Dynamics of rotating nanoparticles mediated by the Casimir torque

The vacuum and thermal fluctuations of the electromagnetic field give rise to important phenomena, such as Casimir forces and torques, which can dominate the dynamics of nanoscale particles. Although these interactions have hindered the design of early nanomechanical devices by causing their moving parts to stall due to friction and stiction, they also present a unique opportunity to achieve efficient momentum and energy transfer at the nanoscale, when properly controlled. In that context, we study how the Casimir torque can mediate the transfer of angular momentum in chains of rotating nanoparticles. To that end, we derive an analytic expression describing the Casimir torque experienced by each particle in the chain, which we use to calculate the rotational dynamics of the chain and, thereby, analyze the angular momentum transfer. We show that these dynamics are fully determined by a set of natural modes and corresponding decay rates. With this paradigm, we investigate examples of exotic and driven dynamics. These results show that the Casimir torque can play a dominant role in angular momentum transfer at the nanoscale and, therefore, holds important possibilities for the design of nanomechanical devices

Analysis of the Radiative Heat Transfer in Chains of Nanoparticles

The transfer of heat through radiation plays a crucial role in the thermalization of nanoscale objects thanks to the involvement of evanescent waves. As nanotechnology becomes a prominent area of research and development, the understanding of this phenomenon is becoming more and more crucial. In this work, we investigate the thermalization of linear chains of SiC nanospheres. To that end, we develop an analytical method that allows us to calculate the radiative heat exchange between the particles through the analysis of the normal modes of the system and their corresponding decay rates. Using this approach we analyze the time evolution of the temperature distribution of different structure

Gas Emmision Testing of Fuel Based Vehicles at Banda Aceh, Indonesia

A gas emmision decent testing of vehicles based on fuel has been done by EIA (Environmental Impact and Analysis). It is important to do the testing to determine the vehicles meet the technical requirements and road-worthy. The results showed that for 1.572 vehicles which is performing emissions testing have obtained 11% that could be potentially pollute the air on vehicles that using gasoline, and 42% on vehicles that using diesel. Based on the total number of four-wheeled vehicles that performed emissions testing in the city of Banda Aceh showed that 82% environmentally friendly vehicles and 18% potentially pollute the air

Pennsylvania Folklife Vol. 34, No. 4

• Coverlets • Sign Painting • Reverse Painting on Glass • Kites • Snake Lore • Horncraft • Weathervanes and Country Signs • Festival Focus • Sheep Shearing & Natural Knits • Bread Baking Among the Pennsylvania Dutch • The Craft of Rushing • Toy Soldier Casting • Pennsylvania Dutch Humor • Fireside Brooms and Whirligigs • Springerlehttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/pafolklifemag/1108/thumbnail.jp

External electrical and pharmacological cardioversion for atrial fibrillation, atrial flutter or atrial tachycardias:a network meta-analysis

BackgroundAtrial fibrillation (AF) is the most frequent sustained arrhythmia. Cardioversion is a rhythm control strategy torestore normal/sinus rhythm, and can be achieved through drugs (pharmacological) or a synchronized electricshock (electrical cardioversion).ObjectivesTo assess the efficacy and safety of pharmacological and electrical cardioversion for AF.Search methodsWe searched CENTRAL, MEDLINE, Embase, Conference Proceedings Citation Index-Science (CPCI-S) andthree trials registers (ClinicalTrials.gov, WHO ICTRP and ISRCTN) on 14 February 2023.Selection criteriaWe included randomised controlled trials (RCTs) at individual patient level. Patient populations were aged ≥18years with AF of any type and duration, atrial flutter or other sustained related atrial arrhythmias, not occurring asa result of reversible causes.Data collection and analysisWe used standard Cochrane methodology to collect data and performed a network meta-analysis using thestandard frequentist graph-theoretical approach using the netmeta package in R. We used GRADE to assess thequality of the evidence which we presented in in our summary of findings with a judgement on certainty. Wecalculated differences using risk ratios (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) as well as ranking treatmentsusing a P-score. We assessed clinical and statistical heterogeneity and split the networks for the primaryoutcome and acute procedural success due to concerns about violating the transitivity assumption.Main resultsWe included 112 RCTs (139 records), from which we pooled data from 15,968 patients. Average age was 47 to72 years and proportion of male patients was 38%-92%.79 trials were considered high risk of bias for at least one domain, 32 had no high risk of bias domains, but hadat least one domain classified as uncertain risk, and one study was considered low risk for all domains.For paroxysmal AF (35 trials), when compared to Placebo, AA/AP BTE incremental cardioversion (RR: 2.42;95%CI 1.65 to 3.56), quinidine (RR: 2.23; 95%CI 1.49 to 3.34), ibutilide (RR: 2.00; 95%CI 1.28 to 3.12),propafenone (RR: 1.98; 95%CI 1.67 to 2.34), amiodarone (RR: 1.69; 95%CI 1.42 to 2.02), sotalol (RR: 1.58;95%CI 1.08 to 2.31) and procainamide (RR: 1.49; 95%CI 1.13 to 1.97) likely result in a large increase inmaintenance of sinus rhythm until hospital discharge or end of study follow-up (certainty of evidence: moderate).The effect size was larger for AA/AP incremental and was progressively smaller for the subsequent interventions.Despite low certainty of evidence Antazoline may result in a large increase (RR: 28.60; 95%CI 1.77 to 461.30) inthis outcome. Similarly, low certainty evidence suggests a large increase on this outcome for flecainide (RR: 2.17;95%CI 1.68 to 2.79), vernakalant (RR: 2.13; 95%CI 1.52 to 2.99), and magnesium (RR: 1.73; 95%CI 0.79 to 3.79)on this outcome.For persistent AF (26 trials), one network was created for electrical cardioversion and showed that whencompared to AP BTE incremental energy with patches, AP BTE maximum energy with patches (RR 1.35, 95%CI1.17 to 1.55) likely results in large increase and Active compression AP BTE incremental energy with patches(RR: 1.14, 95%CI 1.00 to 1.131) likely results in an increase in maintenance of sinus rhythm at hospital dischargeor end of study follow-up (certainty of evidence: high). Use of AP BTE incremental with paddles (RR: 1.03, 95%CI0.98 to 1.09; certainty of evidence: low) may lead to a little increase, and AP MDS Incremental paddles (RR: 0.95,95%CI 0.86 to 1.05; certainty of evidence: low) may lead to a little decrease in efficacy. On the other hand, APMDS incremental energy using patches (RR: 0.78, 95%CI 0.70 to 0.87), AA RBW incremental energy withpatches (RR: 0.76, 95%CI 0.66 to 0.88), AP RBW incremental energy with patches (RR: 0.76, 95%CI 0.68 to0.86), AA MDS incremental energy with patches (RR: 0.76, 95%CI 0.67 to 0.86) and AA MDS incremental energywith paddles (RR: 0.68, 95%CI 0.53 to 0.83) probably result in a decrease on this outcome when compared to APBTE incremental energy with patches (certainty of evidence: moderate). The network for pharmacologicalcardioversion showed that Bepridil (RR: 2.29, 95%CI 1.26 to 4.17) and Quindine (RR: 1.53, (95%CI 1.01 to 2.32)probably result in large increase in maintenance of sinus rhythm at hospital discharge or end of study follow-upwhen compared to amiodarone (certainty of evidence: moderate). Dofetilide (RR: 0.79, 95%CI 0.56 to 1.44),Sotalol (RR: 0.89, 95%CI 0.67 to 1.18), Propafenone (RR: 0.79, 95%CI 0.50 to 1.25) and Pilsicainide (RR: 0.39,95%CI 0.02 to 7.01) may result in a reduction of this outcome when compared to amiodarone, but certainty ofevidence is lowFor atrial flutter (14 trials) a network could be created only for antiarrhythmic drugs. Using Placebo as thecommon comparator, ibutilide (RR: 21.45, 95%CI 4.41 to 104.37), propafenone (RR: 7.15, 95%CI 1.27 to 40.10),dofetilide (RR: 6.43, 95%CI 1.38 to 29.91), and sotalol (RR: 6.39, 95%CI 1.03 to 39.78) probably result in a largeincrease in maintenance of sinus rhythm at hospital discharge or end of study follow-up (certainty of evidence:moderate), and procainamide (RR: 4.29, 95%CI 0.63 to 29.03), flecainide (RR 3.57, 95%CI 0.24 to 52.30) andvernakalant (RR: 1.18, 95%CI 0.05 to 27.37) may result in a large increase of maintenance of sinus rhythm athospital discharge or end of study follow-up at (certainty of evidence: low) All tested electrical cardioversionstrategies for atrial flutter had very high efficacy (97.9% to 100%).Mortality (14 deaths) and Stroke or systemic embolism (3 events) at 30 days was extremely low.Data on quality of life were scarce and of uncertain clinical significance. No information was available regardingheart failure readmissions. Data on duration of hospitalization was scarce, low quality, & could not be pooled.Authors' conclusionsDespite the low quality of evidence, this systematic review provides important information on electrical andpharmacological strategies to help patients and physicians deal with AF and atrial flutter.Assessing the patient comorbidity profile, antiarrhythmic drug onset of action & side effect profile vs. need for aphysician with experience in sedation, or anaesthetics support, for electrical cardioversion are key aspects whenchoosing the cardioversion method

Sex Hormone Status in Women With Chronic Kidney Disease: Survey of Nephrologists’ and Renal Allied Health Care Providers’ Perceptions

Background: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) in reproductive-age women is accompanied by menstrual and fertility disorders and premature menopause. Objective: We sought to determine nephrologists’ and allied health care providers’ perceptions on management of sex hormone status in women with CKD. Methods: An anonymous, Internet-based survey was sent to nephrology society members from Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom, and the Canadian Association of Nephrology Nurses and Technologists (February-November 2015). We assessed reported perceptions and management of sex hormone status in women with CKD. Results: One hundred seventy-five nephrologists (21% response rate) and 121 allied health care providers (30%; 116 nurses, 5 pharmacists) responded. Sixty-eight percent of nephrologists and 46% of allied providers were between the ages of 30 and 50 years, and 38% of nephrologists and 89% of allied workers were female. Ninety-five percent of nephrologists agreed that kidney function impacts sex hormone status, although only a minority of nephrologists reported often discussing fertility (35%, female vs male nephrologists, P = .06) and menstrual irregularities with their patients (15%, female vs male nephrologists,P = .02). Transplant nephrologists reported discussing fertility more often than did nontransplant nephrologists (53% vs 30%, P = .03). Physicians were more likely to report discussing fertility (33% vs 7.5%, P < .001) and menstrual irregularities (15% vs 9%, P = .04) with patients than allied health care providers. Forty-three percent of physicians reported uncertainty about the role for postmenopausal hormone therapy in women with CKD. Conclusion: Nephrologists and allied health care providers recognize an impact of CKD on sex hormones in women but report not frequently discussing sex hormone–related issues with patients. Our international survey highlights an important knowledge gap in nephrology

Automated Referral to Cardiac Rehabilitation following Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting is associated with limited improvements in program completion: a large cohort study

Introduction Cardiac Rehabilitation (CR) reduces residual cardiovascular risk among patients who have received coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) surgery. However, many patients do not attend and some are never referred. It is unclear whether automated referral is associated with improved CR completion rates. Objectives and Approach Geographically inclusive databases were linked to assess the impact of automated referral on rates of referral to and completion of CR post-CABG. Automated referral to CR post-CABG was instituted in Calgary on July 1, 2007. All subjects receiving CABG in Calgary between January 1, 1996 and March 31, 2016 were enrolled in the study. The Alberta Provincial Project for Outcome Assessment in Coronary Heart disease (APPROACH) database, TotalCardiology-Rehabilitation (TC-R) database, and provincial vital statistics were linked using the unique Provincial Health Number available for each patient. The association between CR referral, completion, and survival was assessed using proportional hazard models. Results There were 28,100 patients referred to the CR program, of which 26,411 were linked to the APPROACH database for a 93.99\% linkage rate. After excluding patients who did not receive CABG, a total of 8,118 patients were identified as the study population [mean age 66.2 (SD 10.2) years, 18.9\% female] during the study period: 5,103 prior to implementation of automated referral, and 3,015 post-automation. Rates of referral increased from 39.5\% prior to automation to 75.0\% post-automation (p Conclusion/Implications Automated referral to CR is associated with increased referral rates but less dramatic increases in CR completion rates post-CABG. Given the significant improvement in survival associated with CR completion, further work is needed to improve CR referral, and more importantly, CR completion rates

Dose-limiting, adverse event-associated bradycardia with β-blocker treatment of atrial fibrillation in the GENETIC-AF trial

Background: Heart failure (HF) patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) often have conduction system disorders, which may be worsened by β-blocker therapy.Objective: In a post hoc analysis we examined the prevalence of bradycardia and its association with adverse events (AEs) and failure to achieve target dose in the GENETIC-AF trial.Methods: Patients randomized to metoprolol (n = 125) or bucindolol (n = 131) entering 24-week efficacy follow-up and receiving study medication were evaluated. Bradycardia was defined as an electrocardiogram (ECG) heart rate (HR) &lt;60 beats per minute (bpm) and severe bradycardia &lt;50 bpm.Results: Mean HR in sinus rhythm (SR) was 62.6 ± 12.5 bpm for metoprolol and 68.3 ± 11.1 bpm for bucindolol (P &lt; .0001), but in AF HRs were not different (87.5 bpm vs 89.7 bpm, respectively). Episodes per patient for bucindolol vs metoprolol were 0.82 vs 2.08 (P &lt; .001) for bradycardia and 0.24 vs 0.57 for severe bradycardia (P &lt; .001), with 98.9% of the episodes occurring in SR. Patients experiencing bradycardia had a 4.15-fold higher prevalence of study medication dose reduction (P &lt;.0001) compared to patients without bradycardia. Fewer patients receiving metoprolol were at target dose (61.7% vs 74.9% for bucindolol, P &lt; .0001) at ECG recordings, and bradycardia AEs were more prevalent in the metoprolol group (13 vs 1 for bucindolol, P = .001). On multivariate analysis of 21 candidate bradycardia predictors including presence of a device with pacing capability, bucindolol treatment was associated with the greatest degree of prevention (Zodds ratio -4.24, P &lt; .0001).Conclusion: In AF-prone HF patients bradycardia may limit the effectiveness of β blockers, and this property is agent-dependent.</p