1,498 research outputs found
Scaling in the Lattice Gas Model
A good quality scaling of the cluster size distributions is obtained for the
Lattice Gas Model using the Fisher's ansatz for the scaling function. This
scaling identifies a pseudo-critical line in the phase diagram of the model
that spans the whole (subcritical to supercritical) density range. The
independent cluster hypothesis of the Fisher approach is shown to describe
correctly the thermodynamics of the lattice only far away from the critical
point.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
The Upper Extremity Functional Index (UEFI). Cross-cultural adaptation, reliability, and validity of the italian version
SUMMARY
Introduction. The Italian version of the Upper Extremity Functional Index (UEFI) may
help assess shoulder function in patients with shoulder problems, especially athletes.
Objective. Translate and cross-culturally adapt UEFI into Italian; verify
UEFI validity and reliability in professional and amateur athletes
with upper limb musculoskeletal disorders, shoulder, in particular.
Methods. This study was conducted with 150 participants with musculoskeletal
disorders of the upper limb. UEFI, the short version of the Disability of the
Arm, Shoulder and Hand scale (Quick DASH), the Shoulder Pain and Disability
Index, and the Short Form-36 Health Survey (SF-36) were administered.
Acceptability was assessed in terms of refusal rate, rates of missing responses,
and administration time; test-retest reliability was assessed with intraclass
correlation coefficient (ICC); internal consistency was assessed with Cronbachâs
alpha coefficient, and validity was assessed by Pearsonâs correlation coefficients.
Results. Cronbachâs alpha coefficients for the UEFI on test and retest were
α = 0.979 and α = 0.985, respectively. The average measure ICC was 0.917.
The UEFI score demonstrated strong negative correlations with SPADI
total score (-0.636), Quick DASH score (-0.685), and SF-36 score (-0.327).
Conclusions. The Italian version of UEFI is acceptable, valid, and reliable
Isotopic composition of fragments in multifragmentation of very large nuclear systems: effects of the chemical equilibrium
Studies on the isospin of fragments resulting from the disassembly of highly
excited large thermal-like nuclear emitting sources, formed in the ^{197}Au +
^{197}Au reaction at 35 MeV/nucleon beam energy, are presented. Two different
decay systems (the quasiprojectile formed in midperipheral reactions and the
unique source coming from the incomplete fusion of projectile and target in the
most central collisions) were considered; these emitting sources have the same
initial N/Z ratio and excitation energy (E^* ~= 5--6 MeV/nucleon), but
different size. Their charge yields and isotopic content of the fragments show
different distributions. It is observed that the neutron content of
intermediate mass fragments increases with the size of the source. These
evidences are consistent with chemical equilibrium reached in the systems. This
fact is confirmed by the analysis with the statistical multifragmentation
model.Comment: 9 pages, 4 ps figure
Effects of surface modifications on molecular diffusion in mesoporous catalytic materials
In this work, we use pulsed-field gradient (PFG) NMR to probe molecular diffusion of liquids inside
mesoporous structures and assess the influence of surface modifications, namely, deposition of
palladium (Pd) nanoparticles over alumina (Al2O3) surfaces and passivation of titania (TiO2) surfaces
with alkyl chains, on the diffusion pattern
Goodness-of-fit tests of Gaussianity: constraints on the cumulants of the MAXIMA data
In this work, goodness-of-fit tests are adapted and applied to CMB maps to
detect possible non-Gaussianity. We use Shapiro-Francia test and two Smooth
goodness-of-fit tests: one developed by Rayner and Best and another one
developed by Thomas and Pierce. The Smooth tests test small and smooth
deviations of a prefixed probability function (in our case this is the
univariate Gaussian). Also, the Rayner and Best test informs us of the kind of
non-Gaussianity we have: excess of skewness, of kurtosis, and so on. These
tests are optimal when the data are independent. We simulate and analyse
non-Gaussian signals in order to study the power of these tests. These
non-Gaussian simulations are constructed using the Edgeworth expansion, and
assuming pixel-to-pixel independence. As an application, we test the
Gaussianity of the MAXIMA data. Results indicate that the MAXIMA data are
compatible with Gaussianity. Finally, the values of the skewness and kurtosis
of MAXIMA data are constrained by |S| \le 0.035 and |K| \le 0.036 at the 99%
confidence level.Comment: New Astronomy Reviews, in pres
Fixed-point elimination in the intuitionistic propositional calculus
It is a consequence of existing literature that least and greatest
fixed-points of monotone polynomials on Heyting algebras-that is, the algebraic
models of the Intuitionistic Propositional Calculus-always exist, even when
these algebras are not complete as lattices. The reason is that these extremal
fixed-points are definable by formulas of the IPC. Consequently, the
-calculus based on intuitionistic logic is trivial, every -formula
being equivalent to a fixed-point free formula. We give in this paper an
axiomatization of least and greatest fixed-points of formulas, and an algorithm
to compute a fixed-point free formula equivalent to a given -formula. The
axiomatization of the greatest fixed-point is simple. The axiomatization of the
least fixed-point is more complex, in particular every monotone formula
converges to its least fixed-point by Kleene's iteration in a finite number of
steps, but there is no uniform upper bound on the number of iterations. We
extract, out of the algorithm, upper bounds for such n, depending on the size
of the formula. For some formulas, we show that these upper bounds are
polynomial and optimal
Transient backbending behavior in the Ising model with fixed magnetization
The physical origin of the backbendings in the equations of state of finite
but not necessarily small systems is studied in the Ising model with fixed
magnetization (IMFM) by means of the topological properties of the observable
distributions and the analysis of the largest cluster with increasing lattice
size. Looking at the convexity anomalies of the IMFM thermodynamic potential,
it is shown that the order of the transition at the thermodynamic limit can be
recognized in finite systems independently of the lattice size. General
statistical mechanics arguments and analytical calculations suggest that the
backbending in the caloric curve is a transient behaviour which should not
converge to a plateau in the thermodynamic limit, while the first order
transition is signalled by a discontinuity in other observables.Comment: 24 pages, 11 figure
Topology of event distribution as a generalized definition of phase transitions in finite systems
We propose a definition of phase transitions in finite systems based on
topology anomalies of the event distribution in the space of observations. This
generalizes all the definitions based on the curvature anomalies of
thermodynamical potentials and provides a natural definition of order
parameters. The proposed definition is directly operational from the
experimental point of view. It allows to study phase transitions in Gibbs
equilibria as well as in other ensembles such as the Tsallis ensemble.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
Secondary consent to biospecimen use in a prostate cancer biorepository
BACKGROUND: Biorepository research has substantial societal benefits. This is one of the few studies to focus on male willingness to allow future research use of biospecimens. METHODS: This study analyzed the future research consent questions from a prostate cancer biorepository study (N = 1931). The consent form asked two questions regarding use of samples in future studies (1) without and (2) with protected health information (PHI). Yes to both questions of use of samples was categorized as Yes-Always; Yes to without and No to with PHI was categorized as Yes-Conditional; No to without PHI was categorized as Never. We analyzed this outcome to determine significant predictors for consent to Yes-Always vs. Yes-Conditional. RESULTS: 99.33 % consented to future use of samples; 88.19 % consented to future use without PHI, and among those men 10.2 % consented to future use with PHI. Comparing Yes Always and Yes Conditional responses, bivariate analyses showed that race, family history, stage of cancer, and grade of cancer (Gleason), were significant at the α = 0.05 level. Using stepwise multivariable logistic regression, we found that AfricanâAmerican men were significantly more likely to respond Yes Always when compared to White men (p < 0.001). Those with a family history of prostate cancer were significantly more likely to respond Yes Always (p = 0.002). CONCLUSIONS: There is general willingness to consent to future use of specimens without PHI among men
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