236 research outputs found
Thin-shell wormholes from charged black holes in generalized dilaton-axion gravity
This paper discusses a new type of thin-shell wormhole constructed by
applying the cut-and-paste technique to two copies of a charged black hole in
generalized dilaton-axion gravity, which was inspired by low-energy string
theory. After analyzing various aspects of this thin-shell wormhole, we discuss
its stability to linearized spherically symmetric perturbations.Comment: Minor changes, 6 pages, 4 figures. Accepted for publication in Gen.
Rel. Gra
Thin-shell wormholes in Einstein-Maxwell theory with a Gauss-Bonnet term
We study five dimensional thin-shell wormholes in Einstein-Maxwell theory
with a Gauss-Bonnet term. The linearized stability under radial perturbations
and the amount of exotic matter are analyzed as a function of the parameters of
the model. We find that the inclusion of the quadratic correction substantially
widens the range of possible stable configurations, and besides it allows for a
reduction of the exotic matter required to construct the wormholes.Comment: 13 pages, 6 figures; v2: minor changes and new references added.
Accepted for publication in General Relativity and Gravitatio
Seasonal Dependence of SMAP Radiometer-Based Soil Moisture Performance as Observed over Core Validation Sites
The NASA SMAP (Soil Moisture Active Passive) mission provides a global coverage of soil moisture measurements based on its L-band microwave radiometer every 2-3 days at about 40 km resolution. The soil moisture retrieval algorithms model the brightness temperature as a function of soil moisture, surface conditions and vegetation. External data sources inform the algorithms about the surface conditions and vegetation, which enable the retrieval of soil moisture. The inversion process contains uncertainties related to radiometer measurements, forward model assumptions and ancillary data sources. This study focuses on the uncertainties that depend on the seasonal evolution of the surface conditions and vegetation. This study compares the SMAP and core validation site (CVS) soil moisture values over a period of three years to extract the evolution of performance metrics over time. The analysis showed that most CVS that include managed agriculture exhibit significant time-dependent seasonal bias. This bias was linked to seasonal temperature cycle, which is a proxy to several features that can cause seasonally dependent errors in the SMAP product
Linearized stability analysis of gravastars in noncommutative geometry
In this work, we find exact gravastar solutions in the context of
noncommutative geometry, and explore their physical properties and
characteristics. The energy density of these geometries is a smeared and
particle-like gravitational source, where the mass is diffused throughout a
region of linear dimension due to the intrinsic uncertainty
encoded in the coordinate commutator. These solutions are then matched to an
exterior Schwarzschild spacetime. We further explore the dynamical stability of
the transition layer of these gravastars, for the specific case of
, where M is the black hole mass, to linearized
spherically symmetric radial perturbations about static equilibrium solutions.
It is found that large stability regions exist and, in particular, located
sufficiently close to where the event horizon is expected to form.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figure
Thin-shell wormholes from regular charged black holes
We investigate a new thin-shell wormhole constructed by surgically grafting
two regular charged black holes arising from the action using nonlinear
electrodynamics coupled to general relativity. The stress-energy components
within the shell violate the null and weak energy conditions but obey the
strong energy condition. We study the stability in two ways: (i) taking a
specific equation of state at the throat and (ii) analyzing the stability to
linearized spherically symmetric perturbations about a static equilibrium
solution. Various other aspects of this thin-shell wormhole are also analyzed.Comment: 8 pages and 19 figure
Asymptotically Lifshitz wormholes and black holes for Lovelock gravity in vacuum
Static asymptotically Lifshitz wormholes and black holes in vacuum are shown
to exist for a class of Lovelock theories in d=2n+1>7 dimensions, selected by
requiring that all but one of their n maximally symmetric vacua are AdS of
radius l and degenerate. The wormhole geometry is regular everywhere and
connects two Lifshitz spacetimes with a nontrivial geometry at the boundary.
The dynamical exponent z is determined by the quotient of the curvature radii
of the maximally symmetric vacua according to n(z^2-1)+1=(l/L)^2, where L
corresponds to the curvature radius of the nondegenerate vacuum. Light signals
are able to connect both asymptotic regions in finite time, and the
gravitational field pulls towards a fixed surface located at some arbitrary
proper distance to the neck. The asymptotically Lifshitz black hole possesses
the same dynamical exponent and a fixed Hawking temperature given by T=z/(2^z
pi l). Further analytic solutions, including pure Lifshitz spacetimes with a
nontrivial geometry at the spacelike boundary, and wormholes that interpolate
between asymptotically Lifshitz spacetimes with different dynamical exponents
are also found.Comment: 19 pages, 1 figur
Rotating thin-shell wormhole from glued Kerr spacetimes
We construct a model of a rotating wormhole made by cutting and pasting two
Kerr spacetimes. As a result, we obtain a rotating thin-shell wormhole with
exotic matter at the throat. Two candidates for the exotic matter are
considered: (i) a perfect fluid; (ii) an anisotropic fluid. We show that a
perfect fluid is unable to support a rotating thin-shall wormhole. On the
contrary, the anisotropic fluid with the negative energy density can be a
source for such a geometry.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in Gravitation and
Cosmolog
Voice disorders and mental health in teachers: a cross-sectional nationwide study
International audienceBACKGROUND:Teachers, as professional voice users, are at particular risk of voice disorders. Among contributing factors, stress and psychological tension could play a role but epidemiological data on this problem are scarce. The aim of this study was to evaluate prevalence and cofactors of voice disorders among teachers in the French National Education system, with particular attention paid to the association between voice complaint and psychological status.METHODS:The source data come from an epidemiological postal survey on physical and mental health conducted in a sample of 20,099 adults (in activity or retired) selected at random from the health plan records of the national education system. Overall response rate was 53%. Of the 10,288 respondents, 3,940 were teachers in activity currently giving classes to students. In the sample of those with complete data (n = 3,646), variables associated with voice disorders were investigated using logistic regression models. Studied variables referred to demographic characteristics, socio-professional environment, psychological distress, mental health disorders (DSM-IV), and sick leave.RESULTS:One in two female teachers reported voice disorders (50.0%) compared to one in four males (26.0%). Those who reported voice disorders presented higher level of psychological distress. Sex- and age-adjusted odds ratios [95% confidence interval] were respectively 1.8 [1.5-2.2] for major depressive episode, 1.7 [1.3-2.2] for general anxiety disorder, and 1.6 [1.2-2.2] for phobia. A significant association between voice disorders and sick leave was also demonstrated (1.5 [1.3-1.7]).CONCLUSION:Voice disorders were frequent among French teachers. Associations with psychiatric disorders suggest that a situation may exist which is more complex than simple mechanical failure. Further longitudinal research is needed to clarify the comorbidity between voice and psychological disorders
A Patient-Specific in silico Model of Inflammation and Healing Tested in Acute Vocal Fold Injury
The development of personalized medicine is a primary objective of the medical community and increasingly also of funding and registration agencies. Modeling is generally perceived as a key enabling tool to target this goal. Agent-Based Models (ABMs) have previously been used to simulate inflammation at various scales up to the whole-organism level. We extended this approach to the case of a novel, patient-specific ABM that we generated for vocal fold inflammation, with the ultimate goal of identifying individually optimized treatments. ABM simulations reproduced trajectories of inflammatory mediators in laryngeal secretions of individuals subjected to experimental phonotrauma up to 4 hrs post-injury, and predicted the levels of inflammatory mediators 24 hrs post-injury. Subject-specific simulations also predicted different outcomes from behavioral treatment regimens to which subjects had not been exposed. We propose that this translational application of computational modeling could be used to design patient-specific therapies for the larynx, and will serve as a paradigm for future extension to other clinical domains
“They can do whatever they want”: Meanings of receiving psychiatric care based on a common staff approach
This study deepens our understanding of how patients, when cared for in a psychiatric ward, experience situations that involve being handled according to a common staff approach. Interviews with nine former psychiatric in-patients were analyzed using a phenomenological–hermeneutic method to illuminate the lived experience of receiving care based on a common staff approach. The results revealed several meanings: discovering that you are as subjected to a common staff approach, becoming aware that no one cares, becoming aware that your freedom is restricted, being afflicted, becoming aware that a common staff approach is not applied by all staff, and feeling safe because someone else is responsible. The comprehensive understanding was that the patient's understanding of being cared for according to a common staff approach was to be seen and treated in accordance with others' beliefs and valuations, not in line with the patients' own self-image, while experiencing feelings of affliction
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