489 research outputs found
Reliability assessment of mechanical systems
The assessment of mechanical systems is not an exact science and predictions can be subject to considerable uncertainty. In this paper
the particular problems of mechanical system reliability assessment are discussed and a general methodology presented based on
experience from availability studies carried out on offshore and onshore process plant
Structural Ordering and Symmetry Breaking in Cd_2Re_2O_7
Single crystal X-ray diffraction measurements have been carried out on
Cd_2Re_2O_7 near and below the phase transition it exhibits at Tc' ~195 K.
Cd_2Re_2O_7 was recently discovered as the first, and to date only,
superconductor with the cubic pyrochlore structure. Superlattice Bragg peaks
show an apparently continuous structural transition at Tc', however the order
parameter displays anomalously slow growth to ~Tc'/10, and resolution limited
critical-like scattering is seen above Tc'. High resolution measurements show
the high temperature cubic Bragg peaks to split on entering the low temperature
phase, indicating a (likely tetragonal) lowering of symmetry below Tc'.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Collective excitations of trapped Bose condensates in the energy and time domains
A time-dependent method for calculating the collective excitation frequencies
and densities of a trapped, inhomogeneous Bose-Einstein condensate with
circulation is presented. The results are compared with time-independent
solutions of the Bogoliubov-deGennes equations. The method is based on
time-dependent linear-response theory combined with spectral analysis of
moments of the excitation modes of interest. The technique is straightforward
to apply, is extremely efficient in our implementation with parallel FFT
methods, and produces highly accurate results. The method is suitable for
general trap geometries, condensate flows and condensates permeated with vortex
structures.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures small typos fixe
On manifolds with nonhomogeneous factors
We present simple examples of finite-dimensional connected homogeneous spaces
(they are actually topological manifolds) with nonhomogeneous and nonrigid
factors. In particular, we give an elementary solution of an old problem in
general topology concerning homogeneous spaces
Integrable Structure of Conformal Field Theory, Quantum KdV Theory and Thermodynamic Bethe Ansatz
We construct the quantum versions of the monodromy matrices of KdV theory.
The traces of these quantum monodromy matrices, which will be called as ``-operators'', act in highest weight Virasoro modules. The -operators depend on the spectral parameter and their expansion
around generates an infinite set of commuting Hamiltonians
of the quantum KdV system. The -operators can be viewed as the
continuous field theory versions of the commuting transfer-matrices of
integrable lattice theory. In particular, we show that for the values
of the Virasoro central charge
the eigenvalues of the -operators satisfy a closed system of
functional equations sufficient for determining the spectrum. For the
ground-state eigenvalue these functional equations are equivalent to those of
massless Thermodynamic Bethe Ansatz for the minimal conformal field theory
; in general they provide a way to generalize the technique
of Thermodynamic Bethe Ansatz to the excited states. We discuss a
generalization of our approach to the cases of massive field theories obtained
by perturbing these Conformal Field Theories with the operator .
The relation of these -operators to the boundary states is also
briefly described.Comment: 24 page
Fermionic Quasi-Particle Representations for Characters of {(G^{(1)})_1 \times (G^{(1)})_1 \o (G^{(1)})_2}
We present fermionic quasi-particle sum representations for some of the
characters (or branching functions) of ~{(G^{(1)})_1 \times (G^{(1)})_1 \o
(G^{(1)})_2} ~for all simply-laced Lie algebras . For given the
characters are written as the partition function of a set of rank~ types of
massless quasi-particles in certain charge sectors, with nontrivial lower
bounds on the one-particle momenta. We discuss the non-uniqueness of the
representations for the identity character of the critical Ising model, which
arises in both the and cases.Comment: 14/9 pages in harvmac, ITP-SB-92-64/RU-92-51. References adde
A strategy-as-practice approach to strategy research and education
This conclusion to the Dialog proposes a strategy-as-practice based approach to bringing strategy research and education closer to practice. Strategy-as-practice rejects the choice, proposed in the previous articles, between theory and practice. The authors argue for strategy research based rigorously on sociological theories of practice. Such research complements the parsimony and generalizability of economics-driven theory, extending strategy research to incorporate the messy realities of doing strategy in practice, with a view to developing theory that is high in accuracy. The authors suggest that practice-based research can also inform strategy teaching by providing students with rich case studies of strategy work as actually practiced, analyzed through such sociological lenses as ethnomethodology, dramaturgy, and institutional theory. Strategy-as-practice research does not aim to give students parsimonious models for analysis or expose them to cases of best practice but rather to help them develop practical wisdom through a better understanding of strategy in practice
Observational diagnostics of gas in protoplanetary disks
Protoplanetary disks are composed primarily of gas (99% of the mass).
Nevertheless, relatively few observational constraints exist for the gas in
disks. In this review, I discuss several observational diagnostics in the UV,
optical, near-IR, mid-IR, and (sub)-mm wavelengths that have been employed to
study the gas in the disks of young stellar objects. I concentrate in
diagnostics that probe the inner 20 AU of the disk, the region where planets
are expected to form. I discuss the potential and limitations of each gas
tracer and present prospects for future research.Comment: Review written for the proceedings of the conference "Origin and
Evolution of Planets 2008", Ascona, Switzerland, June 29 - July 4, 2008. Date
manuscript: October 2008. 17 Pages, 6 graphics, 134 reference
Association between initial use of e-cigarettes and subsequent cigarette smoking among adolescents and young adults a systematic review and meta-analysis
IMPORTANCE The public health implications of e-cigarettes depend, in part, on whether e-cigarette use affects the risk of cigarette smoking. OBJECTIVE To perform a systematic review and meta-analysis of longitudinal studies that assessed initial use of e-cigarettes and subsequent cigarette smoking. DATA SOURCES PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library,Web of Science, the 2016 Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco 22nd Annual Meeting abstracts, the 2016 Society of Behavioral Medicine 37th Annual Meeting & Scientific Sessions abstracts, and the 2016 National Institutes of Health Tobacco Regulatory Science Program Conference were searched between February 7 and February 17, 2017. The search included indexed terms and text words to capture concepts associated with e-cigarettes and traditional cigarettes in articles published from database inception to the date of the search. STUDY SELECTION Longitudinal studies reporting odds ratios for cigarette smoking initiation associated with ever use of e-cigarettes or past 30-day cigarette smoking associated with past 30-day e-cigarette use. Searches yielded 6959 unique studies, of which 9met inclusion criteria (comprising 17 389 adolescents and young adults). DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS Study quality and risk of biaswere assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale and the Risk of Bias in Non-randomized Studies of Interventions tool, respectively. Data and estimates were pooled using random-effects meta-analysis. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Among baseline never cigarette smokers, cigarette smoking initiation between baseline and follow-up. Among baseline non-past 30-day cigarette smokers who were past 30-day e-cigarette users, past 30-day cigarette smoking at follow-up. RESULTS Among 17 389 adolescents and young adults, the ages ranged between 14 and 30 years at baseline, and 56.0%were female. The pooled probabilities of cigarette smoking initiationwere 30.4%for baseline ever e-cigarette users and 7.9%for baseline never e-cigarette users. The pooled probabilities of past 30-day cigarette smoking at follow-upwere 21.5%for baseline past 30-day e-cigarette users and 4.6%for baseline non-past 30-day e-cigarette users. Adjusting for knowndemographic, psychosocial, and behavioral risk factors for cigarette smoking, the pooled odds ratio for subsequent cigarette smoking initiationwas 3.62 (95%CI, 2.42-5.41) for ever vs never e-cigarette users, and the pooled odds ratio for past 30-day cigarette smoking at follow-up was 4.28 (95%CI, 2.52-7.27) for past 30-day e-cigarette vs non-past 30-day e-cigarette users at baseline.Amoderate level of heterogeneitywas observed among studies (I2 = 60.1%). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE e-Cigarette use was associated with greater risk for subsequent cigarette smoking initiation and past 30-day cigarette smoking. Strong e-cigarette regulation could potentially curb use among youth and possibly limit the future population-level burden of cigarette smoking
- …