Diagonal restrictions of pp-adic Eisenstein families

We compute the diagonal restriction of the first derivative with respect to the weight of a p-adic family of Hilbert modular Eisenstein series attached to a general (odd) character of the narrow class group of a real quadratic field, and express the Fourier coefficients of its ordinary projection in terms of the values of a distinguished rigid analytic cocycle in the sense of Darmon and Vonk (Duke Math J, to appear, 2020) at appropriate real quadratic points of Drinfeld’s p-adic upper half-plane. This can be viewed as the p-adic counterpart of a seminal calculation of Gross and Zagier (J Reine Angew Math 355:191–220, 1985, §7) which arose in their “analytic proof” of the factorisation of differences of singular moduli, and whose inspiration can be traced to Siegel’s proof of the rationality of the values at negative integers of the Dedekind zeta function of a totally real field. Our main identity enriches the dictionary between the classical theory of complex multiplication and its extension to real quadratic fields based on RM values of rigid meromorphic cocycles, and leads to an expression for the p-adic logarithms of Gross–Stark units and Stark–Heegner points in terms of the first derivatives of certain twisted Rankin triple product p-adic L-functions

Effect of restrained versus free drying on hygro-expansion of hardwood and softwood fibers and paper handsheet

Earlier works in literature on the hygro-expansion of paper state that the larger hygro-expansivity of freely compared to restrained dried handsheets is due to structural differences between the fibers inside the handsheet. To unravel this hypothesis, first, the hygro-expansion of freely and restrained dried, hardwood and softwood handsheets has been characterized. Subsequently, the transient full-field hygro-expansion (longitudinal, transverse, and shear strain) of fibers extracted from these handsheets was measured using global digital height correlation, from which the micro-fibril angle was deduced. The hygro-expansivity of each individual fiber was tested before and after a wetting period, during which the fiber's moisture content is maximized, to analyze if a restrained dried fiber can "transform" into a freely dried fiber. It was found that the longitudinal hygro-expansion of the freely dried fibers is significantly larger than the restrained dried fibers, consistent with the sheet-scale differences. The difference in micro-fibril angle between the freely and restrained dried fibers is a possible explanation for this difference, but merely for the hardwood fibers, which are able to "transform" to freely dried fibers after being soaked in water. In contrast, this "transformation" does not happen in softwood fibers, even after full immersion in water for a day. Various mechanisms have been studied to explain the observations on freely and restrained dried hardwood and softwood, fiber and handsheets including analysis of the fibers' lumen and cross-sectional shape. The presented results and discussion deepens the understanding of the differences between freely and restrained dried handsheets.Comment: 43 pages, 15 figures, 2 table

De effectiviteit van valklinieken in Nederland

Recent zijn er twee artikelen gepubliceerd, waarbij er gekeken is naar de effectiviteit van een multifactorieel valpreventieprogramma uitgevoerd door valklinieken in Nederland. Beide artikelen laten negatieve resultaten zien. Het is echter de vraag of deze twee studies representatief zijn voor de situatie zoals het er in de meeste valklinieken in Nederland aan toegaat. Twee belangrijke verschillen zitten in de patiëntenselectie en de uitvoer van het valpreventieprogramma. Op een valkliniek is het belangrijk die patiënten te selecteren met het hoogste valrisico (≥ 2 valincidenten/ jaar en/of ≥ 4 valrisicofactoren) en om een actieve, directe aanpak van het valprobleem na te streven om de effectiviteit van de valkliniek te optimaliseren

Moving toward a framework to compose intelligent web services

A framework for contract-based support to establish virtual collaboration is proposed using loosely coupled and heterogeneous intelligent Web services. A business process redesign scenario is also discussed for integrating shared business process between a PC manufacturer and a semiconductor manufacturer. Contracts encapsulate the control information for intelligent Web services (IWS) engaged in e-business transactions. IWS show promise as a means of supporting cross-organizational business transactions

Type 0A 2D Black Hole Thermodynamics and the Deformed Matrix Model

Recently, it has been proposed that the deformed matrix model describes a two-dimensional type 0A extremal black hole. In this paper, the thermodynamics of 0A charged non-extremal black holes is investigated. We observe that the free energy of the deformed matrix model to leading order in 1/q can be seen to agree to that of the extremal black hole. We also speculate on how the deformed matrix model is able to describe the thermodynamics of non-extremal black holes.Comment: 12 page

Transient hygro- and hydro-expansion of freely and restrained dried paper: the fiber-network coupling

The transient dimensional changes during \textit{hygro}-expansion and \textit{hydro}-expansion of freely and restrained dried, softwood and hardwood sheets and fibers is monitored, to unravel the governing micro-mechanisms occurring during gradual water saturation. The response of individual fibers is measured using a full-field global digital height correlation method, which has been extended to monitor the transient \textit{hydro}-expansion of fibers from dry to fully saturated. The \textit{hygro}- and \textit{hydro}-expansion is larger for freely versus restrained dried and softwood versus hardwood handsheets. The transient sheet-scale \textit{hydro}-expansion reveals a sudden strain and moisture content step. It is postulated that the driving mechanism is the moisture-induced softening of the so-called "dislocated regions" in the fiber's cellulose micro-fibrils, unlocking further fiber swelling. The strain step is negligible for restrained dried handsheets, which is attributed to the "dislocated cellulose regions" being locked in their stretched configuration during restrained drying, which is supported by the single fiber \textit{hydro}-expansion measurements. Finally, an inter-fiber bond model is exploited and adapted to predict the sheet-scale \textit{hygro}-expansion from the fiber level characteristics. The model correctly predicts the qualitative differences between freely versus restrained dried and softwood versus hardwood handsheets, yet, its simplified geometry does not allow for more quantitative predictions of the sheet-scale \textit{hydro}-expansion.Comment: 37 pages; 12 figures; 5 table

Diet Quality and Upper Gastrointestinal Cancers Risk:A Meta-Analysis and Critical Assessment of Evidence Quality

We aimed to assess the effect of a high-quality diet on the risk of upper gastrointestinal cancer and to evaluate the overall quality of our findings by searching PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, Cochrane, and the references of related articles to February 2020. Two reviewers independently retrieved the data and performed the quality assessments. We defined the highest-quality diet as that with the lowest Diet Inflammatory Index category and the highest Mediterranean Diet Score category. Overall odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were estimated for upper gastrointestinal cancer risk comparing the highest- versus lowest-diet quality. A random-effects meta-analysis was then applied with Review Manager, and the quality of the overall findings was evaluated with the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation approach. The highest-quality diets were significantly associated with reduced risk of upper gastrointestinal cancers, achieving odds ratios of 0.59 (95% confidence interval: 0.48-0.72) for the Diet Inflammatory Index, pooling the findings from nine studies, and 0.72 (95% confidence interval: 0.61-0.88) for the Mediterranean Diet Score, pooling the findings from 11 studies. We observed a minimum of 69% heterogeneity in the pooled results. The pooled results were graded as low quality of evidence. Although it may be possible to offer evidence-based general dietary advice for the prevention of upper gastrointestinal cancers, the evidence is currently of insufficient quality to develop dietary recommendations

Pulmonary Hypertension in Patients with Chronic Fibrosing Idiopathic Interstitial Pneumonias

Background Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a common finding in patients with chronic fibrosing idiopathic interstitial pneumonias (IIP). Little is known about the response to pulmonary vasodilator therapy in this patient population. COMPERA is an international registry that prospectively captures data from patients with various forms of PH receiving pulmonary vasodilator therapies. Methods We retrieved data from COMPERA to compare patient characteristics, treatment patterns, response to therapy and survival in newly diagnosed patients with idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension (IPAH) and PH associated with IIP (PH-IIP). Results Compared to patients with IPAH (n = 798), patients with PH-IIP (n = 151) were older and predominantly males. Patients with PH-IIP were treated predominantly with phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitors (88% at entry, 87% after 1 year). From baseline to the first follow-up visit, the median improvement in 6MWD was 30 m in patients with IPAH and 24.5 m in patients with PH-IIP (p = 0.457 for the difference between both groups). Improvements in NYHA functional class were observed in 22.4% and 29.5% of these patients, respectively (p = 0.179 for the difference between both groups). Survival rates were significantly worse in PH-IIP than in IPAH (3-year survival 34.0 versus 68.6%; p<0.001). Total lung capacity, NYHA class IV, and mixed-venous oxygen saturation were independent predictors of survival in patients with PH-IIP. Conclusions Patients with PH-IIP have a dismal prognosis. Our results suggest that pulmonary vasodilator therapy may be associated with short-term functional improvement in some of these patients but it is unclear whether this treatment affects survival