General formalism for the stability of thin-shell wormholes in 2+1 dimensions

In this article we theoretically construct circular thin-shell wormholes in a 2+1 dimensional spacetime. The construction is symmetric with respect to the throat. We present a general formalism for the study of the mechanical stability under perturbations preserving the circular symmetry of the configurations, adopting a linearized equation of state for the exotic matter at the throat. We apply the formalism to several examples.Comment: 14 pages, 7 figures; v2: improved version, new references adde

Safety and efficacy of calcipotriene plus betamethasone dipropionate topical suspension in the treatment of extensive scalp psoriasis in adolescents ages 12 to 17 years.

The objective of this study was to assess the safety and efficacy of the fixed combination calcipotriene 0.005% plus betamethasone dipropionate 0.064% topical suspension in adolescents with extensive scalp psoriasis. In this phase II, open-label, 8-week study, adolescents with psoriasis (ages 12-17 years) with 20% or more of the scalp area affected (at least moderate severity according to Investigator's Global Assessment [IGA]) were assigned to once-daily treatment with calcipotriene plus betamethasone dipropionate topical suspension. The primary endpoint was safety, focusing on calcium metabolism and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis function. Secondary efficacy endpoints were the proportion of patient's achieving treatment success (clear or almost clear disease according to the IGA and clear or very mild disease according to the Patient's Global Assessment [PaGA]) and percentage change in investigator-assessed Total Sign Score (TSS). Pruritus was also assessed. Overall, 31 patients received treatment. Sixteen patients (52%) experienced a total of 20 adverse events; 19 were considered unrelated to study treatment, 14 were mild, and none were serious or lesional or perilesional on the scalp. One patient showed signs of mild adrenal suppression at week 4; the patient discontinued treatment and had normal test results at follow-up 4 weeks later. No cases of hypercalcemia were reported. By treatment end, treatment success was reported for 17 patients (55%) according to the IGA and 18 (58%) according to the PGA. Mean TSS improved from 6.9 at baseline to 2.9 at treatment end (59% improvement). By week 8, 28 patients (90%) experienced mild or no itching, versus 20 (65%) at baseline. Once-daily calcipotriene plus betamethasone dipropionate topical suspension was well tolerated and efficacious for the treatment of scalp psoriasis in adolescents

Downscaling data assimilation algorithm with applications to statistical solutions of the Navier-Stokes equations

Based on a previously introduced downscaling data assimilation algorithm, which employs a nudging term to synchronize the coarse mesh spatial scales, we construct a determining map for recovering the full trajectories from their corresponding coarse mesh spatial trajectories, and investigate its properties. This map is then used to develop a downscaling data assimilation scheme for statistical solutions of the two-dimensional Navier-Stokes equations, where the coarse mesh spatial statistics of the system is obtained from discrete spatial measurements. As a corollary, we deduce that statistical solutions for the Navier-Stokes equations are determined by their coarse mesh spatial distributions. Notably, we present our results in the context of the Navier-Stokes equations; however, the tools are general enough to be implemented for other dissipative evolution equations

Neutrinos from beta processes in a presupernova: probing the isotopic evolution of a massive star

We present a new calculation of the neutrino flux received at Earth from a massive star in the $\sim 24$ hours of evolution prior to its explosion as a supernova (presupernova). Using the stellar evolution code MESA, the neutrino emissivity in each flavor is calculated at many radial zones and time steps. In addition to thermal processes, neutrino production via beta processes is modeled in detail, using a network of 204 isotopes. We find that the total produced $\nu_{e}$ flux has a high energy spectrum tail, at $E \gtrsim 3 - 4$ MeV, which is mostly due to decay and electron capture on isotopes with $A = 50 - 60$. In a tentative window of observability of $E \gtrsim 0.5$ MeV and $t < 2$ hours pre-collapse, the contribution of beta processes to the $\nu_{e}$ flux is at the level of $\sim90\%$ . For a star at $D=1$ kpc distance, a 17 kt liquid scintillator detector would typically observe several tens of events from a presupernova, of which up to $\sim 30\%$ due to beta processes. These processes dominate the signal at a liquid argon detector, thus greatly enhancing its sensitivity to a presupernova.Comment: 14 pages, 5 figure

Health Safety-Net Crisis: A Case Study of News Discourse

This study is the first to analyze news coverage of a hegemonic struggle over a crisis that threatened to close a Southern safety net hospital. Such closure could have left indigent, African American men and women without health care access. The study utilizes critical discourse analysis to focus on news portrayals of patients and the struggle over whether the hospital would continue to be governed by a majority-Black, public board of directors or a nonprofit, private board recommended by a majority-White civic group. Results indicate that newspaper coverage privileged the elite, White view, while stereotypically representing indigent, Black patients as problematic. Coverage legitimized privatizing the hospital’s board through a neoliberal discourse that also portrayed its majority-Black board as incompetent

Social Service Professional or Market Expert? Maternity Care Relations under Neoliberal Healthcare Reform

Recent developments in the organization and practice of healthcare, driven by the introduction of (quasi-) markets and privatization, are altering traditional forms of professionalism found in high- and middle-income countries. Yet there remains debate about whether these neoliberal trends are universal or country specific, and whether they have any effect (positive or negative) on health service delivery. This article develops a comparative analysis that focuses on changes in maternity service systems in four countries in Northern Europe and the Americas with primarily publicly financed healthcare systems: the UK, Finland, Chile and Canada. The article begins with a discussion of the continuum of professional forms found in the post-Second World War period and their relationship to different kinds of welfare e states. It then focuses on the impact of recent neoliberal reforms on the ideological projects of the medical and allied health professions in the four case examples. The results show that variation across time and place is mainly the result of structural/ economic factors and that various forms of professional discourses are the result of the public/private ways that healthcare systems are organized. The article concludes with suggestions for further comparative sociological research