The change in mean-square nuclear charge radii δ⟨r^{2}⟩ along the even-A tin isotopic chain ^{108-134}Sn has been investigated by means of collinear laser spectroscopy at ISOLDE/CERN using the atomic ...transitions 5p^{2} ^{1}S_{0}→5p6 s^{1}P_{1} and 5p^{2} ^{3}P_{0}→5p6s ^{3}P_{1}. With the determination of the charge radius of ^{134}Sn and corrected values for some of the neutron-rich isotopes, the evolution of the charge radii across the N=82 shell closure is established. A clear kink at the doubly magic ^{132}Sn is revealed, similar to what has been observed at N=82 in other isotopic chains with larger proton numbers, and at the N=126 shell closure in doubly magic ^{208}Pb. While most standard nuclear density functional calculations struggle with a consistent explanation of these discontinuities, we demonstrate that a recently developed Fayans energy density functional provides a coherent description of the kinks at both doubly magic nuclei, ^{132}Sn and ^{208}Pb, without sacrificing the overall performance. A multiple correlation analysis leads to the conclusion that both kinks are related to pairing and surface effects.
Micromachining with high repetition rate femtosecond lasers and galvo scanners shows some limitations in the pulses positioning accuracy due to the galvo mirrors acceleration. This is particularly ...evident during scan speed or direction changes, resulting in a poor quality and overtreatment e.g. in corners. Several scanning approaches have been proposed to tackle these issues like the so-called skywriting (SW) and the pulse-on-demand (POD) being the last limited to ns lasers, moderate pulse repetition rates and scan speeds. Recently, POD approach has been extended to femtosecond laser sources with high power and high repetition rate. Here, for the first time, we explored the huge potential in laser micromachining of femtosecond POD technology associated to a fast galvo scanner. We tested an innovative set-up allowing for precise laser triggering at the requested time and position for MHz repetition rate and scan speed as high as 20 m/s. The pulse position accuracy of the system has been estimated to be ≤ 1µm whilst performances have been evaluated in comparison to conventional scanning and SW. Finally, we report the results of an engraving test on stainless steel. The advantages of the approach we propose are clearly shown in terms of machining quality and precision with respect to conventional scanning and reduction of the processing time by ≈ 40% with respect to SW.
The magnetic dipole and the spectroscopic quadrupole moments of the nuclear ground states in the odd-mass nickel isotopes 59−67Ni have been determined using collinear laser spectroscopy at the ...CERN-ISOLDE facility. They are compared to ab initio valence-space in-medium similarity renormalization group (VS-IMSRG) calculations including contributions of two-body currents as well as to shell-model calculations. The two-body-current contributions significantly improve the agreement with experimental data, reducing the mean-square deviation from the experimental moments by a factor of 3 to 5, depending on the employed interaction. For all interactions, the largest contributions are obtained for the 52− (72−) isotopes 65Ni (55Ni), which is ascribed to the high angular momentum of the f orbitals. Our results demonstrate that the inclusion of two-body-current contributions to the magnetic moment in an isotopic chain of complex nuclei can be handled by the VS-IMSRG and can outperform phenomenological shell-model calculations using effective g-factors in the nickel region.
The hyperfine structure splitting in the 6p3S3/24→6p27sP1/24 transition at 307 nm in atomic 208Bi was measured with collinear laser spectroscopy at ISOLDE, CERN. The hyperfine A and B factors of both ...states were determined with an order of magnitude improved accuracy. Based on these measurements, theoretical input for the hyperfine structure anomaly, and results from hyperfine measurements on hydrogen-like and lithium-like 209Bi80+,82+, the nuclear magnetic moment of 208Bi has been determined to μ(Bi208)=+4.570(10)μN. Using this value, the transition energy of the ground-state hyperfine splitting in hydrogen-like and lithium-like 208Bi80+,82+ and their specific difference of −67.491(5)(148) meV are predicted. This provides a means for an experimental confirmation of the cancellation of nuclear structure effects in the specific difference in order to exclude such contributions as the cause of the hyperfine puzzle, the recently reported 7-σ discrepancy between experiment and bound-state strong-field QED calculations of the specific difference in the hyperfine structure splitting of 209Bi80+,82+.
The aim of this study was to evaluate the accuracy and usability of a novel continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) system designed for needle-free insertion and reduced environmental impact. We assessed ...the sensor performance of two GlucoMen
Day CGM systems worn simultaneously by eight participants with type 1 diabetes. Self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) was performed regularly over 14 days at home. Participants underwent two standardized, 5-h meal challenges at the research center with frequent plasma glucose (PG) measurements using a laboratory reference (YSI) instrument. When comparing CGM to PG, the overall mean absolute relative difference (MARD) was 9.7 2.6-14.6%. The overall MARD for CGM vs. SMBG was 13.1 3.5-18.6%. The consensus error grid (CEG) analysis showed 98% of both CGM/PG and CGM/SMBG pairs in the clinically acceptable zones A and B. The analysis confirmed that GlucoMen
Day CGM meets the clinical requirements for state-of-the-art CGM. In addition, the needle-free insertion technology is well tolerated by users and reduces medical waste compared to conventional CGM systems.
Ceramic fragments can provide an insight into the ancient culture and practices of groups of humans and their way of life (technology, cultural identity, social organization, habitation and economy). ...Scientific analysis can be used to obtain information on the ceramic production process, as well as the specificities of the material employed. In this research, all samples of archaeological potsherd from the Tupi-Guarani tradition were analyzed in order to identify and to characterize the structures, morphologies and the elemental composition by using by scanning electron microscopy (SEM-EDS) and multivariate statistical methods (PCA and HCA). FTIR spectroscopy revealed the presence of an organic residue in three samples along with carbonates, clay minerals, quartz and hematite. In addition, the presence of the stretching attributed to water molecules in crystalline systems was observed. Also, the presence of TiO2 in the anatase polymorphic form was detected using μ-Raman spectroscopy. These results indicate a firing temperature of between 800 and 1000 °C. In relation to the morphology, all samples revealed amorphous structures presenting isolated and heterogenic particles of different forms and sizes, and the EDS spectrum confirmed the elements present in the molecular structures elucidated by vibrational spectroscopy. The multivariate analysis has confirmed the correlation between the elemental compositions of ceramics collected from two different sites: a mountain region and a coastal area in Santa Catarina State, Brazil.
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•Archaeological ceramic samples found in Florianópolis, SC, Brazil were submitted to material analysis.•The molecular structures were characterized by FTIR and micro-Raman spectroscopy.•Morphological and elemental analyses were conducted by SEM-EDS.•The results suggest the firing temperatures were between 800 and 1000 °C.•Chemometric analysis elucidated a possible correlation between ceramics from two different sites.
Collinear laser spectroscopy is performed on the nickel isotopes ^{58-68,70}Ni, using a time-resolved photon counting system. From the measured isotope shifts, nuclear charge radii R_{c} are ...extracted and compared to theoretical results. Three ab initio approaches all employ, among others, the chiral interaction NNLO_{sat}, which allows an assessment of their accuracy. We find agreement with experiment in differential radii δ⟨r_{c}^{2}⟩ for all employed ab initio methods and interactions, while the absolute radii are consistent with data only for NNLO_{sat}. Within nuclear density functional theory, the Skyrme functional SV-min matches experiment more closely than the Fayans functional Fy(Δr,HFB).
The use of TNF-alpha antagonists may be associated with an increased rate of infections in risk populations of patients with RA. Our hypothesis was that in patients with a high risk of infection ...Rituximab (RTX) could be a safer alternative.
We analyzed the outcome of RA patients who received RTX instead of TNF-alpha antagonist because of a history of serious infections or frequent infectious events. All patients in a given time period were included in the retrospective analysis.
32 patients were identified according to the above criteria and followedup for a mean period of 16 ± 8 months (range 6 - 36) during treatment with RTX. Only one patient was lost to follow-up. Sixteen patients were anti-TNF-naïve and in the remaining patients the TNF-alpha antagonist was stopped due to infectious complications before starting RTX. RTX was combined with a disease modifying drug in 22 (69%) of the cases. Altogether 4 severe infections occurred (9.5/100 patient years), mainly within the first year of treatment with RTX. Two patients suffered from pneumonia, 1 from a postoperative wound infection, 1 from an ear abscess and bacterial bronchitis. None of our patients with a previous history of bacterial infections of soft tissue, bacterial arthritis or osteomyelitis (n=9) developed recurrent infection. No relapse of a previously diagnosed tuberculosis (n=9) was seen.
In this particular high risk population of RA patients, treatment with RTX seems to be an alternative to TNF-alpha-antagonist and has a relatively low rate of recurrent infection.
Mounier-Kuhn syndrome (MKS) or tracheobronchomegaly includes clinical and radiographic findings of tracheobronchial dilatation and recurrent respiratory infections. MKS is a very rare pathology, ...especially in the paediatric age group which makes it a diagnostic challenge. A 4-year-old girl suffered from dyspnea, recurrent respiratory infections and joint pain. Chest radiography detected peribronchial reinforcement and CT-scan revealed extended tracheal dilatation and bronchiectasis. In addition to MKS our patient was diagnosed with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) and scleroderma. MKS can be caused by congenital disorder or acquired aetiology. Several connective tissue diseases have been associated with MKS but no cases of JIA or scleroderma are described previously. Our case illustrates that patients who suffer from recurrent respiratory infections with unsatisfactory evolution and unspecific chest X-ray alteration, MKS always has to be considered in the differential diagnosis particularly in patients who suffer from connective tissue diseases.
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