6,119 research outputs found
The superficial brachial artery : a case report
A superficial brachial artery is an anomalous branch of the brachial artery that runs superficial to the median nerve; it is usually associated with a deep brachial branch that runs deep to this nerve. A case is described of a superficial brachial artery. It is of the type where the artery terminates in the cubital fossa by division into radial and ulnar arteries. It is associated with a superficial ulnar artery, and a deep brachial artery that is continued into the forearm as the common interosseous artery, a rare occurrence. The clinical importance and the dangers of this vascular anomaly are discussed. In reparative surgery, an accurate knowledge of the relationship, course and particularly the possible variations of the brachial artery is of considerable importance.peer-reviewe
Quench protection analysis in accelerator magnets, a review of the tools
As accelerator magnets see the increase of their magnetic field and stored
energy, quench protection becomes a critical part of the magnet design. Due to
the complexity of the quench phenomenon interweaving magnetic, electrical and
thermal analysis, the use of numerical codes is a key component of the process.
In that respect, we propose here a review of several tools commonly used in the
magnet design community.Comment: 4 pages, Contribution to WAMSDO 2013: Workshop on Accelerator Magnet,
Superconductor, Design and Optimization; 15 - 16 Jan 2013, CERN, Geneva,
Switzerlan
G-quartet biomolecular nanowires
We present a first-principle investigation of quadruple helix nanowires,
consisting of stacked planar hydrogen-bonded guanine tetramers. Our results
show that long wires form and are stable in potassium-rich conditions. We
present their electronic bandstructure and discuss the interpretation in terms
of effective wide-bandgap semiconductors. The microscopic structural and
electronic properties of the guanine quadruple helices make them suitable
candidates for molecular nanoelectronics.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, to be published in Applied Physics Letters (2002
Factors invoved in onset and recovery from postnatal depression
Background: A wide variety of psychosocial variables have been implicated in the onset and recovery from postnatal depression. A number of these factors were examined on a representative sample of pregnant Maltese women attending St Luke's Hospital. Method: A random sample of 239 pregnant women were interviewed at booking using a detailed sociodemographic history, the Revised Version of the Clinical Interview Schedule (CIS-R) and Maltese translation of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). The CIS-R was again administered over the phone at 36 weeks and the EPDS sent by post. At eight weeks postpartum, the CIS-R, modified version of the Social Maladjustment Schedule and the EPDS were again administered to 95.8% of women. Results: Onset of depression in the postpartum was not predicted by depressive symptomatology during pregnancy, marital status, level of education, planning of pregnancy, woman's, partner's or family's reaction to pregnancy and marital adjustment. However being primiparous and employed during pregnancy were significantly associated with postnatal depression. In contrast, depressed women who remained depressed postnatally had a past personal psychiatry history and significantly higher scores on the CISR recorded at 36 weeks gestation. Limitation: The number of women examined in the study yielded a small number of depressed women, for which the results are limited in value. The sample is that of Maltese women booking in at the antenatal clinic, thus excluding women who present late, close to delivery date. The follow up period was limited to eight weeks postpartum only, excluding those who develop depressive episodes after 8 weeks. Conclusions: Some cases of postpartum depression may be traced back to pregnancy while others do not seem to be predictable during pregnancy further contributing evidence to the view that the prenatal period may be a separate entity from the postnatal period with regards to depressive illness.peer-reviewe
Observational Bounds on Modified Gravity Models
Modified gravity provides a possible explanation for the currently observed
cosmic accelaration. In this paper, we study general classes of modified
gravity models. The Einstein-Hilbert action is modified by using general
functions of the Ricci and the Gauss-Bonnet scalars, both in the metric and in
the Palatini formalisms. We do not use an explicit form for the functions, but
a general form with a valid Taylor expansion up to second order about redshift
zero in the Riemann-scalars. The coefficients of this expansion are then
reconstructed via the cosmic expansion history measured using current
cosmological observations. These are the quantities of interest for theoretical
considerations relating to ghosts and instabilities. We find that current data
provide interesting constraints on the coefficients. The next-generation dark
energy surveys should shrink the allowed parameter space for modifed gravity
models quite dramatically.Comment: 23 pages, 5 figures, uses RevTe
Neutron stars in generalized f(R) gravity
Quartic gravity theory is considered with the Einstein-Hilbert Lagrangean
being Ricci\'s tensor and R
the curvature scalar. The parameters and are taken of order 1 km
Arguments are given which suggest that the effective theory so obtained may be
a plausible approximation of a viable theory. A numerical integration is
performed of the field equations for a free neutron gas. As in the standard
Oppenheimer-Volkoff calculation the star mass increases with increasing central
density until about 1 solar mass and then decreases. However a dramatic
difference exists in the behaviour of the baryon number, which increases
monotonically. The calculation suggests that the theory allows stars in
equilibrium with arbitrary baryon number, no matter how large.Comment: Keywords: stars, neutron stars; gravity; modified gravity Accepted in
Astrophysics and Space Scienc
Modulation of galactic protons in the heliosphere during the unusual solar minimum of 2006 to 2009
The last solar minimum activity period, and the consequent minimum modulation
conditions for cosmic rays, was unusual. The highest levels of galactic protons
were recorded at Earth in late 2009 in contrast to expectations. Proton spectra
observed for 2006 to 2009 from the PAMELA cosmic ray detector on-board the
Resurs-DK1 satellite are presented together with the solutions of a
comprehensive numerical model for the solar modulation of cosmic rays. The
model is used to determine what mechanisms were mainly responsible for the
modulation of protons during this period, and why the observed spectrum for
2009 was the highest ever recorded. From mid-2006 until December 2009 we find
that the spectra became significantly softer because increasingly more low
energy protons had reached Earth. To simulate this effect, the rigidity
dependence of the diffusion coefficients had to decrease significantly below ~3
GeV. The modulation minimum period of 2009 can thus be described as relatively
more "diffusion dominated" than previous solar minima. However, we illustrate
that drifts still had played a significant role but that the observable
modulation effects were not as well correlated with the waviness of the
heliospheric current sheet as before. Protons still experienced global gradient
and curvature drifts as the heliospheric magnetic field had decreased
significantly until the end of 2009, in contrast to the moderate decreases
observed during previous minimum periods. We conclude that all modulation
processes contributed to the observed increases in the proton spectra for this
period, exhibiting an intriguing interplay of these major mechanisms
Variational approach to gravitational theories with two independent connections
A new variational approach for general relativity and modified theories of
gravity is presented. In addition to the metric tensor, two independent affine
connections enter the action as dynamical variables. In the matter action the
dependence upon one of the connections is left completely unspecified. When the
variation is applied to the Einstein-Hilbert action the Einstein field
equations are recovered. However when applied to and Scalar-Tensor
theories, it yields gravitational field equations which differ from their
equivalents obtained with a metric or Palatini variation and reduce to the
former ones only when no connections appear in the matter action.Comment: 11 pages, no figure
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