Search

In this paper, we present an apparatus for studies into the photodetachment process of atomic negative ions. State-selective detection of the residual atom following the initial photodetachment step is achieved by combining resonant laser excitation of the photo-detached atom with electric field ionization. The resonance ionization technique in combination with a co-linear ion–laser beam geometry gives an experimental apparatus that has both high selectivity and sensitivity. In addition to measurements of a single selected partial photodetachment channel, the apparatus also can be used to study a manifold of photodetachment channels in which the residual atom is left in a high-lying Rydberg state and for investigation of the double electron-detachment process. Ion-optical simulations in SIMION are used to illustrate the operation of the apparatus for studying such processes. Successful performance of the apparatus against the simulation is demonstrated by a high resolution study of the photodetachment of cesium, where the sharp s-wave threshold of the photodetachment processes leaving the residual atom in the excited 6 p state was investigated.

We demonstrate for the first time the two-color cooling and trapping of alkaline-earth atoms in a grating magneto-optical trap (gMOT). The trap is formed by a single incident laser beam together with four secondary beams that are generated via diffraction from a nanostructured wafer. A grating structure for a gMOT operating with strontium atoms is optimized and fabricated. We trap $10^6$ $^{88}$Sr atoms on the $^1$S$_0$ $\rightarrow$ $^1$P$_1$ transition at $461\;\mathrm{nm}$ and transfer $25\;\%$ of these atoms to the second cooling stage on the narrower $^1$S$_0$ $\rightarrow$ $^3$P$_1$ intercombination transition at $689\;\mathrm{nm}$, preparing a sample of $2.5\times 10^5$ atoms at $5\;\mu$K. These results demonstrate for the first time the applicability of the gMOT technology in conjunction with two widely differing wavelengths and enable the continued miniaturization of alkaline-earth based quantum technologies like optical atomic clocks., Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures

Taxi and for-hire vehicle (FHV) drivers are a largely immigrant, low-income occupational group at increased cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. Poor dental health is a CVD risk factor, and dental care access is an unexamined taxi/FHV driver CVD risk factor. A cross-sectional survey was administered to 422 taxi/FHV drivers (2016–2017) to identify predictors of access to dental health care among drivers. One-third (n = 128, 30.3%) reported needing dental care/tests/treatment within the past six months, and nearly one-half (n = 61, 48%) were delayed/unable to obtain care. Only 57.6% (n = 241) had past-year dental cleanings. Not having enough money to cover household expenses was a significant predictor of being delayed/unable to obtain needed dental care/tests/treatment in the prior six months (0.5 OR; 95% CI, 0.28–0.89; p

Precision spectroscopy of atomic systems is an invaluable tool for the advancement of our understanding of fundamental interactions and symmetries. Recently, highly charged ions (HCI) have been proposed for sensitive tests of physics beyond the Standard Model and as candidates for high-accuracy atomic clocks. However, the implementation of these ideas has been hindered by the parts-per-million level spectroscopic accuracies achieved to date. Here, we cool a trapped HCI to the lowest reported temperatures, and introduce coherent laser spectroscopy on HCI with an eight orders of magnitude leap in precision. We probe the forbidden optical transition in $^{40}$Ar$^{13+}$ at 441 nm using quantum-logic spectroscopy and measure both its excited-state lifetime and $g$-factor. Our work ultimately unlocks the potential of HCI, a large, ubiquitous atomic class, for quantum information processing, novel frequency standards, and highly sensitive tests of fundamental physics, such as searching for dark matter candidates or violations of fundamental symmetries., Accepted manuscript

We present a novel ultrastable superconducting radio-frequency (RF) ion trap realized as a combination of an RF cavity and a linear Paul trap. Its RF quadrupole mode at 34.52 MHz reaches a quality factor of $Q\approx2.3\times 10^5$ at a temperature of 4.1 K and is used to radially confine ions in an ultralow-noise pseudopotential. This concept is expected to strongly suppress motional heating rates and related frequency shifts which limit the ultimate accuracy achieved in advanced ion traps for frequency metrology. Running with its low-vibration cryogenic cooling system, electron beam ion trap and deceleration beamline supplying highly charged ions (HCI), the superconducting trap offers ideal conditions for optical frequency metrology with ionic species. We report its proof-of-principle operation as a quadrupole mass filter with HCI, and trapping of Doppler-cooled ${}^9\text{Be}^+$ Coulomb crystals., 16 pages, 19 figures

A cryogenic radio-frequency ion trap system designed for quantum logic spectroscopy of highly charged ions (HCI) is presented. It includes a segmented linear Paul trap, an in-vacuum imaging lens, and a helical resonator. We demonstrate ground state cooling of all three modes of motion of a single 9Be+ ion and determine their heating rates as well as excess axial micromotion. The trap shows one of the lowest levels of electric field noise published to date. We investigate the magnetic-field noise suppression in cryogenic shields made from segmented copper, the resulting magnetic field stability at the ion position and the resulting coherence time. Using this trap in conjunction with an electron beam ion trap and a deceleration beamline, we have been able to trap single highly charged Ar13+ (Ar XIV) ions concurrently with single Be+ ions, a key prerequisite for the first quantum logic spectroscopy of a HCI. This major stepping stone allows us to push highly-charged-ion spectroscopic precision from the gigahertz to the hertz level and below.

In-vacuo cryogenic environments are ideal for applications requiring both low temperatures and extremely low particle densities. This enables reaching long storage and coherence times for example in ion traps, essential requirements for experiments with highly charged ions, quantum computation, and optical clocks. We have developed a novel cryostat continuously refrigerated with a pulse-tube cryocooler and providing the lowest vibration level reported for such a closed-cycle system with 1 W cooling power for a

A scheme is presented for pulsing of a cesium sputter negative ion source by periodically switching on and off the high voltage driving the sputtering process. We demonstrate how the pulsed ion beam can be used in combination with a pulsed laser (6 ns pulse length) that has a 10 Hz repetition rate to study the photodetachment process, where a negative ion is neutralized due to the absorption of a photon. In such experiments, where the ion beam is used only for a small fraction of the time, we show that the pulsed mode operation can increase the lifetime of a cathode by two orders of magnitude as compared with DC operation. We also investigate how the peak ion current compares with the ion current obtained when the source is run in a DC mode. We find that the peak current in the pulsed mode is strongly dependent on the ion species. In some cases, we observed a strong enhancement, whereas others showed only a moderate enhancement, or even a decrease, in the peak current. We conclude that the pulsed mode operation can be of great value when the negative ion to be investigated requires cathodes that have short lifetimes, expensive materials, or those with relatively small ion beam yields, in the latter case limited to elements with large enhancement factors.

We present a simple, robust, narrow-linewidth, frequency-doubled semiconductor laser source suitable for laser cooling and repumping of $^9$Be$^+$ ions. A distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) laser diode operating at 626 nm is self-injection-locked to a frequency doubling cavity via phase-stabilised optical feedback when the laser is resonant with the cavity mode. The short-term laser instability is reduced from the MHz-level to approximately 20 kHz by the injection process, thus eliminating the need for a high-bandwidth feedback loop to suppress the otherwise troublesome high-frequency laser noise. Long-term stability of the laser frequency is achieved by feeding back to the length of the enhancement cavity utilising an electro-optic frequency comb generator to produce a beatnote with a laser that is detuned by 98 GHz. Long-term injection locking and frequency stabilisation via a wavemeter are ensured using automatic relocking algorithms., Comment: 8 pages, 8 figures

We present a laser system with a linewidth and long-term frequency stability at the 50 kHz level. It is based on a Ti:Sapphire laser emitting radiation at 882 nm which is referenced to an atomic transition. For this, the length of an evacuated transfer cavity is stabilized to a reference laser at 780 nm locked to the $^{85}$Rb D$_2$-line via modulation transfer spectroscopy. Gapless frequency tuning of the spectroscopy laser is realized using the sideband locking technique to the transfer cavity. In this configuration, the linewidth of the spectroscopy laser is derived from the transfer cavity, while the long-term stability is derived from the atomic resonance. Using an optical frequency comb, the frequency stability and linewidth of both lasers are characterized by comparison against an active hydrogen maser frequency standard and an ultra-narrow linewidth laser, respectively. The laser system presented here will be used for spectroscopy of the $1s^{2}2s^{2}2p\ ^{2}P_{1/2} -\ ^{2}P_{3/2}$ transition in sympathetically cooled Ar$^{13+}$ ions at 441nm after frequency doubling., Comment: 7 pages, 8 figures

Fludarabine is commonly used in combination with busulfan as part of conditioning regimens before allogeneic stem cell transplantation. So far, no data are available on busulfan-fludarabine drug interactions in transplant recipients. The pharmacokinetic (PK) properties of F-ara-A (9-beta-D-arabinosyl-2-fluoradenine) before and after application of busulfan were prospectively investigated in 16 patients with hematological malignancies. The conditioning regimen consisted of intravenous fludarabine 30 mg/m(2) over 30 min from day -6 to day -3, and oral busulfan given at 1 mg/kg every 6 h from day -5 to day -2. PK parameters of F-ara-A, derived from plasma and urine on day -6, -5, -4 and -3, were determined using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). AUC, C(max), t(1/2), Cl(total) and V(SS) were 21.9 microMh, 3.5 microM, 13.0 h, 4.3 l/h/m(2), 60.0 l/m(2) on day -6 and 22.4 microMh, 3.5 microM, 14.0 h, 4.7 l/h/m(2), 69.0 l/m(2) on day -5 to (-2), respectively. Cl(renal) and the urine-recovery were 4.8 l/h, 43.7% of the fludarabine dose on day -6 and 3.9 l/h, 44.2% of the fludarabine dose on day -5 to (-2), respectively. There were no changes in PK parameters of fludarabine given before and after intake of busulfan. This implies that a clinically relevant busulfan-fludarabine drug interaction is unlikely.

Highly charged ions in cold confines High-energy irradiation can strip many electrons away from individual atoms, producing ions with charges of +10 or more. However, many of the interesting properties of such highly charged ions are hard to study or exploit under the extreme conditions needed to prepare them. Schmöger et al. cooled down argon ions with +13 charges from the megakelvin temperatures needed for their generation to millikelvin temperatures appropriate for high-precision spectroscopy. The method relies on sympathetic cooling by a cold sample of singly charged beryllium ions and is likely to be applicable to a broad range of other elements. Science , this issue p. 1233

A highly sensitive and time-reduced HPLC assay for the quantitative analysis of busulfan in plasma and aqueous samples is described. The assay is based on a precolumn derivatization of busulfan to 1,4-diiodobutane and UV-detection of iodide ions generated by a postcolumn photochemical dissociation of the derivative. The extraction and derivatization were carried out in a one-pot reaction without any solid phase extraction and is therefore suitable for high throughput analysis. Quantification was performed by using 1,5-pentanediol-bis-(methanesulfonate), a homologue of busulfan, as an internal standard. Linearity was demonstrated for concentrations from 50 to 10,000 ng/ml. The limit of detection was found at 10 ng/ml. Precision is indicated by an intra-day variety of 2.81% and by an inter-day variety of 6.61% for aqueous samples, 2.93 and 5.76% for plasma samples, respectively. The recovery of busulfan in plasma was more than 95%. No coelution with metabolites of busulfan or other drugs used in cancer therapy was found. The method was generated for measurements of busulfan in aqueous or plasma samples and applied in therapeutic drug monitoring of busulfan.

Despite the remarkable clinical response rates to imatinib in the treatment of bcr-abl leukemic patients, pharmacokinetic data on this relatively novel substance are needed to improve our understanding of the emergence of resistance, the interindividual variations of clinical response and the clinical and biologic relevance of its main metabolite N-desmethyl-imatinib. We present here pharmacokinetic data obtained with a newly designed HPLC approach in 97 patients with chronic myeloid leukemia or acute lymphatic leukemia (ALL) under treatment with imatinib that allowed us to calculate the AUC (39.5 microg.h/ml for an oral dose of 400 mg daily), the t(1/2) (18.2 h) and the peak concentration (1.92 micro/ml for an oral dose of 400 mg daily) of imatinib in plasma. In a subgroup of patients, the same parameters were analyzed for N-desmethyl-imatinib. We also provide data on the imatinib concentration in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of ALL patients and demonstrate that oral administration of imatinib resulted only in a marginal flux across the blood-brain barrier. Finally, in an in vitro setting, we determined cellular concentrations of imatinib in HL-60 cells and showed an over-proportional uptake both in RPMI medium and in human plasma. Using an arithmetical approach combining all parameters obtained in imatinib-treated patients, we finally provide a conclusive approximation of basic pharmacokinetic data for both imatinib and its main metabolite N-desmethyl-imatinib.

The purpose of this study was to determine if different diet and exercise programs differentially affect android and/or gynoid body composition changes in sedentary women. 127 sedentary women (46±12 yr, 45.5±5% body fat, BMI 35.1±5) were randomized to participate in a control group (C) or the Curves Complete® program with online support (CC), Weight Watchers® Points Plus (WW), Jenny Craig® (JC), or Nutrisystem® Advance Select™ (NS) weight loss programs for 12-wks. DEXA body composition with android (A) and gynoid (G) measurements were obtained. MANOVA revealed a significant time (p

The purpose of this study was to determine if different types of exercise and diet interventions promote greater changes in visceral adipose tissue (VAT). 127 sedentary women (46±12 yr, 45.5±5% body fat, 35.1±5 kg/m2) were randomized to participate in a control group (C) or the Curves Complete® program with online support (CC), Weight Watchers® Points Plus (WW), Jenny Craig® (JC), or Nutrisystem® Advance Select™ (NS) weight loss programs for 12-wks. DEXA body composition with VAT determination was obtained at 0 & 12 wks. MANOVA revealed significant (p=

Background Obesity is associated with many negative health outcomes. Diet and exercise has been shown to reduce obesity and various other factors linked to poor health. One of the major concerns is the expense of diet and exercise programs. This study compared the cost effectiveness of four popular weight loss programs and controls in terms of weight loss success and outcomes. Methods

Effects of immediate and delayed nutrient timing following resistance exercise on changes in mixed muscle fractional synthesis rate (FSR) in post-menopausal women participating in a weight loss program M Byrd, S Simbo, YP Jung, B Sanchez, M Cho, CW Lee, B Lockard, C Baetge, K Levers, E Galvan, A Jagim, JM Oliver, R Dalton, B Bessire, K Horrell, T Leopold, M Koozehchian, D Khanna, K Shimkus, W Gapinsky, M Perez, J Hart, S Riechman, J Fluckey, M Greenwood, C Rasmussen, R Kreider

21 sedentary women (59.8±5 yr, 43.7±3% body fat, 31.0±3 kg/m2) followed Curves Complete® energy-restricted diet (30% C, 45% P, and 25% F) while participating in a circuit resistance-training (3 d/w...

A widely spread and required risk analysis method in automotive industry is the FMEA (failure mode and effects analysis). However, it can be shown, that with the help of the FMEA, the complex relations of drive and monitoring strategies for example in engine, transmission and/or general automotive control units, cannot be completely treated. In order to show and to implement the new legal requirements, the increased complexity, the cross linking of the developed systems and, last but not least, the shortened development times, a new procedure was created. The new procedure enables, by a two-phase layout, the assisting of the implementation of drive and monitoring strategies in automotive control units and the illustration of possible failure functions in software, electronics, mechanics and their interactions to other systems. Furthermore it allows the definition of adequate failure reactions to prevent, to minimize and/or to keep the vehicle in stable and secured working conditions. It is now possible, under consideration of the defined measures, to demonstrate the potential of improvement, i.e. the decrease of the assessment value of the severity and the connected failure effect in a traceable way and to allow a suitable risk prioritization in an FMEA.

The pathophysiology of the myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) involves disturbed regulation of angiogenesis, apoptosis, proliferation and differentiation as well as immune surveillance. Increasing data suggest that sirolimus might affect these pathways positively, thus being of possible therapeutic benefit in patients with this disease. Nineteen patients (n = 19) with a median age of 72 years (range 54-80 years) diagnosed with MDS received sirolimus orally with a target blood concentration of 3-12 ng/ml. Sirolimus was administered for a median of 3.7 months (range 0.3-11 months). Three patients [1 x refractory anaemia with excess blasts (RAEB)-2, 1 x RAEB-1, 1 x refractory cytopenia with multilineage dysplasia] showed either a major (1 x platelet, 1 x neutrophil) or a minor (1 x erythroid, 2 x platelet) haematological response according to International Working Group criteria. Major side-effects were hyperlipidaemia (n = 4), stomatitis (n = 3), thrombocytopenia (n = 2) and urinary tract infection (n = 1). These data suggest that sirolimus has activity in a subset of patients with more advanced MDS.

An isocratic online-enrichment HPLC-assay was developed allowing for the simple and fast separation and quantitation of STI-571 and its main metabolite N-desmethyl-STI (N-DesM-STI) in plasma, urine, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), culture media and cell preparations in various concentrations using UV-detection at 260 nm. The analytical procedure consists of an online concentration of STI-571 and N-DesM-STI in the HPLC system followed by the elution on a ZirChrom-PBD analytical column. Time of analysis is 40 min including the enrichment time of 5 min. The detection limit is 10 ng/ml in plasma, CSF, culture medium (RPMI) and 25 ng/ml in urine for both STI-571 and N-DesM-STI. The intra-day precision, as expressed by the coefficient of variation (CV), in plasma samples ranges between 1.74 and 8.60% for STI-571 and 1.45 and 8.87% for N-DesM-STI. The corresponding values for urine measurements are 2.17-7.54% (STI-571) and 1.31-9.51% (N-DesM-STI). The inter-day precision analyzed over a 7-month time period was 8.31% (STI-571) or 6.88% (N-DesM-STI) and 16.45% (STI-571) or 14.83% (N-DesM-STI) for a concentration of 1000 ng/ml in plasma and 750 ng/ml in urine, respectively. Moreover, we demonstrate that with an alternative, but more time and labor consuming sample preparation and the implementation of electrochemical detection, a detection limit < 10 ng/ml can be achieved. The method described was used to perform pharmacokinetic measurements of STI-571 and N-desmethyl-STI in patient samples and for kinetic measurements of intracellular STI-571 and N-DesM-STI following in vitro incubation.

In a survey covering 145 puppies in 60 litters diseases after parturition and within the first week of life are discussed. Problems in the diagnosis and therapy are correlated with further investigations, i.e. bacteriology, sensitivity tests and in some cases necropsy. Neonatal respiratory distress syndrome and bacterial infections have been found to be the most common diseases in the first days of life in puppies.

Global oral health goals for the year 2000 were adopted in 1981 by the World Health Organisation. A literature review and collation of available data relating to progress towards these goals have been carried out. Their appropriateness and value as measures of oral health and disease trends are discussed. The general conclusions of the study were that the concept of global goals was valuable but that the lack of standardised data collection and publication made it difficult to evaluate progress towards attainment of the goals.

The pathophysiology of myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) involves disturbed regulation of angiogenesis, apoptosis, proliferation and differentiation as well as immune surveillance. There is increasing evidence that rapamycin (sirolimus) might affect these pathways positively thus possibly being of therapeutic benefit in patients with this disease. These data prompted us to perform a phase I/II study to evaluate the safety and efficacy of rapamycin in the treatment of patients with MDS. Nineteen patients (median age 72 years) diagnosed with MDS according to the WHO classification received rapamycin orally with a target blood concentration of 3–12 ng/ml. Rapamycin was administered for a median of 3.7 months (range 0.3–11). Three patients (1 x RAEB-2, 1 x RAEB-1, 1 x RCMD) showed either a major (1 x platelet, 1 x neutrophil) or a minor (1 x erythroid, 2 x platelet) hematological response according to the IWG criteria. There was no statistically significant difference in the rapamycin plasma levels between the three responders (median plasma level 3.62, range 1.63–4.39) and non-responders (median plasma level 4.22, range 2.81–7.4). Major side effects were hyperlipidemia (n=4), stomatitis (n=3), thrombocytopenia (n=2) and urinary tract infection (n=1). Study medication had to be stopped due to side effects in five patients (26 %), one of them being a responder to rapamycin. Plasma levels of rapamycin were not elevated in patients experiencing toxicity. Taken together these data demonstrate that rapamycin might have biological activity in patients with rather advanced MDS. New and possibly less toxic analogues of rapamycin are currently developed. They could be candidates for future trials in patients with MDS.

Thein vitro activities of moxalactam and cefoperazone were compared to cefamandole, cefoxitin, mezlocillin, carbenicillin and amikacin. The minimum inhibitory concentrations of over 500 clinical isolates were determined using the agar dilution method. Moxalactam followed closely by cefoperazone were the most active compounds tested against the enterobacteriaceae. Amikacin was the most active drug againstPseudomonas aeruginosa followed by cefoperazone and moxalactam with 80% of the strains susceptible to 4 mg/l, 8 mg/l, and 16 mg/l respectively. Cefoperazone was more active than moxalactam against most of the gram-positive organisms tested. Both cefoperazone and moxalactam were bactericidal against most strains of enterobacteriaceae,Pseudomonas aeruginosa andStaphylococcus aureus.

The new fluorinated 4-quinolones appear to represent orally effective alternatives to parenteral and oral agents currently in use. A number of new fluorinated 4-quinolones were compared in acute systemic mouse-infection models with various Gram-positive cocci (streptococci and staphylococci), Enterobacteriaceae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Also included were standard oral and parenteral antimicrobial agents. CI-934 was the most potent quinolone in infections induced by Streptococcus pyogenes and Str. pneumoniae. CI-934, ciprofloxacin, enoxacin, norfloxacin, ofloxacin and pefloxacin were as effective as or superior to standard oral agents currently utilized in infections induced by the Enterobacteriaceae and staphylococci. They were active against antibiotic-susceptible strains and strains resistant to beta-lactams and gentamicin. Most were also quite potent against systemic P. aeruginosa mouse infections. These studies indicate good chemotherapeutic potential for the new generation fluorinated 4-quinolones in infections induced by the staphylococci, streptococci, Enterobacteriaceae and P. aeruginosa, including strains resistant to standard antimicrobial agents.

A prospective study was carried out on 164 consecutive cases presenting at the Accident Department with foreign bodies in the hand. The distal segment of the digits was the commonest site. The late, symptomatic presentation of patients, together with the development of symptoms in patients managed conservatively indicate that foreign bodies should be removed. General anaesthesia is rarely required, but an effective “block” with a tourniquet is necessary, as infiltration anaesthesia has a high failure rate, and secondary exploration a high complication rate. Glass fragments are almost always visible on plain x-rays.

A prospective study was carried out on 164 consecutive cases presenting at the Accident Department with foreign bodies in the hand. The distal segment of the digits was the commonest site. The late, symptomatic presentation of patients, together with the development of symptoms in patients managed conservatively indicate that foreign bodies should be removed. General anaesthesia is rarely required, but an effective "block" with a tourniquet is necessary, as infiltration anaesthesia has a high failure rate, and secondary exploration a high complication rate. Glass fragments are almost always visible on plain x-rays.

Background The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of participating in a resistance-exercise based circuit training program while adhering to a higher protein diet designed to preserve fat free mass (FFM) during weight loss on body composition and markers of health. Then, in a companion paper, determine if exercise and diet-induced weight loss affect markers of inflammation.