663 research outputs found
Manifestation of Chaos in Real Complex Systems: Case of Parkinson's Disease
In this chapter we present a new approach to the study of manifestations of
chaos in real complex system. Recently we have achieved the following result.
In real complex systems the informational measure of chaotic chatacter (IMC)
can serve as a reliable quantitative estimation of the state of a complex
system and help to estimate the deviation of this state from its normal
condition. As the IMC we suggest the statistical spectrum of the non-Markovity
parameter (NMP) and its frequency behavior. Our preliminary studies of real
complex systems in cardiology, neurophysiology and seismology have shown that
the NMP has diverse frequency dependence. It testifies to the competition
between Markovian and non-Markovian, random and regular processes and makes a
crossover from one relaxation scenario to the other possible. On this basis we
can formulate the new concept in the study of the manifestation of chaoticity.
We suggest the statistical theory of discrete non-Markov stochastic processes
to calculate the NMP and the quantitative evaluation of the IMC in real complex
systems. With the help of the IMC we have found out the evident manifestation
of chaosity in a normal (healthy) state of the studied system, its sharp
reduction in the period of crises, catastrophes and various human diseases. It
means that one can appreciably improve the state of a patient (of any system)
by increasing the IMC of the studied live system. The given observation creates
a reliable basis for predicting crises and catastrophes, as well as for
diagnosing and treating various human diseases, Parkinson's disease in
particular.Comment: 20 pages, 8 figures, 3 tables. To be published in "The Logistic Map
and the Route to Chaos: From the Beginnings to the Modern Applications", eds.
by M. Ausloos, M. Dirickx, pp. 175-196, Springer-Verlag, Berlin (2006
Study of the dependence of 198Au half-life on source geometry
We report the results of an experiment to determine whether the half-life of
\Au{198} depends on the shape of the source. This study was motivated by recent
suggestions that nuclear decay rates may be affected by solar activity, perhaps
arising from solar neutrinos. If this were the case then the -decay
rates, or half-lives, of a thin foil sample and a spherical sample of gold of
the same mass and activity could be different. We find for \Au{198},
, where
is the mean half-life. The maximum neutrino flux at the sample in our
experiments was several times greater than the flux of solar neutrinos at the
surface of the Earth. We show that this increase in flux leads to a significant
improvement in the limits that can be inferred on a possible solar contribution
to nuclear decays.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figur
Open-label, cluster randomised controlled trial and economic evaluation of a brief letter from a GP on unscheduled medical contacts associated with the start of the school year: the PLEASANT trial
BACKGROUND: Asthma is seasonal with peaks in exacerbation rates in school-age children associated with the return to school following the summer vacation. A drop in prescription collection in August is associated with an increase in the number of unscheduled contacts after the school return. OBJECTIVE: To assess whether a public health intervention delivered in general practice reduced unscheduled medical contacts in children with asthma. DESIGN: Cluster randomised trial with trial-based economic evaluation. Randomisation was at general practice level, stratified by size of practice. The intervention group received a letter from their general practitioner (GP) in late July outlining the importance of (re)taking asthma medication before the return to school. The control group was usual care. SETTING: General practices in England and Wales. PARTICIPANTS: 12 179 school-age children in 142 general practices (70 randomised to intervention). MAIN OUTCOME: Proportion of children aged 5-16 years who had an unscheduled contact in September. Secondary endpoints included collection of prescriptions in August and medical contacts over 12 months (September-August). Economic endpoints were quality-adjusted life-years gained and health service costs. RESULTS: There was no evidence of effect (OR 1.09; 95% CI 0.96 to 1.25 against treatment) on unscheduled contacts in September. The intervention increased the proportion of children collecting a prescription in August by 4% (OR 1.43; 95% CI 1.24 to 1.64). The intervention also reduced the total number of medical contacts between September-August by 5% (incidence ratio 0.95; 95% CI 0.91 to 0.99).The mean reduction in medical contacts informed the health economics analyses. The intervention was estimated to save £36.07 per patient, with a high probability (96.3%) of being cost-saving. CONCLUSIONS: The intervention succeeded in increasing children collecting prescriptions. It did not reduce unscheduled care in September (the primary outcome), but in the year following the intervention, it reduced the total number of medical contacts. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: ISRCTN03000938; Results
Effect of an Electron-phonon Interaction on the One-electron Spectral Weight of a d-wave Superconductor
We analyze the effects of an electron-phonon interaction on the one-electron
spectral weight A(k,omega) of a d_{x^2-y^2} superconductor. We study the case
of an Einstein phonon mode with various momentum-dependent electron-phonon
couplings and compare the structure produced in A(k,omega) with that obtained
from coupling to the magnetic pi-resonant mode. We find that if the strength of
the interactions are adjusted to give the same renormalization at the nodal
point, the differences in A(k,omega) are generally small but possibly
observable near k=(pi,0).Comment: 10 pages, 14 figures (color versions of Figs. 2,4,10,11,12 available
upon request
Evaluating Baculovirus as a Vector for Human Prostate Cancer Gene Therapy
Gene therapy represents an attractive strategy for the non-invasive treatment of prostate cancer, where current clinical interventions show limited efficacy. Here, we evaluate the use of the insect virus, baculovirus (BV), as a novel vector for human prostate cancer gene therapy. Since prostate tumours represent a heterogeneous environment, a therapeutic approach that achieves long-term regression must be capable of targeting multiple transformed cell populations. Furthermore, discrimination in the targeting of malignant compared to non-malignant cells would have value in minimising side effects. We employed a number of prostate cancer models to analyse the potential for BV to achieve these goals. In vitro, both traditional prostate cell lines as well as primary epithelial or stromal cells derived from patient prostate biopsies, in two- or three-dimensional cultures, were used. We also evaluated BV in vivo in murine prostate cancer xenograft models. BV was capable of preferentially transducing invasive malignant prostate cancer cell lines compared to early stage cancers and non-malignant samples, a restriction that was not a function of nuclear import. Of more clinical relevance, primary patient-derived prostate cancer cells were also efficiently transduced by BV, with robust rates observed in epithelial cells of basal phenotype, which expressed BV-encoded transgenes faster than epithelial cells of a more differentiated, luminal phenotype. Maximum transduction capacity was observed in stromal cells. BV was able to penetrate through three-dimensional structures, including in vitro spheroids and in vivo orthotopic xenografts. BV vectors containing a nitroreductase transgene in a gene-directed enzyme pro-drug therapy approach were capable of efficiently killing malignant prostate targets following administration of the pro-drug, CB1954. Thus, BV is capable of transducing a large proportion of prostate cell types within a heterogeneous 3-D prostate tumour, can facilitate cell death using a pro-drug approach, and shows promise as a vector for the treatment of prostate cancer
Regular and stochastic behavior of Parkinsonian pathological tremor signals
Regular and stochastic behavior in the time series of Parkinsonian
pathological tremor velocity is studied on the basis of the statistical theory
of discrete non-Markov stochastic processes and flicker-noise spectroscopy. We
have developed a new method of analyzing and diagnosing Parkinson's disease
(PD) by taking into consideration discreteness, fluctuations, long- and
short-range correlations, regular and stochastic behavior, Markov and
non-Markov effects and dynamic alternation of relaxation modes in the initial
time signals. The spectrum of the statistical non-Markovity parameter reflects
Markovity and non-Markovity in the initial time series of tremor. The
relaxation and kinetic parameters used in the method allow us to estimate the
relaxation scales of diverse scenarios of the time signals produced by the
patient in various dynamic states. The local time behavior of the initial time
correlation function and the first point of the non-Markovity parameter give
detailed information about the variation of pathological tremor in the local
regions of the time series. The obtained results can be used to find the most
effective method of reducing or suppressing pathological tremor in each
individual case of a PD patient. Generally, the method allows one to assess the
efficacy of the medical treatment for a group of PD patients.Comment: 39 pages, 10 figures, 1 table Physica A, in pres
The Milky Way Bulge: Observed properties and a comparison to external galaxies
The Milky Way bulge offers a unique opportunity to investigate in detail the
role that different processes such as dynamical instabilities, hierarchical
merging, and dissipational collapse may have played in the history of the
Galaxy formation and evolution based on its resolved stellar population
properties. Large observation programmes and surveys of the bulge are providing
for the first time a look into the global view of the Milky Way bulge that can
be compared with the bulges of other galaxies, and be used as a template for
detailed comparison with models. The Milky Way has been shown to have a
box/peanut (B/P) bulge and recent evidence seems to suggest the presence of an
additional spheroidal component. In this review we summarise the global
chemical abundances, kinematics and structural properties that allow us to
disentangle these multiple components and provide constraints to understand
their origin. The investigation of both detailed and global properties of the
bulge now provide us with the opportunity to characterise the bulge as observed
in models, and to place the mixed component bulge scenario in the general
context of external galaxies. When writing this review, we considered the
perspectives of researchers working with the Milky Way and researchers working
with external galaxies. It is an attempt to approach both communities for a
fruitful exchange of ideas.Comment: Review article to appear in "Galactic Bulges", Editors: Laurikainen
E., Peletier R., Gadotti D., Springer Publishing. 36 pages, 10 figure
Variation of Bar Strength with Central Velocity Dispersion in Spiral Galaxies
We investigate the variation of bar strength with central velocity dispersion
in a sample of barred spiral galaxies. The bar strength is characterized by
, the maximal tangential perturbation associated with the bar, normalized
by the mean axisymmetric force. It is derived from the galaxy potentials which
are obtained using near-infrared images of the galaxies. However, is
sensitive to bulge mass. Hence we also estimated bar strengths from the
relative Fourier intensity amplitude () of bars in near-infrared images.
The central velocity dispersions were obtained from integral field spectroscopy
observations of the velocity fields in the centers of these galaxies; it was
normalized by the rotation curve amplitude obtained from HI line width for each
galaxy. We found a correlation between bar strengths (both and )
and the normalized central velocity dispersions in our sample. This suggests
that bars weaken as their central components become kinematically hotter. This
may have important implications for the secular evolution of barred galaxies.Comment: To appear in Ap&S
Spin Susceptibility in Underdoped
We report a comprehensive polarized and unpolarized neutron scattering study
of the evolution of the dynamical spin susceptibility with temperature and
doping in three underdoped single crystals of the \YBCO{6+x} high temperature
superconductor: \YBCO{6.5} (Tc = 52 K), \YBCO{6.7} (Tc = 67 K), and \YBCO{6.85}
(T_c = 87 K). Theoretical implications of these data are discussed, and a
critique of recent attempts to relate the spin excitations to the
thermodynamics of high temperature superconductors is given.Comment: minor revisions, to appear in PR
Quasars and their host galaxies
This review attempts to describe developments in the fields of quasar and
quasar host galaxies in the past five. In this time period, the Sloan and 2dF
quasar surveys have added several tens of thousands of quasars, with Sloan
quasars being found to z>6. Obscured, or partially obscured quasars have begun
to be found in significant numbers. Black hole mass estimates for quasars, and
our confidence in them, have improved significantly, allowing a start on
relating quasar properties such as radio jet power to fundamental parameters of
the quasar such as black hole mass and accretion rate. Quasar host galaxy
studies have allowed us to find and characterize the host galaxies of quasars
to z>2. Despite these developments, many questions remain unresolved, in
particular the origin of the close relationship between black hole mass and
galaxy bulge mass/velocity dispersion seen in local galaxies.Comment: Review article, to appear in Astrophysics Update
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