Ab initio mechanical response: internal friction and structure of divacancies in silicon

This letter introduces ab initio study of the full activation-volume tensor of crystalline defects as a means to make contact with mechanical response experiments. We present a theoretical framework for prediction of the internal friction associated with divacancy defects and give the first ab initio value for this quantity in silicon. Finally, making connection with defect alignment studies, we give the first unambiguous resolution of the debate surrounding ab initio verification of the ground-state structure of the defect.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, submitted to PR

Elasticity of nanometer-sized objects

We initiate the development of a theory of the elasticity of nanoscale objects based upon new physical concepts which remain properly defined on the nanoscale. This theory provides a powerful way of understanding nanoscale elasticity in terms of local group contributions and gives insight into the breakdown of standard continuum relations. We also give two applications. In the first, we show how to use the theory to derive a new relation between the bending and stretching properties of nanomechanical resonators and to prove that it is much more accurate than the continuum-based relations currently employed in present experimental analyses. In the second, we use the new approach to link features of the underlining electronic structure to the elastic response of a silicon nanoresonator.Comment: 11 pages, 5 figure

Effect of Contrast-Enhanced Echocardiograms on the Prognosis of Infective Endocarditis

Objective - Infective endocarditis (IE) is an infectious disease of the cardiac valves where bacteria colonize the valves; typically, via the formation of vegetations. Recent research has shown that the microbubbles in a contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) examination can move and dislodge bacterial vegetations in vitro. This study investigated whether CEUS resulted in faster resolution of IE in vivo by dislodging the vegetations. Methods - This IRB approved retrospective study reviewed 36 patients who were diagnosed with IE via echocardiography. Data was sourced from patients within the Jefferson University Hospital’s Cardiology EMR system by searching for contrast and vegetation from January 1st, 2013 – January 1st, 2018. Fifteen patients were not given contrast, whereas 21 patients were given contrast via agitated saline (n=16) or an ultrasound contrast agent (n=5). All patients received an echocardiogram after blood cultures confirmed an infection, but before resolution of infection (defined by negative blood cultures). A student’s t-test was used for analyses. Results - The study population was heterogeneous in terms of sex (67.5% male) and race (70% Caucasian, 25% African American, and 5% Asian), with an average age of 51±20 years, and an average BMI of 29.65±7.43 in the contrast group and 27.67±3.16 in the non-contrast group (p=0.37). Following ultrasound, no patients had documented stroke, pulmonary embolism, or systemic blood clot, which physicians could have attributed to a thrombus resulting from dislodging of bacterial vegetation. Overall, blood cultures did not clear faster in patients receiving CEUS compared to those undergoing standard echocardiography, (2.63±2.69 days vs. 1.34 ±1.11 days, p=0.09). CEUS also did not shorten the admission length in patients with IE, (16.9±7.7 days vs. 19.9±12.1 days; p=0.36). Conclusion - Based on this limited sample size, patients who underwent CEUS did not have a different prognosis when compared to patients who received a non-contrast echocardiogram

Coincidences of a shifted hexagonal lattice and the hexagonal packing

A geometric study of twin and grain boundaries in crystals and quasicrystals is achieved via coincidence site lattices (CSLs) and coincidence site modules (CSMs), respectively. Recently, coincidences of shifted lattices and multilattices (i.e. finite unions of shifted copies of a lattice) have been investigated. Here, we solve the coincidence problem for a shifted hexagonal lattice. This result allows us to analyze the coincidence isometries of the hexagonal packing by viewing the hexagonal packing as a multilattice.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures, submitted to ICQ12 Conference Proceeding