We explore routing of propagating phonons in analogy with previous experiments on photons. Surface acoustic waves (SAWs) in the microwave regime are scattered by a superconducting transmon qubit. The ...transmon can be tuned on or off resonance with the incident SAW field using an external magnetic field or the Autler-Townes effect, and thus the reflection and transmission of the SAW field can be controlled in time. We observe 80% extinction in the transmission of the low power continuous signal and a 40 ns rise time of the router. The slow propagation speed of SAWs on solid surfaces allows for in-flight manipulations of the propagating phonons. The ability to route short, 100 ns, pulses enables new functionality, for instance to catch an acoustic phonon between two qubits and then release it in a controlled direction.
Most future information processing techniques using electron spins in non-magnetic semiconductors will require both the manipulation and transfer of spins without their coherence being lost. The ...spin-orbit effective magnetic field induced by drifting electrons enables us to rotate the electron spins in the absence of an external magnetic field. However, the fluctuations in the effective magnetic field originating from the random scattering of electrons also cause undesirable spin decoherence, which limits the length scale of the spin transport. Here we demonstrate the drift transport of electron spins adjusted to a robust spin structure, namely a persistent spin helix. We find that the persistent spin helix enhances the spatial coherence of drifting spins, resulting in maximized spin decay length near the persistent spin helix condition. Within the enhanced distance of the spin transport, the transport path of electron spins can be modulated by employing time-varying in-plane voltages.
Electron spin resonance (ESR) has applications in the manipulation of individual electron spins for quantum information processing16. In general, ESR requires two external magnetic elds: a static eld ...(B0) to split the spin states in energy and an oscillating eld (B1) with the frequency resonant to the splitting energy. However, spin manipulation methods relying on real magnetic eldsmuch broader than the size of individual electronsare energetically inefcient and unsuitable for future device applications.
To verify the reliability and validity of FLIR ONE, a device connected to a smartphone, for the assessment of inflammation based on relative temperature increase compared with the thermography ...routinely used in pressure ulcer (PU) and diabetic foot assessment.
Participants in this pilot cross-sectional observational study were recruited from the patients in the PU team rounds and the diabetic foot outpatient clinic at the university hospital in January 2015. Cohen's kappa coefficient with its 95% confidence intervals was used to evaluate the criterion-related validity and inter- and intra-rater reliability for the thermal imaging assessment. For assessing criterion-related validity, a hand-held high-end infrared thermography device was used to provide reference data. Comparison of thermal images between the smartphone-connected device and the hand-held device was performed with both a 'predetermined range' and an 'automatically-set range.' For assessing inter-rater reliability, two assessors evaluated the thermal images taken by the mobile thermography. For assessing intra-rater reliability, one assessor evaluated the thermal images twice. The thermal images were shown to the assessors at random.
Among 16 thermal images obtained from eight patients, kappa coefficients for each value were as follows: for the predetermined range and automatically-set range, respectively, the criterion-related validity was 1.00 (95% confidence interval 1.00-1.00) and 1.00 (95% confidence interval 1.00-1.00); the inter-rater reliability was 1.00 (95% confidence interval 1.00-1.00) and 1.00 (95% confidence interval 1.00-1.00); and the intra-rater reliability was 1.00 (95% confidence interval 1.00-1.00) and 1.00 (95% confidence interval 1.00-1.00).
This pilot study suggests that FLIR ONE can work as an alternative device for assessing subclinical inflammation in PUs and the diabetic foot in clinical settings. Our results may facilitate clinicians in accepting the routine use of thermal imaging assessment at the patients' bedside.
Summary
Background
The direct microscopy, fungal culture and histopathology that are necessary for the definitive diagnosis of tinea unguium are disadvantageous in that detection sensitivity is ...affected by the level of skill of the person who performs the testing, and the procedures take a long time.
Objectives
The Dermatophyte Test Strip, which was developed recently, can simply and easily detect filamentous fungi in samples in a short time, and there are expectations for its use as a method for tinea unguium screening. With this in mind, we examined the detection capacity of the Dermatophyte Test Strip for tinea unguium.
Methods
The presence or absence of fungal elements was judged by direct microscopy and Dermatophyte Test Strip in 165 nail samples obtained from residents in nursing homes for the elderly. Moreover, the minimum sample amount required for positive determination was estimated using 32 samples that showed positive results by Dermatophyte Test Strip.
Results
The Dermatophyte Test Strip showed 98% sensitivity, 78% specificity, 84·8% positive predictive value, 97% negative predictive value and a positive and negative concordance rate of 89·1%. The minimum sample amount required for positive determination was 0·002–0·722 mg.
Conclusions
The Dermatophyte Test Strip showed very high sensitivity and negative predictive value, and was considered a potentially useful method for tinea unguium screening. Positive determination was considered to be possible with a sample amount of about 1 mg.
What's already known about this topic?
Tinea should be diagnosed based on mycological examinations.
Direct microscopy, culture and histopathology are employed to detect fungal elements.
These methods require technical skill and/or consume time.
What does this study add?
The Dermatophyte Test Strip visualizes mycotic antigens by immunochromatography.
It allows easier and faster detection of fungi in samples, with very high sensitivity.
It is a useful method for screening of tinea unguium.
Magneto-optic Kerr microscopy was employed to investigate the spin-orbit interactions of electrons traveling in semiconductor quantum wells using surface acoustic waves (SAWs). Two-dimensional images ...of the spin flow induced by SAWs exhibit anisotropic spin precession behaviors caused by the coexistence of different types of spin-orbit interactions. The dependence of spin-orbit effective magnetic fields on SAW intensity indicates the existence of acoustically controllable spin-orbit interactions resulting from the strain and Rashba contributions induced by the SAWs.
Objective
Prevention of frail skin is important in older people because frail skin is associated with a risk of injury in this population. In this study, we investigated the association of ...nutritional status and habitual dietary intake with skin conditions in community-dwelling older people.
Design
Cross-sectional study.
Setting
Three community settings in Japan from autumn to winter.
Participants
Older people aged ≥65 years without care-need certification (n=118).
Measurements
Malnutrition and obesity were evaluated to assess the nutritional status. Nutrient and food group intakes per 1000 kcal were evaluated using a brief self-administered diet history questionnaire. Dietary patterns based on food groups were evaluated by principal component analysis. Skin condition parameters, including stratum corneum hydration, appearance of xerosis (specific symptom sum score SRRC score), and dermal intensity by high-frequency ultrasonography, were measured on a lower leg. Multiple linear regression analysis was performed with adjustment for confounders.
Results
The mean (standard deviation) age was 74.1 (4.8) years, and 83.1% of participants were female. A higher intake of plant fat (p=0.018) was associated with a lower SRRC score. Higher intakes of α-tocopherol (p=0.050) and vitamin C (p=0.017) were associated with increased dermal intensity. A body mass index ≥25 (p=0.016) was associated with decreased dermal intensity. A dietary pattern characterized by higher vegetable and fruit intake was associated with a better skin condition.
Conclusion
Plant fat, antioxidant vitamins, and a dietary pattern characterized by vegetables and fruits showed positive and obesity showed negative associations for frail skin in community-dwelling older people.
Objective
To investigate whether thermography can be used to detect latent inflammation in pressure ulcers and predict pressure ulcer prognosis in a clinical setting.
Method
For this cohort study, we ...recruited 35 patients with stage II–IV pressure ulcers on the torso, who underwent thermographic assessment on discovery of their pressure ulcer. The patients were followed up for at least 3 weeks. Thermography was performed immediately after dressing removal. Pressure ulcers were classified into two groups depending on whether or not the wound site temperature was lower or higher than the periwound skin: the low temperature group and the high temperature group respectively. A generalised estimation equation was used to estimate the relative risk of delayed healing of pressure ulcers, comparing wounds with high temperatures and low temperatures.
Results
Of the 35 patients, 21 had ‘low temperature’ wounds and 14 had ‘high temperature’ wounds at baseline. Two patients in the high temperature group presented with overt infection, and were excluded from further analysis. Twenty-two pressure ulcers were considered to heal ‘normally’ (that is, the wound area reduced by 30% or more within 3 weeks) and 16 did not heal. The baseline DESIGN score (a measure of gross wound status) did not differ in any subscales between the high and low temperature groups. The relative risk for delayed healing in high temperature cases was 2.25 (95% confidence intervals; 1.13–4.47, p=0.021). Sensitivity was 0.56, specificity was 0.82, positive predictive value was 0.75, and negative predictive value was 0.67.
Conclusion
Our results indicate that using thermography to classify pressure ulcers according to temperature could be a useful predictor of healing at 3 weeks, even though wound appearances may not differ at the point of thermographical assessment. The higher temperature in the wound site, when compared with periwound skin, may imply the presence of critical colonisation, or other factors which disturb the wound healing.
Conflict of interest
None.
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