582 research outputs found
Standardisation of Parameters during Endovenous Laser Therapy of Truncal Varicose Veins - Experimental Ex-vivo Study
BackgroundVein shrinkage is a surrogate marker for successful laser treatment of varicose veins. However, many controversies still remain concerning the best laser parameters to use. The aim of this study was standardisation of intraoperative energy dosages and pull-back rates to achieve optimal clinical results.DesignEx-vivo study in surgically removed saphenous trunks.Material and methodsGreat saphenous veins were removed by Babcock stripping and irradiated with laser energy delivered by a laser diode emitting at 980nm. In total, 279 vein segments (5cm long) were treated using powers from 5–15W. Vein segments were opened longitudinally and the circumference measured in the treated and untreated regions to assess thermal shrinkage.ResultsThe greatest shrinkage and minimum number of perforations was achieved using lower or medium power (8 to 12W) with longer exposure to administer laser energy. The median percentage vein shrinkage was 50% (power 5W), 45% (8W), 40% (10W), 45% (12W) and 59% (15W). When a higher power was used (15W), the perforations were more frequent and carbonisation was marked.ConclusionsOur data suggests that similar efficacy with fewer vein perforations may be obtained with low or medium power settings and increased exposure when undertaking laser obliteration of saphenous trunks. This may result in fewer adverse events such as ecchymosis following treatment in patients
The transition between hole-pairs and four-hole clusters in four-leg tJ ladders
Holes weakly doped into a four-leg \tj ladder bind in pairs. At dopings
exceeding a critical doping of four hole clusters are
observed to form in DMRG calculations. The symmetry of the ground state
wavefunction does not change and we are able to reproduce this behavior
qualitatively with an effective bosonic model in which the four-leg ladder is
represented as two coupled two-leg ladders and hole-pairs are mapped on hard
core bosons moving along and between these ladders. At lower dopings,
, a one dimensional bosonic representation for hole-pairs
works and allows us to calculate accurately the Luttinger liquid parameter
\krho, which takes the universal value \krho=1 as half-filling is
approached
Acute Stroke Treatment in an Anticoagulated Patient: When Is Thrombolysis an Option?
Purpose of Review: Direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs: the factor Xa inhibitors rivaroxaban, apixaban, and edoxaban and the direct thrombin inhibitor dabigatran) are the mainstay of stroke prevention in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation (AF). Nevertheless, there is a residual stroke risk of 1–2% per year despite DOAC therapy. Intravenous thrombolysis (IVT) reduces morbidity in patients with ischemic stroke and improves functional outcome. Prior DOAC therapy is a (relative) contraindication for IVT but emerging evidence supports its use in selected patients. // Recent Findings: Recent observational studies highlighted that IVT in patients on prior DOAC therapy seems feasible and did not yield major safety issues. Different selection criteria and approaches have been studied including selection by DOAC plasma levels, non-specific coagulation assays, time since last intake, and prior reversal agent use. The optimal selection process is however not clear and most studies comprised few patients. // Summary: IVT in patients taking DOAC is a clinically challenging scenario. Several approaches have been proposed without major safety issues but current evidence is weak. A patient-oriented approach balancing potential benefits of IVT (i.e., amount of salvageable penumbra) against expected bleeding risk including appropriate monitoring of anticoagulant activity seem justified
Charge density correlations in t-J ladders investigated by the CORE method
Using 4-site plaquette or rung basis decomposition, the CORE method is
applied to 2-leg and 4-leg t-J ladders and cylinders. Resulting range-2
effective hamiltonians are studied numerically on periodic rings taking full
advantage of the translation symmetry as well as the drastic reduction of the
Hilbert space. We investigate the role of magnetic and fermionic degrees of
freedom to obtain the most reliable representation of the underlying model.
Spin gaps, pair binding energies and charge correlations are computed and
compared to available ED and DMRG data for the full Hamiltonian. Strong
evidences for short-range diagonal stripe correlations are found in periodic
4-leg t-J ladders.Comment: Computation of Luttinger liquid parameters (charge velocity and
charge correlation exponent) adde
Source localisation on aircraft in flight - new measurements with the DLR research aircraft Airbus 320 ATRA
Fly-over measurements with a large microphone array were performed with the Airbus
A320-232 research aircraft ATRA of DLR. A large multi-arm spiral array was set up on
the end of the runway of the airport. The aircraft trajectory was estimated from the vertical
distance and time delays measured with an array of vertically mounted laser distance meters
and GNSS trajectories recorded on board of the aircraft. Source localisation maps were
obtained from a hybrid deconvolution method. The source powers in different regions of
the aircraft were calculated by integrating over the source regions. The total power in the
whole interrogation area matches the power in the far-field spectra, apart from contributions
from sources on the ground plane which are reduced by focusing the array on the aircraft.
Results from fly-overs in the same or in different configurations can be compared on the
basis of the integration results and the individual sources can be ranked according to their
contribution to the overall sound pressure
Superconductivity and antiferromagnetism in a hard-core boson spin-1 model in two dimensions
A model of hard-core bosons and spin-1 sites with single-ion anisotropy is
proposed to approximately describe hole pairs moving in a background of
singlets and triplets with the aim of exploring the relationship between
superconductivity and antiferromagnetism. The properties of this model at zero
temperature were investigated using quantum Monte Carlo techniques. The most
important feature found is the suppression of superconductivity, as long range
coherence of preformed pairs, due to the presence of both antiferromagnetism
and excitations. Indications of charge ordered and other phases are
also discussed.Comment: One figure, one reference, adde
A Bosonic Model of Hole Pairs
We numerically investigate a bosonic representation for hole pairs on a
two-leg t-J ladder where hard core bosons on a chain represent the hole pairs
on the ladder. The interaction between hole pairs is obtained by fitting the
density profile obtained with the effective model to the one obtained with the
\tj model, taking into account the inner structure of the hole pair given by
the hole-hole correlation function. For these interactions we calculate the
Luttinger liquid parameter, which takes the universal value as
half filling is approached, for values of the rung exchange between strong
coupling and the isotropic case. The long distance behavior of the hole-hole
correlation function is also investigated. Starting from large , the
correlation length first increases as expected, but diminishes significantly as
is reduced and bound holes sit mainly on adjacent rungs. As the isotropic
case is approached, the correlation length increases again. This effect is
related to the different kind of bonds in the region between the two holes of a
hole pair when they move apart.Comment: 11 page
Site specific and localized structural displacements in open structured multimetallic oxides
The structures of solids can locally differ from the macroscopic picture obtained by structural averaging techniques. This difference significantly influences the performance of any functional material. Measurements of these local structures are challenging. Thus, the description of defects is often disregarded. However, in order to understand the functionality, such irregularities have to be investigated. Here, we present a high resolution scanning transmission electron microscopic (STEM) study revealing local structural irregularities in open structured oxides using catalytically active orthorhombic (Mo,V,Te,Nb)Ox as a complex example. Detailed analysis of annular dark field- and annular bright field-STEM images reveal site specific local structural displacements of individual framework and channel sites in the picometer range. These experimental observables can be considered as an important structural addendum for theoretical modelling and should be implemented into the existing data in order to quantify site specific potential energies and stresses. This information can further be used to describe the impact of the structure on the catalytic performance in greater detail
Friedel Oscillations and Charge Density Waves in Chains and Ladders
The density matrix renormalization group method for ladders works much more
efficiently with open boundary conditions. One consequence of these boundary
conditions is groundstate charge density oscillations that often appear to be
nearly constant in magnitude or to decay only slightly away from the
boundaries. We analyse these using bosonization techniques, relating their
detailed form to the correlation exponent and distinguishing boundary induced
generalized Friedel oscillations from true charge density waves. We also
discuss a different approach to extracting the correlation exponent from the
finite size spectrum which uses exclusively open boundary conditions and can
therefore take advantage of data for much larger system sizes. A general
discussion of the Friedel oscillation wave-vectors is given, and a convenient
Fourier transform technique is used to determine it. DMRG results are analysed
on Hubbard and t-J chains and 2 leg t-J ladders. We present evidence for the
existence of a long-ranged charge density wave state in the t-J ladder at a
filling of n=0.75 and near J/t \approx 0.25.Comment: Revtex, 15 pages, 15 postscript figure
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