2,778 research outputs found
Shortening of the Short Refractory Periods in Short QT Syndrome.
BACKGROUND: Diagnosis of short QT syndrome (SQTS) remains difficult in case of borderline QT values as often found in normal populations. Whether some shortening of refractory periods (RP) may help in differentiating SQTS from normal subjects is unknown. METHODS AND RESULTS: Atrial and right ventricular RP at the apex and right ventricular outflow tract as determined during standard electrophysiological study were compared between 16 SQTS patients (QTc 324±24 ms) and 15 controls with similar clinical characteristics (QTc 417±32 ms). Atrial RP were significantly shorter in SQTS compared with controls at 600- and 500-ms basic cycle lengths. Baseline ventricular RP were significantly shorter in SQTS patients than in controls, both at the apex and right ventricular outflow tract and for any cycle length. Differences remained significant for RP of any subsequent extrastimulus at any cycle length and any pacing site. A cut-off value of baseline RP <200 ms at the right ventricular outflow tract either at 600- or 500-ms cycle length had a sensitivity of 86% and a specificity of 100% for the diagnosis of SQTS. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with SQTS have shorter ventricular RP than controls, both at baseline during various cycle lengths and after premature extrastimuli. A cut-off value of 200 ms at the right ventricular outflow tract during 600- and 500-ms basic cycle length may help in detecting true SQTS from normal subjects with borderline QT values
Following red blood cells in a pulmonary capillary
The red blood cells or erythrocytes are biconcave shaped cells and consist
mostly in a membrane delimiting a cytosol with a high concentration in
hemoglobin. This membrane is highly deformable and allows the cells to go
through narrow passages like the capillaries which diameters can be much
smaller than red blood cells one. They carry oxygen thanks to hemoglobin, a
complex molecule that have very high affinity for oxygen. The capacity of
erythrocytes to load and unload oxygen is thus a determinant factor in their
efficacy. In this paper, we will focus on the pulmonary capillary where red
blood cells capture oxygen. We propose a camera method in order to numerically
study the behavior of the red blood cell along a whole capillary. Our goal is
to understand how erythrocytes geometrical changes along the capillary can
affect its capacity to capture oxygen. The first part of this document presents
the model chosen for the red blood cells along with the numerical method used
to determine and follow their shapes along the capillary. The membrane of the
red blood cell is complex and has been modelled by an hyper-elastic approach
coming from Mills et al (2004). This camera method is then validated and
confronted with a standard ALE method. Some geometrical properties of the red
blood cells observed in our simulations are then studied and discussed. The
second part of this paper deals with the modeling of oxygen and hemoglobin
chemistry in the geometries obtained in the first part. We have implemented a
full complex hemoglobin behavior with allosteric states inspired from
Czerlinski et al (1999).Comment: 17 page
Books Reviewed
Books Reviewed:
Public Utility Regulatory Law. By Everett C. McKeage
Report of Committee of New York City Bar Association on the Federal Loyalty Security Program
Say It Safely: Legal Limits in Journalism and Broadcasting. By Paul P. Ashley
Cr-based MOCVD layers as conducting diffusion barriers for copper metallization
Two types of amorphous Cr-based thin films, CrCxNy and CrSixCy, were grown by low pressure MOCVD on Si substrates using respectively Cr(NEt2)4 and Cr[CH2SiMe3]4 as single-source precursor in the low temperature range 400-420 °C and 475-500 °C. Their properties as conducting diffusion barrier against Cu were investigated and the results are discussed. CrSixCy exhibits a better thermal stability and a good Cu wettability but a high resistivity, which is detrimental for this application. CrCxNy has a low resistivity, a satisfactory stability up to 650 °C without undesirable interfacial reactions and an excellent conformality.Two types of amorphous Cr-based thin films, CrCxNy and CrSixCy, were grown by low pressure MOCVD on Si substrates using respectively Cr(NEt2)4 and Cr[CH2SiMe3]4 as single-source precursor in the low temperature range 400-420 °C and 475-500 °C. Their properties as conducting diffusion barrier against Cu were investigated and the results are discussed. CrSixCy exhibits a better thermal stability and a good Cu wettability but a high resistivity, which is detrimental for this application. CrCxNy has a low resistivity, a satisfactory stability up to 650 °C without undesirable interfacial reactions and an excellent conformality
Books Reviewed
Books Reviewed:
Public Utility Regulatory Law. By Everett C. McKeage
Report of Committee of New York City Bar Association on the Federal Loyalty Security Program
Say It Safely: Legal Limits in Journalism and Broadcasting. By Paul P. Ashley
First results from the CALYPSO IRAM-PdBI survey. I. Kinematics of the inner envelope of NGC1333-IRAS2A
The structure and kinematics of Class 0 protostars on scales of a few hundred
AU is poorly known. Recent observations have revealed the presence of Keplerian
disks with a diameter of 150-180 AU in L1527-IRS and VLA1623A, but it is not
clear if such disks are common in Class 0 protostars. Here we present
high-angular-resolution observations of two methanol lines in NGC1333-IRAS2A.
We argue that these lines probe the inner envelope, and we use them to study
the kinematics of this region. Our observations suggest the presence of a
marginal velocity gradient normal to the direction of the outflow. However, the
position velocity diagrams along the gradient direction appear inconsistent
with a Keplerian disk. Instead, we suggest that the emission originates from
the infalling and perhaps slowly rotating envelope, around a central protostar
of 0.1-0.2 M. If a disk is present, it is smaller than the disk of
L1527-IRS, perhaps suggesting that NGC1333-IRAS2A is younger.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A letter
Glycolaldehyde in Perseus young solar analogs
Aims: In this paper we focus on the occurrence of glycolaldehyde (HCOCH2OH)
in young solar analogs by performing the first homogeneous and unbiased study
of this molecule in the Class 0 protostars of the nearby Perseus star forming
region. Methods: We obtained sub-arcsec angular resolution maps at 1.3mm and
1.4mm of glycolaldehyde emission lines using the IRAM Plateau de Bure (PdB)
interferometer in the framework of the CALYPSO IRAM large program. Results:
Glycolaldehyde has been detected towards 3 Class 0 and 1 Class I protostars out
of the 13 continuum sources targeted in Perseus: NGC1333-IRAS2A1,
NGC1333-IRAS4A2, NGC1333-IRAS4B1, and SVS13-A. The NGC1333 star forming region
looks particularly glycolaldehyde rich, with a rate of occurrence up to 60%.
The glycolaldehyde spatial distribution overlaps with the continuum one,
tracing the inner 100 au around the protostar. A large number of lines (up to
18), with upper-level energies Eu from 37 K up to 375 K has been detected. We
derived column densities > 10^15 cm^-2 and rotational temperatures Trot between
115 K and 236 K, imaging for the first time hot-corinos around NGC1333-IRAS4B1
and SVS13-A. Conclusions: In multiple systems glycolaldehyde emission is
detected only in one component. The case of the SVS13-A+B and IRAS4-A1+A2
systems support that the detection of glycolaldehyde (at least in the present
Perseus sample) indicates older protostars (i.e. SVS13-A and IRAS4-A2), evolved
enough to develop the hot-corino region (i.e. 100 K in the inner 100 au).
However, only two systems do not allow us to firmly conclude whether the
primary factor leading to the detection of glycolaldehyde emission is the
environments hosting the protostars, evolution (e.g. low value of Lsubmm/Lint),
or accretion luminosity (high Lint).Comment: A&A, in pres
First results from the CALYPSO IRAM-PdBI survey - III. Monopolar jets driven by a proto-binary system in NGC1333-IRAS2A
Context: The earliest evolutionary stages of low-mass protostars are
characterised by hot and fast jets which remove angular momentum from the
circumstellar disk, thus allowing mass accretion onto the central object.
However, the launch mechanism is still being debated. Aims: We would like to
exploit high-angular (~ 0.8") resolution and high-sensitivity images to
investigate the origin of protostellar jets using typical molecular tracers of
shocked regions, such as SiO and SO. Methods: We mapped the inner 22" of the
NGC1333-IRAS2A protostar in SiO(5-4), SO(65-54), and the continuum emission at
1.4 mm using the IRAM Plateau de Bure interferometer in the framework of the
CALYPSO IRAM large program. Results: For the first time, we disentangle the
NGC1333-IRAS2A Class 0 object into a proto-binary system revealing two
protostars (MM1, MM2) separated by ~ 560 AU, each of them driving their own
jet, while past work considered a single protostar with a quadrupolar outflow.
We reveal (i) a clumpy, fast (up to |V-VLSR| > 50 km/s), and blueshifted jet
emerging from the brightest MM1 source, and (ii) a slower redshifted jet,
driven by MM2. Silicon monoxide emission is a powerful tracer of
high-excitation (Tkin > 100 K; n(H2) > 10^5 cm-3) jets close to the launching
region. At the highest velocities, SO appears to mimic SiO tracing the jets,
whereas at velocities close to the systemic one, SO is dominated by extended
emission, tracing the cavity opened by the jet. Conclusions: Both jets are
intrinsically monopolar, and intermittent in time. The dynamical time of the
SiO clumps is < 30-90 yr, indicating that one-sided ejections from protostars
can take place on these timescales.Comment: Astronomy & Astrophysics Letter, in pres
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