961 research outputs found
Nanofriction mechanisms derived from the dependence of friction on load and sliding velocity from air to UHV on hydrophilic silicon
This paper examines friction as a function of the sliding velocity and
applied normal load from air to UHV in a scanning force microscope (SFM)
experiment in which a sharp silicon tip slides against a flat Si(100) sample.
Under ambient conditions, both surfaces are covered by a native oxide, which is
hydrophilic. During pump-down in the vacuum chamber housing the SFM, the
behavior of friction as a function of the applied normal load and the sliding
velocity undergoes a change. By analyzing these changes it is possible to
identify three distinct friction regimes with corresponding contact properties:
(a) friction dominated by the additional normal forces induced by capillarity
due to the presence of thick water films, (b) higher drag force from ordering
effects present in thin water layers and (c) low friction due to direct
solid-solid contact for the sample with the counterbody. Depending on
environmental conditions and the applied normal load, all three mechanisms may
be present at one time. Their individual contributions can be identified by
investigating the dependence of friction on the applied normal load as well as
on the sliding velocity in different pressure regimes, thus providing
information about nanoscale friction mechanisms
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Gut microbiome composition in the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos is shaped by geographic relocation, environmental factors, and obesity.
Background: Hispanics living in the USA may have unrecognized potential birthplace and lifestyle influences on the gut microbiome. We report a cross-sectional analysis of 1674 participants from four centers of the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL), aged 18 to 74 years old at recruitment.Results: Amplicon sequencing of 16S rRNA gene V4 and fungal ITS1 fragments from self-collected stool samples indicate that the host microbiome is determined by sociodemographic and migration-related variables. Those who relocate from Latin America to the USA at an early age have reductions in Prevotella to Bacteroides ratios that persist across the life course. Shannon index of alpha diversity in fungi and bacteria is low in those who relocate to the USA in early life. In contrast, those who relocate to the USA during adulthood, over 45 years old, have high bacterial and fungal diversity and high Prevotella to Bacteroides ratios, compared to USA-born and childhood arrivals. Low bacterial diversity is associated in turn with obesity. Contrasting with prior studies, our study of the Latino population shows increasing Prevotella to Bacteroides ratio with greater obesity. Taxa within Acidaminococcus, Megasphaera, Ruminococcaceae, Coriobacteriaceae, Clostridiales, Christensenellaceae, YS2 (Cyanobacteria), and Victivallaceae are significantly associated with both obesity and earlier exposure to the USA, while Oscillospira and Anaerotruncus show paradoxical associations with both obesity and late-life introduction to the USA.Conclusions: Our analysis of the gut microbiome of Latinos demonstrates unique features that might be responsible for health disparities affecting Hispanics living in the USA
Ordinary morality does not imply atheism
Many theist as well as many atheist philosophers have maintained that if
God exists, then every instance of undeserved, unwanted suffering ultimately
benefits the sufferer. Recently, several authors have argued that this implication of
theism conflicts with ordinary morality. I show that these arguments all rest on a
common mistake. Defenders of these arguments overlook the role of merely
potential instances of suffering in determining our moral obligations toward
suffering
Lectures on the functional renormalization group method
These introductory notes are about functional renormalization group equations
and some of their applications. It is emphasised that the applicability of this
method extends well beyond critical systems, it actually provides us a general
purpose algorithm to solve strongly coupled quantum field theories. The
renormalization group equation of F. Wegner and A. Houghton is shown to resum
the loop-expansion. Another version, due to J. Polchinski, is obtained by the
method of collective coordinates and can be used for the resummation of the
perturbation series. The genuinely non-perturbative evolution equation is
obtained in a manner reminiscent of the Schwinger-Dyson equations. Two variants
of this scheme are presented where the scale which determines the order of the
successive elimination of the modes is extracted from external and internal
spaces. The renormalization of composite operators is discussed briefly as an
alternative way to arrive at the renormalization group equation. The scaling
laws and fixed points are considered from local and global points of view.
Instability induced renormalization and new scaling laws are shown to occur in
the symmetry broken phase of the scalar theory. The flattening of the effective
potential of a compact variable is demonstrated in case of the sine-Gordon
model. Finally, a manifestly gauge invariant evolution equation is given for
QED.Comment: 47 pages, 11 figures, final versio
Attentive Learning of Sequential Handwriting Movements: A Neural Network Model
Defense Advanced research Projects Agency and the Office of Naval Research (N00014-95-1-0409, N00014-92-J-1309); National Science Foundation (IRI-97-20333); National Institutes of Health (I-R29-DC02952-01)
Prescription Opioid Use Among Hispanics/Latinos With Arthritis Symptoms: Results From the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos
Introduction: To determine the prevalence of prescription opioid (PO) use among Hispanics/Latinos with arthritis symptoms and to characterize how demographic and cultural factors are associated with PO use. Method: Cross-sectional analysis of baseline visit data during 2008 to 2011 from the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos, a population-based cohort study of 16,415 Hispanics/Latinos living in Chicago, Illinois, Miami, Florida, Bronx, New York, and San Diego, California. Included participants self-reported painful inflammation or swelling in one or more joints. Multivariate models controlling for physical and mental health scores were constructed to assess how demographic and cultural factors were associated with PO use. Results: A total of 9.3% were using POs at the time of the baseline visit. In multivariate models, persons of Cuban background (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 0.42, 95% confidence interval [CI; 0.21, 0.81]) and of Dominican background (AOR = 0.38, 95% CI [0.18, 0.80]) were significantly less likely to use POs compared with a reference group of persons of Mexican background. Greater language acculturation was also negatively associated with PO use (AOR = 0.68, 95% CI [0.53, 0.87]). Conclusion: POs were used relatively uncommonly, and use showed marked variation between Hispanic/Latino groups. Future study should determine mechanisms for why greater use of English among Hispanics/Latinos might influence PO use
Accuracy and repeatability of wrist joint angles in boxing using an electromagnetic tracking system
© 2019, The Author(s). The hand-wrist region is reported as the most common injury site in boxing. Boxers are at risk due to the amount of wrist motions when impacting training equipment or their opponents, yet we know relatively little about these motions. This paper describes a new method for quantifying wrist motion in boxing using an electromagnetic tracking system. Surrogate testing procedure utilising a polyamide hand and forearm shape, and in vivo testing procedure utilising 29 elite boxers, were used to assess the accuracy and repeatability of the system. 2D kinematic analysis was used to calculate wrist angles using photogrammetry, whilst the data from the electromagnetic tracking system was processed with visual 3D software. The electromagnetic tracking system agreed with the video-based system (paired t tests) in both the surrogate ( 0.9). In the punch testing, for both repeated jab and hook shots, the electromagnetic tracking system showed good reliability (ICCs > 0.8) and substantial reliability (ICCs > 0.6) for flexion–extension and radial-ulnar deviation angles, respectively. The results indicate that wrist kinematics during punching activities can be measured using an electromagnetic tracking system
Analytical and biological variability in biomarker measurement in the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos
Biomarker variability, which includes within-individual variability (CVI), between-individual variability (CVG) and methodological variability (CVP+A) is an important determinant of our ability to detect biomarker-disease associations. Estimates of CVI and CVG may be population specific and little data exists on biomarker variability in diverse Hispanic populations. Hence, we evaluated all 3 components of biomarker variability in the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL) using repeat blood collections (n=58) and duplicate blood measurements (n = 761 – 929 depending on the biomarker)
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