The Method of Images in Cosmology

31 pages, 18 figures31 pages, 18 figuresWe apply the method of images to the exact initial data for cosmological models that contain a number of regularly arranged discrete masses. This allows us to join cosmological regions together by throats, and to construct wormholes in the initial data. These wormholes allow for the removal of the asymptotically flat "flange" regions that would otherwise exist on the far side of black holes. The method of images also provides us with a way to investigate the definition of mass is cosmology, and the cosmological consequences of the gravitational interaction energies between massive objects. We find evidence that the interaction energies within clusters of massive objects do indeed appear to contribute to the total energy budget in the cosmological regions of the space-time

Comparison of costs of service and self-service methods in retail meat departments

The objectives of this study were to compare the costs of service and self-service methods of selling meat and to show the relationship of cost to volume of sales. Cost data were obtained from 23 self-service and 26 service stores for the period October 6 to 11, 1952. The cost items compared were labor, equipment, market floor space and paper supplies. These costs constitute about 85 percent of the total costs of operating the meat department. The volume of meat sales of the stores in this study ranged from $500 to$7,000 per week. Thus, the following results are applicable only to stores in this range. Physical hours of labor per dollar of sales averaged lower under. self-service than service methods up to a sales volume of about $2,000 per week. Beyond that point the self-service method required more physical hours of labor

Dynamics of a lattice Universe

We find a solution to Einstein field equations for a regular toroidal lattice of size L with equal masses M at the centre of each cell; this solution is exact at order M/L. Such a solution is convenient to study the dynamics of an assembly of galaxy-like objects. We find that the solution is expanding (or contracting) in exactly the same way as the solution of a Friedman-Lema\^itre-Robertson-Walker Universe with dust having the same average density as our model. This points towards the absence of backreaction in a Universe filled with an infinite number of objects, and this validates the fluid approximation, as far as dynamics is concerned, and at the level of approximation considered in this work.Comment: 14 pages. No figure. Accepted version for Classical and Quantum Gravit

Self-Service or Salesman-Service Meat Retailing?

Farmers get about 60 cents of the consumer\u27s meat dollar. Processing and distribution take the other 40 cents. And about half of the latter goes to retailing- by far the largest single cost item in meat distribution

A quasi-static approach to structure formation in black hole universes

JD and TC both acknowledge support from the STFC under grant STFC ST/N504257/1

Semicausal operations are semilocalizable

We prove a conjecture by DiVincenzo, which in the terminology of Preskill et al. [quant-ph/0102043] states that ``semicausal operations are semilocalizable''. That is, we show that any operation on the combined system of Alice and Bob, which does not allow Bob to send messages to Alice, can be represented as an operation by Alice, transmitting a quantum particle to Bob, and a local operation by Bob. The proof is based on the uniqueness of the Stinespring representation for a completely positive map. We sketch some of the problems in transferring these concepts to the context of relativistic quantum field theory.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure, revte

Microwave Components with MEMS Switches

RF MEMS switches with metal-metal contacts are being developed for microwave applications where broadband, high linearity performance is required. These switches provide less than 0.2 dB insertion loss through 40 GHz. This paper describes the integration of these switches into selected microwave components such as reconfigurable antenna elements, tunable filters, switched delay lines, and SPDT switches. Microwave and millimeter wave measured results from these circuits are presented

On The Existence Of Anisotropic Cosmological Models In Higher-Order Theories Of Gravity

We investigate the behaviour on approach to the initial singularity in higher-order extensions of general relativity by finding exact cosmological solutions for a wide class of models in which the Lagrangian is allowed to depend nonlinearly upon the three possible linear and quadratic scalars built from the Riemann tensor; $R$, $R_{ab}R^{ab}$ and $R_{abcd}R^{abcd}$. We present new anisotropic vacuum solutions analagous to the Kasner solutions of general relativity and extend previous results to a much wider range of fourth order theories of gravity. We discuss the implications of these results for the behaviour of the more general anisotropic Bianchi type VIII and IX cosmologies as the initial singularity is approached. Furthermore, we also consider the existence conditions for some other simple anisotropic Bianchi I vacuum solutions in which the expansion in each direction is of exponential, rather than power-law behaviour and their relevance for cosmic ``no-hair'' theorems.Comment: 24 pages, submitted to CQ

Quantum mechanics is about quantum information

I argue that quantum mechanics is fundamentally a theory about the representation and manipulation of information, not a theory about the mechanics of nonclassical waves or particles. The notion of quantum information is to be understood as a new physical primitive -- just as, following Einstein's special theory of relativity, a field is no longer regarded as the physical manifestation of vibrations in a mechanical medium, but recognized as a new physical primitive in its own right.Comment: 17 pages, forthcoming in Foundations of Physics Festschrift issue for James Cushing. Revised version: some paragraphs have been added to the final section clarifying the argument, and various minor clarifying remarks have been added throughout the tex

Porcine associated Salmonella Typhimuirum DT120: use of PFGE and MLVA in a putative outbreak investigation

In November 2006 a cluster of Salmonella Typhimurium DT120 in the North East of England was putatively associated with the consumption of pork. At the same time cases of illness in Denmark were associated with this Salmonella type, and a EU alert was issued to determine the type of S. Typhimurium DT120 identified. Isolates from the UK and Denmark were compared on the basis of antibiogram, Pulsed Field Gel Electrophoresis (PFGE) and Multi-Locus-Variable number andem repeat Analysis (MLVA or VNTR) to identify the S. Typhimurium DT120 type and results were compared electronically. Isolates from England had the resistance profile ApSSuT (ampicillin, streptomycin, sulfamethoxazole and tetracycline), VNTR profile (171-244-316-0-487) and with the distinct PFGE type (STYMXB.0083). Isolates from Denmark were resistant to Ap (ampicillin) only, had the VNTR type (171-270-324-0-490) and a PFGE type distinct from England (STYMXB.0010). It was therefore possible to confirm that the isolates from England and Denmark were not identical. These results have verified the significance of VNTR in outbreak investigations for S. Typhimurium and have demonstrated how new molecular strategies may be used to supplement existing methods such as PFGE to enable the accurate and rapid comparison of isolates from different countries