115 research outputs found
Metal-insulator transition in a weakly interacting many-electron system with localized single-particle states
We consider low-temperature behavior of weakly interacting electrons in
disordered conductors in the regime when all single-particle eigenstates are
localized by the quenched disorder. We prove that in the absence of coupling of
the electrons to any external bath dc electrical conductivity exactly vanishes
as long as the temperatute does not exceed some finite value . At the
same time, it can be also proven that at high enough the conductivity is
finite. These two statements imply that the system undergoes a finite
temperature Metal-to-Insulator transition, which can be viewed as Anderson-like
localization of many-body wave functions in the Fock space. Metallic and
insulating states are not different from each other by any spatial or discrete
symmetries. We formulate the effective Hamiltonian description of the system at
low energies (of the order of the level spacing in the single-particle
localization volume). In the metallic phase quantum Boltzmann equation is
valid, allowing to find the kinetic coefficients. In the insulating phase,
, we use Feynmann diagram technique to determine the probability
distribution function for quantum-mechanical transition rates. The probability
of an escape rate from a given quantum state to be finite turns out to vanish
in every order of the perturbation theory in electron-electron interaction.
Thus, electron-electron interaction alone is unable to cause the relaxation and
establish the thermal equilibrium. As soon as some weak coupling to a bath is
turned on, conductivity becomes finite even in the insulating phase
Limited Lifespan of Fragile Regions in Mammalian Evolution
An important question in genome evolution is whether there exist fragile
regions (rearrangement hotspots) where chromosomal rearrangements are happening
over and over again. Although nearly all recent studies supported the existence
of fragile regions in mammalian genomes, the most comprehensive phylogenomic
study of mammals (Ma et al. (2006) Genome Research 16, 1557-1565) raised some
doubts about their existence. We demonstrate that fragile regions are subject
to a "birth and death" process, implying that fragility has limited
evolutionary lifespan. This finding implies that fragile regions migrate to
different locations in different mammals, explaining why there exist only a few
chromosomal breakpoints shared between different lineages. The birth and death
of fragile regions phenomenon reinforces the hypothesis that rearrangements are
promoted by matching segmental duplications and suggests putative locations of
the currently active fragile regions in the human genome
Quantum correction to the Kubo formula in closed mesoscopic systems
We study the energy dissipation rate in a mesoscopic system described by the
parametrically-driven random-matrix Hamiltonian H[\phi(t)] for the case of
linear bias \phi=vt. Evolution of the field \phi(t) causes interlevel
transitions leading to energy pumping, and also smears the discrete spectrum of
the Hamiltonian. For sufficiently fast perturbation this smearing exceeds the
mean level spacing and the dissipation rate is given by the Kubo formula. We
calculate the quantum correction to the Kubo result that reveals the original
discreteness of the energy spectrum. The first correction to the system
viscosity scales proportional to v^{-2/3} in the orthogonal case and vanishes
in the unitary case.Comment: 4 pages, 3 eps figures, REVTeX
Transition to an Insulating Phase Induced by Attractive Interactions in the Disordered Three-Dimensional Hubbard Model
We study numerically the interplay of disorder and attractive interactions
for spin-1/2 fermions in the three-dimensional Hubbard model. The results
obtained by projector quantum Monte Carlo simulations show that at moderate
disorder, increasing the attractive interaction leads to a transition from
delocalized superconducting states to the insulating phase of localized pairs.
This transition takes place well within the metallic phase of the
single-particle Anderson model.Comment: revtex, 4 pages, 3 figure
Classification of a supersolid: Trial wavefunctions, Symmetry breakings and Excitation spectra
A state of matter is characterized by its symmetry breaking and elementary
excitations.
A supersolid is a state which breaks both translational symmetry and internal
symmetry.
Here, we review some past and recent works in phenomenological
Ginsburg-Landau theories, ground state trial wavefunctions and microscopic
numerical calculations. We also write down a new effective supersolid
Hamiltonian on a lattice.
The eigenstates of the Hamiltonian contains both the ground state
wavefunction and all the excited states (supersolidon) wavefunctions. We
contrast various kinds of supersolids in both continuous systems and on
lattices, both condensed matter and cold atom systems. We provide additional
new insights in studying their order parameters, symmetry breaking patterns,
the excitation spectra and detection methods.Comment: REVTEX4, 19 pages, 3 figure
Technologies of sleep research
Sleep is investigated in many different ways, many different species and under many different circumstances. Modern sleep research is a multidisciplinary venture. Therefore, this review cannot give a complete overview of all techniques used in sleep research and sleep medicine. What it will try to do is to give an overview of widely applied techniques and exciting new developments. Electroencephalography has been the backbone of sleep research and sleep medicine since its first application in the 1930s. The electroencephalogram is still used but now combined with many different techniques monitoring body and brain temperature, changes in brain and blood chemistry, or changes in brain functioning. Animal research has been very important for progress in sleep research and sleep medicine. It provides opportunities to investigate the sleeping brain in ways not possible in healthy volunteers. Progress in genomics has brought new insights in sleep regulation, the best example being the discovery of hypocretin/orexin deficiency as the cause of narcolepsy. Gene manipulation holds great promise for the future since it is possible not only to investigate the functions of different genes under normal conditions, but also to mimic human pathology in much greater detail
The Cholecystectomy As A Day Case (CAAD) Score: A Validated Score of Preoperative Predictors of Successful Day-Case Cholecystectomy Using the CholeS Data Set
Background
Day-case surgery is associated with significant patient and cost benefits. However, only 43% of cholecystectomy patients are discharged home the same day. One hypothesis is day-case cholecystectomy rates, defined as patients discharged the same day as their operation, may be improved by better assessment of patients using standard preoperative variables.
Methods
Data were extracted from a prospectively collected data set of cholecystectomy patients from 166 UK and Irish hospitals (CholeS). Cholecystectomies performed as elective procedures were divided into main (75%) and validation (25%) data sets. Preoperative predictors were identified, and a risk score of failed day case was devised using multivariate logistic regression. Receiver operating curve analysis was used to validate the score in the validation data set.
Results
Of the 7426 elective cholecystectomies performed, 49% of these were discharged home the same day. Same-day discharge following cholecystectomy was less likely with older patients (OR 0.18, 95% CI 0.15â0.23), higher ASA scores (OR 0.19, 95% CI 0.15â0.23), complicated cholelithiasis (OR 0.38, 95% CI 0.31 to 0.48), male gender (OR 0.66, 95% CI 0.58â0.74), previous acute gallstone-related admissions (OR 0.54, 95% CI 0.48â0.60) and preoperative endoscopic intervention (OR 0.40, 95% CI 0.34â0.47). The CAAD score was developed using these variables. When applied to the validation subgroup, a CAAD score of â€5 was associated with 80.8% successful day-case cholecystectomy compared with 19.2% associated with a CAAD score >5 (pâ<â0.001).
Conclusions
The CAAD score which utilises data readily available from clinic letters and electronic sources can predict same-day discharges following cholecystectomy
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