement of corneal transparency. The operation of the system involves three steps: adjusting the "0 %" transmittance of the instrument, determining the "100 %" transmittance of the system, and finally measuring the transparency of the preserved cornea inside the storage medium. RESULTS: Fifty selected corneas were evaluated. Each cornea was submitted to three evaluation methods: subjective classification of transparency through a slit lamp, quantification of the transmittance of light using a corneal spectrophotometer previously developed, and measurement of transparency with the portable device. CONCLUSION: By comparing the three methods and using the expertise of eye bank trained personnel, a table for quantifying corneal transparency with the new device has been developed. The correlation factor between the corneal spectrophotometer and the new device is 0,99813, leading to a system that is able to standardize transparency measurements of preserved corneas, which is currently done subjectively
Effective Holographic Theories for low-temperature condensed matter systems
The IR dynamics of effective holographic theories capturing the interplay
between charge density and the leading relevant scalar operator at strong
coupling are analyzed. Such theories are parameterized by two real exponents
that control the IR dynamics. By studying the thermodynamics,
spectra and conductivities of several classes of charged dilatonic black hole
solutions that include the charge density back reaction fully, the landscape of
such theories in view of condensed matter applications is characterized.
Several regions of the plane can be excluded as the extremal
solutions have unacceptable singularities. The classical solutions have
generically zero entropy at zero temperature, except when where
the entropy at extremality is finite. The general scaling of DC resistivity
with temperature at low temperature, and AC conductivity at low frequency and
temperature across the whole plane, is found. There is a
codimension-one region where the DC resistivity is linear in the temperature.
For massive carriers, it is shown that when the scalar operator is not the
dilaton, the DC resistivity scales as the heat capacity (and entropy) for
planar (3d) systems. Regions are identified where the theory at finite density
is a Mott-like insulator at T=0. We also find that at low enough temperatures
the entropy due to the charge carriers is generically larger than at zero
charge density.Comment: (v3): Added discussion on the UV completion of the solutions, and on
extremal spectra in the charged case. Expanded discusion on insulating
extremal solutions. Many other refinements and corrections. 126 pages. 48
figure
Fermi Surface under Magnetism Instability
In this paper, we study the fermionic excitations near the quantum
criticality using gauge/gravity duality. This is motivated by exploring the
Fermi surface evolution near the quantum criticality. We construct the gravity
dual of "paramagnetic-nematic" phase transition in a continuum limit and study
the Fermi surface evolution across this quantum phase transition. We find that
there exists non-Fermi liquid with the Fermi surface in the "paramagnetic"
phase and the Fermi surface disappears in the "nematic" phase.Comment: 17pages,2 figures, discussions added; terminology correcte
Consumption experience, choice experience and the endowment effect
We report experiments investigating how experience influences the endowment effect. Our experiments feature endowments which are bundles of unfamiliar consumption goods. We examine how a subject’s willingness to swap items from their endowment is influenced by prior experiences of tasting the goods in question and by prior experiences of choosing between them. We do not find a statistically significant endowment effect in our baseline treatment and, because of this, we are unable to test for an effect of consumption experience. We do find an endowment effect when the endowment is acquired in two instalments and, in this setting, we find some evidence that choice experience increases trading. In a follow up experiment, we find evidence that the absence of an endowment effect in our baseline treatment is due to subjects being more willing to swap when they do not have to give up the last unit of their endowment
Semi-local quantum liquids
Gauge/gravity duality applied to strongly interacting systems at finite
density predicts a universal intermediate energy phase to which we refer as a
semi-local quantum liquid. Such a phase is characterized by a finite spatial
correlation length, but an infinite correlation time and associated nontrivial
scaling behavior in the time direction, as well as a nonzero entropy density.
For a holographic system at a nonzero chemical potential, this unstable phase
sets in at an energy scale of order of the chemical potential, and orders at
lower energies into other phases; examples include superconductors and
antiferromagnetic-type states. In this paper we give examples in which it also
orders into Fermi liquids of "heavy" fermions. While the precise nature of the
lower energy state depends on the specific dynamics of the individual system,
we argue that the semi-local quantum liquid emerges universally at intermediate
energies through deconfinement (or equivalently fractionalization). We also
discuss the possible relevance of such a semi-local quantum liquid to heavy
electron systems and the strange metal phase of high temperature cuprate
superconductors.Comment: 31 pages, 7 figure
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Effect of rehabilitation worker input on visual function outcomes in individuals with low vision: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial
BACKGROUND: Visual Rehabilitation Officers help people with a visual impairment maintain their independence. This intervention adopts a flexible, goal-centred approach, which may include training in mobility, use of optical and non-optical aids, and performance of activities of daily living. Although Visual Rehabilitation Officers are an integral part of the low vision service in the United Kingdom, evidence that they are effective is lacking. The purpose of this exploratory trial is to estimate the impact of a Visual Rehabilitation Officer on self-reported visual function, psychosocial and quality-of-life outcomes in individuals with low vision.
METHODS/DESIGN: In this exploratory, assessor-masked, parallel group, randomised controlled trial, participants will be allocated either to receive home visits from a Visual Rehabilitation Officer (n = 30) or to a waiting list control group (n = 30) in a 1:1 ratio. Adult volunteers with a visual impairment, who have been identified as needing rehabilitation officer input by a social worker, will take part. Those with an urgent need for a Visual Rehabilitation Officer or who have a cognitive impairment will be excluded. The primary outcome measure will be self-reported visual function (48-item Veterans Affairs Low Vision Visual Functioning Questionnaire). Secondary outcome measures will include psychological and quality-of-life metrics: the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (WEMWBS), the Adjustment to Age-related Visual Loss Scale (AVL-12), the Standardised Health-related Quality of Life Questionnaire (EQ-5D) and the UCLA Loneliness Scale. The interviewer collecting the outcomes will be masked to the group allocations. The analysis will be undertaken on a complete case and intention-to-treat basis. Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) will be applied to follow-up questionnaire scores, with the baseline score as a covariate.
DISCUSSION: This trial is expected to provide robust effect size estimates of the intervention effect. The data will be used to design a large-scale randomised controlled trial to evaluate fully the Visual Rehabilitation Officer intervention. A rigorous evaluation of Rehabilitation Officer input is vital to direct a future low vision rehabilitation strategy and to help direct government resources.
TRIAL REGISTRATION: The trial was registered with ( ISRCTN44807874 ) on 9 March 2015
On nonsupersymmetric \BC^4/\BZ_N, tachyons, terminal singularities and flips
We investigate nonsupersymmetric \BC^4/\BZ_N orbifold singularities using
their description in terms of the string worldsheet conformal field theory and
its close relation with the toric geometry description of these singularities
and their possible resolutions. Analytic and numerical study strongly suggest
the absence of nonsupersymmetric Type II terminal singularities (i.e. with no
marginal or relevant blowup modes) so that there are always moduli or closed
string tachyons that give rise to resolutions of these singularities, although
supersymmetric and Type 0 terminal singularities do exist. Using gauged linear
sigma models, we analyze the phase structure of these singularities, which
often involves 4-dimensional flip transitions, occurring between resolution
endpoints of distinct topology. We then discuss 4-dim analogs of unstable
conifold-like singularities that exhibit flips, in particular their Type II GSO
projection and the phase structure. We also briefly discuss aspects of
M2-branes stacked at such singularities and nonsupersymmetric AdS_4\times
S^7/\BZ_N backgrounds.Comment: Latex, 43pgs incl. appendices, 2 eps figs, v2. minor clarifications
added, to appear in JHE
Speed has an effect on multiple-object tracking independently of the number of close encounters between targets and distractors
Multiple-object tracking (MOT) studies have shown that tracking ability declines as object speed increases. However, this might be attributed solely to the increased number of times that target and distractor objects usually pass close to each other (“close encounters”) when speed is increased, resulting in more target–distractor confusions. The present study investigates whether speed itself affects MOT ability by using displays in which the number of close encounters is held constant across speeds. Observers viewed several pairs of disks, and each pair rotated about the pair’s midpoint and, also, about the center of the display at varying speeds. Results showed that even with the number of close encounters held constant across speeds, increased speed impairs tracking performance, and the effect of speed is greater when the number of targets to be tracked is large. Moreover, neither the effect of number of distractors nor the effect of target–distractor distance was dependent on speed, when speed was isolated from the typical concomitant increase in close encounters. These results imply that increased speed does not impair tracking solely by increasing close encounters. Rather, they support the view that speed affects MOT capacity by requiring more attentional resources to track at higher speeds
Actions travel with their objects: evidence for dynamic event files
Moving a visual object is known to lead to an update of its cognitive representation. Given that object representations have also been shown to include codes describing the actions they were accompanied by, we investigated whether these action codes “move” along with their object. We replicated earlier findings that repeating stimulus and action features enhances performance if other features are repeated, but attenuates performance if they alternate. However, moving the objects in which the stimuli appeared in between two stimulus presentations had a strong impact on the feature bindings that involved location. Taken together, our findings provide evidence that changing the location of an object leaves two memory traces, one referring to its original location (an episodic record) and another referring to the new location (a working-memory trace)
Human leukocyte antigen supertype matching after myeloablative hematopoietic cell transplantation with 7/8 matched unrelated donor allografts: a report from the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research
The diversity of the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I and II alleles can be simplified by consolidating them into fewer supertypes based on functional or predicted structural similarities in epitope-binding grooves of HLA molecules. We studied the impact of matched and mismatched HLA-A (265 versus 429), -B (230 versus 92), -C (365 versus 349), and -DRB1 (153 versus 51) supertypes on clinical outcomes of 1934 patients with acute leukemias or myelodysplasia/myeloproliferative disorders. All patients were reported to the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research following single-allele mismatched unrelated donor myeloablative conditioning hematopoietic cell transplantation. Single mismatched alleles were categorized into six HLA-A (A01, A01A03, A01A24, A02, A03, A24), six HLA-B (B07, B08, B27, B44, B58, B62), two HLA-C (C1, C2), and five HLA-DRB1 (DR1, DR3, DR4, DR5, DR9) supertypes. Supertype B mismatch was associated with increased risk of grade II-IV acute graft-versus-host disease (hazard ratio =1.78, P=0.0025) compared to supertype B match. Supertype B07-B44 mismatch was associated with a higher incidence of both grade II-IV (hazard ratio=3.11, P=0.002) and III-IV (hazard ratio=3.15, P=0.01) acute graft-versus-host disease. No significant associations were detected between supertype-matched versus -mismatched groups at other HLA loci. These data suggest that avoiding HLA-B supertype mismatches can mitigate the risk of grade II-IV acute graft-versus-host disease in 7/8-mismatched unrelated donor hematopoietic cell transplantation when multiple HLA-B supertype-matched donors are available. Future studies are needed to define the mechanisms by which supertype mismatching affects outcomes after alternative donor hematopoietic cell transplantation
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