10,060 research outputs found
On the uniqueness for the spatially homogeneous Boltzmann equation with a strong angular singularity
We prove an inequality on the Wasserstein distance with quadratic cost
between two solutions of the spatially homogeneous Boltzmann equation without
angular cutoff, from which we deduce some uniqueness results. In particular, we
obtain a local (in time) well-posedness result in the case of (possibly very)
soft potentials. A global well-posedeness result is shown for all regularized
hard and soft potentials without angular cutoff. Our uniqueness result seems to
be the first one applying to a strong angular singularity, except in the
special case of Maxwell molecules.
Our proof relies on the ideas of Tanaka: we give a probabilistic
interpretation of the Boltzmann equation in terms of a stochastic process. Then
we show how to couple two such processes started with two different initial
conditions, in such a way that they almost surely remain close to each other
Bi-defects of Nematic Surfactant Bilayers
We consider the effects of the coupling between the orientational order of
the two monolayers in flat nematic bilayers. We show that the presence of a
topological defect on one bilayer generates a nontrivial orientational texture
on both monolayers. Therefore, one cannot consider isolated defects on one
monolayer, but rather associated pairs of defects on either monolayer, which we
call bi-defects. Bi-defects generally produce walls, such that the textures of
the two monolayers are identical outside the walls, and different in their
interior. We suggest some experimental conditions in which these structures
could be observed.Comment: RevTeX, 4 pages, 3 figure
Universal analytic properties of noise. Introducing the J-Matrix formalism
We propose a new method in the spectral analysis of noisy time-series data
for damped oscillators. From the Jacobi three terms recursive relation for the
denominators of the Pad\'e Approximations built on the well-known Z-transform
of an infinite time-series, we build an Hilbert space operator, a J-Operator,
where each bound state (inside the unit circle in the complex plane) is simply
associated to one damped oscillator while the continuous spectrum of the
J-Operator, which lies on the unit circle itself, is shown to represent the
noise. Signal and noise are thus clearly separated in the complex plane. For a
finite time series of length 2N, the J-operator is replaced by a finite order
J-Matrix J_N, having N eigenvalues which are time reversal covariant. Different
classes of input noise, such as blank (white and uniform), Gaussian and pink,
are discussed in detail, the J-Matrix formalism allowing us to efficiently
calculate hundreds of poles of the Z-transform. Evidence of a universal
behaviour in the final statistical distribution of the associated poles and
zeros of the Z-transform is shown. In particular the poles and zeros tend, when
the length of the time series goes to infinity, to a uniform angular
distribution on the unit circle. Therefore at finite order, the roots of unity
in the complex plane appear to be noise attractors. We show that the
Z-transform presents the exceptional feature of allowing lossless undersampling
and how to make use of this property. A few basic examples are given to suggest
the power of the proposed method.Comment: 14 pages, 8 figure
Geothermal studies - Yellowstone National Park /test site 11/, Wyoming
Summary report of diamond drilling in thermal areas of Yellowstone National Park, and method for determining heat flow in thermal area
Continuum of care for persons with common mental health disorders in Nunavik: a descriptive study.
BACKGROUND: Changing Directions, Changing Lives, the Mental Health Strategy for Canada, prioritizes the development of coordinated continuums of care in mental health that will bridge the gap in services for Inuit populations.
OBJECTIVE: In order to target ways of improving the services provided in these contexts to individuals in Nunavik with depression or anxiety disorders, this research examines delays and disruptions in the continuum of care and clinical, individual and organizational characteristics possibly associated with their occurrences.
DESIGN: A total of 155 episodes of care involving a common mental disorder (CMD), incident or recurring, were documented using the clinical records of 79 frontline health and social services (FHSSs) users, aged 14 years and older, living in a community in Nunavik. Each episode of care was divided into 7 stages: (a) detection; (b) assessment; (c) intervention; (d) planning the first follow-up visit; (e) implementation of the first follow-up visit; (f) planning a second follow-up visit; (g) implementation of the second follow-up visit. Sequential analysis of these stages established delays for each one and helped identify when breaks occurred in the continuum of care. Logistic and linear regression analysis determined whether clinical, individual or organizational characteristics influenced the breaks and delays.
RESULTS: More than half (62%) the episodes of care were interrupted before the second follow-up. These breaks mostly occurred when planning and completing the first follow-up visit. Episodes of care were more likely to end early when they involved anxiety disorders or symptoms, limited FHSS teams and individuals over 21 years of age. The median delay for the first follow-up visit (30 days) exceeded guideline recommendations significantly (1-2 weeks).
CONCLUSION: Clinical primary care approaches for CMDs in Nunavik are currently more reactive than preventive. This suggests that recovery services for those affected are suboptimal
Self-similar solutions with fat tails for Smoluchowski's coagulation equation with locally bounded kernels
The existence of self-similar solutions with fat tails for Smoluchowski's
coagulation equation has so far only been established for the solvable and the
diagonal kernel. In this paper we prove the existence of such self-similar
solutions for continuous kernels that are homogeneous of degree and satisfy . More precisely,
for any we establish the existence of a continuous weak
self-similar profile with decay as
Quality assessment of primary care for common mental disorders in isolated communities: Taking advantage of health records.
INTRODUCTION: This article is part of a research study on the organization of primary health care (PHC) for mental health in two of Quebec's remote regions. It introduces a methodological approach based on information found in health records, for assessing the quality of PHC offered to people suffering from depression or anxiety disorders.
METHODS: Quality indicators were identified from evidence and case studies were reconstructed using data collected in health records over a 2-year observation period. Data collection was developed using a three-step iterative process: (1) feasibility analysis, (2) development of a data collection tool, and (3) application of the data collection method. The adaptation of quality-of-care indicators to remote regions was appraised according to their relevance, measurability and construct validity in this context.
RESULTS: As a result of this process, 18 quality indicators were shown to be relevant, measurable and valid for establishing a critical quality appraisal of four recommended dimensions of PHC clinical processes: recognition, assessment, treatment and follow-up.
CONCLUSIONS: There is not only an interest in the use of health records to assess the quality of PHC for mental health in remote regions but also a scientific value for the rigorous and meticulous methodological approach developed in this study. From the perspective of stakeholders in the PHC system of care in remote areas, quality indicators are credible and provide potential for transferability to other contexts. This study brings information that has the potential to identify gaps in and implement solutions adapted to the context
Gapped tunneling spectra in the normal state of PrCeCuO
We present tunneling data in the normal state of the electron doped cuprate
superconductor PrCeCuO for three different values of the doping
. The normal state is obtained by applying a magnetic field greater than the
upper critical field, for . We observe an anomalous normal
state gap near the Fermi level. From our analysis of the tunneling data we
conclude that this is a feature of the normal state density of states. We
discuss possible reasons for the formation of this gap and its implications for
the nature of the charge carriers in the normal and the superconducting states
of cuprate superconductors.Comment: 7 pages ReVTeX, 11 figures files included, submitted to PR
Asymptotics of self-similar solutions to coagulation equations with product kernel
We consider mass-conserving self-similar solutions for Smoluchowski's
coagulation equation with kernel with
. It is known that such self-similar solutions
satisfy that is bounded above and below as . In
this paper we describe in detail via formal asymptotics the qualitative
behavior of a suitably rescaled function in the limit . It turns out that as . As becomes larger
develops peaks of height that are separated by large regions
where is small. Finally, converges to zero exponentially fast as . Our analysis is based on different approximations of a nonlocal
operator, that reduces the original equation in certain regimes to a system of
ODE
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