29 research outputs found
Relativistic Hall Effect
We consider the relativistic deformation of quantum waves and mechanical
bodies carrying intrinsic angular momentum (AM). When observed in a moving
reference frame, the centroid of the object undergoes an AM-dependent
transverse shift. This is the relativistic analogue of the spin Hall effect,
which occurs in free space without any external fields. Remarkably, the shifts
of the geometric and energy centroids differ by a factor of 2, and both
centroids are crucial for the correct Lorentz transformations of the AM tensor.
We examine manifestations of the relativistic Hall effect in quantum vortices,
and mechanical flywheels, and also discuss various fundamental aspects of this
phenomenon. The perfect agreement of quantum and relativistic approaches allows
applications at strikingly different scales: from elementary spinning
particles, through classical light, to rotating black-holes.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, to appear in Phys. Rev. Let
Risk for the occupational infection by cytomegalovirus among health-care workers
Background
Cytomegalovirus (CMV) are ubiquitously distributed worldwide, causing a wide range of clinical manifestations from congenital infection to a life-threatening disease in immunocompromised individuals. CMV can be transmitted via human-to-human contact through body fluids; however, the risk of CMV infection among healthcare workers (HCWs) has not been fully evaluated.
Aim
This study aimed to assess the risk of CMV infection among HCWs through daily medical practices.
Methods
Serum samples from HCWs at Osaka University Hospital (Japan) were analysed. Initially, we compared CMV IgG seropositivity among HCWs (medical doctors, nurses, and others) in 2017, which was examined after 1 year to evaluate seroconversion rates among those with seronegative results. Then, we examined CMV seroconversion rates in HCWs who were exposed to blood and body fluids.
Findings
We analysed 1153 samples of HCWs (386 medical doctors, 468 nurses, and 299 others), of which CMV seropositivity rates were not significantly different (68.9%, 70.3%, and 70.9%, respectively). Of these, 63.9% (221/346) of CMV seronegative HCWs were followed after 1 year, with CMV seroconversion rates of 3.2% (7/221). Among 72 HCWs who tested negative for CMV IgG when exposed to blood and body fluids, the CMV seroconversion rate was 2.8% (2/72). The CMV seroconversion rates between the two situations were not significantly different.
Conclusion
Our study indicated that CMV infection through daily patient care seems quite rare. Further well-designed studies with a large sample size are warranted to verify our finding
Novel and Simple Approach to Estimating the Actual Incidence of Blood and Body Fluid Exposure
This article has been published in Clinical Laboratory
Durability of immunity by hepatitis B vaccine in Japanese health care workers depends on primary response titers and durations
Photograph taken by Salt Lake Tribune staf
Durability of immunity by hepatitis B vaccine in Japanese health care workers depends on primary response titers and durations
Yoshioka N, Deguchi M, Hagiya H, Kagita M, Tsukamoto H, Takao M, et al. (2017) Durability of immunity by hepatitis B vaccine in Japanese health care workers depends on primary response titers and durations. PLoS ONE 12(11): e0187661
Spin Excitations in La2CuO4: Consistent Description by Inclusion of Ring-Exchange
We consider the square lattice Heisenberg antiferromagnet with plaquette ring
exchange and a finite interlayer coupling leading to a consistent description
of the spin-wave excitation spectrum in La2CuO4. The values of the in-plane
exchange parameters, including ring-exchange J_{\Box}, are obtained
consistently by an accurate fit to the experimentally observed in-plane
spin-wave dispersion, while the out-of-plane exchange interaction is found from
the temperature dependence of the sublattice magnetization at low temperatures.
The fitted exchange interactions J=151.9 meV and J_{\Box}=0.24 J give values
for the spin stiffness and the Neel temperature in excellent agreement with the
experimental data.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure, RevTe