3,352 research outputs found
Note on the Relativistic Thermodynamics of Moving Bodies
We employ a novel thermodynamical argument to show that, at the macroscopic
level,there is no intrinsic law of temperature transformation under Lorentz
boosts. This result extends the corresponding microstatistical one of earlier
works to the purely macroscopic regime and signifies that the concept of
temperature as an objective entity is restricted to the description of bodies
in their rest frames. The argument on which this result is based is centred on
the thermal transactions between a body that moves with uniform velocity
relative to a certain inertial frame and a thermometer, designed to measure its
temperature, that is held at rest in that frame.Comment: To be published in J. Phys. A. A few minor corrections have been made
to the earlier version of this articl
-algebras and quantum dynamics: some existence results
We discuss the possibility of defining an algebraic dynamics within the
settings of -algebras. Compared with our previous results on this
subject, the main improvement here is that we are not assuming the existence of
some hamiltonian for the {\em full} physical system. We will show that, under
suitable conditions, the dynamics can still be defined via some limiting
procedure starting from a given {\em regularized sequence}
Variational approach to transport in quantum dots
We have derived a variational principle that defines the nonequilibrium
steady-state transport across a correlated impurity mimicking, e.g., a quantum
dot coupled to biased leads. This variational principle has been specialized to
a Gutzwiller's variational space, and applied to the study of the simple
single-orbital Anderson impurity model at half filling, finding a good
qualitative accord with the observed behavior in quantum dots for the expected
regime of values of the bias. Beyond the purely theoretical interest in the
formal definition of a variational principle in a nonequilibrium problem, the
particular methods proposed have the important advantage to be simple and
flexible enough to deal with more complicated systems and variational spaces.Comment: 15 pages, 4 figure
Assessment of quality indicators among nurse practitioners performing upper endoscopy.
Background and study aims Limited international data have shown that non-physicians can safely perform upper endoscopy, but no such study has been performed in the United States. Our aim was to assess the quality of outpatient upper endoscopies performed by nurse practitioners (NPs).Patients and methods Retrospective chart review of upper endoscopies performed by 3 NPs between 2010 and 2013 was performed. Comparisons among all NPs performing upper endoscopy and assessment of individual NP performance over time with respect to quality indicators were performed.Results Three NPs performed 333 upper endoscopies (distribution of 166, 44, and 123, respectively). Of the cases, 98.2 %s were successfully completed to the second portion of the duodenum. In most cases, photo-documentation of required anatomical landmarks was performed: GE junction (84.2 %), GE junction in retroflexed view (84.2 %), antrum (82.1 %) and duodenum (80.9 %). Photo-documentation improved with increasing experience. NPs appropriately performed biopsies for specific medical conditions: 10/11 (90.9 %) gastric ulcers were biopsied and 63/66 (95.5) of patients with iron deficiency had duodenal biopsies performed for celiac disease. A physician endoscopist was required during the procedure 22.5 % of the time. Important parameters such as documenting informed consent (100 %) and documenting a discharge plan (99.4 %) in the procedure reports were overwhelming present. There was a single adverse event during the study period.Conclusion In the first US study of NPs performing upper endoscopy, they were able to perform high-quality and safe upper endoscopies. These findings support incorporation of non-physicians alongside physicians to help meet the growing demand for endoscopic services across the United States
Vibration studies of a lightweight three-sided membrane suitable for space application
Vibration studies carried out in a vacuum chamber are reported for a three-sided membrane with inwardly curved edges. Uniform tension was transmitted by thin steel cables encased in the edges. Variation of ambient air pressure from atmospheric to near vacuum resulted in increased response frequencies and amplitudes. The first few vibration modes measured in a near vacuum are shown to be predictable by a finite element structural analysis over a range of applied tension loads. The complicated vibration mode behavior observed during tests at various air pressures is studied analytically with a nonstructural effective air-mass approximation. The membrane structure is a candidate for reflective surfaces in space antennas
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