Annealing studies combined with low temperature emission Mössbauer spectroscopy of short-lived parent isotopes: Determination of local Debye-Waller factors.

An extension of the online implantation chamber used for emission Mössbauer Spectroscopy (eMS) at ISOLDE/CERN that allows for quick removal of samples for offline low temperature studies is briefly described. We demonstrate how online eMS data obtained during implantation at temperatures between 300 K and 650 K of short-lived parent isotopes combined with rapid cooling and offline eMS measurements during the decay of the parent isotope can give detailed information on the binding properties of the Mössbauer probe in the lattice. This approach has been applied to study the properties of Sn impurities in ZnO following implantation of 119In (T½ = 2.4 min). Sn in the 4+ and 2+ charge states is observed. Above T > 600 K, Sn2+ is observed and is ascribed to Sn on regular Zn sites, while Sn2+ detected at T < 600 K is due to Sn in local amorphous regions. A new annealing stage is reported at T ≈ 550 K, characterized by changes in the Sn4+ emission profile, and is attributed to the annihilation of close Frenkel pairs.

Local increase of the Curie temperature in Mn/Fe implanted Y3Fe5O12 (YIG).

The change in the Curie temperature of single crystalline garnet Y3Fe5O12 (YIG) sample due to lattice damage induced by ion implantation has been investigated in 57Fe emission Mössbauer Spectroscopy (eMS) following implantation of 57Mn (T½ = 1.5 min). The Mössbauer spectra analysis reveal high spin Fe3+ ions substituted on both the octahedral and the tetrahedral sites. Measurements in the temperature range 298 K-798 K show that average values of the magnetic hyperfine field are decreased by the implantation-induced damage on the local lattice structure of the YIG. The Curie temperature, however, is determined to be 651 ± 5 K, considerably higher than the value of bulk YIG (559 K). This is most likely due to lattice damage-induced changes on the spin configurations of YIG through a FeA-O-FeD distortion scheme.

Profiling of patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation and moderate-to-high risk of stroke not receiving oral anticoagulation in Spain / Perfil de los pacientes con fibrilación auricular no valvular y riesgo moderado-alto de accidente cerebrovascular que no reciben anticoagulación oral en España

OBJECTIVE: In non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) with embolic risk, the guidelines recommend oral anticoagulation (OAC), although not all patients receive it. In this study, an attempt is made to identify these patients, and to study factors related to non-anticoagulation. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Non-interventional, cross-sectional, multicentre study was performed on a population of patients ≥18 years with a NVAF diagnosis, moderate-high embolic risk (CHADS2 score≥2), not treated with OAC. Atrial fibrillation (AF) prevalence was also collected. RESULTS: AF prevalence was 4.5%, and 80.7% of the patients had NVAF (20.0% did not receive OAC). A total of 1310 non-OAC-treated patients were included (51.8% male, mean age: 76.0 years). The mean time since AF diagnosis was 58.4 months. The main therapeutic decision for stroke prevention was prescription of antiplatelet agents (82.4%, n=1078), and the main reasons were: patient refusal to monitoring (37.3%), high bleeding risk (31.1%), uncontrolled hypertension (27.9%), and frequent falls (27.6%). The mean CHA2DS2-VASc score was 4.6, and the HAS-BLED was 2.7 (55.9% of patients scoring HAS-BLED≥3). The most common thromboembolic risk factors were: hypertension (89.1%), age≥75 years (61.5%); the haemorrhagic factors: use of drugs increasing the bleeding risk (41.2%), uncontrolled blood pressure (33.7%). CONCLUSIONS: About 20% of Spanish NVAF patients do not receive OAC in the clinical practice and are treated with antiplatelet agents, which do not reduce haemorrhagic risk. Most patients do not clearly show a contraindication to OACs, particularly considering that there are other available options (direct oral anticoagulant drugs [DOACs])

OBJETIVO: En la fibrilación auricular no-valvular (FANV) con riesgo embólico las guías recomiendan la anticoagulación oral (ACO), aunque no todos los pacientes la reciben. En este estudio, tratamos de identificar estos pacientes y estudiar los factores relacionados con la no-anticoagulación. MATERIAL Y MÉTODOS: Estudio observacional, transversal y multicéntrico. Población de estudio: pacientes ≥18 años con FANV, riesgo embólico moderado-alto (puntuación CHADS2≥2), no tratados con ACO. También se recogió la prevalencia de fibrilación auricular (FA). RESULTADOS: La prevalencia de FA fue del 4,5% y del 80,7% de los pacientes presentaban FANV (20,0% no recibía ACO). Se incluyeron 1.310 pacientes no tratados con ACO (51,8% varones, edad media: 76,0 años). El tiempo medio desde el diagnóstico de FA fue de 58,4 meses. La estrategia terapéutica principal para la prevención tromboembólica fue la antiagregación (82,4%; n=1.078) y las principales razones: negativa del paciente a la monitorización (37,3%), alto riesgo de sangrado (31,1%), hipertensión no controlada (27,9%) y caídas frecuentes (27,6%). La puntuación CHA2DS2-VASc media fue 4,6 y HAS-BLED 2,7 (55,9% HAS-BLED≥3). Los factores de riesgo tromboembólico más frecuentes fueron: hipertensión (89,1%) y edad ≥75 años (61,5%); los factores de riesgo hemorrágico fueron: uso de fármacos que aumentan el riesgo de sangrado (41,2%) y presión arterial no controlada (33,7%). CONCLUSIONES: En la práctica clínica en España, un 20% de los pacientes con FANV no recibe ACO, y son tratados con antiagregantes, lo que no reduce el riesgo hemorrágico. La mayoría de los pacientes no presenta una clara contraindicación para ACO, más aún considerando otras opciones disponibles (anticoagulantes orales directos [ACOD])

Experimental Observation of Vacancy-assisted Martensitic Transformation Shift in Ni-Fe-Ga Alloys.

Positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy is used to experimentally demonstrate the direct relationship between vacancies and the shift of the martensitic transformation temperature in a Ni_{55}Fe_{17}Ga_{28} alloy. The evolution of vacancies assisting the ordering enables shifts of the martensitic transformation up to 50 K. Our results confirm the role that both vacancy concentration and different vacancy dynamics play in samples quenched from the L2_{1} and B2 phases, which dictate the martensitic transformation temperature and its subsequent evolution. Finally, by electron-positron density functional calculations V_{Ni} is identified as the most probable vacancy present in Ni_{55}Fe_{17}Ga_{28}. This work evidences the capability of vacancies for the fine-tuning of the martensitic transformation temperature, paving the way for defect engineering of multifunctional properties.

Profiling of patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation and moderate-to-high risk of stroke not receiving oral anticoagulation in Spain.

OBJECTIVE: In non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) with embolic risk, the guidelines recommend oral anticoagulation (OAC), although not all patients receive it. In this study, an attempt is made to identify these patients, and to study factors related to non-anticoagulation. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Non-interventional, cross-sectional, multicentre study was performed on a population of patients ≥18 years with a NVAF diagnosis, moderate-high embolic risk (CHADS2 score≥2), not treated with OAC. Atrial fibrillation (AF) prevalence was also collected. RESULTS: AF prevalence was 4.5%, and 80.7% of the patients had NVAF (20.0% did not receive OAC). A total of 1310 non-OAC-treated patients were included (51.8% male, mean age: 76.0 years). The mean time since AF diagnosis was 58.4 months. The main therapeutic decision for stroke prevention was prescription of antiplatelet agents (82.4%, n=1078), and the main reasons were: patient refusal to monitoring (37.3%), high bleeding risk (31.1%), uncontrolled hypertension (27.9%), and frequent falls (27.6%). The mean CHA2DS2-VASc score was 4.6, and the HAS-BLED was 2.7 (55.9% of patients scoring HAS-BLED≥3). The most common thromboembolic risk factors were: hypertension (89.1%), age≥75 years (61.5%); the haemorrhagic factors: use of drugs increasing the bleeding risk (41.2%), uncontrolled blood pressure (33.7%). CONCLUSIONS: About 20% of Spanish NVAF patients do not receive OAC in the clinical practice and are treated with antiplatelet agents, which do not reduce haemorrhagic risk. Most patients do not clearly show a contraindication to OACs, particularly considering that there are other available options (direct oral anticoagulant drugs [DOACs]).

Charge states and lattice sites of dilute implanted Sn in ZnO.

The common charge states of Sn are 2+ and 4+. While charge neutrality considerations favour 2+ to be the natural charge state of Sn in ZnO, there are several reports suggesting the 4+ state instead. In order to investigate the charge states, lattice sites, and the effect of the ion implantation process of dilute Sn atoms in ZnO, we have performed 119Sn emission Mössbauer spectroscopy on ZnO single crystal samples following ion implantation of radioactive 119In (T ½ = 2.4 min) at temperatures between 96 K and 762 K. Complementary perturbed angular correlation measurements on 111mCd implanted ZnO were also conducted. Our results show that the 2+ state is the natural charge state for Sn in defect free ZnO and that the 4+ charge state is stabilized by acceptor defects created in the implantation process.

Características clínicas y sociodemográficas de mujeres diagnosticadas de enfermedad pulmonar obstructiva crónica (EPOC) en España: estudio ECME / No disponible

Objetivo: La enfermedad pulmonar obstructiva crónica (EPOC) es una enfermedad muy prevalente, con gran repercusión social, epidemiológica, clínica y económica, siendo diferente el patrón de expresión de la enfermedad en hombres y en mujeres. La EPOC es una enfermedad infradiagnosticada. La idea ampliamente extendida de que es una enfermedad que afecta principalmente a los hombres puede provocar que el infradiagnóstico de la población femenina sea aún mayor. Si a esto le sumamos unas características clínicas diferentes, el esfuerzo de sensibilización de los profesionales sanitarios hacia la EPOC femenina debe ser aún mayor para que no pase desapercibida. El presente estudio analiza las características clínicas y funcionales de una muestra representativa española de mujeres con EPOC, con la finalidad de conocer mejor cuál es el perfil clínico de la EPOC femenina en nuestro medio y la repercusión de la enfermedad en la calidad de vida y en el grado de actividad física de nuestras pacientes. Pacientes y métodos: Estudio epidemiológico, trasversal, multicéntrico, observacional y no intervencionista. 379 neumólogos reclutaron los 5 primeros casos consecutivos de pacientes con EPOC de sexo femenino seguidos en consultas de Neumología. Los criterios de inclusión fueron ser ≥40 años y tener antecedentes de tabaquismo con un índice de paquetes-año (IPA) acumulado ≥ 10 años. Se recogieron datos sociodemográficos, clínicos y espirométricos en una única visita. Resultados: Se evaluaron 1.732 mujeres. La media de edad fue de 61,6 ± 10 años, con un tiempo medio desde el diagnóstico de la EPOC de 7,5 ± 6,4 años. El 60,1% eran fumadoras activas, con un IPA acumulado de 35,7 ± 19,9. El 90% había cursado estudios primarios o superiores. El 60,9% tenía sobrepeso u obesidad y tenían antecedentes de depresión y ansiedad el 25,5% y 43,1% respectivamente. El 12,3% presentaba una EPOC leve, el 48,7% moderada, el 32,6% grave y el 6,3% muy grave. El 46,9% presentaba disnea grado 3-5 según la clasificación del Medical Research Council (MRC). Las puntuaciones del cuestionario de calidad de vida SF-12 en sus componentes físico (PCS) y mental (MCS) fueron 37,6 ± 10,5 y 45,7 ± 12,0, respectivamente. La puntuación total de la versión española validada del London Chest Activity of Daily Living (LCADL) fue de 27,2 ± 10,9. La media de exacerbaciones en el año previo fue de 1,5 ± 1,6. En cuanto al tratamiento de base el 78,4% estaban recibiendo anticolinérgicos de acción prolongada, el 65,3% combinaciones de agonistas-b2 de acción prolongada y corticosteroides y el 63,1% b2-agonistas de acción corta. Conclusiones: Las mujeres con EPOC de nuestra serie están en una edad en la que podrían estar trabajando activamente. La gravedad de la enfermedad que presentan repercute en su calidad de vida y en sus actividades diarias

Background: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) clinical trial populations are predominantly male; thus, the female population is not well characterized. We aimed to determine the clinical and socio-demographic profile of women with COPD from a large female patient population in Spain. Methods: Multicenter, cross-sectional, epidemiological study. 379 pulmonologists recruited the first 5 COPD female patients ≥ 40 yrs, with smoking history ≥ 10 package year index (PYI) and follow-up at pulmonologist clinics. Clinical, spirometric and socio-demographic data were collected during a single visit. Results: 1,732 women were evaluated. Mean age: 61.6 ± 10 yrs; Average time since COPD diagnosis: 7.5 ± 6.4 yrs; 60.9% were overweight or obese; 90% had at least a primary education; 60.1% were current smokers; PYI: 35.7 ± 19.9; 25.5% and 43.1% had a history of depression and anxiety, respectively; COPD severity: 12.3% stage I, 48.7% II, 32.6% III and 6.3% IV; 80% had dyspnea Medical Research Council (MRC) degree 3-5; Post-bronchodilator forced expiratory volume in the first second (FEV1)/ forced vital capacity (FVC) ratio: 57.8 ± 12.2; Oxygen saturation: 93.8 ± 3.3%; Physical Component Summary (PCS) and Mental Component Summary (MCS) scores were 37.6 ± 10.5 and 45.7 ± 12.0, respectively; London Chest Activity of Daily Living (LCADL) total score: 27.2 ± 10.9. There were 1.5 ± 1.6 exacerbations in the previous year. 78.4%, 65.3% and 63.1% were receiving long-acting anticholinergics, long-acting b2-agonist/corticosteroids and short-acting b2-agonists. Conclusions: Women with COPD are still at an age where they could be actively working but demonstrate severe disease, which impacts greatly on their health-related quality of life and daily activities