3,006 research outputs found

    On the ergoregion instability in rotating gravastars

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    The ergoregion instability is known to affect very compact objects that rotate very rapidly and do not possess a horizon. We present here a detailed analysis on the relevance of the ergoregion instability for the viability of gravastars. Expanding on some recent results, we show that not all rotating gravastars are unstable. Rather, stable models can be constructed also with J/M^2 ~ 1, where J and M are the angular momentum and mass of the gravastar, respectively. The genesis of gravastars is still highly speculative and fundamentally unclear if not dubious. Yet, their existence cannot be ruled out by invoking the ergoregion instability. For the same reason, not all ultra-compact astrophysical objects rotating with J/M^2 <~ 1 are to be considered necessarily black holes.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figure

    An inlet analysis for the NASA hypersonic research engine aerothermodynamic integration model

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    A theoretical analysis for the inlet of the NASA Hypersonic Research Engine (HRE) Aerothermodynamic Integration Model (AIM) has been undertaken by use of a method-of-characteristics computer program. The purpose of the analysis was to obtain pretest information on the full-scale HRE inlet in support of the experimental AIM program (completed May 1974). Mass-flow-ratio and additive-drag-coefficient schedules were obtained that well defined the range effected in the AIM tests. Mass-weighted average inlet total-pressure recovery, kinetic energy efficiency, and throat Mach numbers were obtained

    Outbreak of acute hepatitis C following the use of anti-hepatitis C virus--screened intravenous immunoglobulin therapy

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    BACKGROUND and AIMS: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection has been associated with intravenous (IV) immunoglobulin (Ig), and plasma donations used to prepare IV Ig are now screened to prevent transmission. Thirty-six patients from the United Kingdom received infusions from a batch of anti-HCV antibody-screened intravenous Ig (Gammagard; Baxter Healthcare Ltd., Thetford, Norfolk, England) that was associated with reports of acute hepatitis C outbreak in Europe. The aim of this study was to document the epidemiology of this outbreak. METHODS: Forty-six patients from the United Kingdom treated with Gammagard (34 exposed and 12 unexposed to the batch) returned epidemiological questionnaires. RESULTS: Eighty-two percent of the exposed patients (28 of 34) became positive for HCV RNA. Eighteen percent of the patients (6 of 34) who had infusions with this batch tested negative for HCV RNA, but 2 of the patients had abnormal liver function and subsequently seroconverted to anti-HCV antibody positive. Twenty-seven percent of the patients (9 of 34) developed jaundice, and 79% (27 of 34) had abnormal liver transferase levels. Virus isolates (n=21), including an isolate from the implicated batch, were genotype 1a and virtually identical by sequence analysis of the NS5 region, consistent with transmission from a single source. CONCLUSIONS: Hepatitis C infection can be transmitted by anti-HCV-screened IV Ig. Careful documentation of IV Ig batch numbers and regular biochemical monitoring is recommended for all IV Ig recipients

    Towards run-time monitoring of web services conformance to business-level agreements

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    Web service behaviour is currently specified in a mixture of ways, often using methods that are only partially complete. These range from static functional specifications, based on interfaces in WSDL and preconditions in RIF, to business process simulations using executable process-based models such as BPEL, to detailed quality of service (QoS) agreements laid down in a service level agreement (SLA). This paper recognises that something similar to a SLA is required at the higher business level to govern the contract between service producers, brokers and consumers. We call this a business level agreement (BLA) and within this framework, seek to unify disparate aspects of functional specification, QoS and run-time verification. We propose that the method for validating a web service with respect to its advertised BLA should be based on run-time service monitoring. This is a position paper towards defining these goals

    Observation of ferromagnetism above 900 K in Cr-GaN and Cr-AlN

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    We report the observation of ferromagnetism at over 900K in Cr-GaN and Cr-AlN thin films. The saturation magnetization moments in our best films of Cr-GaN and Cr-AlN at low temperatures are 0.42 and 0.6 u_B/Cr atom, respectively, indicating that 14% and 20%, of the Cr atoms, respectively, are magnetically active. While Cr-AlN is highly resistive, Cr-GaN exhibits thermally activated conduction that follows the exponential law expected for variable range hopping between localized states. Hall measurements on a Cr-GaN sample indicate a mobility of 0.06 cm^2/V.s, which falls in the range characteristic of hopping conduction, and a free carrier density (1.4E20/cm^3), which is similar in magnitude to the measured magnetically-active Cr concentration (4.9E19/cm^3). A large negative magnetoresistance is attributed to scattering from loose spins associated with non-ferromagnetic impurities. The results indicate that ferromagnetism in Cr-GaN and Cr-AlN can be attributed to the double exchange mechanism as a result of hopping between near-midgap substitutional Cr impurity bands.Comment: 14 pages, 4 figures, submitted to AP
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