2,975 research outputs found
Training Non-Specialists for Craniomaxillofacial Trauma in a Warzone Setting
This study investigated a simulated craniomaxillofacial (CMF) trauma training programme for non-specialist clinicians involved in warfare environments. Many clinicians lack CMF surgical training and the course was designed as a one-day research programme to establish if non-specialists could acquire CMF trauma skills adequate for a warzone. The course consisted of six simulation skills, of which four used sheep heads to teach craniotomy, epistaxis, canthotomy and cantholysis and external pin fixation for mandibular fracture fixation. In addition, two skills utilised plaster dental models designed to enable fixation of mandibular fractures with the Erich arch bar or dental eyelet wiring. This simulation-based programme taught trauma management without the expense of cadavers or risks to patients [1]. The trainees were scored for each of the six skills by hierarchical task analysis (HTA) designed by CMF specialists [2, 3]. The trainee assessment scores improved significantly in all skills post-training, regardless of their medical or surgical deficiencies demonstrating that non-specialists can learn important surgical techniques, valuable for war environments
Derivation of the blackfold effective theory
We study fluctuations and deformations of black branes over length scales
larger than the horizon radius. We prove that the Einstein equations for the
perturbed p-brane yield, as constraints, the equations of the effective
blackfold theory. We solve the Einstein equations for the perturbed geometry
and show that it remains regular on and outside the black brane horizon. This
study provides an ab initio derivation of the blackfold effective theory and
gives explicit expressions for the metrics near the new black holes and black
branes that result from it, to leading order in a derivative expansion.Comment: 20 pages. v4: Typo corrected in eq. (6.11) -- erratum in the
published versio
Psychological type and prayer preferences: a study among Anglican clergy in the United Kingdom
This study applies the framework of Jungian psychological type theory to define eight aspects of prayer preference, namely: introverted prayer, extraverted prayer, sensing prayer, intuitive prayer, feeling prayer, thinking prayer, judging prayer, and perceiving prayer. On the basis of data provided by 1,476 newly ordained Anglican clergy from England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, eight 7-item scales were developed to access these aspects of prayer preferences. Significant correlations were found between each prayer preference and the relevant aspect of psychological type accessed by the Keirsey Temperament Sorter. These data support the theory that psychological type influences the way in which people pray
Functional basis of electron transport within photosynthetic complex I
Photosynthesis and respiration rely upon a proton gradient to produce ATP. In photosynthesis, the Respiratory Complex I homologue, Photosynthetic Complex I (PS-CI) is proposed to couple ferredoxin oxidation and plastoquinone reduction to proton pumping across
thylakoid membranes. However, little is known about the PS-CI molecular mechanism and
attempts to understand its function have previously been frustrated by its large size and high
lability. Here, we overcome these challenges by pushing the limits in sample size and
spectroscopic sensitivity, to determine arguably the most important property of any electron
transport enzyme – the reduction potentials of its cofactors, in this case the iron-sulphur
clusters of PS-CI (N0, N1 and N2), and unambiguously assign them to the structure using
double electron-electron resonance. We have thus determined the bioenergetics of the
electron transfer relay and provide insight into the mechanism of PS-CI, laying the foundations for understanding of how this important bioenergetic complex functions
Thermal Giant Gravitons
We study the giant graviton solution as the AdS_5 X S^5 background is heated
up to finite temperature. The analysis employs the thermal brane probe
technique based on the blackfold approach. We focus mainly on the thermal giant
graviton corresponding to a thermal D3-brane probe wrapped on an S^3 moving on
the S^5 of the background at finite temperature. We find several interesting
new effects, including that the thermal giant graviton has a minimal possible
value for the angular momentum and correspondingly also a minimal possible
radius of the S^3. We compute the free energy of the thermal giant graviton in
the low temperature regime, which potentially could be compared to that of a
thermal state on the gauge theory side. Moreover, we analyze the space of
solutions and stability of the thermal giant graviton and find that, in
parallel with the extremal case, there are two available solutions for a given
temperature and angular momentum, one stable and one unstable. In order to
write down the equations of motion, action and conserved charges for the
thermal giant graviton we present a slight generalization of the blackfold
formalism for charged black branes. Finally, we also briefly consider the
thermal giant graviton moving in the AdS_5 part.Comment: v1: 32 pages + 11 pages appendices, 13 figures, v2: typos fixed in
Sec.2 and other misprints, references adde
Corner contributions to holographic entanglement entropy
The entanglement entropy of three-dimensional conformal field theories
contains a universal contribution coming from corners in the entangling
surface. We study these contributions in a holographic framework and, in
particular, we consider the effects of higher curvature interactions in the
bulk gravity theory. We find that for all of our holographic models, the corner
contribution is only modified by an overall factor but the functional
dependence on the opening angle is not modified by the new gravitational
interactions. We also compare the dependence of the corner term on the new
gravitational couplings to that for a number of other physical quantities, and
we show that the ratio of the corner contribution over the central charge
appearing in the two-point function of the stress tensor is a universal
function for all of the holographic theories studied here. Comparing this
holographic result to the analogous functions for free CFT's, we find fairly
good agreement across the full range of the opening angle. However, there is a
precise match in the limit where the entangling surface becomes smooth, i.e.,
the angle approaches , and we conjecture the corresponding ratio is a
universal constant for all three-dimensional conformal field theories. In this
paper, we expand on the holographic calculations in our previous letter
arXiv:1505.04804, where this conjecture was first introduced.Comment: 62 pages, 6 figures, 1 table; v2: minor modifications to match
published version, typos fixe
Ultraspinning instability of anti-de Sitter black holes
Myers-Perry black holes with a single spin in d>5 have been shown to be
unstable if rotating sufficiently rapidly. We extend the numerical analysis
which allowed for that result to the asymptotically AdS case. We determine
numerically the stationary perturbations that mark the onset of the
instabilities for the modes that preserve the rotational symmetries of the
background. The parameter space of solutions is thoroughly analysed, and the
onset of the instabilities is obtained as a function of the cosmological
constant. Each of these perturbations has been conjectured to represent a
bifurcation point to a new phase of stationary AdS black holes, and this is
consistent with our results.Comment: 22 pages, 7 figures. v2: Reference added. Matches published versio
Folding of small proteins: A matter of geometry?
We review some of our recent results obtained within the scope of simple
lattice models and Monte Carlo simulations that illustrate the role of native
geometry in the folding kinetics of two state folders.Comment: To appear in Molecular Physic
Electromyographic Analysis of the Shoulder Girdle Musculature during External Rotation Exercises
Background: Implementation of overhead activity, a key component of many professional sports, requires an effective and balanced activation of shoulder girdle muscles particularly during forceful external rotation motions.
Purpose: The study aimed to identify activation strategies of 16 shoulder girdle muscles/muscle segments during common shoulder external rotational exercises.
Study Design: Cross-Sectional Study
Method: EMG was recorded in 30 healthy subjects from 16 shoulder girdle muscles/muscle segments (surface electrode: anterior, middle and posterior deltoid, upper, middle and lower trapezius, serratus anterior, teres major, upper and lower latissimus dorsi, upper and lower pectoralis major; fine wire electrodes: supraspinatus, infraspinatus, subscapularis and rhomboid major) using a telemetric EMG system. Five external rotation (ER) exercises (standing ER at 0o and 90o of abduction, and with under-arm towel roll, prone ER at 90o of abduction, side-lying ER with under-arm towel) were studied. Exercise EMG amplitudes were normalised to EMGmax (EMG at maximal ER force in a standard position). Univariate analysis of variance (ANOVA) and post-hoc analysis applied on EMG activity of each muscle to assess the main effect of exercise condition.
Results: Muscular activity differed significantly among the ER exercises (P<0.05 – P<0.001). The highest activation for anterior and middle deltoid, supraspinatus, upper trapezius, and serratus anterior occurred during standing ER at 90o of abduction; for posterior deltoid, middle trapezius, and rhomboid during side-lying ER at 0° of abduction; for lower trapezius, upper and lower latissimus dorsi, subscapularis, and teres major during prone ER at 90o of abduction, and for clavicular and sternal part of pectoralis major during standing ER with Under-Arm Towel.
Conclusion: Key glenohumeral and scapular muscles can be optimally activated during the specific ER exercises particularly in positions that stimulate athletic overhead motions.
Clinical Relevance: These results enable sport medicine professionals to target specific muscles during shoulder rehabilitation protocols while minimising the effect of others, providing a foundation for optimal evidence-based exercise prescription. They also provide information for tailored muscle training and injury prevention in overhead sports
Continuity, Deconfinement, and (Super) Yang-Mills Theory
We study the phase diagram of SU(2) Yang-Mills theory with one adjoint Weyl
fermion on R^3xS^1 as a function of the fermion mass m and the compactification
scale L. This theory reduces to thermal pure gauge theory as m->infinity and to
circle-compactified (non-thermal) supersymmetric gluodynamics in the limit
m->0. In the m-L plane, there is a line of center symmetry changing phase
transitions. In the limit m->infinity, this transition takes place at
L_c=1/T_c, where T_c is the critical temperature of the deconfinement
transition in pure Yang-Mills theory. We show that near m=0, the critical
compactification scale L_c can be computed using semi-classical methods and
that the transition is of second order. This suggests that the deconfining
phase transition in pure Yang-Mills theory is continuously connected to a
transition that can be studied at weak coupling. The center symmetry changing
phase transition arises from the competition of perturbative contributions and
monopole-instantons that destabilize the center, and topological molecules
(neutral bions) that stabilize the center. The contribution of molecules can be
computed using supersymmetry in the limit m=0, and via the
Bogomolnyi--Zinn-Justin (BZJ) prescription in the non-supersymmetric gauge
theory. Finally, we also give a detailed discussion of an issue that has not
received proper attention in the context of N=1 theories---the non-cancellation
of nonzero-mode determinants around supersymmetric BPS and KK
monopole-instanton backgrounds on R^3xS^1. We explain why the non-cancellation
is required for consistency with holomorphy and supersymmetry and perform an
explicit calculation of the one-loop determinant ratio.Comment: A discussion of the non-cancellation of the nonzero mode determinants
around supersymmetric monopole-instantons in N=1 SYM on R^3xS^1 is added,
including an explicit calculation. The non-cancellation is, in fact, required
by supersymmetry and holomorphy in order for the affine-Toda superpotential
to be reproduced. References have also been adde
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