871 research outputs found
Aspects of Cooling at the TRIP Facility
The TriP facility at KVI is dedicated to provide short lived radioactive
isotopes at low kinetic energies to users. It comprised different cooling
schemes for a variety of energy ranges, from GeV down to the neV scale. The
isotopes are produced using beam of the AGOR cyclotron at KVI. They are
separated from the primary beam by a magnetic separator. A crucial part of such
a facility is the ability to stop and extract isotopes into a low energy
beamline which guides them to the experiment. In particular we are
investigating stopping in matter and buffer gases. After the extraction the
isotopes can be stored in neutral atoms or ion traps for experiments. Our
research includes precision studies of nuclear -decay through
- momentum correlations as well as searches for permanent electric
dipole moments in heavy atomic systems like radium. Such experiments offer a
large potential for discovering new physics.Comment: COOL05 Workshop, Galena, Il, USA, 18-23. Sept. 2005, 5 pages, 3
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Limited effect of patient and disease characteristics on compliance with hospital antimicrobial guidelines
Objective: Physicians frequently deviate from guidelines that promote prudent use of antimicrobials. We explored to what extent patient and disease characteristics were associated with compliance with guideline recommendations for three common infections. Methods: In a 1-year prospective observational study, 1,125 antimicrobial prescriptions were analysed for compliance with university hospital guidelines. Results: Compliance varied significantly between and within the groups of infections studied. Compliance was much higher for lower respiratory tract infections (LRTIs; 79%) than for sepsis (53%) and urinary tract infections (UTIs; 40%). Only predisposing illnesses and active malignancies were associated with more compliant prescribing, whereas alcohol/ intravenous drug abuse and serum creatinine levels > 130 mu mol/l were associated with less compliant prescribing. Availability of culture results had no impact on compliance with guidelines for sepsis but was associated with more compliance in UTIs and less in LRTIs. Narrowing initial broad-spectrum antimicrobial therapy to cultured pathogens was seldom practised. Most noncompliant prescribing concerned a too broad spectrum of activity when compared with guideline-recommended therapy. Conclusion: Patient characteristics had only a limited impact on compliant prescribing for a variety of reasons. Physicians seemed to practise defensive prescribing behaviour, favouring treatment success in current patients over loss of effectiveness due to resistance in future patients
Development of a thermal ionizer as ion catcher
An effective ion catcher is an important part of a radioactive beam facility
that is based on in-flight production. The catcher stops fast radioactive
products and emits them as singly charged slow ions. Current ion catchers are
based on stopping in He and H gas. However, with increasing intensity of
the secondary beam the amount of ion-electron pairs created eventually prevents
the electromagnetic extraction of the radioactive ions from the gas cell. In
contrast, such limitations are not present in thermal ionizers used with the
ISOL production technique. Therefore, at least for alkaline and alkaline earth
elements, a thermal ionizer should then be preferred. An important use of the
TRIP facility will be for precision measurements using atom traps. Atom
trapping is particularly possible for alkaline and alkaline earth isotopes. The
facility can produce up to 10 s of various Na isotopes with the
in-flight method. Therefore, we have built and tested a thermal ionizer. An
overview of the operation, design, construction, and commissioning of the
thermal ionizer for TRIP will be presented along with first results for
Na and Na.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures, XVth International Conference on Electromagnetic
Isotope Separators and Techniques Related to their Applications (EMIS 2007
Expectant management versus IUI in unexplained subfertility and a poor pregnancy prognosis (EXIUI study) : a randomized controlled trial
Funding The study received a grant from The Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and Development (ZonMw; www.zonmw.nl). ZonMw has no role in the design of the study, collection, analysis and interpretation of data or writing of the manuscript.Peer reviewedPublisher PD
Dislocation loops in overheated free-standing smectic films
Static and dynamic phenomena in overheated free-standing smectic-A films are
studied using a generalization of de Gennes' theory for a confined presmectic
liquid. A static application is to determine the profile of the film meniscus
and the meniscus contact angle, the results being compared with those of a
recent study employing de Gennes' original theory. The dynamical generalization
of the theory is based on on a time-dependent Ginzburg-Landau approach. This is
used to compare two modes for layer-thinning transitions in overheated films,
namely "uniform thinning" vs. nucleation of dislocation loops. Properties such
as the line tension and velocity of a moving dislocation line are evaluated
self-consistently by the theory.Comment: 16 pages, 8 figure
The relationship of objectively measured physical activity and sedentary behaviour with gestational weight gain and birth weight
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the relationship of physical activity (PA) and sedentary behaviour with gestational weight gain (GWG) and birth weight. DESIGN: Combined data from two prospective studies: (1) nulliparous pregnant women without BMI restrictions and (2) overweight and obese pregnant women at risk for gestational diabetes. METHODS: Daily PA and sedentary behaviour were measured with an accelerometer around 15 and at 32-35 weeks of gestation. The association between time spent in moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) and in sedentary activities with GWG and birth weight was determined. Main outcome measures were GWG between 15 and 32 weeks of gestation, average GWG per week, and birth weight. RESULTS: We studied 111 women. Early in pregnancy, 32% of women spent ≥ 30 minutes/day in at least moderate PA versus 12% in late pregnancy. No significant associations were found between time spent in MVPA or sedentary behaviour with GWG or birth weight. CONCLUSIONS: We found no relation between MVPA and sedentary behaviour with GWG or birth weight. The small percentage of women meeting the recommended levels of PA indicates the need to inform and support pregnant women to maintain regular PA, as there seems to be no adverse effect on birth weight and maintaining PA increases overall health.Anneloes E. Ruifrok, Ellen Althuizen, Nicolette Oostdam, Willem van Mechelen, Ben Willem Mol, Christianne J. M. de Groot and Mireille N. M. van Poppe
Uterine bathing with sonography gel prior to IVF/ICSI-treatment in patients with endometriosis, a multicentre randomised controlled trial
STUDY QUESTION
What is the effect of uterine bathing with sonography gel prior to IVF/ICSI-treatment on live birth rates after fresh embryo transfer in patients with endometriosis?
SUMMARY ANSWER
After formal interim analysis and premature ending of the trial, no significant difference between uterine bathing using a pharmacologically neutral sonography gel compared to a sham procedure on live birth rate after fresh embryo transfer in endometriosis patients (26.7% vs. 15.4%, relative risk (RR) 1.73, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.81–3.72; P-value 0.147) could be found, although the trial was underpowered to draw definite conclusions.
WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY
Impaired implantation receptivity contributes to reduced clinical pregnancy rates after IVF/ICSI-treatment in endometriosis patients. Previous studies have suggested a favourable effect of tubal flushing with Lipiodol® on natural conceptions. This benefit might also be explained by enhancing implantation through endometrial immunomodulation. Although recent studies showed no beneficial effect of endometrial scratching, the effect of mechanical stress by intrauterine infusion on the endometrium in endometriosis patients undergoing IVF/ICSI-treatment has not been investigated yet.
STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION
We performed a multicentre, patient-blinded, randomised controlled trial in which women were randomly allocated to either a Gel Infusion Sonography (GIS, intervention group) or a sham procedure (control group) prior to IVF/ICSI-treatment. Since recruitment was slow and completion of the study was considered unfeasible, the study was halted after inclusion of 112 of the planned 184 women.
PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS
We included infertile women with surgically confirmed endometriosis ASRM stage I–IV undergoing IVF/ICSI-treatment. After informed consent, women were randomised to GIS with intrauterine instillation of ExEm-gel® or sonography with gel into the vagina (sham). This was performed in the cycle preceding the embryo transfer, on the day GnRH analogue treatment was started. The primary endpoint was live birth rate after fresh embryo transfer. Analysis was performed by both intention-to-treat and per-protocol.
MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE
Between July 2014 to September 2018, we randomly allocated 112 women to GIS (n = 60) or sham procedure (n = 52). The live birth rate after fresh embryo transfer was 16/60 (26.7%) after GIS versus 8/52 (15.4%) after the sham (RR 1.73, 95% CI 0.81–3.72; P-value 0.147). Ongoing pregnancy rate was 16/60 (26.7%) after GIS versus 9/52 (17.3%) in the controls (RR 1.54, 95% CI 0.74–3.18). Miscarriage occurred in 1/60 (1.7%) after GIS versus 5/52 (9.6%) in the controls (RR 0.17, 95% CI 0.02–1.44) women. Uterine bathing resulted in a higher pain score compared with a sham procedure (visual analogue scale score 2.7 [1.3–3.5] vs. 1.0 [0.0–2.0], P < 0.001). There were two adverse events after GIS compared with none after sham procedures.
LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION
The study was terminated prematurely due to slow recruitment and trial fatigue. Therefore, the trial is underpowered to draw definite conclusions regarding the effect of uterine bathing with sonography gel on live birth rate after fresh embryo transfer in endometriosis patients undergoing IVF/ICSI-treatment.
WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS
We could not demonstrate a favourable effect of uterine bathing procedures with sonography gel prior to IVF/ICSI-treatment in patients with endometriosis.
STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTEREST(S)
Investigator initiated study. IQ Medical Ventures provided the ExEm FOAM® kits free of charge, they were not involved in the study design, data management, statistical analyses and/or manuscript preparation, etc. C.B.L. reports receiving grants from Ferring, Merck and Guerbet, outside the submitted work. C.B.L. is Editor-in-Chief of Human Reproduction. V.M. reports grants and other from Guerbet, outside the submitted work. B.W.M. reports grants from NHMRC (GNT1176437), personal fees from ObsEva, Merck and Merck KGaA, Guerbet and iGenomix, outside the submitted work. N.P.J. reports research funding from Abb-Vie and Myovant Sciences and consultancy for Vifor Pharma, Guerbet, Myovant Sciences and Roche Diagnostics, outside the submitted work. K.D. reports personal fees from Guerbet, outside the submitted work. The other authors do not report any conflicts of interest. No financial support was provided.
TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER
NL4025 (NTR4198)
TRIAL REGISTRATION DATE
7 October 2013
DATE OF FIRST PATIENT’S ENROLMENT
22 July 201
Change in cervical length after arrested preterm labor and the risk of preterm birth
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS B.W.J.M. is supported by a NHMRC Investigator grant (GNT1176437). B.W.J.M. reports consultancy for Guerbet, has been a member of the ObsEva advisory board and holds stock options for ObsEva. B.W.J.M. has received research funding from Guerbet and Merck.Peer reviewedPublisher PD
NEOTROPICAL CARNIVORES: a data set on carnivore distribution in the Neotropics
Incluye contenido parcial de los autoresAbstract.Mammalian carnivores are considered a key group in maintaining ecologicalhealth and can indicate potential ecological integrity in landscapes where they occur. Carni-vores also hold high conservation value and their habitat requirements can guide managementand conservation plans. The order Carnivora has 84 species from 8 families in the Neotropicalregion: Canidae; Felidae; Mephitidae; Mustelidae; Otariidae; Phocidae; Procyonidae; andUrsidae. Herein, we include published and unpublished data on native terrestrial Neotropicalcarnivores (Canidae; Felidae; Mephitidae; Mustelidae; Procyonidae; and Ursidae). NEOTRO-PICAL CARNIVORES is a publicly available data set that includes 99,605 data entries from35,511 unique georeferenced coordinates. Detection/non-detection and quantitative data wereobtained from 1818 to 2018 by researchers, governmental agencies, non-governmental organi-zations, and private consultants. Data were collected using several methods including cameratrapping, museum collections, roadkill, line transect, and opportunistic records. Literature(peer-reviewed and grey literature) from Portuguese, Spanish and English were incorporated inthis compilation. Most of the data set consists of detection data entries (n=79,343; 79.7%) butalso includes non-detection data (n=20,262; 20.3%). Of those, 43.3% also include count data(n=43,151). The information available in NEOTROPICAL CARNIVORES will contribute tomacroecological, ecological, and conservation questions in multiple spatio-temporal perspec-tives. As carnivores play key roles in trophic interactions, a better understanding of their distri-bution and habitat requirements are essential to establish conservation management plans andsafeguard the future ecological health of Neotropical ecosystems. Our data paper, combinedwith other large-scale data sets, has great potential to clarify species distribution and relatedecological processes within the Neotropics. There are no copyright restrictions and no restric-tion for using data from this data paper, as long as the data paper is cited as the source of theinformation used. We also request that users inform us of how they intend to use the data
Temperature and surgical wound heat loss during orthopedic surgery: computer simulations and measurements
No Abstrac
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