49 research outputs found
The effect of particulate matter on paper degradation
Background: In this work we explore the chemical effects of particulate matter on paper. We exposed paper made
of pure cellulose to the environment in different locations in central London, outdoors (in sheltered conditions) and
indoors, for a period of up to 6 months. We monitored particulate matter (PM) deposition by counting the particles
deposited every month with a scanning electron microscope. We analysed elemental composition of the deposited
particles using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. After accelerated degradation of the exposed samples,
we determined the degree of polymerisation using viscometry.
Results: We observed higher deposition rates and higher metal concentration outdoors than indoors. Elemental
analysis of the deposited particles revealed the presence of some transition metals (Fe, Cu, Cr) that can contribute to
the degradation of cellulose fibres through the Fenton reaction. By comparing the degree of polymerisation of pro‑
tected, unprotected and unexposed samples we could determine the relative contribution of PM deposition on the
increase of the degradation rate. We found that the surface concentration of iron correlates with the reduction in the
degree of polymerisation of the exposed paper.
Conclusions: The results suggest that the presence of Fenton metals in PM has a significant effect on the accelera‑
tion of the degradation of cellulose. However, we estimate that this will unlikely occur at the levels of area coverage
by PM that are typically avoided in indoor heritage through preventive maintenance and cleaning
On completeness of orbits of Killing vector fields
A Theorem is proved which reduces the problem of completeness of orbits of
Killing vector fields in maximal globally hyperbolic, say vacuum, space--times
to some properties of the orbits near the Cauchy surface. In particular it is
shown that all Killing orbits are complete in maximal developements of
asymptotically flat Cauchy data, or of Cauchy data prescribed on a compact
manifold. This result gives a significant strengthening of the uniqueness
theorems for black holes.Comment: 16 pages, Latex, preprint NSF-ITP-93-4
Topology of the Future Chronological Boundary: Universality for Spacelike Boundaries
A method is presented for imputing a topology for any chronological set,
i.e., a set with a chronology relation, such as a spacetime or a spacetime with
some sort of boundary. This topology is shown to have several good properties,
such as replicating the manifold topology for a spacetime and replicating the
expected topology for some simple examples of spacetime-with-boundary; it also
allows for a complete categorical characterization, in topological categories,
of the Future Causal Boundary construction of Geroch, Kronheimer, and Penrose,
showing that construction to have a universal property for future-completing
chronological sets with spacelike boundaries. Rigidity results are given for
any reasonable future completion of a spacetime, in terms of the GKP boundary:
In the imputed topology, any such boundary must be homeomorphic to the GKP
boundary (if all points have indecomposable pasts) or to a topological quotient
of a closely related boundary (if boundaries are spacelike). A large class of
warped-product-type spacetimes with spacelike boundaries is examined,
calculating the GKP and other possible boundaries, and showing that the imputed
topology gives expected results; included among these are the Schwarzschild
singularity and those Robertson-Walker singularities which are spacelike.Comment: 56 pages, AMS-TeX; 1 page of figure captions (TeX); 22 figures, EPS
format; to be published in Quantum Class. Grav.; principal reason for
replacement is to have the figures included (also, introduction is expanded
slightly, and one example is simplified
Causal Relationship: a new tool for the causal characterization of Lorentzian manifolds
We define and study a new kind of relation between two diffeomorphic
Lorentzian manifolds called {\em causal relation}, which is any diffeomorphism
characterized by mapping every causal vector of the first manifold onto a
causal vector of the second. We perform a thorough study of the mathematical
properties of causal relations and prove in particular that two given
Lorentzian manifolds (say and ) may be causally related only in one
direction (say from to , but not from to ). This leads us to the
concept of causally equivalent (or {\em isocausal} in short) Lorentzian
manifolds as those mutually causally related. This concept is more general and
of a more basic nature than the conformal relationship, because we prove the
remarkable result that a conformal relation \f is characterized by the fact
of being a causal relation of the {\em particular} kind in which both \f and
\f^{-1} are causal relations. For isocausal Lorentzian manifolds there are
one-to-one correspondences, which sometimes are non-trivial, between several
classes of their respective future (and past) objects. A more important feature
of isocausal Lorentzian manifolds is that they satisfy the same causality
constraints. This indicates that the causal equivalence provides a possible
characterization of the {\it basic causal structure}, in the sense of mutual
causal compatibility, for Lorentzian manifolds. Thus, we introduce a partial
order for the equivalence classes of isocausal Lorentzian manifolds providing a
classification of spacetimes in terms of their causal properties, and a
classification of all the causal structures that a given fixed manifold can
have. A full abstract inside the paper.Comment: 47 pages, 10 figures. Version to appear in Classical and Quantum
Gravit
On the Singularity Structure and Stability of Plane Waves
We describe various aspects of plane wave backgrounds. In particular, we make
explicit a simple criterion for singularity by establishing a relation between
Brinkmann metric entries and diffeomorphism-invariant curvature information. We
also address the stability of plane wave backgrounds by analyzing the
fluctuations of generic scalar modes. We focus our attention on cases where
after fixing the light-cone gauge the resulting world sheet fields appear to
have negative "mass terms". We nevertheless argue that these backgrounds may be
stable.Comment: 21 pages, 1 figur
Dynamical locality and covariance: What makes a physical theory the same in all spacetimes?
The question of what it means for a theory to describe the same physics on
all spacetimes (SPASs) is discussed. As there may be many answers to this
question, we isolate a necessary condition, the SPASs property, that should be
satisfied by any reasonable notion of SPASs. This requires that if two theories
conform to a common notion of SPASs, with one a subtheory of the other, and are
isomorphic in some particular spacetime, then they should be isomorphic in all
globally hyperbolic spacetimes (of given dimension). The SPASs property is
formulated in a functorial setting broad enough to describe general physical
theories describing processes in spacetime, subject to very minimal
assumptions. By explicit constructions, the full class of locally covariant
theories is shown not to satisfy the SPASs property, establishing that there is
no notion of SPASs encompassing all such theories. It is also shown that all
locally covariant theories obeying the time-slice property possess two local
substructures, one kinematical (obtained directly from the functorial
structure) and the other dynamical (obtained from a natural form of dynamics,
termed relative Cauchy evolution). The covariance properties of relative Cauchy
evolution and the kinematic and dynamical substructures are analyzed in detail.
Calling local covariant theories dynamically local if their kinematical and
dynamical local substructures coincide, it is shown that the class of
dynamically local theories fulfills the SPASs property. As an application in
quantum field theory, we give a model independent proof of the impossibility of
making a covariant choice of preferred state in all spacetimes, for theories
obeying dynamical locality together with typical assumptions.Comment: 60 pages, LaTeX. Version to appear in Annales Henri Poincar
Difficult tracheal intubation in neonates and infants. NEonate and Children audiT of Anaesthesia pRactice IN Europe (NECTARINE): a prospective European multicentre observational study
Background: Neonates and infants are susceptible to hypoxaemia in the perioperative period. The aim of this study was to analyse interventions related to anaesthesia tracheal intubations in this European cohort and identify their clinical consequences. Methods: We performed a secondary analysis of tracheal intubations of the European multicentre observational trial (NEonate and Children audiT of Anaesthesia pRactice IN Europe [NECTARINE]) in neonates and small infants with difficult tracheal intubation. The primary endpoint was the incidence of difficult intubation and the related complications. The secondary endpoints were the risk factors for severe hypoxaemia attributed to difficult airway management, and 30 and 90 day outcomes. Results: Tracheal intubation was planned in 4683 procedures. Difficult tracheal intubation, defined as two failed attempts of direct laryngoscopy, occurred in 266 children (271 procedures) with an incidence (95% confidence interval [CI]) of 5.8% (95% CI, 5.1e6.5). Bradycardia occurred in 8% of the cases with difficult intubation, whereas a significant decrease in oxygen saturation (SpO2<90% for 60 s) was reported in 40%. No associated risk factors could be identified among comorbidities, surgical, or anaesthesia management. Using propensity scoring to adjust for confounders, difficult anaesthesia tracheal intubation did not lead to an increase in 30 and 90 day morbidity or mortality. Conclusions: The results of the present study demonstrate a high incidence of difficult tracheal intubation in children less than 60 weeks post-conceptual age commonly resulting in severe hypoxaemia. Reassuringly, the morbidity and mortality at 30 and 90 days was not increased by the occurrence of a difficult intubation event. Clinical trial registration: NCT02350348
Morbidity and mortality after anaesthesia in early life: results of the European prospective multicentre observational study, neonate and children audit of anaesthesia practice in Europe (NECTARINE)
Background: Neonates and infants requiring anaesthesia are at risk of physiological instability and complications, but triggers for peri-anaesthetic interventions and associations with subsequent outcome are unknown. Methods: This prospective, observational study recruited patients up to 60 weeks' postmenstrual age undergoing anaesthesia for surgical or diagnostic procedures from 165 centres in 31 European countries between March 2016 and January 2017. The primary aim was to identify thresholds of pre-determined physiological variables that triggered a medical intervention. The secondary aims were to evaluate morbidities, mortality at 30 and 90 days, or both, and associations with critical events. Results: Infants (n=5609) born at mean (standard deviation [SD]) 36.2 (4.4) weeks postmenstrual age (35.7% preterm) underwent 6542 procedures within 63 (48) days of birth. Critical event(s) requiring intervention occurred in 35.2% of cases, mainly hypotension (>30% decrease in blood pressure) or reduced oxygenation (SpO2 <85%). Postmenstrual age influenced the incidence and thresholds for intervention. Risk of critical events was increased by prior neonatal medical conditions, congenital anomalies, or both (relative risk [RR]=1.16; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.04–1.28) and in those requiring preoperative intensive support (RR=1.27; 95% CI, 1.15–1.41). Additional complications occurred in 16.3% of patients by 30 days, and overall 90-day mortality was 3.2% (95% CI, 2.7–3.7%). Co-occurrence of intraoperative hypotension, hypoxaemia, and anaemia was associated with increased risk of morbidity (RR=3.56; 95% CI, 1.64–7.71) and mortality (RR=19.80; 95% CI, 5.87–66.7). Conclusions: Variability in physiological thresholds that triggered an intervention, and the impact of poor tissue oxygenation on patient's outcome, highlight the need for more standardised perioperative management guidelines for neonates and infants. Clinical trial registration: NCT02350348