818 research outputs found
Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy: Indications, technique and complications at Groote Schuur Hospital
Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) is a relatively new technique in South Africa. It is useful in the management of patients with neurological and oropharyngeal disorders in whom long-term feeding is necessary. The PEGs inserted in patients at Groote Schuur Hospital between June 1986 and March 1990 as part of an on-going study to evaluate this procedure are reported
Electronic Structure and Heavy Fermion Behavior in LiV_2O_4
First principles density functional calculations of the electronic and
magnetic properties of spinel-structure LiVO have been performed
using the full potential linearized augmented planewave method. The
calculations show that the electronic structure near the Fermi energy consists
of a manifold of 12 bands derived from V states, weakly hybridized
with O p states. While the total width of this active manifold is approximately
2 eV, it may be roughly decomposed into two groups: high velocity bands and
flatter bands, although these mix in density functional calculations. The flat
bands, which are the more atomic-like lead to a high density of states and
magnetic instability of local moment character. The value of the on-site
exchange energy is sensitive to the exact exchange correlation parameterization
used in the calculations, but is much larger than the interaction between
neighboring spins, reflecting the weak coupling of the magnetic system with the
high velocity bands. A scenario for the observed heavy fermion behavior is
discussed in which conduction electrons in the dispersive bands are weakly
scattered by local moments associated with strongly correlated electrons in the
heavy bands.This is analogous to that in conventional Kondo type heavy
fermions, but is unusual in that both the local moments and conduction
electrons come from the same d-manifold.Comment: 6 Revtex pages, Postscript figs embedded. Revision: figure 4 replaced
with a better version, showing the band character explicitel
Rotating group design for vane pump flow ripple reduction
It is well known that the hydraulic pump is the main source of noise in hydraulic power steering systems. This noise is produced by the pulsating flow transmitted through the fluid due to the cyclic pumping mechanism. This flow ripple and pressure ripple spread through the hydraulic circuit, interacting in a complex way with other parts of the vehicle. This process generates annoying audible noise inside the vehicle. This work addresses a new approach to flow ripple reduction by tuning the pump rotating group. The method consists of making the outlet flow as steady as possible by modifying the rotating group geometry. A MATLAB/Simulink-based pump model has been created according to the new geometrical characteristics and their numerical results, compared to the regular pump ones. In addition, a flow ripple experiment was conducted using the secondary source method (SSM to validate the numerically-predicted results of the regular pump. The results of the new design show significant amplitude reduction of the flow ripple amplitudes at different operating conditions. In particular, the flow ripple reduction at the first harmonic is almost 20 dB when the pump runs in a parking manoeuvres operating condition (1000 rpm at 50 bar of backpressure)
Ising Spins on Thin Graphs
The Ising model on ``thin'' graphs (standard Feynman diagrams) displays
several interesting properties. For ferromagnetic couplings there is a mean
field phase transition at the corresponding Bethe lattice transition point. For
antiferromagnetic couplings the replica trick gives some evidence for a spin
glass phase. In this paper we investigate both the ferromagnetic and
antiferromagnetic models with the aid of simulations. We confirm the Bethe
lattice values of the critical points for the ferromagnetic model on
and graphs and examine the putative spin glass phase in the
antiferromagnetic model by looking at the overlap between replicas in a
quenched ensemble of graphs. We also compare the Ising results with those for
higher state Potts models and Ising models on ``fat'' graphs, such as those
used in 2D gravity simulations.Comment: LaTeX 13 pages + 9 postscript figures, COLO-HEP-340,
LPTHE-Orsay-94-6
Tensionless structure of glassy phase
We study a class of homogeneous finite-dimensional Ising models which were
recently shown to exhibit glassy properties. Monte Carlo simulations of a
particular three-dimensional model in this class show that the glassy phase
obtained under slow cooling is dominated by large scale excitations whose
energy scales with their size as with
. Simulations suggest that in another model of this class,
namely the four-spin model, energy is concentrated mainly in linear defects
making also in this case domain walls tensionless. Two-dimensinal variants of
these models are trivial and energy of excitations scales with the exponent
.Comment: 5 page
Herd-level risk factors of bovine tuberculosis in England and Wales after the 2001 foot-and-mouth disease epidemic
We present the results of a 2005 case–control study of bovine tuberculosis (bTB) breakdowns in English and Welsh herds. The herd management, farming practices, and environmental factors of 401matched pairs of case and control herds were investigated to provide a picture of herd-level risk factors in areas of varying bTB incidence. A global conditional logistic regression model, with region-specific variants, was used to compare case herds that had experienced a confirmed bTB breakdown to contemporaneous control herds matched on region, herd type, herd size, and parish testing interval. Contacts with cattle from contiguous herds and sourcing cattle from herds with a recent history of bTB were associated with an increased risk in both the global and regional analyses. Operating a farm over several premises, providing cattle feed inside the housing, and the presence of badgers were also identified as significantly associated with an increased bTB risk. Steps taken to minimize cattle contacts with neighboring herds and altering trading practices could have the potential to reduce the size of the bTB epidemic. In principle, limiting the interactions between cattle and wildlife may also be useful; however this study did not highlight any specific measures to implement
CuSiO_3 : a quasi - one - dimensional S=1/2 antiferromagnetic chain system
CuSiO_3, isotypic to the spin - Peierls compound CuGeO_3, was discovered
recently as a metastable decomposition product of the silicate mineral
dioptase, Cu_6Si_6O_{18}\cdot6H_2O. We investigated the physical properties of
CuSiO_3 using susceptibility, magnetization and specific heat measurements on
powder samples. The magnetic susceptibility \chi(T) is reproduced very well
above T = 8 K by theoretical calculations for an S=1/2 antiferromagnetic
Heisenberg linear chain without frustration (\alpha = 0) and a nearest -
neighbor exchange coupling constant of J/k_{B} = 21 K, much weaker than in
CuGeO_3. Below 8 K the susceptibility exhibits a substantial drop. This feature
is identified as a second - order phase transition at T_{0} = 7.9 K by specific
heat measurements. The influence of magnetic fields on T_{0} is weak, and ac -
magnetization measurements give strong evidence for a spin - flop - phase at
\mu_0H_{SF} ~ 3 T. The origin of the magnetic phase transition at T_{0} = 7.9 K
is discussed in the context of long - range antiferromagnetic order (AF) versus
spin - Peierls(SP)order. Susceptibility and specific heat results support the
AF ordered ground state. Additional temperature dependent ^{63,65}Cu nuclear
quadrupole resonance experiments have been carried out to probe the Cu^{2+}
electronic state and the spin dynamics in CuSiO_3
First principles electronic structure of spinel LiCr2O4: A possible half-metal?
We have employed first-principles electronic structure calculations to
examine the hypothetical (but plausible) oxide spinel, LiCr2O4 with the d^{2.5}
electronic configuration. The cell (cubic) and internal (oxygen position)
structural parameters have been obtained for this compound through structural
relaxation in the first-principles framework. Within the one-electron band
picture, we find that LiCr2O4 is magnetic, and a candidate half-metal. The
electronic structure is substantially different from the closely related and
well known rutile half-metal CrO2. In particular, we find a smaller conduction
band width in the spinel compound, perhaps as a result of the distinct topology
of the spinel crystal structure, and the reduced oxidation state. The magnetism
and half-metallicity of LiCr2O4 has been mapped in the parameter space of its
cubic crystal structure. Comparisons with superconducting LiTi2O4 (d^{0.5}),
heavy-fermion LiV2O4 (d^{1.5}) and charge-ordering LiMn2O4 (d^{3.5}) suggest
the effectiveness of a nearly-rigid band picture involving simple shifts of the
position of E_F in these very different materials. Comparisons are also made
with the electronic structure of ZnV2O4 (d^{2}), a correlated insulator that
undergoes a structural and antiferromagnetic phase transition.Comment: 9 pages, 7 Figures, version as published in PR
Mass Parameterizations and Predictions of Isotopic Observables
We discuss the accuracy of mass models for extrapolating to very asymmetric
nuclei and the impact of such extrapolations on the predictions of isotopic
observables in multifragmentation. We obtain improved mass predictions by
incorporating measured masses and extrapolating to unmeasured masses with a
mass formula that includes surface symmetry and Coulomb terms. We find that
using accurate masses has a significant impact on the predicted isotopic
observables.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figure
- …