Design and verification of a 24 kA calibration head for a DCCT test facility

The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is CERN's next particle accelerator project, scheduled for commissioning in 2005. The project requires accurate current measurements above 10 kA. Calibration heads have been developed in collaboration with industry to work up to 24 kA at sub-ppm accuracy. The paper describes the design and verification

Diminishing Use of Liver Biopsy among Liver Transplant Recipients for Hepatitis C.

Background and Aims: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) cirrhosis is the leading indication for liver transplantation in the United States and recurrent HCV following liver transplantation is a major cause of allograft loss and mortality. Liver biopsies are commonly used to identify recurrent HCV and determine the need for antiviral therapy. The introduction of direct-acting antiviral agents (DAAs) has changed the management of recurrent HCV infection. This study aimed to describe the role of liver biopsies in liver transplant recipients with HCV after the introduction of DAAs. Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed looking at the rate of liver biopsies post-liver transplantation for HCV. The analysis included 475 adult liver transplants for hepatitis C performed at the University of California, Los Angeles from January 1, 2006 to October 1, 2015. Patients were divided into two eras, pre- and post-introduction of DAAs on December 1, 2013. Results: In the era before the introduction of DAAs, the percentage of patients biopsied was significantly higher compared to the era after the introduction of DAAs (56.1% vs. 26.9%, p < 0.001). Conclusions: The introduction of DAAs has changed the management of liver biopsy following liver transplantation and the management of recurrent HCV. Given that DAAs are well tolerated and have high efficacy, liver biopsies are no longer routinely used to justify the use antiviral therapy following liver transplantation

BUSCA, RECUPERAÇÃO E VISUALIZAÇÃO DE RECURSOS ACADÊMICOS DISTRIBUÍDOS

Universities are reference when the subject is research and innovation. So much research creates a lot of related material (papers and videos for example), mostly this material is not shared with the community (of any nature: academic, scientific or public) because there is not a means with easy access and use. Don’t just researches create academic resources, the environment of a university by itself offer a wide range of activities that create academic resources: classes, scientific initiations, symposia, congress and others. The biggest problem of this scenario is that such a wealth of subjects doesn’t have any value when they are saved. As every university has a good IT infrastructure, the hosting and providing of such resources on Internet is trivial, the problem is that should know where the resources are to get them. This work pretends to take place in this context, allow the search of such resources in a transparent way to the final use

Searching for the Annual Modulation of Dark Matter signal with the GENIUS-TF experiment

The annual modulation of the recoil spectrum observed in an underground detector is well known as the main signature of a possible WIMP signal. The GENIUS-TF experiment, under construction in the Gran Sasso National Laboratory, can search for the annual modulation of the Dark Matter signal using 40 kg of naked-Ge detectors in liquid nitrogen. Starting from a set of data simulated under the hypothesis of modulation and using different methods, we show the potential of GENIUS-TF for extracting the modulated signal and the expected WIMP mass and WIMP cross section.Comment: In press, Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment (2003) and in Proc. of IDM2002, York Minster, England, 2-6 September, 2002, World Scientific 200

Coil-Assisted Retrograde Transvenous Obliteration (CARTO) for the Treatment of Portal Hypertensive Variceal Bleeding: Preliminary Results.

ObjectivesTo describe the technical feasibility, safety, and clinical outcomes of coil-assisted retrograde transvenous obliteration (CARTO) in treating portal hypertensive non-esophageal variceal hemorrhage.MethodsFrom October 2012 to December 2013, 20 patients who received CARTO for the treatment of portal hypertensive non-esophageal variceal bleeding were retrospectively evaluated. All 20 patients had at least 6-month follow-up. All patients had detachable coils placed to occlude the efferent shunt and retrograde gelfoam embolization to achieve complete thrombosis/obliteration of varices. Technical success, clinical success, rebleeding, and complications were evaluated at follow-up.ResultsA 100% technical success rate (defined as achieving complete occlusion of efferent shunt with complete thrombosis/obliteration of bleeding varices and/or stopping variceal bleeding) was demonstrated in all 20 patients. Clinical success rate (defined as no variceal rebleeding) was 100%. Follow-up computed tomography after CARTO demonstrated decrease in size with complete thrombosis and disappearance of the varices in all 20 patients. Thirteen out of the 20 had endoscopic confirmation of resolution of varices. Minor post-CARTO complications, including worsening of esophageal varices (not bleeding) and worsening of ascites/hydrothorax, were noted in 5 patients (25%). One patient passed away at 24 days after the CARTO due to systemic and portal venous thrombosis and multi-organ failure. Otherwise, no major complication was noted. No variceal rebleeding was noted in all 20 patients during mean follow-up of 384±154 days.ConclusionsCARTO appears to be a technically feasible and safe alternative to traditional balloon-occluded retrograde transvenous obliteration or transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt, with excellent clinical outcomes in treating portal hypertensive non-esophageal variceal bleeding

Crystallisation study of the Cu₂ZnSnS₄ chalcogenide material for solar applications

Second generation thin-film chalcogenide materials, in particular CuInGa(S,Se)2 (CIGS) and CdTe, have been among the most promising and quickly became commercial candidates for large-scale PV manufacturing. These materials offer stable and efficient (above 10%) photovoltaic modules fabricated by scalable thin-film technologies and cell efficiencies above 20 % (CIGS). Indium-free kesterite-related materials such as Cu2ZnSnS4 have attracted significant research interest due to their similar properties to CIGS. In these materials, indium is replaced with earth-abundant zinc and tin metals. The quaternary semiconductor Cu2ZnSnS4(CZTS) is a relatively new photovoltaic material and is expected to be interesting for environmentally amenable solar cells, as its constituents are nontoxic and abundant in the Earth's crust. The CZTS thin films show p-type conductivity, a band gap of 1.44–1.51 eV that is ideal to achieve the highest solar-cell conversion efficiency, and relatively high optical absorption in the visible light range

Ultra low power consuming thermally stable sulphide materials for resistive and phase change memristive application

The use of conventional chalcogenide alloys in rewritable optical disks and the latest generation of electronic memories (phase change and nano-ionic memories) has provided clear commercial and technological advances for the field of data storage, by virtue of the many well-known attributes, in particular scaling, cycling endurance and speed, that these chalcogenide materials offer. While the switching power and current consumption of established germanium antimony telluride based phase change memory cells are a major factor in chip design in real world applications, the thermal stability and high on-state power consumption of these device can be a major obstacle in the path to full commercialization. In this work we describe our research in material discovery and prototype device fabrication and characterization, which through high throughput screening has demonstrated thermally stable, low current consuming chalcogenides for applications in PCRAM and oxygen doped chalcogenides for RRAM which significantly outperform the current contenders

Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in a woman with adult-onset Still's disease: a case report

INTRODUCTION: Adult onset Still's disease is a chronic multisystemic inflammatory disorder characterized by high spiking fever, polyarthralgia and rash. Lymphadenopathy is a prominent feature of adult onset Still's disease and is seen in about 65% of patients. Searching the medical literature using the MEDLINE database from January 1966 through November 2007 we could only find two reported cases of adult onset Still's disease that had progressed to lymphoma. CASE PRESENTATION: We describe a woman who was diagnosed with adult onset Still's disease and developed lymphoma 10 months after the onset of her symptoms. She initially presented with fever and arthritis of the knees, ankles and shoulders, along with a nonpruritic skin rash, myalgia and weight loss. On physical examination she was found to have several enlarged anterior cervical lymph nodes and left posterior auricular lymph nodes all of which were non-tender, immobile and rubbery. Excisional biopsy of the cervical lymph nodes was negative for malignancy. Bone marrow biopsy was also negative for malignancy. She was treated with prednisone. She remained in good health until she presented 10 months later with low back pain, dyspnea and weight loss. Work up revealed malignant lymphoma. She was treated with chemotherapy and was doing well until she presented with abdominal pain. Work up revealed a cirrhotic liver and ascites. She then passed away from hepatorenal syndrome 13 years after the diagnosis of lymphoma. To our knowledge, this is the third reported case of such an occurrence. CONCLUSION: Although the association between adult onset Still's disease and lymphoma has been rarely reported, careful screening for this malignancy in patients suspected to have adult onset Still's disease is warranted

New Results from the Cryogenic Dark Matter Search Experiment

Using improved Ge and Si detectors, better neutron shielding, and increased counting time, the Cryogenic Dark Matter Search (CDMS) experiment has obtained stricter limits on the cross section of weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) elastically scattering from nuclei. Increased discrimination against electromagnetic backgrounds and reduction of neutron flux confirm WIMP-candidate events previously detected by CDMS were consistent with neutrons and give limits on spin-independent WIMP interactions which are >2X lower than previous CDMS results for high WIMP mass, and which exclude new parameter space for WIMPs with mass between 8-20 GeV/c^2.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure