1,641 research outputs found
Hysteresis effects in Bose-Einstein condensates
Here, we consider damped two-components Bose-Einstein condensates with
many-body interactions. We show that, when the external trapping potential has
a double-well shape and when the nonlinear coupling factors are modulated in
time, hysteresis effects may appear under some circumstances. Such hysteresis
phenomena are a result of the joint contribution between the appearance of
saddle node bifurcations and damping effect.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figure
Optical properties of the charge-density-wave polychalcogenide compounds Te (=Nd, Sm and Gd)
We investigate the rare-earth polychalcogenide Te (=Nd, Sm and
Gd) charge-density-wave (CDW) compounds by optical methods. From the absorption
spectrum we extract the excitation energy of the CDW gap and estimate the
fraction of the Fermi surface which is gapped by the formation of the CDW
condensate. In analogy to previous findings on the related Te (n=2 and
3) families, we establish the progressive closing of the CDW gap and the
moderate enhancement of the metallic component upon chemically compressing the
lattice
Ergodicity breaking in strong and network-forming glassy system
The temperature dependence of the non-ergodicity factor of vitreous GeO,
, as deduced from elastic and quasi-elastic neutron scattering
experiments, is analyzed. The data are collected in a wide range of
temperatures from the glassy phase, up to the glass transition temperature, and
well above into the undercooled liquid state. Notwithstanding the investigated
system is classified as prototype of strong glass, it is found that the
temperature- and the -behavior of follow some of the predictions
of Mode Coupling Theory. The experimental data support the hypothesis of the
existence of an ergodic to non-ergodic transition occurring also in network
forming glassy systems
Effect of recombinant human nerve growth factor eye drops in patients with dry eye: a phase IIa, open label, multiple-dose study
Background: Dry eye disease (DED) affects more than 14% of the elderly population causing decrease of quality of life, high costs and vision impairment. Current treatments for DED aim at lubricating and controlling inflammation of the ocular surface. Development of novel therapies targeting different pathogenic mechanisms is sought-after. The aim of this study is to evaluate safety and efficacy of recombinant human nerve growth factor (rhNGF) eye drops in patients with DED. Methods: Forty consecutive patients with moderate to severe DED were included in a phase IIa, prospective, open label, multiple-dose, clinical trial to receive rhNGF eye drops at 20 ÎĽg/mL (Group 1: G1) or at 4 ÎĽg/mL (Group 2: G2) concentrations, two times a day in both eyes for 28 days (NCT02101281). The primary outcomes measures were treatment-emerged adverse events (AE), Symptoms Assessment in Dry Eye (SANDE) scale, ocular surface staining and Schirmer test. Results: Of 40 included patients, 39 completed the trial. Both tested rhNGF eye drop concentrations were safe and well tolerated. Twenty-nine patients experienced at least one AE (14 in G1 and 15 in G2), of which 11 had at least 1 related AE (8 in G1 and 3 in G2). Both frequency and severity of DED symptoms and ocular surface damage showed significant improvement in both groups, while tear function improved only in G1. Conclusions: The data of this study indicate that rhNGF eye drops in both doses is safe and effective in improving symptoms and signs of DED. Randomised clinical trials are ongoing to confirm the therapeutic benefit of rhNGF in DED. Trial registration number: NCT02101281
Management of patients with Graves' disease and orbital involvement: role of spectral domain optical coherence tomography
PURPOSE:
To investigate the role of choroidal thickness evaluation with spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SDOCT) and enhanced depth imaging (EDI) technique in the management of patients with Graves' disease and orbitopathy (GO).
METHODS:
Thirty-six eyes of 18 patients with GO and 36 eyes of 18 age-matched control subjects were included in this retrospective observational study. All the subjects underwent a complete ophthalmological evaluation, including clinical activity score (CAS) and exophthalmometry. The SDOCT images of the choroid were obtained by EDI modality.
RESULTS:
Choroidal thickness was significantly increased in GO than in control eyes (p < 0.01). A significant correlation was found between choroidal thickness and CAS, proptosis, and the duration of disease (p < 0.05).
CONCLUSION:
This study shows that choroidal thickness, evaluated with EDI-OCT, is significantly increased in patients with GO and correlates with the activity of the disease, proptosis, and duration of the disease. The choroidal thickening may reflect the ocular hemodynamic changes, and enhanced depth imaging optical coherence tomography may be a useful tool for the evaluation of orbital congestion and management of patients with Graves' disease and orbital involvement
Further evidence of antibunching of two coherent beams of fermions
We describe an experiment confirming the evidence of the antibunching effect
on a beam of non interacting thermal neutrons. The comparison between the
results recorded with a high energy-resolution source of neutrons and those
recorded with a broad energy-resolution source enables us to clarify the role
played by the beam coherence in the occurrence of the antibunching effect.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
Existence of the Stark-Wannier quantum resonances
In this paper we prove the existence of the Stark-Wannier quantum resonances
for one-dimensional Schrodinger operators with smooth periodic potential and
small external homogeneous electric field. Such a result extends the existence
result previously obtained in the case of periodic potentials with a finite
number of open gaps.Comment: 30 pages, 1 figur
Direct experimental evidence of free fermion antibunching
Fermion antibunching was observed on a beam of free noninteracting neutrons.
A monochromatic beam of thermal neutrons was first split by a graphite single
crystal, then fed to two detectors, displaying a reduced coincidence rate. The
result is a fermionic complement to the Hanbury Brown and Twiss effect for
photons.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure
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