4,838 research outputs found
Apparent first-order wetting and anomalous scaling in the two-dimensional Ising model
The global phase diagram of wetting in the two-dimensional (2d) Ising model
is obtained through exact calculation of the surface excess free energy.
Besides a surface field for inducing wetting, a surface-coupling enhancement is
included. The wetting transition is critical (second order) for any finite
ratio of surface coupling J_s to bulk coupling J, and turns first order in the
limit J_s/J to infinity. However, for J_s/J much larger than 1 the critical
region is exponentially small and practically invisible to numerical studies. A
distinct pre-asymptotic regime exists in which the transition displays
first-order character. Surprisingly, in this regime the surface susceptibility
and surface specific heat develop a divergence and show anomalous scaling with
an exponent equal to 3/2.Comment: This new version presents the exact solution and its properties
whereas the older version was based on an approximate numerical study of the
mode
External beam radiation therapy for locally advanced and metastatic gastrointestinal stromal tumors
BACKGROUND: The role of radiation therapy (RT) in the management of gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) is not well described. Here we report our institutional experience for patients with locally advanced or metastatic GIST treated with RT. METHODS: Between 1997 and 2012, 15 patients with 22 GISTs were treated with RT at our center. The median age was 68 (range, 41–86). Fourteen patients had stage IV disease and 1 patient had stage IIIB disease, per the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC), 7th Edition staging. Tumors were in a variety of locations, and were most commonly referred for palliative treatment. Eighteen of 22 tumors were symptomatic. Prior to RT, 14 of 15 patients received systemic therapy in the form of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) (n = 11), chemotherapy (n = 4), or both (n = 1). TKIs were used concurrently for nine tumors (40.9%). No tumors were treated with concurrent chemotherapy. Several fractionation schemes were used, most commonly 3 Gy × 10 (n = 8). Local progression-free survival and overall survival were estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method. Acute toxicity was graded per Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE) v4.0. RESULTS: The median follow-up was 5.1 months (range, 1.3-28.3). At the time of analysis, 12 patients have died (80%). The estimated 6-month local progression-free survival and overall survival were 57.0% and 57.8%, respectively. Among the 18 symptomatic tumors, at least partial palliation was achieved in 17 (94.4%), and symptoms were completely palliated in eight (44.4%). Treatment was well tolerated, with no Grade 4 or 5 toxicities. There was no Grade ≥3 toxicity associated with concurrent TKI use. CONCLUSIONS: In this largest series to date of GISTs treated with RT, a high rate of palliation was achieved for symptomatic tumors in a cohort of advanced stage, heavily pretreated patients. Treatment was well tolerated, and concurrent use of tyrosine kinase inhibitor therapy was not associated with additional toxicity. While follow-up was short, durable control is possible for some patients, providing evidence that GIST is not universally radioresistant and that RT can provide an important benefit in patients with progressive or metastatic disease
The Euler-Lagrange Cohomology and General Volume-Preserving Systems
We briefly introduce the conception on Euler-Lagrange cohomology groups on a
symplectic manifold and systematically present the
general form of volume-preserving equations on the manifold from the
cohomological point of view. It is shown that for every volume-preserving flow
generated by these equations there is an important 2-form that plays the analog
role with the Hamiltonian in the Hamilton mechanics. In addition, the ordinary
canonical equations with Hamiltonian are included as a special case with
the 2-form . It is studied the other volume preserving
systems on . It is also explored the relations between
our approach and Feng-Shang's volume-preserving systems as well as the Nambu
mechanics.Comment: Plain LaTeX, use packages amssymb and amscd, 15 pages, no figure
Percolation and Conduction in Restricted Geometries
The finite-size scaling behaviour for percolation and conduction is studied
in two-dimensional triangular-shaped random resistor networks at the
percolation threshold. The numerical simulations are performed using an
efficient star-triangle algorithm. The percolation exponents, linked to the
critical behaviour at corners, are in good agreement with the conformal
results. The conductivity exponent, t', is found to be independent of the shape
of the system. Its value is very close to recent estimates for the surface and
bulk conductivity exponents.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figures, TeX, IOP macros include
Corner Exponents in the Two-Dimensional Potts Model
The critical behavior at a corner in two-dimensional Ising and three-state
Potts models is studied numerically on the square lattice using transfer
operator techniques. The local critical exponents for the magnetization and the
energy density for various opening angles are deduced from finite-size scaling
results at the critical point for isotropic or anisotropic couplings. The
scaling dimensions compare quite well with the values expected from conformal
invariance, provided the opening angle is replaced by an effective one in
anisotropic systems.Comment: 11 pages, 2 eps-figures, uses LaTex and eps
Predictive modeling of die filling of the pharmaceutical granules using the flexible neural tree
In this work, a computational intelligence (CI) technique named flexible neural tree (FNT) was developed to predict die filling performance of pharmaceutical granules and to identify significant die filling process variables. FNT resembles feedforward neural network, which creates a tree-like structure by using genetic programming. To improve accuracy, FNT parameters were optimized by using differential evolution algorithm. The performance of the FNT-based CI model was evaluated and compared with other CI techniques: multilayer perceptron, Gaussian process regression, and reduced error pruning tree. The accuracy of the CI model was evaluated experimentally using die filling as a case study. The die filling experiments were performed using a model shoe system and three different grades of microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) powders (MCC PH 101, MCC PH 102, and MCC DG). The feed powders were roll-compacted and milled into granules. The granules were then sieved into samples of various size classes. The mass of granules deposited into the die at different shoe speeds was measured. From these experiments, a dataset consisting true density, mean diameter (d50), granule size, and shoe speed as the inputs and the deposited mass as the output was generated. Cross-validation (CV) methods such as 10FCV and 5x2FCV were applied to develop and to validate the predictive models. It was found that the FNT-based CI model (for both CV methods) performed much better than other CI models. Additionally, it was observed that process variables such as the granule size and the shoe speed had a higher impact on the predictability than that of the powder property such as d50. Furthermore, validation of model prediction with experimental data showed that the die filling behavior of coarse granules could be better predicted than that of fine granules
Possible solution of the Coriolis attenuation problem
The most consistently useful simple model for the study of odd deformed
nuclei, the particle-rotor model (strong coupling limit of the core-particle
coupling model) has nevertheless been beset by a long-standing problem: It is
necessary in many cases to introduce an ad hoc parameter that reduces the size
of the Coriolis interaction coupling the collective and single-particle
motions. Of the numerous suggestions put forward for the origin of this
supplementary interaction, none of those actually tested by calculations has
been accepted as the solution of the problem. In this paper we seek a solution
of the difficulty within the framework of a general formalism that starts from
the spherical shell model and is capable of treating an arbitrary linear
combination of multipole and pairing forces. With the restriction of the
interaction to the familiar sum of a quadrupole multipole force and a monopole
pairing force, we have previously studied a semi-microscopic version of the
formalism whose framework is nevertheless more comprehensive than any
previously applied to the problem. We obtained solutions for low-lying bands of
several strongly deformed odd rare earth nuclei and found good agreement with
experiment, except for an exaggerated staggering of levels for K=1/2 bands,
which can be understood as a manifestation of the Coriolis attenuation problem.
We argue that within the formalism utilized, the only way to improve the
physics is to add interactions to the model Hamiltonian. We verify that by
adding a magnetic dipole interaction of essentially fixed strength, we can fit
the K=1/2 bands without destroying the agreement with other bands. In addition
we show that our solution also fits 163Er, a classic test case of Coriolis
attenuation that we had not previously studied.Comment: revtex, including 7 figures(postscript), submitted to Phys.Rev.
Effect of stress-triaxiality on void growth in dynamic fracture of metals: a molecular dynamics study
The effect of stress-triaxiality on growth of a void in a three dimensional
single-crystal face-centered-cubic (FCC) lattice has been studied. Molecular
dynamics (MD) simulations using an embedded-atom (EAM) potential for copper
have been performed at room temperature and using strain controlling with high
strain rates ranging from 10^7/sec to 10^10/sec. Strain-rates of these
magnitudes can be studied experimentally, e.g. using shock waves induced by
laser ablation. Void growth has been simulated in three different conditions,
namely uniaxial, biaxial, and triaxial expansion. The response of the system in
the three cases have been compared in terms of the void growth rate, the
detailed void shape evolution, and the stress-strain behavior including the
development of plastic strain. Also macroscopic observables as plastic work and
porosity have been computed from the atomistic level. The stress thresholds for
void growth are found to be comparable with spall strength values determined by
dynamic fracture experiments. The conventional macroscopic assumption that the
mean plastic strain results from the growth of the void is validated. The
evolution of the system in the uniaxial case is found to exhibit four different
regimes: elastic expansion; plastic yielding, when the mean stress is nearly
constant, but the stress-triaxiality increases rapidly together with
exponential growth of the void; saturation of the stress-triaxiality; and
finally the failure.Comment: 35 figures, which are small (and blurry) due to the space
limitations; submitted (with original figures) to Physical Review B. Final
versio
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