70 research outputs found
Dipole states in stable and unstable nuclei
A nuclear structure model based on linear response theory (i.e., Random Phase
Approximation) and which includes pairing correlations and anharmonicities
(coupling with collective vibrations), has been implemented in such a way that
it can be applied on the same footing to magic as well as open-shell nuclei. As
applications, we have chosen to study the dipole excitations both in
well-known, stable isotopes like Pb and Sn as well as in the
neutron-rich, unstable Sn nucleus, by addressing in the latter case the
question about the nature of the low-lying strength. Our results suggest that
the model is reliable and predicts in all cases low-lying strength of non
collective nature.Comment: 16 pages, 6 figures; submitted for publicatio
Giant resonances in exotic spherical nuclei within the RPA approach with the Gogny force
Theoretical results for giant resonances in the three doubly magic exotic
nuclei Ni, Sn and Sn are obtained from Hartree-Fock (HF)
plus Random Phase Approximation (RPA) calculations using the D1S
parametrization of the Gogny two-body effective interaction. Special attention
is paid to full consistency between the HF field and the RPA particle-hole
residual interaction. The results for the exotic nuclei, on average, appear
similar to those of stable ones, especially for quadrupole and octupole states.
More exotic systems have to be studied in order to confirm such a trend. The
low energy of the monopole resonance in Ni suggests that the compression
modulus in this neutron rich nucleus is lower than the one of stable ones.Comment: 16 pages, 10 figure
Instantaneous Shape Sampling - a model for the -absorption cross section of transitional nuclei
The influence of the quadrupole shape fluctuations on the dipole vibrations
in transitional nuclei is investigated in the framework of the Instantaneous
Shape Sampling Model, which combines the Interacting Boson Model for the slow
collective quadrupole motion with the Random Phase Approximation for the rapid
dipole vibrations. Coupling to the complex background configurations is taken
into account by folding the results with a Lorentzian with an energy dependent
width. The low-energy energy portion of the - absorption cross section,
which is important for photo-nuclear processes, is studied for the isotopic
series of Kr, Xe, Ba, and Sm. The experimental cross sections are well
reproduced. The low-energy cross section is determined by the Landau
fragmentation of the dipole strength and its redistribution caused by the shape
fluctuations. Collisional damping only wipes out fluctuations of the absorption
cross section, generating the smooth energy dependence observed in experiment.
In the case of semi-magic nuclei, shallow pygmy resonances are found in
agreement with experiment
Self-consistent calculations within the Extended Theory of Finite Fermi Systems
The Extended Theory of Finite Fermi Systems(ETFFS) describes nuclear
excitations considering phonons and pairing degrees of freedom, using
experimental single particle energies and the effective Landau-Migdal
interaction. Here we use the Skyrme interactions in order to extend the range
of applicability of the ETFFS to experimentally not yet investigated
short-lived isotopes. We find that Skyrme interactions which reproduce at the
mean field level both ground state properties and nuclear excitations are able
to describe the spreading widths of the giant resonances in the new approach,
but produce shifts of the centroid energies. A renormalization of the Skyrme
interactions is required for approaches going beyond the mean field level.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, corrected typo
Interaction of the single-particle and collective degrees of freedom in non-magic nuclei: the role of phonon tadpole terms
A method of a consistent consideration of the phonon contributions to mass
and gap operators in non-magic nuclei is developed in the so-called g^2
approximation, where g is the low-lying phonon creation amplitude. It includes
simultaneous accounting for both the usual non-local terms and the phonon
tadpole ones. The relations which allow the tadpoles to be calculated without
any new parameters are derived. As an application of the results, the role of
the phonon tadpoles in the single-particle strength distribution and in the
single-particle energies and gap values has been considered. Relation to the
problem of the surface nature of pairing is discussed.Comment: 22 pages, 7 figure
Optical manipulation of the wave function of quasiparticles in a solid
Polaritons in semiconductor microcavities are hybrid quasiparticles
consisting of a superposition of photons and excitons. Due to the photon
component, polaritons are characterized by a quantum coherence length in the
several micron range. Owing to their exciton content, they display sizeable
interactions, both mutual and with other electronic degrees of freedom. These
unique features have produced striking matter wave phenomena, such as
Bose-Einstein condensation, or parametric processes able to generate quantum
entangled polariton states. Recently, several paradigms for spatial confinement
of polaritons in semiconductor devices have been established. This opens the
way to quantum devices in which polaritons can be used as a vector of quantum
information. An essential element of each quantum device is the quantum state
control. Here we demonstrate control of the wave function of confined
polaritons, by means of tailored resonant optical excitation. By tuning the
energy and momentum of the laser, we achieve precise control of the momentum
pattern of the polariton wave function. A theoretical model supports
unambiguously our observations
Lipids and transaminase elevations in ARV-experienced PLWH switching to a doravirine-based regimen from rilpivirine or other regimens
Background: Doravirine (DOR) is a newly approved antiretroviral belonging to the class of non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTI), well tolerated and leading to an improved lipid profile in antiretroviral experienced people living with HIV (PLWH). We aimed at evaluating if the lipid-lowering effect is linked to the drug class, using real-life data from the SCOLTA cohort. Methods: We compared the lipid profile modifications in experienced PLWH switching to a DOR-based regimen from rilpivirine or another NNRTI-based regimen or from an integrase strand transferase (INSTI)-based regimen. T0 and T1 were defined as the baseline and 6-month follow-up respectively. Data were collected at baseline and prospectively every six months and changes from baseline were compared using a multivariable linear model. Results: In 107 PLWH, enrolled in the SCOLTA DOR cohort, with undetectable HIV-RNA at baseline, 32.7% switched from RPV-based regimens (DOR1), 29.9% from other NNRTI-including regimens (DOR2) and 37.4% switched from INSTI-including regimens (DOR3). At T1, TC significantly decreased in DOR2 (-15 mg/dL) and DOR3 (-23 mg/dL), and significantly more in DOR3 than in DOR1 (-6 mg/dL) (p = 0.016). HDL-C declined in DOR2 (-2 mg/dL) whereas it increased in DOR1 (+ 3 mg/dL) (p = 0.042) and remained stable in DOR3. LDL-C significantly decreased from baseline in DOR2 (-12 mg/dL) and DOR3 (-22 mg/dL) and was different between DOR1 (-8 mg/dL) and DOR3 (p = 0.022). TC/HDL ratio showed a significant decline in the DOR3 group (-0.45), although similar to DOR1 (-0.23, p = 0.315) and DOR2 (-0.19, p = 0.254). Triglycerides did not noticeably change. ALT significantly decreased in PLWH with a baseline level > 40 UI/mL. Conclusions: PLWH on doravirine treatment showed different trends in blood lipids according to their previous regimen. In PLWH switching from RPV, minimal modifications were seen, whereas in those switching from other NNRTIs and from INSTI-including regimens, we observed an overall improvement in lipid profile, seemingly independent of the âstatin effectâ of TDF
Out-of-equilibrium physics in driven dissipative coupled resonator arrays
Coupled resonator arrays have been shown to exhibit interesting many- body
physics including Mott and Fractional Hall states of photons. One of the main
differences between these photonic quantum simulators and their cold atoms
coun- terparts is in the dissipative nature of their photonic excitations. The
natural equi- librium state is where there are no photons left in the cavity.
Pumping the system with external drives is therefore necessary to compensate
for the losses and realise non-trivial states. The external driving here can
easily be tuned to be incoherent, coherent or fully quantum, opening the road
for exploration of many body regimes beyond the reach of other approaches. In
this chapter, we review some of the physics arising in driven dissipative
coupled resonator arrays including photon fermionisa- tion, crystallisation, as
well as photonic quantum Hall physics out of equilibrium. We start by briefly
describing possible experimental candidates to realise coupled resonator arrays
along with the two theoretical models that capture their physics, the
Jaynes-Cummings-Hubbard and Bose-Hubbard Hamiltonians. A brief review of the
analytical and sophisticated numerical methods required to tackle these systems
is included.Comment: Chapter that appeared in "Quantum Simulations with Photons and
Polaritons: Merging Quantum Optics with Condensed Matter Physics" edited by
D.G.Angelakis, Quantum Science and Technology Series, Springer 201
The use of Versius CMR for pelvic surgery: a multicentric analysis of surgical setup and early outcomes
IntroductionVersius CMR is a novel robotic system characterized by an open surgical console and independent bedside units. The system has potentials of flexibility and versatility, and has been used in urological, gynecological, and general surgical procedure. The aim is to depict a comprehensive analysis of the Versius system for pelvic surgery.MethodsThis is a study involving two Institutions, ASST Santi Paolo and Carlo, Milan, and Apuane Hospital, Massa, Italy. All interventions performed in the pelvic area with the Versius were included. Data about indications, intra-, and post-operative course were prospectively collected and analyzed.ResultsA total of 171 interventions were performed with the Versius. Forty-two of them involved pelvic procedures. Twenty-two had an oncological indication (localized prostate cancer), the remaining had a non-oncological or functional purpose. The mostly performed pelvic procedure was radical prostatectomy (22) followed by annexectomy (9). No intra-operative complication nor conversion to other approaches occurred. A Clavien II complication and one Clavien IIIb were reported. Malfunctioning/alarms requiring a power cycle of the system occurred in 2 different cases. An adjustment in trocar placement according to patients' height was required in 2 patients undergoing prostatectomy, in which the trocar was moved caudally. In two cases, a pelvic prolapse was repaired concomitant with other gynecological procedures.ConclusionsPelvic surgery with the Versius is feasible without major complications; either dissection and reconstructive steps could be accomplished, provided a proper OR setup and trocar placement are pursued. Versius can be easily adopted by surgeons of different disciplines and backgrounds; a further multi-specialty implementation is presumed and long-term oncological and functional outcomes are awaited
Causes of HIV Treatment Interruption during the Last 20 Years: A Multi-Cohort Real-Life Study
In the last years, many antiretroviral drugs (ART) have been developed with increased efficacy. Nowadays, the main reasons for treatment switches are adverse events, proactive strategy or simplification. We conducted a retrospective cohort study to investigate the reason for treatment interruption in the last 20 years. We merged data of eight cohorts of the SCOLTA project: lopinavir/r (LPV), atazanavir/r (ATV), darunavir/r or /c (DRV), rilpivirine (RPV), raltegravir (RAL), elvitegravir/c (EVG), dolutegravir (DTG) and bictegravir (BIC). We included 4405 people with HIV (PWH). Overall, 664 (15.1%), 489 (11.1%), and 271 (6.2%) PWH interrupted the treatment in the first, second, and third years after starting a new ART. Looking at the interruption in the first year, the most frequent causes were adverse events (3.8%), loss to follow-up (3.7%), patientsâ decisions (2.6%), treatment failure (1.7%), and simplification (1.3%). In the multivariate analysis regarding experienced patients, treatment with LPV, ATV, RPV or EVG/c, having less than 250 CD4 cells/mL, history of intravenous drug use, and HCV positivity were associated with an increased risk of interruption. In naive people, only LPV/r was associated with an increased risk of interruption, while RPV was associated with a lower risk. In conclusion, our data on more than 4400 PWH show that adverse events have represented the most frequent cause of treatment interruptions in the first year of ART (3.84%). Treatment discontinuations were more frequent during the first year of follow-up and decreased thereafter. First-generation PI in both naiÌve and experienced PWH, and EVG/c, in experienced PWH, were associated with a higher risk of treatment interruptions
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