4,671 research outputs found
Controlling fast transport of cold trapped ions
We realize fast transport of ions in a segmented micro-structured Paul trap.
The ion is shuttled over a distance of more than 10^4 times its groundstate
wavefunction size during only 5 motional cycles of the trap (280 micro meter in
3.6 micro seconds). Starting from a ground-state-cooled ion, we find an
optimized transport such that the energy increase is as low as 0.10 0.01
motional quanta. In addition, we demonstrate that quantum information stored in
a spin-motion entangled state is preserved throughout the transport. Shuttling
operations are concatenated, as a proof-of-principle for the shuttling-based
architecture to scalable ion trap quantum computing.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure
Improved bone defect healing by a superagonistic GDF5 variant derived from a patient with multiple synostoses syndrome
Multiple synostoses syndrome 2 (SYNS2) is a rare genetic disease characterized by multiple fusions of the joints of the extremities, like phalangeal joints, carpal and tarsal joints or the knee and elbows. SYNS2 is caused by point mutations in the Growth and Differentiation Factor 5 (GDF5), which plays an essential role during skeletal development and regeneration. We selected one of the SYNS2-causing GDF5 mutations, p.N445T, which is known to destabilize the interaction with the Bone Morphogenetic Protein (BMP) antagonist NOGGIN (NOG), in order to generate the superagonistic GDF5 variant GDF5(N445T). In this study, we tested its capacity to support regeneration in a rat critical-sized defect model in vivo. MicroCT and histological analyses indicate that GDF5(N445T)-treated defects show faster and more efficient healing compared to GDF5 wild type (GDF5(wt))-treated defects. Microarray-based gene expression and quantitative PCR analyses from callus tissue point to a specific acceleration of the early phases of bone healing, comprising the inflammation and chondrogenesis phase. These results support the concept that disease-deduced growth factor variants are promising lead structures for novel therapeutics with improved clinical activities
Strong Electron-Phonon Coupling in Superconducting MgB: A Specific Heat Study
We report on measurements of the specific heat of the recently discovered
superconductor MgB in the temperature range between 3 and 220 K. Based on a
modified Debye-Einstein model, we have achieved a rather accurate account of
the lattice contribution to the specific heat, which allows us to separate the
electronic contribution from the total measured specific heat. From our result
for the electronic specific heat, we estimate the electron-phonon coupling
constant to be of the order of 2, significantly enhanced compared to
common weak-coupling values . Our data also indicate that the
electronic specific heat in the superconducting state of MgB can be
accounted for by a conventional, s-wave type BCS-model.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
The radio counter-jet of the QSO 3C~48
We present multi--frequency radio observational results of the quasar 3C~48.
The observations were carried out with the Very Large Array (VLA) at five
frequencies of 0.33, 1.5, 4.8, 8.4, and 22.5 GHz, and with the Multi--Element
Radio Linked Interferometer Network (MERLIN) at the two frequencies of 1.6 and
5 GHz. The source shows a one--sided jet to the north within 1\arcsec, which
then extends to the northeast and becomes diffuse. Two bright components (N2
and N3), containing most of the flux density are present in the northern jet.
The spectral index of the two components is and
(). Our images show the
presence of an extended structure surrounding component N2, suggestive of
strong interaction between the jet and the interstellar medium (ISM) of the
host galaxy. A steep--spectrum component, labelled as S, located 0.25 ardsec
southwest to the flat--spectrum component which could be the core of 3C 48, is
detected at a significance of . Both the location and the steepness
of the spectrum of component S suggest the presence of a counter--jet in 3C 48.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figures, accepted by A&
Prevalence of antibodies against influenza A and B viruses in children in Germany, 2008 to 2010
The prevalence of influenza A and B virus-specific IgG was determined in sera taken between 2008 and 2010 from 1,665 children aged 0-17 years and 400 blood donors in Germany. ELISA on the basis of whole virus antigens was applied. Nearly all children aged nine years and older had antibodies against influenza A. In contrast, 40% of children aged 0-4 years did not have any influenza A virus-specific IgG antibodies. Eighty-six percent of 0-6 year-olds, 47% of 7-12 year-olds and 20% of 13-17 year-olds were serologically naive to influenza B viruses. By the age of 18 years, influenza B seroprevalence reached approximately 90%. There were obvious regional differences in the seroprevalence of influenza B in Germany. In conclusion, seroprevalences of influenza A and influenza B increase gradually during childhood. The majority of children older than eight years have basal immunity to influenza A, while comparable immunity against influenza B is only acquired at the age of 18 years. Children aged 0-6 years, showing an overall seroprevalence of 67% for influenza A and of 14% for influenza B, are especially at risk for primary infections during influenza B seasons
Current practice of blood pressure measurement in Germany: a nationwide questionnaire-based survey in medical practices
PURPOSE: Discrepancies exist between guideline recommendations and real-world practice of blood pressure (BP) measurements. The aim of this study was to assess, with a nationwide, questionnaire-based survey, the current practice of BP measurement and associated BP values in German medical practices. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A nationwide survey in German medical practices was performed in the period from 10 May 2021 to 15 August 2021. The questionnaire was divided into five sections. The current office BP (OBP) values as well as the current drug therapy were recorded. In addition, the implementation of office BP (OBP) and home BP monitoring (HBPM) was queried. For analysis, questionnaires were scanned and automatically digitised. RESULTS: A total of 7049 questionnaires were analysed, the majority of which came from general practitioners (66%) and internal medicine practices (34%). The average OBP (SD) was 140.0 (18)/82.7 (11) mmHg. 40.8% of treated patients had OBP in the controlled range, with monotherapy (34.7%) or dual combination therapy (38.2%) prescribed in most cases. OBP was taken from a single measurement in 66.3% of cases, and in 21.8% from 23 measurements. OBP was mostly measured after a rest period (87.1%) and in a separate room (80.4%). HBPM was performed in 62.3% of patients; however, in 24.9% of the participants HBP measurements were recorded once a week or less. CONCLUSION: In this nationwide survey in German medical practices, BP control remains at below 50%, while monotherapy is prescribed in around one third of patients. Moreover, office measurements and HBPM are often not performed according to current guideline recommendations
Entanglement, elasticity and viscous relaxation of actin solutions
We have investigated the viscosity and the plateau modulus of actin solutions
with a magnetically driven rotating disc rheometer. For entangled solutions we
observed a scaling of the plateau modulus versus concentration with a power of
7/5. The measured terminal relaxation time increases with a power 3/2 as a
function of polymer length. We interpret the entanglement transition and the
scaling of the plateau modulus in terms of the tube model for semiflexible
polymers.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, published versio
Disease overarching mechanisms that explain and predict outcome of patients with high cardiovascular risk: rationale and design of the Berlin Long-term Observation of vascular events (BeLOVE) study
BACKGROUND: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of premature death worldwide. Effective and individualized treatment requires exact knowledge about both risk factors and risk estimation. Most evidence for risk prediction currently comes from population-based studies on first incident cardiovascular events. In contrast, little is known about the relevance of risk factors for the outcome of patients with established CVD or those who are at high risk of CVD, including patients with type 2 diabetes. In addition, most studies focus on individual diseases, whereas less is known about disease overarching risk factors and cross-over risk. AIM: The aim of BeLOVE is to improve short- and long-term prediction and mechanistic understanding of cardiovascular disease progression and outcomes in very high-risk patients, both in the acute as well as in the chronic phase, in order to provide the basis for improved, individualized management. STUDY DESIGN: BeLOVE is an observational prospective cohort study of patients of both sexes aged >18 in selected Berlin hospitals, who have a high risk of future cardiovascular events, including patients with a history of acute coronary syndrome (ACS), acute stroke (AS), acute heart failure (AHF), acute kidney injury (AKI) or type 2 diabetes with manifest target-organ damage. BeLOVE includes 2 subcohorts: The acute subcohort includes 6500 patients with ACS, AS, AHF, or AKI within 2-8 days after their qualifying event, who undergo a structured interview about medical history as well as blood sample collection. The chronic subcohort includes 6000 patients with ACS, AS, AHF, or AKI 90 days after event, and patients with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) and target-organ damage. These patients undergo a 6-8 hour deep phenotyping program, including detailed clinical phenotyping from a cardiological, neurological and metabolic perspective, questionnaires including patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs)as well as magnetic resonance imaging. Several biological samples are collected (i.e. blood, urine, saliva, stool) with blood samples collected in a fasting state, as well as after a metabolic challenge (either nutritional or cardiopulmonary exercise stress test). Ascertainment of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) will be performed in all patients using a combination of active and passive follow up procedures, such as on-site visits (if applicable), telephone interviews, review of medical charts, and links to local health authorities. Additional phenotyping visits are planned at 2, 5 and 10 years after inclusion into the chronic subcohort. FUTURE PERSPECTIVE: BeLOVE provides a unique opportunity to study both the short- and long-term disease course of patients at high cardiovascular risk through innovative and extensive deep phenotyping. Moreover, the unique study design provides opportunities for acute and post-acute inclusion and allows us to derive two non-nested yet overlapping sub-cohorts, tailored for upcoming research questions. Thereby, we aim to study disease overarching research questions, to understand crossover risk, and to find similarities and differences between clinical phenotypes of patients at high cardiovascular risk
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