5,810 research outputs found
Displacement Profile of Charge Density Waves and Domain Walls at Critical Depinning
The influence of a strong surface potential on the critical depinning of an
elastic system driven in a random medium is considered. If the surface
potential prevents depinning completely the elastic system shows a parabolic
displacement profile. Its curvature exhibits at zero temperature
a pronounced rhombic hysteresis curve of width with the bulk depinning
threshold . The hysteresis disappears at non-zero temperatures if the
driving force is changed adiabatically. If the surface depins by the applied
force or thermal creep, is reduced with increasing velocity. The
results apply, e.g., to driven magnetic domain walls, flux-line lattices and
charge-density waves.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure
Domain Wall Depinning in Random Media by AC Fields
The viscous motion of an interface driven by an ac external field of
frequency omega_0 in a random medium is considered here for the first time. The
velocity exhibits a smeared depinning transition showing a double hysteresis
which is absent in the adiabatic case omega_0 --> 0. Using scaling arguments
and an approximate renormalization group calculation we explain the main
characteristics of the hysteresis loop. In the low frequency limit these can be
expressed in terms of the depinning threshold and the critical exponents of the
adiabatic case.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
Progress in prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV infection in Ukraine: results from a birth cohort study
Background: Ukraine was the epicentre of the HIV epidemic in Eastern Europe, which has the most rapidly accelerating HIV epidemic world-wide today; national HIV prevalence is currently estimated at 1.6%. Our objective was to evaluate the uptake and effectiveness of interventions for prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) over an eight year period within operational settings in Ukraine, within the context of an ongoing birth cohort study.Methods: The European Collaborative Study (ECS) is an ongoing birth cohort study in which HIV-infected pregnant women identified before or during pregnancy or at delivery were enrolled and their infants prospectively followed. Three centres in Ukraine started enrolling in 2000, with a further three joining in September 2006.Results: Of the 3356 women enrolled, 21% (689) reported current or past injecting drug use (IDU). Most women were diagnosed antenatally and of those, the proportion diagnosed in the first/second trimester increased from 47% in 2000/01 (83/178) to 73% (776/1060) in 2006/07 (p < 0.001); intrapartum diagnosis was associated with IDU (Adjusted odds ratio 4.38; 95% CI 3.19-6.02). The percentage of women not receiving any antiretroviral prophylaxis declined from 18% (36/205) in 2001 to 7% in 2007 (61/843) p < 0.001). Use of sdNVP alone substantially declined after 2003, with a concomitant increase in zidovudine prophylaxis. Median antenatal zidovudine prophylaxis duration increased from 24 to 72 days between 2000 and 2007. Elective caesarean section (CS) rates were relatively stable over time and 34% overall. Mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) rates decreased from 15.2% in 2001 (95% CI 10.2-21.4) to 7.0% in 2006 (95% CI 2.6-14.6). In adjusted analysis, MTCT risk was reduced by 43% with elective CS versus vaginal delivery and by 75% with zidovudine versus no prophylaxis.Conclusion: There have been substantial improvements in use of PMTCT interventions in Ukraine, including earlier diagnosis of HIV-infected pregnant women and increasing coverage with antiretroviral prophylaxis and the initial MTCT rate has more than halved. Future research should focus on hard-to-reach populations such as IDU and on missed opportunities for further reducing the MTCT rate
High Resolution Ionization of Ultracold Neutral Plasmas
Collective effects, such as waves and instabilities, are integral to our
understanding of most plasma phenomena. We have been able to study these in
ultracold neutral plasmas by shaping the initial density distribution through
spatial modulation of the ionizing laser intensity. We describe a relay imaging
system for the photoionization beam that allows us to create higher resolution
features and its application to extend the observation of ion acoustic waves to
shorter wavelengths. We also describe the formation of sculpted density
profiles to create fast expansion of plasma into vacuum and streaming plasmas
Dynamical Evolution of a Cylindrical Shell with Rotational Pressure
We prepare a general framework for analyzing the dynamics of a cylindrical
shell in the spacetime with cylindrical symmetry. Based on the framework, we
investigate a particular model of a cylindrical shell-collapse with rotational
pressure, accompanying the radiation of gravitational waves and massless
particles. The model has been introduced previously but has been awaiting for
proper analysis. Here the analysis is put forward: It is proved that, as far as
the weak energy condition is satisfied outside the shell, the collapsing shell
bounces back at some point irrespective of the initial conditions, and escapes
from the singularity formation.
The behavior after the bounce depends on the sign of the shell pressure in
the z-direction. When the pressure is non-negative, the shell continues to
expand without re-contraction. On the other hand, when the pressure is negative
(i.e. it has a tension), the behavior after the bounce can be more complicated
depending on the details of the model. However, even in this case, the shell
never reaches the zero-radius configuration.Comment: To appear in Phys. Rev.
Previous reproductive history and post-natal family planning among HIV-infected women in Ukraine
BACKGROUND: Ukraine has the highest antenatal HIV prevalence in Europe. The national prevention of mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) programme has reduced the MTCT rate, but less attention has been given to the prevention of unintended pregnancy among HIV-positive women. Our objectives were to describe the reproductive health, condom use and family planning (FP) practices of HIV-positive childbearing Ukrainian women and to identify factors associated with different methods of post-natal contraception.
METHODS: HIV-infected childbearing women, diagnosed before or during pregnancy, were enrolled prospectively in a post-natal cohort study in four regional HIV/AIDS centres in Ukraine from December 2007. Logistic regression models were used to identify factors associated with post-natal FP practices.
RESULTS: Data were available for 371 women enrolled by March 2009; 82% (n = 303) were married or cohabiting, 27% (97 of 363) reported a current HIV-negative sexual partner and 69% were diagnosed with HIV during their most recent pregnancy. Overall, 21% (75 of 349) of women were not using contraception post-natally (of whom 80% reported no current sexual activity), 50% (174 of 349) used condoms, 20% (74 of 349) relied solely/partially on coitus interruptus and 4% used hormonal methods or intrauterine device. Among married/cohabiting women, consistent use of condoms in the previous pregnancy [AOR 1.96 (95%CI 1.06–3.62)], having an HIV-positive partner [AOR 0.42 (0.20–0.87)], current sexual activity [AOR 4.53 (1.19–17.3)] and study site were significantly associated with post-natal condom use; 16% of those with HIV-negative partners did not use condoms. Risk factors for non-use of FP were lack of affordability [AOR 6.34 (1.73–23.2)] and inconsistent use of condoms in the previous pregnancy [AOR 7.25 (1.41–37.2)].
CONCLUSIONS: More than 40% of HIV-positive women in this population are at risk of unintended pregnancy and the one in six women in HIV-discordant couples not using barrier methods risk transmitting HIV to their partners. Our study results are limited by the observational nature of the data and the potential for both measured and unmeasured confounding
Centrifugally driven electrostatic instability in extragalactic jets
The stability problem of the rotation induced electrostatic wave in
extragalactic jets is presented. Solving a set of equations describing dynamics
of a relativistic plasma flow of AGN jets, an expression of the instability
rate has been derived and analyzed for typical values of AGNs. The growth rate
was studied versus the wave length and the inclination angle and it has been
found that the instability process is much efficient with respect to the
accretion disk evolution, indicating high efficiency of the instability.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figure
Periodic Solutions of the Einstein Equations for Binary Systems
This revision includes clarified exposition and simplified analysis.
Solutions of the Einstein equations which are periodic and have standing
gravitational waves are valuable approximations to more physically realistic
solutions with outgoing waves. A variational principle is found which has the
power to provide an accurate estimate of the relationship between the mass and
angular momentum of the system, the masses and angular momenta of the
components, the rotational frequency of the frame of reference in which the
system is periodic, the frequency of the periodicity of the system, and the
amplitude and phase of each multipole component of gravitational radiation.
Examination of the boundary terms of the variational principle leads to
definitions of the effective mass and effective angular momentum of a periodic
geometry which capture the concepts of mass and angular momentum of the source
alone with no contribution from the gravitational radiation. These effective
quantities are surface integrals in the weak-field zone which are independent
of the surface over which they are evaluated, through second order in the
deviations of the metric from flat space.Comment: 18 pages, RevTeX 3.0, UF-RAP-93-1
Visualizing Spacetime Curvature via Frame-Drag Vortexes and Tidal Tendexes III. Quasinormal Pulsations of Schwarzschild and Kerr Black Holes
In recent papers, we and colleagues have introduced a way to visualize the
full vacuum Riemann curvature tensor using frame-drag vortex lines and their
vorticities, and tidal tendex lines and their tendicities. We have also
introduced the concepts of horizon vortexes and tendexes and 3-D vortexes and
tendexes (regions where vorticities or tendicities are large). Using these
concepts, we discover a number of previously unknown features of quasinormal
modes of Schwarzschild and Kerr black holes. These modes can be classified by
mode indexes (n,l,m), and parity, which can be electric [(-1)^l] or magnetic
[(-1)^(l+1)]. Among our discoveries are these: (i) There is a near duality
between modes of the same (n,l,m): a duality in which the tendex and vortex
structures of electric-parity modes are interchanged with the vortex and tendex
structures (respectively) of magnetic-parity modes. (ii) This near duality is
perfect for the modes' complex eigenfrequencies (which are well known to be
identical) and perfect on the horizon; it is slightly broken in the equatorial
plane of a non-spinning hole, and the breaking becomes greater out of the
equatorial plane, and greater as the hole is spun up; but even out of the plane
for fast-spinning holes, the duality is surprisingly good. (iii)
Electric-parity modes can be regarded as generated by 3-D tendexes that stick
radially out of the horizon. As these "longitudinal," near-zone tendexes rotate
or oscillate, they generate longitudinal-transverse near-zone vortexes and
tendexes, and outgoing and ingoing gravitational waves. The ingoing waves act
back on the longitudinal tendexes, driving them to slide off the horizon, which
results in decay of the mode's strength. (iv) By duality, magnetic-parity modes
are driven in this same manner by longitudinal, near-zone vortexes that stick
out of the horizon. [Abstract abridged.]Comment: 53 pages with an overview of major results in the first 11 pages, 26
figures. v2: Very minor changes to reflect published version. v3: Fixed Ref
Gravitational waves from relativistic rotational core collapse
We present results from simulations of axisymmetric relativistic rotational
core collapse. The general relativistic hydrodynamic equations are formulated
in flux-conservative form and solved using a high-resolution shock-capturing
scheme. The Einstein equations are approximated with a conformally flat
3-metric. We use the quadrupole formula to extract waveforms of the
gravitational radiation emitted during the collapse. A comparison of our
results with those of Newtonian simulations shows that the wave amplitudes
agree within 30%. Surprisingly, in some cases, relativistic effects actually
diminish the amplitude of the gravitational wave signal. We further find that
the parameter range of models suffering multiple coherent bounces due to
centrifugal forces is considerably smaller than in Newtonian simulations.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
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