2,933 research outputs found
Cooperative fluorescence effects for dipole-dipole interacting systems with experimentally relevant level configurations
The mutual dipole-dipole interaction of atoms in a trap can affect their
fluorescence. Extremely large effects were reported for double jumps between
different intensity periods in experiments with two and three Ba^+ ions for
distances in the range of about ten wave lengths of the strong transition while
no effects were observed for Hg^+ at 15 wave lengths. In this theoretical paper
we study this question for configurations with three and four levels which
model those of Hg^+ and Ba^+, respectively. For two systems in the Hg^+
configuration we find cooperative effects of up to 30% for distances around one
or two wave lengths, about 5% around ten wave lengths, and, for larger
distances in agreement with experiments, practically none. This is similar for
two V systems. However, for two four-level configurations, which model two Ba^+
ions, cooperative effects are practically absent, and this latter result is at
odds with the experimental findings for Ba^+.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures, RevTeX4, to be published in Phys. Rev.
Breast cancer biomarkers predict weight loss after gastric bypass surgery
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Obesity has long been associated with postmenopausal breast cancer risk and more recently with premenopausal breast cancer risk. We previously observed that nipple aspirate fluid (n) levels of prostate specific antigen (PSA) were associated with obesity. Serum (s) levels of adiponectin are lower in women with higher body mass index (BMI) and with breast cancer. We conducted a prospective study of obese women who underwent gastric bypass surgery to determine: 1) change in n- and s-adiponectin and nPSA after surgery and 2) if biomarker change is related to change in BMI. Samples (30-s, 28-n) and BMI were obtained from women 0, 3, 6 and 12 months after surgery.</p> <p>Findings</p> <p>There was a significant increase after surgery in pre- but not postmenopausal women at all time points in s-adiponectin and at 3 and 6 months in n-adiponectin. Low n-PSA and high s-adiponectin values were highly correlated with decrease in BMI from baseline.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Adiponectin increases locally in the breast and systemically in premenopausal women after gastric bypass. s-adiponectin in pre- and nPSA in postmenopausal women correlated with greater weight loss. This study provides preliminary evidence for biologic markers to predict weight loss after gastric bypass surgery.</p
Power requirements for electron cyclotron current drive and ion cyclotron resonance heating for sawtooth control in ITER
13MW of electron cyclotron current drive (ECCD) power deposited inside the q
= 1 surface is likely to reduce the sawtooth period in ITER baseline scenario
below the level empirically predicted to trigger neo-classical tearing modes
(NTMs). However, since the ECCD control scheme is solely predicated upon
changing the local magnetic shear, it is prudent to plan to use a complementary
scheme which directly decreases the potential energy of the kink mode in order
to reduce the sawtooth period. In the event that the natural sawtooth period is
longer than expected, due to enhanced alpha particle stabilisation for
instance, this ancillary sawtooth control can be provided from > 10MW of ion
cyclotron resonance heating (ICRH) power with a resonance just inside the q = 1
surface. Both ECCD and ICRH control schemes would benefit greatly from active
feedback of the deposition with respect to the rational surface. If the q = 1
surface can be maintained closer to the magnetic axis, the efficacy of ECCD and
ICRH schemes significantly increases, the negative effect on the fusion gain is
reduced, and off-axis negative-ion neutral beam injection (NNBI) can also be
considered for sawtooth control. Consequently, schemes to reduce the q = 1
radius are highly desirable, such as early heating to delay the current
penetration and, of course, active sawtooth destabilisation to mediate small
frequent sawteeth and retain a small q = 1 radius.Comment: 29 pages, 16 figure
New interleukin-15 superagonist (IL-15SA) significantly enhances graft-versus-tumor activity.
Interleukin-15 (IL-15) is a potent cytokine that increases CD8+ T and NK cell numbers and function in experimental models. However, obstacles remain in using IL-15 therapeutically, specifically its low potency and short in vivo half-life. To help overcome this, a new IL-15 superagonist complex comprised of an IL-15N72D mutation and IL-15RαSu/Fc fusion (IL-15SA, also known as ALT-803) was developed. IL-15SA exhibits a significantly longer serum half-life and increased in vivo activity against various tumors. Herein, we evaluated the effects of IL-15SA in recipients of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Weekly administration of IL-15SA to transplant recipients significantly increased the number of CD8+ T cells (specifically CD44+ memory/activated phenotype) and NK cells. Intracellular IFN-γ and TNF-α secretion by CD8+ T cells increased in the IL-15SA-treated group. IL-15SA also upregulated NKG2D expression on CD8+ T cells. Moreover, IL-15SA enhanced proliferation and cytokine secretion of adoptively transferred CFSE-labeled T cells in syngeneic and allogeneic models by specifically stimulating the slowly proliferative and nonproliferative cells into actively proliferating cells.We then evaluated IL-15SA\u27s effects on anti-tumor activity against murine mastocytoma (P815) and murine B cell lymphoma (A20). IL-15SA enhanced graft-versus-tumor (GVT) activity in these tumors following T cell infusion. Interestingly, IL-15 SA administration provided GVT activity against A20 lymphoma cells in the murine donor leukocyte infusion (DLI) model without increasing graft versus host disease. In conclusion, IL-15SA could be a highly potent T- cell lymphoid growth factor and novel immunotherapeutic agent to complement stem cell transplantation and adoptive immunotherapy
Virtual Reality for Pain Relief in the Emergency Room (VIPER) - a prospective, interventional feasibility study.
BACKGROUND
Pain is one of the most common, yet challenging problems leading to emergency department (ED) presentation, despite the availability of a wide range of pharmacological therapies. Virtual reality (VR) simulations are well studied in a wide variety of clinical settings, including acute and chronic pain management, as well as anxiety disorders. However, studies in the busy environment of an adult ED are scarce. The aim of this study is to explore the feasibility and effectiveness of a VR simulation for pain and anxiety control in a convenience sample of adult ED patients presenting with traumatic and non-traumatic pain triaged 2-5 (i.e., urgent to non-urgent) with a pain rating of ≥ 3 on a numeric rating scale (NRS 0-10).
METHODS
Prospective within-subject, repeated measures interventional feasibility pilot study at a Swiss University ED. The intervention consisted of a virtual reality simulation in addition to usual care. Pain and anxiety levels were measured using a verbally administered numeric rating scale (NRS) before and after the intervention. Information on patient experience was collected using established rating scales.
RESULTS
Fifty-two patients were enrolled. The most common pain localisations were extremities (n = 15, 28.8%) and abdomen (n = 12, 23.1%). About one third of patients presented with trauma-associated pain (n = 16, 30.8%). Duration of pain was mainly acute ( 24 h) (n = 32, 61.5%). The majority of patients were triage category 3, i.e. semi-urgent (n = 48, 92.3%). Significant reduction in pain (NRS median pre-VR simulation 4.5 (IQR 3-7) vs. median post-VR simulation 3 (IQR 2-5), p < 0.001), and anxiety levels (NRS median pre-VR simulation 4 (IQR 2-5) vs. median post-VR simulation 2 (IQR 0-3), p < 0.001) was achieved, yielding moderate to large effect sizes (Cohen's d estimate for pain reduction = 0.59 (95% CI 0.19-0.98), for anxiety level on NRS = 0.75 (95% CI 0.34-1.15). With medium immersion and good tolerability of the VR simulation, user satisfaction was high.
CONCLUSIONS
Virtual reality analgesia for pain and anxiety reduction in the busy setting of an ED is feasible, effective, with high user satisfaction. Further randomized controlled studies are needed to better characterize its impact on pain perception and resource utilization
Fluorescence during Doppler cooling of a single trapped atom
We investigate the temporal dynamics of Doppler cooling of an initially hot
single trapped atom in the weak binding regime using a semiclassical approach.
We develop an analytical model for the simplest case of a single vibrational
mode for a harmonic trap, and show how this model allows us to estimate the
initial energy of the trapped particle by observing the fluorescence rate
during the cooling process. The experimental implementation of this temperature
measurement provides a way to measure atom heating rates by observing the
temperature rise in the absence of cooling. This method is technically
relatively simple compared to conventional sideband detection methods, and the
two methods are in reasonable agreement. We also discuss the effects of RF
micromotion, relevant for a trapped atomic ion, and the effect of coupling
between the vibrational modes on the cooling dynamics.Comment: 12 pages, 11 figures, Submitted to Phys. Rev.
Experimental investigation and gyrokinetic simulations of multi-scale electron heat transport in JET, AUG, TCV
Back-Reaction In Lightcone QED
We consider the back-reaction of quantum electrodynamics upon an electric
field E(x_+) = - A'_-(x_+) which is parallel to x^3 and depends only on the
lightcone coordinate x_+ = (x^0 + x^3)/\sqrt{2}. Novel features are that the
mode functions have simple expressions for arbitrary A_-(x_+), and that one
cannot ignore the usual lightcone ambiguity at zero + momentum. Each mode of
definite canonical momenta k_+ experiences pair creation at the instant when
its kinetic momentum p_+=k_+ - e A_-(x_+) vanishes, at which point operators
from the surface at x_- =-\infty play a crucial role. Our formalism permits a
more explicit and complete derivation of the rate of particle production than
is usually given. We show that the system can be understood as the infinite
boost limit of the analogous problem of an electric field which is homogeneous
on surfaces of constant x^0.Comment: 37 pages, 2 figures, LaTeX 2 epsilo
Evolution of Purogangri Ice Cap, central Tibetan Plateau, 2000-2012 - a comparison of two glaciological methods
Abstract HKT-ISTP 2013
B
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