The stability of the O(N) invariant fixed point in three dimensions

We study the stability of the O(N) fixed point in three dimensions under perturbations of the cubic type. We address this problem in the three cases $N=2,3,4$ by using finite size scaling techniques and high precision Monte Carlo simulations. It is well know that there is a critical value $2<N_c<4$ below which the O(N) fixed point is stable and above which the cubic fixed point becomes the stable one. While we cannot exclude that $N_c<3$, as recently claimed by Kleinert and collaborators, our analysis strongly suggests that $N_c$ coincides with 3.Comment: latex file of 18 pages plus three ps figure

On the spectrum of Farey and Gauss maps

In this paper we introduce Hilbert spaces of holomorphic functions given by generalized Borel and Laplace transforms which are left invariant by the transfer operators of the Farey map and its induced version, the Gauss map, respectively. By means of a suitable operator-valued power series we are able to study simultaneously the spectrum of both these operators along with the analytic properties of the associated dynamical zeta functions.Comment: 23 page

The use of a computerised decision aid (DA) to inform the decision process on adjuvant chemotherapy in patients with stage II colorectal cancer: development and preliminary evaluation

Objectives: To develop a computerised decision aid (DA) to inform the decision process on adjuvant chemotherapy in patients with Stage II colorectal cancer, and examine perceived usefulness, acceptability and areas for improvement of the DA. Design: Mixed methods. Setting: Single outpatient oncology department in central London. Participants: Consecutive recruitment of 13 patients with Stage II colorectal cancer, 12 of whom completed the study. Inclusion criteria were: age >18 years; complete resection for stage II adenocarcinoma of the colon or rectum; patients within 14-56 days after surgery; no contraindication to adjuvant chemotherapy; able to give written informed consent. Exclusion criterion: previous chemotherapy. Primary outcomes: Patient perceived usefulness (assessed by the PrepDM questionnaire) and acceptability of the DA. Results: Perceived usefulness of the DA in preparing the patient to communicate with their doctor and make a health decision (PrepDM scores) were above those reported in other patient groups. Patient acceptability scores were also high, however interviews showed there was evidence of a lack of understanding of key information among some patients, in particular: their baseline risk of recurrence, the net benefit of combination chemotherapy, and the rationale for having chemotherapy when the cancer had apparently gone. Conclusions: Patients found the DA acceptable and useful in supporting their decision about whether or not to have adjuvant chemotherapy. Suggested improvements for the DA include: sequential presentation of treatment options (e.g. no treatment vs. one drug, one drug vs. two drugs) to enhance patient understanding of the difference between combination and single therapy, diagrams to help patients understand the rationale for chemotherapy to prevent a recurrence, and inbuilt checks on patient understanding of baseline risk of recurrence and net benefit of chemotherapy

A systematic review and meta-analysis on the prevalence of dementia in europe. estimates from the highest-quality studies adopting the dsm iv diagnostic criteria

BACKGROUND: Dementia, including Alzheimer's disease (AD), is one of the most burdensome medical conditions. Usually, the reviews that aim at calculating the prevalence of dementia include estimates from studies without assessing their methodological quality. Alzheimer's Disease International (ADI) proposed a score to assess the methodological quality of population-based studies aimed at estimating the prevalence of dementia. During the last three years, the European Commission has funded three projects (Eurodem, EuroCoDe, and ALCOVE) in order to estimate the prevalence of dementia in Europe. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis of data on the prevalence of dementia in Europe derived from studies that included only subjects with a diagnosis of dementia according to the DSM IV criteria, and that had a high quality score according to ADI criteria. METHODS: We considered the studies selected by the two projects EuroCoDe (1993-2007) and Alcove (2008-2011), and we performed a new bibliographic search. For the systematic review, we only selected the subset of articles that included subjects with a diagnosis of dementia according to the DSM IV criteria. The studies were qualitatively assessed using the ADI tool. RESULTS: The meta-analysis considered 9 studies that were carried out in Europe between 1993 and 2018 including a total of 18,263 participants, of which 2,137 were diagnosed with dementia. The prevalence rate standardized for age and sex resulted 7.1%. DISCUSSION: This is the first systematic review on the prevalence of dementia in Europe considering only high-quality studies adopting the same diagnostic criteria (i.e., DSM IV)

Geogenomic segregation and temporal trends of human pathogenic Escherichia coli o157:H7, Washington, USA, 2005-2014

The often-noted and persistent increased incidence of Escherichia coli O157:H7 infections in rural areas is not well understood. We used a cohort of E. coli O157:H7 cases reported in Washington, USA, during 2005–2014, along with phylogenomic characterization of the infecting isolates, to identify geographic segregation of and temporal trends in specific phylogenetic lineages of E. coli O157:H7. Kernel estimation and generalized additive models demonstrated that pathogen lineages were spatially segregated during the period of analysis and identified a focus of segregation spanning multiple, predominantly rural, counties for each of the main clinical lineages, Ib, IIa, and IIb. These results suggest the existence of local reservoirs from which humans are infected. We also noted a secular increase in the proportion of lineage IIa and IIb isolates. Spatial segregation by phylogenetic lineage offers the potential to identify local reservoirs and intervene to prevent continued transmission

Damped harmonic oscillator interpretation of the soft-state power spectra of Cyg X-1

We develop a model of an accretion disc in which the variability induced at a given radius is governed by a damped harmonic oscillator at the corresponding epicyclic frequency. That variability induces both linear and non-linear responses in the locally emitted radiation. The total observed variability of a source is the sum of these contributions over the disc radius weighted by the energy dissipation rate at each radius. It is shown that this simple model, which effectively has only three parameters including the normalization, can explain the range of the power spectra observed from Cyg X-1 in the soft state. Although a degeneracy between the black hole mass and the strength of the damping does not allow a unique determination of the mass, we can still constrain it to <16--20 solar masses. We also show that our model preserves the observed linear rms-flux relationship even in the presence of the non-linear flux response.Comment: MNRAS (Letters), in pres

Critical Behaviour of 3D Systems with Long-Range Correlated Quenched Defects

A field-theoretic description of the critical behaviour of systems with quenched defects obeying a power law correlations $\sim |{\bf x}|^{-a}$ for large separations ${\bf x}$ is given. Directly for three-dimensional systems and different values of correlation parameter $2\leq a \leq 3$ a renormalization analysis of scaling function in the two-loop approximation is carried out, and the fixed points corresponding to stability of the various types of critical behaviour are identified. The obtained results essentially differ from results evaluated by double $\epsilon, \delta$ - expansion. The critical exponents in the two-loop approximation are calculated with the use of the Pade-Borel summation technique.Comment: Submitted to J. Phys. A, Letter to Editor 9 pages, 4 figure

Enurésie nocturne : quel traitement efficace non pharmacologique recommander ?

L'énurésie nocturne est une affection commune qui touche jusqu'à 20% des enfants de 5 ans. Cette prévalence diminue ensuite rapidement pour atteindre 7% à l'âge de 7 ans et pas plus de 2% à l'âge adulte. Quoique bénigne, elle est souvent source de stigmatisation sociale et peut affecter à la fois l'estime de soi et les relations avec les pairs. Les interventions de type comportemental (ICS) sont fréquentes et constituent souvent le premier choix des parents et de l'enfant. Une controverse persiste toutefois quant à leur efficacité. Le but de la mise à jour de cette revue est d'évaluer l'efficacité d'interventions comportementales simples (ICS : restriction hydrique, lever, réveil, récompenses, exercices de rétention), entre elles et par rapport à d'autres traitements

Critical Point Correlation Function for the 2D Random Bond Ising Model

High accuracy Monte Carlo simulation results for 1024*1024 Ising system with ferromagnetic impurity bonds are presented. Spin-spin correlation function at a critical point is found to be numerically very close to that of a pure system. This is not trivial since a critical temperature for the system with impurities is almost two times lower than pure Ising $T_c$. Finite corrections to the correlation function due to combined action of impurities and finite lattice size are described.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures after LaTeX fil

Quantum entanglement between a nonlinear nanomechanical resonator and a microwave field

We consider a theoretical model for a nonlinear nanomechanical resonator coupled to a superconducting microwave resonator. The nanomechanical resonator is driven parametrically at twice its resonance frequency, while the superconducting microwave resonator is driven with two tones that differ in frequency by an amount equal to the parametric driving frequency. We show that the semi-classical approximation of this system has an interesting fixed point bifurcation structure. In the semi-classical dynamics a transition from stable fixed points to limit cycles is observed as one moves from positive to negative detuning. We show that signatures of this bifurcation structure are also present in the full dissipative quantum system and further show that it leads to mixed state entanglement between the nanomechanical resonator and the microwave cavity in the dissipative quantum system that is a maximum close to the semi-classical bifurcation. Quantum signatures of the semi-classical limit-cycles are presented.Comment: 36 pages, 18 figure