Rotating Boson Stars and Q-Balls

We consider axially symmetric, rotating boson stars. Their flat space limits represent spinning Q-balls. We discuss their properties and determine their domain of existence. Q-balls and boson stars are stationary solutions and exist only in a limited frequency range. The coupling to gravity gives rise to a spiral-like frequency dependence of the boson stars. We address the flat space limit and the limit of strong gravitational coupling. For comparison we also determine the properties of spherically symmetric Q-balls and boson stars.Comment: 22 pages, 18 figure

Numerical Solutions of Matrix Differential Models using Cubic Matrix Splines II

This paper presents the non-linear generalization of a previous work on matrix differential models. It focusses on the construction of approximate solutions of first-order matrix differential equations Y'(x)=f(x,Y(x)) using matrix-cubic splines. An estimation of the approximation error, an algorithm for its implementation and illustrative examples for Sylvester and Riccati matrix differential equations are given.Comment: 14 pages; submitted to Math. Comp. Modellin

AdS5_5 rotating non-Abelian black holes

We present arguments for the existence of charged, rotating black holes with equal magnitude angular momenta in $d=5$ Einstein-Yang-Mills theory with negative cosmological constant. These solutions posses a regular horizon of spherical topology and approach asymptotically the Anti-de Sitter spacetime background. The black hole solutions have also an electric charge and a nonvanishing magnetic flux through the sphere at infinity. Different from the static case, no regular solution with a nonvanishing angular momenta is found for a vanishing event horizon radius.Comment: 14 pages, 7 figure

Duplex Guided Balloon Angioplasty of Failing Infrainguinal Bypass Grafts

AbstractObjectiveTo assess the results of angioplasty and stent placement under duplex guidance for failing grafts.MethodsOver 22 months, 25 patients (72% males) with a mean age of 74±10 years presented to our institution with a failing infrainguinal bypass. The site of the most significant stenotic lesion was in the inflow in four cases, conduit in 18 cases and at the outflow in 11 cases. All arterial (20) or graft (13) entry sites cannulations were performed under direct duplex visualization. Duplex scanning was the sole imaging modality used to manipulate the guide wire and directional catheters from the ipsilateral CFA to a site beyond the most distal stenotic lesion. Selection and placement of balloons and stents were also guided by duplex. In 11 cases (33%), the contralateral CFA was used as the entry site and a standard approach (fluoroscopy and contrast material) was employed. Completion duplex exams were obtained in all cases.ResultsThe overall technical success was 97% (32/33 cases). In only one case, the outflow stenotic lesion in the plantar artery could not be traversed with the guidewire due to extreme tortuosity. Overall local complications rate was 6% (two cases). One vein bypass pseudoaneurysm caused by rupture with a cutting balloon was repaired by patch angioplasty and one SFA pseudoaneurysm at the puncture site required open repair. Overall 30-day survival rate was 100%. Overall 6-month limb salvage and primary patency rates were 100 and 69%, respectively.ConclusionsDuplex guided endovascular therapy is an effective modality for the treatment of failing infrainguinal arterial bypasses

Symmetry breaking in (gravitating) scalar field models describing interacting boson stars and Q-balls

We investigate the properties of interacting Q-balls and boson stars that sit on top of each other in great detail. The model that describes these solutions is essentially a (gravitating) two-scalar field model where both scalar fields are complex. We construct interacting Q-balls or boson stars with arbitrarily small charges but finite mass. We observe that in the interacting case - where the interaction can be either due to the potential or due to gravity - two types of solutions exist for equal frequencies: one for which the two scalar fields are equal, but also one for which the two scalar fields differ. This constitutes a symmetry breaking in the model. While for Q-balls asymmetric solutions have always corresponding symmetric solutions and are thus likely unstable to decay to symmetric solutions with lower energy, there exists a parameter regime for interacting boson stars, where only asymmetric solutions exist. We present the domain of existence for two interacting non-rotating solutions as well as for solutions describing the interaction between rotating and non-rotating Q-balls and boson stars, respectively.Comment: 33 pages including 21 figures; v2: version considerably extended: 6 new figures added, equations of motion added, discussion on varying gravitational coupling added, references adde

Gravitating Semilocal strings

We discuss the properties of semilocal strings minimally coupled to gravity. Semilocal strings are solutions of the bosonic sector of the Standard Model in the limit $\sin^2\theta_W=1$ (where $\theta_W$ is the Weinberg angle) and correspond to embedded Abelian-Higgs strings for a particular choice of the scalar doublet. We focus on the limit where the gauge boson mass is equal to the Higgs boson mass such that the solutions fulfill the Bogomolnyi-Prasad-Sommerfield (BPS) bound.Comment: Contribution to the Proceedings of the Spanish Relativity Meeting (ERE) 2009, Bilbao, Spai

Methodological issues in assessing changes in costs pre- and post-medication switch: a schizophrenia study example

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Schizophrenia is a severe, chronic, and costly illness that adversely impacts patients' lives and health care payer budgets. Cost comparisons of treatment regimens are, therefore, important to health care payers and researchers. Pre-Post analyses ("mirror-image"), where outcomes prior to a medication switch are compared to outcomes post-switch, are commonly used in such research. However, medication changes often occur during a costly crisis event. Patients may relapse, be hospitalized, have a medication change, and then spend a period of time with intense use of costly resources (post-medication switch). While many advantages and disadvantages of Pre-Post methodology have been discussed, issues regarding the attributability of costs incurred around the time of medication switching have not been fully investigated.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Medical resource use data, including medications and acute-care services (hospitalizations, partial hospitalizations, emergency department) were collected for patients with schizophrenia who switched antipsychotics (n = 105) during a 1-year randomized, naturalistic, antipsychotic cost-effectiveness schizophrenia trial. Within-patient changes in total costs per day were computed during the pre- and post-medication change periods. In addition to the standard Pre-Post analysis comparing costs pre- and post-medication change, we investigated the sensitivity of results to varying assumptions regarding the attributability of acute care service costs occurring just after a medication switch that were likely due to initial medication failure.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Fifty-six percent of all costs incurred during the first week on the newly initiated antipsychotic were likely due to treatment failure with the previous antipsychotic. Standard analyses suggested an average increase in cost-per-day for each patient of $2.40 after switching medications. However, sensitivity analyses removing costs incurred post-switch that were potentially due to the failure of the initial medication suggested decreases in costs in the range of$4.77 to $9.69 per day post-switch.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Pre-Post cost analyses are sensitive to the approach used to handle acute-service costs occurring just after a medication change. Given the importance of quality economic research on the cost of switching treatments, thorough sensitivity analyses should be performed to identify the impact of crisis events around the time of medication change.</p

dendPoint: a web resource for dendrimer pharmacokinetics investigation and prediction

Abstract: Nanomedicine development currently suffers from a lack of efficient tools to predict pharmacokinetic behavior without relying upon testing in large numbers of animals, impacting success rates and development costs. This work presents dendPoint, the first in silico model to predict the intravenous pharmacokinetics of dendrimers, a commonly explored drug vector, based on physicochemical properties. We have manually curated the largest relational database of dendrimer pharmacokinetic parameters and their structural/physicochemical properties. This was used to develop a machine learning-based model capable of accurately predicting pharmacokinetic parameters, including half-life, clearance, volume of distribution and dose recovered in the liver and urine. dendPoint successfully predicts dendrimer pharmacokinetic properties, achieving correlations of up to r = 0.83 and Q2 up to 0.68. dendPoint is freely available as a user-friendly web-service and database at http://biosig.unimelb.edu.au/dendpoint. This platform is ultimately expected to be used to guide dendrimer construct design and refinement prior to embarking on more time consuming and expensive in vivo testing

Charged-Rotating Black Holes in Higher-dimensional (A)DS-Gravity

We present numerical evidences for the existence of rotating black hole solutions in d-dimensional Einstein-Maxwell theory with a cosmological constant and for $d$ odd. The metric used possesses $(d+1)/2$ Killing vectors and the solutions have $(d-1)/2$ equal angular momenta. A Schwarschild-type coordinate is used for the radial variable and both signs of the cosmological constant are emphasized. Several properties of the solutions are studied, namely their surface gravity, mass and angular momentum as functions of two parameters: the magnetic field and the angular velocity at the horizon. The influence of the electromagnetic field on the domain of existence of the black holes is studied are compared to the vacuum case where analytic solutions are available.Comment: 20 pages, 12 figures, results extended, references adde

Involvement in the US criminal justice system and cost implications for persons treated for schizophrenia

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Individuals with schizophrenia may have a higher risk of encounters with the criminal justice system than the general population, but there are limited data on such encounters and their attendant costs. This study assessed the prevalence of encounters with the criminal justice system, encounter types, and the estimated cost attributable to these encounters in the one-year treatment of persons with schizophrenia.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This post-hoc analysis used data from a prospective one-year cost-effectiveness study of persons treated with antipsychotics for schizophrenia and related disorders in the United States. Criminal justice system involvement was assessed using the Schizophrenia Patients Outcome Research Team (PORT) client survey and the victimization subscale of the Lehman Quality of Life Interview (QOLI). Direct cost of criminal justice system involvement was estimated using previously reported costs per type of encounter. Patients with and without involvement were compared on baseline characteristics and direct annual health care and criminal justice system-related costs.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Overall, 278 (46%) of 609 participants reported at least 1 criminal justice system encounter. They were more likely to be substance users and less adherent to antipsychotics compared to participants without involvement. The 2 most prevalent types of encounters were being a victim of a crime (67%) and being on parole or probation (26%). The mean annual per-patient cost of involvement was $1,429, translating to 6% of total annual direct health care costs for those with involvement (11% when excluding crime victims).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Criminal justice system involvement appears to be prevalent and costly for persons treated for schizophrenia in the United States. Findings highlight the need to better understand the interface between the mental health and the criminal justice systems and the related costs, in personal, societal, and economic terms.</p