129 research outputs found
Structural and paramagnetic properties of dilute Ga1-xMnxN
Systematic investigations of the structural and magnetic properties of single
crystal (Ga,Mn)N films grown by metal organic vapor phase epitaxy are
presented. High resolution transmission electron microscopy, synchrotron x-ray
diffraction, and extended x-ray absorption fine structure studies do not reveal
any crystallographic phase separation and indicate that Mn occupies
Ga-substitutional sites in the Mn concentration range up to 1%. The magnetic
properties as a function of temperature, magnetic field and its orientation
with respect to the c-axis of the wurtzite structure can be quantitatively
described by the paramagnetic theory of an ensemble of non-interacting
Mn ions in the relevant crystal field, a conclusion consistent with the
x-ray absorption near edge structure analysis. A negligible contribution of Mn
in the 2+ charge state points to a low concentration of residual donors in the
studied films. Studies on modulation doped p-type (Ga,Mn)N/(Ga,Al)N:Mg
heterostructures do not reproduce the high temperature robust ferromagnetism
reported recently for this system.Comment: 15 pages, 14 figure
Mechanisms of arsenic clustering in silicon
A model of arsenic clustering in silicon is proposed and analyzed. The main
feature of the proposed model is the assumption that negatively charged arsenic
complexes play a dominant role in the clustering process. To confirm this
assumption, electron density and concentration of impurity atoms incorporated
into the clusters are calculated as functions of the total arsenic
concentration. A number of the negatively charged clusters incorporating a
point defect and one or more arsenic atoms are investigated. It is shown that
for the doubly negatively charged clusters or for clusters incorporating more
than one arsenic atom the electron density reaches a maximum value and then
monotonically and slowly decreases as total arsenic concentration increases. In
the case of doubly negatively charged cluster incorporating two arsenic atoms,
the calculated electron density agrees well with the experimental data.
Agreement with the experiment confirms the conclusion that two arsenic atoms
participate in the cluster formation. Among all present models, the proposed
model of clustering by formation of doubly negatively charged cluster
incorporating two arsenic atoms gives the best fit to the experimental data and
can be used in simulation of high concentration arsenic diffusion.Comment: 13 pages, 4 figures. Revised and shortened version of the paper has
been published in Phys. Rev. B, Vol.74 (3), art. no. 035205 (2006
Spectroscopic signature of phosphate crystallization in Erbium-doped optical fibre preforms
In rare-earth-doped silica optical fibres, the homogeneous distribution of
amplifying ions and part of their spectroscopic properties are usually improved
by adding selected elements, such as phosphorus or aluminum, as structural
modifier. In erbium ion (Er3+) doped fibres, phosphorus preferentially
coordinates to Er3+ ions to form regular cages around it. However, the
crystalline structures described in literature never gave particular
spectroscopic signature. In this article, we report emission and excitation
spectra of Er3+ in a transparent phosphorus-doped silica fibre preform. The
observed line features observed at room and low temperature are attributed to
ErPO4 crystallites
Experimental probing of exchange interactions between localized spins in the dilute magnetic insulator (Ga,Mn)N
The sign, magnitude, and range of the exchange couplings between pairs of Mn
ions is determined for (Ga,Mn)N and (Ga,Mn)N:Si with x < 3%. The samples have
been grown by metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy and characterized by
secondary-ion mass spectroscopy; high-resolution transmission electron
microscopy with capabilities allowing for chemical analysis, including the
annular dark-field mode and electron energy loss spectroscopy; high-resolution
and synchrotron x-ray diffraction; synchrotron extended x-ray absorption
fine-structure; synchrotron x-ray absorption near-edge structure; infra-red
optics and electron spin resonance. The results of high resolution magnetic
measurements and their quantitative interpretation have allowed to verify a
series of ab initio predictions on the possibility of ferromagnetism in dilute
magnetic insulators and to demonstrate that the interaction changes from
ferromagnetic to antiferromagnetic when the charge state of the Mn ions is
reduced from 3+ to 2+.Comment: 12 pages, 14 figures; This version contains the detailed
characterization of the crystal structure as well as of the Mn distribution
and charge stat
Tuning the energetics and tailoring the optical properties of silver clusters confined in zeolites
The integration of metal atoms and clusters in well-defined dielectric cavities is a powerful strategy to impart new properties to them that depend on the size and geometry of the confined space as well as on metal-host electrostatic interactions. Here, we unravel the dependence of the electronic properties of metal clusters on space confinement by studying the ionization potential of silver clusters embedded in four different zeolite environments over a range of silver concentrations. Extensive characterization reveals a strong influence of silver loading and host environment on the cluster ionization potential, which is also correlated to the cluster's optical and structural properties. Through fine-tuning of the zeolite host environment, we demonstrate photoluminescence quantum yields approaching unity. This work extends our understanding of structure property relationships of small metal clusters and applies this understanding to develop highly photoluminescent materials with potential applications in optoelectronics and bioimaging
Pediatric trauma and emergency surgery: an international cross-sectional survey among WSES members
Background: In contrast to adults, the situation for pediatric trauma care from an international point of view and the global management of severely injured children remain rather unclear. The current study investigates structural management of pediatric trauma in centers of different trauma levels as well as experiences with pediatric trauma management around the world.
Methods: A web-survey had been distributed to the global mailing list of the World Society of Emergency Surgery from 10/2021-03/2022, investigating characteristics of respondents and affiliated hospitals, case-load of pediatric trauma patients, capacities and infrastructure for critical care in children, trauma team composition, clinical work-up and individual experiences with pediatric trauma management in response to patientsÂŽ age. The collaboration group was subdivided regarding sizes of affiliated hospitals to allow comparisons concerning hospital volumes. Comparable results were conducted to statistical analysis.
Results: A total of 133 participants from 34 countries, i.e. 5 continents responded to the survey. They were most commonly affiliated with larger hospitals (> 500 beds in 72.9%) and with level I or II trauma centers (82.0%), respectively. 74.4% of hospitals offer unrestricted pediatric medical care, but only 63.2% and 42.9% of the participants had sufficient experiences with trauma care in children †10 and †5 years of age (p = 0.0014). This situation is aggravated in participants from smaller hospitals (p < 0.01). With regard to hospital size (†500 versus > 500 in-hospital beds), larger hospitals were more likely affiliated with advanced trauma centers, more elaborated pediatric intensive care infrastructure (p < 0.0001), treated children at all ages more frequently (p = 0.0938) and have higher case-loads of severely injured children < 12 years of age (p = 0.0009). Therefore, the majority of larger hospitals reserve either pediatric surgery departments or board-certified pediatric surgeons (p < 0.0001) and in-hospital trauma management is conducted more multi-disciplinarily. However, the majority of respondents does not feel prepared for treatment of severe pediatric trauma and call for special educational and practical training courses (overall: 80.2% and 64.3%, respectively).
Conclusions: Multi-professional management of pediatric trauma and individual experiences with severely injured children depend on volumes, level of trauma centers and infrastructure of the hospital. However, respondents from hospitals at all levels of trauma care complain about an alarming lack of knowledge on pediatric trauma management
Textbook outcome in urgent early cholecystectomy for acute calculous cholecystitis: results post hoc of the S.P.Ri.M.A.C.C study
Introduction: A textbook outcome patient is one in which the operative course passes uneventful, without complications, readmission or mortality. There is a lack of publications in terms of TO on acute cholecystitis. Objetive: The objective of this study is to analyze the achievement of TO in patients with urgent early cholecystectomy (UEC) for Acute Cholecystitis. and to identify which factors are related to achieving TO. Materials and methods: This is a post hoc study of the SPRiMACC study. It Ìs a prospective multicenter observational study run by WSES. The criteria to define TO in urgent early cholecystectomy (TOUEC) were no 30-day mortality, no 30-day postoperative complications, no readmission within 30 days, and hospital stay †7 days (75th percentile), and full laparoscopic surgery. Patients who met all these conditions were taken as presenting a TOUEC. Outcomes: 1246 urgent early cholecystectomies for ACC were included. In all, 789 patients (63.3%) achieved all TOUEC parameters, while 457 (36.6%) failed to achieve one or more parameters and were considered non-TOUEC. The patients who achieved TOUEC were younger had significantly lower scores on all the risk scales analyzed. In the serological tests, TOUEC patients had lower values for in a lot of variables than non-TOUEC patients. The TOUEC group had lower rates of complicated cholecystitis. Considering operative time, a shorter duration was also associated with a higher probability of reaching TOUEC. Conclusion: Knowledge of the factors that influence the TOUEC can allow us to improve our results in terms of textbook outcome
Diversity and ethics in trauma and acute care surgery teams: results from an international survey
Background Investigating the context of trauma and acute care surgery, the article aims at understanding the factors that can enhance some ethical aspects, namely the importance of patient consent, the perceptiveness of the ethical role of the trauma leader, and the perceived importance of ethics as an educational subject. Methods The article employs an international questionnaire promoted by the World Society of Emergency Surgery. Results Through the analysis of 402 fully filled questionnaires by surgeons from 72 different countries, the three main ethical topics are investigated through the lens of gender, membership of an academic or non-academic institution, an official trauma team, and a diverse group. In general terms, results highlight greater attention paid by surgeons belonging to academic institutions, official trauma teams, and diverse groups. Conclusions Our results underline that some organizational factors (e.g., the fact that the team belongs to a university context or is more diverse) might lead to the development of a higher sensibility on ethical matters. Embracing cultural diversity forces trauma teams to deal with different mindsets. Organizations should, therefore, consider those elements in defining their organizational procedures. Level of evidence Trauma and acute care teams work under tremendous pressure and complex circumstances, with their members needing to make ethical decisions quickly. The international survey allowed to shed light on how team assembly decisions might represent an opportunity to coordinate team member actions and increase performance
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