Altar To The Unknown God

Altar to the Unknown God is an MFA thesis exhibition concerned with twenty-first century spiritual and religious expressions of visual identity, as well as and the academic structures employed when formulating interpretations of their meaning and validity. Informed by a literary analysis on secularism and contemporary art criticism, this studio-led research utilizes a rhizomatic philosophical structure that seeks expansion and connective multiplicities rather than a definitive conclusion. Towards this goal, the literary investigation endeavors to define and demystify the complex interrelations between secularism as a pluralistic cultural condition with the academic challenge behind the formation of a method of theological art criticism. The studio-produced visual artwork is both informed by this analysis and rhizomatically seeks its expansion through an introspective investigative process. This inquiry aims to theorize an academic interpretative language capable of taking visual displays of enchantment as genuine, rather than naive depictions of superstition, thus producing structures and inter-religious dialogue that is inclusive of spiritual identity in the shifting landscape of the twenty-first century

Combined algorithm of the realization of the method of least modules.

The methods of software realization of the approximate method of calculating the estimates of the smallest modules (the Mudrov method), the combined method of variational-weighted quadratic approximations and coordinate-wise descent, and the method of search for estimating the coefficients of linear regression models are considered. Based on the results of the study, it was found that the root-mean-square deviation in calculating the coefficients of the linear function y (x) = kx + b in the combined method is less than in calculating the coefficients by the Mudrov method.Рассмотрены способы программной реализации приближенного метода вычисления оценок наименьших модулей (метода Мудрова), комбинированного метода вариационно-взвешенных квадратичных приближений и покоординатного спуска и метода перебора для оценивания коэффициентов линейных регрессионных моделей. По результатам исследования выявлено, что среднеквадратичное отклонение при вычислении коэффициентов линейной функции y(x)=kx+b+ε в комбинированном методе меньше, чем при вычислении коэффициентов методом Мудрова

A Study of Meson Correlators at Finite Temperature

We present results for mesonic propagators in temporal and spatial directions at T below and above the deconfining transition in quenched QCD. Anisotropic lattices are used to get enough information in the temporal direction. We use the Wilson fermion action for light quarks and Fermilab action for heavy quarks.Comment: LATTICE 99 (finite temperature and density), 3 pages, LaTeX with 3 eps figures, espcrc2.sty, psfig.st

Development and experimental validation of kinetic models for the hydrogenation/dehydrogenation of Mg/Al based metal waste for energy storage

With the increased use of renewable energy sources, the need to store large amounts of energy will become increasingly important in the near future. A cost efficient possibility is to use the reaction of recycled Mg waste with hydrogen as thermo-chemical energy storage. Owing to the high reaction enthalpy, the moderate pressure and appropriate temperature conditions, the broad abundance and the recyclability, the Mg/Al alloy is perfectly suitable for this purpose. As further development of a previous work, in which the performance of recycled Mg/Al waste was presented, a kinetic model for hydro- and dehydrogenation is derived in this study. Temperature and pressure dependencies are determined, as well as the rate limiting step of the reaction. First experiments are carried out in an autoclave with a scaled-up powder mass, which is also used to validate the model by simulating the geometry with the scaled-up experiments at different conditions

Applications of quantum integrable systems

We present two applications of quantum integrable systems. First, we predict that it is possible to generate high harmonics from solid state devices by demostrating that the emission spectrum for a minimally coupled laser field of frequency $\omega$ to an impurity system of a quantum wire, contains multiples of the incoming frequency. Second, evaluating expressions for the conductance in the high temperature regime we show that the caracteristic filling fractions of the Jain sequence, which occur in the fractional quantum Hall effect, can be obtained from quantum wires which are described by minimal affine Toda field theories.Comment: 25 pages of LaTex, 4 figures, based on talk at the 6-th international workshop on conformal field theories and integrable models, (Chernogolovka, September 2002

Scaling Limit of the Ising Model in a Field

The dilute A_3 model is a solvable IRF (interaction round a face) model with three local states and adjacency conditions encoded by the Dynkin diagram of the Lie algebra A_3. It can be regarded as a solvable version of an Ising model at the critical temperature in a magnetic field. One therefore expects the scaling limit to be governed by Zamolodchikov's integrable perturbation of the c=1/2 conformal field theory. Indeed, a recent thermodynamic Bethe Ansatz approach succeeded to unveil the corresponding E_8 structure under certain assumptions on the nature of the Bethe Ansatz solutions. In order to check these conjectures, we perform a detailed numerical investigation of the solutions of the Bethe Ansatz equations for the critical and off-critical model. Scaling functions for the ground-state corrections and for the lowest spectral gaps are obtained, which give very precise numerical results for the lowest mass ratios in the massive scaling limit. While these agree perfectly with the E_8 mass ratios, we observe one state which seems to violate the assumptions underlying the thermodynamic Bethe Ansatz calculation. We also analyze the critical spectrum of the dilute A_3 model, which exhibits massive excitations on top of the massless states of the Ising conformal field theory.Comment: 29 pages, RevTeX, 11 PostScript figures included by epsf, using amssymb.sty (v2.2

Scalar Glueball Mass Reduction at Finite Temperature in SU(3) Anisotropic Lattice QCD

We report the first study of the glueball properties at finite temperatures below T_c using SU(3) anisotropic lattice QCD with beta=6.25, the renormalized anisotropy xi \equiv a_s/a_t = 4 and 20^3 \times N_t (N_t=35,36,37,38,40,43,45,50,72) at the quenched level. From the temporal correlation analysis with the smearing method, about 20 % mass reduction is observed for the lowest scalar glueball as m_G(T)=1250 \pm 50MeV for 0.8 T_c < T < T_c in comparison with m_G \simeq 1500 \sim 1700MeV at T \simeq 0.Comment: This is the second revised version using more gauge configurations. 5 pages, Latex2e, 5 figure

Glueball Properties at Finite Temperature in SU(3) Anisotropic Lattice QCD

The thermal properties of the glueballs are studied using SU(3) anisotropic lattice QCD with beta=6.25, the renormalized anisotropy xi=a_s/a_t=4 over the lattice of the size 20^3\times N_t with N_t = 24, 26, 28, 30, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 40, 43, 45, 50, 72 at the quenched level. To construct a suitable operator on the lattice, we adopt the smearing method, and consider its physical meaning in terms of the operator size. First, we construct the temporal correlators G(t) for the 0^{++} and 2^{++} glueballs, using more than 5,000 gauge configurations at each temperature. We then measure the pole-mass of the thermal glueballs from G(t). For the lowest 0^{++} glueball, we observe a significant pole-mass reduction of about 300 MeV near T_c or m_G(T\simeq T_c) \simeq 0.8 m_G(T\sim 0), while its size remains almost unchanged as rho(T) \simeq 0.4fm. Finally, for completeness, as an attempt to take into account the effect of thermal width Gamma(T) at finite temperature, we perform a more general new analysis of G(t) based on its spectral representation. By adopting the Breit-Wigner form for the spectral function rho(omega), we perform the best-fit analysis as a straightforward extension to the standard pole-mass analysis. The result indicates a significant broadening of the peak as Gamma(T) \sim 300 MeV as well as rather modest reduction of the peak center of about 100 MeV near T_c for the lowest 0^{++} glueball. The temporal correlators of the color-singlet modes corresponding to these glueballs above T_c are also investigated.Comment: This is the revised version using more gauge configurations near T_c. 25 pages, Latex2e, 22 figure

Oral rehydration versus intravenous therapy for treating dehydration due to gastroenteritis in children: a meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials

BACKGROUND: Despite treatment recommendations from various organizations, oral rehydration therapy (ORT) continues to be underused, particularly by physicians in high-income countries. We conducted a systematic review of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) to compare ORT and intravenous therapy (IVT) for the treatment of dehydration secondary to acute gastroenteritis in children. METHODS: RCTs were identified through MEDLINE, EMBASE, CENTRAL, authors and references of included trials, pharmaceutical companies, and relevant organizations. Screening and inclusion were performed independently by two reviewers in order to identify randomised or quasi-randomised controlled trials comparing ORT and IVT in children with acute diarrhea and dehydration. Two reviewers independently assessed study quality using the Jadad scale and allocation concealment. Data were extracted by one reviewer and checked by a second. The primary outcome measure was failure of rehydration. We analyzed data using standard meta-analytic techniques. RESULTS: The quality of the 14 included trials ranged from 0 to 3 (Jadad score); allocation concealment was unclear in all but one study. Using a random effects model, there was no significant difference in treatment failures (risk difference [RD] 3%; 95% confidence intervals [CI]: 0, 6). The Mantel-Haenzsel fixed effects model gave a significant difference between treatment groups (RD 4%; 95% CI: 2, 5) favoring IVT. Based on the four studies that reported deaths, there were six in the IVT groups and two in ORT. There were no significant differences in total fluid intake at six and 24 hours, weight gain, duration of diarrhea, or hypo/hypernatremia. Length of stay was significantly shorter for the ORT group (weighted mean difference [WMD] -1.2 days; 95% CI: -2.4,-0.02). Phlebitis occurred significantly more often with IVT (number needed to treat [NNT] 33; 95% CI: 25,100); paralytic ileus occurred more often with ORT (NNT 33; 95% CI: 20,100). These results may not be generalizable to children with persistent vomiting. CONCLUSION: There were no clinically important differences between ORT and IVT in terms of efficacy and safety. For every 25 children (95% CI: 20, 50) treated with ORT, one would fail and require IVT. The results support existing practice guidelines recommending ORT as the first course of treatment in appropriate children with dehydration secondary to gastroenteritis