Validation of the English and Chinese versions of the Quick-FLIC quality of life questionnaire.

A useful measure of quality of life should be easy and quick to complete. Recently, we reported the development and validation of a shortened Chinese version of the Functional Living Index-Cancer (FLIC), which we called the Quick-FLIC. In the present study of 327 English-speaking and 221 Chinese-speaking cancer patients, we validated the English version of the Quick-FLIC and further assessed the Chinese version. The 11 Quick-FLIC items were administered alongside the 11 remaining items of the full FLIC, but there appeared to be little context effect. Validity of the English version of the Quick-FLIC was attested by its strong correlation with two other measures of quality of life, and its ability to detect differences between patients with different performance status and treatment status (each P<0.001). Its internal consistency (alpha=0.86) and test-retest reliability (intraclass correlation=0.76) were also satisfactory. The measure was responsive to changes in performance status (P<0.001). The Chinese version showed similar characteristics. The Quick-FLIC behaved in ways that are highly comparable with the FLIC, even though the Quick-FLIC comprised only 11 items whereas the FLIC comprised 22. Further research is required to see whether the use of shorter instruments can improve data quality and response rates, but the fact that shorter instruments place less burden on the patients is itself inherently important

Unparticle Physics in the Moller Scattering

We investigate the virtual effects of vector unparticles in the Moller scattering. We derive the analytic expression for scattering amplitudes with unpolarized beams. We obtain 95% confidence level limits on the unparticle couplings $\lambda_{V}$ and $\lambda_{A}$ with integrated luminosity of $L_{int}=50, 500 fb^{-1}$ and $\sqrt{s}=100, 300$ and 500 GeV energies. We show that limits on $\lambda_{V}$ are more sensitive than $\lambda_{A}$.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures, 4 table

Transient Thermal Stresses In A Sphere By Local Heating

The problem of transient thermal stresses in a solid, elastic, homogeneous, and isotropic sphere is solved for uniform and nonuniform, local surface heating. The temperature solutions are obtained by using separation of variables and integral transformation. The corresponding thermal stresses are derived by superposing a particular displacement potential function on Boussinesq solutions. Numerical solutions for two particular cases of localized heating of a typical brittle spherical solid have been obtained and presented. The results indicate a tensile stress concentration in the interior of the solid below the heated zone. © 1974 by ASME

Unparticle physics and lepton flavor violating radion decays in the Randall-Sundrum scenario

We predict the branching ratios of the lepton flavor violating radion decays r -> e^{\pm} \mu^{\pm}, r -> e^{\pm} \tau^{\pm} and r ->\mu^{\pm} \tau^{\pm} in the framework of the Randall-Sundrum scenario that the lepton flavor violation is carried by the scalar unparticle mediation. We observe that their BRs are strongly sensitive to the unparticle scaling dimension and, for its small values, the branching ratios can reach to the values of the order of 10^{-8}, for the heavy lepton flavor case.Comment: 21 pages, 11 Figures, 1 Tabl

Slip energy barriers in aluminum and implications for ductile versus brittle behavior

We conisder the brittle versus ductile behavior of aluminum in the framework of the Peierls-model analysis of dislocation emission from a crack tip. To this end, we perform first-principles quantum mechanical calculations for the unstable stacking energy $\gamma_{us}$ of aluminum along the Shockley partial slip route. Our calculations are based on density functional theory and the local density approximation and include full atomic and volume relaxation. We find that in aluminum $\gamma_{us} = 0.224$ J/m$^2$. Within the Peierls-model analysis, this value would predict a brittle solid which poses an interesting problem since aluminum is typically considered ductile. The resolution may be given by one of three possibilites: (a) Aluminum is indeed brittle at zero temperature, and becomes ductile at a finite temperature due to motion of pre-existing dislocations which relax the stress concentration at the crack tip. (b) Dislocation emission at the crack tip is itself a thermally activated process. (c) Aluminum is actually ductile at all temperatures and the theoretical model employed needs to be significantly improved in order to resolve the apparent contradiction.Comment: 4 figures (not included; send requests to [email protected]

The Scaling Behavior of Classical Wave Transport in Mesoscopic Media at the Localization Transition

The propagation of classical wave in disordered media at the Anderson localization transition is studied. Our results show that the classical waves may follow a different scaling behavior from that for electrons. For electrons, the effect of weak localization due to interference of recurrent scattering paths is limited within a spherical volume because of electron-electron or electron-phonon scattering, while for classical waves, it is the sample geometry that determine the amount of recurrent scattering paths that contribute. It is found that the weak localization effect is weaker in both cubic and slab geometry than in spherical geometry. As a result, the averaged static diffusion constant D(L) scales like ln(L)/L in cubic or slab geometry and the corresponding transmission follows ~ln L/L^2. This is in contrast to the behavior of D(L)~1/L and ~1/L^2 obtained previously for electrons or spherical samples. For wave dynamics, we solve the Bethe-Salpeter equation in a disordered slab with the recurrent scattering incorporated in a self-consistent manner. All of the static and dynamic transport quantities studied are found to follow the scaling behavior of D(L). We have also considered position-dependent weak localization effects by using a plausible form of position-dependent diffusion constant D(z). The same scaling behavior is found, i.e., ~ln L/L^2.Comment: 11 pages, 12 figures. Submitted to Phys. Rev. B on 3 May 200

Discovery of Gamma-ray Pulsations from the Transitional Redback PSR J1227-4853

The 1.69 ms spin period of PSR J1227-4853 was recently discovered in radio observations of the low-mass X-ray binary XSS J12270-4859 following the announcement of a possible transition to a rotation-powered millisecond pulsar state, inferred from decreases in optical, X-ray, and gamma-ray flux from the source. We report the detection of significant (5$\sigma$) gamma-ray pulsations after the transition, at the known spin period, using ~1 year of data from the Large Area Telescope on board the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope. The gamma-ray light curve of PSR J1227-4853 can be fit by one broad peak, which occurs at nearly the same phase as the main peak in the 1.4 GHz radio profile. The partial alignment of light-curve peaks in different wavebands suggests that at least some of the radio emission may originate at high altitude in the pulsar magnetosphere, in extended regions co-located with the gamma-ray emission site. We folded the LAT data at the orbital period, both pre- and post-transition, but find no evidence for significant modulation of the gamma-ray flux. Analysis of the gamma-ray flux over the mission suggests an approximate transition time of 2012 November 30. Continued study of the pulsed emission and monitoring of PSR J1227-4853, and other known redback systems, for subsequent flux changes will increase our knowledge of the pulsar emission mechanism and transitioning systems.Comment: 5 figures, 1 table, accepted for publication in ApJ, updated to reflect accepted version and add additional coautho

Statistical Transfer Matrix Study of the ±J\pm J Multileg Ising Ladders and Tubes

Finite temperature properties of symmetric $\pm J$ multileg Ising ladders and tubes are investigated using the statistical transfer matrix method. The temperature dependences of the specific heat and entropy are calculated. In the case of tubes, it is found that the ground state entropy shows an even-odd oscillation with respect to the number of legs. The same type of oscillation is also found in the ground state energy. On the contrary, these oscillations do not take place in ladders. From the temperature-dependence of the specific heat, it is found that the lowest excitation energy is 4J for even-leg ladders while it is 2J otherwise, The physical origin of these behaviors is discussed based on the structure of excitations.Comment: 6 pages, 9 figure