1,523 research outputs found
Therapeutic Hypothermia for Traumatic Brain Injury
Experimental evidence demonstrates that therapeutic temperature modulation with the use of mild induced hypothermia (MIH, defined as the maintenance of body temperature at 32-35°C) exerts significant neuroprotection and attenuates secondary cerebral insults after traumatic brain injury (TBI). In adult TBI patients, MIH has been used during the acute "early” phase as prophylactic neuroprotectant and in the sub-acute "late” phase to control brain edema. When used to control brain edema, MIH is effective in reducing elevated intracranial pressure (ICP), and is a valid therapy of refractory intracranial hypertension in TBI patients. Based on the available evidence, we recommend: applying standardized algorithms for the management of induced cooling; paying attention to limit potential side effects (shivering, infections, electrolyte disorders, arrhythmias, reduced cardiac output); and using controlled, slow (0.1-0.2°C/h) rewarming, to avoid rebound ICP. The optimal temperature target should be titrated to maintain ICP <20mmHg and to avoid temperatures <35°C. The duration of cooling should be individualized until the resolution of brain edema, and may be longer than 48h. Patients with refractory elevated ICP following focal TBI (e.g. hemorrhagic contusions) may respond better to MIH than those with diffuse injury. Randomized controlled trials are underway to evaluate the impact of MIH on neurological outcome in adult TBI patients with elevated ICP. The use of MIH as prophylactic neuroprotectant in the early phase of adult TBI is not supported by clinical evidence and is not recommende
CAR: A MATLAB Package to Compute Correspondence Analysis with Rotations
Correspondence analysis (CA) is a popular method that can be used to analyse relationships between categorical variables. Like principal component analysis, CA solutions can be rotated both orthogonally and obliquely to simple structure without affecting the total amount of explained inertia. We describe a MATLAB package for computing CA. The package includes orthogonal and oblique rotation of axes. It is designed not only for advanced users of MATLAB but also for beginners. Analysis can be done using a user-friendly interface, or by using command lines. We illustrate the use of CAR with one example.
odNEAT: an algorithm for decentralised online evolution of robotic controllers
Online evolution gives robots the capacity to learn new tasks and to adapt to changing environmental conditions during task execution. Previous approaches to online evolution of neural controllers are typically limited to the optimisation of weights in networks with a prespecified, fixed topology. In this article, we propose a novel approach to online learning in groups of autonomous robots called odNEAT. odNEAT is a distributed and decentralised neuroevolution algorithm that evolves both weights and network topology. We demonstrate odNEAT in three multirobot tasks: aggregation, integrated navigation and obstacle avoidance, and phototaxis. Results show that odNEAT approximates the performance of rtNEAT, an efficient centralised method, and outperforms IM-( mu + 1), a decentralised neuroevolution algorithm. Compared with rtNEAT and IM( mu + 1), odNEAT's evolutionary dynamics lead to the synthesis of less complex neural controllers with superior generalisation capabilities. We show that robots executing odNEAT can display a high degree of fault tolerance as they are able to adapt and learn new behaviours in the presence of faults. We conclude with a series of ablation studies to analyse the impact of each algorithmic component on performance.info:eu-repo/semantics/submittedVersio
Adaptation of robot behaviour through online evolution and neuromodulated learning
We propose and evaluate a novel approach to the online synthesis of neural controllers for autonomous robots. We combine online evolution of weights and network topology with neuromodulated learning. We demonstrate our method through a series of simulation-based experiments in which an e-puck-like robot must perform a dynamic concurrent foraging task. In this task, scattered food items periodically change their nutritive value or become poisonous. Our results show that when neuromodulated learning is employed, neural controllers are synthesised faster than by evolution alone. We demonstrate that the online evolutionary process is capable of generating controllers well adapted to the periodic task changes. An analysis of the evolved networks shows that they are characterised by specialised modulatory neurons that exclusively regulate the output neurons.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio
Carbon monoxide in the environs of the star WR 16
Aims. We analyze the carbon monoxide emission around the star WR 16 aiming to study the physical characteristics of the molecular gas linked to the star and to achieve a better understanding of the interaction between massive stars with their surroundings. Methods. We study the molecular gas in a region in size using CO J = 1 → 0 and 13CO J = 1 → 0 line data obtained with the 4-m NANTEN telescope. Radio continuum archival data at 4.85 GHz, obtained from the Parkes-MIT-NRAO Southern Radio Survey, are also analyzed to account for the ionized gas. Available IRAS (HIRES) 60 μm and 100 μm images are used to study the characteristics of the dust around the star. Results. Our new CO and 13CO data allow the low/intermediate density molecular gas surrounding the WR nebula to be completely mapped. We report two molecular features at-5 km s-1 and-8.5 km s-1 (components 1 and 2, respectively) having a good morphological resemblance with the Hα emission of the ring nebula. Component 2 seems to be associated with the external ring, while component 1 is placed at the interface between component 2 and the Hα emission. We also report a third molecular feature ∼10′ in size (component 3) at a velocity of-9.5 km s-1 having a good morphological correspondence with the inner optical and IR emission, although high resolution observations are recommended to confirm its existence. The stratified morphology and kinematics of the molecular gas could be associated to shock fronts and high mass-loss events related to different evolutive phases of the WR star, which have acted upon the surrounding circumstellar molecular gas. An analysis of the mass of component 1 suggests that this feature is composed of swept-up interstellar gas and is probably enriched by molecular ejecta. The direction of the proper motion of WR 16 suggests that the morphology observed at infrared, optical, radio continuum, and probably molecular emission of the inner ring nebula is induced by the stellar motion.Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y Geofísica
Gradual transition from insulator to semimetal of CaEuB with increasing Eu concentration
The local environment of Eu (, ) in
CaEuB () is investigated by
means of electron spin resonance (ESR). For the spectra show
resolved \textit{fine} and \textit{hyperfine} structures due to the cubic
crystal \textit{electric} field and nuclear \textit{hyperfine} field,
respectively. The resonances have Lorentzian line shape, indicating an
\textit{insulating} environment for the Eu ions. For , as increases, the ESR lines broaden due to local
distortions caused by the Eu/Ca ions substitution. For , the lines broaden further and the spectra gradually change from
Lorentzian to Dysonian resonances, suggesting a coexistence of both
\textit{insulating} and \textit{metallic} environments for the Eu ions.
In contrast to CaGdB, the \textit{fine} structure is still
observable up to . For the \textit{fine} and
\textit{hyperfine} structures are no longer observed, the line width increases,
and the line shape is purely Dysonian anticipating the \textit{semimetallic}
character of EuB. This broadening is attributed to a spin-flip scattering
relaxation process due to the exchange interaction between conduction and
Eu electrons. High field ESR measurements for
reveal smaller and anisotropic line widths, which are attributed to magnetic
polarons and Fermi surface effects, respectively.Comment: Submitted to PR
Distinct high-T transitions in underdoped BaKFeAs
In contrast to the simultaneous structural and magnetic first order phase
transition previously reported, our detailed investigation on an
underdoped BaKFeAs single crystal unambiguously
revealed that the transitions are not concomitant. The tetragonal (:
I4/mmm) - orthorhombic (: Fmmm) structural transition occurs at
110 K, followed by an adjacent antiferromagnetic (AFM) transition
at 102 K. Hysteresis and coexistence of the and
phases over a finite temperature range observed in our NMR
experiments confirm the first order character of the structural transition and
provide evidence that both and are strongly correlated. Our
data also show that superconductivity (SC) develops in the phase
below = 20 K and coexists with long range AFM. This new observation,
, firmly establishes another similarity between the hole-doped
BaFeAs via K substitution and the electron-doped iron-arsenide
superconductors.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
Quantum Oscillations in EuFe2As2 single crystals
Quantum oscillation measurements can provide important information about the
Fermi surface (FS) properties of strongly correlated metals. Here, we report a
Shubnikov-de Haas (SdH) effect study on the pnictide parent compounds
EuFeAs (Eu122) and BaFeAs (Ba122) grown by In-flux.
Although both members are isovalent compounds with approximately the same
density of states at the Fermi level, our results reveal subtle changes in
their fermiology. Eu122 displays a complex pattern in the Fourier spectrum,
with band splitting, magnetic breakdown orbits, and effective masses
sistematically larger when compared to Ba122, indicating that the former is a
more correlated metal. Moreover, the observed pockets in Eu122 are more
isotropic and 3D-like, suggesting an equal contribution from the Fe
orbitals to the FS. We speculate that these FS changes may be responsible for
the higher spin-density wave ordering temperature in Eu122.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure
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