Signature Change by GUP

We revisit the issue of continuous signature transition from Euclidean to Lorentzian metrics in a cosmological model described by FRW metric minimally coupled with a self interacting massive scalar field. Then, using a noncommutative phase space of dynamical variables deformed by Generalized Uncertainty Principle (GUP) we show that the signature transition occurs even for a model described by FRW metric minimally coupled with a free massless scalar field accompanied by a cosmological constant. This indicates that the continuous signature transition might have been easily occurred at early universe just by a free massless scalar field, a cosmological constant and a noncommutative phase space deformed by GUP, without resorting to a massive scalar field having an {\it ad hoc} complicate potential. We also study the quantum cosmology of the model and obtain a solution of Wheeler-DeWitt equation which shows a good correspondence with the classical path.Comment: 14 pages, to be published in IJMP

Black hole thermodynamics and modified GUP consistent with doubly special relativity

We study the black hole thermodynamics and obtain the correction terms for temperature, entropy, and heat capacity of the Schwarzschild black hole, resulting from the commutation relations in the framework of {\it Modified Generalized Uncertainty Principle} suggested by {\it Doubly Special Relativity}.Comment: 13 pages, 6 figures, minor revision, references adde

MULTI-DIMENSIONAL COSMOLOGY AND DSR–GUP

A multi-dimensional cosmology with FRW type metric having four-dimensional spacetime and d-dimensional Ricci-flat internal space is considered with a higher-dimensional cosmological constant. The classical cosmology in commutative and Doubly Special Relativity–Generalized Uncertainty Principle (DSR–GUP) contexts is studied and the corresponding exact solutions for negative and positive cosmological constants are obtained. In the positive cosmological constant case, it is shown that unlike the commutative as well as GUP cases, in DSR–GUP case both scale factors of internal and external spaces after accelerating phase will inevitably experience decelerating phase leading simultaneously to a big crunch. This demarcation from GUP originates from the difference between the GUP and DSR–GUP algebras. The important result is that unlike GUP which results in eternal acceleration, DSR–GUP at first generates acceleration but prevents the eternal acceleration at late-times and turns it into deceleration

Multi-Dimensional Cosmology and GUP

We consider a multidimensional cosmological model with FRW type metric having 4-dimensional space-time and $d$-dimensional Ricci-flat internal space sectors with a higher dimensional cosmological constant. We study the classical cosmology in commutative and GUP cases and obtain the corresponding exact solutions for negative and positive cosmological constants. It is shown that for negative cosmological constant, the commutative and GUP cases result in finite size universes with smaller size and longer ages, and larger size and shorter age, respectively. For positive cosmological constant, the commutative and GUP cases result in infinite size universes having late time accelerating behavior in good agreement with current observations. The accelerating phase starts in the GUP case sooner than the commutative case. In both commutative and GUP cases, and for both negative and positive cosmological constants, the internal space is stabilized to the sub-Planck size, at least within the present age of the universe. Then, we study the quantum cosmology by deriving the Wheeler-DeWitt equation, and obtain the exact solutions in the commutative case and the perturbative solutions in GUP case, to first order in the GUP small parameter, for both negative and positive cosmological constants. It is shown that good correspondence exists between the classical and quantum solutions.Comment: 21 pages, 15 figures, minor revision, references adde

Agroforestry interactions and soil water use in watersheds under corn-soybean management

Paper presented at the 11th North American Agroforesty Conference, which was held May 31-June 3, 2009 in Columbia, Missouri.In Gold, M.A. and M.M. Hall, eds. Agroforestry Comes of Age: Putting Science into Practice. Proceedings, 11th North American Agroforestry Conference, Columbia, Mo., May 31-June 3, 2009.Agroforestry and grass buffer practices reduce non point source pollution from corn-soybean watersheds, yet little is known about the processes and mechanisms involved. The objective of this study was to compare the soil water dynamics in crop, grass, and agroforestry areas throughout the growing season to understand soil water use and recharge differences among the treatments. The study was conducted on two corn (Zea mays L.)-soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) rotational watersheds with grass and agroforestry buffers at the Greenley Research Center, Knox County, MO. Campbell soil moisture sensors were installed in crop, grass, and agroforestry areas with six replications at 5, 10, 20, and 40 cm depths to record volumetric soil water content at 10 minute intervals for 2004 through 2007. Initial soil moisture was lower in tree and grass buffer areas than crop areas probably due to water use by the permanent vegetation before crops were established. The differences were larger for shallower depths as compared to the 40 cm depth. The trend continued throughout the growing season. Weekly soil moisture content was significantly higher in the crop treatment as compared to the buffer treatments. During rain events water content increased in all depths and treatments and the differences in water content among treatments diminished. At the end of the growing season, soil water content increased when water use was low and as the profile recharged by rain events. The results of the study suggest that establishment of grass and agroforestry buffers help reduce non point source pollution from row crop agriculture by using additional water that would have otherwise have been lost in runoff carrying sediments, nutrients, and pesticides.Ranjith P. Udawatta (1,2), Stephen H. Anderson (1), Peter P. Motavalli (1), and Harold E. Garrett (2) ; 1. Department of Soil, Environmental and Atmospheric Sciences. 2. Center for Agroforestry, and University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211.Includes bibliographical references

Signature Change in Noncommutative FRW Cosmology

The conditions for which the no boundary proposal may have a classical realization of a continuous change of signature, are investigated for a cosmological model described by FRW metric coupled with a self interacting scalar field, having a noncommutative phase space of dynamical variables. The model is then quantized and a good correspondence is shown between the classical and quantum cosmology indicating that the noncommutativity does not destruct the classical-quantum correspondence. It is also shown that the quantum cosmology supports a signature transition where the bare cosmological constant takes a vast continuous spectrum of negative values. The bounds of bare cosmological constant are limited by the values of noncommutative parameters. Moreover, it turns out that the physical parameters are constrained by the noncommutativity parametres.Comment: 15 pages, 4 figures, Minor revision, references adde

Construction of realistic hybrid computational fetal phantoms from radiological images in three gestational ages for radiation dosimetry applications

Radiation exposure and associated radiation risks are major concerns for fetal development for pregnant patients who undergo radiation therapy or diagnostic imaging procedures. In order to accurately estimate the radiation dose to the fetus and assess the uncertainty of fetal position and rotation, three hybrid computational fetus phantoms were constructed using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for each fetus model as a starting point to construct a complete anatomically accurate fetus, gravid uterus, and placenta. A total of 27 fetal organs were outlined from radiological images via the Velocity Treatment Planning System. The DICOM-Structure set was imported to Rhinoceros software for further reconstruction of 3D fetus phantom model sets. All fetal organ masses were compared with ICRP-89 reference data. Our fetal model series corresponds to 20, 31, and 35 weeks of pregnancy, thus covering the second and third trimester. Fetal positions and locations were carefully adapted to represent the real fetus locations inside the uterus for each trimester of pregnancy. The new series of hybrid computational fetus models together with pregnant female models can be used in evaluating fetal radiation doses in diagnostic imaging and radiotherapy procedures

Fashioning Entitlements: A Comparative Law and Economic Analysis of the Judicial Role in Environmental Centralization in the U.S. and Europe

This paper identifies and evaluates, from an economic point of view, the role of the judiciary the steady shift of environmental regulatory authority to higher, more centralized levels of government in both the U.S. and Europe. We supply both a positive analysis of how the decisions made by judges have affected the incentives of both private and public actors to pollute the natural environment, and normative answers to the question of whether judges have acted so as to create incentives that move levels of pollution in an efficient direction, toward their optimal, cost-minimizing (or net-benefit-maximizing) levels. Highlights of the analysis include the following points: 1) Industrial-era local (state or national) legislation awarding entitlements to pollute was almost certainly inefficient due to a fundamental economic obstacle faced by those who suffer harm from the over-pollution of publicly owned natural resources: the inability to monetize and credibly commit to repay the future economic value of reducing pollution. 2) When industrial era pollution spilled across state lines in the US, the federal courts, in particular the Supreme Court, fashioned a federal common law of interstate nuisance that set up essentially the same sort of blurry, uncertain entitlements to pollute or be free of pollution that had been created by the state courts in resolving local pollution disputes. We argue that for the typical pollution problem, a legal regime of blurry interstate entitlements - with neither jurisdiction having a clear right either to pollute or be free of pollution from the other - is likely to generate efficient incentives for interjursidictional bargaining, even despite the public choice problems besetting majority-rule government. Interestingly, a very similar system of de facto entitlements arose and often stimulated interjursidictional bargaining in Europe as well as in the U.S. 3) The US federal courts have generally interpreted the federal environmental statutes in ways that give clear primacy to federal regulators. Through such judicial interpretation, state and local regulators face a continuing risk of having their decisions overridden by federal regulators. This reduces the incentives for regulatory innovation at the state and local level. Judicial authorization of federal overrides has thus weakened the economic rationale for cooperative federalism suggested by economic models of principal-agent relationships. As a result of the principle of attribution, there is less risk in Europe that (like in the US) courts would enlarge the federal purview and thereby limit the powers of the Member States. Despite this principle, the power of the European bureaucracy (that is, the European Commission) has steadily increased and led to a steady shift of environmental regulatory competencies to the European level. This shift is only sometimes normatively desirable, and yet there is little that the ECJ can or will do to slow it

Updated European Consensus Statement on diagnosis and treatment of adult ADHD

Background Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is among the most common psychiatric disorders of childhood that often persists into adulthood and old age. Yet ADHD is currently underdiagnosed and undertreated in many European countries, leading to chronicity of symptoms and impairment, due to lack of, or ineffective treatment, and higher costs of illness. Methods The European Network Adult ADHD and the Section for Neurodevelopmental Disorders Across the Lifespan (NDAL) of the European Psychiatric Association (EPA), aim to increase awareness and knowledge of adult ADHD in and outside Europe. This Updated European Consensus Statement aims to support clinicians with research evidence and clinical experience from 63 experts of European and other countries in which ADHD in adults is recognized and treated. Results Besides reviewing the latest research on prevalence, persistence, genetics and neurobiology of ADHD, three major questions are addressed: (1) What is the clinical picture of ADHD in adults? (2) How should ADHD be properly diagnosed in adults? (3) How should adult ADHDbe effectively treated? Conclusions ADHD often presents as a lifelong impairing condition. The stigma surrounding ADHD, mainly due to lack of knowledge, increases the suffering of patients. Education on the lifespan perspective, diagnostic assessment, and treatment of ADHD must increase for students of general and mental health, and for psychiatry professionals. Instruments for screening and diagnosis of ADHD in adults are available, as are effective evidence-based treatments for ADHD and its negative outcomes. More research is needed on gender differences, and in older adults with ADHD. (c) 2018 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.Peer reviewe