Casimir energy in a small volume multiply connected static hyperbolic pre-inflationary Universe

A few years ago, Cornish, Spergel and Starkman (CSS), suggested that a multiply connected ``small'' Universe could allow for classical chaotic mixing as a pre-inflationary homogenization process. The smaller the volume, the more important the process. Also, a smaller Universe has a greater probability of being spontaneously created. Previously DeWitt, Hart and Isham (DHI) calculated the Casimir energy for static multiply connected flat space-times. Due to the interest in small volume hyperbolic Universes (e.g. CSS), we generalize the DHI calculation by making a a numerical investigation of the Casimir energy for a conformally coupled, massive scalar field in a static Universe, whose spatial sections are the Weeks manifold, the smallest Universe of negative curvature known. In spite of being a numerical calculation, our result is in fact exact. It is shown that there is spontaneous vacuum excitation of low multipolar components.Comment: accepted for publication in phys. rev.

Microspatial Distributional Patterns of Vectors of Cutaneous Leishmaniasis in Pernambuco, Northeastern Brazil

This is the publisher's version, also available electronically from http://www.hindawi.com/journals/jtm/2012/642910/abs/The purpose of this study is to analyze the spatial distribution and population trends through time of Lutzomyia species in a long-term focus of cutaneous leishmaniasis transmission in an Atlantic Forest area, northeastern Brazil. Sand fly populations of different ecological niches were monitored spatiotemporally in 2009. To summarize vegetation characteristics and phenology, we calculated the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index from Landsat images. Using niche modeling approaches, we assessed suites of environmental factors to identify areas of transmission risk. Although 12 species were detected, L. whitmani was the most abundant and broadly distributed across the area, particularly in peridomiciliary locations, and associated negatively with denser vegetation areas. On the other hand, L. complexa, L. sordelli, and L. tupynambai were found almost exclusively in forested areas ( < 0 . 0 5 ), and associated positively with denser vegetation. Lutzomyia species' occurrences are related to specific environmental combinations (with contrast among species) in the region

Family Health Strategy and More Doctors Program in Rural Area of Porto Velho, Brazil: A Qualitative Analysis under the Nurse’s Perspective

The Family Health Strategy (FHS) together with the implementation of the More Doctors Program (MDP) has an effective contribution to the strengthening of Primary Health Care (PHC) and the consolidation of the Unified Health System (SUS), which has intended to meet the health needs of the population in need of care less complex. Thus, this study aims to analyze the Family Health Strategy and the Program More Doctors implanted in the Rural Municipality of Porto Velho, Rondônia, from the perspective of nurses. This is a qualitative research, descriptive exploratory performed in the field, based on the assessment the perspective of nurses working in the FHS, which are favored by the MDP. The data collection was carried out through a questionnaire,Primary Care Assessment Tool (PCA Tool), in its version validated in Brazil entitled PCA Tool- Brazil (BRAZIL, 2010). This instrument is widely used by national research that evaluates the quality of primary care. For the construction of the database was used Microsoft Word software. For qualitative data, the collection was carried out through interviews recorded by a script containing open questions. The response were discussed based on the content analysis technique proposed by Bardin (2011). The results achieved indicate that the MDM enabled the structuring of teams that were incomplete in the rural area of the town, however presents numerous challenges in the organization of the work process and the understanding of program objectives

Casimir energy in multiply connected static hyperbolic Universes

We generalize a previously obtained result, for the case of a few other static hyperbolic universes with manifolds of nontrivial topology as spatial sections.Comment: accepted for publicatio

Can intraoperative electrocorticography patterns predict surgical outcome in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy secondary to unilateral mesial temporal sclerosis?

Introduction: Intraoperative electrocorticography (ECoG) can be performed in cases of temporal lobe epilepsy due to hippocampal sclerosis (TLE-HS). However, its significance and correlation with surgical outcome are still controversial.Objectives: To analyze the electrophysiological characteristics of temporal lobe structures during ECoG of patients with TLE-HS, with emphasis on the comparison between pre- and post-resection recordings and surgical outcome.Patients and methods: Seventeen patients with refractory TLE-HS submitted to corticoamigdalohipocampectomy were included in the study. Clinical variables included age at the onset, duration of epilepsy and seizure outcome. the postoperative follow-up ranged from 24 to 36 months. According to outcome subjects were divided in two subgroups: (A) individuals free of seizures (Engel 1A), and (B) individuals not-free of seizures (Engel 1B-IV). Four patterns of ECoG findings were identified: isolated discharges; high frequency spikes (HFS); continuous discharges; combination of isolated discharges and HFS. According to predominant topography ECoG was classified as mediobasal, lateral (or neocortical), mediobasal and lateral.Results: the progressive removal of the temporal pole and the hippocampus was associated with significant decrease of neocortical spikes. No correlation between clinical variables and seizure outcome was observed. Patients who only had isolated spikes on intraoperative ECoG presented a statistical trend for excellent surgical control. Patients who presented temporal pole blurring on MRI also had better post-surgical seizure outcome.Conclusions: This study showed that out of diverse clinical and laboratory variables, only isolated discharges on intraoperative ECoG and temporal pole blurring on MRI predicted excellent post-surgicat seizure outcome. However, other studies with larger number of patients are stilt necessary to confirm these findings. (C) 2006 British Epilepsy Association. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Neurol & Neurosurg, Div Neurol, São Paulo, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Radiol, São Paulo, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Neurol & Neurosurg, Div Neurosurg, São Paulo, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Anesthesiol, São Paulo, BrazilUniv São Paulo, Ribeirao Preto Med Sch, Dept Surg, Div Neurosurg, São Paulo, BrazilUniv São Paulo, Ribeirao Preto Med Sch, Dept Neurol Psychiat & Clin Psychol, São Paulo, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Neurol & Neurosurg, Div Neurol, São Paulo, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Radiol, São Paulo, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Neurol & Neurosurg, Div Neurosurg, São Paulo, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Anesthesiol, São Paulo, BrazilWeb of Scienc

The Metallicity Distribution Functions of SEGUE G and K dwarfs: Constraints for Disk Chemical Evolution and Formation

We present the metallicity distribution function (MDF) for 24,270 G and 16,847 K dwarfs at distances from 0.2 to 2.3 kpc from the Galactic plane, based on spectroscopy from the Sloan Extension for Galactic Understanding and Exploration (SEGUE) survey. This stellar sample is significantly larger in both number and volume than previous spectroscopic analyses, which were limited to the solar vicinity, making it ideal for comparison with local volume-limited samples and Galactic models. For the first time, we have corrected the MDF for the various observational biases introduced by the SEGUE target selection strategy. The SEGUE sample is particularly notable for K dwarfs, which are too faint to examine spectroscopically far from the solar neighborhood. The MDF of both spectral types becomes more metal-poor with increasing |Z|, which reflects the transition from a sample with small [alpha/Fe] values at small heights to one with enhanced [alpha/Fe] above 1 kpc. Comparison of our SEGUE distributions to those of two different Milky Way models reveals that both are more metal-rich than our observed distributions at all heights above the plane. Our unbiased observations of G and K dwarfs provide valuable constraints over the |Z|-height range of the Milky Way disk for chemical and dynamical Galaxy evolution models, previously only calibrated to the solar neighborhood, with particular utility for thin- and thick-disk formation models.Comment: 70 pages, 25 figures, 7 tables. Accepted by The Astrophysical Journa

The Milky Way's circular velocity curve between 4 and 14 kpc from APOGEE data

We measure the Milky Way's rotation curve over the Galactocentric range 4 kpc <~ R <~ 14 kpc from the first year of data from the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE). We model the line-of-sight velocities of 3,365 stars in fourteen fields with b = 0 deg between 30 deg < l < 210 deg out to distances of 10 kpc using an axisymmetric kinematical model that includes a correction for the asymmetric drift of the warm tracer population (\sigma_R ~ 35 km/s). We determine the local value of the circular velocity to be V_c(R_0) = 218 +/- 6 km/s and find that the rotation curve is approximately flat with a local derivative between -3.0 km/s/kpc and 0.4 km/s/kpc. We also measure the Sun's position and velocity in the Galactocentric rest frame, finding the distance to the Galactic center to be 8 kpc < R_0 < 9 kpc, radial velocity V_{R,sun} = -10 +/- 1 km/s, and rotational velocity V_{\phi,sun} = 242^{+10}_{-3} km/s, in good agreement with local measurements of the Sun's radial velocity and with the observed proper motion of Sgr A*. We investigate various systematic uncertainties and find that these are limited to offsets at the percent level, ~2 km/s in V_c. Marginalizing over all the systematics that we consider, we find that V_c(R_0) 99% confidence. We find an offset between the Sun's rotational velocity and the local circular velocity of 26 +/- 3 km/s, which is larger than the locally-measured solar motion of 12 km/s. This larger offset reconciles our value for V_c with recent claims that V_c >~ 240 km/s. Combining our results with other data, we find that the Milky Way's dark-halo mass within the virial radius is ~8x10^{11} M_sun.Comment: submitted to Ap

The Ninth Data Release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey: First Spectroscopic Data from the SDSS-III Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey

The Sloan Digital Sky Survey III (SDSS-III) presents the first spectroscopic data from the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS). This ninth data release (DR9) of the SDSS project includes 535,995 new galaxy spectra (median z=0.52), 102,100 new quasar spectra (median z=2.32), and 90,897 new stellar spectra, along with the data presented in previous data releases. These spectra were obtained with the new BOSS spectrograph and were taken between 2009 December and 2011 July. In addition, the stellar parameters pipeline, which determines radial velocities, surface temperatures, surface gravities, and metallicities of stars, has been updated and refined with improvements in temperature estimates for stars with T_eff<5000 K and in metallicity estimates for stars with [Fe/H]>-0.5. DR9 includes new stellar parameters for all stars presented in DR8, including stars from SDSS-I and II, as well as those observed as part of the SDSS-III Sloan Extension for Galactic Understanding and Exploration-2 (SEGUE-2). The astrometry error introduced in the DR8 imaging catalogs has been corrected in the DR9 data products. The next data release for SDSS-III will be in Summer 2013, which will present the first data from the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE) along with another year of data from BOSS, followed by the final SDSS-III data release in December 2014.Comment: 9 figures; 2 tables. Submitted to ApJS. DR9 is available at http://www.sdss3.org/dr

The Eighth Data Release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey: First Data from SDSS-III

The Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) started a new phase in August 2008, with new instrumentation and new surveys focused on Galactic structure and chemical evolution, measurements of the baryon oscillation feature in the clustering of galaxies and the quasar Ly alpha forest, and a radial velocity search for planets around ~8000 stars. This paper describes the first data release of SDSS-III (and the eighth counting from the beginning of the SDSS). The release includes five-band imaging of roughly 5200 deg^2 in the Southern Galactic Cap, bringing the total footprint of the SDSS imaging to 14,555 deg^2, or over a third of the Celestial Sphere. All the imaging data have been reprocessed with an improved sky-subtraction algorithm and a final, self-consistent photometric recalibration and flat-field determination. This release also includes all data from the second phase of the Sloan Extension for Galactic Understanding and Evolution (SEGUE-2), consisting of spectroscopy of approximately 118,000 stars at both high and low Galactic latitudes. All the more than half a million stellar spectra obtained with the SDSS spectrograph have been reprocessed through an improved stellar parameters pipeline, which has better determination of metallicity for high metallicity stars.Comment: Astrophysical Journal Supplements, in press (minor updates from submitted version