1,507 research outputs found
Area Regge Calculus and Discontinuous Metrics
Taking the triangle areas as independent variables in the theory of Regge
calculus can lead to ambiguities in the edge lengths, which can be interpreted
as discontinuities in the metric. We construct solutions to area Regge calculus
using a triangulated lattice and find that on a spacelike hypersurface no such
discontinuity can arise. On a null hypersurface however, we can have such a
situation and the resulting metric can be interpreted as a so-called refractive
wave.Comment: 18 pages, 1 figur
Phase Transitions in Hexane Monolayers Physisorbed onto Graphite
We report the results of molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of a complete
monolayer of hexane physisorbed onto the basal plane of graphite. At low
temperatures the system forms a herringbone solid. With increasing temperature,
a solid to nematic liquid crystal transition takes place at K
followed by another transition at K into an isotropic fluid.
We characterize the different phases by calculating various order parameters,
coordinate distributions, energetics, spreading pressure and correlation
functions, most of which are in reasonable agreement with available
experimental evidence. In addition, we perform simulations where the
Lennard-Jones interaction strength, corrugation potential strength and dihedral
rigidity are varied in order to better characterize the nature of the two
transitions through. We find that both phase transitions are facilitated by a
``footprint reduction'' of the molecules via tilting, and to a lesser degree
via creation of gauche defects in the molecules.Comment: 18 pages, eps figures embedded, submitted to Phys. Rev.
Excess mortality among 10âyear survivors of classical Hodgkin lymphoma in adolescents and young adults
Adolescents and young adults (AYA) surviving classical Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL) risk long term fatal treatmentârelated toxicities. We utilized the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) program to compare excess mortality rate (EMRâobserved minus expected mortality) for 10âyear survivors of AYA cHL diagnosed in 1973â1992 and 1993â2003 eras. The 15âyear EMR reduced from 4.88% to 2.19% while the 20âyear EMR reduced from 9.46% to 4.07% between eras. Survivors of stages 1â2 had lower EMR than survivors of stages 3â4 cHL in the 1993â2003 but not in the 1973â1992 era. There was an overall decline in risk of death between 10 and 15 years from diagnosis, driven mostly by second neoplasms and cardiovascular mortality. Despite reduction in fatal second neoplasms and cardiovascular disease with more current therapy, long term survivors of AYA cHL still have a higher risk of death than the general population highlighting the need for safer therapies.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/142133/1/ajh24964_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/142133/2/ajh24964.pd
On parameters of the Levi-Civita solution
The Levi-Civita (LC) solution is matched to a cylindrical shell of an
anisotropic fluid. The fluid satisfies the energy conditions when the mass
parameter is in the range . The mass per unit
length of the shell is given explicitly in terms of , which has a
finite maximum. The relevance of the results to the non-existence of horizons
in the LC solution and to gauge cosmic strings is pointed out.Comment: Latex, no figure
Lathe converted for grinding aspheric surfaces
A standard overarm tracing lathe converted by the addition of an independently driven diamond grinding wheel is used for grinding aspheric surfaces. The motion of the wheel is controlled by the lathe air tracer following the template which produces the desired aspheric profile
Colliding axisymmetric pp-waves
An exact solution is found describing the collision of axisymmetric pp-waves
with M=0. They are impulsive in character and their coordinate singularities
become point curvature singularities at the boundaries of the interaction
region. The solution is conformally flat. Concrete examples are given,
involving an ultrarelativistic black hole against a burst of pure radiation or
two colliding beam- like waves.Comment: 6 pages, REVTeX, some misprints are correcte
Dynamics of a self gravitating light-like matter shell: a gauge-invariant Lagrangian and Hamiltonian description
A complete Lagrangian and Hamiltonian description of the theory of
self-gravitating light-like matter shells is given in terms of
gauge-independent geometric quantities. For this purpose the notion of an
extrinsic curvature for a null-like hypersurface is discussed and the
corresponding Gauss-Codazzi equations are proved. These equations imply Bianchi
identities for spacetimes with null-like, singular curvature. Energy-momentum
tensor-density of a light-like matter shell is unambiguously defined in terms
of an invariant matter Lagrangian density. Noether identity and
Belinfante-Rosenfeld theorem for such a tensor-density are proved. Finally, the
Hamiltonian dynamics of the interacting system: ``gravity + matter'' is derived
from the total Lagrangian, the latter being an invariant scalar density.Comment: 20 pages, RevTeX4, no figure
Ten-year experience of more than 35,000 orofacial clefts in Africa
Abstract
Background
Surgical correction of orofacial clefts greatly mitigates negative outcomes. However, access to reconstructive surgery is limited in developing countries. The present study reviews epidemiological data from a single charitable organization, Smile Train, with a database of surgical cases from 33 African countries from 2001â2011.
Methods
Demographic and clinical patient data were collected from questionnaires completed by the participating surgeons. These data were recorded in Excel, analyzed using SPSS and compared with previously reported data.
Results
Questionnaires were completed for 36,384 patients by 389 African surgeons. The distribution of clefts was: 34.44% clefts of the lip (CL), 58.87% clefts of the lip and palate (CLP), and 6.69% clefts of the palate only (CP). The male to female ratio was 1.46:1, and the unilateral: bilateral ratio 2.93:1, with left-sided predominance 1.69:1. Associated anomalies were found in 4.18% of patients. The most frequent surgeries included primary lip/nose repairs, unilateral (68.36%) and bilateral (11.84%). There was seasonal variation in the frequency of oral cleft births with the highest in January and lowest by December. The average age at surgery was 9.34Â years and increased in countries with lower gross domestic products. The average hospital stay was 4.5Â days. The reported complication rate was 1.92%.
Conclusions
With the exception of cleft palates, results follow trends of worldwide epidemiologic reports of 25% CL, 50% CLP, and 25% CP, 2:1 unilateral:bilateral and left:right ratios, and male predominance. Fewer than expected patients, especially females, presented with isolated cleft palates, suggesting that limitations in economic resources and cultural aesthetics of the obvious lip deformity may outweigh functional concerns and access to treatment for females. A fewer than expected associated anomalies suggests either true ethnic variation, or that more severely-affected patients are not presenting for treatment. The epidemiology of orofacial clefting in Africa has been difficult to assess due to the diversity of the continent and the considerable variation among study designs. The large sample size of the data collected provides a basis for further study of the epidemiology of orofacial clefting in Africa.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/110688/1/12887_2015_Article_328.pd
Geometry of General Hypersurfaces in Spacetime: Junction Conditions
We study imbedded hypersurfaces in spacetime whose causal character is
allowed to change from point to point. Inherited geometrical structures on
these hypersurfaces are defined by two methods: first, the standard rigged
connection induced by a rigging vector (a vector not tangent to the
hypersurface anywhere); and a second, more physically adapted, where each
observer in spacetime induces a new type of connection that we call the rigged
metric connection. The generalisation of the Gauss and Codazzi equations are
also given. With the above machinery, we attack the problem of matching two
spacetimes across a general hypersurface. It is seen that the preliminary
junction conditions allowing for the correct definition of Einstein's equations
in the distributional sense reduce to the requirement that the first
fundamental form of the hypersurface be continuous. The Bianchi identities are
then proven to hold in the distributional sense. Next, we find the proper
junction conditions which forbid the appearance of singular parts in the
curvature. Finally, we derive the physical implications of the junction
conditions: only six independent discontinuities of the Riemann tensor are
allowed. These are six matter discontinuities at non-null points of the
hypersurface. For null points, the existence of two arbitrary discontinuities
of the Weyl tensor (together with four in the matter tensor) are also allowed.Comment: Latex, no figure
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