7,563 research outputs found
Implementing a network for electronic surveillance reporting from public health reference laboratories: an international perspective.
Electronic data reporting from public health laboratories to a central site provides a mechanism for public health officials to rapidly identify problems and take action to prevent further spread of disease. However, implementation of reference laboratory systems is much more complex than simply adopting new technology, especially in international settings. We describe three major areas to be considered by international organizations for successful implementation of electronic reporting systems from public health reference laboratories: benefits of electronic reporting, planning for system implementation (e.g., support, resources, data analysis, country sovereignty), and components of system initiation (e.g., authority, disease definition, feedback, site selection, assessing readiness, problem resolution). Our experience with implementation of electronic public health laboratory data management and reporting systems in the United States and working with international organizations to initiate similar efforts demonstrates that successful reference laboratory reporting can be implemented if surveillance issues and components are planned
Using laboratory-based surveillance data for prevention: an algorithm for detecting Salmonella outbreaks.
By applying cumulative sums (CUSUM), a quality control method commonly used in manufacturing, we constructed a process for detecting unusual clusters among reported laboratory isolates of disease-causing organisms. We developed a computer algorithm based on minimal adjustments to the CUSUM method, which cumulates sums of the differences between frequencies of isolates and their expected means; we used the algorithm to identify outbreaks of Salmonella Enteritidis isolates reported in 1993. By comparing these detected outbreaks with known reported outbreaks, we estimated the sensitivity, specificity, and false-positive rate of the method. Sensitivity by state in which the outbreak was reported was 0%(0/1) to 100%. Specificity was 64% to 100%, and the false-positive rate was 0 to 1
Vortex shear effects in layered superconductors
Motivated by recent transport and magnetization measurements in BSCCO samples
[B. Khaykovich et. al., Phys. Rev. B 61, R9261 (2000)], we present a simple
macroscopic model describing effects of inhomogeneous current distribution and
shear in a layered superconductor. Parameters of the model are deduced from a
microscopic calculation. Our model accounts for the strong current
non-linearities and the re-entrant temperature dependence observed in the
experiment.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.
Universality in D-brane Inflation
We study the six-field dynamics of D3-brane inflation for a general scalar
potential on the conifold, finding simple, universal behavior. We numerically
evolve the equations of motion for an ensemble of more than 7 \times 10^7
realizations, drawing the coefficients in the scalar potential from statistical
distributions whose detailed properties have demonstrably small effects on our
results. When prolonged inflation occurs, it has a characteristic form: the
D3-brane initially moves rapidly in the angular directions, spirals down to an
inflection point in the potential, and settles into single-field inflation. The
probability of N_{e} e-folds of inflation is a power law, P(N_{e}) \propto
N_{e}^{-3}, and we derive the same exponent from a simple analytical model. The
success of inflation is relatively insensitive to the initial conditions: we
find attractor behavior in the angular directions, and the D3-brane can begin
far above the inflection point without overshooting. In favorable regions of
the parameter space, models yielding 60 e-folds of expansion arise
approximately once in 10^3 trials. Realizations that are effectively
single-field and give rise to a primordial spectrum of fluctuations consistent
with WMAP, for which at least 120 e-folds are required, arise approximately
once in 10^5 trials. The emergence of robust predictions from a six-field
potential with hundreds of terms invites an analytic approach to multifield
inflation.Comment: 28 pages, 9 figure
Prominent bulk pinning effect in the MgB_2 superconductor
We report the magnetic-field dependence of the irreversible magnetization of
the recently discovered binary superconductor MgB. For the temperature
region of , the contribution of the bulk pinning to the
magnetization overwhelms that of the surface pinning. This was evident from the
fact that the magnetization curves, , were well described by the
critical-state model without considering the surface pinning effect. It was
also found that the curves at various temperatures scaled when the field
and the magnetization were normalized by the characteristic scaling factors
and , respectively. This feature suggests that the
pinning mechanism determining the hysteresis in is unique below .Comment: 4pages and 4 figures. Phys. Rev. B (accepted
Collective Transport in Arrays of Quantum Dots
(WORDS: QUANTUM DOTS, COLLECTIVE TRANSPORT, PHYSICAL EXAMPLE OF KPZ)
Collective charge transport is studied in one- and two-dimensional arrays of
small normal-metal dots separated by tunnel barriers. At temperatures well
below the charging energy of a dot, disorder leads to a threshold for
conduction which grows linearly with the size of the array. For short-ranged
interactions, one of the correlation length exponents near threshold is found
from a novel argument based on interface growth. The dynamical exponent for the
current above threshold is also predicted analytically, and the requirements
for its experimental observation are described.Comment: 12 pages, 3 postscript files included, REVTEX v2, (also available by
anonymous FTP from external.nj.nec.com, in directory /pub/alan/dotarrays [as
separate files]) [replacement: FIX OF WRONG VERSION, BAD SHAR] March 17,
1993, NEC
A new quantum fluid at high magnetic fields in the marginal charge-density-wave system -(BEDT-TTF)Hg(SCN) (where ~K and Rb)
Single crystals of the organic charge-transfer salts
-(BEDT-TTF)Hg(SCN) have been studied using Hall-potential
measurements (K) and magnetization experiments ( = K, Rb). The data show
that two types of screening currents occur within the high-field,
low-temperature CDW phases of these salts in response to time-dependent
magnetic fields. The first, which gives rise to the induced Hall potential, is
a free current (), present at the surface of the sample.
The time constant for the decay of these currents is much longer than that
expected from the sample resistivity. The second component of the current
appears to be magnetic (), in that it is a microscopic,
quasi-orbital effect; it is evenly distributed within the bulk of the sample
upon saturation. To explain these data, we propose a simple model invoking a
new type of quantum fluid comprising a CDW coexisting with a two-dimensional
Fermi-surface pocket which describes the two types of current. The model and
data are able to account for the body of previous experimental data which had
generated apparently contradictory interpretations in terms of the quantum Hall
effect or superconductivity.Comment: 13 pages, 11 figure
Hysteretic characteristics of a double stripline in the critical state
Analytical investigations of the critical state are carried out for a
superconducting stripline consisting of two individual coplanar strips with an
arbitrary distance between them. Two different cases are considered: a
stripline with transport current and strips exposed to a perpendicular magnetic
field. In the second case, the obtained solutions correspond to "fieldlike"
(for unclosed strips) and "currentlike" (for a long rectangular superconducting
loop) states in an isolated strip to which both a transport current and a
magnetic field are applied with constant ratio.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures. accepted by SS
Duality Cascade in Brane Inflation
We show that brane inflation is very sensitive to tiny sharp features in
extra dimensions, including those in the potential and in the warp factor. This
can show up as observational signatures in the power spectrum and/or
non-Gaussianities of the cosmic microwave background radiation (CMBR). One
general example of such sharp features is a succession of small steps in a
warped throat, caused by Seiberg duality cascade using gauge/gravity duality.
We study the cosmological observational consequences of these steps in brane
inflation. Since the steps come in a series, the prediction of other steps and
their properties can be tested by future data and analysis. It is also possible
that the steps are too close to be resolved in the power spectrum, in which
case they may show up only in the non-Gaussianity of the CMB temperature
fluctuations and/or EE polarization. We study two cases. In the slow-roll
scenario where steps appear in the inflaton potential, the sensitivity of brane
inflation to the height and width of the steps is increased by several orders
of magnitude comparing to that in previously studied large field models. In the
IR DBI scenario where steps appear in the warp factor, we find that the
glitches in the power spectrum caused by these sharp features are generally
small or even unobservable, but associated distinctive non-Gaussianity can be
large. Together with its large negative running of the power spectrum index,
this scenario clearly illustrates how rich and different a brane inflationary
scenario can be when compared to generic slow-roll inflation. Such distinctive
stringy features may provide a powerful probe of superstring theory.Comment: Corrections in Eq.(5.47), Eq (5.48), Eq(5.49) and Fig
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