In this work, we present measurements of the E-mode (EE) polarization power spectrum and temperature-E-mode (TE) cross-power spectrum of the cosmic microwave background using data collected by ...SPT-3G, the latest instrument installed on the South Pole Telescope. This analysis uses observations of a 1500 deg2 region at 95, 150, and 220 GHz taken over a four-month period in 2018. We report binned values of the EE and TE power spectra over the angular multipole range 300≤ℓ<3000, using the multifrequency data to construct six semi-independent estimates of each power spectrum and their minimum-variance combination. These measurements improve upon the previous results of SPTpol across the multipole ranges 300 ≤ ℓ ≤ 1400 for EE and 300 ≤ ℓ ≤ 1700 for TE, resulting in constraints on cosmological parameters comparable to those from other current leading ground-based experiments. We find that the SPT-3G data set is well fit by a ΛCDM cosmological model with parameter constraints consistent with those from Planck and SPTpol data. From SPT-3G data alone, we find H0=68.8±1.5 km s-1 Mpc-1 and σ8=0.789±0.016, with a gravitational lensing amplitude consistent with the ΛCDM prediction (AL=0.98±0.12). We combine the SPT-3G and the Planck data sets and obtain joint constraints on the ΛCDM model. The volume of the 68% confidence region in six-dimensional ΛCDM parameter space is reduced by a factor of 1.5 compared to Planck-only constraints, with no significant shifts in central values. We note that the results presented here are obtained from data collected during just half of a typical observing season with only part of the focal plane operable, and that the active detector count has since nearly doubled for observations made with SPT-3G after 2018.
Background: The optimal treatment for distal tibial fractures remains a matter of debate. Nonetheless, plate osteosynthesis produces favorable results to intramedullary stabilization in aspects of ...alignment restoration. Aim: The aim of the study was to compare the radiologic and clinical outcomes of distal metadiaphyseal tibial fracture between a simple/wedge fracture (SWF) and a comminuted fracture (CF) using minimally invasive plate osteosynthesis (MIPO). Patients and Methods: This retrospective study analyzed patients with SWF or CF of the distal tibial metadiaphysis that was surgically treated with a locking compression plate. Postoperative radiographic assessments and the time to radiologic union were noted. Clinical assessments were evaluated using both the American Orthopedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS) ankle-hindfoot score and the foot function index (FFI). Postoperative complications were documented. Results: Seventy-one cases were analyzed over a mean follow-up period of 20.9 months. Thirty-six patients had SWF and 35 patients presented with CF. The mean time to radiologic union, amounts of postoperative coronal angulation, and incidence of malunion showed no statistical differences. Fibular fixation was more applied in the CF group (P < 0.001). Moreover, the clinical scores revealed no differences. Nonetheless, in the valgus union group, the AOFAS ankle-hindfoot score was 90.9 compared to 84.1 in the varus union group (P = 0.042) and the FFI was 9.2% compared to 20.2% in the varus union group (P = 0.017). Conclusion: Plate osteosynthesis for SWF or CF of the distal tibial metadiaphysis led to high union rates and good clinical outcomes. There was no significant difference in the radiologic and clinical results according to the presence of fracture comminution. Nonetheless, the valgus union group showed better clinical outcomes than the varus union group. Clinically, it would be preferred to avoid intraoperative varus reduction.
Here, we present constraints on extensions to the Λ CDM cosmological model from measurements of the E-mode polarization autopower spectrum and the temperature-E-mode cross-power spectrum of the ...cosmic microwave background (CMB) made using 2018 SPT-3G data. The extensions considered vary the primordial helium abundance, the effective number of relativistic degrees of freedom, the sum of neutrino masses, the relativistic energy density and mass of a sterile neutrino, and the mean spatial curvature. We do not find clear evidence for any of these extensions, from either the SPT-3G 2018 dataset alone or in combination with baryon acoustic oscillation and Planck data. None of these model extensions significantly relax the tension between Hubble-constant, H0, constraints from the CMB and from distance-ladder measurements using Cepheids and supernovae. The addition of the SPT-3G 2018 data to Planck reduces the square-root of the determinants of the parameter covariance matrices by factors of 1.3–2.0 across these models, signaling a substantial reduction in the allowed parameter volume. We also explore CMB-based constraints on H0 from combined SPT, Planck, and ACT DR4 datasets. While individual experiments see some indications of different H0 values between the TT, TE, and EE spectra, the combined H0 constraints are consistent between the three spectra. For the full combined datasets, we report H0 = 67.49 ± 0.53 km s-1 Mpc -1, which is the tightest constraint on H0 from CMB power spectra to date and in 4.1σ tension with the most precise distance-ladder-based measurement of H0. The SPT-3G survey is planned to continue through at least 2023, with existing maps of combined 2019 and 2020 data already having ~ 3.5 x lower noise than the maps used in this analysis.
Mesoporous carbon, which was templated by colloidal silica, was added to a sulfur cathode as a functional material to confine polysulfides to improve the cyclic performance of lithium–sulfur ...batteries. To investigate the effect of the pore size and the pore volume of mesoporous carbon on the absorption characteristics of the Li-polysulfides, mesoporous carbons with various pore sizes and total pore volumes were prepared by varying the size and the amount of colloidal silica templates. The results show that mesoporous carbon-containing sulfur cathode enhanced the cyclic performance of the batteries significantly. Comparable performances were observed regardless of pore size, suggesting that the pore size is not a critical factor affecting the absorption characteristics of the Li-polysulfides. However, the cyclic performance was affected by the total pore volume, suggesting that a certain pore volume is necessary to confine the majority of the soluble Li-polysulfides generated during cycling and to enhance sulfur utilization. The novel results obtained in this study will contribute to the consolidation of S electrochemistry and further development of high-energy lithium–sulfur batteries.
Fear of flying (FOF) affects an estimated
10-25% of the population. Patients with FOF
(
N
= 49) were randomly assigned to virtual
reality exposure (VRE) therapy, standard exposure
(SE) therapy, or a ...wait-list (WL)
control. Treatment consisted of 8 sessions over 6 weeks, with 4
sessions of anxiety management training followed by either exposure to a
virtual airplane (VRE) or exposure to an actual airplane at the
airport (SE). A posttreatment flight on a commercial airline
measured participants' willingness to fly and anxiety during flight
immediately after treatment. The results indicated that VRE and SE were
both superior to WL, with no differences between VRE and SE. The
gains observed in treatment were maintained at a 6-month follow
up. By 6 months posttreatment, 93% of VRE participants and
93% of SE participants had flown. VRE therapy and SE therapy for
treatment of FOF were unequivocally supported in this controlled
study.
Angelicae dahuricae radix is a traditional herbal medicine used to treat various diseases in China and Korea, such as colds, headaches, rhinitis and psoriasis. Angelicae dahuricae radix has been used ...as an anti-inflammatory, analgesic, antipyretic and antioxidant remedy. This study was performed in order to evaluate the effects of the extracts of Angelicae dahuricae radix on the morphology and viability of mesenchymal stem cells derived from the gingiva. Mesenchymal stem cells derived from the gingiva were grown in the presence of Angelicae dahuricae radix at final concentrations that ranged from 0.001 to 100 μg/ml. The morphology of the cells was viewed under an inverted microscope, and the analysis of cell proliferation was performed with cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) on days 1, 3 and 7 The cells in the control group had spindle-shaped, fibroblast-like morphology at days 1, 3 and 7 under optical microscopy. The shapes of the cells in 0.001, 0.01, 0.1, 1, 10 and 100 μg/ml Angelicae dahuricae radix were similar to the shapes of the cells in the control group. The relative values of the CCK-8 assays of 0.001, 0.01, 0.1, 1, 10, and 100 μg/ml Angelicae dahuricae radix were 102.5±0.6, 133.3±9.6, 148.4±20.5, 1477±12.6, 132.3±277 and 101.1±46%, respectively, when the CCK-8 result of the control group on day 1 was considered to be 100%. There was a marginal increase in cell proliferation at 0.1 and 1 μg/ml groups at day 1; however, this did not achieve statistical signifcance (P=0.052). The relative values of the CCK-8 assays of 0.001, 0.01, 0.1, 1, 10 and 100 μg/ml Angelicae dahuricae radix were 96.5±1.3, 89.3±0.9, 90.3±3.0, 84.8±12.2, 92.3±4.5 and 86.8±11.7%, respectively, when the CCK-8 result of the control group on day 3 was considered to be 100% (P>0.05). The relative values of the CCK-8 assays of 0.001, 0.01, 0.1, 1, 10 and 100 μg/ml Angelicae dahuricae radix day 7 were 94.9±22.3, 102.8±22.1, 127.4±7.4, 130.4±1.3, 129.2±10.8 and 124.8±9.1%, respectively, when the CCK-8 result of the control group on day 7 was considered to be 100%, but there were no statistically significant differences among the groups (P>0.05). Within the limits of this study, Angelicae dahuricae radix at the tested concentrations did not produce statistically significant differences in the viability of stem cells derived from the gingiva.
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► Synthesis and analysis of Er3+/Yb3+ co-doped CaMoO4 upconversion phosphor. ► CaMoO4:Er3+/Yb3+ exhibited strong green UC emission with weak red UC emission. ► Optimum doping ...concentrations of Er3+/Yb3+ ions have been investigated to 2/16mol%.
The upconversion (UC) luminescence properties of polycrystalline Er3+/Yb3+ co-doped CaMoO4 synthesized by a complex citrate gel method were investigated in detail. Under 980nm excitation, Er3+/Yb3+ co-doped CaMoO4 has exhibited a weak red emission near 670nm and strong green UC emissions at 530 and 550nm, corresponding to the intra 4f transitions of Er3+ (4F9/2, 2H11/2, 4S3/2)→Er3+ (4I15/2). The optimum doping concentrations of Er3+ and Yb3+ were determined to result in the highest UC luminescence and a possible UC mechanism of Er3+/Yb3+ co-doped CaMoO4 depending on the pump power dependence is discussed in detail.
BSCCO tubes can be used as a base material for switching devices such as superconducting fault current limiters (SFCLs) that prevent an electrical problem from occurring in an electrical power ...system. To apply an BSCCO bulk tube to a switching device, the superconducting tube has to be joined with a metallic part to by the over current to the metal part when the FCL is quenched.
In this study, joining between Cu–Ni alloy and BSCCO was accomplished by soldering using In–Sn and In–Bi solders. Additionally, an Sn–Ag–Cu/In–Bi solder was used for the soldering of a different kind. For a better joining of the BSCCO superconductor with the In–Bi solder, the surface of the BSCCO was pre-coated with Ag by electro-plating. From the experiments, an intermetallic compound (IMC) of AgxIny chain was observed to be mainly formed from In–Sn and In–Bi soldering process. In case of the soldering of a different kind, IMC of AgxIny and CuxSny was also developed. Finally, we confirmed that the properties of soldering were enhanced by Sn–Ag–Cu/In–Bi twice-soldering process.
The motivation for this work was the potential of hydrophobic amino acids such as glycine, l-alanine, and l-valine to be applied as thermodynamic hydrate inhibitors (THIs). To confirm their ...capabilities in inhibiting the formation of gas hydrates, three-phase (liquid–hydrate–vapor) equilibrium conditions for carbon dioxide hydrate formation in the presence of 0.1–3.0 mol % amino acid solutions were determined in the range of 273.05–281.45 K and 14.1–35.2 bar. From quantitative analyses, the inhibiting effects of the amino acids (on a mole concentration basis) decreased in the following order: l-valine > l-alanine > glycine. The application of amino acids as THIs has several potential advantages over conventional methods. First, the environmentally friendly nature of amino acids as compared to conventional inhibitors means that damage to ecological systems and the environment could be minimized. Second, the loss of amino acids in recovery process would be considerably reduced because amino acids are nonvolatile. Third, amino acids have great potential as a model system in which to investigate the inhibition mechanism on the molecular level, since the structure and chemical properties of amino acids are well understood.
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