521 research outputs found
Velocity Tails for Inelastic Maxwell Models
We study the velocity distribution function for inelastic Maxwell models,
characterized by a Boltzmann equation with constant collision rate, independent
of the energy of the colliding particles. By means of a nonlinear analysis of
the Boltzmann equation, we find that the velocity distribution function decays
algebraically for large velocities, with exponents that are analytically
calculated.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure
Velocity fluctuations in a one dimensional Inelastic Maxwell model
We consider the velocity fluctuations of a system of particles described by
the Inelastic Maxwell Model. The present work extends the methods, previously
employed to obtain the one-particle velocity distribution function, to the
study of the two particle correlations. Results regarding both the homogeneous
cooling process and the steady state driven regime are presented. In particular
we obtain the form of the pair correlation function in the scaling region of
the homogeneous cooling process and show that some of its moments diverge. This
fact has repercussions on the behavior of the energy fluctuations of the model.Comment: 16 pages, 1 figure, to be published on Journal of Statistical
Mechanics: Theory and Experiment
The Role of Trauma in Early Onset Borderline Personality Disorder: A Biopsychosocial Perspective
The role of childhood trauma in the development of borderline personality disorder (BPD) in young age has long been studied. The most accurate theoretical models are multifactorial, taking into account a range of factors, including early trauma, to explain evolutionary pathways of BPD. We reviewed studies published on PubMed in the last 20 years to evaluate whether different types of childhood trauma, like sexual and physical abuse and neglect, increase the risk and shape the clinical picture of BPD. BPD as a sequela of childhood traumas often occurs with multiple comorbidities (e.g. mood, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive, eating, dissociative, addictive, psychotic, and somatoform disorders). In such cases it tends to have a prolonged course, to be severe, and treatment-refractory. In comparison with subjects who suffer from other personality disorders, patients with BPD experience childhood abuse more frequently. Adverse childhood experiences affect different biological systems (HPA axis, neurotransmission mechanisms, endogenous opioid systems, gray matter volume, white matter connectivity), with changes persisting into adulthood. A growing body of evidence is emerging about interaction between genes (e.g. FKBP5 polymorphisms and CRHR2 variants) and environment (physical and sexual abuse, emotional neglect)
Analytical results for generalized persistence properties of smooth processes
We present a general scheme to calculate within the independent interval
approximation generalized (level-dependent) persistence properties for
processes having a finite density of zero-crossings. Our results are especially
relevant for the diffusion equation evolving from random initial conditions,
one of the simplest coarsening systems. Exact results are obtained in certain
limits, and rely on a new method to deal with constrained multiplicative
processes. An excellent agreement of our analytical predictions with direct
numerical simulations of the diffusion equation is found.Comment: 21 pages, 4 figures, to appear in Journal of Physics
Characteristics of neonatal GBS disease during a multicentre study (2007-2010) and in the year 2012
iNTRODUCTION: The characteristics of Group B Streptococcal (GBS) early onset (EOD) and late onset (LOD) neonatal infections in Italy were analyzed. Two periods were considered, a first 3-years period (2007-2010), when notification of GBS infections was enforced under the auspices of the Italian Ministry of Health, and a second 1 year period (2012) when reporting on neonatal GBS disease continued on voluntary basis. METHODS: A standardized form was used to collect data on cases of neonatal GBS disease. They included both maternal and neonatal data. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: The two surveys underlined that preterm deliveries, precipitous labor and negatively GBS screened mothers are common causes of EOD occurrence, possibly explained by inadequate, or lack of, intrapartum antibiotic prophylaxis. Nevertheless, measures for reducing prevention failures and EOD incidence by an higher adherence to prevention strategies, as the Centre for Disease Control recommendations, are still possible and should be encouraged
Average trajectory of returning walks
We compute the average shape of trajectories of some one--dimensional
stochastic processes x(t) in the (t,x) plane during an excursion, i.e. between
two successive returns to a reference value, finding that it obeys a scaling
form. For uncorrelated random walks the average shape is semicircular,
independently from the single increments distribution, as long as it is
symmetric. Such universality extends to biased random walks and Levy flights,
with the exception of a particular class of biased Levy flights. Adding a
linear damping term destroys scaling and leads asymptotically to flat
excursions. The introduction of short and long ranged noise correlations
induces non trivial asymmetric shapes, which are studied numerically.Comment: 16 pages, 16 figures; accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.
Steady state properties of a mean field model of driven inelastic mixtures
We investigate a Maxwell model of inelastic granular mixture under the
influence of a stochastic driving and obtain its steady state properties in the
context of classical kinetic theory. The model is studied analytically by
computing the moments up to the eighth order and approximating the
distributions by means of a Sonine polynomial expansion method. The main
findings concern the existence of two different granular temperatures, one for
each species, and the characterization of the distribution functions, whose
tails are in general more populated than those of an elastic system. These
analytical results are tested against Monte Carlo numerical simulations of the
model and are in general in good agreement. The simulations, however, reveal
the presence of pronounced non-gaussian tails in the case of an infinite
temperature bath, which are not well reproduced by the Sonine method.Comment: 23 pages, 10 figures, submitted for publicatio
On the Stability of the Mean-Field Glass Broken Phase under Non-Hamiltonian Perturbations
We study the dynamics of the SK model modified by a small non-hamiltonian
perturbation. We study aging, and we find that on the time scales investigated
by our numerical simulations it survives a small perturbation (and is destroyed
by a large one). If we assume we are observing a transient behavior the scaling
of correlation times versus the asymmetry strength is not compatible with the
one expected for the spherical model. We discuss the slow power law decay of
observable quantities to equilibrium, and we show that for small perturbations
power like decay is preserved. We also discuss the asymptotically large time
region on small lattices.Comment: 34 page
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