1,029 research outputs found
Mission to a comet - Preliminary scientific objectives and experiments for use in advanced mission studies
Scientific objectives and experiments for comet missio
Topological Entanglement of Polymers and Chern-Simons Field Theory
In recent times some interesting field theoretical descriptions of the
statistical mechanics of entangling polymers have been proposed by various
authors. In these approaches, a single test polymer fluctuating in a background
of static polymers or in a lattice of obstacles is considered. The extension to
the case in which the configurations of two or more polymers become non-static
is not straightforward unless their trajectories are severely constrained. In
this paper we present another approach, based on Chern--Simons field theory,
which is able to describe the topological entanglements of two fluctuating
polymers in terms of gauge fields and second quantized replica fields.Comment: 16 pages, corrected some typos, added two new reference
Entangled Polymer Rings in 2D and Confinement
The statistical mechanics of polymer loops entangled in the two-dimensional
array of randomly distributed obstacles of infinite length is discussed. The
area of the loop projected to the plane perpendicular to the obstacles is used
as a collective variable in order to re-express a (mean field) effective theory
for the polymer conformation. It is explicitly shown that the loop undergoes a
collapse transition to a randomly branched polymer with .Comment: 17 pages of Latex, 1 ps figure now available upon request, accepted
for J.Phys.A:Math.Ge
Topological interactions in systems of mutually interlinked polymer rings
The topological interaction arising in interlinked polymeric rings such as
DNA catenanes is considered. More specifically, the free energy for a pair of
linked random walk rings is derived where the distance between two segments
each of which is part of a different ring is kept constant. The topology
conservation is imposed by the Gauss invariant. A previous approach (M.Otto,
T.A. Vilgis, Phys.Rev.Lett. {\bf 80}, 881 (1998)) to the problem is refined in
several ways. It is confirmed, that asymptotically, i.e. for large
where is average size of single random walk ring, the effective
topological interaction (free energy) scales .Comment: 16 pages, 3 figur
Quantum state preparation in semiconductor dots by adiabatic rapid passage
Preparation of a specific quantum state is a required step for a variety of
proposed practical uses of quantum dynamics. We report an experimental
demonstration of optical quantum state preparation in a semiconductor quantum
dot with electrical readout, which contrasts with earlier work based on Rabi
flopping in that the method is robust with respect to variation in the optical
coupling. We use adiabatic rapid passage, which is capable of inverting single
dots to a specified upper level. We demonstrate that when the pulse power
exceeds a threshold for inversion, the final state is independent of power.
This provides a new tool for preparing quantum states in semiconductor dots and
has a wide range of potential uses.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Smoothening Transition of a Two-Dimensional Pressurized Polymer Ring
We revisit the problem of a two-dimensional polymer ring subject to an
inflating pressure differential. The ring is modeled as a freely jointed closed
chain of N monomers. Using a Flory argument, mean-field calculation and Monte
Carlo simulations, we show that at a critical pressure, , the
ring undergoes a second-order phase transition from a crumpled, random-walk
state, where its mean area scales as , to a smooth state with
. The transition belongs to the mean-field universality class. At
the critical point a new state of polymer statistics is found, in which
. For we use a transfer-matrix calculation to derive
exact expressions for the properties of the smooth state.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figure
What do we know about different models of providing palliative care? Findings from a systematic review of reviews.
BACKGROUND: A wide range of organisational models of palliative care exist. However, decision makers need more information about which models are likely to be most effective in different settings and for different patient groups. AIM: To identify the existing range of models of palliative care that have been evaluated, what is already known and what further information is essential if the most effective and cost-effective models are to be identified and replicated more widely. DESIGN: A review of systematic and narrative reviews according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. Study quality was assessed using the AMSTAR (A MeaSurement Tool to Assess Reviews) tool. DATA SOURCES: MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycINFO, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, Web of Science and ASSIA were searched for reviews about models of service provision from 2000 to 2014 and supplemented with Google searches of the grey literature. RESULTS: Much of the evidence relates to home-based palliative care, although some models are delivered across care settings. Reviews report several potential advantages and few disadvantages of models of palliative care delivery. However, under-reporting of the components of intervention and comparator models are major barriers to the evaluation and implementation of models of palliative care. CONCLUSION: Irrespective of setting or patient characteristics, models of palliative care appear to show benefits and some models of palliative care may reduce total healthcare costs. However, much more detailed and systematic reporting of components and agreement about outcome measures is essential in order to understand the key components and successfully replicate effective organisational models
A comparison of the cost-effectiveness of treatment of prolonged acute convulsive epileptic seizures in children across Europe
In the majority of children and adolescents with epilepsy, optimal drug therapy adequately controls their condition. However, among the remaining patients who are still uncontrolled despite mono-, bi- or tri-therapy with chronic anti-epileptic treatment, a rescue medication is required. In Western Europe, the licensed medications available for first-line treatment of prolonged acute convulsive seizures (PACS) vary widely, and so comparators for clinical and economic evaluation are not consistent. No European guidelines currently exist for the treatment of PACS in children and adolescents and limited evidence is available for the effectiveness of treatments in the community setting. The authors present cost-effectiveness data for BUCCOLAM® (midazolam oromucosal solution) for the treatment of PACS in children and adolescents in the context of the treatment pathway in seven European countries in patients from 6 months to 18 years. For each country, the health economic model consisted of a decision tree, with decision nodes informed by clinical data and expert opinion obtained via a Delphi methodology. The events modelled are those associated with a patient experiencing a seizure in the community setting. The model assessed the likelihood of medication being administered successfully and of seizure cessation. The associated resource use was also modelled, and ambulance call-outs and hospitalisations were considered. The patient's quality of life was estimated by clinicians, who completed a five-level EuroQol five dimensions questionnaire from the perspective of a child or adolescent suffering a seizure. Despite differences in current therapy, treatment patterns and healthcare costs in all countries assessed, BUCCOLAM was shown to be cost saving and offered increased health-related benefits for patients in the treatment of PACS compared with the current local standard of care
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