1,117 research outputs found
Cemented Thompson versus cemented bipolar prostheses for femoral neck fractures
To compare early functional outcomes, complications, and mortality in elderly patients treated with the less costly, cemented Thompson prosthesis or the cemented bipolar prosthesis in order to identify factors affecting outcomes. Records of 303 patients with femoral neck fractures treated with the cemented Thompson monoblock prosthesis (n=206) or the cemented bipolar prosthesis (n=97) were reviewed. The choice of prosthesis was solely determined by surgeon's preference. Data relating to patient demographics, clinical and residential status, mobility, mental function, mortality, and complications during hospitalisation and rehabilitation were collected. After adjusting for confounding variables, independent postoperative indoor mobility was associated with preoperative indoor mobility (p=0.002) and mental function (p=0.001), whereas postoperative outdoor mobility was associated with preoperative outdoor mobility (p=0.003), daily living activity (p=0.02), and mental function (p=0.02). Mortality within 6 months was only associated with poor mental function (p=0.009). At 6-month follow-up, there was no significant difference between the 2 types of prosthesis in terms of functional outcomes, mortality and complication rates. In elderly patients with limited mobility, treatment with the bipolar prosthesis was not associated with better short-term outcomes than those receiving the Thompson prosthesis
Ballistic electron transport through magnetic domain walls
Electron transport limited by the rotating exchange-potential of domain walls
is calculated in the ballistic limit for the itinerant ferromagnets Fe, Co, and
Ni. When realistic band structures are used, the domain wall magnetoresistance
is enhanced by orders of magnitude compared to the results for previously
studied two-band models. Increasing the pitch of a domain wall by confinement
in a nano-structured point contact is predicted to give rise to a strongly
enhanced magnetoresistance.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures; to appear in PRB as a brief repor
Spin Torques in Ferromagnetic/Normal Metal Structures
Recent theories of spin-current-induced magnetization reversal are formulated
in terms of a spin-mixing conductance . We evaluate from
first-principles for a number of (dis)ordered interfaces between magnetic and
non-magnetic materials. In multi-terminal devices, the magnetization direction
of a one side of a tunnel junction or a ferromagnetic insulator can ideally be
switched with negligible charge current dissipation.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figur
Resumming the color-octet contribution to e+ e- -> J/psi + X
Recent observations of the spectrum of J/psi produced in e+ e- collisions at
the Upsilon(4S) resonance are in conflict with fixed-order calculations using
the Non-Relativistic QCD (NRQCD) effective field theory. One problem is that
leading order color-octet mechanisms predict an enhancement of the cross
section for J/psi with maximal energy that is not observed in the data.
However, in this region of phase space large perturbative corrections (Sudakov
logarithms) as well as enhanced nonperturbative effects are important. In this
paper we use the newly developed Soft-Collinear Effective Theory (SCET) to
systematically include these effects. We find that these corrections
significantly broaden the color-octet contribution to the J/psi spectrum. Our
calculation employs a one-stage renormalization group evolution rather than the
two-stage evolution used in previous SCET calculations. We give a simple
argument for why the two methods yield identical results to lowest order in the
SCET power counting.Comment: 27 pages, 7 figure
Statistical Models of At-grade Intersection Accidents
DTFH61-92-C-00031The objective of this research was to develop statistical models of the relationship between traffic accidents and highway geometric elements for at-grade intersections. These models also incorporated the effect of traffic control features and traffic volumes on intersection accidents. The data base used to develop the models was obtained from the California Department of Transportation. Field data were also collected for a sample of urban, four-leg, signalized intersections to provide data on additional geometric design variables and turning-movement counts that were not available from existing highway agency files. The statistical modeling approaches used in the research included Poisson, lognormal, negative binomial, and logistic regression, as well as discriminant and cluster analysis. Regression models of the relationships between accidents and intersection geometric design, traffic control, and traffic volume variables were found to explain between 16 and 38% of the variability in the accident data. However, most of that variability was explained by the traffic volume variables considered; geometric design variables accounted for only a very small additional portion of the variability. An evaluation of hard-copy police accident reports by three independent reviewers for a sample of eight urban, four-leg, signalized intersections found that only 5 to 14% of the accidents had causes that appeared to be related to geometric design features of the intersections
Final State Rescattering and Color-suppressed \bar B^0-> D^{(*)0} h^0 Decays
The color-suppressed \bar B^0-> D^{(*)0}\pi^0, D^{(*)0}\eta, D^0\omega decay
modes have just been observed for the first time. The rates are all larger than
expected, hinting at the presence of final state interactions. Considering \bar
B^0-> D^{(*)0}\pi^0 mode alone, an elastic D^{(*)}\pi -> D^{(*)}\pi
rescattering phase difference \delta \equiv \delta_{1/2} - \delta_{3/2} \sim
30^\circ would suffice, but the \bar B^0-> D^{(*)0}\eta, D^0\omega modes compel
one to extend the elastic formalism to SU(3) symmetry. We find that a universal
a_2/a_1=0.25 and two strong phase differences 20^\circ \sim \theta < \delta <
\delta^\prime \sim 50^\circ can describe both DP and D^*P modes rather well;
the large phase of order 50^\circ is needed to account for the strength of {\it
both} the D^{(*)0}\pi^0 and D^{(*)0}\eta modes. For DV modes, the nonet
symmetry reduces the number of physical phases to just one, giving better
predictive power. Two solutions are found. We predict the rates of the \bar
B^0-> D^{+}_s K^-, D^{*+}_s K^-, D^0\rho^0, D^+_s K^{*-} and D^0\phi modes, as
well as \bar B^0-> D^{0}\bar K^0, D^{*0}\bar K^0, D^{0}\bar K^{*0} modes. The
formalism may have implications for rates and CP asymmetries of charmless
modes.Comment: REVTeX4, 18 pages, 5 figures, to appear in Phys. Rev.
Final-State Phases in , and Decays
The final-state phases in , and decays
appear to follow a pattern similar to those in , , and decays. Each set of processes is characterized by
three charge states but only two independent amplitudes, so the amplitudes form
triangles in the complex plane. For the first two sets the triangles appear to
have non-zero area, while for the or decays the areas
of the triangles are consistent with zero. Following an earlier discussion of
this behavior for decays, a similar analysis is performed for B decays, and
the relative phases and magnitudes of contributing amplitudes are determined.
The significance of recent results on \ob \to D^{(*)0} \bar{K}^{(*)0} is
noted. Open theoretical and experimental questions are indicated.Comment: 16 pages, LaTeX, 3 figures, to be submitted to Phys. Rev. D.
References added; comments on new experimental results and analysi
Spin battery operated by ferromagnetic resonance
Precessing ferromagnets are predicted to inject a spin current into adjacent
conductors via Ohmic contacts, irrespective of a conductance mismatch with, for
example, doped semiconductors. This opens the way to create a pure spin source
spin battery by the ferromagnetic resonance. We estimate the spin current and
spin bias for different material combinations.Comment: The estimate for the magnitude of the spin bias is improved. We find
that it is feasible to get a measurable signal of the order of the microwave
frequency already for moderate rf intensitie
CDMS, Supersymmetry and Extra Dimensions
The CDMS experiment aims to directly detect massive, cold dark matter
particles originating from the Milky Way halo. Charge and lattice excitations
are detected after a particle scatters in a Ge or Si crystal kept at ~30 mK,
allowing to separate nuclear recoils from the dominating electromagnetic
background. The operation of 12 detectors in the Soudan mine for 75 live days
in 2004 delivered no evidence for a signal, yielding stringent limits on dark
matter candidates from supersymmetry and universal extra dimensions. Thirty Ge
and Si detectors are presently installed in the Soudan cryostat, and operating
at base temperature. The run scheduled to start in 2006 is expected to yield a
one order of magnitude increase in dark matter sensitivity.Comment: To be published in the proceedings of the 7th UCLA symposium on
sources and detection of dark matter and dark energy in the universe, Marina
del Rey, Feb 22-24, 200
A global cline in a colour polymorphism suggests a limited contribution of gene flow towards the recovery of a heavily exploited marine mammal
Evaluating how populations are connected by migration is important for understanding species resilience because gene flow can facilitate recovery from demographic declines. We therefore investigated the extent to which migration may have contributed to the global recovery of the Antarctic fur seal (Arctocephalus gazella), a circumpolar distributed marine mammal that was brought to the brink of extinction by the sealing industry in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. It is widely believed that animals emigrating from South Georgia, where a relict population escaped sealing, contributed to the re-establishment of formerly occupied breeding colonies across the geographical range of the species. To investigate this, we interrogated a genetic polymorphism (S291F) in the melanocortin 1 receptor gene, which is responsible for a cream-coloured phenotype that is relatively abundant at South Georgia and which appears to have recently spread to localities as far afield as Marion Island in the sub-Antarctic Indian Ocean. By sequencing a short region of this gene in 1492 pups from eight breeding colonies, we showed that S291F frequency rapidly declines with increasing geographical distance from South Georgia, consistent with locally restricted gene flow from South Georgia mainly to the South Shetland Islands and BouvetĂžya. The S291F allele was not detected farther afield, suggesting that although emigrants from South Georgia may have been locally important, they are unlikely to have played a major role in the recovery of geographically more distant populations
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