652 research outputs found
Moment Analysis and Zipf Law
The moment analysis method and nuclear Zipf's law of fragment size
distributions are reviewed to study nuclear disassembly. In this report, we
present a compilation of both theoretical and experimental studies on moment
analysis and Zipf law performed so far. The relationship of both methods to a
possible critical behavior or phase transition of nuclear disassembly is
discussed. In addition, scaled factorial moments and intermittency are
reviewed.Comment: Caption of Fig.6 was corrected. Review paper for WCI (World Consensus
Initiative) Book "Dynamics and Thermodynamics with Nuclear Degrees of
Freedom", published in Euorpean Physics Journal A as part of the Topical
Volume. 16 pages, 21 figure
Application of Information Theory in Nuclear Liquid Gas Phase Transition
Information entropy and Zipf's law in the field of information theory have
been used for studying the disassembly of nuclei in the framework of the
isospin dependent lattice gas model and molecular dynamical model. We found
that the information entropy in the event space is maximum at the phase
transition point and the mass of the cluster show exactly inversely to its
rank, i.e. Zipf's law appears. Both novel criteria are useful in searching the
nuclear liquid gas phase transition experimentally and theoretically.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure
A novel long non-coding natural antisense RNA is a negative regulator of Nos1 gene expression
Long non-coding natural antisense transcripts (NATs) are widespread in eukaryotic species. Although recent studies indicate that long NATs are engaged in the regulation of gene expression, the precise functional roles of the vast majority of them are unknown. Here we report that a long NAT (Mm-antiNos1 RNA) complementary to mRNA encoding the neuronal isoform of nitric oxide synthase (Nos1) is expressed in the mouse brain and is transcribed from the non-template strand of the Nos1 locus. Nos1 produces nitric oxide (NO), a major signaling molecule in the CNS implicated in many important functions including neuronal differentiation and memory formation. We show that the newly discovered NAT negatively regulates Nos1 gene expression. Moreover, our quantitative studies of the temporal expression profiles of Mm-antiNos1 RNA in the mouse brain during embryonic development and postnatal life indicate that it may be involved in the regulation of NO-dependent neurogenesis
"Sleepiness" is serious in adolescence: Two surveys of 3235 Canadian students
BACKGROUND: Evidence is growing that sleep problems in adolescents are significant impediments to learning and negatively affect behaviour, attainment of social competence and quality of life. The objectives of the study were to determine the level of sleepiness among students in high school, to identify factors to explain it, and to determine the association between sleepiness and performance in both academic and extracurricular activities METHODS: A cross-sectional survey of 2201 high school students in the Hamilton Wentworth District School Board and the Near North District School Board in Ontario was conducted in 1998/9. A similar survey was done three years later involving 1034 students in the Grand Erie District School Board in the same Province. The Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) was used to measure sleepiness and we also assessed the reliability of this tool for this population. Descriptive analysis of the cohort and information on various measures of performance and demographic data were included. Regression analysis, using the generalised estimating equation (GEE), was utilized to investigate factors associated with risk of sleepiness (ESS>10). RESULTS: Seventy per cent of the students had less than 8.5 hours weeknight sleep. Bedtime habits such as a consistent bedtime routine, staying up late or drinking caffeinated beverages before bed were statistically significantly associated with ESS, as were weeknight sleep quantity and gender. As ESS increased there was an increase in the proportion of students who felt their grades had dropped because of sleepiness, were late for school, were often extremely sleepy at school, and were involved in fewer extracurricular activities. These performance measures were statistically significantly associated with ESS. Twenty-three percent of the students felt their grades had dropped because of sleepiness. Most students (58â68%) reported that they were "really sleepy" between 8 and 10 A.M. CONCLUSION: Sleep deprivation and excessive daytime sleepiness were common in two samples of Ontario high school students and were associated with a decrease in academic achievement and extracurricular activity. There is a need to increase awareness of this problem in the education and health communities and to translate knowledge already available to strategies to address it
Breakup Temperature of Target Spectators in Au + Au Collisions at E/A = 1000 MeV
Breakup temperatures were deduced from double ratios of isotope yields for
target spectators produced in the reaction Au + Au at 1000 MeV per nucleon.
Pairs of He and Li isotopes and pairs of He and H
isotopes (p, d and d, t) yield consistent temperatures after feeding
corrections, based on the quantum statistical model, are applied. The
temperatures rise with decreasing impact parameter from 4 MeV for peripheral to
about 10 MeV for the most central collisions.
The good agreement with the breakup temperatures measured previously for
projectile spectators at an incident energy of 600 MeV per nucleon confirms the
observed universality of the spectator decay at relativistic bombarding
energies. The measured temperatures also agree with the breakup temperatures
predicted by the statistical multifragmentation model. For these calculations a
relation between the initial excitation energy and mass was derived which gives
good simultaneous agreement for the fragment charge correlations.
The energy spectra of light charged particles, measured at =
150, exhibit Maxwellian shapes with inverse slope parameters much
higher than the breakup temperatures. The statistical multifragmentation model,
because Coulomb repulsion and sequential decay processes are included, yields
light-particle spectra with inverse slope parameters higher than the breakup
temperatures but considerably below the measured values. The systematic
behavior of the differences suggests that they are caused by
light-charged-particle emission prior to the final breakup stage.
PACS numbers: 25.70.Mn, 25.70.Pq, 25.75.-qComment: 29 pages, TeX with 11 included figures; Revised version accepted for
publication in Z. Phys. A Two additional figure
Theory of disk accretion onto supermassive black holes
Accretion onto supermassive black holes produces both the dramatic phenomena
associated with active galactic nuclei and the underwhelming displays seen in
the Galactic Center and most other nearby galaxies. I review selected aspects
of the current theoretical understanding of black hole accretion, emphasizing
the role of magnetohydrodynamic turbulence and gravitational instabilities in
driving the actual accretion and the importance of the efficacy of cooling in
determining the structure and observational appearance of the accretion flow.
Ongoing investigations into the dynamics of the plunging region, the origin of
variability in the accretion process, and the evolution of warped, twisted, or
eccentric disks are summarized.Comment: Mostly introductory review, to appear in "Supermassive black holes in
the distant Universe", ed. A.J. Barger, Kluwer Academic Publishers, in pres
Do residentsâ perceptions of being well-placed and objective presence of local amenities match? A case study in West Central Scotland, UK
Background:<p></p>
Recently there has been growing interest in how neighbourhood features, such as the provision of local facilities and amenities, influence residentsâ health and well-being. Prior research has measured amenity provision through subjective measures (surveying residentsâ perceptions) or objective (GIS mapping of distance) methods. The latter may provide a more accurate measure of physical access, but residents may not use local amenities if they do not perceive them as âlocalâ. We believe both subjective and objective measures should be explored, and use West Central Scotland data to investigate correspondence between residentsâ subjective assessments of how well-placed they are for everyday amenities (food stores, primary and secondary schools, libraries, pharmacies, public recreation), and objective GIS-modelled measures, and examine correspondence by various sub-groups.<p></p>
Methods:<p></p>
ArcMap was used to map the postal locations of âTransport, Health and Well-being 2010 Studyâ respondents (nâ=â1760), and the six amenities, and the presence/absence of each of them within various straight-line and network buffers around respondentsâ homes was recorded. SPSS was used to investigate whether objective presence of an amenity within a specified buffer was perceived by a respondent as being well-placed for that amenity. Kappa statistics were used to test agreement between measures for all respondents, and by sex, age, social class, area deprivation, car ownership, dog ownership, walking in the local area, and years lived in current home.<p></p>
Results:<p></p>
In general, there was poor agreement (Kappa <0.20) between perceptions of being well-placed for each facility and objective presence, within 800 m and 1000 m straight-line and network buffers, with the exception of pharmacies (at 1000 m straight-line) (Kappa: 0.21). Results varied between respondent sub-groups, with some showing better agreement than others. Amongst sub-groups, at 800 m straight-line buffers, the highest correspondence between subjective and objective measures was for pharmacies and primary schools, and at 1000 m, for pharmacies, primary schools and libraries. For road network buffers under 1000 m, agreement was generally poor.<p></p>
Conclusion:<p></p>
Respondents did not necessarily regard themselves as well-placed for specific amenities when these amenities were present within specified boundaries around their homes, with some exceptions; the picture is not clear-cut with varying findings between different amenities, buffers, and sub-groups
Study of intermediate velocity products in the Ar+Ni collisions between 52 and 95 A.MeV
Intermediate velocity products in Ar+Ni collisions from 52 to 95 A.MeV are
studied in an experiment performed at the GANIL facility with the 4
multidetector INDRA. It is shown that these emissions cannot be explained by
statistical decays of the quasi-projectile and the quasi-target in complete
equilibrium. Three methods are used to isolate and characterize intermediate
velocity products. The total mass of these products increases with the violence
of the collision and reaches a large fraction of the system mass in mid-central
collisions. This mass is found independent of the incident energy, but strongly
dependent on the geometry of the collision. Finally it is shown that the
kinematical characteristics of intermediate velocity products are weakly
dependent on the experimental impact parameter, but strongly dependent on the
incident energy. The observed trends are consistent with a
participant-spectator like scenario or with neck emissions and/or break-up.Comment: 37 pages, 13 figure
Foundations of Black Hole Accretion Disk Theory
This review covers the main aspects of black hole accretion disk theory. We
begin with the view that one of the main goals of the theory is to better
understand the nature of black holes themselves. In this light we discuss how
accretion disks might reveal some of the unique signatures of strong gravity:
the event horizon, the innermost stable circular orbit, and the ergosphere. We
then review, from a first-principles perspective, the physical processes at
play in accretion disks. This leads us to the four primary accretion disk
models that we review: Polish doughnuts (thick disks), Shakura-Sunyaev (thin)
disks, slim disks, and advection-dominated accretion flows (ADAFs). After
presenting the models we discuss issues of stability, oscillations, and jets.
Following our review of the analytic work, we take a parallel approach in
reviewing numerical studies of black hole accretion disks. We finish with a few
select applications that highlight particular astrophysical applications:
measurements of black hole mass and spin, black hole vs. neutron star accretion
disks, black hole accretion disk spectral states, and quasi-periodic
oscillations (QPOs).Comment: 91 pages, 23 figures, final published version available at
http://www.livingreviews.org/lrr-2013-
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