1,138 research outputs found
Ground-based detection of a vibration-rotation line of HD in Orion
The v =1-0 R(5) line of HD at 2.46um has been detected at the position of
brightest line emission of shocked H2 in the Orion Molecular Cloud. The flux in
this HD line, when compared to that of the previously detected HD 0--0 R(5)
line at 19.43um, suggests that, like the v=1 levels of H2, the v=1 levels of HD
are populated in LTE, despite their much higher rates of spontaneous emission
compared to H2. The higher than expected population of vibrationally excited HD
may be due to chemical coupling of HD to H2 via the reactive collisions HD + H
H2 + D in the shocked gas. The deuterium abundance implied by the
strengths of these lines relative to those of H2 is (5.1 pm 1.9 x 10^-6.Comment: 9 pages, 2 figures, Proceedings of the Conference on "Deuterium in
the Universe," to be published in Planetary and Space Science
Can electronic assessment tools improve the process of shared decision-making? A systematic review
Background:
Patient involvement in decision-making plays a prominent role in improving the quality of healthcare. Despite this, shared decision-making is not routinely implemented. However, electronic assessment tools that capture patients’ history, symptoms, opinions and values prior to their medical appointment are used by healthcare professionals during patient consultations to facilitate shared decision-making.
Objective:
To assess the effectiveness of electronic assessment tools to improve the shared decision-making process.
Method:
A systematic review was conducted following PRISMA guidelines. Published literature was searched on MEDLINE, EMBASE and PsycINFO to identify potentially relevant studies. Data were extracted and analysed narratively.
Results:
Seventeen articles, representing 4004 participants, were included in this review. The main findings were significant improvement in patient–provider communication and provider management of patient condition in the intervention group compared to the control group. In contrast, patient–provider satisfaction and time efficiency were assessed by relatively few included studies, and the effects of these outcomes were inconclusive.
Conclusion:
This review found that communication and healthcare professional’s management of a patient’s condition improves because of the use of electronic questionnaires. This is encouraging because the process of shared decision-making is reliant on high-quality communication between healthcare professionals and patients.
Implications:
We found that this intervention is especially important for people with chronic diseases, as they need to establish a long-term relationship with their healthcare provider and agree to a treatment plan that aligns with their values. More rigorous research with validated instruments is required
Optical detection and storage of entanglement in plasmonically coupled quantum-dot qubits
Recent proposals and advances in quantum simulations, quantum cryptography, and quantum communications substantially rely on quantum entanglement formation. Contrary to the conventional wisdom that dissipation destroys quantum coherence, coupling with a dissipative environment can also generate entanglement. We consider a system composed of two quantum-dot qubits coupled with a common, damped surface plasmon mode; each quantum dot is also coupled to a separate photonic cavity mode. Cavity quantum electrodynamics calculations show that upon optical excitation by a femtosecond laser pulse, entanglement of the quantum-dot excitons occurs, and the time evolution of the g(2) pair correlation function of the cavity photons is an indicator of the entanglement. We also show that the degree of entanglement is conserved during the time evolution of the system. Furthermore, if coupling of the photonic cavity and quantum-dot modes is large enough, the quantum-dot entanglement can be transferred to the cavity modes to increase the overall entanglement lifetime. This latter phenomenon can be viewed as a signature of entangled, long-lived quantum-dot exciton-polariton formation. The preservation of total entanglement in the strong-coupling limit of the cavity–quantum-dot interactions suggests a novel means of entanglement storage and manipulation in high-quality optical cavities
Stability Walls in Heterotic Theories
We study the sub-structure of the heterotic Kahler moduli space due to the
presence of non-Abelian internal gauge fields from the perspective of the
four-dimensional effective theory. Internal gauge fields can be supersymmetric
in some regions of the Kahler moduli space but break supersymmetry in others.
In the context of the four-dimensional theory, we investigate what happens when
the Kahler moduli are changed from the supersymmetric to the non-supersymmetric
region. Our results provide a low-energy description of supersymmetry breaking
by internal gauge fields as well as a physical picture for the mathematical
notion of bundle stability. Specifically, we find that at the transition
between the two regions an additional anomalous U(1) symmetry appears under
which some of the states in the low-energy theory acquire charges. We compute
the associated D-term contribution to the four-dimensional potential which
contains a Kahler-moduli dependent Fayet-Iliopoulos term and contributions from
the charged states. We show that this D-term correctly reproduces the expected
physics. Several mathematical conclusions concerning vector bundle stability
are drawn from our arguments. We also discuss possible physical applications of
our results to heterotic model building and moduli stabilization.Comment: 37 pages, 4 figure
Response of an Excitatory-Inhibitory Neural Network to External Stimulation: An Application to Image Segmentation
Neural network models comprising elements which have exclusively excitatory
or inhibitory synapses are capable of a wide range of dynamic behavior,
including chaos. In this paper, a simple excitatory-inhibitory neural pair,
which forms the building block of larger networks, is subjected to external
stimulation. The response shows transition between various types of dynamics,
depending upon the magnitude of the stimulus. Coupling such pairs over a local
neighborhood in a two-dimensional plane, the resultant network can achieve a
satisfactory segmentation of an image into ``object'' and ``background''.
Results for synthetic and and ``real-life'' images are given.Comment: 8 pages, latex, 5 figure
On the Two q-Analogue Logarithmic Functions
There is a simple, multi-sheet Riemann surface associated with e_q(z)'s
inverse function ln_q(w) for 0< q < 1. A principal sheet for ln_q(w) can be
defined. However, the topology of the Riemann surface for ln_q(w) changes each
time "q" increases above the collision point of a pair of the turning points of
e_q(x). There is also a power series representation for ln_q(1+w). An
infinite-product representation for e_q(z) is used to obtain the ordinary
natural logarithm ln{e_q(z)} and the values of sum rules for the zeros "z_i" of
e_q(z). For |z|<|z_1|, e_q(z)=exp{b(z)} where b(z) is a simple, explicit power
series in terms of values of these sum rules. The values of the sum rules for
the q-trigonometric functions, sin_q(z) and cos_q(z), are q-deformations of the
usual Bernoulli numbers.Comment: This is the final version to appear in J.Phys.A: Math. & General.
Some explict formulas added, and to update the reference
Economic assessment of use of pond ash in pavements
The paper introduces a new type of industrial waste-based subbase material which can replace conventional subbase material (CSM) in pavement construction. Utilisation of this industrial waste, namely pond coal ash produced from a thermal power plant in road construction will help to reduce the disposal problem of this waste and also will help to reduce the problem of scarcity of CSM. Lime and fibre were also added to the pond ash at various percentages to improve the suitability of this type of mix as subbase material. The optimum service life of pavement is studied with the help of numerical modelling and the cost benefit is also presented in the current study. The study reveals that stabilisation of the coal ash with 2% lime may produce an optimal material and, even though a greater thickness may be required to deliver the same pavement performance, direct cost savings of around 10% may be achieved in addition to less easily quantifiable environmental benefits. Design charts are provided to exploit the findings
News from the Muon (g-2) Experiment at BNL
The magnetic moment anomaly a_mu = (g_mu - 2) / 2 of the positive muon has
been measured at the Brookhaven Alternating Gradient Synchrotron with an
uncertainty of 0.7 ppm. The new result, based on data taken in 2000, agrees
well with previous measurements. Standard Model evaluations currently differ
from the experimental result by 1.6 to 3.0 standard deviations.Comment: Talk presented at RADCOR - Loops and Legs 2002, Kloster Banz,
Germany, September 8-13 2002, to be published in Nuclear Physics B (Proc.
Suppl.); 5 pages, 3 figure
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