6,970 research outputs found
A Second Relativistic Mean Field and Virial Equation of State for Astrophysical Simulations
We generate a second equation of state (EOS) of nuclear matter for a wide
range of temperatures, densities, and proton fractions for use in supernovae,
neutron star mergers, and black hole formation simulations. We employ full
relativistic mean field (RMF) calculations for matter at intermediate density
and high density, and the Virial expansion of a non-ideal gas for matter at low
density. For this EOS we use the RMF effective interaction FSUGold, whereas our
earlier EOS was based on the RMF effective interaction NL3. The FSUGold
interaction has a lower pressure at high densities compared to the NL3
interaction. We calculate the resulting EOS at over 100,000 grid points in the
temperature range = 0 to 80 MeV, the density range = 10 to 1.6
fm, and the proton fraction range = 0 to 0.56. We then interpolate
these data points using a suitable scheme to generate a thermodynamically
consistent equation of state table on a finer grid. We discuss differences
between this EOS, our NL3 based EOS, and previous EOSs by Lattimer-Swesty and
H. Shen et al for the thermodynamic properties, composition, and neutron star
structure. The original FSUGold interaction produces an EOS, that we call
FSU1.7, that has a maximum neutron star mass of 1.7 solar masses. A
modification in the high density EOS is introduced to increase the maximum
neutron star mass to 2.1 solar masses and results in a slightly different EOS
that we call FSU2.1. The EOS tables for FSU1.7 and FSU2.1 are available for
download.Comment: updated version according to referee's comments. Phys. Rev. C in
pres
Intrapersonal positive future thinking predicts repeat suicide attempts in hospital-treated suicide attempters
Objective: Although there is clear evidence that low levels of positive future thinking (anticipation of positive experiences in the future) and hopelessness are associated with suicide risk, the relationship between the content of positive future thinking and suicidal behavior has yet to be investigated. This is the first study to determine whether the positive future thinkingāsuicide attempt relationship varies as a function of the content of the thoughts and whether positive future thinking predicts suicide attempts over time. Method: A total of 388 patients hospitalized following a suicide attempt completed a range of clinical and psychological measures (depression, hopelessness, suicidal ideation, suicidal intent and positive future thinking). Fifteen months later, a nationally linked database was used to determine who had been hospitalized again after a suicide attempt. Results: During follow-up, 25.6% of linked participants were readmitted to hospital following a suicide attempt. In univariate logistic regression analyses, previous suicide attempts, suicidal ideation, hopelessness, and depressionāas well as low levels of achievement, low levels of financial positive future thoughts, and high levels of intrapersonal (thoughts about the individual and no one else) positive future thoughts predicted repeat suicide attempts. However, only previous suicide attempts, suicidal ideation, and high levels of intrapersonal positive future thinking were significant predictors in multivariate analyses. Discussion: Positive future thinking has predictive utility over time; however, the content of the thinking affects the direction and strength of the positive future thinkingāsuicidal behavior relationship. Future research is required to understand the mechanisms that link high levels of intrapersonal positive future thinking to suicide risk and how intrapersonal thinking should be targeted in treatment interventions
Effect of cochlear implant electrode insertion on middle-ear function as measured by intra-operative laser Doppler vibrometry
Hypothesis: The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of cochlear implant electrode insertion on middle-ear low frequency function in humans.Background: Preservation of residual low frequency hearing with addition of electrical speech processing can improve the speech perception abilities and hearing in noise of cochlear implant users. Preservation of low frequency hearing requires an intact middle-ear conductive mechanism in addition to intact inner-ear mechanisms. Little is known about the effect of a cochlear implant electrode on middle-ear function.Methods: Stapes displacement was measured in seven patients undergoing cochlear implantation. Measurements were carried out intra-operatively before and after electrode insertion. Each patient acted as his or her own control. Sound was delivered into the external auditory canal via a speaker and calibrated via a probe microphone. The speaker and probe microphone were integrated into an individually custom-made ear mould. Ossicular displacement in response to a multisine stimulus at 80 dB SPL was measured at the incudostapedial joint via the posterior tympanotomy, using an operating microscope mounted laser Doppler vibrometry system.Results: Insertion of a cochlear implant electrode into the scala tympani had a variable effect on stapes displacement. In three patients, there was little change in stapes displacement following electrode insertion. In two patients, there was a significant increase, while in a further two there was a significant reduction in stapes displacement. This variability may reflect alteration of cochlear impedance, possibly due to differing loss of perilymph associated with the electrode insertion.Conclusion: Insertion of a cochlear implant electrode produces a change in stapes displacement at low frequencies, which may have an effect on residual low frequency hearing thresholds
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A longitudinal investigation of maternal and child 'anxious cognitions'
Overestimation of threat and underestimation of coping have been frequently reported amongst anxious adults and children. The current study examines the longitudinal relationship between mothers' anxious cognitions and expectations about their child, and children's anxious cognitions. 54 children (aged 10-11 years) and their mothers reported on their interpretation of ambiguous scenarios at two time points. Mothers also reported on their expectations about their child's reaction to ambiguous situations. Significant cross-sectional associations were found between mother and child anticipation of distress. Associations were most consistent between mothers' expectations and children's cognitions. Furthermore, based on regression analyses, mothers' expectations predicted change in children's anxious cognitions over time. Evidence for a reciprocal relationship, that child cognitions predict change in mothers' expectations, was found for girls. The results provide empirical support for potential influences on the development of children's 'anxious cognitive style,' and suggest targets for preventing and reducing maladaptive cognitions in children
Influence of light nuclei on neutrino-driven supernova outflows
We study the composition of the outer layers of a protoneutron star and show that light nuclei are present in substantial amounts. The composition is dominated by nucleons, deuterons, tritons and alpha particles; 3He is present in smaller amounts. This composition can be studied in laboratory experiments with new neutron-rich radioactive beams that can reproduce similar densities and temperatures. After including the corresponding neutrino interactions, we demonstrate that light nuclei have a small impact on the average energy of the emitted electron neutrinos, but are significant for the average energy of antineutrinos. During the early post-explosion phase, the average energy of electron antineutrinos is slightly increased, while at later times during the protoneutron star cooling it is reduced by about 1 MeV. The consequences of these changes for nucleosynthesis in neutrino-driven supernova outflows are discussed
Dimensional Crossover in the Large N Limit
We consider dimensional crossover for an Landau-Ginzburg-Wilson model
on a -dimensional film geometry of thickness in the large -limit. We
calculate the full universal crossover scaling forms for the free energy and
the equation of state. We compare the results obtained using ``environmentally
friendly'' renormalization with those found using a direct, non-renormalization
group approach. A set of effective critical exponents are calculated and
scaling laws for these exponents are shown to hold exactly, thereby yielding
non-trivial relations between the various thermodynamic scaling functions.Comment: 25 pages of PlainTe
The Specific Heat of a Ferromagnetic Film.
We analyze the specific heat for the vector model on a -dimensional
film geometry of thickness using ``environmentally friendly''
renormalization. We consider periodic, Dirichlet and antiperiodic boundary
conditions, deriving expressions for the specific heat and an effective
specific heat exponent, \alpha\ef. In the case of , for , by
matching to the exact exponent of the two dimensional Ising model we capture
the crossover for \xi_L\ra\infty between power law behaviour in the limit
{L\over\xi_L}\ra\infty and logarithmic behaviour in the limit
{L\over\xi_L}\ra0 for fixed , where is the correlation length in
the transverse dimensions.Comment: 21 pages of Plain TeX. Postscript figures available upon request from
[email protected]
Umbilical cord blood banking: Beyond the public-private divide
Umbilical cord blood is a source of haematopoietic progenitor cells, which are used to treat a range of malignant, genetic, metabolic and immune disorders. Until recently, cord blood was either collected through donations to publicly funded cord blood banks for use in allogeneic transplantation, or stored in commercial cord blood banks for use in autologous transplantation. The line between public and private cord blood banking is being blurred by the emergence of "hybrid" models that combine aspects of both the public and private systems. The authors describe these hybrid models and argue that their emergence is explained by both market forces and public sector policy They propose that the future of the sector will depend heavily on several key developments that will differentially affect public, private and hybrid banking models
Charged-current neutrino interactions in core-collapse supernovae in a virial expansion
Core-collapse supernovae may depend sensitively on charged-current neutrino interactions in warm, low-density, neutron-rich matter. A proton in neutron-rich matter is more tightly bound than is a neutron. This energy shift ĪU increases the electron energy in Ī½_e + n ā p + e, increasing the available phase space and absorption cross section. Likewise ĪU decreases the positron energy in Ī½Ģ
_ e + p ā n + e+, decreasing the phase space and cross section. We have calculated ĪU using a model-independent virial expansion and we find that ĪU is much larger, at low densities, than the predictions of many mean-field models. Therefore ĪU could have a significant impact on charged-current neutrino interactions in supernovae. Preliminary simulations of the accretion phase of core-collapse supernovae find that ĪU increases Ī½Ģ
_e energies and decreases the Ī½_e luminosity
'Schwinger Model' on the Fuzzy Sphere
In this paper, we construct a model of spinor fields interacting with
specific gauge fields on fuzzy sphere and analyze the chiral symmetry of this
'Schwinger model'. In constructing the theory of gauge fields interacting with
spinors on fuzzy sphere, we take the approach that the Dirac operator on
q-deformed fuzzy sphere is the gauged Dirac operator on fuzzy
sphere. This introduces interaction between spinors and specific one parameter
family of gauge fields. We also show how to express the field strength for this
gauge field in terms of the Dirac operators and alone. Using the path
integral method, we have calculated the point functions of this model and
show that, in general, they do not vanish, reflecting the chiral non-invariance
of the partition function.Comment: Minor changes, typos corrected, 18 pages, to appear in Mod. Phys.
Lett.
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