The imbalanced antiferromagnet in an optical lattice

We study the rich properties of the imbalanced antiferromagnet in an optical lattice. We present its phase diagram, discuss spin waves and explore the emergence of topological excitations in two dimensions, known as merons, which are responsible for a Kosterlitz-Thouless transition that has never unambiguously been observed.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures, RevTe

Minimally Invasive Stent Screw-Assisted Internal Fixation Technique Corrects Kyphosis in Osteoporotic Vertebral Fractures with Severe Collapse: A Pilot "Vertebra Plana" Series.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Fractures with "vertebra plana" morphology are characterized by severe vertebral body collapse and segmental kyphosis; there is no established treatment standard for these fractures. Vertebroplasty and balloon kyphoplasty might represent an undertreatment, but surgical stabilization is challenging in an often elderly osteoporotic population. This study assessed the feasibility, clinical outcome, and radiologic outcome of the stent screw-assisted internal fixation technique using a percutaneous implant of vertebral body stents and cement-augmented pedicle screws in patients with non-neoplastic vertebra plana fractures. MATERIALS AND METHODS Thirty-seven consecutive patients with vertebra plana fractures were treated with the stent screw-assisted internal fixation technique. Vertebral body height, local and vertebral kyphotic angles, outcome scales (numeric rating scale and the Patient's Global Impression of Change), and complications were assessed. Imaging and clinical follow-up were obtained at 1 and 6 months postprocedure. RESULTS Median vertebral body height restoration was 7 mm (+74%), 9 mm (+150%), and 3 mm (+17%) at the anterior wall, middle body, and posterior wall, respectively. Median local and vertebral kyphotic angles correction was 8° and 10° and was maintained through the 6-month follow-up. The median numeric rating scale score improved from 8/10 preprocedure to 3/10 at 1 and 6 months (P < .001). No procedural complications occurred. CONCLUSIONS The stent screw-assisted internal fixation technique was effective in obtaining height restoration, kyphosis correction, and pain relief in patients with severe vertebral collapse

Efficacy of the Gelstix nucleus augmentation device for the treatment of chronic discogenic low back pain: protocol for a randomised, sham-controlled, double-blind, multicentre trial.

INTRODUCTION Discogenic pain is the cause of pain in 26%-40% of patients with for low back pain. Consensus about treatment of chronic discogenic low back pain is lacking and most treatment alternatives are supported by limited evidence. The percutaneous implantation of hydrogels into the nucleus pulposus represents a promising regenerative intradiscal therapy. The hydrogel 'GelStix' is composed primarily of hydrolyzed polyacrylonitrile and acts as a reservoir of hydration, producing increased pressure and improved pH balance, potentially leading to disc preservation. We hypothesise that treatment with GelStix will lead to greater reduction in pain intensity at 6 months post-treatment compared with patients receiving sham treatment. METHODS AND ANALYSIS This is a parallel group, randomised sham-controlled double-blind, multicentre trial to assess whether the GelStix device is superior to sham in reducing pain intensity in patients with chronic discogenic low back pain. The study will be conducted in two regional hospitals in Europe. Seventy-two participants will be randomised in a 1:1 ratio. The primary outcome will be the change in pain intensity between preoperative baseline and at 6 months postintervention. Secondary outcomes were disability, quality of life, the patient's global impression of change scale, the use of pain medication and the disc degeneration process assessed by means of MRI. For change in pain intensity, disability, health-related quality of life and disc height, mean values will be compared between groups using linear regression analysis, adjusted for treatment centre. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION Ethics approval was obtained from the Ethics Committee of the Canton Ticino, Switzerland (CE2982) and by the Medical Ethical Committee Arnhem-Nijmegen, the Netherlands (2016-2944). All patients that agree to participate will be asked to sign an informed consent form. Results will be disseminated through international publications in peer-reviewed journals, in addition to international conference presentations. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER NCT02763956. PROTOCOL VERSION 7.1, 18 November 2020

Challenging the 'New Professionalism': from managerialism to pedagogy?

In recent years there have been changes made to the conceptualisation of continuing professional development for teachers in both the Scottish and English systems of education. These changes have been instigated by successive UK governments (and more recently, by the Scottish Executive), together with the General teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS) and the General Teaching Council for England (GTCE). This paper argues that these changes have not provided a clear rationale for CPD, but instead have introduced tensions between the concept of teacher education and that of training. The need for a less confused understanding of CPD and its purposes is underlined, as is the need for school based approaches to continuing teacher education. Arguably, teacher education must move from technicist emphases to a model which integrates the social processes of change within society and schools with the individual development and empowerment of teachers

Ten Misconceptions from the History of Analysis and Their Debunking

The widespread idea that infinitesimals were "eliminated" by the "great triumvirate" of Cantor, Dedekind, and Weierstrass is refuted by an uninterrupted chain of work on infinitesimal-enriched number systems. The elimination claim is an oversimplification created by triumvirate followers, who tend to view the history of analysis as a pre-ordained march toward the radiant future of Weierstrassian epsilontics. In the present text, we document distortions of the history of analysis stemming from the triumvirate ideology of ontological minimalism, which identified the continuum with a single number system. Such anachronistic distortions characterize the received interpretation of Stevin, Leibniz, d'Alembert, Cauchy, and others.Comment: 46 pages, 4 figures; Foundations of Science (2012). arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1108.2885 and arXiv:1110.545

Translational implications of Th17-skewed inflammation due to genetic deficiency of a cadherin stress sensor

Desmoglein 1 (Dsg1) is a cadherin restricted to stratified tissues of terrestrial vertebrates, which serve as essential physical and immune barriers. Dsg1 loss-of-function mutations in humans result in skin lesions and multiple allergies, and isolated patient keratinocytes exhibit increased proallergic cytokine expression. However, the mechanism by which genetic deficiency of Dsg1 causes chronic inflammation is unknown. To determine the systemic response to Dsg1 loss, we deleted the 3 tandem Dsg1 genes in mice. Whole transcriptome analysis of embryonic Dsg1–/– skin showed a delay in expression of adhesion/differentiation/ keratinization genes at E17.5, a subset of which recovered or increased by E18.5. Comparing epidermal transcriptomes from Dsg1-deficient mice and humans revealed a shared IL-17–skewed inflammatory signature. Although the impaired intercellular adhesion observed in Dsg1–/– mice resembles that resulting from anti-Dsg1 pemphigus foliaceus antibodies, pemphigus skin lesions exhibit a weaker IL-17 signature. Consistent with the clinical importance of these findings, treatment of 2 Dsg1-deficient patients with an IL-12/IL-23 antagonist originally developed for psoriasis resulted in improvement of skin lesions. Thus, beyond impairing the physical barrier, loss of Dsg1 function through gene mutation results in a psoriatic-like inflammatory signature before birth, and treatment with a targeted therapy significantly improved skin lesions in patients

Ultracold atomic gases in optical lattices: mimicking condensed matter physics and beyond

We review recent developments in the physics of ultracold atomic and molecular gases in optical lattices. Such systems are nearly perfect realisations of various kinds of Hubbard models, and as such may very well serve to mimic condensed matter phenomena. We show how these systems may be employed as quantum simulators to answer some challenging open questions of condensed matter, and even high energy physics. After a short presentation of the models and the methods of treatment of such systems, we discuss in detail, which challenges of condensed matter physics can be addressed with (i) disordered ultracold lattice gases, (ii) frustrated ultracold gases, (iii) spinor lattice gases, (iv) lattice gases in "artificial" magnetic fields, and, last but not least, (v) quantum information processing in lattice gases. For completeness, also some recent progress related to the above topics with trapped cold gases will be discussed.Comment: Review article. v2: published version, 135 pages, 34 figure

Impact analysis of accidents on the traffic flow based on massive floating car data

The wide usage of GPS-equipped devices enables the mass recording of vehicle movement trajectories describing the movement behavior of the traffic participants. An important aspect of the road traffic is the impact of anomalies, like accidents, on traffic flow. Accidents are especially important as they contribute to the the aspects of safety and also influence travel time estimations. In this paper, the impact of accidents is determined based on a massive GPS trajectory and accident dataset. Due to the missing precise date of the accidents in the data set used, first, the date of the accident is estimated based on the speed profile at the accident time. Further, the temporal impact of the accident is estimated using the speed profile of the whole day. The approach is applied in an experiment on a one month subset of the datasets. The results show that more than 72% of the accident dates are identified and the impact on the temporal dimension is approximated. Moreover, it can be seen that accidents during the rush hours and on high frequency road types (e.g. motorways, trunks or primaries) have an increasing effect on the impact duration on the traffic flow