First record of Erpobdella concolor (Annandale, 1913) (Hirudinida: Erpobdellidae) from Greece

Erpobdella concolor (Annandale, 1913) was recorded for the first time from a spring in the Peloponnese, Greece. This locality represents the westernmost spot of the species range known so far

A topological approach to non-Archimedean Mathematics

Non-Archimedean mathematics (in particular, nonstandard analysis) allows to construct some useful models to study certain phenomena arising in PDE's; for example, it allows to construct generalized solutions of differential equations and variational problems that have no classical solution. In this paper we introduce certain notions of non-Archimedean mathematics (in particular, of nonstandard analysis) by means of an elementary topological approach; in particular, we construct non-Archimedean extensions of the reals as appropriate topological completions of $\mathbb{R}$. Our approach is based on the notion of $\Lambda$-limit for real functions, and it is called $\Lambda$-theory. It can be seen as a topological generalization of the $\alpha$-theory presented in \cite{BDN2003}, and as an alternative topological presentation of the ultrapower construction of nonstandard extensions (in the sense of \cite{keisler}). To motivate the use of $\Lambda$-theory for applications we show how to use it to solve a minimization problem of calculus of variations (that does not have classical solutions) by means of a particular family of generalized functions, called ultrafunctions.Comment: 22 page

Simultaneous magma and gas eruptions at three volcanoes in southern Italy: an earthquake trigger?

In September 2002, a series of tectonic earthquakes occurred north of Sicily, Italy, followed by three events of volcanic unrest within 150 km. On October 28, 2002, Mt. Etna erupted; on November 3, 2002, submarine degassing occurred near Panarea Island; and on December 28, 2002, Stromboli Island erupted. All of these events were considered unusual: the Mt. Etna NE-rift eruption was the largest in 55 yr, the Panarea degassing was one of the strongest ever detected there, and the Stromboli eruption, which produced a landslide and tsunami, was the largest effusive eruption in 17 yr. Here, we investigate the synchronous occurrence of these clustered unrest events, and develop a possible explanatory model. We compute short-term earthquake-induced dynamic strain changes and compare them to long-term tectonic effects. Results suggest that the earthquake-induced strain changes exceeded annual tectonic strains by at least an order of magnitude. This agitation occurred in seconds, and may have induced fluid and gas pressure migration within the already active hydrothermal and magmatic systems

An axiomatic approach to the non-linear theory of generalized functions and consistency of Laplace transforms

We offer an axiomatic definition of a differential algebra of generalized functions over an algebraically closed non-Archimedean field. This algebra is of Colombeau type in the sense that it contains a copy of the space of Schwartz distributions. We study the uniqueness of the objects we define and the consistency of our axioms. Next, we identify an inconsistency in the conventional Laplace transform theory. As an application we offer a free of contradictions alternative in the framework of our algebra of generalized functions. The article is aimed at mathematicians, physicists and engineers who are interested in the non-linear theory of generalized functions, but who are not necessarily familiar with the original Colombeau theory. We assume, however, some basic familiarity with the Schwartz theory of distributions.Comment: 23 page

Use of Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs That Elevate Cardiovascular Risk: An Examination of Sales and Essential Medicines Lists in Low-, Middle-, and High-Income Countries

PMCID: PMC3570554This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited

Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs and Opioids in Postsurgical Dental Pain

Postsurgical dental pain is mainly driven by inflammation, particularly through the generation of prostaglandins via the cyclooxygenase system. Thus, it is no surprise that numerous randomized placebo-controlled trials studying acute pain following the surgical extraction of impacted third molars have demonstrated the remarkable efficacy of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as ibuprofen, naproxen sodium, etodolac, diclofenac, and ketorolac in this prototypic condition of acute inflammatory pain. Combining an optimal dose of an NSAID with an appropriate dose of acetaminophen appears to further enhance analgesic efficacy and potentially reduce the need for opioids. In addition to being on average inferior to NSAIDs as analgesics in postsurgical dental pain, opioids produce a higher incidence of side effects in dental outpatients, including dizziness, drowsiness, psychomotor impairment, nausea/vomiting, and constipation. Unused opioids are also subject to misuse and diversion, and they may cause addiction. Despite these risks, some dental surgical outpatients may benefit from a 1- or 2-d course of opioids added to their NSAID regimen. NSAID use may carry significant risks in certain patient populations, in which a short course of an acetaminophen/opioid combination may provide a more favorable benefit versus risk ratio than an NSAID regimen. © International & American Associations for Dental Research 2020

Optimizing end-labeled free-solution electrophoresis by increasing the hydrodynamic friction of the drag-tag

We study the electrophoretic separation of polyelectrolytes of varying lengths by means of end-labeled free-solution electrophoresis (ELFSE). A coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulation model, using full electrostatic interactions and a mesoscopic Lattice Boltzmann fluid to account for hydrodynamic interactions, is used to characterize the drag coefficients of different label types: linear and branched polymeric labels, as well as transiently bound micelles. It is specifically shown that the label's drag coefficient is determined by its hydrodynamic size, and that the drag per label monomer is largest for linear labels. However, the addition of side chains to a linear label offers the possibility to increase the hydrodynamic size, and therefore the label efficiency, without having to increase the linear length of the label, thereby simplifying synthesis. The third class of labels investigated, transiently bound micelles, seems very promising for the usage in ELFSE, as they provide a significant higher hydrodynamic drag than the other label types. The results are compared to theoretical predictions, and we investigate how the efficiency of the ELFSE method can be improved by using smartly designed drag-tags.Comment: 32 pages, 11 figures, submitted to Macromolecule

Dynamical extensions for shell-crossing singularities

We derive global weak solutions of Einstein's equations for spherically symmetric dust-filled space-times which admit shell-crossing singularities. In the marginally bound case, the solutions are weak solutions of a conservation law. In the non-marginally bound case, the equations are solved in a generalized sense involving metric functions of bounded variation. The solutions are not unique to the future of the shell-crossing singularity, which is replaced by a shock wave in the present treatment; the metric is bounded but not continuous.Comment: 14 pages, 1 figur

Design criteria of the bolometer diagnostic for steady-state operation of the W7-X stellarator

A bolometric diagnostic system with features necessary for steady-state operation in the superconducting stellarator W7-X was designed. During a pulse length of 1800 s with an ECRH (electron cyclotron resonance heating) power of 10 MW, the components suffer not only from a large thermal load but also from stray radiation of the nonabsorbed isotropic microwaves. This paper gives an overview of the technical problems encountered during the design work and the solutions to individual problems to meet the special requirements in W7-X, e.g., component thermal protection, detector offset thermal drift suppression, as well as a microwave shielding technique. © 2010 American Institute of Physic