18,665 research outputs found
The Penna model for biological ageing on a lattice: spatial consequences of child-care
We introduce a square lattice into the Penna bit-string model for biological
ageing and study the evolution of the spatial distribution of the population
considering different strategies of child-care. Two of the strategies are
related to the movements of a whole family on the lattice: in one case the
mother cannot move if she has any child younger than a given age, and in the
other case if she moves, she brings these young children with her. A stronger
condition has also been added to the second case, considering that young
children die with a higher probability if their mothers die, this probability
decreasing with age. We show that a highly non uniform occupation can be
obtained when child-care is considered, even for an uniform initial occupation
per site. We also compare the standard survival rate of the model with that
obtained when the spacial lattice is considered (without any kind of
child-care).Comment: 8 pages, 6 Postscript figure
Density fluctuations from warm inflation
Thermal fluctuations provide the main source of large scale density
perturbations in warm inflationary models of the early universe. For the first
time, general results are obtained for the power spectrum in the case when the
friction coefficient in the inflaton equation of motion depends on temperature.
A large increase in the amplitude of perturbations occurs when the friction
coefficient increases with temperature. This has to be taken into account when
constructing models of warm inflation. New results are also given for the
thermal fluctuations in the weak regime of warm inflation when the friction
coefficient is relatively small.Comment: 14 pages, 4 figures, ReVTe
What can we say about seed fields for galactic dynamos?
We demonstrate that a quasi-uniform cosmological seed field is a much less
suitable seed for a galactic dynamo than has often been believed. The age of
the Universe is insufficient for a conventional galactic dynamo to generate a
contemporary galactic magnetic field starting from such a seed, accepting
conventional estimates for physical quantities. We discuss modifications to the
scenario for the evolution of galactic magnetic fields implied by this result.
We also consider briefly the implications of a dynamo number that is
significantly larger than that given by conventional estimates
Applications and Sexual Version of a Simple Model for Biological Ageing
We use a simple model for biological ageing to study the mortality of the
population, obtaining a good agreement with the Gompertz law. We also simulate
the same model on a square lattice, considering different strategies of
parental care. The results are in agreement with those obtained earlier with
the more complicated Penna model for biological ageing. Finally, we present the
sexual version of this simple model.Comment: For Int.J.Mod.Phys.C Dec. 2001; 11 pages including 6 fig
Electrical Treeing in Silicone Rubber
Electrical treeing has been widely studied in a range of polymeric materials. In these investigations, the morphology and PD patterns associated with the growth of electrical trees in a model transparent silicone rubber were investigated using a new system recently developed at Southampton. With increasing voltage the trees became more complex in appearance but nevertheless grow more rapidly. As the tree evolves the PD pattern becomes more intense which may provide a method of monitoring the extent of treeing in opaque samples. Raman studies indicate that treeing and breakdown channels are hollow, carbonaceous entities, a finding consistent with other studies
Understanding women's feelings about safety and hazards of street drinking in London through interpretative phenomenological analysis
Aims
Drinking alcohol in outdoor public places (e.g. streets and parks) and outside of formally organised events is perceived and reported as antisocial behaviour and may be indicative of a problematic relationship with alcohol, and other clinical needs. This paper aims to address a lack of qualitative research on street drinking in the United Kingdom and develop a textured understanding of the lived-experience of how some women engage in street drinking, in the context of one London borough.
Method
The authors collected semi-structured interviews as part of a larger mixed methods study on street drinking from April to August 2018. A sub-set of interviews (n = 3) with women who were accessing local drug and alcohol services and had a history of street drinking behaviour were selected as a case series for triangulating analysis with a smaller, homogenous sample. These data were analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis with a reflexive, feminist, social constructionist approach.
Results
The authors developed and named a superordinate theme, Constellations of Safety and Hazards for Women Drinking in Public and Private. Within this, four themes were defined and illustrated from the data: Drinking outdoors to be away from hazards at home; Women's awareness of geo-temporal factors to moderate risk; Women identifying risks of accepting drinks from strangers; and Threats of untreated trauma within histories of heavy drinking. Definitions and illustrations from participants aid explanations of how the texts add detail or disruption to dominant discourses.
Conclusion
The case studies illustrating how these women have experienced alcohol misuse and behaviour change provide reflexive accounts of exercising agency in managing embodied and affective states of vulnerability. This was demonstrated by asserting choice around environmental spaces and friendships, even when still in positions deemed as ‘risky’. These three women's decisions around drinking in public, outdoor spaces were shaped by complex interactions of interpersonal, intrapersonal, socio-economic, and cultural structures. Understanding behaviours is improved with data that situates people in contexts where they experience and make sense of their lives
Gallium concentration dependence of room-temperature near-bandedge luminescence in n-type ZnO:Ga
We investigated the optical properties of epitaxial \textit{n}-type ZnO films
grown on lattice-matched ScAlMgO substrates. As the Ga doping concentration
increased up to cm, the absorption edge showed a
systematic blueshift, consistent with the Burstein-Moss effect. A bright
near-bandedge photoluminescence (PL) could be observed even at room
temperature, the intensity of which increased monotonically as the doping
concentration was increased except for the highest doping level. It indicates
that nonradiative transitions dominate at a low doping density. Both a Stokes
shift and broadening in the PL band are monotonically increasing functions of
donor concentration, which was explained in terms of potential fluctuations
caused by the random distribution of donor impurities.Comment: accepted for publication for Applied Physics Letters 4 figure
Simulations of a mortality plateau in the sexual Penna model for biological ageing
The Penna model is a strategy to simulate the genetic dynamics of
age-structured populations, in which the individuals genomes are represented by
bit-strings. It provides a simple metaphor for the evolutionary process in
terms of the mutation accumulation theory. In its original version, an
individual dies due to inherited diseases when its current number of
accumulated mutations, n, reaches a threshold value, T. Since the number of
accumulated diseases increases with age, the probability to die is zero for
very young ages (n = T). Here, instead
of using a step function to determine the genetic death age, we test several
other functions that may or may not slightly increase the death probability at
young ages (n < T), but that decreases this probability at old ones. Our
purpose is to study the oldest old effect, that is, a plateau in the mortality
curves at advanced ages. Imposing certain conditions, it has been possible to
obtain a clear plateau using the Penna model. However, a more realistic one
appears when a modified version, that keeps the population size fixed without
fluctuations, is used. We also find a relation between the birth rate, the
age-structure of the population and the death probability.Comment: submitted to Phys. Rev.
SCREENING FOR HEPATITIS C Response from Hepatitis C Trust, BASL, BIA, BVHG, BSG, and BHIVA to article asking whether widespread screening for hepatitis C is justified
This is the peer reviewed published version of the following article: Response from Hepatitis C Trust, BASL, BIA, BVHG, BSG, and BHIVA to article asking whether widespread screening for hepatitis C is justified, which has been published in final form at 10.1136/bmj.h998. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with BMJ's Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving.This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in the credit line; if the material is not included under the Creative Commons license, users will need to obtain permission from the license holder to reproduce the material. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by/4.0
Comparison of Allen Carr's Easyway programme with a specialist behavioural and pharmacological smoking cessation support service: a randomized controlled trial.
BACKGROUND AND AIMS: A combination of behavioural and pharmacological support is judged to be the optimal approach for assisting smoking cessation. Allen Carr's Easyway (ACE) is a single-session pharmacotherapy-free programme that has been in operation internationally for 38 years. We compared the effectiveness of ACE with specialist behavioural and pharmacological support delivered to the national standard in England. DESIGN: A two-arm, parallel-group, single-blind, randomized controlled trial. SETTING: London, UK, between February 2017 and May 2018. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 620 participants (310 in ACE and 310 in the combined behavioural and pharmacological support condition) were included in the analysis. Adult (≥ 18 years) smokers wanting to quit were randomized in a 1 : 1 ratio. Mean age for the total sample was 40.8 years, with 53.4% being male. Participant baseline characteristics (ethnicity, educational level, number of previous quit attempts, nicotine dependence) were evenly balanced between treatment groups. INTERVENTION AND COMPARATOR: The intervention was the ACE method of stopping smoking. This centres on a 4.5-6-hour session of group-based support, alongside subsequent text messages and top-up sessions if needed. It aims to make it easy to stop smoking by convincing smokers that smoking provides no benefits for them. The comparator was a specialist stop smoking service (SSS) providing behavioural and pharmacological support in accordance with national standards. MEASUREMENTS: The primary outcome was self-reported continuous abstinence for 26 weeks from the quit/quit re-set date verified by exhaled breath carbon monoxide measurement < 10 parts per million (p.p.m.). Primary analysis was by intention to treat. Secondary outcomes were: use of pharmacotherapy, adverse events and continuous abstinence up to 4 and 12 weeks. FINDINGS: A total of 468 participants attended treatment (255 ACE versus 213 SSS, P < 0.05). Of those who did attend treatment, 100 completed 6-month measures (23.7% ACE versus 20.7% SSS). Continuous abstinence to 26 weeks was 19.4% (60 of 310) in the ACE intervention and 14.8% (46 of 310) in the SSS intervention [risk difference for ACE versus SSS 4.5% (95% confidence interval (CI) = -1.4 to 10.4%, odds ratio (OR) = 1.38)]. The Bayes factor for superiority of the ACE condition was 1.24. CONCLUSION: There was no clear evidence of a difference in the efficacies of the Allen Carr's Easyway (ACE) and specialist smoking cessation support involving behavioural support and pharmacotherapy
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