A Comparison of the Ovulation Method With the CUE Ovulation Predictor in Determining the Fertile Period

The purpose of this study was to compare the CUE Ovulation Predictor with the ovulation method in determining the fertile period. Eleven regularly ovulating women measured their salivary and vaginal electrical resistance (ER) with the CUE, observed their cervical-vaginal mucus, and measured their urine for a luteinizing hormone (LH) surge on a daily basis. Data from 21 menstrual cycles showed no statistical difference (T= 0.33, p= 0.63) between the CUE fertile period, which ranged from 5 to 10 days (mean = 6.7 days, SD = 1.6), and the fertile period of the ovulation method, which ranged from 4 to 9 days (mean = 6.5 days, SD = 2.0). The CUE has potential as an adjunctive device in the learning and use of natural family planning methods

Linear Contraction Behavior of Low-Carbon, Low-Alloy Steels During and After Solidification Using Real-Time Measurements

A technique for measuring the linear contraction during and after solidification of low-alloy steel was developed and used for examination of two commercial low-carbon and low-alloy steel grades. The effects of several experimental parameters on the contraction were studied. The solidification contraction behavior was described using the concept of rigidity in a solidifying alloy, evolution of the solid fraction, and the microstructure development during solidification. A correlation between the linear contraction properties in the solidification range and the hot crack susceptibility was proposed and used for the estimation of hot cracking susceptibility for two studied alloys and verified with the real casting practice. The technique allows estimation of the contraction coefficient of commercial steels in a wide range of temperatures and could be helpful for computer simulation and process optimization during continuous casting. © 2013 The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society and ASM International

Quantum friction

The Brownian motion of a light quantum particle in a heavy classical gas is theoretically described and a new expression for the friction coefficient is obtained for arbitrary temperature. At zero temperature it equals to the de Broglie momentum of the mean free path divided by the mean free path. Alternatively, the corresponding mobility of the quantum particle in the classical gas is equal to the square of the mean free path divided by the Planck constant. The Brownian motion of a quantum particle in a quantum environment is also discussed.Comment: The paper is dedicated to the 85th anniversary of N.N. Tyutyulko

Brownian markets

Financial market dynamics is rigorously studied via the exact generalized Langevin equation. Assuming market Brownian self-similarity, the market return rate memory and autocorrelation functions are derived, which exhibit an oscillatory-decaying behavior with a long-time tail, similar to empirical observations. Individual stocks are also described via the generalized Langevin equation. They are classified by their relation to the market memory as heavy, neutral and light stocks, possessing different kinds of autocorrelation functions

Thermo-quantum diffusion

A new approach to thermo-quantum diffusion is proposed and a nonlinear quantum Smoluchowski equation is derived, which describes classical diffusion in the field of the Bohm quantum potential. A nonlinear thermo-quantum expression for the diffusion front is obtained, being a quantum generalization of the classical Einstein law. The quantum diffusion at zero temperature is also described and a new dependence of the position dispersion on time is derived. A stochastic Bohm-Langevin equation is also proposed

Matrix Elements of Thiemann's Hamiltonian Constraint in Loop Quantum Gravity

We present an explicit computation of matrix elements of the hamiltonian constraint operator in non-perturbative quantum gravity. In particular, we consider the euclidean term of Thiemann's version of the constraint and compute its action on trivalent states, for all its natural orderings. The calculation is performed using graphical techniques from the recoupling theory of colored knots and links. We exhibit the matrix elements of the hamiltonian constraint operator in the spin network basis in compact algebraic form.Comment: 32 pages, 22 eps figures. LaTeX (Using epsfig.sty,ioplppt.sty and bezier.sty). Submited to Classical and Quantum Gravit

Topos quantum theory with short posets

Topos quantum mechanics, developed by Isham et. al., creates a topos of presheaves over the poset V(N) of abelian von Neumann subalgebras of the von Neumann algebra N of bounded operators associated to a physical system, and established several results, including: (a) a connection between the Kochen-Specker theorem and the non-existence of a global section of the spectral presheaf; (b) a version of the spectral theorem for self-adjoint operators; (c) a connection between states of N and measures on the spectral presheaf; and (d) a model of dynamics in terms of V(N). We consider a modification to this approach using not the whole of the poset V(N), but only its elements of height at most two. This produces a different topos with different internal logic. However, the core results (a)--(d) established using the full poset V(N) are also established for the topos over the smaller poset, and some aspects simplify considerably. Additionally, this smaller poset has appealing aspects reminiscent of projective geometry.Comment: 14 page

Social sensemaking with AI: Designing an open-ended AI experience with a blind child

AI technologies are often used to aid people in performing discrete tasks with well-defned goals (e.g., recognising faces in images). Emerging technologies that provide continuous, real-time information enable more open-ended AI experiences. In partnership with a blind child, we explore the challenges and opportunities of designing human-AI interaction for a system intended to support social sensemaking. Adopting a research-through-design perspective, we refect upon working with the uncertain capabilities of AI systems in the design of this experience. We contribute: (i) a concrete example of an open-ended AI system that enabled a blind child to extend his own capabilities; (ii) an illustration of the delta between imagined and actual use, highlighting how capabilities derive from the human-AI interaction and not the AI system alone; and (iii) a discussion of design choices to craft an ongoing human-AI interaction that addresses the challenge of uncertain outputs of AI systems