Memory effect in triglycine sulfate induced by a transverse electric field: specific heat measurement

The influence of a transverse electric field in the specific heat of triglycine sulphate (TGS) has been studied. The specific heat of TGS has been measured heating the sample from ferroelectric to paraelectric phase after prolonged transverse electric field (i.e. perpendicular to the ferroelectric axis). It is shown that the specific heat of TGS can remember the temperature $T_s$ at which the transverse field was previously applied.Comment: ReVTeX4 Twocolumn 4 pages, 4 figure

Stem cells as a therapeutic tool for the blind: biology and future prospects

Retinal degeneration due to genetic, diabetic and age-related disease is the most common cause of blindness in the developed world. Blindness occurs through the loss of the light-sensing photoreceptors; to restore vision, it would be necessary to introduce alternative photosensitive components into the eye. The recent development of an electronic prosthesis placed beneath the severely diseased retina has shown that subretinal stimulation may restore some visual function in blind patients. This proves that residual retinal circuits can be reawakened after photoreceptor loss and defines a goal for stem-cell-based therapy to replace photoreceptors. Advances in reprogramming adult cells have shown how it may be possible to generate autologous stem cells for transplantation without the need for an embryo donor. The recent success in culturing a whole optic cup in vitro has shown how large numbers of photoreceptors might be generated from embryonic stem cells. Taken together, these threads of discovery provide the basis for optimism for the development of a stem-cell-based strategy for the treatment of retinal blindness

Influence of the electric field on the latent heat of the ferroelectric phase transition in KDP

The specific heat, heat flux (DTA trace) and dielectric constant of KDP ferroelectric crystal have been measured simultaneously for various electric fields with a conduction calorimeter. The specific heat presents a strong anomaly but these simultaneous measurements allow us to evaluate the latent heat accurately. Latent heat decreases with field and the value of critical electric field --that where latent heat disappears-- is estimated to be (0.44\pm0.03) kV/cm. Incidentally, we have measured simultaneously the dielectric permittivity which suggests that latent heat is developed as domains are growing.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figures, ReVTeX, twocolumn format, to appear in J. Phys. Cond. Matte

Compensación de radiación dispersa en radiografía digital a través del aprendizaje automático: resultados preliminares

Actas de: CASEIB 2020: XXXVIII Congreso Anual de la Sociedad Española de Ingeniería Biomédica, 25–27 Nov, 2020 (congreso virtual).La dispersión de los rayos X reduce significativamente la resolución de contraste de la imagen en radiografía digital de tórax. La estrategia convencional para la reducción de la radiación dispersa es el uso de rejillas antidifusoras que, aunque mejoran la calidad de la imagen, aumentan la dosis de radiación absorbida por el paciente y plantean problemas en técnicas no estándar. En este trabajo, proponemos un método de corrección de la radiación dispersa basado en técnicas de aprendizaje profundo, que adopta una red neuronal convolucional de arquitectura U-net con 4 bloques tanto en el codificador como en el decodificador. Debido a la falta de pares de adquisiciones reales con y sin rejilla antidifusoras, se realizaron simulaciones de Monte Carlo para generar los datos de entrenamiento. El presente estudio demuestra el potencial del método propuesto, con un error inferior al 5%.Este trabajo ha sido financiado por el Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (Instituto de Salud Carlos III, proyecto DTS17/00122; Agencia Estatal de Investigación, proyecto DPI2016-79075-R-AEI/FEDER, UE), cofinanciado por Fondos de la Unión Europea (FEDER), "A way of making Europe". Además, ha sido financiado por el Programa de apoyo a la realización de proyectos interdisciplinares de I+D para jóvenes investigadores de la Universidad Carlos III de Madrid 2019-2020 en el marco del Convenio Plurianual Comunidad de Madrid- Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (proyecto DEEPCT-CM-UC3M). El CNIC está financiado por el Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades y la fundación PRO-CNIC y es un centro de excelencia Severo Ochoa (SEV-2015-0505)

Corrección del Artefacto de Truncamiento en TAC mediante Aprendizaje profundo

Actas de: CASEIB 2020: XXXVIII Congreso Anual de la Sociedad Española de Ingeniería Biomédica, 25–27 Nov, 2020 (congreso virtual).La adquisición de proyecciones incompletas debido a que parte de la muestra se extiende fuera del campo de visión, resulta en inconsistencias en los datos que dan lugar a lo que se conoce como artefacto de truncamiento. Se han propuesto varios métodos para la compensación de la falta de datos, basados en la extrapolación de las proyecciones, pero ninguno consigue recuperar completamente los datos truncados. Este trabajo presenta un nuevo método de compensación del artefacto de truncamiento en imágenes de TAC basado en técnicas de aprendizaje profundo. La evaluación en datos simulados a partir de estudios de roedores muestra la viabilidad de la propuesta.Este trabajo ha sido financiado por el Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (Instituto de Salud Carlos III, proyecto DTS17/00122; Agencia Estatal de Investigación, proyecto DPI2016-79075-R-AEI/FEDER, UE), cofinanciado por Fondos de la Unión Europea (FEDER), "A way of making Europe". Además, ha sido financiado por el Programa de apoyo a la realización de proyectos interdisciplinares de I+D para jóvenes investigadores de la Universidad Carlos III de Madrid 2019-2020 en el marco del Convenio Plurianual Comunidad de Madrid- Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (proyecto DEEPCT-CM-UC3M). El CNIC está financiado por el Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades y la fundación PRO-CNIC y es un centro de excelencia Severo Ochoa (SEV-2015-0505)

The order parameter-entropy relation in some universal classes: experimental evidence

The asymptotic behaviour near phase transitions can be suitably characterized by the scaling of $\Delta s/Q^2$ with $\epsilon=1-T/T_c$, where $\Delta s$ is the excess entropy and $Q$ is the order parameter. As $\Delta s$ is obtained by integration of the experimental excess specific heat of the transition $\Delta c$, it displays little experimental noise so that the curve $\log(\Delta s/Q^2)$ versus $\log\epsilon$ is better constrained than, say, $\log\Delta c$ versus $\log\epsilon$. The behaviour of $\Delta s/Q^2$ for different universality classes is presented and compared. In all cases, it clearly deviates from being a constant. The determination of this function can then be an effective method to distinguish asymptotic critical behaviour. For comparison, experimental data for three very different systems, Rb2CoF4, Rb2ZnCl4 and SrTiO3, are analysed under this approach. In SrTiO3, the function $\Delta s/Q^2$ does not deviate within experimental resolution from a straight line so that, although Q can be fitted with a non mean-field exponent, the data can be explained by a classical Landau mean-field behaviour. In contrast, the behaviour of $\Delta s/Q^2$ for the antiferromagnetic transition in Rb2CoF4 and the normal-incommensurate phase transition in Rb2ZCl4 is fully consistent with the asymptotic critical behaviour of the universality class corresponding to each case. This analysis supports, therefore, the claim that incommensurate phase transitions in general, and the A$_2$BX$_4$ compounds in particular, in contrast with most structural phase transitions, have critical regions large enough to be observable.Comment: 13 pp. 9 ff. 2 tab. RevTeX. Submitted to J. Phys.: Cond. Matte

Pulmonary-to-Systemic Arterial Shunt to Treat Children With Severe Pulmonary Hypertension

BACKGROUND: The placement of a pulmonary-to-systemic arterial shunt in children with severe pulmonary hypertension (PH) has been demonstrated, in relatively small studies, to be an effective palliation for their disease. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to expand upon these earlier findings using an international registry for children with PH who have undergone a shunt procedure. METHODS: Retrospective data were obtained from 110 children with PH who underwent a shunt procedure collected from 13 institutions in Europe and the United States. RESULTS: Seventeen children died in-hospital postprocedure (15%). Of the 93 children successfully discharged home, 18 subsequently died or underwent lung transplantation (20%); the mean follow-up was 3.1 years (range: 25 days to 17 years). The overall 1- and 5-year freedom from death or transplant rates were 77% and 58%, respectively, and 92% and 68% for those discharged home, respectively. Children discharged home had significantly improved World Health Organization functional class (P < 0.001), 6-minute walk distances (P = 0.047) and lower brain natriuretic peptide levels (P < 0.001). Postprocedure, 59% of children were weaned completely from their prostacyclin infusion (P < 0.001). Preprocedural risk factors for dying in-hospital postprocedure included intensive care unit admission (hazard ratio [HR]: 3.2; P = 0.02), mechanical ventilation (HR: 8.3; P < 0.001) and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (HR: 10.7; P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: A pulmonary-to-systemic arterial shunt can provide a child with severe PH significant clinical improvement that is both durable and potentially free from continuous prostacyclin infusion. Five-year survival is comparable to children undergoing lung transplantation for PH. Children with severely decompensated disease requiring aggressive intensive care are not good candidates for the shunt procedure