301 research outputs found
Increased maternal TSH and decreased maternal FT4 are associated with a higher operative delivery rate in low-risk pregnancies:A prospective cohort study
Background:Â The increasing number of operative deliveries is a topic of major concern in modern obstetrics. Maternal thyroid function is of known influence on many obstetric parameters. Our objective was to investigate a possible relation between maternal thyroid function, and operative deliveries. Secondary aim was to explore whether thyroid function was related to specific reasons for operative deliveries. Methods:Â In this prospective cohort study, low-risk Caucasian women, pregnant of a single cephalic fetus were included. Women with known auto-immune disease, a pre-labour Caesarean section, induction of labour, breech presentation or preterm delivery were excluded. In all trimesters of pregnancy the thyroid function was assessed. Differences in mean TSH and FT4 were assessed using t-test. Mean TSH and FT4 levels for operative deliveries were determined by one way ANOVA. Repeated measurement analyses were performed (ANOVA), adjusting for BMI, partiy, maternal age and gestational age at delivery. Results:Â In total 872 women were included, of which 699 (80.2 %) had a spontaneous delivery. At 36 weeks gestation women who had an operative delivery had a significantly higher mean TSH (1.63mIU/L versus 1.46mIU/L, pâ=â0.025) and lower mean FT4 (12.9pmol/L versus 13.3pmol/L, pâ=â0.007)) compared to women who had a spontaneous delivery. Mean TSH was significantly higher (pâ=â0.026) and mean FT4 significantly lower (pâ=â0.030) throughout pregnancy for women with an operative delivery due to failure to progress in second stage of labour, compared to women with a spontaneous delivery or operative delivery for other reasons. Conclusion:Â Increased TSH and decreased FT4 seem to be associated with more operative vaginal deliveries and Caesarean sections. After adjusting for several confounders the association remained for operative deliveries due to failure to progress in second stage of labour, possibly to be explained by less efficient uterine action
Suppression of inhomogeneous broadening in rf spectroscopy of optically trapped atoms
We present a novel method for reducing the inhomogeneous frequency broadening
in the hyperfine splitting of the ground state of optically trapped atoms. This
reduction is achieved by the addition of a weak light field, spatially
mode-matched with the trapping field and whose frequency is tuned in-between
the two hyperfine levels. We experimentally demonstrate the new scheme with Rb
85 atoms, and report a 50-fold narrowing of the rf spectrum
Public support for migration policy
De hoge instroom van asielzoekers in 2015 heeft het migratievraagstuk op de maatschappelijke agenda geplaatst. Er zijn soms sterke meningsverschillen tussen voor- en tegenstanders. Dit onderzoek focust op het draagvlak onder de Nederlandse bevolking voor verschillende aspecten van het Nederlandse migratiebeleid. De onderzoeksvraag is: Welke factoren beĂŻnvloeden de mate van maatschappelijk draagvlak voor de verschillende aspecten van het migratiebeleid in Nederland, en in hoeverre kunnen die factoren worden ingezet om maatschappelijk draagvlak voor die aspecten te behouden dan wel versterken? Het onderzoek bestaat uit drie delen. Het eerste deel betreft een literatuurstudie waarin is nagegaan welke processen het draagvlak voor migratiebeleid bepalen. Het tweede deel betreft een enquĂȘte naar draagvlak onder een grote steekproef Nederlanders. Het derde deel bestaat uit telefonische interviews onder 80 deelnemers aan de enquĂȘte , waarbij het doel was om beter inzicht te krijgen in de redenen waarom men zo over deze beleidsmaatregelen en hun uitvoering denkt
Multiple micro-optical atom traps with a spherically aberrated laser beam
We report on the loading of atoms contained in a magneto-optic trap into
multiple optical traps formed within the focused beam of a CO_{2} laser. We
show that under certain circumstances it is possible to create a linear array
of dipole traps with well separated maxima. This is achieved by focusing the
laser beam through lenses uncorrected for spherical aberration. We demonstrate
that the separation between the micro-traps can be varied, a property which may
be useful in experiments which require the creation of entanglement between
atoms in different micro-traps. We suggest other experiments where an array of
these traps could be useful.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figure
Magneto-optical trapping of bosonic and fermionic neon isotopes and their mixtures: isotope shift of the ^3P_2 to ^3D_3 transition and hyperfine constants of the ^3D_3 state of Ne-21
We have magneto-optically trapped all three stable neon isotopes, including
the rare Ne-21, and all two-isotope combinations. The atoms are prepared in the
metastable ^3P_2 state and manipulated via laser interaction on the ^3P_2 to
^3D_3} transition at 640.2nm. These cold (T = 1mK) and environmentally
decoupled atom samples present ideal objects for precision measurements and the
investigation of interactions between cold and ultracold metastable atoms. In
this work, we present accurate measurements of the isotope shift of the ^3P_2
to ^3D_3 transition and the hyperfine interaction constants of the ^3D_3 state
of Ne-21. The determined isotope shifts are (1625.9\pm0.15)MHz for Ne-20 to
Ne-22, (855.7\pm1.0)MHz for Ne-20 to Ne-21, and (770.3\pm1.0)MHz for Ne-21 to
Ne-22. The obtained magnetic dipole and electric quadrupole hyperfine
interaction constants are A(^3D_3)= (-142.4\pm0.2)MHz and
B(^3D_3)=(-107.7\pm1.1)MHz, respectively. All measurements give a reduction of
uncertainty by about one order of magnitude over previous measurements
Spatial Light Modulators for the Manipulation of Individual Atoms
We propose a novel dipole trapping scheme using spatial light modulators
(SLM) for the manipulation of individual atoms. The scheme uses a high
numerical aperture microscope to map the intensity distribution of a SLM onto a
cloud of cold atoms. The regions of high intensity act as optical dipole force
traps. With a SLM fast enough to modify the trapping potential in real time,
this technique is well suited for the controlled addressing and manipulation of
arbitrarily selected atoms.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figure
Active optical clock based on four-level quantum system
Active optical clock, a new conception of atomic clock, has been proposed
recently. In this report, we propose a scheme of active optical clock based on
four-level quantum system. The final accuracy and stability of two-level
quantum system are limited by second-order Doppler shift of thermal atomic
beam. To three-level quantum system, they are mainly limited by light shift of
pumping laser field. These limitations can be avoided effectively by applying
the scheme proposed here. Rubidium atom four-level quantum system, as a typical
example, is discussed in this paper. The population inversion between
and states can be built up at a time scale of s.
With the mechanism of active optical clock, in which the cavity mode linewidth
is much wider than that of the laser gain profile, it can output a laser with
quantum-limited linewidth narrower than 1 Hz in theory. An experimental
configuration is designed to realize this active optical clock.Comment: 5 page
Cavity QED and quantum information processing with "hot" trapped atoms
We propose a method to implement cavity QED and quantum information
processing in high-Q cavities with a single trapped but non-localized atom. The
system is beyond the Lamb-Dick limit due to the atomic thermal motion. Our
method is based on adiabatic passages, which make the relevant dynamics
insensitive to the randomness of the atom position with an appropriate
interaction configuration. The validity of this method is demonstrated from
both approximate analytical calculations and exact numerical simulations. We
also discuss various applications of this method based on the current
experimental technology.Comment: 14 pages, 8 figures, Revte
- âŠ