4,137 research outputs found
Circular Dichroism of RbHe and RbN Molecules
We present measurements of the circular dichroism of optically pumped Rb
vapor near the D1 resonance line. Collisions with the buffer gases He and
N reduce the transparency of the vapor, even when fully polarized. We use
two methods to measure this effect, show that the He results can be understood
from RbHe potential curves, and show how this effect conspires with the
spectral profile of the optical pumping light to increase the laser power
demands for optical pumping of very optically thick samples
Breakdown of Angular Momentum Selection Rules in High Pressure Optical Pumping Experiments
We present measurements, using two complementary methods, of the breakdown of
atomic angular momentum selection rules in He-broadened Rb vapor. Atomic dark
states are rendered weakly absorbing due to fine-structure mixing during Rb-He
collisions. The effect substantially increases the photon demand for optical
pumping of dense vapors
Optical Magnetometer Array for Fetal Magnetocardiography
We describe an array of spin-exchange relaxation free optical magnetometers
designed for detection of fetal magnetocardiography (fMCG) signals. The
individual magnetometers are configured with a small volume with intense
optical pumping, surrounded by a large pump-free region. Spin-polarized atoms
that diffuse out of the optical pumping region precess in the ambient magnetic
field and are detected by a probe laser. Four such magnetometers, at the
corners of a 7 cm square, are configured for gradiometry by feeding back the
output of one magnetometer to a field coil to null uniform magnetic field noise
at frequencies up to 200 Hz. Using this array, we present the first
measurements of fMCG signals using an atomic magnetometer
Magnetocardiography with a modular spin-exchange relaxation free atomic magnetometer array
We present a portable four-channel atomic magnetometer array operating in the
spin exchange relaxation-free regime. The magnetometer array has several design
features intended to maximize its suitability for biomagnetic measurement,
specifically foetal magnetocardiography, such as a compact modular design, and
fibre coupled lasers. The modular design allows the independent positioning and
orientation of each magnetometer, in principle allowing for non-planar array
geometries. Using this array in a magnetically shielded room, we acquire adult
magnetocadiograms. These measurements were taken with a 6-11 fT Hz^(-1/2)
single-channel baseline sensitivity that is consistent with the independently
measured noise level of the magnetically shielded room.Comment: 15 pages, 5 figure
An efficient record linkage scheme using graphical analysis for identifier error detection
Integration of information on individuals (record linkage) is a key problem in healthcare delivery, epidemiology, and "business intelligence" applications. It is now common to be required to link very large numbers of records, often containing various combinations of theoretically unique identifiers, such as NHS numbers, which are both incomplete and error-prone
Healthcare-associated outbreak of meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia: role of a cryptic variant of an epidemic clone
BACKGROUND
New strains of meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) may be associated with changes in rates of disease or clinical presentation. Conventional typing techniques may not detect new clonal variants that underlie changes in epidemiology or clinical phenotype.
AIM
To investigate the role of clonal variants of MRSA in an outbreak of MRSA bacteraemia at a hospital in England.
METHODS
Bacteraemia isolates of the major UK lineages (EMRSA-15 and -16) from before and after the outbreak were analysed by whole-genome sequencing in the context of epidemiological and clinical data. For comparison, EMRSA-15 and -16 isolates from another hospital in England were sequenced. A clonal variant of EMRSA-16 was identified at the outbreak hospital and a molecular signature test designed to distinguish variant isolates among further EMRSA-16 strains.
FINDINGS
By whole-genome sequencing, EMRSA-16 isolates during the outbreak showed strikingly low genetic diversity (P < 1 × 10(-6), Monte Carlo test), compared with EMRSA-15 and EMRSA-16 isolates from before the outbreak or the comparator hospital, demonstrating the emergence of a clonal variant. The variant was indistinguishable from the ancestral strain by conventional typing. This clonal variant accounted for 64/72 (89%) of EMRSA-16 bacteraemia isolates at the outbreak hospital from 2006.
CONCLUSIONS
Evolutionary changes in epidemic MRSA strains not detected by conventional typing may be associated with changes in disease epidemiology. Rapid and affordable technologies for whole-genome sequencing are becoming available with the potential to identify and track the emergence of variants of highly clonal organisms
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