| 1. |
- Schwan, D., et al.
(author)
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Invited Article: Millimeter-wave bolometer array receiver for the Atacama pathfinder experiment Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (APEX-SZ) instrument
- 2011
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In: Review of Scientific Instruments. - : AIP Publishing. - 1089-7623 .- 0034-6748. ; 82:9
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The Atacama pathfinder experiment Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (APEX-SZ) instrument is a millimeter-wave cryogenic receiver designed to observe galaxy clusters via the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect from the 12 m APEX telescope on the Atacama plateau in Chile. The receiver contains a focal plane of 280 superconducting transition-edge sensor (TES) bolometers instrumented with a frequency-domain multiplexed readout system. The bolometers are cooled to 280 mK via a three-stage helium sorption refrigerator and a mechanical pulse-tube cooler. Three warm mirrors, two 4 K lenses, and a horn array couple the TES bolometers to the telescope. APEX-SZ observes in a single frequency band at 150 GHz with 1' angular resolution and a 22' field-of-view, all well suited for cluster mapping. The APEX-SZ receiver has played a key role in the introduction of several new technologies including TES bolometers, the frequency-domain multiplexed readout, and the use of a pulse-tube cooler with bolometers. As a result of these new technologies, the instrument has a higher instantaneous sensitivity and covers a larger field-of-view than earlier generations of Sunyaev-Zel'dovich instruments. The TES bolometers have a median sensitivity of 890 mu K(CMB)root s (NEy of 3.5 x 10(-4) root s). We have also demonstrated upgraded detectors with improved sensitivity of 530 mu K(CMB) root s (NEy of 2.2 x 10(-4) root s). Since its commissioning in April 2007, APEX-SZ has been used to map 48 clusters. We describe the design of the receiver and its performance when installed on the APEX telescope.
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| 2. |
- Zaslansky, R., et al.
(author)
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PAIN OUT : An international acute pain registry supporting clinicians in decision making and in quality improvement activities
- 2014
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In: Journal of Evaluation In Clinical Practice. - : Wiley. - 1356-1294 .- 1365-2753. ; 20:6, s. 1090-1098
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Rationale, aims and objectives Management of post-operative pain is unsatisfactory worldwide. An estimated 240 million patients undergo surgery each year. Forty to 60% of these patients report clinically significant pain. Discrepancy exists between availability of evidence-based medicine (EBM)-derived knowledge about management of perioperative pain and increased implementation of related practices versus lack of improvement in patient-reported outcomes (PROs). We aimed to assist health care providers to optimize perioperative pain management by developing and validating a medical registry that measures variability in care, identifies best pain management practices and assists clinicians in decision making. Methods PAIN OUT was established from 2009 to 2012 with funding from the European Commission. It now continues as a self-sustaining, not-for-profit project, targeting health care professionals caring for patients undergoing surgery. Results The growing registry includes data from 40 898 patients, 60 hospitals and 17 countries. Collaborators upload data (demographics, clinical, PROs) from patients undergoing surgery in their hospital/ward into an Internet-based portal. Two modules make use of the data: (1) online, immediate feedback and benchmarking compares PROs across sites while offline analysis permits in-depth analysis; and (2) the case-based clinical decision support system offers practice-based treatment recommendations for individual patients; it is available now as a prototype. The Electronic Knowledge Library provides succinct summaries on perioperative pain management, supporting knowledge transfer and application of EBM. Conclusion PAIN OUT, a large, growing international registry, allows use of 'real-life' data related to management of perioperative pain. Ultimately, comparative analysis through audit, feedback and benchmarking will improve quality of care.
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| 3. |
- Rothaug, J., et al.
(author)
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Patients' perception of postoperative pain management : Validation of the international pain outcomes (IPO) questionnaire
- 2013
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In: Journal of Pain. - : Elsevier BV. - 1526-5900 .- 1528-8447. ; 14:11, s. 1361-1370
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- PAIN OUT is a European Commission-funded project aiming at improving postoperative pain management. It combines a registry that can be useful for quality improvement and research using treatment and patient-reported outcome measures. The core of the project is a patient questionnaire - the International Pain Outcomes questionnaire - that comprises key patient-level outcomes of postoperative pain management, including pain intensity, physical and emotional functional interference, side effects, and perceptions of care. Its psychometric quality after translation and adaptation to European patients is the subject of this validation study. The questionnaire was administered to 9,727 patients in 10 languages in 8 European countries and Israel. Construct validity was assessed using factor analysis. Discriminant validity assessment used Mann-Whitney U tests to detect mean group differences between 2 surgical disciplines. Internal consistency reliability was calculated as Cronbach's alpha. Factor analysis resulted in a 3-factor structure explaining 53.6% of variance. Cronbach's alpha at overall scale level was high (.86), and for the 3 subscales was low, moderate, or high (range,.53-.89). Significant mean group differences between general and orthopedic surgery patients confirmed discriminant validity. The psychometric quality of the International Pain Outcomes questionnaire can be regarded as satisfactory. Perspective The International Pain Outcomes questionnaire provides an instrument for postoperative pain assessment and improvement of quality of care, which demonstrated good psychometric quality when translated into a variety of languages in a large European and Israeli patient population. This measure provides the basis for the first comprehensive postoperative pain registry in Europe and other countries. © 2013 by the American Pain Society.
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| 4. |
- Schwan, D., et al.
(author)
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APEX-SZ: The Atacama Pathfinder EXperiment Sunyaev-Zel'dovich Instrument
- 2012
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In: The Messenger. ; 147, s. 7-12
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Journal article (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The APEX–SZ instrument was a millimetre-wave (150 GHz) cryogenic receiverfor the APEX telescope designedto observe galaxy clusters via theSunyaev–Zel’dovich Effect (SZE). Thereceiver contained a focal plane of280 superconducting transition-edgesensor bolometers equipped with afrequency-domain-multiplexed readoutsystem, and it played a key role in theintroduction of these new, robust, andscalable technologies. With 1-arcminuteresolution, the instrument had a higherinstantaneous sensitivity and covered alarger field of view (22 arcminutes) thanearlier generations of SZE instruments.During its period of operation from 2007to 2010, APEX–SZ was used to imageover 40 clusters and map fields overlappingwith external datasets. This paperbriefly describes the instrument anddata reduction procedure and presentsa cluster image gallery, as well as resultsfor the Bullet cluster, Abell 2204, Abell2163, and a power spectrum analysis inthe XMM-LSS field.
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| 5. |
- Heue, K-P, et al.
(author)
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SO2 and BrO observation in the plume of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano 2010: CARIBIC and GOME-2 retrievals
- 2011
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In: Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. - : Copernicus GmbH. - 1680-7324. ; 11:6, s. 2973-2989
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The ash cloud of the Eyjafjallajokull (also referred to as: Eyjafjalla (e.g. Schumann et al., 2011), Eyjafjoll or Eyjafjoll (e.g. Ansmann et al., 2010)) volcano on Iceland caused closure of large parts of European airspace in April and May 2010. For the validation and improvement of the European volcanic ash forecast models several research flights were performed. Also the CARIBIC (Civil Aircraft for the Regular Investigation of the atmosphere Based on an Instrument Container) flying laboratory, which routinely measures at cruise altitude (approximate to 11 km) performed three dedicated measurements flights through sections of the ash plume. Although the focus of these flights was on the detection and quantification of the volcanic ash, we report here on sulphur dioxide (SO2) and bromine monoxide (BrO) measurements with the CARIBIC DOAS (Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy) instrument during the second of these special flights on 16 May 2010. As the BrO and the SO2 observations coincide, we assume the BrO to have been formed inside the volcanic plume. Average SO2 and BrO mixing ratios of approximate to 40 ppb and approximate to 5 ppt respectively are retrieved inside the plume. The BrO to SO2 ratio retrieved from the CARIBIC observation is approximate to 1.3x10(-4). Both SO2 and BrO observations agree well with simultaneous satellite (GOME-2) observations. SO2 column densities retrieved from satellite observations are often used as an indicator for volcanic ash. As the CARIBIC O-4 column densities changed rapidly during the plume observation, we conclude that the aerosol and the SO2 plume are collocated. For SO2 some additional information on the local distribution can be derived from a comparison of forward and back scan GOME-2 data. More details on the local plume size and position are retrieved by combining CARIBIC and GOME-2 data.
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| 6. |
- Slemr, F., et al.
(author)
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CARIBIC observations of gaseous mercury in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere
- 2013
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In: Proceedings of the 16th International Conference on Heavy Metals in the Environment. - : EDP Sciences. - 2100-014X. ; 1
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- A unique set of gaseous mercury measurements in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (UT/LS) has been obtained during the monthly CARIBIC (www.caribic-atmospheric.com) flights since May 2005. The passenger Airbus 340-600 of Lufthansa covered routes to the Far East, North America, India, and the southern hemisphere. The accompanying measurements of CO, O3, NOy, H2O, aerosols, halocarbons, hydrocarbons, greenhouse gases, and several other parameters as well as backward trajectories enable a detailed analysis of these measurements. Speciation tests have shown that the CARIBIC measurements represent a good approximation of total gaseous mercury (TGM) concentrations. Above the tropopause TGM always decrease with increasing potential vorticity (PV) and O3 which implies its conversion to particle bound mercury. The observation of the lowest TGM concentrations at the highest particle concentrations in the stratosphere provides further evidence for such conversion. We will show how a seasonally dependent conversion rate could be derived using concomitantly measured SF6 mixing ratios as a timer. Tropospheric mercury data suggest the existence of a decreasing trend in the northern hemisphere whose size is comparable with the trend derived from long-term measurements by ship cruises, at Cape Point (South Africa) and Mace Head (Ireland).
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