1,110 research outputs found
A second eigenvalue bound for the Dirichlet Schroedinger operator
Let be the th eigenvalue of the Schr\"odinger
operator with Dirichlet boundary conditions on a bounded domain and with the positive potential . Following the spirit of the
Payne-P\'olya-Weinberger conjecture and under some convexity assumptions on the
spherically rearranged potential , we prove that . Here denotes the ball, centered at the
origin, that satisfies the condition .
Further we prove under the same convexity assumptions on a spherically
symmetric potential , that decreases
when the radius of the ball increases.
We conclude with several results about the first two eigenvalues of the
Laplace operator with respect to a measure of Gaussian or inverted Gaussian
density
An Isoperimetric Inequality for Fundamental Tones of Free Plates
We establish an isoperimetric inequality for the fundamental tone (first
nonzero eigenvalue) of the free plate of a given area, proving the ball is
maximal. Given , the free plate eigenvalues and eigenfunctions
are determined by the equation
together with certain natural boundary conditions. The boundary conditions are
complicated but arise naturally from the plate Rayleigh quotient, which
contains a Hessian squared term . We adapt Weinberger's method from
the corresponding free membrane problem, taking the fundamental modes of the
unit ball as trial functions. These solutions are a linear combination of
Bessel and modified Bessel functions.Comment: PhD thesis. Papers are in preparatio
Hydration dynamics at fluorinated protein surfaces
Water-protein interactions dictate many processes crucial to protein function including folding, dynamics, interactions with other biomolecules, and enzymatic catalysis. Here we examine the effect of surface fluorination on water-protein interactions. Modification of designed coiled-coil proteins by incorporation of 5,5,5-trifluoroleucine or (4S)-2-amino-4-methylhexanoic acid enables systematic examination of the effects of side-chain volume and fluorination on solvation dynamics. Using ultrafast fluorescence spectroscopy, we find that fluorinated side chains exert electrostatic drag on neighboring water molecules, slowing water motion at the protein surface
Self Consistent Molecular Field Theory for Packing in Classical Liquids
Building on a quasi-chemical formulation of solution theory, this paper
proposes a self consistent molecular field theory for packing problems in
classical liquids, and tests the theoretical predictions for the excess
chemical potential of the hard sphere fluid. Results are given for the self
consistent molecular fields obtained, and for the probabilities of occupancy of
a molecular observation volume. For this system, the excess chemical potential
predicted is as accurate as the most accurate prior theories, particularly the
scaled particle (Percus-Yevick compressibility) theory. It is argued that the
present approach is particularly simple, and should provide a basis for a
molecular-scale description of more complex solutions.Comment: 6 pages and 5 figure
Geometric Phase, Curvature, and Extrapotentials in Constrained Quantum Systems
We derive an effective Hamiltonian for a quantum system constrained to a
submanifold (the constraint manifold) of configuration space (the ambient
space) by an infinite restoring force. We pay special attention to how this
Hamiltonian depends on quantities which are external to the constraint
manifold, such as the external curvature of the constraint manifold, the
(Riemannian) curvature of the ambient space, and the constraining potential. In
particular, we find the remarkable fact that the twisting of the constraining
potential appears as a gauge potential in the constrained Hamiltonian. This
gauge potential is an example of geometric phase, closely related to that
originally discussed by Berry. The constrained Hamiltonian also contains an
effective potential depending on the external curvature of the constraint
manifold, the curvature of the ambient space, and the twisting of the
constraining potential. The general nature of our analysis allows applications
to a wide variety of problems, such as rigid molecules, the evolution of
molecular systems along reaction paths, and quantum strip waveguides.Comment: 27 pages with 1 figure, submitted to Phys. Rev.
Risk Factors for Moral Injury Among Canadian Armed Forces Personnel
Objectives: The traumatic nature of high-risk military deployment events, such as combat, is well-recognized. However, whether other service-related events and demographic factors increase the risk of moral injury (MI), which is defined by consequences of highly stressful and morally-laden experiences, is poorly understood. Therefore, the objective of this study was to examine determinants of MI in Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) personnel. Methods: Data were obtained from the 2018 Canadian Armed Forces Members and Veterans Mental Health Follow-up Survey (CAFVMHS; unweighted n = 2,941). To identify military characteristics, sociodemographic variables, and deployment-related factors associated with increased levels of MI, a series of multiple linear regressions were conducted across deployed and non-deployed groups. Results: When all variables were considered among the deployed personnel, rank, experiencing military related sexual trauma, child maltreatment (i.e., physical abuse, emotional abuse and neglect), and stressful deployment experiences were significant predictors of increased MI total scores (ÎČ = 0.001 to ÎČ = 0.51, p < 0.05). Feeling responsible for the death of an ally and inability to respond in a threatening situation were the strongest predictors of MI among stressful deployment experiences. Within the non-deployed sample, experiencing military-related or civilian sexual trauma and rank were significant predictors of increased MI total scores (ÎČ = 0.02 to ÎČ = 0.81, p < 0.05). Conclusion: Exposure to stressful deployment experiences, particularly those involving moral-ethical challenges, sexual trauma, and childhood maltreatment were found to increase levels of MI in CAF personnel. These findings suggest several avenues of intervention, including education and policies aimed at mitigating sexual misconduct, as well as pre-deployment training to better prepare military personnel to deal effectively with morally injurious experiences.</p
Risk Factors for Moral Injury Among Canadian Armed Forces Personnel
Objectives: The traumatic nature of high-risk military deployment events, such as combat, is well-recognized. However, whether other service-related events and demographic factors increase the risk of moral injury (MI), which is defined by consequences of highly stressful and morally-laden experiences, is poorly understood. Therefore, the objective of this study was to examine determinants of MI in Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) personnel. Methods: Data were obtained from the 2018 Canadian Armed Forces Members and Veterans Mental Health Follow-up Survey (CAFVMHS; unweighted n = 2,941). To identify military characteristics, sociodemographic variables, and deployment-related factors associated with increased levels of MI, a series of multiple linear regressions were conducted across deployed and non-deployed groups. Results: When all variables were considered among the deployed personnel, rank, experiencing military related sexual trauma, child maltreatment (i.e., physical abuse, emotional abuse and neglect), and stressful deployment experiences were significant predictors of increased MI total scores (ÎČ = 0.001 to ÎČ = 0.51, p < 0.05). Feeling responsible for the death of an ally and inability to respond in a threatening situation were the strongest predictors of MI among stressful deployment experiences. Within the non-deployed sample, experiencing military-related or civilian sexual trauma and rank were significant predictors of increased MI total scores (ÎČ = 0.02 to ÎČ = 0.81, p < 0.05). Conclusion: Exposure to stressful deployment experiences, particularly those involving moral-ethical challenges, sexual trauma, and childhood maltreatment were found to increase levels of MI in CAF personnel. These findings suggest several avenues of intervention, including education and policies aimed at mitigating sexual misconduct, as well as pre-deployment training to better prepare military personnel to deal effectively with morally injurious experiences.</p
Moral injury associated with increased odds of past-year mental health disorders: a Canadian Armed Forces examination
Background: Potentially morally injurious experiences (PMIEs) are common during military service. However, it is unclear to what extent PMIEs are related to well-established adverse mental health outcomes.
Objective: The objective of this study was to use a population-based survey to determine the associations between moral injury endorsement and the presence of past-year mental health disorders in Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) personnel and Veterans.
Methods: Data were obtained from the 2018 Canadian Armed Forces Members and Veterans Mental Health Follow-up Survey (CAFVMHS). With a sample of 2,941 respondents, the weighted survey sample represented 18,120 active duty and 34,380 released CAF personnel. Multiple logistic regressions were used to assess the associations between sociodemographic characteristics (e.g. sex), military factors (e.g. rank), moral injury (using the Moral Injury Events Scale [MIES]) and the presence of specific mental health disorders (major depressive episode, generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, PTSD, and suicidality).
Results: While adjusting for selected sociodemographic and military factors, the odds of experiencing any past-year mental health disorder were 1.97 times greater (95% CIâ=â1.94â2.01) for each one-unit increase in total MIES score. Specifically, PTSD had 1.91 times greater odds (95% CIâ=â1.87â1.96) of being endorsed for every unit increase in MIES total score, while odds of past-year panic disorder or social anxiety were each 1.86 times greater (95% CIâ=â1.82â1.90) for every unit increase in total MIES score. All findings reported were statistically significant (p \u3c .001).
Conclusion: These findings emphasize that PMIEs are robustly associated with the presence of adverse mental health outcomes among Canadian military personnel. The results of this project further underscore the necessity of addressing moral injury alongside other mental health concerns within the CAF
On-road Remote Sensing of Carbon Monoxide and Hydrocarbon Emissions During Several Vehicle Operating Conditions (Presentation)
A Survey on the Krein-von Neumann Extension, the corresponding Abstract Buckling Problem, and Weyl-Type Spectral Asymptotics for Perturbed Krein Laplacians in Nonsmooth Domains
In the first (and abstract) part of this survey we prove the unitary
equivalence of the inverse of the Krein--von Neumann extension (on the
orthogonal complement of its kernel) of a densely defined, closed, strictly
positive operator, for some in a Hilbert space to an abstract buckling problem operator.
This establishes the Krein extension as a natural object in elasticity theory
(in analogy to the Friedrichs extension, which found natural applications in
quantum mechanics, elasticity, etc.).
In the second, and principal part of this survey, we study spectral
properties for , the Krein--von Neumann extension of the
perturbed Laplacian (in short, the perturbed Krein Laplacian)
defined on , where is measurable, bounded and
nonnegative, in a bounded open set belonging to a
class of nonsmooth domains which contains all convex domains, along with all
domains of class , .Comment: 68 pages. arXiv admin note: extreme text overlap with arXiv:0907.144
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