99 research outputs found
Dislocation Structure And Mobility In Hcp He 4
Using path-integral Monte Carlo simulations, we assess the core structure and mobility of the screw and edge basal-plane dislocations in hcp He4. Our findings provide key insights into recent interpretations of giant plasticity and mass flow junction experiments. First, both dislocations are dissociated into nonsuperfluid Shockley partial dislocations separated by ribbons of stacking fault, suggesting that they are unlikely to act as one-dimensional channels that may display Lüttinger-liquid-like behavior. Second, the centroid positions of the partial cores are found to fluctuate substantially, even in the absence of applied shear stresses. This implies that the lattice resistance to motion of the partial dislocations is negligible, consistent with the recent experimental observations of giant plasticity. Further results indicate that both the structure of the partial cores and the zero-point fluctuations play a role in this extreme mobility. © 2016 American Physical Society.117
Afboeking bijstandsschuld nauwelijks effect op werk en mentale gezondheid
Hervorming Sociale Regelgevin
Debt relief for the financially vulnerable: impact on employment, welfare receipt, and mental health
Hervorming Sociale Regelgevin
An algorithm for optimal fertilization with pure carbon dioxide in greenhouses
Pure (bottled or piped) carbon dioxide is commonly supplied to increase productivity of greenhouse crops. As ventilation is necessary for controlling temperature, particularly under sunshine (when a high CO2 concentration would be most desired) there is a need for optimal management of supply, in order to ensure the maximum net return from cost of carbon dioxide supplied and increase in harvest. The optimal concentration depends on many factors: the expected increase of yield thanks to carbon dioxide supply under given climate conditions; the actual ventilation rate; the value of yield and the cost of carbon dioxide. We combined a calculation of the “value” of carbon dioxide supply with an algorithm to calculate the ventilation rate, into a calculation on-line of the optimal supply rate. The algorithm was implemented and tested into a commercial climate control computer
Peripheral Blood Immune Cell Composition After Autologous MSC Infusion in Kidney Transplantation Recipients
Tacrolimus is the backbone of immunosuppressive agents to prevent transplant rejection. Paradoxically, tacrolimus is nephrotoxic, causing irreversible tubulointerstitial damage. Therefore, infusion of mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) 6 and 7 weeks post-transplantation was assessed to facilitate withdrawal of tacrolimus in the randomized phase II TRITON trial. Here, we performed detailed analysis of the peripheral blood immune composition using mass cytometry to assess potential effects of MSC therapy on the immune system. We developed two metal-conjugated antibody panels containing 40 antibodies each. PBMC samples from 21 MSC-treated patients and 13 controls, obtained pre-transplant and at 24 and 52 weeks post-transplantation, were analyzed. In the MSC group at 24 weeks, 17 CD4+ T cell clusters were increased of which 14 Th2-like clusters and three Th1/Th2-like clusters, as well as CD4+FoxP3+ Tregs. Additionally, five B cell clusters were increased, representing either class switched memory B cells or proliferating B cells. At 52 weeks, CCR7+CD38+ mature B cells were decreased. Finally, eight Tc1 (effector) memory cytotoxic T cell clusters were increased. Our work provides a comprehensive account of the peripheral blood immune cell composition in kidney transplant recipients after MSC therapy and tacrolimus withdrawal. These results may help improving therapeutic strategies using MSCs with the aim to reduce the use of calcineurin inhibitors. Clinical Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier NCT02057965.</p
Measurement of drug concentration and bacterial contamination after diluting morphine for intrathecal administration: an experimental study
Background: Low concentrations of morphine are required for safe dosing for intrathecal injections. Sometimes,
manual dilution of morphine is performed to achieve these low concentrations, but risks dilution errors and
bacterial contamination. The primary goal was to compare the concentrations of morphine and bupivacaine
between four groups of syringes. The secondary goal was to investigate the difference in contamination rate
between these groups.
Methods: Twenty-five experienced anesthesia providers were asked to prepare a mixture of bupivacaine 2.0 mg/ml
and morphine 60 μg/ml using 3 different methods as clean and precise as possible. The fourth method used was
the aspiration of ampoules prepared by the pharmacy. The concentrations of morphine and bupivacaine were
measured by High-Pressure Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). The medication was cultured for bacterial
contamination.
Results: Group 1 (median 60 μg/ml; 95% CI: 59–110 μg/ml) yielded 3 outliers above 180 μg/ml morphine
concentration. Group 2 (76 μg/ml; 95% CI: 72–80 μg/ml) and 3 (69 μg/ml; 95% CI: 66–71 μg/ml) were consistently
higher than the target concentration of 60 μg. The group “pharmacy” was precise and accurate (59 μg/ml; 95% CI:
59–59 μg/ml). Group 2 and “pharmacy” had one contaminated sample with a spore-forming aerobic gram-positive
rod.
Conclusion: Manually diluted morphine is at risk for deviating concentrations, which could lead to increased sideeffects. Medication produced by the hospital pharmacy was highly accurate. Furthermore, even when precautions
are undertaken, contamination of the medication is a serious risk and appeared to be unrelated to the dilution
process
The effect of intrathecal bupivacaine/morphine on quality of recovery in robot-assisted radical prostatectomy: a randomised controlled trial
Robot-assisted radical prostatectomy causes discomfort in the immediate postoperative period. This randomised controlled trial investigated if intrathecal bupivacaine/morphine, in addition to general anaesthesia, could be beneficial for the postoperative quality of recovery. One hundred and fifty-five patients were randomly allocated to an intervention group that received intrathecal 12.5 mg bupivacaine/300 μg morphine (20% dose reduction in patients > 75 years) or a control group receiving a subcutaneous sham injection and an intravenous loading dose of 0.1 mg.kg−1 morphine. Both groups received standardised general anaesthesia and the same postoperative analgesic regimen. The primary outcome was a decrease in the Quality of Recovery-15 (QoR-15) questionnaire score on postoperative day 1. The intervention group (n = 76) had less reduction in QoR-15 on postoperative day 1; median (IQR [range]) 10% (1–8 [−60% to 50%]) vs. 13% (5–24 [−6% to 50%]), p = 0.019, and used less morphine during the admission; 2 mg (1–7 [0–41 mg]) vs. 15 mg (12–20 [8–61 mg]), p < 0.001. Furthermore, they perceived lower pain scores during exertion; numeric rating scale (NRS) 3 (1–6 [0–9]) vs. 5 (3–7 [0–9]), p = 0.001; less bladder spasms (NRS 1 (0–2 [0–10]) vs. 2 (0–5 [0–10]), p = 0.001 and less sedation; NRS 2 (0–3 [0–10]) vs. 3 (2–6 [0–10]), p = 0.005. Moreover, the intervention group used less rescue medication. Pruritus was more severe in the intervention group; NRS 4 (1–7 [0–10]) vs. 0 (0–1 [0–10]), p = 0.000. We conclude that despite a modest increase in the incidence of pruritus, multimodal pain management with intrathecal bupivacaine/morphine remains a viable option for robot-assisted radical prostatectomy
Thirty Years of Pancreas Transplantation at Leiden University Medical Center: Long-term Follow-up in a Large Eurotransplant Center
Transplant surger
Prenatal exome sequencing: a useful tool for the fetal neurologist
Prenatal exome sequencing (pES) is a promising tool for diagnosing genetic disorders when structural anomalies are detected on prenatal ultrasound. The aim of this study was to investigate the diagnostic yield and clinical impact of pES as an additional modality for fetal neurologists who counsel parents in case of congenital anomalies of the central nervous system (CNS). We assessed 20 pregnancies of 19 couples who were consecutively referred to the fetal neurologist for CNS anomalies. pES had a diagnostic yield of 53% (10/19) with most diagnosed pregnancies having agenesis or hypoplasia of the corpus callosum (7/10). Overall clinical impact was 63% (12/19), of which the pES result aided parental decision making in 55% of cases (6/11), guided perinatal management in 75% of cases (3/4), and was helpful in approving a late termination of pregnancy request in 75% of cases (3/4). Our data suggest that pES had a high diagnostic yield when CNS anomalies are present, although this study is limited by its small sample size. Moreover, pES had substantial clinical impact, which warrants implementation of pES in the routine care of the fetal neurologist in close collaboration with gynecologists and clinical geneticists.Neuro Imaging Researc
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