383 research outputs found
Contact processes with long-range interactions
A class of non-local contact processes is introduced and studied using
mean-field approximation and numerical simulations. In these processes
particles are created at a rate which decays algebraically with the distance
from the nearest particle. It is found that the transition into the absorbing
state is continuous and is characterized by continuously varying critical
exponents. This model differs from the previously studied non-local directed
percolation model, where particles are created by unrestricted Levy flights. It
is motivated by recent studies of non-equilibrium wetting indicating that this
type of non-local processes play a role in the unbinding transition. Other
non-local processes which have been suggested to exist within the context of
wetting are considered as well.Comment: Accepted with minor revisions by Journal of Statistical Mechanics:
Theory and experiment
Calculation of gluon and four-quark condensates from the operator expansion
The magnitudes of gluon and four-quark condensates are found from the
analysis of vector mesons consisting of light quarks (the families of
and mesons) in the 3 loops approximation. The QCD model with infinite
number of vector mesons is used to describe the function . This model
describes well the experimental function . Polarization operators
calculated with this model coincide with the Wilson operator expansion at large
. The improved perturbative theory, such that the polarization operators
have correct analytical properties, is used. The result is . The electronic widths of and
are calculated.Comment: 18 pages, latex, changed content slightl
Coherent state of a nonlinear oscillator and its revival dynamics
The coherent state of a nonlinear oscillator having a nonlinear spectrum is
constructed using Gazeau Klauder formalism. The weighting distribution and the
Mandel parameter are studied. Details of the revival structure arising from
different time scales underlying the quadratic energy spectrum are investigated
by the phase analysis of the autocorrelation function
Predicative Ability of QCD Sum Rules for Decuplet Baryons
QCD sum rules for decuplet baryon two-point functions are investigated using
a comprehensive Monte-Carlo based procedure. In this procedure, all
uncertainties in the QCD input parameters are incorporated simultaneously,
resulting in realistic estimates of the uncertainties in the extracted
phenomenological parameters. Correlations between the QCD input parameters and
the phenomenological parameters are studied by way of scatter plots. The
predicted couplings are useful in evaluating matrix elements of decuplet
baryons in the QCD sum rule approach. They are also used to check a cubic
scaling law between baryon couplings and masses, as recently found by Dey and
coworkers. The results show a significant reduction in the scaling constant and
some possible deviations from the cubic law.Comment: 13 pages, RevTeX, 5 PS figures embedded with psfig.st
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Individualized decision aid for diverse women with lupus nephritis (IDEA-WON): A randomized controlled trial.
BackgroundTreatment decision-making regarding immunosuppressive therapy is challenging for individuals with lupus. We assessed the effectiveness of a decision aid for immunosuppressive therapy in lupus nephritis.Methods and findingsIn a United States multicenter, open-label, randomized controlled trial (RCT), adult women with lupus nephritis, mostly from racial/ethnic minority backgrounds with low socioeconomic status (SES), seen in in- or outpatient settings, were randomized to an individualized, culturally tailored, computerized decision aid versus American College of Rheumatology (ACR) lupus pamphlet (1:1 ratio), using computer-generated randomization. We hypothesized that the co-primary outcomes of decisional conflict and informed choice regarding immunosuppressive medications would improve more in the decision aid group. Of 301 randomized women, 298 were analyzed; 47% were African-American, 26% Hispanic, and 15% white. Mean age (standard deviation [SD]) was 37 (12) years, 57% had annual income of <$40,000, and 36% had a high school education or less. Compared with the provision of the ACR lupus pamphlet (n = 147), participants randomized to the decision aid (n = 151) had (1) a clinically meaningful and statistically significant reduction in decisional conflict, 21.8 (standard error [SE], 2.5) versus 12.7 (SE, 2.0; p = 0.005) and (2) no difference in informed choice in the main analysis, 41% versus 31% (p = 0.08), but clinically meaningful and statistically significant difference in sensitivity analysis (net values for immunosuppressives positive [in favor] versus negative [against]), 50% versus 35% (p = 0.006). Unresolved decisional conflict was lower in the decision aid versus pamphlet groups, 22% versus 44% (p < 0.001). Significantly more patients in the decision aid versus pamphlet group rated information to be excellent for understanding lupus nephritis (49% versus 33%), risk factors (43% versus 27%), medication options (50% versus 33%; p ≤ 0.003 for all); and the ease of use of materials was higher in the decision aid versus pamphlet groups (51% versus 38%; p = 0.006). Key study limitations were the exclusion of men, short follow-up, and the lack of clinical outcomes, including medication adherence.ConclusionsAn individualized decision aid was more effective than usual care in reducing decisional conflict for choice of immunosuppressive medications in women with lupus nephritis.Trial registrationClinicaltrials.gov, NCT02319525
Second-order phase transition at the phase boundary through the FeRh first-order metamagnetic phase transition
The phase coexistence present through first-order phase transitions implies the presence of phase boundary walls, which can be of finite size. Better understanding of the phase boundary wall properties will provide an insight into the dynamics of first-order phase transitions. Here, by combining x-ray photon correlation spectroscopy investigations with magnetometry measurements of magnetic relaxation through the thermally activated first-order metamagnetic phase transition present in the B2-ordered FeRh alloy, we are able to isolate the dynamic behaviour of the phase boundary wall present in this system. These investigations reveal a change in the nature of the dynamic behaviour and critical scaling of the relaxation time centred around the point of maximum phase coexistence within the phase transition. All of this behaviour can be attributed to the introduction of exchange coupling across the phase boundary wall and raises questions about the role of latent heat in dynamic behaviour of this region
Radiative cooling effects on reverse shocks formed by magnetised supersonic plasma flows
We study the structure of reverse shocks formed by the collision of
supersonic, magnetised plasma flows driven by an inverse (or exploding) wire
array with a planar conducting obstacle. We observe that the structure of these
reverse shocks varies dramatically with wire material, despite the similar
upstream flow velocities and mass densities. For aluminium wire arrays, the
shock is sharp and well defined, consistent with magneto-hydrodynamic theory.
In contrast, we do not observe a well-defined shock using tungsten wires,
instead, we see a broad region dominated by density fluctuations on a wide
range of spatial scales. We diagnose these two very different interactions
using interferometry, Thomson scattering, shadowgraphy, and a newly developed
imaging refractometer which is sensitive to small deflections of the probing
laser corresponding to small-scale density perturbations. We conclude that the
differences in shock structure are most likely due to radiative cooling
instabilities which create small-scale density perturbations elongated along
magnetic field lines in the tungsten plasma. These instabilities grow more
slowly and are smoothed by thermal conduction in the aluminium plasma
Non-Perturbative QCD Treatment of High-Energy Hadron-Hadron Scattering
Total cross-sections and logarithmic slopes of the elastic scattering
cross-sections for different hadronic processes are calculated in the framework
of the model of the stochastic vacuum. The relevant parameters of this model, a
correlation length and the gluon condensate, are determined from scattering
data, and found to be in very good agreement with values coming from completely
different sources of information. A parameter-free relation is given between
total cross-sections and slope parameters, which is shown to be remarkably
valid up to the highest energies for which data exist.Comment: 60 pages, Heidelberg preprin
High-Dose Chemotherapy and Autologous Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation as Adjuvant Treatment in High-Risk Breast Cancer: Data from the European Group for Blood and Marrow Transplantation Registry.
The aim of this retrospective study was to assess toxicity and efficacy of adjuvant high-dose chemotherapy (HDC) and autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (AHSCT) in 583 high-risk breast cancer (BC) patients (>3 positive nodes) who were transplanted between 1995 and 2005 in Europe. All patients received surgery before transplant, and 55 patients (9.5%) received neoadjuvant treatment before surgery. Median age was 47.1 years, 57.3% of patients were premenopausal at treatment, 56.5% had endocrine-responsive tumors, 19.5% had a human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-negative tumor, and 72.4% had ≥10 positive lymph nodes at surgery. Seventy-nine percent received a single HDC procedure. Overall transplant-related mortality was 1.9%, at .9% between 2001 and 2005, whereas secondary tumor-related mortality was .9%. With a median follow-up of 120 months, overall survival and disease-free survival rates at 5 and 10 years in the whole population were 75% and 64% and 58% and 44%, respectively. Subgroup analysis demonstrated that rates of overall survival were significantly better in patients with endocrine-responsive tumors, <10 positive lymph nodes, and smaller tumor size. HER2 status did not affect survival probability. Adjuvant HDC with AHSCT has a low mortality rate and provides impressive long-term survival rates in patients with high-risk BC. Our results suggest that this treatment modality should be considered in selected high-risk BC patients and further investigated in clinical trials
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