1,326 research outputs found
Hyperscaling in the Domany-Kinzel Cellular Automaton
An apparent violation of hyperscaling at the endpoint of the critical line in
the Domany-Kinzel stochastic cellular automaton finds an elementary resolution
upon noting that the order parameter is discontinuous at this point. We derive
a hyperscaling relation for such transitions and discuss applications to
related examples.Comment: 8 pages, latex, no figure
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Recovery and use of fission product noble metals
Noble metals in fission products are of strategic value. Market prices for noble metals are rising more rapidly than recovery costs. A promising concept has been developed for recovery of noble metals from fission product waste. Although the assessment was made only for the three noble metal fission products (Rh, Pd, Ru), there are other fission products and actinides which have potential value. (DLC
A systematic review of financial incentives given in the healthcare setting:Do they effectively improve physical activity levels?
Background According to current physical activity guidelines, a substantial percentage of the population in high-income countries is inactive, and inactivity is an important risk factor for chronic conditions and mortality. Financial incentives may encourage people to become more active. The objective of this review was to provide insight in the effectiveness of financial incentives used for promoting physical activity in the healthcare setting. Methods A systematic literature search was performed in three databases: Medline, EMBASE and SciSearch. In total, 1395 papers published up until April 2015 were identified. Eleven of them were screened on in- and exclusion criteria based on the full-text publication. Results Three studies were included in the review. Two studies combined a financial incentive with nutrition classes or motivational interviewing. One of these provided a free membership to a sports facility and the other one provided vouchers for one episode of aerobic activities at a local leisure center or swimming pool. The third study provided a schedule for exercise sessions. None of the studies addressed the preferences of their target population with regard to financial incentives. Despite some short-term effects, neither of the studies showed significant long-term effects of the financial incentive. Conclusions Based on the limited number of studies and the diversity in findings, no solid conclusion can be drawn regarding the effectiveness of financial incentives on physical activity in the healthcare setting. Therefore, there is a need for more research on the effectiveness of financial incentives in changing physical activity behavior in this setting. There is possibly something to be gained by studying the preferred type and size of the financial incentive
Mean Field Theory of Sandpile Avalanches: from the Intermittent to the Continuous Flow Regime
We model the dynamics of avalanches in granular assemblies in partly filled
rotating cylinders using a mean-field approach. We show that, upon varying the
cylinder angular velocity , the system undergoes a hysteresis cycle
between an intermittent and a continuous flow regimes. In the intermittent flow
regime, and approaching the transition, the avalanche duration exhibits
critical slowing down with a temporal power-law divergence. Upon adding a white
noise term, and close to the transition, the distribution of avalanche
durations is also a power-law. The hysteresis, as well as the statistics of
avalanche durations, are in good qualitative agreement with recent experiments
in partly filled rotating cylinders.Comment: 4 pages, RevTeX 3.0, postscript figures 1, 3 and 4 appended
Measurement of the Proton and Deuteron Spin Structure Functions g2 and Asymmetry A2
We have measured the spin structure functions g2p and g2d and the virtual
photon asymmetries A2p and A2d over the kinematic range 0.02 < x < 0.8 and 1.0
< Q^2 < 30(GeV/c)^2 by scattering 38.8 GeV longitudinally polarized electrons
from transversely polarized NH3 and 6LiD targets.The absolute value of A2 is
significantly smaller than the sqrt{R} positivity limit over the measured
range, while g2 is consistent with the twist-2 Wandzura-Wilczek calculation. We
obtain results for the twist-3 reduced matrix elements d2p, d2d and d2n. The
Burkhardt-Cottingham sum rule integral - int(g2(x)dx) is reported for the range
0.02 < x < 0.8.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figures, 1 tabl
Effects of rapeseed variety and oil extraction method on the content and ileal digestibility of crude protein and amino acids in rapeseed cake and softly processed rapeseed meal fed to broiler chickens
We examined the effects of rapeseed variety and oil extraction method on crude protein (CP) and amino acid (AA) content in rapeseed co-products, and determined their coefficient of apparent (AID) and standardised ileal digestibility (SID) in broiler chickens. Sixteen rapeseed samples were de-oiled; four were cold-pressed producing rapeseed cake (RSC) and twelve were mild processed and hexane-extracted producing soft rapeseed meal (SRSM). One batch of the variety Compass, grown on the same farm, was processed using both methods obtaining Compass RSC and Compass SRSM. DK Cabernet rapeseed variety, grown on three different farms, was used to produce two SRSM batches and one RSC batch. All rapeseed co-products were ground through a 4 mm screen and mixed into semi-synthetic diets at a level of 500 g/kg. Day-old Ross 308 male broilers were fed a commercial diet for 14 days. A total of 96 pairs of birds were then allotted to 1 of 16 dietary treatments (n = 6) and fed a test diet for 8 days. Birds were then culled allowing removal of ileal digesta from Meckel’s diverticulum to the ileal-caecal junction. Digestibility of CP and AA was determined using titanium dioxide as an inert marker. The SRSM samples had an increased content of CP (419–560 g/kg DM) compared to RSC samples (293–340 g/kg DM). Both AID and SID of lysine, and SID of arginine, histidine and threonine were greater in Compass RSC compared to its SRSM counterpart (P 0.05). The SID of lysine was on average 0.03 units greater (P < 0.001) in RSC than in SRSM. The SRSM produced from variety PR46W21 showed similar or greater AID and SID of individual AA than the RSC from four other rapeseed varieties. It is concluded that selection of rapeseed varieties, and extraction method have a potential to deliver high-protein dietary ingredients with a good digestibility value
Clinical Evidence Supports a Protective Role for CXCL5 in Coronary Artery Disease
Our goal was to measure the association of CXCL5 and molecular phenotypes associated with coronary atherosclerosis severity in patients at least 65 years old. CXCL5 is classically defined as a proinflammatory chemokine, but its role in chronic inflammatory diseases, such as coronary atherosclerosis, is not well defined. We enrolled individuals who were at least 65 years old and undergoing diagnostic cardiac catheterization. Coronary artery disease (CAD) severity was quantified in each subject via coronary angiography by calculating a CAD score. Circulating CXCL5 levels were measured from plasma, and both DNA genotyping and mRNA expression levels in peripheral blood mononuclear cells were quantified via microarray gene chips. We observed a negative association of CXCL5 levels with CAD at an odds ratio (OR) of 0.46 (95% CI, 0.27–0.75). Controlling for covariates, including sex, statin use, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, obesity, self-reported race, smoking, and diabetes, the OR was not significantly affected [OR, 0.54 (95% CI, 0.31–0.96)], consistent with a protective role for CXCL5 in coronary atherosclerosis. We also identified 18 genomic regions with expression quantitative trait loci of genes correlated with both CAD severity and circulating CXCL5 levels. Our clinical findings are consistent with the emerging link between chemokines and atherosclerosis and suggest new therapeutic targets for CAD
Measurements of the -Dependence of the Proton and Neutron Spin Structure Functions g1p and g1n
The structure functions g1p and g1n have been measured over the range 0.014 <
x < 0.9 and 1 < Q2 < 40 GeV2 using deep-inelastic scattering of 48 GeV
longitudinally polarized electrons from polarized protons and deuterons. We
find that the Q2 dependence of g1p (g1n) at fixed x is very similar to that of
the spin-averaged structure function F1p (F1n). From a NLO QCD fit to all
available data we find at
Q2=5 GeV2, in agreement with the Bjorken sum rule prediction of 0.182 \pm
0.005.Comment: 17 pages, 3 figures. Submitted to Physics Letters
Non-monotonic variation with salt concentration of the second virial coefficient in protein solutions
The osmotic virial coefficient of globular protein solutions is
calculated as a function of added salt concentration at fixed pH by computer
simulations of the ``primitive model''. The salt and counter-ions as well as a
discrete charge pattern on the protein surface are explicitly incorporated. For
parameters roughly corresponding to lysozyme, we find that first
decreases with added salt concentration up to a threshold concentration, then
increases to a maximum, and then decreases again upon further raising the ionic
strength. Our studies demonstrate that the existence of a discrete charge
pattern on the protein surface profoundly influences the effective interactions
and that non-linear Poisson Boltzmann and Derjaguin-Landau-Verwey-Overbeek
(DLVO) theory fail for large ionic strength. The observed non-monotonicity of
is compared to experiments. Implications for protein crystallization are
discussed.Comment: 43 pages, including 17 figure
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