We present a measure of the hard (2-8 keV) X-ray luminosity function (XLF) of AGNs up to image. At high redshifts, the wide area coverage of the Chandra Multiwavength Project is crucial to detect ...rare and luminous AGNs. The inclusion of samples from deeper published surveys, such as the Chandra Deep Fields, allows us to span the lower L sub(X) range of the XLF. Our sample is selected from both the hard and soft energy band detections. Within our optical magnitude limits, we achieve an adequate level of completeness (>50%) regarding X-ray source identification (i.e., redshift). We find that the luminosity function is similar to that found in previous X- ray surveys up to image with an evolution dependent on both luminosity and redshift. At image, there is a significant decline in the numbers of AGNs with an evolution rate similar to that found by studies of optically selected QSOs. Based on our XLF, we assess the resolved fraction of the cosmic X-ray background, the cumulative mass density of SMBHs, and the comparison of the mean accretion rate onto SMBHs and the star formation history of galaxies as a function of redshift. A coevolution scenario up to image is plausible, although at higher redshifts the accretion rate onto SMBHs drops more rapidly. Finally, we highlight the need for better statistics of high- redshift AGNs at image, which is achievable with the upcoming Chandra surveys.
We aimed to evaluate the long-term clinical outcomes and prognostic factors of symptomatic intracranial unruptured vertebrobasilar artery dissection (siu-VBD).
A total of 191 patients (M:F = 127:64; ...median age, 46 years) with siu-VBD were treated between January 2001 and December 2008. Presentations, treatments, outcomes, and prognostic factors were retrospectively analyzed.
Clinical manifestations were ischemic symptoms with headache (n = 97) or without headache (n = 13) and headache without ischemic symptoms (n = 81). Forty-six patients (24.1%) underwent endovascular treatment. The remaining 145 patients (75.9%) were medically treated with anticoagulants (n = 49), antiplatelets (n = 48), or analgesics alone (n = 48). Clinical follow-up data were available in 178 patients (102 ischemic and 76 nonischemic) at 15 to 102 months (mean, 46 months). None of the siu-VBD hemorrhaged. All 76 patients without ischemic presentation had favorable outcomes (modified Rankin Scale, 0-1). Of the 102 patients with ischemic presentation, outcomes were favorable in 92 and unfavorable in 10 patients. Four patients died; 3 died of causes unrelated to VBD, and one died as a result of basilar artery (BA) dissection. Old age (odds ratio OR 1.099; 95% confidence interval CI 1.103-1.204; p = 0.042) and BA involvement (OR 11.886; 95% CI 1.416-99.794; p = 0.023) were independent predictors of unfavorable outcomes in siu-VBD with ischemic presentation.
Clinical outcomes for siu-VBD were favorable in all patients without ischemic symptoms and in most patients with ischemic presentation. None of the siu-VBD caused subarachnoid hemorrhage. Old age and BA involvement were independent predictors of unfavorable outcome in siu-VBD with ischemic presentation.
Background and purpose
The inferior cerebellar peduncle (ICP) contains various fibres to and from the cerebellum relating to the integration of the proprioceptive and vestibular functions. However, ...the full clinical features of isolated unilateral ICP lesions have not been defined in humans.
Methods
Eight consecutive patients with isolated unilateral ICP lesions at the pontine level (six with stroke, one with multiple sclerosis and one with brainstem encephalitis) received bedside neurological and neuro‐otological evaluations and underwent laboratory tests including measurements of the subjective visual vertical (SVV) and ocular torsion, bithermal caloric tests and pure tone audiometry.
Results
All patients developed isolated acute vestibular syndrome (AVS) with ipsilesional spontaneous nystagmus (n = 7) and contralesional ocular tilt reaction (OTR) and/or SVV tilt (n = 7). In view of the normal head impulse test in all patients and skew deviation in one, our patients met the criteria for AVS from central lesions. Five patients showed a directional dissociation between the OTR/SVV tilt and body lateropulsion that fell to the lesion side whilst the OTR/SVVtilt was contraversive.
Conclusions
A unilateral ICP lesion at the pontine level leads to the development of isolated AVS. However, a negative head impulse test and directional dissociation between OTR/SVV tilt and body lateropulsion may distinguish lesions involving unilateral ICP at the pontine level from those affecting other vestibular structures.
We analyze the single microlensing event OGLE-2015-BLG-1482 simultaneously observed from two ground-based surveys and from Spitzer. The Spitzer data exhibit finite-source effects that are due to the ...passage of the lens close to or directly over the surface of the source star as seen from Spitzer. Such finite-source effects generally yield measurements of the angular Einstein radius, which when combined with the microlens parallax derived from a comparison between the ground-based and the Spitzer light curves yields the lens mass and lens-source relative parallax. From this analysis, we find that the lens of OGLE-2015-BLG-1482 is a very low-mass star with a mass or a brown dwarf with a mass , which are located at and , respectively, where is the distance between the lens and the source, and thus it is the first isolated low-mass microlens that has been decisively located in the Galactic bulge. The degeneracy between the two solutions is severe ( ). The fundamental reason for the degeneracy is that the finite-source effect is seen only in a single data point from Spitzer, and this single data point gives rise to two solutions for , the angular size of the source in units of the angular Einstein ring radius. Because the degeneracy can be resolved only by relatively high-cadence observations around the peak, while the Spitzer cadence is typically , we expect that events for which the finite-source effect is seen only in the Spitzer data may frequently exhibit this degeneracy. For OGLE-2015-BLG-1482, the relative proper motion of the lens and source for the low-mass star is , while for the brown dwarf it is . Hence, the degeneracy can be resolved within from direct-lens imaging by using next-generation instruments with high spatial resolution.
Mass measurements of gravitational microlenses require one to determine the microlens parallax πE, but precise πE measurement, in many cases, is hampered due to the subtlety of the microlens-parallax ...signal combined with the difficulty of distinguishing the signal from those induced by other higher-order effects. In this work, we present the analysis of the binary-lens event OGLE-2017-BLG-0329, for which πE is measured with a dramatically improved precision using additional data from space-based Spitzer observations. We find that while the parallax model based on the ground-based data cannot be distinguished from a zero-πE model at the 2 level, the addition of the Spitzer data enables us to identify two classes of solutions, each composed of a pair of solutions according to the well-known ecliptic degeneracy. It is found that the space-based data reduce the measurement uncertainties of the north and east components of the microlens-parallax vector by factors ∼18 and ∼4, respectively. With the measured microlens parallax combined with the angular Einstein radius measured from the resolved caustic crossings, we find that the lens is composed of a binary with component masses of either (M1, M2) ∼ (1.1, 0.8) M or ∼(0.4, 0.3) M according to the two solution classes. The first solution is significantly favored but the second cannot be securely ruled out based on the microlensing data alone. However, the degeneracy can be resolved from adaptive optics observations taken ∼10 years after the event.
The field of quantum computing has grown from concept to demonstration devices over the past 20 years. Universal quantum computing offers efficiency in approaching problems of scientific and ...commercial interest, such as factoring large numbers, searching databases, simulating intractable models from quantum physics, and optimizing complex cost functions. Here, we present an 11-qubit fully-connected, programmable quantum computer in a trapped ion system composed of 13
Yb
ions. We demonstrate average single-qubit gate fidelities of 99.5Formula: see text, average two-qubit-gate fidelities of 97.5Formula: see text, and SPAM errors of 0.7Formula: see text. To illustrate the capabilities of this universal platform and provide a basis for comparison with similarly-sized devices, we compile the Bernstein-Vazirani and Hidden Shift algorithms into our native gates and execute them on the hardware with average success rates of 78Formula: see text and 35Formula: see text, respectively. These algorithms serve as excellent benchmarks for any type of quantum hardware, and show that our system outperforms all other currently available hardware.
Only a few clinical trials have been conducted in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer after failure of first-line gemcitabine-based chemotherapy. Therefore, there is no current consensus on the ...treatment of these patients. We conducted a randomised phase II study of the modified FOLFIRI.3 (mFOLFIRI.3; a regimen combining 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), folinic acid, and irinotecan) and modified FOLFOX (mFOLFOX; a regimen combining folinic acid, 5-FU, and oxaliplatin) regimens as second-line treatments in patients with gemcitabine-refractory pancreatic cancer.
The primary end point was the 6-month overall survival rate. The mFOlFIRI.3 regimen consisted of irinotecan (70 mg m(-2); days 1 and 3), leucovorin (400 mg m(-2); day 1), and 5-FU (2000 mg m(-2); days 1 and 2) every 2 weeks. The mFOLFOX regimen was composed of oxaliplatin (85 mg m(-2); day 1), leucovorin (400 mg m(-2); day 1), and 5-FU (2000 mg m(-2); days 1 and 2) every 2 weeks.
Sixty-one patients were randomised to mFOLFIRI.3 (n=31) or mFOLFOX (n=30) regimen. The six-month survival rates were 27% (95% confidence interval (CI)=13-46%) and 30% (95% CI=15-49%), respectively. The median overall survival periods were 16.6 and 14.9 weeks, respectively. Disease control was achieved in 23% (95% CI=10-42%) and 17% patients (95% CI=6-35%), respectively. The number of patients with at least one grade 3/4 toxicity was identical (11 patients, 38%) in both groups: neutropenia (7 patients under mFOLFIRI.3 regimen vs 6 patients under mFOLFOX regimen), asthaenia (1 vs 4), vomiting (3 in both), diarrhoea (2 vs 0), and mucositis (1 vs 2).
Both mFOLFIRI.3 and mFOLFOX regimens were tolerated with manageable toxicity, offering modest activities as second-line treatments for patients with advanced pancreatic cancer, previously treated with gemcitabine.
Flow-diverter treatment for previously stented aneurysms has been reported to be less effective and prone to complications. In this study, we evaluated the effectiveness and safety of flow diverters ...for recurrent aneurysms after stent-assisted coiling.
Patients who underwent flow-diverter placement for recurrent aneurysms after stent-assisted coiling between March 2015 and March 2019 were recruited. Clinical and radiographic characteristics and clinical and angiographic outcomes were retrospectively evaluated.
Among 133 patients who underwent flow-diverter insertion, 17 (male/female ratio = 5:12; mean age, 53.8 years) were treated for recurrent aneurysms after stent placement with (
= 16) or without (
= 1) coiling. Eight patients initially presented with subarachnoid hemorrhage; 7, with headache; and 2, with visual field defects. Angiographic morphology included large/giant saccular in 12 patients, dissecting in 2, fusiform in 1, traumatic pseudoaneurysm in 1, and ruptured blood blister-like aneurysm in 1. The duration between the first treatment and flow-diverter placement ranged from 2 weeks to 15 months (median, 6 months). Flow-diverter placement was successful in all cases without any complications. All patients had favorable outcomes (mRS, 0-2), without any newly appearing symptoms. Aneurysms were followed up with conventional angiography at least once in 6-18 months. Sixteen aneurysms showed complete occlusion, and 1 aneurysm was enlarged.
Results from this case series investigating flow-diverter placement for recurrent aneurysms after stent-assisted coiling suggested that the procedure is safe and effective. Further study in a larger population may be warranted.
A superconducting transition temperature (Tc) as high as 100 K was recently discovered in one monolayer FeSe grown on SrTiO3. The discovery ignited efforts to identify the mechanism for the markedly ...enhanced Tc from its bulk value of 8 K. There are two main views about the origin of the Tc enhancement: interfacial effects and/or excess electrons with strong electron correlation. Here, we report the observation of superconductivity below 20 K in surface electron-doped bulk FeSe. The doped surface layer possesses all the key spectroscopic aspects of the monolayer FeSe on SrTiO3. Without interfacial effects, the surface layer state has a moderate Tc of 20 K with a smaller gap opening of 4.2 meV. Our results show that excess electrons with strong correlation cannot induce the maximum Tc, which in turn reveals the need for interfacial effects to achieve the highest Tc in one monolayer FeSe on SrTiO3.
Aliment Pharmacol Ther 2011; 34: 1098–1105
Summary
Background The eradication rates of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) using a proton pump inhibitor (PPI)‐based triple therapy have declined due to ...antibiotic resistance worldwide.
Aim To compare the eradication rate of the 10‐day sequential therapy for H. pylori infection with that of the 14‐day standard PPI‐based triple therapy.
Methods This was a prospective, randomised, controlled study. A total of 409 patients with H. pylori infection were randomly assigned to receive either the 10‐day sequential therapy regimen, which consisted of pantoprazole (40 mg) plus amoxicillin (1000 mg) twice a day for 5 days, then pantoprazole (40 mg) with clarithromycin (500 mg) and metronidazole (500 mg) twice a day for another five consecutive days or the 14‐day PPI‐based triple therapy regimen, which consisted of pantoprazole (40 mg) with amoxicillin (1000 mg) and clarithromycin (500 mg) twice a day for 14 days. The pre‐ and post‐treatment H. pylori status were assessed by rapid urease test, urea breath test, or histology. Successful eradication was confirmed at least 4 weeks after finishing the treatment.
Results In the intention‐to‐treat analysis, the eradication rates of the 10‐day sequential therapy and of the 14‐day PPI‐based triple therapy were 85.9% (176/205) and 75.0% (153/205), respectively (P = 0.006). In the per‐protocol analysis, the eradication rates were 92.6% (175/205) and 85% (153/204), respectively (P = 0.019). There was no statistically significant difference between the two investigated groups regarding the occurrence of adverse event rates (18.9% vs. 13.3%, P = 0.143).
Conclusion The 10‐day sequential therapy achieved significantly higher eradication rates than the 14‐day standard PPI‐based triple therapy in Korea.
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