Imaging the Meissner effect in hydride superconductors using quantum sensors.

By directly altering microscopic interactions, pressure provides a powerful tuning knob for the exploration of condensed phases and geophysical phenomena1. The megabar regime represents an interesting frontier, in which recent discoveries include high-temperature superconductors, as well as structural and valence phase transitions2-6. However, at such high pressures, many conventional measurement techniques fail. Here we demonstrate the ability to perform local magnetometry inside a diamond anvil cell with sub-micron spatial resolution at megabar pressures. Our approach uses a shallow layer of nitrogen-vacancy colour centres implanted directly within the anvil7-9; crucially, we choose a crystal cut compatible with the intrinsic symmetries of the nitrogen-vacancy centre to enable functionality at megabar pressures. We apply our technique to characterize a recently discovered hydride superconductor, CeH9 (ref. 10). By performing simultaneous magnetometry and electrical transport measurements, we observe the dual signatures of superconductivity: diamagnetism characteristic of the Meissner effect and a sharp drop of the resistance to near zero. By locally mapping both the diamagnetic response and flux trapping, we directly image the geometry of superconducting regions, showing marked inhomogeneities at the micron scale. Our work brings quantum sensing to the megabar frontier and enables the closed-loop optimization of superhydride materials synthesis.

Laparoscopic lavage for perforated diverticulitis in the LapLav study: population-based registry study.

BACKGROUND: The standard treatment for Hinchey III perforated diverticulitis with peritonitis was resection with or without a stoma, but recent trials have shown that laparoscopic lavage is a reasonable alternative. This registry-based Swedish study investigated results at a national level to assess safety in real-world scenarios. METHODS: Patients in Sweden who underwent emergency surgery for perforated diverticulitis between 2016 and 2018 were studied. Inverse probability weighting by propensity score was used to adjust for confounding factors. RESULTS: A total of 499 patients were included in this study. Laparoscopic lavage was associated with a significantly lower 90-day Comprehensive Complication Index (20.9 versus 32.0; odds ratio 0.77, 95 per cent compatibility interval (c.i.) 0.61 to 0.97) and overall duration of hospital stay (9 versus 15 days; ratio of means 0.84, 95 per cent c.i. 0.74 to 0.96) compared with resection. Patients had 82 (95 per cent c.i. 39 to 140) per cent more readmissions following lavage than resection (27.2 versus 21.0 per cent), but similar reoperation rates. More co-morbidity was noted among patients who underwent resection than those who had laparoscopic lavage. CONCLUSION: Laparoscopic lavage is safe in routine care beyond trial evaluations.

Diverticulitis comprises inflammation in pouches (diverticula) of the large intestine. In the most severe instances, this inflammation can cause perforation of the bowel with purulent or faecal peritonitis. If this happens, surgery is needed. The traditional method has been resection of the inflamed bowel with a stoma. A new technique has been proposed whereby the abdomen is rinsed with saline laparoscopically and a drain is placed (laparoscopic lavage). This study aimed to compare these two methods in terms of clinical short-term outcomes, with a focus on complications. It was found that laparoscopic lavage had fewer complications than resectional surgery and a shorter hospital stay. The new method was safe when used in Swedish routine care.

Some Remarks on the Discovery of

In two recent papers by Pore et al. and Khuyagbaatar et al., discovery of the new isotope ^{244}Md was reported. The decay data, however, are conflicting. While Pore et al. report two isomeric states decaying by α emission with E_{α}(1)=8.66(2) MeV, T_{1/2}(1)=0.4_{-0.1}^{+0.4} s and E_{α}(2)=8.31(2) MeV, T_{1/2}(2)≈6 s, Khuyagbaatar et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 125, 142504 (2020).PRLTAO0031-900710.1103/PhysRevLett.125.142504] report only a single transition with a broad energy distribution of E_{α}=(8.73-8.86) MeV and T_{1/2}=0.30_{-0.09}^{+0.19} s. The data published in Pore et al. are very similar to those published for ^{245m}Md [E_{α}=8.64(2), 8.68(2) MeV, T_{1/2}=0.35_{-0.16}^{+0.23} s [V. Ninov, F. P. Heßberger, S. Hofmann, H. Folger, G. Münzenberg, P. Armbruster, A. V. Yeremin, A. G. Popeko, M. Leino, and S. Saro, Z. Phys. A 356, 11 (1996).ZPAHEX0939-792210.1007/s002180050141] ]. Therefore, we compare the data presented for ^{244}Md in Pore et al. with those reported for ^{245}Md in Ninov et al. and also in Khuyagbaatar et al. We conclude that the data presented in Pore et al. shall be attributed to ^{245}Md with small contributions (one event each) from ^{245}Fm and probably ^{246}Md.

Spectroscopy along Flerovium Decay Chains: Discovery of

A nuclear spectroscopy experiment was conducted to study α-decay chains stemming from isotopes of flerovium (element Z=114). An upgraded TASISpec decay station was placed behind the gas-filled separator TASCA at the GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung in Darmstadt, Germany. The fusion-evaporation reactions ^{48}Ca+^{242}Pu and ^{48}Ca+^{244}Pu provided a total of 32 flerovium-candidate decay chains, of which two and eleven were firmly assigned to ^{286}Fl and ^{288}Fl, respectively. A prompt coincidence between a 9.60(1)-MeV α particle event and a 0.36(1)-MeV conversion electron marked the first observation of an excited state in an even-even isotope of the heaviest man-made elements, namely ^{282}Cn. Spectroscopy of ^{288}Fl decay chains fixed Q_{α}=10.06(1) MeV. In one case, a Q_{α}=9.46(1)-MeV decay from ^{284}Cn into ^{280}Ds was observed, with ^{280}Ds fissioning after only 518 µs. The impact of these findings, aggregated with existing data on decay chains of ^{286,288}Fl, on the size of an anticipated shell gap at proton number Z=114 is discussed in light of predictions from two beyond-mean-field calculations, which take into account triaxial deformation.

Search for Electron-Capture Delayed Fission in the New Isotope

The electron-capture decay followed by a prompt fission process was searched for in the hitherto unknown most neutron-deficient Md isotope with mass number 244. Alpha decay with α-particle energies of 8.73-8.86 MeV and with a half-life of 0.30_{-0.09}^{+0.19} s was assigned to ^{244}Md. No fission event with a similar half-life potentially originating from spontaneous fissioning of the short-lived electron-capture decay daughter ^{244}Fm was observed, which results in an upper limit of 0.14 for the electron-capture branching of ^{244}Md. Two groups of fission events with half-lives of 0.9_{-0.3}^{+0.6} ms and 5_{-2}^{+3} ms were observed. The 0.9_{-0.3}^{+0.6} ms activity was assigned to originate from the decay of ^{245}Md. The origin of eight fission events resulting in a half-life of 5_{-2}^{+3} ms could not be unambiguously identified within the present data while the possible explanation has to invoke previously unseen physics cases.

Precision Measurement of the First Ionization Potential of Nobelium.

One of the most important atomic properties governing an element's chemical behavior is the energy required to remove its least-bound electron, referred to as the first ionization potential. For the heaviest elements, this fundamental quantity is strongly influenced by relativistic effects which lead to unique chemical properties. Laser spectroscopy on an atom-at-a-time scale was developed and applied to probe the optical spectrum of neutral nobelium near the ionization threshold. The first ionization potential of nobelium is determined here with a very high precision from the convergence of measured Rydberg series to be 6.626 21±0.000 05 eV. This work provides a stringent benchmark for state-of-the-art many-body atomic modeling that considers relativistic and quantum electrodynamic effects and paves the way for high-precision measurements of atomic properties of elements only available from heavy-ion accelerator facilities.

Probing Sizes and Shapes of Nobelium Isotopes by Laser Spectroscopy.

Until recently, ground-state nuclear moments of the heaviest nuclei could only be inferred from nuclear spectroscopy, where model assumptions are required. Laser spectroscopy in combination with modern atomic structure calculations is now able to probe these moments directly, in a comprehensive and nuclear-model-independent way. Here we report on unique access to the differential mean-square charge radii of ^{252,253,254}No, and therefore to changes in nuclear size and shape. State-of-the-art nuclear density functional calculations describe well the changes in nuclear charge radii in the region of the heavy actinides, indicating an appreciable central depression in the deformed proton density distribution in ^{252,254}No isotopes. Finally, the hyperfine splitting of ^{253}No was evaluated, enabling a complementary measure of its (quadrupole) deformation, as well as an insight into the neutron single-particle wave function via the nuclear spin and magnetic moment.

Timely access to care in the treatment of rectal cancer and the effect on quality of life.

AIM: The aim of this study was to investigate if a delay in a patient's first contact with a healthcare professional, and any subsequent delay in diagnosis, affected self-assessed quality of life prior to start of treatment for rectal cancer. METHOD: Questionnaires were administered when patients had been informed of the diagnosis and planned treatment. The primary end-point was self-assessed quality of life according to a seven-point Likert scale. The response variables were dichotomized and analysed by unadjusted and adjusted binary logistic regression. RESULTS: A reported duration of symptoms longer than 4 months was found to be associated with a lower quality of life than a reported duration of symptoms of less than 3 months. Furthermore, a reported period of longer than 2 months from first contact with a healthcare professional to a diagnosis was found to correlate with lower quality of life compared with a period shorter than 2 months. However, when adjusting for possible confounding variables the duration of symptoms and time to diagnosis were not found to affect self-assessed quality of life. Several variables were found to have significant influence in the statistical model, including sense of coherence, the presence of negative intrusive thoughts, comorbidity, depressed mood, male sex and comorbidity. CONCLUSION: One conclusion of our study is that further efforts to shorten delay in rectal cancer care with the aim of improving quality of life may be futile. To improve the patient's quality of life at diagnosis other interventions should be considered, such as screening for depression and/or negative intrusive thoughts.

Direct mass measurements above uranium bridge the gap to the island of stability.

The mass of an atom incorporates all its constituents and their interactions. The difference between the mass of an atom and the sum of its building blocks (the binding energy) is a manifestation of Einstein's famous relation E = mc(2). The binding energy determines the energy available for nuclear reactions and decays (and thus the creation of elements by stellar nucleosynthesis), and holds the key to the fundamental question of how heavy the elements can be. Superheavy elements have been observed in challenging production experiments, but our present knowledge of the binding energy of these nuclides is based only on the detection of their decay products. The reconstruction from extended decay chains introduces uncertainties that render the interpretation difficult. Here we report direct mass measurements of trans-uranium nuclides. Located at the farthest tip of the actinide species on the proton number-neutron number diagram, these nuclides represent the gateway to the predicted island of stability. In particular, we have determined the mass values of (252-254)No (atomic number 102) with the Penning trap mass spectrometer SHIPTRAP. The uncertainties are of the order of 10 keV/c(2) (representing a relative precision of 0.05 p.p.m.), despite minute production rates of less than one atom per second. Our experiments advance direct mass measurements by ten atomic numbers with no loss in accuracy, and provide reliable anchor points en route to the island of stability.

[We implant too many ICD - contra]. / Wir implantieren zu viele ICD - Kontra.

Based on prospective population-based cohort studies from the Netherlands approximately 120,000 sudden cardiac deaths (SCD) have to be assumed in 2014 in Germany for persons older than 55 years of age without an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD). In contrast in 2014 only 30,000 ICD were implanted in Germany. Due to the fact that victims of SCD are difficult to predict many more implantations are actually necessary because only approximately one third of the patients use their ICD during battery running time. Also according to the largest ICD study on ischemic cardiomyopathy at least six patients must be treated with an ICD to save one life after 8 years. Guidelines for ICD implantation are based on 12 randomized studies with more than 9000 patients. In 2014 in Germany 94 % of ICD implantations were carried out in accordance with the guidelines. The most important studies for primary prophylaxis of SCD (MADIT 2 and SCD-HeFT) finished recruitment of patients in 2001 but propensity score-matched ICD patients from a large national data base showed identical survival curves in 2005 and 2006. New ICD developments in recent years, such as suppression of inappropriate ICD therapy by improved programming, cardiac resynchronization, and telemonitoring showed promise for current ICD patients of improved survival in comparison to the original randomized patients from the studies, which led to the indications in the guidelines.

Direct Measurement of the Mass Difference of (163)Ho and (163)Dy Solves the Q-Value Puzzle for the Neutrino Mass Determination.

The atomic mass difference of (163)Ho and (163)Dy has been directly measured with the Penning-trap mass spectrometer SHIPTRAP applying the novel phase-imaging ion-cyclotron-resonance technique. Our measurement has solved the long-standing problem of large discrepancies in the Q value of the electron capture in (163)Ho determined by different techniques. Our measured mass difference shifts the current Q value of 2555(16) eV evaluated in the Atomic Mass Evaluation 2012 [G. Audi et al., Chin. Phys. C 36, 1157 (2012)] by more than 7σ to 2833(30(stat))(15(sys)) eV/c(2). With the new mass difference it will be possible, e.g., to reach in the first phase of the ECHo experiment a statistical sensitivity to the neutrino mass below 10 eV, which will reduce its present upper limit by more than an order of magnitude.

New Short-Lived Isotope

Two short-lived isotopes ^{221}U and ^{222}U were produced as evaporation residues in the fusion reaction ^{50}Ti+^{176}Yb at the gas-filled recoil separator TASCA. An α decay with an energy of E_{α}=9.31(5) MeV and half-life T_{1/2}=4.7(7) µs was attributed to ^{222}U. The new isotope ^{221}U was identified in α-decay chains starting with E_{α}=9.71(5) MeV and T_{1/2}=0.66(14) µs leading to known daughters. Synthesis and detection of these unstable heavy nuclei and their descendants were achieved thanks to a fast data readout system. The evolution of the N=126 shell closure and its influence on the stability of uranium isotopes are discussed within the framework of α-decay reduced width.

[Participatory Quality Development: Engaging Community Members in All Phases of Project Planning and Implementation]. / Partizipative Qualitätsentwicklung: Zielgruppen in alle Phasen der Projektgestaltung einbeziehen.

Community participation, recognised as a central feature of successful health promotion and prevention, is often difficult to implement. In this research project internationally recognised methods of participatory health research were applied to demonstrate ways in which community members can be engaged. Participatory health research is characterised by a close collaboration between academic researchers, practitioners and community members in order to generate common knowledge. It is not a question of translating knowledge from research into practice, but rather a question of promoting a collective learning process on the part of all participants for the purpose of developing solutions which address the interests and needs of local people. The result of the project is a new approach for strengthening the quality of prevention and health promotion interventions: participatory quality development (PQD).

48Ca+249Bk fusion reaction leading to element Z = 117: long-lived α-decaying 270Db and discovery of 266Lr.

The superheavy element with atomic number Z=117 was produced as an evaporation residue in the (48)Ca+(249)Bk fusion reaction at the gas-filled recoil separator TASCA at GSI Darmstadt, Germany. The radioactive decay of evaporation residues and their α-decay products was studied using a detection setup that allowed measuring decays of single atomic nuclei with half-lives between sub-µs and a few days. Two decay chains comprising seven α decays and a spontaneous fission each were identified and are assigned to the isotope (294)117 and its decay products. A hitherto unknown α-decay branch in (270)Db (Z = 105) was observed, which populated the new isotope (266)Lr (Z = 103). The identification of the long-lived (T(1/2) = 1.0(-0.4)(+1.9) h) α-emitter (270)Db marks an important step towards the observation of even more long-lived nuclei of superheavy elements located on an "island of stability."

[Atrial fibrillation and regular tachycardia in two young patients--are both treated with atrial fibrillation ablation?]. / Zweijunge Patienten mit Vorhof- flimmern und regelmässiger Tachykardie. Müssen beide Tachykardien abladiert werden?

Two young patients with documented episodes of symptomatic paroxysmal atrial fibrillation have been referred for pulmonary vein isolation. Both patients had a history of concomitant regular tachycardia. in both cases pulmonaryvein isolation has not been performed but in each patient a supraventricular tachycardia (right focal atrial tachycardia/atrioventricular reentry tachycardia) could be induced and ablated instead. Concomitant supraventricular tachycardia acting as a trigger arrhythmia is frequent in young patients with atrial fibrillation without underlying cardiacdisease. In these patients a concomitant supra-ventricular tachycardia should beexcluded by electrophysiological study or ablated before pulmonary vein isolation or initiating an antiarrhythmic drug therapy. In most cases ablation of supraventricular tachycardia is safe and successful whereas the risks of ablative therapy of atrial fibrillation can not be neglected and success is moderate.

Phase-imaging ion-cyclotron-resonance measurements for short-lived nuclides.

A novel approach based on the projection of the Penning-trap ion motion onto a position-sensitive detector opens the door to very accurate mass measurements on the ppb level even for short-lived nuclides with half-lives well below a second. In addition to the accuracy boost, the new method provides a superior resolving power by which low-lying isomeric states with excitation energy on the 10-keV level can be easily separated from the ground state. A measurement of the mass difference of ^{130}Xe and ^{129}Xe has demonstrated the great potential of the new approach.

Spectroscopy of element 115 decay chains.

A high-resolution α, x-ray, and γ-ray coincidence spectroscopy experiment was conducted at the GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung. Thirty correlated α-decay chains were detected following the fusion-evaporation reaction 48Ca + 243Am. The observations are consistent with previous assignments of similar decay chains to originate from element Z=115. For the first time, precise spectroscopy allows the derivation of excitation schemes of isotopes along the decay chains starting with elements Z>112. Comprehensive Monte Carlo simulations accompany the data analysis. Nuclear structure models provide a first level interpretation.

High-precision measurements of the hyperfine structure of cobalt ions in the deep ultraviolet range.

High-precision hyperfine structure measurements were performed on stable, singly-charged [Formula: see text]Co ions at the IGISOL facility in Jyväskylä, Finland using the collinear laser spectroscopy technique. A newly installed light collection setup enabled the study of transitions in the 230 nm wavelength range from low-lying states below 6000 cm[Formula: see text]. We report a 100-fold improvement on the precision of the hyperfine A parameters, and furthermore present newly measured hyperfine B paramaters.

On the adsorption and reactivity of element 114, flerovium.

Flerovium (Fl, element 114) is the heaviest element chemically studied so far. To date, its interaction with gold was investigated in two gas-solid chromatography experiments, which reported two different types of interaction, however, each based on the level of a few registered atoms only. Whereas noble-gas-like properties were suggested from the first experiment, the second one pointed at a volatile-metal-like character. Here, we present further experimental data on adsorption studies of Fl on silicon oxide and gold surfaces, accounting for the inhomogeneous nature of the surface, as it was used in the experiment and analyzed as part of the reported studies. We confirm that Fl is highly volatile and the least reactive member of group 14. Our experimental observations suggest that Fl exhibits lower reactivity towards Au than the volatile metal Hg, but higher reactivity than the noble gas Rn.