I-Brane Inflow and Anomalous Couplings on D-Branes

We show that the anomalous couplings of $D$-brane gauge and gravitational fields to Ramond-Ramond tensor potentials can be deduced by a simple anomaly inflow argument applied to intersecting $D$-branes and use this to determine the eight-form gravitational coupling.Comment: 8 pages, harvmac, no figure

Fan similarity model for the fan-intake interaction problem

Very high bypass ratio turbofans with large fan tip diameter are an effective way of improving the propulsive efficiency of civil aero-engines. Such engines, however, require larger and heavier nacelles, which partially offset any gains in specific fuel consumptions. This drawback can be mitigated by adopting thinner walls for the nacelle and by shortening the intake section. This binds the success of very high bypass ratio technologies to the problem of designing an intake with thin lips and short diffuser section, which is well matched to a low speed fan. Consequently, the prediction of the mutual influence between the fan and the intake flow represents a crucial step in the design process. Considerable effort has been devoted in recent years to the study of models for the effects of the fan on the lip stall characteristics and the operability of the whole installation. The study of such models is motivated by the wish to avoid the costs incurred by full, threedimensional (3D) computational fluid dynamics (CFD) computations. The present contribution documents a fan model for fan-intake computations based on the solution of the double linearization problem for unsteady, transonic flow past a cascade of aerofoils with finite mean load. The computation of the flow in the intake is reduced to a steady problem, whereas the computation of the flow in the fan is reduced to one steady problem and a set of solutions of the linearized model in the frequency domain. The nature of the approximations introduced in the fan representation is such that numerical solutions can be computed inexpensively, while the main feature of the flow in the fan passage, namely the shock system and an approximation of the unsteady flow encountered by the fan are retained. The model is applied to a well-documented test case and compares favorably with much more expensive 3D, time-domain computations.</p

Fan similarity model for the fan-intake interaction problem

Very high bypass ratio turbofans with large fan tip diameter are an effective way of improving the propulsive efficiency of civil aero-engines. Such engines, however, require larger and heavier nacelles, which partially offset any gains in specific fuel consumptions. This drawback can be mitigated by adopting thinner walls for the nacelle and by shortening the intake section. This binds the success of very high bypass ratio technologies to the problem of designing an intake with thin lips and short diffuser section, which is well matched to a low speed fan. Consequently, the prediction of the mutual influence between the fan and the intake flow represents a crucial step in the design process. Considerable effort has been devoted in recent years to the study of models for the effects of the fan on the lip stall characteristics and the operability of the whole installation. The study of such models is motivated by the wish to avoid the costs incurred by full, three-dimensional (3D) computational fluid dynamics (CFD) computations. The present contribution documents a fan model for fan–intake computations based on the solution of the double linearization problem for unsteady, transonic flow past a cascade of aerofoils with finite mean load. The computation of the flow in the intake is reduced to a steady problem, whereas the computation of the flow in the fan is reduced to one steady problem and a set of solutions of the linearized model in the frequency domain. The nature of the approximations introduced in the fan representation is such that numerical solutions can be computed inexpensively, while the main feature of the flow in the fan passage, namely the shock system and an approximation of the unsteady flow encountered by the fan are retained. The model is applied to a well-documented test case and compares favorably with much more expensive 3D, time-domain computations

Bayesian Conditioning, the Reflection Principle, and Quantum Decoherence

The probabilities a Bayesian agent assigns to a set of events typically change with time, for instance when the agent updates them in the light of new data. In this paper we address the question of how an agent's probabilities at different times are constrained by Dutch-book coherence. We review and attempt to clarify the argument that, although an agent is not forced by coherence to use the usual Bayesian conditioning rule to update his probabilities, coherence does require the agent's probabilities to satisfy van Fraassen's [1984] reflection principle (which entails a related constraint pointed out by Goldstein [1983]). We then exhibit the specialized assumption needed to recover Bayesian conditioning from an analogous reflection-style consideration. Bringing the argument to the context of quantum measurement theory, we show that "quantum decoherence" can be understood in purely personalist terms---quantum decoherence (as supposed in a von Neumann chain) is not a physical process at all, but an application of the reflection principle. From this point of view, the decoherence theory of Zeh, Zurek, and others as a story of quantum measurement has the plot turned exactly backward.Comment: 14 pages, written in memory of Itamar Pitowsk

Development of the ATAQ-IPF: a tool to assess quality of life in IPF

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>There is no disease-specific instrument to assess health-related quality of life (HRQL) in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Patients' perspectives were collected to develop domains and items for an IPF-specific HRQL instrument. We used item variance and Rasch analysis to construct the ATAQ-IPF (A Tool to Assess Quality of life in IPF).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The ATAQ-IPF version 1 is composed of 74 items comprising 13 domains. All items fit the Rasch model. Domains and the total instrument possess acceptable psychometric characteristics for a multidimensional questionnaire. The pattern of correlations between ATAQ-IPF scores and physiologic variables known to be important in IPF, along with significant differences in ATAQ-IPF scores between subjects using versus those not using supplemental oxygen, support its validity.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Patient-centered and careful statistical methodologies were used to construct the ATAQ-IPF version 1, an IPF-specific HRQL instrument. Simple summation scoring is used to derive individual domain scores as well as a total score. Results support the validity of the ATAQ-IPF, and future studies will build on that validity.</p

Ordered Assembly of the Adhesive and Electrochemical Connections within Newly Formed Intercalated Disks in Primary Cultures of Adult Rat Cardiomyocytes

The intercalated disk (ID) is a complex structure that electromechanically couples adjoining cardiac myocytes into a functional syncitium. The integrity of the disk is essential for normal cardiac function, but how the diverse elements are assembled into a fully integrated structure is not well understood. In this study, we examined the assembly of new IDs in primary cultures of adult rat cardiac myocytes. From 2 to 5 days after dissociation, the cells flatten and spread, establishing new cell-cell contacts in a manner that recapitulates the in vivo processes that occur during heart development and myocardial remodeling. As cells make contact with their neighbors, transmembrane adhesion proteins localize along the line of apposition, concentrating at the sites of membrane attachment of the terminal sarcomeres. Cx43 gap junctions and ankyrin-G, an essential cytoskeletal component of voltage gated sodium channel complexes, were secondarily recruited to membrane domains involved in cell-cell contacts. The consistent order of the assembly process suggests that there are specific scaffolding requirements for integration of the mechanical and electrochemical elements of the disk. Defining the relationships that are the foundation of disk assembly has important implications for understanding the mechanical dysfunction and cardiac arrhythmias that accompany alterations of ID architecture

Reverse geroscience: how does exposure to early diseases accelerate the age‐related decline in health?

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/135360/1/nyas13297.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/135360/2/nyas13297_am.pd