Higher Order Effects in the Dielectric Constant of Percolative Metal-Insulator Systems above the Critical Point

The dielectric constant of a conductor-insulator mixture shows a pronounced maximum above the critical volume concentration. Further experimental evidence is presented as well as a theoretical consideration based on a phenomenological equation. Explicit expressions are given for the position of the maximum in terms of scaling parameters and the (complex) conductances of the conductor and insulator. In order to fit some of the data, a volume fraction dependent expression for the conductivity of the more highly conductive component is introduced.Comment: 4 pages, Latex, 4 postscript (*.epsi) files submitted to Phys Rev.

Any-order propagation of the nonlinear Schroedinger equation

We derive an exact propagation scheme for nonlinear Schroedinger equations. This scheme is entirely analogous to the propagation of linear Schroedinger equations. We accomplish this by defining a special operator whose algebraic properties ensure the correct propagation. As applications, we provide a simple proof of a recent conjecture regarding higher-order integrators for the Gross-Pitaevskii equation, extend it to multi-component equations, and to a new class of integrators.Comment: 10 pages, no figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.

A mixed-methods study of the implementation of medication adherence policy solutions: how do European countries compare?

Wendy Clyne,1 Sarah McLachlan2 1Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, Coventry University, Priory Street, Coventry, UK; 2Primary Care and Health Sciences, Keele University, Staffordshire, UK Objectives: We describe a key informant study that invited national medicines policy leads for the European Union member states to self-assess the level of implementation of medicines adherence initiatives in their country and the adequacy of that implementation. Interviews with medicines policy leads enabled in-depth understanding of the variation in adherence support across nations and the ways in which different nations prioritize, plan, and implement medicines adherence systems and services.Methods: Ten national policy leads (Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, and the Netherlands) completed a self-assessment survey, and seven (Estonia, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Lithuania, Malta, and the Netherlands) engaged in a follow-up interview.Key findings: Policy leads varied in the level of implementation of medication adherence solutions that they reported in their nations; most initiatives were aimed directly at patients with few initiatives at government or health care commissioner levels of action. Policy leads reported insufficient implementation of medication adherence initiatives across all potential domains. Barriers to implementation included lack of resources, strategic planning, evidence to support action, the “hidden” nature of medication adherence within policy work, and dispersed responsibility for medication adherence as a policy and practice theme.Conclusion: This study has international significance and summarizes the emergent characteristics of nations with and without coordinated medication adherence activity. We highlight the importance of sharing good practice in policy formulation and implementation for medication adherence. Keywords: medication adherence, policy implementation, medicines policy, health care polic

A note on the moduli-induced gravitino problem

The cosmological moduli problem has been recently reconsidered. Papers [1,2] show that even heavy moduli (m_\phi > 10^5 GeV) can be a problem for cosmology if a branching ratio of the modulus into gravitini is large. In this paper, we discuss the tachyonic decay of moduli into the Standard Model's degrees of freedom, e.g. Higgs particles, as a resolution to the moduli-induced gravitino problem. Rough estimates on model dependent parameters set a lower bound on the allowed moduli at around 10^8 ~ 10^9 GeV.Comment: 6 pages, references added, identical to the published versio