Ultra-relativistic heavy-ion collisions are expected to produce the strongest electromagnetic fields in the known Universe. These highly-Lorentz contracted fields can manifest themselves as linearly ...polarized quasi-real photons that can interact via the Breit-Wheeler process to produce lepton anti-lepton pairs. The energy and momentum distribution of the produced dileptons carry information about the strength and spatial distribution of the colliding fields. Recently it has been demonstrated that photons from these fields can interact even in heavy-ion collisions with hadronic overlap, providing a purely electromagnetic probe of the produced medium. In this review we discuss the recent theoretical progress and experimental advances for mapping the ultra-strong electromagnetic fields produced in heavy-ion collisions via measurement of the Breit-Wheeler process.
In patients with iron deficiency anemia, ferric carboxymaltose (FCM) and ferric derisomaltose (FDI) allow high-dose iron repletion. While FCM is reported to induce hypophosphatemia, the frequency of ...hypophosphatemia after an equivalent dosage of FDI had not been assessed prospectively.
In the prospective, single-center, double-blind HOMe aFers study, 26 women with iron deficiency anemia (hemoglobin < 12 g/dL plus either plasma ferritin ≤ 100 ng/mL or a plasma ferritin ≤ 300 ng/mL and transferrin saturation (TSAT) ≤ 30%) were randomized to a single intravenous infusion of 20 mg/kg body weight (up to a maximum of 1000 mg) FCM or FDI. The primary endpoint was the incidence of hypophosphatemia (plasma phosphorus levels < 2.0 mg/dL at day 1, day 7 ± 2, and/or day 35 ± 2 after the infusion). In order to investigate potential skeletal and cardiovascular implications, we assessed changes in other components of mineral and bone metabolism, left ventricular function, and arrhythmias.
Hypophosphatemia occurred more frequently in women treated with FCM (9 out of 12 75%) than in those treated with FDI (1 out of 13 8%; p = 0.001). Within 24 h after iron supplementation, women in the FCM group had significant higher plasma intact FGF23 (p < 0.001) and lower plasma 1.25-dihydroxyvitamin D (p < 0.001). As an indicator of urinary phosphorus losses, urinary fractional phosphorus excretion was higher in the FCM group (p = 0.021 at day 7 ± 2 after iron supplementation). We did not observe differences in skeletal and cardiovascular markers, potentially because of the limited number of participants.
While both FCM and FDI provide efficient iron repletion in participants with iron deficiency anemia, FCM induced hypophosphatemia more often than FDI.
Clinical Trials.gov NCT02905539. Registered on 8 September 2016. 2015-004808-36 (EudraCT Number) U1111-1176-4563 (WHO Universal Trial Number) DRKS00010766 (Deutsches Register Klinischer Studien).
Research on epithelial cell lines and primary epithelium is required to dissect the mechanisms underlying the structural abnormalities in airway epithelium observed for respiratory diseases, ...including asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The novel electric cell-substrate impedance sensing technique was used to monitor cell adhesion/spreading, barrier function and wound healing. Primary bronchial epithelium was compared with airway epithelial cell lines 16HBE14o-, BEAS-2B, NCI-H292 and A549. BEAS-2B, A549 and primary cells form a confluent monolayer more rapidly than do 16HBE14o- cells. In contrast, 16HBE14o- cells form stronger intercellular contacts, with a 10-fold higher resistance than BEAS-2B, A549 and NCI-H292 cells and a five-fold increase over primary cells. Accordingly, expression of the adhesion molecules zona occludens-1 and E-cadherin was highest in 16HBE14o- cells. These molecules were localised in intercellular junctions in both 16HBE14o- and primary cells. Finally, restoration of barrier function upon injury was impaired in BEAS-2B compared to 16HBE14o- cells. In conclusion, epithelial cell types display remarkable phenotypic differences and should, accordingly, be used to address specific research questions. 16HBE14o- cells appear most suitable for studies on barrier formation, whereas resemblance in attachment of primary and BEAS-2B and A549 cells makes the latter more important for translational research on cell-matrix contact.
This contribution presents a brief summary of the recent past efforts to experimentally explore the QCD phase diagram at high baryon chemical potentials through heavy-ion collisions. A few ...measurements are highlighted to present the current status in the search for a first-order phase transition, for a possible critical endpoint, and for evidence of chiral symmetry restoration. Finally, the outlook for the ongoing beam energy scan II program and future experiments at the FAIR complex are discussed.
Two-scale Analysis of Solar Magnetic Helicity Brandenburg, Axel; Petrie, Gordon J. D.; Singh, Nishant K.
The Astrophysical journal,
02/2017, Letnik:
836, Številka:
1
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
We develop a two-scale formalism to determine global magnetic helicity spectra in systems where the local magnetic helicity has opposite signs on both sides of the equator, giving rise to ...cancellation with conventional methods. We verify this approach using first a synthetic one-dimensional magnetic field and then two-dimensional slices from a three-dimensional effect-type dynamo-generated magnetic field, with forced turbulence of opposite helicity above and below the midplane of the domain. We then apply this formalism to global solar synoptic vector magnetograms. To improve the statistics, data from three consecutive Carrington rotations (2161-2163) are combined into a single map. We find that the spectral magnetic helicity representative of the northern hemisphere is negative at all wavenumbers and peaks at 0.06 Mm − 1 (scales around 100 Mm ). There is no evidence of bihelical magnetic fields that are found in three-dimensional turbulence simulations of helicity-driven effect-type dynamos.
The KvLQT1 gene encodes a voltage-gated potassium channel. Mutations in KvLQT1 underlie the dominantly transmitted Ward-Romano long QT syndrome, which causes cardiac arrhythmia, and the recessively ...transmitted Jervell and Lange-Nielsen syndrome, which causes both cardiac arrhythmia and congenital deafness. KvLQT1 is also disrupted by balanced germline chromosomal rearrangements in patients with Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome (BWS), which causes prenatal overgrowth and cancer. Because of the diverse human disorders and organ systems affected by this gene, we developed an animal model by inactivating the murine Kvlqt1. No electrocardiographic abnormalities were observed. However, homozygous mice exhibited complete deafness, as well as circular movement and repetitive falling, suggesting imbalance. Histochemical study revealed severe anatomic disruption of the cochlear and vestibular end organs, suggesting that Kvlqt1 is essential for normal development of the inner ear. Surprisingly, homozygous mice also displayed threefold enlargement by weight of the stomach resulting from mucous neck cell hyperplasia. Finally, there were no features of BWS, suggesting that Kvlqt1 is not responsible for BWS.
Gradient- and curl-type or E- and B-type polarizations have been routinely analyzed to study the physics contributing to the cosmic microwave background polarization and galactic foregrounds. They ...characterize the parity-even and parity-odd properties of the underlying physical mechanisms, such as, for example, hydromagnetic turbulence in the case of dust polarization. Here, we study spectral correlation functions characterizing the parity-even and parity-odd parts of linear polarization for homogeneous and inhomogeneous turbulence to show that only the inhomogeneous helical case can give rise to a parity-odd polarization signal. We also study nonhelical turbulence and suggest that a strong non-vanishing (here negative) skewness of the E polarization is responsible for an enhanced ratio of the EE to the BB (quadratic) correlation in both the helical and nonhelical cases. This could explain the enhanced EE/BB ratio observed recently for dust polarization. We close with a preliminary assessment of using the linear polarization of the Sun to characterize its helical turbulence without being subjected to the π ambiguity that magnetic inversion techniques have to address.
Vitamin D is of paramount importance to skeletal development, integrity and health. Vitamin D homeostatis is typically deranged in a number of chronic conditions, of which chronic kidney disease is ...one of the most important. The use of vitamin D based therapy to target secondary hyperparathyroidism is now several decades old, and there is a large body of clinical practice, experience, guidelines and research to underpin this. However, there are many unknowns, of significant clinical relevance. Amongst which is what "species" of vitamin D we should be using, in what patient, and, under what conditions. Sadly, there has been a real dearth of randomised controlled trials, and trials with outputs of clinical relevance, which means our clinical practice has not developed and refined adequately ove the last 4 decades. This article will discuss the vexed but critical questions of which vitamin D therapies might suit which kidney patients, and will high-light the many important clinical questions which urgently require answering.
To provide recommendations for the core outcome domains that should be considered by investigators conducting clinical trials of the efficacy and effectiveness of treatments for chronic pain. ...Development of a core set of outcome domains would facilitate comparison and pooling of data, encourage more complete reporting of outcomes, simplify the preparation and review of research proposals and manuscripts, and allow clinicians to make informed decisions regarding the risks and benefits of treatment.
Under the auspices of the Initiative on Methods, Measurement, and Pain Assessment in Clinical Trials (IMMPACT), 27 specialists from academia, governmental agencies, and the pharmaceutical industry participated in a consensus meeting and identified core outcome domains that should be considered in clinical trials of treatments for chronic pain.
There was a consensus that chronic pain clinical trials should assess outcomes representing six core domains: (1) pain, (2) physical functioning, (3) emotional functioning, (4) participant ratings of improvement and satisfaction with treatment, (5) symptoms and adverse events, (6) participant disposition (e.g. adherence to the treatment regimen and reasons for premature withdrawal from the trial). Although consideration should be given to the assessment of each of these domains, there may be exceptions to the general recommendation to include all of these domains in chronic pain trials. When this occurs, the rationale for not including domains should be provided. It is not the intention of these recommendations that assessment of the core domains should be considered a requirement for approval of product applications by regulatory agencies or that a treatment must demonstrate statistically significant effects for all of the relevant core domains to establish evidence of its efficacy.
Study objective: To determine whether venous blood gas values can replace arterial gas values in the initial emergency department evaluation of patients with suspected diabetic ketoacidosis.
Methods: ...This prospective comparison was performed in an adult university teaching hospital ED. Samples for arterial and venous blood gas analysis were obtained during initial ED evaluations. The venous gas samples were collected with samples for other blood tests at the time of intravenous line insertion. Both arterial and venous samples were obtained before the initiation of treatment.
Result: Data from 44 episodes of diabetic ketoacidosis in 38 patients were analyzed. Laboratory findings of those patients with diabetic ketoacidosis were as follows (mean±SD): arterial pH, 7.20±.14; venous pH, 7.17±.13; serum glucose, 33.8±16 mmol/L (609±288 mg/dL); arterial HCO
3
–, 11.0±6.0 mmol; venous HCO
3
–, 12.8±5.5 mmol/L; serum CO
2, 11.8±5.0 mmol/L; and anion gap, 26.7±7.6 mmol/L. The mean difference between arterial and venous pH values was 0.03 (range 0.0 to 0.11). Arterial and venous pH results (
r=.9689) and arterial and venous HCO
3
– results (
r=.9543) were highly correlated and showed a high measure of agreement.
Conclusion: Venous blood gas measurements accurately demonstrate the degree of acidosis of adult ED patients presenting with diabetic ketoacidosis. Brandenburg MA, Dire DH: Comparison of arterial and venous blood gas values in the initial emergency department evaluation of patients with diabetic ketoacidosis.
Ann Emerg Med April 1998; 31:459-465.
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