534 research outputs found
'They make us feel like we're a virus': the multiple impacts of Islamophobic hostility towards veiled Muslim women
Within the prevailing post-9/11 climate, veiled Muslim women are commonly portrayed as oppressed, ‘culturally dangerous’ and ‘threatening’ to the western way of life and to notions of public safety and security by virtue of being fully covered in the public sphere. It is in such a context that manifestations of Islamophobia often emerge as a means of responding to these ‘threats’. Drawing from qualitative data elicited through a UK-based study, this article reflects upon the lived experiences of veiled Muslim women as actual and potential victims of Islamophobia and examines the impacts of Islamophobic attacks upon victims, their families and wider Muslim communities. Among the central themes we explore are impacts upon their sense of vulnerability, the visibility of their Muslim identity, and the management of their safety in public. The individual and collective harms associated with this form of victimisation are considered through notions of a worldwide, transnational Muslim community, the ummah, which connects Muslims from all over world. We conclude by noting that the effects of this victimisation are not exclusively restricted to the global ummah; rather, the harm extends to society as a whole by exacerbating the polarisation which already exists between ‘us’ and ‘them’
A new Tolman test of a cosmic distance duality relation at 21 cm
Under certain general conditions in an expanding universe, the luminosity
distance (d_L) and angular diameter distance (d_A) are connected by the
Etherington relation as d_L = d_A (1 + z)^2. The Tolman test suggests the use
of objects of known surface brightness, to test this relation. In this letter,
we propose the use of redshifted 21 cm signal from disk galaxies, where neutral
hydrogen (HI) masses are seen to be almost linearly correlated with surface
area, to conduct a new Tolman test. We construct simulated catalogs of
galaxies, with the observed size-luminosity relation and realistic redshift
evolution of HI mass functions, likely to be detected with the planned Square
Kilometer Array (SKA). We demonstrate that these observations may soon provide
the best implementation of the Tolman test to detect any violation of the
Etherington relation.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, 1 table, v2: published versio
Study of statistical correlations in intraday and daily financial return time series
The aim of this article is to briefly review and make new studies of
correlations and co-movements of stocks, so as to understand the
"seasonalities" and market evolution. Using the intraday data of the CAC40, we
begin by reasserting the findings of Allez and Bouchaud [New J. Phys. 13,
025010 (2011)]: the average correlation between stocks increases throughout the
day. We then use multidimensional scaling (MDS) in generating maps and
visualizing the dynamic evolution of the stock market during the day. We do not
find any marked difference in the structure of the market during a day. Another
aim is to use daily data for MDS studies, and visualize or detect specific
sectors in a market and periods of crisis. We suggest that this type of
visualization may be used in identifying potential pairs of stocks for "pairs
trade".Comment: 22 pages, 11 figures, Springer-Verlag format. To appear in the
conference proceedings of Econophys-Kolkata VI: "Econophysics of systemic
risk and network dynamics", Eds. F. Abergel, B.K. Chakrabarti, A. Chakraborti
and A. Ghosh, to be published by Springer-Verlag (Italia), Milan (2012
Consequences of increased longevity for wealth, fertility, and population growth
We present, solve and numerically simulate a simple model that describes the
consequences of increased longevity on fertility rates, population growth and
the distribution of wealth in developed societies. We look at the consequences
of the repeated use of life extension techniques and show that they represent a
novel commodity whose introduction will profoundly influence key aspects of
economy and society in general. In particular, we uncover two phases within our
simplified model, labeled as 'mortal' and 'immortal'. Within the life extension
scenario it is possible to have sustainable economic growth in a population of
stable size, as a result of dynamical equilibrium between the two phases.Comment: 13 pages, 5 figures, uses elsart.cl
Absorbing Phase Transition in a Four State Predator Prey Model in One Dimension
The model of competition between densities of two different species, called
predator and prey, is studied on a one dimensional periodic lattice, where each
site can be in one of the four states say, empty, or occupied by a single
predator, or occupied by a single prey, or by both. Along with the pairwise
death of predators and growth of preys, we introduce an interaction where the
predators can eat one of the neighboring prey and reproduce a new predator
there instantly. The model shows a non-equilibrium phase transition into a
unusual absorbing state where predators are absent and the lattice is fully
occupied by preys. The critical exponents of the system are found to be
different from that of the Directed Percolation universality class and they are
robust against addition of explicit diffusion.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures, to appear in JSTA
Exploratory Behavior, Trap Models and Glass Transitions
A random walk is performed on a disordered landscape composed of sites
randomly and uniformly distributed inside a -dimensional hypercube. The
walker hops from one site to another with probability proportional to , where is the inverse of a formal temperature and
is an arbitrary cost function which depends on the hop distance .
Analytic results indicate that, if and , there
exists a glass transition at . Below
, the average trapping time diverges and the system falls into an
out-of-equilibrium regime with aging phenomena. A L\'evy flight scenario and
applications to exploratory behavior are considered.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure, new versio
Quantum Annealing and Analog Quantum Computation
We review here the recent success in quantum annealing, i.e., optimization of
the cost or energy functions of complex systems utilizing quantum fluctuations.
The concept is introduced in successive steps through the studies of mapping of
such computationally hard problems to the classical spin glass problems. The
quantum spin glass problems arise with the introduction of quantum
fluctuations, and the annealing behavior of the systems as these fluctuations
are reduced slowly to zero. This provides a general framework for realizing
analog quantum computation.Comment: 22 pages, 7 figs (color online); new References Added. Reviews of
Modern Physics (in press
Mesoscopic modelling of financial markets
We derive a mesoscopic description of the behavior of a simple financial
market where the agents can create their own portfolio between two investment
alternatives: a stock and a bond. The model is derived starting from the
Levy-Levy-Solomon microscopic model (Econ. Lett., 45, (1994), 103--111) using
the methods of kinetic theory and consists of a linear Boltzmann equation for
the wealth distribution of the agents coupled with an equation for the price of
the stock. From this model, under a suitable scaling, we derive a Fokker-Planck
equation and show that the equation admits a self-similar lognormal behavior.
Several numerical examples are also reported to validate our analysis
Inelastically scattering particles and wealth distribution in an open economy
Using the analogy with inelastic granular gasses we introduce a model for
wealth exchange in society. The dynamics is governed by a kinetic equation,
which allows for self-similar solutions. The scaling function has a power-law
tail, the exponent being given by a transcendental equation. In the limit of
continuous trading, closed form of the wealth distribution is calculated
analytically.Comment: 8 pages 5 figure
Clinical Outcomes and Survival Following Treatment of Metastatic Castrate-Refractory Prostate Cancer With Docetaxel Alone or With Strontium-89, Zoledronic Acid, or Both
Importance Bony metastatic castrate-refractory prostate cancer (CRPC) has a poor prognosis and high morbidity. Zoledronic acid (ZA) is commonly combined with docetaxel in practice but lacks evidence that combining is effective, and strontium-89 (Sr89) is generally used palliatively in patients unfit for chemotherapy. Phase 2 analysis of the TRAPEZE trial confirmed combining the agents was safe and feasible, and the objectives of phase 3 include assessment of the treatments on survival.
Objective To determine clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of combining docetaxel, ZA, and Sr89, all having palliative benefits and used in bony metastatic CRPC to control bone symptoms and, for docetaxel, to prolong survival.
Design, Setting, and Participants The TRAPEZE trial is a 2 × 2 factorial trial comparing docetaxel alone or with ZA, Sr89, or both. A cohort of 757 participants were recruited between February 2005 and February 2012 from hospitals in the United Kingdom. Overall, 169 participants (45%) had received palliative radiotherapy, and the median (IQR) prostate-specific antigen level was 146 (51-354). Follow-ups were performed for at least 12 months.
Interventions Up to 10 cycles of docetaxel alone; docetaxel with ZA; docetaxel with a single Sr89 dose after 6 cycles; or docetaxel with both ZA and Sr89.
Main Outcomes and Measures Primary outcomes included clinical progression-free survival (CPFS) (pain progression, skeletal-related events [SREs], or death) and cost-effectiveness. Secondary outcomes included SRE-free interval, pain progression–free interval, total SREs, and overall survival (OS).
Results Overall, of 757 participants, 349 (46%) completed docetaxel treatment. Median (IQR) age was 68 (63-73) years. Clinical progression-free survival did not reach statistical significance for either Sr89 or ZA. Cox regression analysis adjusted for all stratification variables showed benefit of Sr89 on CPFS (hazard ratio [HR], 0.85; 95% CI, 0.73-0.99; P = .03) and confirmed no effect of ZA (HR, 0.98; 95% CI, 0.85-1.14; P = .81); ZA had a significant effect on SRE-free interval (HR, 0.78; 95% CI, 0.65-0.95; P = .01). For OS, there was no effect of either Sr89 (HR, 0.92; 95% CI, 0.79-1.08; P = 0.34) or ZA (HR, 0.99; 95% CI, 0.84-1.16; P = 0.91).
Conclusions and Relevance Strontium-89 combined with docetaxel improved CPFS but did not improve OS, SRE-free interval, or total SREs; ZA did not improve CPFS or OS but did significantly improve median SRE-free interval and reduced total SREs by around one-third, suggesting a role as postchemotherapy maintenance therapy
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