B_c meson spectrum and hyperfine splittings in theshifted large-N-expansion technique

In the framework of potential models for heavy quarkonium, we compute the mass spectrum of the bottom-charmed $B_{c}$ meson system and spin-dependent splittings from the Schr\"{o}dinger equation using the shifted-large-N expansion technique. The masses of the lightest vector $B_{c}^{+}$ and pseudoscalar $B_{c}$ states as well as the higher states below the threshold are estimated. Our predicted result for the ground state energy is $6253_{-6}^{+15}$ $MeV$ and are generally in exact agreement with earlier calculations. Calculations of the Schr\"{o}dinger energy eigenvalues are carried out up to third order of the energy series. The parameters of each potential are adjusted to obtain best agreement with the experimental spin-averaged data (SAD). Our findings are compared with the observed data and with the numerical results obtained by other numerical methods.Comment: 28 pages, Late

Quantum Mechanical Treatment of the Problem of Constraints in Nonextensive Formalism Revisited

The purity of Werner state in nonextensive formalism associated with two different constraints has been calculated in a previous paper by G. B. Bagci et al. [G. B. Bagci et al., Int. J. Mod. Phys. 20, 2085 (2006)]. Two different results have been obtained corresponding to ordinary probability and escort probability whereas the former has been shown to result in negative values thereby leading authors to deduce the advantage of escort probabilities over ordinary probabilities. However, this results have been only for a limited interval of q values which lie between 0 and 1. In this paper, we solve the same problem for all values of nonextensive index q by using a perturbative approach and show that the simultaneous use of both types of constraint is necessary in order to obtain the solution for whole spectrum of nonextensive index. In this sense, the existence of these different constraints in nonextensive formalism must not be seen as a deficiency in the formalism but rather must be welcomed as a means of providing solution for all values of parameter q.Comment: 7 page

Effective-Mass Dirac Equation for Woods-Saxon Potential: Scattering, Bound States and Resonances

Approximate scattering and bound state solutions of the one-dimensional effective-mass Dirac equation with the Woods-Saxon potential are obtained in terms of the hypergeometric-type functions. Transmission and reflection coefficients are calculated by using behavior of the wave functions at infinity. The same analysis is done for the constant mass case. It is also pointed out that our results are in agreement with those obtained in literature. Meanwhile, an analytic expression is obtained for the transmission resonance and observed that the expressions for bound states and resonances are equal for the energy values $E=\pm m$.Comment: 20 pages, 6 figure

ASCORE: an up-to-date cardiovascular risk score for hypertensive patients reflecting contemporary clinical practice developed using the (ASCOT-BPLA) trial data.

A number of risk scores already exist to predict cardiovascular (CV) events. However, scores developed with data collected some time ago might not accurately predict the CV risk of contemporary hypertensive patients that benefit from more modern treatments and management. Using data from the randomised clinical trial Anglo-Scandinavian Cardiac Outcomes Trial-BPLA, with 15 955 hypertensive patients without previous CV disease receiving contemporary preventive CV management, we developed a new risk score predicting the 5-year risk of a first CV event (CV death, myocardial infarction or stroke). Cox proportional hazard models were used to develop a risk equation from baseline predictors. The final risk model (ASCORE) included age, sex, smoking, diabetes, previous blood pressure (BP) treatment, systolic BP, total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, fasting glucose and creatinine baseline variables. A simplified model (ASCORE-S) excluding laboratory variables was also derived. Both models showed very good internal validity. User-friendly integer score tables are reported for both models. Applying the latest Framingham risk score to our data significantly overpredicted the observed 5-year risk of the composite CV outcome. We conclude that risk scores derived using older databases (such as Framingham) may overestimate the CV risk of patients receiving current BP treatments; therefore, 'updated' risk scores are needed for current patients

Investigation of fatigue damage growth and self-heating behaviour of cross-ply laminates using simulation-driven dynamic test

Structural integrity of aerospace assets is paramount for both the safety and economy of aviation industry. The introduction of composites into the design of aero-structures generated several economic benefits but also led to several challenges, including fatigue damage growth and self-heating behaviour. Fatigue of metals is widely managed by calculations of damage accumulation and prediction of residual life. These techniques do not always apply to the fatigue of composites, where the onset and propagation of damage are still under investigation. Furthermore, vibration-induced fatigue is even less understood because of a handful of failure criteria available and, also, because it is biased by the self-heating conditions of the material itself. The authors have underpinned one failure criterion for vibration fatigue and mapped that against self-heating and environmental temperatures. Despite the advances, several research questions were left open because of the complex multiphysics behaviour of fatigue which outreached the experimental capacity. Therefore, this research suggests a Simulation-Driven Dynamic Test (SDDT) framework that deconstructs vibration fatigue experiments into step-wise steady-state analyses. This novel approach will enable (a) investigating the failure mode mixity of the underlying failure criterion, and (b) simulating the surface temperature during the delamination growth under vibration conditions.</p