The Comparability of Men Who Have Sex With Men Recruited From Venue-Time-Space Sampling and Facebook: A Cohort Study

Background: Recruiting valid samples of men who have sex with men (MSM) is a key component of the US human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) surveillance and of research studies seeking to improve HIV prevention for MSM. Social media, such as Facebook, may present an opportunity to reach broad samples of MSM, but the extent to which those samples are comparable with men recruited from venue-based, time-space sampling (VBTS) is unknown. Objective: The objective of this study was to assess the comparability of MSM recruited via VBTS and Facebook. Methods: HIV-negative and HIV-positive black and white MSM were recruited from June 2010 to December 2012 using VBTS and Facebook in Atlanta, GA. We compared the self-reported venue attendance, demographic characteristics, sexual and risk behaviors, history of HIV-testing, and HIV and sexually transmitted infection (STI) prevalence between Facebook- and VTBS-recruited MSM overall and by race. Multivariate logistic and negative binomial models estimated age/race adjusted ratios. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to assess 24-month retention. Results: We recruited 803 MSM, of whom 110 (34/110, 30.9% black MSM, 76/110, 69.1% white MSM) were recruited via Facebook and 693 (420/693, 60.6% black MSM, 273/693, 39.4% white MSM) were recruited through VTBS. Facebook recruits had high rates of venue attendance in the previous month (26/34, 77% among black and 71/76, 93% among white MSM; between-race P=.01). MSM recruited on Facebook were generally older, with significant age differences among black MSM (P=.02), but not white MSM (P=.14). … See full text for complete abstract

Finitely Many Dirac-Delta Interactions on Riemannian Manifolds

This work is intended as an attempt to study the non-perturbative renormalization of bound state problem of finitely many Dirac-delta interactions on Riemannian manifolds, S^2, H^2 and H^3. We formulate the problem in terms of a finite dimensional matrix, called the characteristic matrix. The bound state energies can be found from the characteristic equation. The characteristic matrix can be found after a regularization and renormalization by using a sharp cut-off in the eigenvalue spectrum of the Laplacian, as it is done in the flat space, or using the heat kernel method. These two approaches are equivalent in the case of compact manifolds. The heat kernel method has a general advantage to find lower bounds on the spectrum even for compact manifolds as shown in the case of S^2. The heat kernels for H^2 and H^3 are known explicitly, thus we can calculate the characteristic matrix. Using the result, we give lower bound estimates of the discrete spectrum.Comment: To be published in JM

Thermodynamic Relations in Correlated Systems

Several useful thermodynamic relations are derived for metal-insulator transitions, as generalizations of the Clausius-Clapeyron and Eherenfest theorems. These relations hold in any spatial dimensions and at any temperatures. First, they relate several thermodynamic quantities to the slope of the metal-insulator phase boundary drawn in the plane of the chemical potential and the Coulomb interaction in the phase diagram of the Hubbard model. The relations impose constraints on the critical properties of the Mott transition. These thermodynamic relations are indeed confirmed to be satisfied in the cases of the one- and two-dimensional Hubbard models. One of these relations yields that at the continuous Mott transition with a diverging charge compressibility, the doublon susceptibility also diverges. The constraints on the shapes of the phase boundary containing a first-order metal-insulator transition at finite temperatures are clarified based on the thermodynamic relations. For example, the first-order phase boundary is parallel to the temperature axis asymptotically in the zero temperature limit. The applicability of the thermodynamic relations are not restricted only to the metal-insulator transition of the Hubbard model, but also hold in correlated systems with any types of phases in general. We demonstrate such examples in an extended Hubbard model with intersite Coulomb repulsion containing the charge order phase.Comment: 10 pages, 9 figure

Factors Affecting Surgical Decisions in Newly Diagnosed Young Women with Early-Stage Breast Cancer

Given that young women with breast cancer often have concerns and priorities attributable to their life stage, we conducted a series of interviews to better understanding the surgical decision-making experience among women diagnosed at age ≤40. Women spoke of how the potential effect of an extended recovery was affecting their decision and, in some cases, contributing to decisional conflict. Several women described their worry of leaving cancer cells behind; others cited the need for continued surveillance as a consideration. Attention to situational anxiety and concerns about recurrence are warranted to ensure that decisions are made in a supportive and patient-centered setting

Solar Physics - Plasma Physics Workshop

A summary of the proceedings of a conference whose purpose was to explore plasma physics problems which arise in the study of solar physics is provided. Sessions were concerned with specific questions including the following: (1) whether the solar plasma is thermal or non-themal; (2) what spectroscopic data is required; (3) what types of magnetic field structures exist; (4) whether magnetohydrodynamic instabilities occur; (5) whether resistive or non-magnetohydrodynamic instabilities occur; (6) what mechanisms of particle acceleration have been proposed; and (7) what information is available concerning shock waves. Very few questions were answered categorically but, for each question, there was discussion concerning the observational evidence, theoretical analyses, and existing or potential laboratory and numerical experiments

Flipping quantum coins

Coin flipping is a cryptographic primitive in which two distrustful parties wish to generate a random bit in order to choose between two alternatives. This task is impossible to realize when it relies solely on the asynchronous exchange of classical bits: one dishonest player has complete control over the final outcome. It is only when coin flipping is supplemented with quantum communication that this problem can be alleviated, although partial bias remains. Unfortunately, practical systems are subject to loss of quantum data, which restores complete or nearly complete bias in previous protocols. We report herein on the first implementation of a quantum coin-flipping protocol that is impervious to loss. Moreover, in the presence of unavoidable experimental noise, we propose to use this protocol sequentially to implement many coin flips, which guarantees that a cheater unwillingly reveals asymptotically, through an increased error rate, how many outcomes have been fixed. Hence, we demonstrate for the first time the possibility of flipping coins in a realistic setting. Flipping quantum coins thereby joins quantum key distribution as one of the few currently practical applications of quantum communication. We anticipate our findings to be useful for various cryptographic protocols and other applications, such as an online casino, in which a possibly unlimited number of coin flips has to be performed and where each player is free to decide at any time whether to continue playing or not.Comment: 17 pages, 3 figure

Aircraft-based observations and high-resolution simulations of an Icelandic dust storm

The first aircraft-based observations of an Icelandic dust storm are presented. The measurements were carried out over the ocean near Iceland's south coast in February 2007. This dust event occurred in conjunction with an easterly barrier jet of more than 30 m s<sup>−1</sup>. The aircraft measurements show high particle mass mixing ratios in an area of low wind speeds in the wake of Iceland near the coast, decreasing abruptly towards the jet. Simulations from the Weather Research and Forecasting Model coupled with Chemistry (WRF/Chem) indicate that the measured high mass mixing ratios and observed low visibility inside the wake are due to dust transported from Icelandic sand fields towards the ocean. This is confirmed by meteorological station data. Glacial outwash terrains located near the Mýrdalsjökull glacier are among simulated dust sources. Sea salt aerosols produced by the impact of strong winds on the ocean surface started to dominate as the aircraft flew away from Iceland into the jet. The present results support recent studies which suggest that Icelandic deserts should be considered as important dust sources in global and regional climate models

On the deformability of Heisenberg algebras

Based on the vanishing of the second Hochschild cohomology group of the enveloping algebra of the Heisenberg algebra it is shown that differential algebras coming from quantum groups do not provide a non-trivial deformation of quantum mechanics. For the case of a q-oscillator there exists a deforming map to the classical algebra. It is shown that the differential calculus on quantum planes with involution, i.e. if one works in position-momentum realization, can be mapped on a q-difference calculus on a commutative real space. Although this calculus leads to an interesting discretization it is proved that it can be realized by generators of the undeformed algebra and does not posess a proper group of global transformations.Comment: 16 pages, latex, no figure

High-pressure structural, elastic and electronic properties of the scintillator host material, KMgF_3

The high-pressure structural behaviour of the fluoroperovskite KMgF_3 is investigated by theory and experiment. Density functional calculations were performed within the local density approximation and the generalized gradient approximation for exchange and correlation effects, as implemented within the full-potential linear muffin-tin orbital method. In situ high-pressure powder x-ray diffraction experiments were performed up to a maximum pressure of 40 GPa using synchrotron radiation. We find that the cubic Pm\bar{3}m crystal symmetry persists throughout the pressure range studied. The calculated ground state properties -- the equilibrium lattice constant, bulk modulus and elastic constants -- are in good agreement with experimental results. By analyzing the ratio between the bulk and shear modulii, we conclude that KMgF_3 is brittle in nature. Under ambient conditions, KMgF_3 is found to be an indirect gap insulator with the gap increasing under pressure.Comment: 4 figure