110 research outputs found
The second and third Sonine coefficients of a freely cooling granular gas revisited
In its simplest statistical-mechanical description, a granular fluid can be
modeled as composed of smooth inelastic hard spheres (with a constant
coefficient of normal restitution ) whose velocity distribution
function obeys the Enskog-Boltzmann equation. The basic state of a granular
fluid is the homogeneous cooling state, characterized by a homogeneous,
isotropic, and stationary distribution of scaled velocities, .
The behavior of in the domain of thermal velocities ()
can be characterized by the two first non-trivial coefficients ( and
) of an expansion in Sonine polynomials. The main goals of this paper are
to review some of the previous efforts made to estimate (and measure in
computer simulations) the -dependence of and , to report new
computer simulations results of and for two-dimensional systems,
and to investigate the possibility of proposing theoretical estimates of
and with an optimal compromise between simplicity and accuracy.Comment: 12 pages, 5 figures; v2: minor change
Properties of pattern formation and selection processes in nonequilibrium systems with external fluctuations
We extend the phase field crystal method for nonequilibrium patterning to
stochastic systems with external source where transient dynamics is essential.
It was shown that at short time scales the system manifests pattern selection
processes. These processes are studied by means of the structure function
dynamics analysis. Nonequilibrium pattern-forming transitions are analyzed by
means of numerical simulations.Comment: 15 poages, 8 figure
Exact steady state solution of the Boltzmann equation: A driven 1-D inelastic Maxwell gas
The exact nonequilibrium steady state solution of the nonlinear Boltzmann
equation for a driven inelastic Maxwell model was obtained by Ben-Naim and
Krapivsky [Phys. Rev. E 61, R5 (2000)] in the form of an infinite product for
the Fourier transform of the distribution function . In this paper we
have inverted the Fourier transform to express in the form of an
infinite series of exponentially decaying terms. The dominant high energy tail
is exponential, , where and the amplitude is given in terms of a converging
sum. This is explicitly shown in the totally inelastic limit ()
and in the quasi-elastic limit (). In the latter case, the
distribution is dominated by a Maxwellian for a very wide range of velocities,
but a crossover from a Maxwellian to an exponential high energy tail exists for
velocities around a crossover velocity , where .
In this crossover region the distribution function is extremely small, .Comment: 11 pages, 4 figures; a table and a few references added; to be
published in PR
Risk factors for raised left ventricular filling pressure by cardiovascular magnetic resonance: prognostic insights
Background
Cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging shows promise in estimating pulmonary capillary wedge pressure (PCWP) non-invasively. At the population level, the prognostic role of CMR-modelled PCWP remains unknown. Furthermore, the relationship between CMR-modelled PCWP and established risk factors for cardiovascular disease has not been well characterized.
Objective
The main aim of this study was to investigate the prognostic value of CMR-modelled PCWP at the population level.
Methods
Employing data from the imaging substudy of the UK Biobank, a very large prospective population-based cohort study, CMR-modelled PCWP was calculated using a model incorporating left atrial volume, left ventricular mass and sex. Logistic regression explored the relationships between typical cardiovascular risk factors and raised CMR-modelled PCWP (≥15 mmHg). Cox regression was used to examine the impact of typical risk factors and CMR-modelled PCWP on heart failure (HF) and major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE).
Results
Data from 39 163 participants were included in the study. Median age of all participants was 64 years (inter-quartile range: 58 to 70), and 47% were males. Clinical characteristics independently associated with raised CMR-modelled PCWP included hypertension [odds ratio (OR) 1.57, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.44–1.70, P < 0.001], body mass index (BMI) [OR 1.57, 95% CI 1.52–1.62, per standard deviation (SD) increment, P < 0.001], male sex (OR 1.37, 95% CI 1.26–1.47, P < 0.001), age (OR 1.33, 95% CI 1.27–1.41, per decade increment, P < 0.001) and regular alcohol consumption (OR 1.10, 95% CI 1.02–1.19, P = 0.012). After adjusting for potential confounders, CMR-modelled PCWP was independently associated with incident HF [hazard ratio (HR) 2.91, 95% CI 2.07–4.07, P < 0.001] and MACE (HR 1.48, 95% CI 1.16–1.89, P = 0.002).
Conclusions
Raised CMR-modelled PCWP is an independent risk factor for incident HF and MACE. CMR-modelled PCWP should be incorporated into routine CMR reports to guide HF diagnosis and further management
Gravitational Lensing at Millimeter Wavelengths
With today's millimeter and submillimeter instruments observers use
gravitational lensing mostly as a tool to boost the sensitivity when observing
distant objects. This is evident through the dominance of gravitationally
lensed objects among those detected in CO rotational lines at z>1. It is also
evident in the use of lensing magnification by galaxy clusters in order to
reach faint submm/mm continuum sources. There are, however, a few cases where
millimeter lines have been directly involved in understanding lensing
configurations. Future mm/submm instruments, such as the ALMA interferometer,
will have both the sensitivity and the angular resolution to allow detailed
observations of gravitational lenses. The almost constant sensitivity to dust
emission over the redshift range z=1-10 means that the likelihood for strong
lensing of dust continuum sources is much higher than for optically selected
sources. A large number of new strong lenses are therefore likely to be
discovered with ALMA, allowing a direct assessment of cosmological parameters
through lens statistics. Combined with an angular resolution <0.1", ALMA will
also be efficient for probing the gravitational potential of galaxy clusters,
where we will be able to study both the sources and the lenses themselves, free
of obscuration and extinction corrections, derive rotation curves for the
lenses, their orientation and, thus, greatly constrain lens models.Comment: 69 pages, Review on quasar lensing. Part of a LNP Topical Volume on
"Dark matter and gravitational lensing", eds. F. Courbin, D. Minniti. To be
published by Springer-Verlag 2002. Paper with full resolution figures can be
found at ftp://oden.oso.chalmers.se/pub/tommy/mmviews.ps.g
Granular fluid thermostatted by a bath of elastic hard spheres
The homogeneous steady state of a fluid of inelastic hard spheres immersed in
a bath of elastic hard spheres kept at equilibrium is analyzed by means of the
first Sonine approximation to the (spatially homogeneous) Enskog--Boltzmann
equation. The temperature of the granular fluid relative to the bath
temperature and the kurtosis of the granular distribution function are obtained
as functions of the coefficient of restitution, the mass ratio, and a
dimensionless parameter measuring the cooling rate relative to the
friction constant. Comparison with recent results obtained from an iterative
numerical solution of the Enskog--Boltzmann equation [Biben et al., Physica A
310, 308 (202)] shows an excellent agreement. Several limiting cases are also
considered. In particular, when the granular particles are much heavier than
the bath particles (but have a comparable size and number density), it is shown
that the bath acts as a white noise external driving. In the general case, the
Sonine approximation predicts the lack of a steady state if the control
parameter is larger than a certain critical value that
depends on the coefficient of restitution and the mass ratio. However, this
phenomenon appears outside the expected domain of applicability of the
approximation.Comment: 16 pages, 7 figures; minor changes; to be published in Phys. Rev.
Identification of new susceptibility loci for osteoarthritis (arcOGEN):a genome-wide association study
To access publisher's full text version of this article. Please click on the hyperlink in Additional Links field.Osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis worldwide and is a major cause of pain and disability in elderly people. The health economic burden of osteoarthritis is increasing commensurate with obesity prevalence and longevity. Osteoarthritis has a strong genetic component but the success of previous genetic studies has been restricted due to insufficient sample sizes and phenotype heterogeneity. We undertook a large genome-wide association study (GWAS) in 7410 unrelated and retrospectively and prospectively selected patients with severe osteoarthritis in the arcOGEN study, 80% of whom had undergone total joint replacement, and 11,009 unrelated controls from the UK. We replicated the most promising signals in an independent set of up to 7473 cases and 42,938 controls, from studies in Iceland, Estonia, the Netherlands, and the UK. All patients and controls were of European descent. We identified five genome-wide significant loci (binomial test p≤5·0×10(-8)) for association with osteoarthritis and three loci just below this threshold. The strongest association was on chromosome 3 with rs6976 (odds ratio 1·12 [95% CI 1·08-1·16]; p=7·24×10(-11)), which is in perfect linkage disequilibrium with rs11177. This SNP encodes a missense polymorphism within the nucleostemin-encoding gene GNL3. Levels of nucleostemin were raised in chondrocytes from patients with osteoarthritis in functional studies. Other significant loci were on chromosome 9 close to ASTN2, chromosome 6 between FILIP1 and SENP6, chromosome 12 close to KLHDC5 and PTHLH, and in another region of chromosome 12 close to CHST11. One of the signals close to genome-wide significance was within the FTO gene, which is involved in regulation of bodyweight-a strong risk factor for osteoarthritis. All risk variants were common in frequency and exerted small effects. Our findings provide insight into the genetics of arthritis and identify new pathways that might be amenable to future therapeutic intervention.Arthritis Research UK
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Combination of searches for Higgs boson pairs in pp collisions at \sqrts = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector
This letter presents a combination of searches for Higgs boson pair production using up to 36.1 fb(-1) of proton-proton collision data at a centre-of-mass energy root s = 13 TeV recorded with the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The combination is performed using six analyses searching for Higgs boson pairs decaying into the b (b) over barb (b) over bar, b (b) over barW(+)W(-), b (b) over bar tau(+)tau(-), W+W-W+W-, b (b) over bar gamma gamma and W+W-gamma gamma final states. Results are presented for non-resonant and resonant Higgs boson pair production modes. No statistically significant excess in data above the Standard Model predictions is found. The combined observed (expected) limit at 95% confidence level on the non-resonant Higgs boson pair production cross-section is 6.9 (10) times the predicted Standard Model cross-section. Limits are also set on the ratio (kappa(lambda)) of the Higgs boson self-coupling to its Standard Model value. This ratio is constrained at 95% confidence level in observation (expectation) to -5.0 < kappa(lambda) < 12.0 (-5.8 < kappa(lambda) < 12.0). In addition, limits are set on the production of narrow scalar resonances and spin-2 Kaluza-Klein Randall-Sundrum gravitons. Exclusion regions are also provided in the parameter space of the habemus Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model and the Electroweak Singlet Model. For complete list of authors see http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.physletb.2019.135103</p
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