Recording 2-D Nutation NQR Spectra by Random Sampling Method

The method of random sampling was introduced for the first time in the nutation nuclear quadrupole resonance (NQR) spectroscopy where the nutation spectra show characteristic singularities in the form of shoulders. The analytic formulae for complex two-dimensional (2-D) nutation NQR spectra (I = 3/2) were obtained and the condition for resolving the spectral singularities for small values of an asymmetry parameter η was determined. Our results show that the method of random sampling of a nutation interferogram allows significant reduction of time required to perform a 2-D nutation experiment and does not worsen the spectral resolution

Why are Prices Sticky? Evidence from Business Survey Data

This paper offers new insights on the price setting behaviour of German retail firms using a novel dataset that consists of a large panel of monthly business surveys from 1991-2006. The firm-level data allows matching changes in firms' prices to several other firm-characteristics. Moreover, information on price expectations allow analyzing the determinants of price updating. Using univariate and bivariate ordered probit specifications, empirical menu cost models are estimated relating the probability of price adjustment and price updating, respectively, to both time- and state- dependent variables. First, results suggest an important role for state-dependence; changes in the macroeconomic and institutional environment as well as firm-specific factors are significantly related to the timing of price adjustment. These findings imply that price setting models should endogenize the timing of price adjustment in order to generate realistic predictions concerning the transmission of monetary policy. Second, an analysis of price expectations yields similar results providing evidence in favour of state-dependent sticky plan models. Third, intermediate input cost changes are among the most important determinants of price adjustment suggesting that pricing models should explicitly incorporate price setting at different production stages. However, the results show that adjustment to input cost changes takes time indicating "additional stickiness" at the last stage of processing

In ovo injection of prebiotics and synbiotics affects the digestive potency of the pancreas in growing chickens

Abstract The purpose of the study was to examine the effect of 2 prebiotics and 2 synbiotics on the digestive potency of pancreas in 1-, 3-, 7-, 14-, 21-, and 34-day-old cockerels. Prebiotics (inulin and Bi2 tos) and synbiotics (inulin + Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis and Bi2 tos + Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris) were injected in ovo into the air cell on the 12th d embryonic development. Their application increased the activity of amylase, lipase, and trypsin in the pancreas. The most pronounced changes were observed at the end of the investigated rearing period (d 34). The strongest stimulative effects on amylase were shown by both synbiotics, on lipase synbiotic Bi2 tos + Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris, and on trypsin all the used prebiotics and synbiotics. Simultaneously, neither the absolute nor the relative mass of the pancreas in comparison to control group were changed. Also, the injected in ovo compounds did not cause a deterioration in the posthatching condition of the chicken liver, as determined by measurement of the activity of marker enzymes in the blood (alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase). Treatment with the prebiotics and synbiotics did not change the feed conversion ratio but Bi2 tos (galacto-oligosaccharide) and inulin (fructan) + Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis significantly increased final BW

Comparison of resource use by COPD patients on inhaled therapies with long-acting bronchodilators: a database study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The purpose of this analysis was to compare health care costs and utilization among COPD patients who had long-acting beta-2 agonist (LABA) OR long-acting muscarinic antagonist (LAMA); LABA AND LAMA; or LABA, LAMA, AND inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) prescription claims.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This was a 12 month pre-post, retrospective analysis using COPD patients in a national administrative insurance database. Propensity score and exact matching were used to match patients 1:1:1 between the LABA or LAMA (formoterol, salmeterol, or tiotropium), LABA and LAMA (tiotropium/formoterol or tiotropium/salmeterol), and LABA, LAMA and ICS (bronchodilators plus steroid) groups. Post-period comparisons were evaluated with analysis of covariance. Costs were evaluated from a commercial payer perspective.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A total of 523 patients were matched using 29 pre-period variables (e.g., demographics, medication exposure). Post-match assessments indicated balance among the cohorts. COPD-related costs differed among groups (LABA or LAMA $2,051 SE = 91; LABA and LAMA$2,823 SE = 62; LABA, LAMA and ICS $3,546 SE = 89; all p < .0001) with the differences driven by study medication costs. However, non-study COPD medication costs were higher for the LABA or LAMA therapy group ($911 SE = 91) compared to the LABA and LAMA therapy group ($668 SE = 58; p = 0.0238) and non-study respiratory medications were approximately$100 greater for the LABA or LAMA therapy group relative to both LABA and LAMA (p = .0018) and LABA, LAMA, and ICS (p = .0071) therapy groups. While there was no observed difference in outpatient costs, there was a slightly higher number of outpatient visits per patient in the LABA and LAMA (25.5 SE = 0.9, p = 0.0070) relative to the LABA or LAMA therapy group (22.3 SE = 0.8) and higher utilization (89.7% of patients) with COPD visits in the LABA and LAMA therapy group relative to both the LABA or LAMA (73.8%; p < .0001) and LABA, LAMA and ICS therapy groups (85.3; p = 0.0305).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Significant cost differences driven mainly by pharmaceuticals were observed among LABA or LAMA, LABA and LAMA and LABA, LAMA and ICS therapies. A COPD-related cost offset was observed from single bronchodilator to two bronchodilators. Addition of an ICS with two bronchodilators resulted in higher treatment costs without reduction in other COPD-related costs compared with two bronchodilators.</p

The Ultimate Fate of Supercooled Liquids

In recent years it has become widely accepted that a dynamical length scale {\xi}_{\alpha} plays an important role in supercooled liquids near the glass transition. We examine the implications of the interplay between the growing {\xi}_{\alpha} and the size of the crystal nucleus, {\xi}_M, which shrinks on cooling. We argue that at low temperatures where {\xi}_{\alpha} > {\xi}_M a new crystallization mechanism emerges enabling rapid development of a large scale web of sparsely connected crystallinity. Though we predict this web percolates the system at too low a temperature to be easily seen in the laboratory, there are noticeable residual effects near the glass transition that can account for several previously observed unexplained phenomena of deeply supercooled liquids including Fischer clusters, and anomalous crystal growth near T_g

Measurement of event-by-event transverse momentum and multiplicity fluctuations using strongly intensive measures Δ[PT,N]\Delta[P_T, N] and Σ[PT,N]\Sigma[P_T, N] in nucleus-nucleus collisions at the CERN Super Proton Synchrotron

Results from the NA49 experiment at the CERN SPS are presented on event-by-event transverse momentum and multiplicity fluctuations of charged particles, produced at forward rapidities in central Pb+Pb interactions at beam momenta 20$A$, 30$A$, 40$A$, 80$A$, and 158$A$ GeV/c, as well as in systems of different size ($p+p$, C+C, Si+Si, and Pb+Pb) at 158$A$ GeV/c. This publication extends the previous NA49 measurements of the strongly intensive measure $\Phi_{p_T}$ by a study of the recently proposed strongly intensive measures of fluctuations $\Delta[P_T, N]$ and $\Sigma[P_T, N]$. In the explored kinematic region transverse momentum and multiplicity fluctuations show no significant energy dependence in the SPS energy range. However, a remarkable system size dependence is observed for both $\Delta[P_T, N]$ and $\Sigma[P_T, N]$, with the largest values measured in peripheral Pb+Pb interactions. The results are compared with NA61/SHINE measurements in $p+p$ collisions, as well as with predictions of the UrQMD and EPOS models.Comment: 12 pages, 14 figures, to be submitted to PR

Antideuteron and deuteron production in mid-central Pb+Pb collisions at 158AA GeV

Production of deuterons and antideuterons was studied by the NA49 experiment in the 23.5% most central Pb+Pb collisions at the top SPS energy of $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$=17.3 GeV. Invariant yields for $\bar{d}$ and $d$ were measured as a function of centrality in the center-of-mass rapidity range $-1.2<y<-0.6$. Results for $\bar{d}(d)$ together with previously published $\bar{p}(p)$ measurements are discussed in the context of the coalescence model. The coalescence parameters $B_2$ were deduced as a function of transverse momentum $p_t$ and collision centrality.Comment: 9 figure

Multiplicity and transverse momentum fluctuations in inelastic proton-proton interactions at the CERN Super Proton Synchrotron

Measurements of multiplicity and transverse momentum fluctuations of charged particles were performed in inelastic p+p interactions at 20, 31, 40, 80 and 158 GeV/c beam momentum. Results for the scaled variance of the multiplicity distribution and for three strongly intensive measures of multiplicity and transverse momentum fluctuations \$\Delta[P_{T},N]\$, \$\Sigma[P_{T},N]\$ and \$\Phi_{p_T}\$ are presented. For the first time the results on fluctuations are fully corrected for experimental biases. The results on multiplicity and transverse momentum fluctuations significantly deviate from expectations for the independent particle production. They also depend on charges of selected hadrons. The string-resonance Monte Carlo models EPOS and UrQMD do not describe the data. The scaled variance of multiplicity fluctuations is significantly higher in inelastic p+p interactions than in central Pb+Pb collisions measured by NA49 at the same energy per nucleon. This is in qualitative disagreement with the predictions of the Wounded Nucleon Model. Within the statistical framework the enhanced multiplicity fluctuations in inelastic p+p interactions can be interpreted as due to event-by-event fluctuations of the fireball energy and/or volume.Comment: 18 pages, 12 figure

Energy dependence of kaon-to-proton ratio fluctuations in central Pb+Pb collisions from sNN\sqrt{s_{NN}} = 6.3 to 17.3 GeV

Kaons and protons carry large parts of two conserved quantities, strangeness and baryon number. It is argued that their correlation and thus also fluctuations are sensitive to conditions prevailing at the anticipated parton-hadron phase boundary. Fluctuations of the $(\mathrm{K}^+ + \mathrm{K}^-)/(\mathrm{p}+\bar{\mathrm{p}})$ and $\mathrm{K}^+/\mathrm{p}$ ratios have been measured for the first time by NA49 in central Pb+Pb collisions at 5 SPS energies between $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$= 6.3 GeV and 17.3 GeV. Both ratios exhibit a change of sign in $\sigma_{\mathrm{dyn}}$, a measure of non-statistical fluctuations, around $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 8 GeV. Below this energy, $\sigma_{\mathrm{dyn}}$ is positive, indicating higher fluctuation compared to a mixed event background sample, while for higher energies, $\sigma_{\mathrm{dyn}}$ is negative, indicating correlated emission of kaons and protons. The results are compared to UrQMD calculations which which give a good description at the higher SPS energies, but fail to reproduce the transition to positive values.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure