Does free-living physical activity improve one-year following total knee arthroplasty in patients with osteoarthritis : a prospective study

Objective Total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is the gold-standard treatment for end-stage knee osteoarthritis, and the primary expectations are reduced pain and improved function. However, there is conflicting evidence regarding functional changes post-TKA. Commonly, functional changes are measured using Oxford Knee Score (OKS). No previous study has investigated physical behaviour (PB) changes in terms of volume and patterns post-TKA. The aims of this study were to explore volume and pattern changes in PB following TKA using an objective tool and to assess the correlation between this and OKS. Design An activPAL measured the PB of individuals on a waiting list for TKA for a period of 7–8 days pre-TKA, and for the same length of time at 12 months post-TKA. OKS was completed at similar follow-up time points. Results Thirty-three individuals completed the study, where stepping time, the number of steps and the time spent on moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) (>100 steps/minute) improved significantly post-TKA p = 0.0001. Steps at 12 months post-TKA improved by 45.6% (from 4,240 to 6,174) and stepping time increased by 38.8% (from 0.98 to 1.36 hours). MVPA improved by 35 minutes at 12 months (from 6.6 to 41.7 minutes). There were no significant correlations between PB and OKS. Conclusion This is the first study to explore PB volumes and event-based patterns post-TKA. Activity improved in terms of volume and patterns. No correlation was found between OKS and ActivPAL, which emphasises the need to use objective methods in addition to patient reported outcome measures

Vertical Carbon Nanotube Devices With Nanoscale Lengths Controlled Without Lithography

Vertical single-walled carbon nanotubes (vSWCNTs) are synthesized within highly ordered porous anodic alumina (PAA) templates supported on Si substrates. A process for obtaining thin-film PAA with long-range ordered nanopores is presented in this paper. Each nanopore contains at most one v-SWCNT that is supported by a dielectric and addressed by electrochemically formed Pd nanowire source contacts and evaporated Pd drain contacts. Characteristics of these completely vertical, two-terminal nanotube devices are presented. Control of the v-SWCNT length is demonstrated using a straightforward etching process with lengths of less than 100 nm achieved without the need for complex/expensive lithography. This effective nanoscale length control of highly ordered v-SWCNTs provides a practical basis for the realization of CNT-based nanoelectronics

Spontaneous cerebellar hemorrhage in a patient taking apixaban

AbstractObjectivesAtrial fibrillation is closely associated with cardioembolic stroke. Until recently, warfarin has been the gold standard for the treatment of atrial fibrillation. Since 2010 the United States Food and Drug Administration has approved three new agents for anticoagulation in patients with atrial fibrillation. The purpose of this case report is to discuss some of the practical implications for using these agents.MethodsA patient taking apixaban presented with a spontaneous cerebellar hemorrhage. While the patient was initially considered a candidate for surgical intervention, the lack of literature addressing surgical intervention in patients on novel anticoagulation clouded the clinical decision-making. The patient was ultimately managed with administration of activated prothrombin complex concentrate, blood pressure control, frequent clinical assessments and airway protection. The patient did not undergo craniotomy for hematoma evacuation.ConclusionsRecent FDA approval of several novel oral anticoagulants for use in patients with atrial fibrillation has resulted in a significant number of patients formerly treated with warfarin being switched to these newer agents. There remains a lack of clear guidelines for the management of hemorrhagic complications. This case report describes one management strategy and highlights the paucity of current evidence to support critical clinical decisions

Classical and Quantum-like approaches to Charged-Particle Fluids in a Quadrupole

A classical description of the dynamics of a dissipative charged-particle fluid in a quadrupole-like device is developed. It is shown that the set of the classical fluid equations contains the same information as a complex function satisfying a Schrodinger-like equation in which Planck's constant is replaced by the time-varying emittance, which is related to the time-varying temperature of the fluid. The squared modulus and the gradient of the phase of this complex function are proportional to the fluid density and to the current velocity, respectively. Within this framework, the dynamics of an electron bunch in a storage ring in the presence of radiation damping and quantum-excitation is recovered. Furthermore, both standard and generalized (including dissipation) coherent states that may be associated with the classical particle fluids are fully described in terms of the above formalism.Comment: LaTex, to appear in Physica Script

Room Temperature Device Performance of Electrodeposited InSb Nanowire Field Effect Transistors

In this study, InSb nanowires have been formed by electrodeposition and integrated into NW-FETs. NWs were formed in porous anodic alumina (PAA) templates, with the PAA pore diameter of approximately 100 nm defining the NW diameter. Following annealing at 125C and 420C respectively, the nanowires exhibited the zinc blende crystalline structure of InSb, as confirmed from x-ray diffraction and high resolution transmission electron microscopy. The annealed nanowires were used to fabricate nanowire field effect transistors (NW-FET) each containing a single NW with 500 nm channel length and gating through a 20nm SiO2 layer on a doped Si wafer. Following annealing of the NW-FETs at 300C for 10 minutes in argon ambient, transistor characteristics were observed with an ION ~ 40 uA (at VDS = 1V in a back-gate configuration), ION/IOFF ~ 16 - 20 in the linear regime of transistor operation and gd ~ 71uS. The field effect electron mobility extracted from the transconductance was ~1200 cm2 V-1 s-1 at room temperature. We report high on-current per nanowire compared with other reported NW-FETs with back-gate geometry and current saturation at low source-drain voltages. The device characteristics are not well described by long-channel MOSFET models, but can qualitatively be understood in terms of velocity saturation effects accounting for enhanced scatteringComment: 14 pages, 4 figure

The Geometry of Entanglement Sudden Death

In open quantum systems, entanglement can vanish faster than coherence. This phenomenon is usually called sudden death of entanglement. In this paper sudden death of entanglement is discussed from a geometrical point of view, in the context of two qubits. A classification of possible scenarios is presented, with important known examples classified. Theoretical and experimental construction of other examples is suggested as well as large dimensional and multipartite versions of the effect.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures, references added, initial paragraph corrected, sectioning adopted, some parts rewritten; accepted by New J. Phy

Evaluation of agricultural policy alternatives to control sedimentation

Alternative policies for reducing the level of erosion and sedimentation are evaluated with a linear programming analysis of farms in a selected watershed. Three conservation practices and three tillage practices are considered in combination with six crop rotations on approximations of nine actual farms located in representative sections of the watershed. The impact of these practices on crop production costs and yields is considered, as is the impact on the off-site damages to the drainage system and the reservoir. Policies considered included subsidization of the cost of adopting conservation practices and subsidies to induce removing land from production, several forms of regulations and an effluent tax. Where appropriate the policies were analyzed assuming implementation at both the watershed and the farm level. This analysis indicates that soil conservation practices should be increased substantially in order to reduce the gross soil loss in the watershed from over 20 to approximately 6 tons per acre per year. This reduction is most efficiently accomplished by modifying conservation practices, tillage practices, and crop rotations. An important finding is the indication that several alternative policies can be applied at either the watershed or the farm level and without regard to the farms' proximity to the reservoir, with very little difference in results.U.S. Geological SurveyU.S. Department of the InteriorOpe

Microbiology and atmospheric processes: research challenges concerning the impact of airborne micro-organisms on the atmosphere and climate

For the past 200 years, the field of aerobiology has explored the abundance, diversity, survival and transport of micro-organisms in the atmosphere. Micro-organisms have been explored as passive and severely stressed riders of atmospheric transport systems. Recently, an interest in the active roles of these micro-organisms has emerged along with proposals that the atmosphere is a global biome for microbial metabolic activity and perhaps even multiplication. As part of a series of papers on the sources, distribution and roles in atmospheric processes of biological particles in the atmosphere, here we describe the pertinence of questions relating to the potential roles that air-borne micro-organisms might play in meteorological phenomena. For the upcoming era of research on the role of air-borne micro-organisms in meteorological phenomena, one important challenge is to go beyond descriptions of abundance of micro-organisms in the atmosphere toward an understanding of their dynamics in terms of both biological and physico-chemical properties and of the relevant transport processes at different scales. Another challenge is to develop this understanding under contexts pertinent to their potential role in processes related to atmospheric chemistry, the formation of clouds, precipitation and radiative forcing. This will require truly interdisciplinary approaches involving collaborators from the biological and physical sciences, from disciplines as disparate as agronomy, microbial genetics and atmosphere physics, for example