5,620 research outputs found
Computation and visualization of Casimir forces in arbitrary geometries: non-monotonic lateral forces and failure of proximity-force approximations
We present a method of computing Casimir forces for arbitrary geometries,
with any desired accuracy, that can directly exploit the efficiency of standard
numerical-electromagnetism techniques. Using the simplest possible
finite-difference implementation of this approach, we obtain both agreement
with past results for cylinder-plate geometries, and also present results for
new geometries. In particular, we examine a piston-like problem involving two
dielectric and metallic squares sliding between two metallic walls, in two and
three dimensions, respectively, and demonstrate non-additive and non-monotonic
changes in the force due to these lateral walls.Comment: Accepted for publication in Physical Review Letters. (Expected
publication: Vol. 99 (8) 2007
Low prevalence of hepatitis C co-infection in recently HIV-infected minority men who have sex with men in Los Angeles: a cross-sectional study.
BackgroundGeographic and sociodemographic characterization of hepatitis C virus (HCV) transmission amongst men who have sex with men (MSM) has been limited. Our aim was to characterize HCV prevalence, risk factors for HCV co-infection, and patterns of HIV and HCV co-transmission and transmitted drug resistance mutations (DRMs) in newly HIV-diagnosed Los Angeles MSM.MethodsViral RNA was extracted from stored plasma samples from a Los Angeles cohort of newly diagnosed HIV-infected MSM with well-characterized substance use and sexual behavioral characteristics via computer-assisted self-interviewing surveys. Samples were screened for HCV by qPCR. HCV E1, E2, core, NS3 protease and NS5B polymerase and HIV-1 protease and reverse transcriptase regions were amplified and sequenced. Phylogenetic analysis was used to determine relatedness of HCV and HIV-1 isolates within the cohort and viral sequences were examined for DRMs.ResultsOf 185 newly HIV-diagnosed MSM, the majority (65%) were of minority race/ethnicity and recently infected (57.8%), with median age of 28.3 years. A minority (6.6%) reported injection drug use (IDU), whereas 96 (52.8%) reported recent substance use, primarily cannabis or stimulant use. High risk sexual behaviors included 132 (74.6%) with unprotected receptive anal intercourse, 60 (33.3%) with group sex, and 10 (5.7%) with fisting. Forty-five (24.3%) had acute gonorrhea or chlamydia infection. Only 3 (1.6%) subjects had detectable HCV RNA. Amongst these subjects, HIV and HCV isolates were unrelated by phylogenetic analysis and none possessed clinically relevant NS3 or NS5B HCV DRMs.ConclusionsPrevalence of HCV co-infection was low and there was no evidence of HIV-HCV co-transmission in this cohort of relatively young, predominantly minority, newly HIV-diagnosed MSM, most with early HIV infection, with high rates of high risk sexual behaviors, STI, and non-IDU. The low HCV prevalence in a group with high-risk behaviors for non-IDU HCV acquisition suggests an opportune time for targeted HCV prevention measures
Rigorous formulation of oblique incidence scattering from dispersive media
We formulate a finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) approach to simulate
electromagnetic wave scattering from scatterers embedded in layered dielectric
or dispersive media. At the heart of our approach is a derivation of an
equivalent one-dimensional wave propagation equation for dispersive media
characterized by a linear sum of Debye-, Drude- and Lorentz-type poles. The
derivation is followed by a detailed discussion of the simulation setup and
numerical issues. The developed methodology is tested by comparison with
analytical reflection and transmission coefficients for scattering from a slab,
illustrating good convergence behavior. The case of scattering from a
sub-wavelength slit in a dispersive thin film is explored to demonstrate the
applicability of our formulation to time- and incident angle-dependent analysis
of surface waves generated by an obliquely incident plane wave.Comment: 35 pages, 8 figures, 4 table
Effectiveness of an online intervention for parents/guardians of children aged 4-7 years who are concerned about their child's emotional and behavioural development: protocol for an online randomised controlled trial (EMERGENT study).
The demand for resources to support emotional and behavioural development in early childhood is ever increasing. However, conventional interventions are lacking in resources and have significant barriers. The Embers the Dragon programme helps address the growing unmet need of children requiring support. The delivery of the current project seeks to help support parents, reduce the burden placed on pressed services (eg, Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services) and to help improve the emotional and behavioural development of children. This project aims to investigate the efficacy and acceptability of Embers on parenting and children's psychosocial outcomes. 364 parents/guardians of children aged between 4 and 7 will be recruited via the internet, schools and general practitioners (GPs). This is an online waitlist-controlled trial with three arms: (1) control arm, (2) access to Embers arm and (3) access to Embers+school. Participants will be randomised (1:1) into (1) or (2) to evaluate the use of Embers at home. To evaluate scalability in schools, (3) will be compared with (2), and (1) to test efficacy against treatment as usual (not receiving the intervention). Qualitative interviews will also be conducted. Primary outcomes are the Parental Self-efficacy Scale, Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire and qualitative interviews. Outcomes will be compared between the three groups at baseline, 8, 16 and 24 weeks. Ethical approval has been granted by the London South Bank University ethics panel (ETH2324-0004). To recruit via GPs, NHS ethical approval has been applied for, and the IRAS (331410) application is under consideration by the Central Bristol REC. The results of the project will be submitted for publication in a peer-reviewed journal. Parents/guardians will provide informed consent online prior to taking part in the study. For the interviews, assent will be taken from children by the researchers on the day. ISRCTN58327872. [Abstract copyright: © Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2024. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.
Screening for important unwarranted variation in clinical practice: a triple-test of processes of care, costs and patient outcomes
Objective: Unwarranted variation in clinical practice is a target for quality improvement in health care, but there is no consensus on how to identify such variation or to assess the potential value of initiatives to improve quality in these areas. This study illustrates the use of a triple test, namely the comparative analysis of processes of care, costs and outcomes, to identify and assess the burden of unwarranted variation in clinical practice. Methods: Routinely collected hospital and mortality data were linked for patients presenting with symptoms suggestive of acute coronary syndromes at the emergency departments of four public hospitals in South Australia. Multiple regression models analysed variation in re-admissions and mortality at 30 days and 12 months, patient costs and multiple process indicators. Results: After casemix adjustment, an outlier hospital with statistically significantly poorer outcomes and higher costs was identified. Key process indicators included admission patterns, use of invasive diagnostic procedures and length of stay. Performance varied according to patients’ presenting characteristics and time of presentation. Conclusions: The joint analysis of processes, outcomes and costs as alternative measures of performance inform the importance of reducing variation in clinical practice, as well as identifying specific targets for quality improvement along clinical pathways. Such analyses could be undertaken across a wide range of clinical areas to inform the potential value and prioritisation of quality improvement initiatives.Andrew Partington, Derek P. Chew, David Ben-Tovim, Matthew Horsfall, Paul Hakendorf and Jonathan Karno
Ground-state van der Waals forces in planar multilayer magnetodielectrics
Within the frame of lowest-order perturbation theory, the van der Waals
potential of a ground-state atom placed within an arbitrary dispersing and
absorbing magnetodielectric multilayer system is given. Examples of an atom
situated in front of a magnetodielectric plate or between two such plates are
studied in detail. Special emphasis is placed on the competing attractive and
repulsive force components associated with the electric and magnetic matter
properties, respectively, and conditions for the formation of repulsive
potential walls are given. Both numerical and analytical results are presented.Comment: 16 pages, 8 figures, minor correction
Dispersive forces on bodies and atoms: a unified approach
A unified approach to the calculation of dispersive forces on ground-state
bodies and atoms is given. It is based on the ground-state Lorentz force
density acting on the charge and current densities attributed to the
polarization and magnetization in linearly, locally, and causally responding
media. The theory is applied to dielectric macro- and micro-objects, including
single atoms. Existing formulas valid for weakly polarizable matter are
generalized to allow also for strongly polarizable matter. In particular when
micro-objects can be regarded as single atoms, well-known formulas for the
Casimir-Polder force on atoms and the van der Waals interaction between atoms
are recovered. It is shown that the force acting on medium atoms--in contrast
to isolated atoms--is in general screened by the other medium atoms.Comment: 10 pages, 2 embedded figure
\pi N scattering in relativistic baryon chiral perturbation theory revisited
We have analyzed pion-nucleon scattering using the manifestly relativistic
covariant framework of Infrared Regularization up to {\cal O}(q^3) in the
chiral expansion, where q is a generic small momentum. We describe the
low-energy phase shifts with a similar quality as previously achieved with
Heavy Baryon Chiral Perturbation Theory, \sqrt{s}\lesssim1.14 GeV. New values
are provided for the {\cal O}(q^2) and {\cal O}(q^3) low-energy constants,
which are compared with previous determinations. This is also the case for the
scattering lengths and volumes. Finally, we have unitarized the previous
amplitudes and as a result the energy range where data are reproduced increases
significantly.Comment: 26 pages, 5 figures, 5 table
Slow wave resonance in periodic stacks of anisotropic layers
We consider transmission band edge resonance in periodic layered structures
involving birefringent layers. Previously we have shown that the presence of
birefringent layers with misaligned in-plane anisotropy can dramatically
enhance the performance of the photonic-crystal Fabry-Perot resonator. It
allows to reduce its size by an order of magnitude without compromising on its
performance. The key characteristic of the enhanced photonic-crystal cavity is
that its Bloch dispersion relation displays a degenerate photonic band edge,
rather than only regular ones. This can be realized in specially arranged
stacks of misaligned anisotropic layers. On the down side, the presence of
birefringent layers results in the Fabry-Perot resonance being coupled only
with one (elliptic) polarization component of the incident wave, while the
other polarization component is reflected back to space. In this paper we show
how a small modification of the periodic layered array can solve the above
fundamental problem and provide a perfect impedance match regardless of the
incident wave polarization, while preserving the giant transmission resonance,
characteristic of a degenerate photonic band edge. Both features are of
critical importance for a variety of practical applications, including
antennas, light amplification, optical and microwave filters, etc.Comment: To be submitted to Phys. Rev.
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