1,085 research outputs found
Test of Information Theory on the Boltzmann Equation
We examine information theory using the steady-state Boltzmann equation. In a
nonequilibrium steady-state system under steady heat conduction, the
thermodynamic quantities from information theory are calculated and compared
with those from the steady-state Boltzmann equation. We have found that
information theory is inconsistent with the steady-state Boltzmann equation.Comment: 12 page
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Dietary fatty acids: is it time to change the recommendations
Limiting the saturated fatty acid (SAFA) consumption forms the basis of dietary fat recommendations for heart health, despite several meta-analyses demonstrating no link be- tween dietary SAFA and the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Three experts on dietary fat and health discussed the evidence of reducing SAFA intake at a symposium of the Federation of European Nutrition Societies in Berlin, Germany, October 23, 2015. Ronald P. Mensink, Maastricht University, the Netherlands, discussed the evidence linking dietary fatty acids and CVD risk. He emphasized the impor- tance of the replacement nutrient(s) when SAFA intake is re- duced. Julie Lovegrove, University of Reading, UK, addressed the question of whether higher intakes of unsaturated fatty acids are beneficial. She discussed the replacement of SAFA by polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) and monounsaturat- ed fatty acids (MUFA), noting the reduction in CVD risk with PUFA replacement and in CVD risk markers with MUFA re- placement of SAFA. Ursula Schwab, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland, discussed the importance of di- etary patterns in achieving reduced risk of CVD, observing that several dietary patterns following the principles of a health-promoting diet and adapted to local customs, food preferences and seasonality are effective in reducing the risk of CVD, type 2 diabetes and other chronic diseases. This pa- per summarizes the symposium presentations
Classification of Message Spreading in a Heterogeneous Social Network
Nowadays, social networks such as Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn become
increasingly popular. In fact, they introduced new habits, new ways of
communication and they collect every day several information that have
different sources. Most existing research works fo-cus on the analysis of
homogeneous social networks, i.e. we have a single type of node and link in the
network. However, in the real world, social networks offer several types of
nodes and links. Hence, with a view to preserve as much information as
possible, it is important to consider so-cial networks as heterogeneous and
uncertain. The goal of our paper is to classify the social message based on its
spreading in the network and the theory of belief functions. The proposed
classifier interprets the spread of messages on the network, crossed paths and
types of links. We tested our classifier on a real word network that we
collected from Twitter, and our experiments show the performance of our belief
classifier
Some thoughts about nonequilibrium temperature
The main objective of this paper is to show that, within the present
framework of the kinetic theoretical approach to irreversible thermodynamics,
there is no evidence that provides a basis to modify the ordinary Fourier
equation relating the heat flux in a non-equilibrium steady state to the
gradient of the local equilibrium temperature. This fact is supported, among
other arguments, through the kinetic foundations of generalized hydrodynamics.
Some attempts have been recently proposed asserting that, in the presence of
non-linearities of the state variables, such a temperature should be replaced
by the non-equilibrium temperature as defined in Extended Irreversible
Thermodynamics. In the approximations used for such a temperature there is so
far no evidence that sustains this proposal.Comment: 13 pages, TeX, no figures, to appear in Mol. Phy
Evidence for a change in the nuclear mass surface with the discovery of the most neutron-rich nuclei with 17<Z <25
The results of measurements of the production of neutron-rich nuclei by the
fragmentation of a 76-Ge beam are presented. The cross sections were measured
for a large range of nuclei including fifteen new isotopes that are the most
neutron-rich nuclides of the elements chlorine to manganese (50-Cl, 53-Ar,
55,56-K, 57,58-Ca, 59,60,61-Sc, 62,63-Ti, 65,66-V, 68-Cr, 70-Mn). The enhanced
cross sections of several new nuclei relative to a simple thermal evaporation
framework, previously shown to describe similar production cross sections,
indicates that nuclei in the region around 62-Ti might be more stable than
predicted by current mass models and could be an indication of a new island of
inversion similar to that centered on 31-Na.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, to be published in Physical Review Letters, 200
Measuring Nonequilibrium Temperature of Forced Oscillators
The meaning of temperature in nonequilibrium thermodynamics is considered by
using a forced harmonic oscillator in a heat bath, where we have two effective
temperatures for the position and the momentum, respectively. We invent a
concrete model of a thermometer to testify the validity of these different
temperatures from the operational point of view. It is found that the measured
temperature depends on a specific form of interaction between the system and a
thermometer, which means the zeroth law of thermodynamics cannot be immediately
extended to nonequilibrium cases.Comment: 8 page
Improving teaching about medically unexplained symptoms for newly-qualified doctors in the UK: findings from a questionnaire survey and expert workshop
Objectives Medically unexplained symptoms (MUS) present frequently in healthcare, can be complex and frustrating for clinicians and patients and are often associated with overinvestigation and significant costs. Doctors need to be aware of appropriate management strategies for such patients early in their training. A previous qualitative study with foundation year doctors (junior doctors in their first 2 years postqualification) indicated significant lack of knowledge about this topic and appropriate management strategies. This study reviewed whether, and in what format, UK foundation training programmes for newly qualified doctors include any teaching about MUS and sought recommendations for further development of such training. Design Mixed-methods design comprising a web-based questionnaire survey and an expert consultation workshop. Setting Nineteen foundation schools in England, Wales and Northern Ireland Participants Questionnaire administered via email to 155 foundation training programme directors (FTPDs) attached to the 19 foundation schools, followed by an expert consultation workshop attended by 13 medical educationalists, FTPDs and junior doctors. Results The 53/155 (34.2%) FTPDs responding to the questionnaire represented 15 of the 19 foundation schools, but only 6/53 (11%) reported any current formal teaching about MUS within their programmes. However, most recognised the importance of providing such teaching, suggesting 2â3âhours per year. All those attending the expert consultation workshop recommended case-based discussions, role-play and the use of videos to illustrate positive and negative examples of doctorâpatient interactions as educational methods of choice. Educational sessions should cover the skills needed to provide appropriate explanations for patientsâ symptoms as well as avoid unnecessary investigations, and providing information about suitable treatment options. Conclusions There is an urgent need to improve foundation level training about MUS, as current provision is very limited. An interactive approach covering a range of topics is recommended, but must be delivered within a realistic time frame for the curriculum
Diet Soda Intake and Risk of Incident Metabolic Syndrome and Type 2 Diabetes in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA)*
Stereo imaging is an important area of image and video processing, with exploding progress in the last decades. An open issue in this field is the understanding of the conditions under which the straightforward application of a given image processing operator to both the left and right image of a stereo pair preserves the stereoscopic perception. In this paper, we explore this problem with application to artistic imaging and we prove that, unlike other methods, artistic operators based on edge preserving smoothing have this desirable property. We also present a novel multiresolution artistic operator, purposely designed for stereo images, which enhances the perception of three-dimensionality by means of a depth driven local scale control.
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