Drastic performance increase and accelerated progress in organic light-emitting diodes from solutions are shown using solution-processable small molecules based on the core structures of ...vacuum-evaporable materials. Systematic modification of small-molecule materials toward better processability from solutions at identical electro-optical properties is shown. This is demonstrated to lead to a significant improvement in the device performance.
Stress tasks are used to induce sympathetic nervous system (SNS) arousal. However, the efficacy and the patterns of SNS activation have not been systematically compared between different tasks. ...Therefore, we analyzed SNS activation during the following stress tasks: Presentation of negative, positive, and - as a control - neutral affective pictures, Color-Word interference test (CWT), mental arithmetic under time limit, singing a song aloud, and giving a spontaneous talk. We examined 11 healthy subjects and recorded the following SNS parameters: Activation of emotional sweating by quantitative sudometry, skin vasoconstriction by laser-Doppler flowmetry, heart rate by ECG, blood pressure by determination of pulse wave transit time (PWTT), and electromyographic (EMG) activity of the trapezius muscle. Moreover, subjective stress ratings were acquired for each task using a visual analog scale. All tasks were felt significantly stressful when compared to viewing neutral pictures. However, SNS activation was not reliable: Affective pictures did not induce a significant SNS response; singing, giving a talk and mental arithmetic selectively increased heart rate and emotional sweating. Only the CWT globally activated the SNS. Regarding all tasks, induction of emotional sweating, increase of heart rate and blood pressure significantly correlated with subjective stress ratings, in contrast to EMG and skin vasoconstriction.Our results show that the activation of the SNS widely varies depending on the stress task. Different stress tasks differently activate the SNS, which is an important finding when considering sympathetic reactions - in clinical situations and in research.
We provide evidence that elevated serum osteoprotegerin reflects pathophysiological processes of complex regional pain syndrome.
Osteoprotegerin (OPG) is important for bone remodeling and may ...contribute to complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) pathophysiology. We aimed to assess the value of OPG as a biomarker for CRPS and a possible correlation with radiotracer uptake in 3-phase bone scintigraphy (TPBS). OPG levels were analyzed in 23 CRPS patients (17 women; mean age 50±9.0years; disease duration: 12weeks IQR 8–24), 10 controls (6 women; mean age 58±9.6years) and 21 patients after uncomplicated fractures (12 women; mean age: 43±15years; time after fracture: 15weeks IQR: 6–22). The CRPS and control patients also underwent TPBS. OPG in CRPS patients was significantly increased by comparison with both control groups (P=0.001; Kruskal-Wallis test; CRPS patients: 74.1pg/mL IQR: 47.1–100.7; controls: 46.7pg/mL IQR: 35.5–55.0; P=0.004; fracture patients: 45.9pg/mL IQR: 37.5–56.7; P=0.001). As a diagnostic test for CRPS, OPG had a sensitivity of 0.74, specificity of 0.80, positive predictive value of 68% and negative predictive value of 84%. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis showed an area under the curve of 0.80 (CI: 0.68–0.91). For the CRPS-affected hand, a significant correlation between OPG and TPBS region of interest analysis in phase III was detected (carpal bones; r=0.391; P=0.03). The persistent OPG increase in CRPS indicates enhanced osteoblastic activity shown by increased radiotracer uptake in TPBS phase III. A contribution of bone turnover to CRPS pathophysiology is likely. OPG might be useful as a biomarker for CRPS.
In this paper we present the results of a coherent narrow-band search for continuous gravitational-wave signals from the Crab and Vela pulsars conducted on Virgo VSR4 data. In order to take into ...account a possible small mismatch between the gravitational-wave frequency and two times the star rotation frequency, inferred from measurement of the electromagnetic pulse rate, a range of 0.02 Hz around two times the star rotational frequency has been searched for both the pulsars. No evidence for a signal has been found and 95% confidence level upper limits have been computed assuming both that polarization parameters are completely unknown and that they are known with some uncertainty, as derived from x-ray observations of the pulsar wind torii. For Vela the upper limits are comparable to the spin-down limit, computed assuming that all the observed spin-down is due to the emission of gravitational waves. For Crab the upper limits are about a factor of 2 below the spin-down limit, and represent a significant improvement with respect to past analysis. This is the first time the spin-down limit is significantly overcome in a narrow-band search.
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We present a search for periodic gravitational waves from the neutron star in the supernova remnant Cassiopeia A. The search coherently analyzes data in a 12 day interval taken from the fifth science ...run of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory. It searches gravitational-wave frequencies from 100 to 300 Hz and covers a wide range of first and second frequency derivatives appropriate for the age of the remnant and for different spin-down mechanisms. No gravitational-wave signal was detected. Within the range of search frequencies, we set 95% confidence upper limits of (0.7-1.2) X 10--24 on the intrinsic gravitational-wave strain, (0.4-4) X 10--4 on the equatorial ellipticity of the neutron star, and 0.005-0.14 on the amplitude of r-mode oscillations of the neutron star. These direct upper limits beat indirect limits derived from energy conservation and enter the range of theoretical predictions involving crystalline exotic matter or runaway r-modes. This paper is also the first gravitational-wave search to present upper limits on the r-mode amplitude.
Traditional Chinese Medicine acupuncture compared to sham acupuncture with Streitberger placebo needles shows a minimal relief of capsaicin-induced pain in healthy subjects.
Acupuncture is frequently ...used to treat pain, although data supporting the analgesic efficacy from placebo-controlled studies is sparse. In order to get evidence for acupuncture analgesia we performed a study with 2 well-recognized experimental human pain models – the cold-pressor (CP) test and intradermal capsaicin injection. Fifty healthy men were included. Our study compared Traditional Chinese Medicine-based acupuncture to sham acupuncture with Streitberger placebo needles in a randomized, controlled, double-blinded trial. The primary endpoint was the reduction of mean pain intensity during 3minutes of CP test or of mean pain intensity within 10minutes after capsaicin injection. Secondary parameters were defined to substantiate the findings. To ensure comparability, somatosensory (measured by quantitative sensory testing) and psychological parameters were investigated and found to be the same in both groups. Analyses (repeated-measures analyses of variance) showed a significant (P=0.009) but clinically questionable pain reduction in the verum group for capsaicin-induced pain, which was mainly driven by an effect of Traditional Chinese Medicine acupuncture on small pain ratings (max. reduction from 7/100 rating at baseline to 2.5/100 at intervention). Neither pin-prick hyperalgesia, nor allodynia, nor neurogenic flare associated with capsaicin injection, nor pain ratings during the CP test, were significantly different between groups. In addition, there was no placebo response. Attitude towards acupuncture and partial unblinding did not affect the results. We conclude that acupuncture on predefined points has a minor effect on experimental pain in healthy subjects.
The system integrity and reliability is a major task of transmission system operators (TSOs). Different tools are available to drive a secure power system. But most of them missed the assessment of ...the influences of protection systems on the system security. Therefore we introduced the Dynamic Protection Security Assessment (DPSA). Protection systems like distance protection relays were included in transient stability analyses. The impact of these were analysed based on different indices which assessed the number of unwanted operation, number of pickups and the amount of undesired lost load. By taking several contingencies into account, the DPSA gave a ranking of critical relays which were susceptible to unwanted operation during transient stability simulations. Two case studies showed that power swing blocking is a suitable measure to prevent the system from blackouts, but it was not always useful. Especially during loss of synchronism of one generator or a coherent group, a dedicated system split prevented the grid from total blackout.
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