6,801 research outputs found
Phase transitions and critical behavior of black branes in canonical ensemble
We study the thermodynamics and phase structure of asymptotically flat
non-dilatonic as well as dilatonic black branes in a cavity in arbitrary
dimensions (). We consider the canonical ensemble and so the charge inside
the cavity and the temperature at the wall are fixed. We analyze the stability
of the black brane equilibrium states and derive the phase structures. For the
zero charge case we find an analog of Hawking-Page phase transition for these
black branes in arbitrary dimensions. When the charge is non-zero, we find that
below a critical value of the charge, the phase diagram has a line of
first-order phase transition in a certain range of temperatures which ends up
at a second order phase transition point (critical point) as the charge attains
the critical value. We calculate the critical exponents at that critical point.
Although our discussion is mainly concerned with the non-dilatonic branes, we
show how it easily carries over to the dilatonic branes as well.Comment: 37 pages, 6 figures, the validity of using the effective action
discussed, references adde
Improving healthcare system usability without real users: A semi-parallel design approach
Copyright © 2015 IGI Global. This paper describes an early stage usability study conducted on a prototype system designed to capture and analyse Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) activities. The system - PROMS 2.0, was developed by Bluespier for the trauma and orthopaedic department in Trafford Hospital, Manchester, United Kingdom (UK). The Centre for Health and Social Care Informatics (CHaSCI), Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU) examined the system without real users, identified potential usability issues and suggested possible solutions for improvements before final release by Bluespier. Three different approaches were adopted for evaluating user interface (UI) design without users. The first approach is the Cognitive Walkthrough (CW), a task-oriented technique capable of identifying issues through action sequence required to perform a task. The second approach is action analysis which predicts the time a skilled user would need to perform a task. The third approach is heuristic evaluation which tends to identify problems based on recognised standards. Results support the argument from relevant cognitive psychology theories and user-centric design principles that UI evaluation without real users is a useful tool in yielding rapid output for subsequent enhancement. It is concluded that semi-parallel design concept could be the key to timely delivery of software design projects
A new procedure for determining the genetic basis of a physiological process in a non-model species, illustrated by cold induced angiogenesis in the carp
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Physiological processes occur in many species for which there is yet no sequenced genome and for which we would like to identify the genetic basis. For example, some species increase their vascular network to minimise the effects of reduced oxygen diffusion and increased blood viscosity associated with low temperatures. Since many angiogenic and endothelial genes have been discovered in man, functional homolog relationships between carp, zebrafish and human were used to predict the genetic basis of cold-induced angiogenesis in <it>Cyprinus Carpio </it>(carp). In this work, carp sequences were collected and built into contigs. Human-carp functional homolog relationships were derived via zebrafish using a new Conditional Stepped Reciprocal Best Hit (CSRBH) protocol. Data sources including publications, Gene Ontology and cDNA libraries were then used to predict the identity of known or potential angiogenic genes. Finally, re-analyses of cold carp microarray data identified carp genes up-regulated in response to low temperatures in heart and muscle.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The CSRBH approach outperformed all other methods and attained 8,726 carp to human functional homolog relationships for 16,650 contiguous sequences. This represented 3,762 non-redundant genes and 908 of them were predicted to have a role in angiogenesis. The total number of up-regulated differentially expressed genes was 698 and 171 of them were putatively angiogenic. Of these, 5 genes representing the functional homologs NCL, RHOA, MMP9, GRN and MAPK1 are angiogenesis-related genes expressed in response to low temperature.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>We show that CSRBH functional homologs relationships and re-analyses of gene expression data can be combined in a non-model species to predict genes of biological interest before a genome sequence is fully available. Programs to run these analyses locally are available from <url>http://www.cbrg.ox.ac.uk/~jherbert/</url>.</p
An exploration of the experiences and utility of functional electrical stimulation for foot drop in people with multiple sclerosis
Purpose: Functional electrical stimulation (FES) is effective in improving walking in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) with foot drop. There is limited research exploring people’s experiences of using this device. This study aims to explore the utility, efficacy, acceptability, and impact on daily life of the device in people with MS.
Methods: An interpretative phenomenological approach was employed. Ten participants who had used FES for 12 months were interviewed. Transcripts were analysed, and emergent themes identified.
Results: Nine participants continued to use the device. Three relevant super-ordinate themes were identified; impact of functional electrical stimulation, sticking with functional electrical stimulation, and autonomy and control. Participants reported challenges using the device; however, all reported positive physical and psychological benefits. Intrinsic and external influences such as; access to professional help, the influence of others, an individual’s ability to adapt, and experiences using the device, influenced their decisions to continue with the device. A thematic model of these factors was developed.
Conclusions: This study has contributed to our understanding of people with MS experiences of using the device and will help inform prescribing decisions and support the continued, appropriate use of FES over the longer term
Phase structure of black branes in grand canonical ensemble
This is a companion paper of our previous work [1] where we studied the
thermodynamics and phase structure of asymptotically flat black -branes in a
cavity in arbitrary dimensions in a canonical ensemble. In this work we
study the thermodynamics and phase structure of the same in a grand canonical
ensemble. Since the boundary data in two cases are different (for the grand
canonical ensemble boundary potential is fixed instead of the charge as in
canonical ensemble) the stability analysis and the phase structure in the two
cases are quite different. In particular, we find that there exists an analog
of one-variable analysis as in canonical ensemble, which gives the same
stability condition as the rather complicated known (but generalized from black
holes to the present case) two-variable analysis. When certain condition for
the fixed potential is satisfied, the phase structure of charged black
-branes is in some sense similar to that of the zero charge black -branes
in canonical ensemble up to a certain temperature. The new feature in the
present case is that above this temperature, unlike the zero-charge case, the
stable brane phase no longer exists and `hot flat space' is the stable phase
here. In the grand canonical ensemble there is an analog of Hawking-Page
transition, even for the charged black -brane, as opposed to the canonical
ensemble. Our study applies to non-dilatonic as well as dilatonic black
-branes in space-time dimensions.Comment: 32 pages, 2 figures, various points refined, discussion expanded,
references updated, typos corrected, published in JHEP 1105:091,201
The Production of Antibody by Invading B Cells Is Required for the Clearance of Rabies Virus from the Central Nervous System
Every year over 50,000 people die from rabies worldwide, primarily due to the poor availability of rabies vaccine in developing countries. However, even when vaccines are available, human deaths from rabies occur if exposure to the causative virus is not recognized and vaccination is not sought in time. This is because rabies virus immunity induced by the natural infection or current vaccines is generally not effective at removing disease-causing rabies virus from brain tissues. Our studies provide insight into why this is the case and how vaccination can be changed so that the immune response can clear the virus from brain tissues. We show that the type of immune response induced by a live-attenuated rabies virus vaccine may be the key. In animal models, live-attenuated rabies virus vaccines are effective at delivering the immune cells capable of clearing the virus into CNS tissues and promote recovery from a rabies virus infection that has spread to the brain while conventional vaccines based on killed rabies virus do not. The production of rabies-specific antibody by B cells that invade the CNS tissues is important for complete elimination of the virus. We hypothesize that similar mechanisms may promote rabies virus clearance from individuals who are diagnosed after the virus has reached, but not extensively spread, through the CNS
Interaction-based quantum metrology showing scaling beyond the Heisenberg limit
Quantum metrology studies the use of entanglement and other quantum resources
to improve precision measurement. An interferometer using N independent
particles to measure a parameter X can achieve at best the "standard quantum
limit" (SQL) of sensitivity {\delta}X \propto N^{-1/2}. The same interferometer
using N entangled particles can achieve in principle the "Heisenberg limit"
{\delta}X \propto N^{-1}, using exotic states. Recent theoretical work argues
that interactions among particles may be a valuable resource for quantum
metrology, allowing scaling beyond the Heisenberg limit. Specifically, a
k-particle interaction will produce sensitivity {\delta}X \propto N^{-k} with
appropriate entangled states and {\delta}X \propto N^{-(k-1/2)} even without
entanglement. Here we demonstrate this "super-Heisenberg" scaling in a
nonlinear, non-destructive measurement of the magnetisation of an atomic
ensemble. We use fast optical nonlinearities to generate a pairwise
photon-photon interaction (k = 2) while preserving quantum-noise-limited
performance, to produce {\delta}X \propto N^{-3/2}. We observe super-Heisenberg
scaling over two orders of magnitude in N, limited at large N by higher-order
nonlinear effects, in good agreement with theory. For a measurement of limited
duration, super-Heisenberg scaling allows the nonlinear measurement to overtake
in sensitivity a comparable linear measurement with the same number of photons.
In other scenarios, however, higher-order nonlinearities prevent this crossover
from occurring, reflecting the subtle relationship of scaling to sensitivity in
nonlinear systems. This work shows that inter-particle interactions can improve
sensitivity in a quantum-limited measurement, and introduces a fundamentally
new resource for quantum metrology
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