1,261 research outputs found
A note on the computation of geometrically defined relative velocities
We discuss some aspects about the computation of kinematic, spectroscopic,
Fermi and astrometric relative velocities that are geometrically defined in
general relativity. Mainly, we state that kinematic and spectroscopic relative
velocities only depend on the 4-velocities of the observer and the test
particle, unlike Fermi and astrometric relative velocities, that also depend on
the acceleration of the observer and the corresponding relative position of the
test particle, but only at the event of observation and not around it, as it
would be deduced, in principle, from the definition of these velocities.
Finally, we propose an open problem in general relativity that consists on
finding intrinsic expressions for Fermi and astrometric relative velocities
avoiding terms that involve the evolution of the relative position of the test
particle. For this purpose, the proofs given in this paper can serve as
inspiration.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figure
Glycemic response of poultries in different feeding systems
The management of poultry feed is an important welfare promoter and the glycemic index a noninvasive evaluation. The aim was to evaluate the glycemic response of broiler breeders in restricted feeding system, and broilers receiving ad libitum feeding. Two experiments were carried out: I) 39-week-oldbroiler breeders, fed with three sources of fiber, in a completely randomized design in factorial scheme (3 fiber diets x 7 collection periods); and II) broilers, 42 days old, housed in different light systems, in a completely randomized design in factorial design (2 sexes x 2 lighting conditions x 13 collection periods). Blood glucose levels were measured at random collecting one blood drop from foot, with three replicates in each condition and treatment. In broiler breeder different fiber sources had no effect on glycemia, but the period affected circulating glucose levels, presenting a minimum of 184.3 mg dL -1 before feed and, a maximum of 242.5 mg dL -1 four hours after feeding. In broilers, there was a significant effect in glycemia for collection period and for sex, and interaction between lighting conditions and collection period. Further studies are needed to establish reference values to compare blood glucose levels in poultry.41
Local boron doping quantification in homoepitaxial diamond structures
The capability of transmission electronmicroscopy (TEM) using the high angle annular dark fieldmode (HAADF,also labelled Z-contrast) to quantify boron concentration, in the high doping range between 1019cm−3 and 1021cm−3, is demonstrated. Thanks to the large relative variation of atomic number Z between carbon and boron, doping concentration maps and profiles are obtained with a nanometer-scale resolution. A novel numerical simulation procedure allows the boron concentration quantification and demonstrates the high sensitivity and
spatial resolution of the technique.4 page
Interface optical phonons in spheroidal dots: Raman selection rules
The contribution of interface phonons to the first order Raman scattering in
nanocrystals with non spherical geometry is analyzed. Interface optical phonons
in the spheroidal geometry are discussed and the corresponding Frohlich-like
electron-phonon interaction is reported in the framework of the dielectric
continuum approach. It is shown that the interface phonon modes are strongly
dependent on the nanocrystal geometry, particularly on the ellipsoid's
semi-axis ratio. The new Raman selection rules have revealed that solely
interface phonon modes with even angular momentum are allowed to contribute to
the first order phonon-assisted scattering of light. On this basis we are able
to give an explanation for the observed low frequency shoulders present in the
Raman cross-section of several II-VI semiconductor nanostructures.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figure
L-Dopa modulates functional connectivity in striatal cognitive and motor networks: A double-blind placebo-controlled study
Functional connectivity (FC) analyses of resting-state fMRI data allow for the mapping of large-scale functional networks, and provide a novel means of examining the impact of dopaminergic challenge. Here, using a double-blind, placebo-controlled design, we examined the effect of L-dopa, a dopamine precursor, on striatal resting-state FC in 19 healthy young adults. We examined the FC of 6 striatal regions of interest (ROIs) previously shown to elicit networks known to be associated with motivational, cognitive and motor subdivisions of the caudate and putamen (Di Martino et al., 2008). In addition to replicating the previously demonstrated patterns of striatal FC, we observed robust effects of L-dopa. Specifically, L-dopa increased FC in motor pathways connecting the putamen ROIs with the cerebellum and brainstem. Although L-dopa also increased FC between the inferior ventral striatum and ventrolateral prefrontal cortex, it disrupted ventral striatal and dorsal caudate FC with the default mode network. These alterations in FC are consistent with studies that have demonstrated dopaminergic modulation of cognitive and motor striatal networks in healthy participants. Recent studies have demonstrated altered resting state FC in several conditions believed to be characterized by abnormal dopaminergic neurotransmission. Our findings suggest that the application of similar experimental pharmacological manipulations in such populations may further our understanding of the role of dopaminergic neurotransmission in those conditions
Study of Counting Characteristics of Porous Radiation Detectors
This paper presents the development of a new technology of registration of
ionizing radiation and a new type of detectors - single-cathode multiwire
porous detector with neither a gaseous nor semiconductor, but a porous
dielectric substance, e.g., CsI, being used as working medium. It is shown that
the performance of the multiwire porous detector is stable, ensuring highly
efficient detection of both heavily ionizing particles and soft X-rays with a
spatial resolution better than . The continuous stable performance
opens up new perspectives for using porous detectors in research as well as
medicine. The obtained data are basic for the development of the theory of the
phenomenon of electrons' drift and multiplication in porous dielectrics under
the action of a strong external electric field.Comment: 43
Analysis of Two-Body Decays of Charmed Baryons Using the Quark-Diagram Scheme
We give a general formulation of the quark-diagram scheme for the nonleptonic
weak decays of baryons. We apply it to all the decays of the antitriplet and
sextet charmed baryons and express their decay amplitudes in terms of the
quark-diagram amplitudes. We have also given parametrizations for the effects
of final-state interactions. For SU(3) violation effects, we only parametrize
those in the horizontal -loop quark diagrams whose contributions are solely
due to SU(3)-violation effects. In the absence of all these effects, there are
many relations among various decay modes. Some of the relations are valid even
in the presence of final-state interactions when each decay amplitude in the
relation contains only a single phase shift. All these relations provide useful
frameworks to compare with future experiments and to find out the effects of
final-state interactions and SU(3) symmetry violations.Comment: 28 pages, 20 Tables in landscape form, 4 figures. Main changes are:
(i) some errors in the Tables and in the relations between the quark-diagram
amplitudes of this paper and those of Ref.[10] are corrected, (ii)
improvements are made in the presentation so that comparisons with previous
works and what have been done to include SU(3) breaking and final-state
interactions are more clearly stated; to appear in the Physical Review
Atenolol versus losartan in children and young adults with Marfan's syndrome
BACKGROUND : Aortic-root dissection is the leading cause of death in Marfan's syndrome. Studies suggest that with regard to slowing aortic-root enlargement, losartan may be more effective than beta-blockers, the current standard therapy in most centers.
METHODS : We conducted a randomized trial comparing losartan with atenolol in children and young adults with Marfan's syndrome. The primary outcome was the rate of aortic-root enlargement, expressed as the change in the maximum aortic-root-diameter z score indexed to body-surface area (hereafter, aortic-root z score) over a 3-year period. Secondary outcomes included the rate of change in the absolute diameter of the aortic root; the rate of change in aortic regurgitation; the time to aortic dissection, aortic-root surgery, or death; somatic growth; and the incidence of adverse events.
RESULTS : From January 2007 through February 2011, a total of 21 clinical centers enrolled 608 participants, 6 months to 25 years of age (mean [+/- SD] age, 11.5 +/- 6.5 years in the atenolol group and 11.0 +/- 6.2 years in the losartan group), who had an aorticroot z score greater than 3.0. The baseline-adjusted rate of change (+/- SE) in the aortic-root z score did not differ significantly between the atenolol group and the losartan group (-0.139 +/- 0.013 and -0.107 +/- 0.013 standard-deviation units per year, respectively; P = 0.08). Both slopes were significantly less than zero, indicating a decrease in the degree of aortic-root dilatation relative to body-surface area with either treatment. The 3-year rates of aortic-root surgery, aortic dissection, death, and a composite of these events did not differ significantly between the two treatment groups.
CONCLUSIONS : Among children and young adults with Marfan's syndrome who were randomly assigned to losartan or atenolol, we found no significant difference in the rate of aorticroot dilatation between the two treatment groups over a 3-year period
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