Leading Edge Method Research Articles

Determination of Mo-93 inventory in irradiated BWR tie plate using triple quadrupole ICP-MS

The inventory of radionuclides is a crucial input parameter for the safety assessment of irradiated metal waste. Among the radionuclides, Mo-93 is remarkable radionuclide owing to its long half-life (4,000 years) and poor sorptive property (anionic species). A method for determining Mo-93 by measuring characteristic X-rays was proposed previously; however, this method requires complex sequential and/or chromatographic separation of Mo-93. In the present study, triple quadrupole inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS/MS)—a leading-edge method—was used to determine the inventory of Mo-93 in an irradiated boiling water reactor (BWR) tie plate (stainless steel) for the first time. Furthermore, an activation calculation for Mo-93 was conducted using ORIGEN2. The results indicated that the inventory of Mo-93 in the BWR tie plate was 690 ± 83 Bq/g. This study demonstrates that triple quadrupole ICP-MS allows the simple quantitative analysis of Mo-93 in irradiated stainless steel without complex chemical separation.Graphical abstract

Fast inverse lithography approach based on a model-driven graph convolutional network.

Inverse lithography technique (ILT) is a leading-edge method to improve the image fidelity of an advanced optical lithography system by performing pixel-wise optimization on the transmission function of photomask. However, traditional ILTs are computationally intensive, which limits their application in high volume manufacturing of integrated circuits. This paper proposes a model-driven graph convolutional network (MGCN) framework combined with the dense concentric circular sampling (DCCS) method to effectively improve computational efficiency and imaging fidelity of current ILTs. Firstly, the DCCS template is used to extract the geometric features from the layout pattern of integrated circuits, which are then input into a GCN-based encoder to predict the optimized mask pattern of the ILT. Then, a model-driven decoder based on the lithography imaging process is developed to retrieve the print image of the predicted ILT mask. By means of the cooperation between the encoder and decoder, an unsupervised training strategy is proposed to avoid the time-consuming labelling process of the training samples. With the help of the parallel computing under GPU framework, the well-trained encoder can make a fast prediction of ILT mask with high-fidelity image results. The results demonstrate the state-of-the-art performance of the proposed MGCN approach compared to some other comparative ILT methods.

Normalization of ascending aorta dimension for body size influences pathophysiologic correlation in hypertensive patients: the Campania Salute Network.

In the present study, we assessed correlates and their consistency of ascending aorta (AscAo) measurement in treated hypertensive patients. A total of 1634 patients ≥ 18 years old with available AscAo ultrasound were included. Ascending aorta was measured at end-diastole with leading edge to leading edge method, perpendicular to the long axis of the aorta in parasternal long-axis view at its maximal identifiable dimension. Correlations of AscAo and AscAo normalized for height (AscAo/HT) or body surface area (AscAo/BSA) with demographics and metabolic profile were explored. Multi-variable regression was also used to identify potential confounders influencing univariate correlations. Sensitivity analysis was performed using cardiovascular (CV) outcome. Correlations with age, estimated glomerular filtration rate, systolic blood pressure (BP), and heart rate (HR) were similar among the three aortic measures. Women exhibited smaller AscAo but larger AscAo/BSA than men with AscAo/HT offsetting the sex difference. Obesity and diabetes were associated with greater AscAo and AscAo/HT but with smaller AscAo/BSA (all P < 0.001). In multi-variable regression model, all aortic measure confirmed the sign of their relations with sex and metabolic profile independently of age, BP, and HR. In Kaplan-Mayer analysis, only dilated AscAo and AscAo/HT were significantly associated with increased risk of CV events (both P < 0.008). Among patients with long-standing controlled systemic hypertension, magnitude of aortic remodelling is influenced by the type of the measure adopted, with physiological consistency only for AscAo and AscAo/HT, but not for AscAo/BSA.

Techniques and various efficiency evaluation tests for self-healing cement-based matrix: State-of-the-art

As the aging leads to dilapidation of reinforced concrete structures due to formation of cracks through which chlorides and other chemical agents promote corrosion. There is need of repair or maintenance of such existing structures. Therefore, self-healing, a leading-edge method for durability enhancement, has gained a lot of importance. In this paper, the various self-healing techniques for concrete, including intrinsic healing, capsule-based healing, vascular healing and also immobilization along with healing mechanism of some materials are reviewed with their comparisons. Moreover, a comprehensive study is also done on the different tests for assessment of self-healing in concrete at macro-scale, micro-scale and nano-scale to determine and characterize healing product and to evaluate their mechanical properties.

Prevalence of abdominal aortic aneurysm and associated lower extremity artery aneurysm in men hospitalized for suspected or known cardiopulmonary disease

BackgroundAAA is a disease affecting predominantly male patients ≥65 years and its dreaded complications such as rupture led to population-based screening programs as preventive measure. Nonetheless, the supposed prevalence may have been overestimated, so that targeted screening of high risk populations may be more effective.This study was performed to evaluate the prevalence of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) of an inpatient high-risk cohort and to estimate the co-prevalence of lower extremity arterial aneurysms.MethodsParticipants: 566 male inpatients, ≥ 65 years of age, hospitalized for suspected or known cardiopulmonary disease.Primary and secondary outcome measures: Maximal infrarenal aortic diameters using abdominal ultrasound (leading edge to leading edge method). Upon detection of an AAA (diameter ≥ 30 mm), the lower extremity arteries were examined with regard to associated aneurysms.ResultsIn 40 of 566 patients (7.1%) AAAs were detectable. Fourteen patients (2.5%) had a first diagnosis of AAA, none of which was large (> 55 mm), the remaining 26 patients were either already diagnosed (14 patients, 2.5%) or previously repaired (12 patients, 2.1%).The three most common main diagnoses at discharge were acute coronary syndrome (43.3%), congestive heart failure (32.2%), and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (12%). The cohort showed a distinct cardiovascular risk profile comprising arterial hypertension (82.9%), diabetes mellitus (44.4%), and a history of smoking (57.6%).In multivariate analysis, three-vessel coronary artery disease (Odds ratio (OR): 4.5, 95% confidence interval (CI): 2.3–8.9, p < 0.0001) and history of smoking (OR: 3.7, CI: 1.6–8.6, p < 0.01) were positively associated with AAA, while diabetes mellitus (OR: 0.5, CI: 0.2–0.9, p = 0.0295) showed a negative association with AAA.Among the subjects with AAA, we found two large iliac and two large popliteal aneurysms.ConclusionUltrasound screening in male inpatients, hospitalized for suspected or known cardiopulmonary disease, revealed a high AAA prevalence in comparison to the present epidemiological screening programs. There was a moderate proportion of newly-screen detected AAA and additional screening of the lower extremity arteries yielded some associated aneurysms with indication for possible intervention.

Kalman Filter-Based Novel Methodology to Assess Insulin Pump Accuracy.

Background: Insulin pump or continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion (CSII) system is a widely adopted contemporary treatment for type 1 diabetes and is a major component of an artificial pancreas (AP). CSII accuracy is essential for glycemic control and to-date such metric has not been given sufficient study, especially at the range of the lowest basal rate. The gold-standard assessment method IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission) 60601-2-24 has some limitations. Our study presents a new accurate and reactive method for CSII system evaluation based on direct flow measurement. Materials and Methods: A leading-edge assessment method based on a double measurement approach utilizing a direct mass flow meter and a time-stamped microgravimetric bench test was combined with a Bayesian-based mathematical filter (Kalman). The performance of this new method was evaluated while assessing the delivery precision of an off-the-shelf insulin pump at several basal rates. The proposed methodology offers a double reading-volume and flow rate-which provides direct instantaneous flow rate. CSII dose errors were evaluated using mean absolute relative dispersion (MARD) at different time intervals windows over the whole test. Results: The metrological aspect of the measurements and filtering performance were consistent. CSII precision is shown to be different in terms of the flow rate value: MARD15min (2 UI/h) = 12.7%, MARD15min (0.5 UI/h) = 20.4%, and MARD15min (0.1 UI/h) = 65.0%. MARD240min (2 UI/h) = 8.1%, (0.5 UI/h), MARD240min (0.5 UI/h) = 18.8%, and MARD240min (0.1 UI/h) = 18.4%. Instantaneous flow rate results highlight an irregular stroke-based delivery. Conclusion: This new method to assess insulin pump administration has been validated and highlights the current imprecision in insulin delivery, especially for the lowest basal rate, which is mainly used in pediatric cases and AP system delivery. This leading-edge method should be used to precisely compare several CSII performances in those contexts.

P2646Determinants of aortic root dilatation over time in hypertensive treated patients: the Campania Salute Network

Abstract Background We demonstrated that aortic root (AR) dilatation assessed by standardized difference between observed and predicted values is present at baseline in about 30% of treated hypertensive patients and predicts cardiovascular (CV) events independently of left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy (LVH). Purpose We investigate whether a CV phenotype exists predicting AR dilatation during follow-up of treated hypertensive patients. Methods 5301 hypertensive treated patients (age 53±11 years, 42% women) without prevalent CV disease and with normal ejection fraction (≥50%) were studied. AR dimension was measured in the parasternal long-axis view at the level of sinus of Valsalva in end-diastole, using the leading-edge to leading-edge method at first and last available echocardiograms. The z-score of AR dimension (AOz) was generated based on the difference between observed AR and predicted AR dimension, divided by sex-specific observed SD. Results Initial AOz exhibited a normal distribution and was correlated positively with age, male sex, systolic and diastolic blood pressure (BP), BMI, fasting glucose, and glomerular filtration rate (GFR, by EPI-CKD) and negatively with pulse pressure (PP) and cholesterol (all 0.0375th percentile of the AOz distribution). Similar to baseline, initial SVi and BMI remained the most potent covariates of the final AOz (both p&lt;0.0001), independently of significant effect of male sex, high diastolic BP, BMI, SVi, low PP, and low HDL-cholesterol. Variance inflation factor was &lt;2 in both regression models. Figure shows initial SVi in relation with AR at follow up. Conclusions We demonstrate that both volume (SVi) and pressure loads (diastolic BP) influence AR enlargement over time, AR dilatation is predictable in male obese patients with diastolic hypertension and other metabolic disturbances.

Review on the determination and distribution patterns of a widespread contaminant artificial sweetener in the environment.

The accurate determination of widespread artificial sweeteners (ASs) and the information of their distributions in environments are of significance to investigate the environmental behaviors. This paper firstly reviews the typical analytic methodologies for ASs and the main influencing factors during the analytic processes. Solid-phase extraction (SPE) with LC-ESI-MS is currently the leading-edge method. However, the efficiency and accuracy for ASs analysis in environmental samples are also dependent on the SPE cartridges, buffers and pH, matrix effects, and sample stability. A basic procedure for ASs determination in different environmental samples is proposed. The current occurrences of ASs in environments are then evaluated. The ASs, especially the acesulfame and sucralose, are widely detected in various environmental medium. The concentrations of investigated ASs are generally in the order of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) influent > WWTPs effluent > surface water > groundwater > drinking water; and atmosphere > soil. The ASs levels in the environment exhibit significant differences among different regions. Further analysis indicates that the phenomenon is highly correlated with the consumption patterns and the removal efficiency of WWTPs in a specific country.

Non-Invasive Vascular Very-High Resolution Ultrasound to Quantify Artery Intima Layer Thickness: Validation of the Four-Line Pattern

Preliminary findings suggest that very-high resolution ultrasound (VHRU, 55 MHz) could differentiate arterial intima layer thickness (IT) non-invasively in vivo. We aimed to validate ultrasound-derived IT measurements and describe a four-line pattern consistent with intimal thickening. VHRU was applied to temporal arteries of 37 patients with suspected giant cell arteritis without inflammation on histology. Anatomically matched ultrasound-derived measurements of arterial layer thickness with the leading-edge method was compared to histology. Intimal thickening (IT >0.06 mm on histology) was identified as a four-line pattern in VHRU with a sensitivity of 96.3% and a specificity of 100%. Histologic and VHRU IT measurement agreement was excellent (mean difference 0.007 mm; 95% limits of agreement, −0.043 to 0.057) and intra-class coefficient (ICC) 0.923 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.833–0.964). Intra- and inter-observer agreements for VHRU IT were high: ICC 0.946 (95% CI, 0.877–0.976) and 0.872 (95% CI, 0.773–0.943). VHRU utilizing the leading-to-leading edge method allows accurate and reliable measurements of arterial IT in patients with IT >0.06 mm. Measurements of IT will provide the opportunity to explore early subclinical structural intimal changes in the arterial wall increasing with age.

Investigation of Spectral Characteristics by Passive Control Methods Past a Supersonic Cavity

Numerical investigations of the leading-edge sawtooth spoiler and slanted aft wall were performed to explore the mechanisms of the suppression of pressure fluctuations in an open-type cavity flow, focusing on the pressure fluctuation spectra and their spatial distributions. The rectangular cavity has a length-to-depth ratio of six, and the freestream Mach number is 1.5. Improved delayed detached-eddy simulation was used to predict the unsteady cavity flows and pressure fluctuations. Both control methods exhibited effectiveness in pressure fluctuation suppression, but their respective mechanisms are quite different. It was observed that the leading-edge sawtooth spoiler lifts the shear layer and reduces its interaction with the aft wall. The energy distribution of Rossiter modes changes significantly, which indicates that the pressure fluctuation feedback loop inside the cavity has changed. However, the slanted aft wall merely alters the cavity flowfield. Unlike the leading-edge method, the Rossiter mode distribution and the feedback mechanism remain unchanged. The slanted aft wall mainly suppresses the upstream-traveling perturbation generated by the cavity trailing edge but has little influence on the downstream-traveling perturbation.

Prevalence of Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms in the General Population and in Subgroups at High Cardiovascular Risk in Italy. Results of the RoCAV Population Based Study

Prevalence data on abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) in women, subjects younger than 65 years and in subgroups carrying specific risk factors are scarce. AAA prevalence was evaluated in an Italian population including women and younger subjects, stratifying for the presence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors and CVD risk score. A population based cross-sectional study was conducted between 2013 and 2016. Men aged 50-75 and women aged 60-75 years, resident in the city of Varese (northern Italy), were randomly selected from the civil registry. A vascular surgeon performed an abdominal aortic ultrasound scan at four sites using the leading edge to leading edge method. CVD risk score was computed using the ESC-SCORE algorithm. The age and gender specific prevalence was estimated, stratifying by the presence of CVD and cardiovascular risk factors. Among the 3755 subjects with a valid ultrasound measurement, 63 subjects with an AAA were identified (5 referred for surgical intervention), among whom 34 were not previously known (30 men 1.3%, 95% CI 0.9-1.8; 4 women 0.3%, 95% CI 0.1-0.8). Considering age classes in men only, the highest prevalence of screen detected AAA was found in subjects aged 65-70 (1.2%; 95% CI 0.4-2.5) and 70-75 (2.5%; 95% CI 1.4-4.0) years. Among 65-75 year old men, the highest AAA prevalence was found in subjects with a previous myocardial infarction (MI 4.9%, 95% CI 2.0-9.9) and in ever-smokers reporting more than 15 pack years of smoking (4.1%, 95% CI 2.5-6.3). Among the younger subjects, those having an ESC-SCORE higher than 5% or a previous CVD (MI or stroke) showed a prevalence of 1.4% (95% CI 0.3-4.2; prevalence including subaneurysms 6.7%, 95% CI 3.7-11.0%). In the study population, both a general screening program in 65-75 year old men and an approach targeted to subgroups at higher risk merit evaluation in a cost-effectiveness study. In 50-64 year old men, strategies for population selection should consider CVD risk stratification tools.

Temperature Programmed Desorption of Ethanol over TiO2 and M/TiO2 (M = Au, Pd and Au–Pd) Catalysts: Dehydration Versus De-carbonylation Pathways

The reactions of ethanol over TiO2 and M/TiO2 (M = Au, Pd and Au–Pd) catalysts are studied by temperature programmed desorption (TPD), in high vacuum conditions, in order to study the effects of metal nature on desorption profiles and products distribution. Ethanol reacted through dehydration (major) and dehydrogenation (minor) pathways on TiO2 and Au/TiO2 producing ethylene and acetaldehyde, with negligible hydrogen formation. On Pd/TiO2 and Au–Pd/TiO2, carbon monoxide and methane were the main products, through C–C bond cleavage, in addition to H2. TPD of ethanol on Au-Pd was almost identical to that of Pd indicating the much higher activity of Pd when compared to Au on TiO2. Ethanol desorption from all catalysts followed second order kinetics as evidenced from desorption peak shape, shift in peak temperatures with increasing initial coverages, and by data fitting of the Arrhenius plots. With increasing ethanol coverage, the activation energies calculated from the non-linear fitting of Polanyi Wigner equation as well as from leading edge analysis decreases due to repulsive lateral interactions. Both methods gave similar results (activation energy between 145 and 95 kJ/mol depending on the surface coverage), although the activation energy obtained by the leading edge method was more sensitive to surface coverage.

Aortic Diameters and Mild Functional Aortic Regurgitation in Hypertensive and Normotensive People: Do They Carry the Same Meaning?

The association between the aortic root diameter and aortic regurgitation in hypertensive and normotensive people is still disputed, and the underlying mechanisms remain to be clearly elucidated. We aimed to investigate the relationship between the aortic root diameter and trivial to mild functional aortic regurgitation in never-treated hypertensive patients with a new diagnosis compared with healthy normotensive participants. A total of 182 hypertensives and 232 age-matched normotensives were included in the study. Anthropometric and office blood pressure (BP) measurements, echocardiography, and a carotid stiffness assessment were performed in all of the participants. Aortic measures for the annulus, sinuses of Valsalva, sinotubular junction, and ascending aorta were taken in late diastole according to the leading-edge method. The mean age of all participants was 52 years. Hypertensive patients had a significantly higher body surface area, mean arterial pressure, and pulse pressure (P < .0001) than normotensive participants. Annulus and sinotubular junction diameters adjusted for confounders and indexed to the body surface area were significantly higher in normotensives than in hypertensives. The prevalence of functional aortic regurgitation was higher in hypertensives (34.8% versus 15.4%; P < .0001). Among the hypertensives, no difference in aortic diameters was found between patients with or without functional aortic regurgitation, whereas normotensives with functional aortic regurgitation had larger aortic root diameters. Aging and BP among the hypertensives were the main determinants of functional aortic regurgitation. Hypertensive patients had a smaller indexed aortic root diameter than normotensive participants but had a higher prevalence of trivial to mild functional aortic regurgitation. The aging process is the main determinant of functional aortic regurgitation in both groups, but high BP also plays an important role in hypertensives.

Heights of Coronal Mass Ejections and Shocks Inferred from Metric and DH Type II Radio Bursts

A set of 27 continuous events that showed extension of metric Type-II radio bursts (m-Type IIs) into the deca–hectometric (DH) domain is considered. The coronal mass ejections (CMEs) associated with this type of continuous event supply more energy to produce space-weather effects than the CMEs that produce Type-II bursts in any one region. Since the heights of shock formation at the start of m-Type IIs were not available from observations, they were estimated using kinematic modeling in previous studies. In the present study, the heights of shock formation during metric and DH Type-II bursts are determined using two methods: i) the CME leading-edge method and ii) a method employing known electron-density models and start/end frequencies. In the first method, assuming that the shocks are generated by the associated CMEs at the leading edge, the height of the CME leading edge (LE) is calculated at the onset and end of m-Type IIs using the kinematic equation with constant acceleration or constant speed. The LE heights of CMEs that are assumed to be the heights of shock formation/end of nearly 79% of m-Type IIs are found to be within the acceptable range of \(1\,\mbox{--}\,3~\mbox{R}_{\odot}\). For other events, the heights are beyond this range, for which the shocks might either have been generated at the CME flanks/flare-blast waves, or the initial CME height might have been different. The CME/shock height at the onset and end of 17 DH Type IIs are found to be in the range of \(2\,\mbox{--}\,6~\mbox{R}_{\odot}\) and within \(30~\mbox{R}_{\odot}\), respectively. In addition, the CME LE heights from observations at the onset and end of metric/DH Type IIs are compared with the heights corresponding to the observed frequency that is determined using the known electron-density models, and they are in agreement with the model results. The heights are also estimated using the space speed available for 15 halo CMEs, and it is found that the difference is smaller at the m-Type II start/end (0.02 to \(0.66~\mbox{R}_{\odot}\)) and slightly greater at the DH Type II end (0.19 to \(1.94~\mbox{R}_{\odot}\)). Finally, the possibility of CME–streamer interactions at the start of DH Type IIs is checked, and it is found that many of the events with streamers have lower start frequencies. In addition, these results are discussed in comparison with the values reported in the literature. This study will be useful to find the source region of metric and DH Type IIs and to understand the CME-shock propagation.

Measuring flow velocity on frozen and non-frozen slopes of black soil through leading edge method

Flow velocity is a major parameter related to hillslope hydrodynamics erosion. This study aims to measure flow velocity over frozen and non-frozen slopes through leading edge method before being calibrated with accurate flow velocity to determine the correct coefficient for convenience of flow velocity measurement. Laboratory experiments were conducted on frozen and non-frozen soil slopes with flumes involving four slope gradients of 5°, 10°, 15°, and 20°and three flow rates of 1, 2, and 4L/min with a flume of 6m long and 0.1m wide. The measurements were made with a stopwatch to record the time duration that the water flow ran over the rill segments of 2, 4 and 6 m long. Accurate flow velocity was measured with electrolyte trace method, under pulse boundary condition. The leading edge and accurate flow velocities were used to determine the correction coefficient to convert the former to the latter. Results showed that the correction coefficient on frozen soil slope was 0.81 with a coefficient of determination (R2) of 0.99. The correction coefficient on non-frozen soil slope was 0.79 with R2 of 0.98. A coefficient of 0.8 was applicable to both soil surface conditions. The accurate velocities on the four frozen black soil slopes were approximately 30%, 54%, 71%, and 91% higher than those on non-frozen soil slopes. By contrast, the leading edge flow velocities on the frozen soil slopes were 23%, 54%, 67%, and 84% higher than those on non-frozen soil slopes. The flow velocities on frozen soil slopes increased with flow rate at all four slopes, but they increased from 5 to 15° before getting stabilized. Therefore, rill flow velocity can be effectively measured with leading edge method by multiplying the leading edge velocity with a correction coefficient of 0.80. This study provides a strategy to measure rill flow velocity for studies on soil erosion mechanisms.

Performance of Scintillation Pixel Detectors with MPPC Read-out and Digital Signal Processing

We have assembled and tested a system of 2 detector modules containing Lutetium Fine Silicate scintillator pixels in 4 × 4 matrix, read out by multi-pixel photon counter arrays with the matching element size. The amplified signals were acquired using fast digitizers and stored for offline analysis. Using two different approaches, we have determined the single crystal relative energy resolution at 511 keV to be 14% and 12%. The coincidence time resolution has been tested using the digital constant fraction triggering and the leading edge method, and the resulting resolutions are 1.6 ns and 0.5 ns, respectively.

P1007Aortic root diameters and aortic regurgitation in hypertensive patients and normal subjects.

: The association between aortic root diameters and aortic regurgitation in hypertension (HT) is disputed with lack of understanding of the underline mehanisms lT. We investigate the relationship between aortic root diameters and aortic regurgitation in newly diagnosed and never treated hypertensive patients and in a group healthy subjects. Participants were 175 hypertensives (42 F and 133 M) and 305 normotensives (134 F, 168 M) age matched (mean age 52.4±13 vs 52.6 ±15.2 years). Antropometric, office blood pressure (BP) measurements, a comprehensive echocardiography and local carotid stiffness study were performed. Aortic measures for annulus, sinuses of Valsalva, sinotubular junction and ascending aorta were taken in late diastole according to the leading edge method. The sinotubular junction/annulus ratio was calculated. Hypertensive patients had significantly higher body surface area (BSA), systolic (SBP) and diastolic pressure (DBP), mean arterial pressure (MAP) and pulse?pressure (PP) (p<0.0001) than normotensives. Annulus and sinotubular junction diameters, indexed by BSA and after adjustment for gender, MAP, heart rate?(HR), were significantly higher in normotensives than hypertensives. Considering subjects with aortic regurgitation (trivial or mild) we found a higher prevalence in?hypertensives (25.7 % vs 10.2%, p<0.0001). Moreover in hypertensives we found no difference in aortic diameters between patients with or without aortic regurgitation?but ascending aorta /BSA (p=0.002) whereas in healthy subjects aortic regurgitation was associated with larger aortic root diameters included sinotubular junction/annulus ratio (table 1). In the logistic regression analysis, aortic regurgitation was associated with age, gender, BP parameters, one point carotid stiffness parameters. Hypertensive patients had smaller indexed aortic root dimensions than normal subjects but they had heigher prevalence of trivial-mild aortic regurgitation in contrast to normotensives who had aortic regurgitation combined with larger aortic diameters.

Giant Rashba Splitting in CH_{3}NH_{3}PbBr_{3} Organic-Inorganic Perovskite.

As they combine decent mobilities with extremely long carrier lifetimes, organic-inorganic perovskites open a whole new field in optoelectronics. Measurements of their underlying electronic structure, however, are still lacking. Using angle-resolved photoelectron spectroscopy, we measure the valence band dispersion of single-crystal CH_{3}NH_{3}PbBr_{3}. The dispersion of the highest energy band is extracted applying a modified leading edge method, which accounts for the particular density of states of organic-inorganic perovskites. The surface Brillouin zone is consistent with bulk-terminated surfaces both in the low-temperature orthorhombic and the high-temperature cubic phase. In the low-temperature phase, we find a ring-shaped valence band maximum with a radius of 0.043 Å^{-1}, centered around a 0.16eV deep local minimum in the dispersion of the valence band at the high-symmetry point. Intense circular dichroism is observed. This dispersion is the result of strong spin-orbit coupling. Spin-orbit coupling is also present in the room-temperature phase. The coupling strength is one of the largest ones reported so far.

PS 17-62 AORTIC ROOT DIAMETERS AND AORTIC REGURGITATIONS IN HYPERTENSIVE PATIENTS COMPARE TO A CONTROL GROUP OF NORMAL SUBJECTS

Objective: Aortic dimensions are realated to body size and increase with age. The association between aortic root diameters, aortic regurgitation and hypertension (HT) is disputed. Moreover there is a lack of understanding of the underlying mehanisms leading to aortic insufficiency in HT . We investigate the relationship between aortic root diameters and aortic regurgitation in newly diagnosed and never treated hypertensive patients. Design and method: Participants were 175 hypertensives (42 F and 133 M) and 302 normotensives (134 F, 168 M) age match (mean age 52.4 ± 13 vs 52.6 ± 15.2 years). Antropometric, office blood pressure (BP) measurements and a comprehensive echocardiography were performed. Aortic measures for annulus, sinuses of Valsalva, sinotubular junction and ascending aorta were taken in late diastole according to the leading edge method. The sinotubular junction/annulus ratio was calculated. Results: Hypertensive patients had significantly higher body surface area (BSA), systolic pressure (PAS), diastolic pressure (PAD), mean arterial pressure (MAP), pulse pressure (PP) (p = 0.000) than normotensives. Annulus and sinotubular junction diameters, indexed by BSA and after adjustment for gender, MAP, heart rate (HR), were significantly higher in normotensives than hypertensives. Considering subjects with aortic regurgitation (trivial or mild) we found a higher prevalence in hypertensives (25.7 % vs 10.2%, p < 0.0001). Moreover in hypertensives we found no difference in aortic diameters between patients with or without aortic regurgitation but ascending aorta /BSA (p = 0.002) whereas in healthy subjects aortic regurgitation was associated with larger aortic root diameters included sinotubular junction/annulus ratio. Conclusions: Hypertensive patients had smaller indexed aortic root dimension than normal subjects but they had heigher prevalence of trivial-mild aortic regurgitation that was not related to aortic root diameters while normotensives with aortic regurgitation had larger aortic diameters. This could be explained by the different mechanisms leading to aortic insufficiency: increased afterload in hypertensives and a trivial sinotubular/anunulus mismatch in normotensives.

The Reverse Racism Effect

Research SummaryRace‐related debates often assume that implicit racial bias will result in racially biased decisions to shoot. Previous research has examined racial bias in police decisions by pressing “shoot” or “don't‐shoot” buttons in response to pictures of armed and unarmed suspects. As a result of its lack of external validity, however, this methodology provides limited insight into officer behavior in the field. In response, we conducted the first series of experimental research studies that tested police officers and civilians in strikingly realistic deadly force simulators.Policy ImplicationsThis article reports the results of our most recent experiment, which tested 80 police patrol officers by applying this leading edge method. We found that, despite clear evidence of implicit bias against Black suspects, officers were slower to shoot armed Black suspects than armed White suspects, and they were less likely to shoot unarmed Black suspects than unarmed White suspects. These findings challenge the assumption that implicit racial bias affects police behavior in deadly encounters with Black suspects.