2,609 research outputs found
Ferromagnetic Domain Structure of La0.78Ca0.22MnO3 Single Crystals
The magneto-optical technique has been employed to observe spontaneous
ferromagnetic domain structures in La0.78Ca0.22MnO3 single crystals. The
magnetic domain topology was found to be correlated with the intrinsic twin
structure of the investigated crystals. With decreasing temperature the regular
network of ferromagnetic domains undergoes significant changes resulting in
apparent rotation of the domain walls in the temperature range of 70-150 K. The
apparent rotation of the domain walls can be understood in terms of the
Jahn-Teller deformation of the orthorhombic unit cell, accompanied by
additional twinning.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, to be published in PR
Defect-unbinding and the Bose-glass transition in layered superconductors
The low-field Bose-glass transition temperature in heavy-ion irradiated
Bi_2Sr_2CaCu_2O_8+d increases progressively with increasing density of
irradiation-induced columnar defects, but saturates for densities in excess of
1.5 x10^9 cm^-2. The maximum Bose-glass temperature corresponds to that above
which diffusion of two-dimensional pancake vortices between different vortex
lines becomes possible, and above which the ``line-like'' character of vortices
is lost. We develop a description of the Bose-glass line that is in excellent
quantitative agreement with the experimental line obtained for widely different
values of track density and material parameters.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. Let
Attenuated cerebrospinal fluid leukocyte count and sepsis in adults with pneumococcal meningitis: a prospective cohort study
BACKGROUND: A low cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) white-blood cell count (WBC) has been identified as an independent risk factor for adverse outcome in adults with bacterial meningitis. Whereas a low CSF WBC indicates the presence of sepsis with early meningitis in patients with meningococcal infections, the relation between CSF WBC and outcome in patients with pneumococcal meningitis is not understood. METHODS: We examined the relation between CSF WBC, bacteraemia and sepsis in a prospective cohort study that included 352 episodes of pneumococcal meningitis, confirmed by CSF culture, occurring in patients aged >16 years. RESULTS: CSF WBC was recorded in 320 of 352 episodes (91%). Median CSF WBC was 2530 per mm(3 )(interquartile range 531–6983 per mm(3)) and 104 patients (33%) had a CSF WBC <1000/mm(3). Patients with a CSF WBC <1000/mm(3 )were more likely to have an unfavourable outcome (defined as a Glasgow Outcome Scale score of 1–4) than those with a higher WBC (74 of 104 [71%] vs. 87 of 216 [43%]; P < 0.001). CSF WBC was significantly associated with blood WBC (Spearman's test 0.29), CSF protein level (0.20), thrombocyte count (0.21), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (-0.15), and C-reactive protein levels (-0.18). Patients with a CSF WBC <1000/mm(3 )more often had a positive blood culture (72 of 84 [86%] vs. 138 of 196 [70%]; P = 0.01) and more often developed systemic complications (cardiorespiratory failure, sepsis) than those with a higher WBC (53 of 104 [51%] vs. 69 of 216 [32%]; P = 0.001). In a multivariate analysis, advanced age (Odds ratio per 10-year increments 1.22, 95%CI 1.02–1.45), a positive blood culture (Odds ratio 2.46, 95%CI 1.17–5.14), and a low thrombocyte count on admission (Odds ratio per 100,000/mm(3 )increments 0.67, 95% CI 0.47–0.97) were associated with a CSF WBC <1000/mm(3). CONCLUSION: A low CSF WBC in adults with pneumococcal meningitis is related to the presence of signs of sepsis and systemic complications. Invasive pneumococcal infections should possibly be regarded as a continuum from meningitis to sepsis
Validation of a Dutch Risk Score Predicting Poor Outcome in Adults with Bacterial Meningitis in Vietnam and Malawi
We have previously developed and validated a prognostic model to predict the risk for unfavorable outcome in Dutch adults with bacterial meningitis. The aim of the current study was to validate this model in adults with bacterial meningitis from two developing countries, Vietnam and Malawi. Demographic and clinical characteristics of Vietnamese (n = 426), Malawian patients (n = 465) differed substantially from those of Dutch patients (n = 696). The Dutch model underestimated the risk of poor outcome in both Malawi and Vietnam. The discrimination of the original model (c-statistic [c] 0.84; 95% confidence interval 0.81 to 0.86) fell considerably when re-estimated in the Vietnam cohort (c = 0.70) or in the Malawian cohort (c = 0.68). Our validation study shows that new prognostic models have to be developed for these countries in a sufficiently large series of unselected patients
Pneumococcal meningitis: Clinical-pathological correlations (meningene-path)
Pneumococcal meningitis is associated with substantial mortality and morbidity. We systematically assessed brain histopathology of 31 patients who died of pneumococcal meningitis from a nationwide study (median age 67 years; 21 (67 %) were male) using a pathology score including inflammation and vascular damage. Of the 27 patients with known time from the admission to death, 14 patients died within 7 days of admission and 13 after 7 days of admission. Eleven of 25 (44 %) patients had been treated with adjunctive dexamethasone therapy. Observed pathological processes were inflammation of medium-large arteries in 30 brains (97 %), cerebral haemorrhage in 24 (77 %), cerebritis in 24 (77 %), thrombosis in 21 (68 %), infarction in 19 (61 %) and ventriculitis in 19 (of 28 cases, 68 %). Inflammation of medium-large arteries led to obstruction of the vascular lumen in 14 (of 31 cases, 45 %). Vascular inflammation was associated with infarction and thrombosis of brain parenchymal vessels. Hippocampal dentate gyrus apoptosis between patients treated with and without dexamethasone was similar (p = 0.66); however, dexamethasone treated patients had higher total pathology score than non-dexamethasone treated patients (p = 0.003). Our study shows that vascular damage is key in the process of brain damage in pneumococcal meningitis. Data and material of this study will be made open-access for translational research in pneumococcal meningitis (MeninGene-Path)
Microwave Surface-Impedance Measurements of the Magnetic Penetration Depth in Single Crystal Ba1-xKxFe2As2 Superconductors: Evidence for a Disorder-Dependent Superfluid Density
We report high-sensitivity microwave measurements of the in-plane penetration
depth and quasiparticle scattering rate in several
single crystals of hole-doped Fe-based superconductor
BaKFeAs (). While power-law temperature
dependence of with the power is found in crystals with
large , we observe exponential temperature dependence of superfluid
density consistent with the existence of fully opened two gaps in the cleanest
crystal we studied. The difference may be a consequence of different level of
disorder inherent in the crystals. We also find a linear relation between the
low-temperature scattering rate and the density of quasiparticles, which shows
a clear contrast to the case of d-wave cuprate superconductors with nodes in
the gap. These results demonstrate intrinsically nodeless order parameters in
the Fe-arsenides.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, 1 table. Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.
Lett. Changed title as suggested by the PRL editor
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