691 research outputs found
Pertussis in The Netherlands: an outbreak despite high levels of immunization with whole-cell vaccine.
In 1996, a sudden increase in pertussis incidence was reported in the Netherlands (2.1 per 100,000 in 1995, 18 per 100,000 in 1996). Although not all potential surveillance artifacts could be excluded, it is highly probable that the data reflect a true outbreak. However, the cause of this increase has not yet been determined. Further research is directed to the severity of disease and a possible mismatch between the vaccine and the circulating Bordetella strains
Reemergence of pertussis in the highly vaccinated population of the Netherlands: observations on surveillance data.
We analyzed pertussis reporting, death, hospitalization, and serodiagnostic data from 1976 to 1998 to help explain the cause of the 1996 pertussis outbreak in the Netherlands. The unexpected outbreak was detected by an increase in pertussis reporting and by other surveillance methods. In 1996, according to reporting and serologic data, the increase in pertussis incidence among (mostly unvaccinated) children less than 1 year of age was similar to the increase in hospital admissions. Among older (mostly vaccinated) persons, the increase in hospital admissions was relatively small. The increase in pertussis incidence was higher among vaccinated than among unvaccinated persons of all ages. This resulted in lower estimates of vaccine effectiveness. The proportion of pertussis infections resulting in recognizable symptoms may have increased among vaccinated persons because of a mismatch of the vaccine strain and circulating Bordetella pertussis strains. The small immunogenicity profile of the Dutch vaccine may have resulted in greater vulnerability to antigenic changes in B. pertussis
Lectures on conformal field theory and Kac-Moody algebras
This is an introduction to the basic ideas and to a few further selected
topics in conformal quantum field theory and in the theory of Kac-Moody
algebras.Comment: 59 pages, LaTeX2e, extended version of lectures given at the Graduate
Course on Conformal Field Theory and Integrable Models (Budapest, August
1996), to appear in Springer Lecture Notes in Physic
Aspects of Fractional Superstrings
We investigate some issues relating to recently proposed fractional
superstring theories with . Using the factorization
approach of Gepner and Qiu, we systematically rederive the partition functions
of the and theories and examine their spacetime supersymmetry.
Generalized GSO projection operators for the model are found. Uniqueness
of the twist field, , as source of spacetime fermions is
demonstrated. Last, we derive a linear (rather than quadratic) relationship
between the required conformal anomaly and the conformal dimension of the
supercurrent ghost.Comment: 36 pages, CALT-68-1756 Revisions to match form to appear in Comm.
Math. Phys. Use standard TeX. Derivation of affine partition functions
related to models is now shown. References Update
Youth in transition:Study protocol of a prospective cohort study into the long-term course of addiction, mental health problems and social functioning in youth entering addiction treatment
BACKGROUND: Substance use disorders (SUDs) are prevalent in the general population, tend to follow a chronic course, are associated with many individual and social problems, and often have their onset in adolescence. However, the knowledge base from prospective population surveys and treatment-outcome studies on the course of SUD in adolescents is limited at best. The present study aims to fill this gap and focuses on a subgroup that is particularly at risk for chronicity: adolescents in addiction treatment. We will investigate the rate of persistent SUD and its predictors longitudinally from adolescence to young adulthood among youth with DSM-5 SUD from the start of their addiction treatment to 2 and 4 years following treatment-entry. In addition to SUD, we will investigate the course of comorbid mental disorders, social functioning, and quality of life and their association with SUD over time. METHODS/DESIGN: In a naturalistic, multi-center prospective cohort design, we will include youths (n = 420), who consecutively enter addiction treatment at ten participating organizations in the Netherlands. Inclusion is prestratified by treatment organization, to ensure a nationally representative sample. Eligible youths are 16 to 22 years old and seek help for a primary DSM-5 cannabis, alcohol, cocaine or amphetamine use disorder. Assessments focus on lifetime and current substance use and SUD, non-SUD mental disorders, family history, life events, social functioning, treatment history, quality of life, chronic stress indicators (hair cortisol) and neuropsychological tests (computerized executive function tasks) and are conducted at baseline, end of treatment, and 2 and 4 years post-baseline. Baseline data and treatment data (type, intensity, duration) will be used to predict outcome – persistence of or desistance from SUD. DISCUSSION: There are remarkably few prospective studies worldwide that investigated the course of SUD in adolescents in addiction treatment for longer than 1 year. We are confident that the Youth in Transition study will further our understanding of determinants and consequences of persistent SUD among high-risk adolescents during the critical transition from adolescence to young adulthood. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The Netherlands National Trial Register Trial NL7928. Date of registration January 17, 2019
Black Hole Entropy Associated with Supersymmetric Sigma Model
By means of an identity that equates elliptic genus partition function of a
supersymmetric sigma model on the -fold symmetric product of
(, is the symmetric group of elements) to the
partition function of a second quantized string theory, we derive the
asymptotic expansion of the partition function as well as the asymptotic for
the degeneracy of spectrum in string theory. The asymptotic expansion for the
state counting reproduces the logarithmic correction to the black hole entropy.Comment: 11 pages, no figures, version to appear in the Phys. Rev. D (2003
Probing quantum phases of ultracold atoms in optical lattices by transmission spectra in cavity QED
Studies of ultracold atoms in optical lattices link various disciplines,
providing a playground where fundamental quantum many-body concepts, formulated
in condensed-matter physics, can be tested in much better controllable atomic
systems, e.g., strongly correlated phases, quantum information processing.
Standard methods to measure quantum properties of Bose-Einstein condensates
(BECs) are based on matter-wave interference between atoms released from traps
which destroys the system. Here we propose a nondestructive method based on
optical measurements, and prove that atomic statistics can be mapped on
transmission spectra of a high-Q cavity. This can be extremely useful for
studying phase transitions between Mott insulator and superfluid states, since
various phases show qualitatively distinct light scattering. Joining the
paradigms of cavity quantum electrodynamics (QED) and ultracold gases will
enable conceptually new investigations of both light and matter at ultimate
quantum levels, which only recently became experimentally possible. Here we
predict effects accessible in such novel setups.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figure
Crossings, Motzkin paths and Moments
Kasraoui, Stanton and Zeng, and Kim, Stanton and Zeng introduced certain
-analogues of Laguerre and Charlier polynomials. The moments of these
orthogonal polynomials have combinatorial models in terms of crossings in
permutations and set partitions. The aim of this article is to prove simple
formulas for the moments of the -Laguerre and the -Charlier polynomials,
in the style of the Touchard-Riordan formula (which gives the moments of some
-Hermite polynomials, and also the distribution of crossings in matchings).
Our method mainly consists in the enumeration of weighted Motzkin paths, which
are naturally associated with the moments. Some steps are bijective, in
particular we describe a decomposition of paths which generalises a previous
construction of Penaud for the case of the Touchard-Riordan formula. There are
also some non-bijective steps using basic hypergeometric series, and continued
fractions or, alternatively, functional equations.Comment: 21 page
Precision cutting of glassy polymers: influence of aging on the cutting process
ABSTRACT This paper presents the results of an experimental study on the influence of aging on the cutting mechanics of glassy polymers. Polystyrene (PS), a glassy polymer, typically behaves brittle when subjected to a stress, it can be made ductile by rejuvenation. It was expected that PS would show a different cutting behaviour when it would be aged or rejuvenated. To investigate this two different molecular weight PS grades were used. Both aged and (mechanically) rejuvenated samples were made from each grade and cut. Cutting forces, chip morphology and surface quality were investigated. Although the chips showed no differences in brittleness and ductility, the measured cutting forces indicated that there is a difference between aged and rejuvenated PS. Also an interesting difference in cutting forces between the two PS grades was found. Investigation of the surface quality of the PS samples showed that the aged samples have smoother surfaces than the rejuvenated samples. It can be concluded that aging does have effect on the cutting mechanics and the obtained surface roughness
Quantum many-body simulations using Gaussian phase-space representations
Phase-space representations are of increasing importance as a viable and
successful means to study exponentially complex quantum many-body systems from
first principles. This review traces the background of these methods, starting
from the early work of Wigner, Glauber and Sudarshan. We focus on modern
phase-space approaches using non-classical phase-space representations. These
lead to the Gaussian representation, which unifies bosonic and fermionic
phase-space. Examples treated include quantum solitons in optical fibers,
colliding Bose-Einstein condensates, and strongly correlated fermions on
lattices.Comment: Short Review (10 pages); Corrected typo in eq (14); Added a few more
reference
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