977 research outputs found
Optimal area approach to intercomparing polarimetric radar rain-rate algorithms with gauge data, An
Includes bibliographical references (page 623).An optimal area method is described that is used as a basis for comparing KDP-, (KDP, ZDR)-, and Zh-based estimates of rain rates with gauge-measured rain rates. The location and dimensions of an elliptically shaped optimal area within the radar scan area surrounding the gauge are determined objectively via an rms error minimization of the difference between the KDP-based radar estimate and gauge data and via use of the spatial structure of the rms difference field itself. Four convective events were analyzed with rain rates in the range of 20-120 mm h-1, with two of the events containing marble-sized hail. The analysis shows that excellent results could be achieved using KDP-based rain-rate estimators
Solutions of Higher Dimensional Gauss-Bonnet FRW Cosmology
We examine the effect on cosmological evolution of adding a Gauss-Bonnet term
to the standard Einstein-Hilbert action for a (1 + 3)+ d dimensional
Friedman-Robertson-Walker (FRW) metric. By assuming that the additional
dimensions compactify as a power law as the usual 3 spatial dimensions expand,
we solve the resulting dynamical equations and find that the solution may be of
either de Sitter or Kasner form depending upon whether the Gauss-Bonnet term or
the Einstein term dominates.Comment: 10 pages, references added/corrected, accepted for publication in
General Relativity and Gravitatio
On the Existence of the Logarithmic Correction Term in Black Hole Entropy-Area Relation
In this paper we consider a model universe with large extra dimensions to
obtain a modified black hole entropy-area relation. We use the generalized
uncertainty principle to find a relation between the number of spacetime
dimensions and the presence or vanishing of logarithmic prefactor in the black
hole entropy-area relation. Our calculations are restricted to the
microcanonical ensembles and we show that in the modified entropy-area
relation, the microcanonical logarithmic prefactor appears only when spacetime
has an even number of dimensions.Comment: 9 Pages, No Figure
Prognostic Value of RV Function Before and After Lung Transplantation
AbstractObjectivesWe investigated the effects of lung transplantation on right ventricular (RV) function as well as the prognostic value of pre- and post-transplantation RV function.BackgroundAlthough lung transplantation success has improved over recent decades, outcomes remain a challenge. Identifying predictors of mortality in lung transplant recipients may lead to improved long-term outcomes after lung transplantation.MethodsEighty-nine (age 60 ± 6 years, 58 men) consecutive patients who underwent single or double lung transplantation and had pre- and post-transplantation echocardiograms between July 2001 and August 2012 were evaluated. Echocardiographic measurements were performed before and after lung transplantation. Left ventricular (LV) and RV longitudinal strains were analyzed using velocity vector imaging. Cox proportional prognostic hazard models predicting all-cause death were built.ResultsThere were 46 all-cause (52%) and 17 cardiac (19%) deaths during 43 ± 33 months of follow-up. After lung transplantation, echocardiography showed improved systolic pulmonary artery pressure (SPAP) (50 ± 19 mm Hg to 40 ± 13 mm Hg) and RV strain (−17 ± 5% to −18 ± 4%). No pre-transplantation RV parameter predicted all-cause mortality. After adjustment for age, sex, surgery type, and etiology of lung disease in a Cox proportional hazards model, both post-transplantation RV strain (hazard ratio: 1.13, 95% confidence interval: 1.04 to 1.23, p = 0.005), and post-transplantation SPAP (hazard ratio: 1.03, 95% confidence interval: 1.01 to 1.05, p = 0.011) were independent predictors of all-cause mortality. When post-transplantation RV strain and post-transplantation SPAP were added the clinical predictive model based on age, sex, surgery type, and etiology, the C-statistic improves from 0.60 to 0.80 (p = 0.002).ConclusionsAlterations of RV function and pulmonary artery pressure normalize, and post-transplantation RV function may provide prognostic data in patients after lung transplantation. Our study is based on a highly and retrospectively selected group. We believe that larger prospective studies are warranted to confirm this result
Quantum Gravitational Corrections to the Real Klein-Gordon Field in the Presence of a Minimal Length
The (D+1)-dimensional -two-parameter Lorentz-covariant
deformed algebra introduced by Quesne and Tkachuk [C. Quesne and V. M. Tkachuk,
J. Phys. A: Math. Gen. \textbf {39}, 10909 (2006).], leads to a nonzero minimal
uncertainty in position (minimal length). The Klein-Gordon equation in a
(3+1)-dimensional space-time described by Quesne-Tkachuk Lorentz-covariant
deformed algebra is studied in the case where up to first order
over deformation parameter . It is shown that the modified Klein-Gordon
equation which contains fourth-order derivative of the wave function describes
two massive particles with different masses. We have shown that physically
acceptable mass states can only exist for which
leads to an isotropic minimal length in the interval . Finally, we have shown that the above estimation of
minimal length is in good agreement with the results obtained in previous
investigations.Comment: 10 pages, no figur
General Relativity as Classical Limit of Evolutionary Quantum Gravity
We analyze the dynamics of the gravitational field when the covariance is
restricted to a synchronous gauge. In the spirit of the Noether theorem, we
determine the conservation law associated to the Lagrangian invariance and we
outline that a non-vanishing behavior of the Hamiltonian comes out. We then
interpret such resulting non-zero ``energy'' of the gravitational field in
terms of a dust fluid. This new matter contribution is co-moving to the slicing
and it accounts for the ``materialization'' of a synchronous reference from the
corresponding gauge condition. Further, we analyze the quantum dynamics of a
generic inhomogeneous Universe as described by this evolutionary scheme,
asymptotically to the singularity. We show how the phenomenology of such a
model overlaps the corresponding Wheeler-DeWitt picture. Finally, we study the
possibility of a Schr\"odinger dynamics of the gravitational field as a
consequence of the correspondence inferred between the ensemble dynamics of
stochastic systems and the WKB limit of their quantum evolution. We demonstrate
that the time dependence of the ensemble distribution is associated with the
first order correction in to the WKB expansion of the energy spectrum.Comment: 23 pages, to appear on Class. Quant. Gra
String-inspired cosmology: Late time transition from scaling matter era to dark energy universe caused by a Gauss-Bonnet coupling
The Gauss-Bonnet (GB) curvature invariant coupled to a scalar field
can lead to an exit from a scaling matter-dominated epoch to a late-time
accelerated expansion, which is attractive to alleviate the coincident problem
of dark energy. We derive the condition for the existence of cosmological
scaling solutions in the presence of the GB coupling for a general scalar-field
Lagrangian density , where is a kinematic
term of the scalar field. The GB coupling and the Lagrangian density are
restricted to be in the form and , respectively, where is a constant and is an
arbitrary function. We also derive fixed points for such a scaling Lagrangian
with a GB coupling and clarify the conditions
under which the scaling matter era is followed by a de-Sitter solution which
can appear in the presence of the GB coupling. Among scaling models proposed in
the current literature, we find that the models which allow such a cosmological
evolution are an ordinary scalar field with an exponential potential and a
tachyon field with an inverse square potential, although the latter requires a
coupling between dark energy and dark matter.Comment: 18 pages, 4 figures, version to appear in JCA
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