780 research outputs found
On the Viability of a Non-Analytical f(R)-Theory
In this paper, we show how a power-law correction to the Einstein-Hilbert
action provides a viable modified theory of gravity, passing the Solar-System
tests, when the exponent is between the values 2 and 3. Then, we implement this
paradigm on a cosmological setting outlining how the main phases of the
Universe thermal history are properly reproduced. As a result, we find two
distinct constraints on the characteristic length scale of the model, i.e., a
lower bound from the Solar-System test and an upper one by guaranteeing the
matter dominated Universe evolution.Comment: 9 pages, 2 figure
Reply to: Atom gravimeters and the gravitational redshift
We stand by our result [H. Mueller et al., Nature 463, 926-929 (2010)]. The
comment [P. Wolf et al., Nature 467, E1 (2010)] revisits an interesting issue
that has been known for decades, the relationship between test of the
universality of free fall and redshift experiments. However, it arrives at its
conclusions by applying the laws of physics that are questioned by redshift
experiments; this precludes the existence of measurable signals. Since this
issue applies to all classical redshift tests as well as atom interferometry
redshift tests, these experiments are equivalent in all aspects in question.Comment: Reply to P. Wolf et al., arXiv:1009.060
Dental treatment and risk of variant CJD - a case control study
Abstract
Objective: Knowledge of risk factors for variant CJD (vCJD) remains limited, but transmission of prion proteins via re-useable medical devices, including dental instruments, or enhanced susceptibility following trauma to the oral cavity is a concern. This study aimed to identify whether previous dental treatment is a risk factor for development of vCJD.
Design: Case control study
Methods: Risk factor questionnaires completed by interview with relatives of 130 vCJD patients and with relatives of 66 community and 53 hospital controls were examined by a dental surgeon. Responses regarding dental treatments were analysed.
Results: We did not find a statistically significant excess of risk of vCJD associated with dental treatments with the exception of extractions in an unmatched analysis of vCJD cases with community controls (p=0.02). However, this result may be explained by multiple testing.
Conclusions: This is the first published study to date to examine potential links between vCJD and dental treatment. There was no convincing evidence found of an increased risk of variant CJD associated with reported dental treatment. However, the power of the study is restricted by the number of vCJD cases to date and does not preclude the possibility that some cases have resulted from secondary transmission via dental procedures. Due to the limitations of the data available, more detailed analyses of dental records are required to fully exclude the possibility of transmission via dental treatment
Cross infection control measures and the treatment of patients at risk of Creutzfeldt Jakob disease in UK general dental practice
AIMS: To determine the suitability of key infection control measures currently employed in UK dental practice for delivery of dental care to patients at risk of prion diseases. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Subjects: Five hundred dental surgeons currently registered with the General Dental Council of the UK. Data collection: Structured postal questionnaire. Analysis: Frequencies, cross-tabulations and chi-squared analysis. RESULTS: The valid response rate to the questionnaire was 69%. 33% of practices had no policy on general disinfection and sterilisation procedures. Only 10 of the 327 responding practices (3%) possessed a vacuum autoclave. 49% of dentists reported using the BDA medical history form but less than 25% asked the specific questions recommended by the BDA to identify patients at risk of iatrogenic or familial CJD. However, 63% of practitioners would refer such patients, if identified, to a secondary care facility. Of the 107 practitioners who were prepared to provide dental treatment, 75 (70%) would do so using routine infection control procedures. CONCLUSIONS: Most of the dental practices surveyed were not actively seeking to identify patients at risk of prion diseases. In many cases, recommended procedures for providing safe dental care for such patients were not in place
Atom gravimeters and gravitational redshift
In a recent paper, H. Mueller, A. Peters and S. Chu [A precision measurement
of the gravitational redshift by the interference of matter waves, Nature 463,
926-929 (2010)] argued that atom interferometry experiments published a decade
ago did in fact measure the gravitational redshift on the quantum clock
operating at the very high Compton frequency associated with the rest mass of
the Caesium atom. In the present Communication we show that this interpretation
is incorrect.Comment: 2 pages, Brief Communication appeared in Nature (2 September 2010
The Statistical Mechanics of Horizons and Black Hole Thermodynamics
Although we know that black holes are characterized by a temperature and an
entropy, we do not yet have a satisfactory microscopic ``statistical
mechanical'' explanation for black hole thermodynamics. I describe a new
approach that attributes the thermodynamic properties to ``would-be gauge''
degrees of freedom that become dynamical on the horizon. For the
(2+1)-dimensional black hole, this approach gives the correct entropy. (Talk
given at the Pacific Conference on Gravitation and Cosmology, Seoul, February
1996.)Comment: 11 pages, LaTe
Positive tension 3-branes in an bulk
In this work, we review and extend the so-called consistency conditions for
the existence of a braneworld scenario in arbitrary dimensions in the
Brans-Dicke (BD) gravitational theory. After that, we consider the particular
case of a five-dimensional scenario which seems to have phenomenological
interesting implications. We show that, in the BD framework, it is possible to
achieve necessary conditions pointing to the possibility of accommodating
branes with positive tensions in an AdS bulk by the presence of the additional
BD scalar field, avoiding in this way the necessity of including unstable
objects in the compactification scheme. Furthermore, in the context of time
variable brane tension, it is shown that the brane tension may change its sign,
following the bulk cosmological constant sign.Comment: 15 pages, new version to appear in JHE
The Confrontation between General Relativity and Experiment
The status of experimental tests of general relativity and of theoretical
frameworks for analysing them is reviewed. Einstein's equivalence principle
(EEP) is well supported by experiments such as the Eotvos experiment, tests of
special relativity, and the gravitational redshift experiment. Future tests of
EEP and of the inverse square law are searching for new interactions arising
from unification or quantum gravity. Tests of general relativity at the
post-Newtonian level have reached high precision, including the light
deflection, the Shapiro time delay, the perihelion advance of Mercury, and the
Nordtvedt effect in lunar motion. Gravitational-wave damping has been detected
in an amount that agrees with general relativity to better than half a percent
using the Hulse-Taylor binary pulsar, and other binary pulsar systems have
yielded other tests, especially of strong-field effects. When direct
observation of gravitational radiation from astrophysical sources begins, new
tests of general relativity will be possible.Comment: 89 pages, 8 figures; an update of the Living Review article
originally published in 2001; final published version incorporating referees'
suggestion
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