9,779 research outputs found
On the dependence of the leak-rate of seals on the skewness of the surface height probability distribution
Seals are extremely useful devices to prevent fluid leakage. We present
experimental result which show that the leak-rate of seals depend sensitively
on the skewness in the height probability distribution. The experimental data
are analyzed using the critical-junction theory. We show that using the
top-power spectrum result in good agreement between theory and experiment.Comment: 5 pages, 9 figure
The role of General Relativity in the evolution of Low Mass X-ray Binaries
We study the evolution of Low Mass X-ray Binaries (LMXBs) and of millisecond
binary radio pulsars (MSPs), with numerical simulations that keep into account
the evolution of the companion, of the binary system and of the neutron star.
According to general relativity, when energy is released, the system loses
gravitational mass. Moreover, the neutron star can collapse to a black hole if
its mass exceeds a critical limit, that depends on the equation of state. These
facts have some interesting consequences: 1) In a MSP the mass-energy is lost
with a specific angular momentum that is smaller than the one of the system,
resulting in a positive contribution to the orbital period derivative. If this
contribution is dominant and can be measured, we can extract information about
the moment of inertia of the neutron star, since the energy loss rate depends
on it. Such a measurement can therefore help to put constraints on the equation
of state of ultradense matter. 2) In LMXBs below the bifurcation period (\sim
18 h), the neutron star survives the period gap only if its mass is smaller
than the maximum non-rotating mass when the companion becomes fully convective
and accretion pauses. Therefore short period (P < 2h) millisecond X-ray pulsar
like SAX J1808.4-3658 can be formed only if either a large part of the
accreting matter has been ejected from the system, or the equation of state of
ultradense matter is very stiff. 3) In Low Mass X-ray binaries above the
bifurcation period, the mass-energy loss lowers the mass transfer rate. As side
effect, the inner core of the companion star becomes 1% bigger than in a system
with a non-collapsed primary. Due to this difference, the final orbital period
of the system becomes 20% larger than what is obtained if the mass-energy loss
effect is not taken into account.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, accepted by the MNRA
Infrared behaviour and fixed points in Landau gauge QCD
We investigate the infrared behaviour of gluon and ghost propagators in
Landau gauge QCD by means of an exact renormalisation group equation. We
explain how, in general, the infrared momentum structure of Green functions can
be extracted within this approach. An optimisation procedure is devised to
remove residual regulator dependences. In Landau gauge QCD this framework is
used to determine the infrared leading terms of the propagators. The results
support the Kugo-Ojima confinement scenario. Possible extensions are discussed.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figur
Hyperextended Scalar-Tensor Gravity
We study a general Scalar-Tensor Theory with an arbitrary coupling funtion
but also an arbitrary dependence of the ``gravitational
constant'' in the cases in which either one of them, or both, do not
admit an analytical inverse, as in the hyperextended inflationary scenario. We
present the full set of field equations and study their cosmological behavior.
We show that different scalar-tensor theories can be grouped in classes with
the same solution for the scalar field.Comment: latex file, To appear in Physical Review
Quantitative Physicochemical Analysis of Acid-Base Balance and Clinical Utility of Anion Gap and Strong Ion Gap in 806 Neonatal Calves with Diarrhea
BackgroundAcid-base abnormalities in neonatal diarrheic calves can be assessed by using the Henderson-Hasselbalch equation or the simplified strong ion approach which use the anion gap (AG) or the strong ion gap (SIG) to quantify the concentration of unmeasured strong anions such as d-lactate. Hypothesis/ObjectivesTo determine and compare the clinical utility of AG and SIG in quantifying the unmeasured strong anion charge in neonatal diarrheic calves, and to examine the associations between biochemical findings and acid-base variables by using the simplified strong ion approach. We hypothesized that the SIG provides a more accurate prediction of unmeasured strong anions than the AG. AnimalsEight hundred and six neonatal diarrheic calves admitted to a veterinary teaching hospital. MethodsRetrospective study utilizing clinicopathologic findings extracted from medical records. ResultsHyperphosphatemia was an important predictor of venous blood pH. Serum inorganic phosphorus and plasma d-lactate concentrations accounted for 58% of the variation in venous blood pH and 77% of the variation in AG and SIG. Plasma d- and total lactate concentrations were slightly better correlated with SIG (r(s)=-0.69;-0.78) than to AG (r(s)=0.63;0.74). Conclusions and Clinical ImportanceStrong ion gap is slightly better at quantifying the unmeasured strong anion concentration in neonatal diarrheic calves than AG. Phosphorus concentrations should be included as part of the calculation of A(tot) when applying the simplified strong ion approach to acid-base balance to critically ill animals with hyperphosphatemia
Detection of Cherenkov light from air showers with Geiger-APDs
We have detected Cherenkov light from air showers with Geiger-mode APDs
(G-APDs). G-APDs are novel semiconductor photon-detectors, which offer several
advantages compared to conventional photomultiplier tubes in the field of
ground-based gamma-ray astronomy. In a field test with the MAGIC telescope we
have tested the efficiency of a G-APD / light catcher setup to detect Cherenkov
light from air showers. We estimate a detection efficiency, which is 60% higher
than the efficiency of a MAGIC camera pixel. Ambient temperature dark count
rates of the tested G-APDs are below the rates of the night sky light
background. According to these recent tests G-APDs promise a major progress in
ground-based gamma-ray astronomy.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures, to appear in the proceedings of the 30th
International Cosmic Ray Conference, Merida, July 200
Quantitative Physicochemical Analysis of Acid-Base Balance and Clinical Utility of Anion Gap and Strong Ion Gap in 806 Neonatal Calves with Diarrhea
BackgroundAcid-base abnormalities in neonatal diarrheic calves can be assessed by using the Henderson-Hasselbalch equation or the simplified strong ion approach which use the anion gap (AG) or the strong ion gap (SIG) to quantify the concentration of unmeasured strong anions such as d-lactate. Hypothesis/ObjectivesTo determine and compare the clinical utility of AG and SIG in quantifying the unmeasured strong anion charge in neonatal diarrheic calves, and to examine the associations between biochemical findings and acid-base variables by using the simplified strong ion approach. We hypothesized that the SIG provides a more accurate prediction of unmeasured strong anions than the AG. AnimalsEight hundred and six neonatal diarrheic calves admitted to a veterinary teaching hospital. MethodsRetrospective study utilizing clinicopathologic findings extracted from medical records. ResultsHyperphosphatemia was an important predictor of venous blood pH. Serum inorganic phosphorus and plasma d-lactate concentrations accounted for 58% of the variation in venous blood pH and 77% of the variation in AG and SIG. Plasma d- and total lactate concentrations were slightly better correlated with SIG (r(s)=-0.69;-0.78) than to AG (r(s)=0.63;0.74). Conclusions and Clinical ImportanceStrong ion gap is slightly better at quantifying the unmeasured strong anion concentration in neonatal diarrheic calves than AG. Phosphorus concentrations should be included as part of the calculation of A(tot) when applying the simplified strong ion approach to acid-base balance to critically ill animals with hyperphosphatemia
Some exact non-vacuum Bianchi VI0 and VII0 instantons
We report some new exact instantons in general relativity. These solutions
are K\"ahler and fall into the symmetry classes of Bianchi types VI0 and VII0,
with matter content of a stiff fluid. The qualitative behaviour of the
solutions is presented, and we compare it to the known results of the
corresponding self-dual Bianchi solutions. We also give axisymmetric Bianchi
VII0 solutions with an electromagnetic field.Comment: latex, 15 pages with 3 eps figure
Magnetoelastic coupling in RETiO3 (RE = La, Nd, Sm, Gd, Y)
A detailed analysis of the crystal structure in RETiO3 with RE = La, Nd, Sm,
Gd, and Y reveals an intrinsic coupling between orbital degrees of freedom and
the lattice which cannot be fully attributed to the structural deformation
arising from bond-length mismatch. The TiO6 octahedra in this series are all
irregular with the shape of the distortion depending on the RE ionic radius.
These octahedron distortions vary more strongly with temperature than the tilt
and rotation angles. Around the Ti magnetic ordering all compounds exhibit
strong anomalies in the thermal-expansion coefficients, these anomalies exhibit
opposite signs for the antiferromagnetic and ferromagnetic compounds.
Furthermore the strongest effects are observed in the materials close to the
magnetic cross-over from antiferromagnetic to ferromagnetic order
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