Rotational Symmetry of Classical Orbits, Arbitrary Quantization of Angular Momentum and the Role of Gauge Field in Two-Dimensional Space

We study the quantum-classical correspondence in terms of coherent wave functions of a charged particle in two-dimensional central-scalar-potentials as well as the gauge field of a magnetic flux in the sense that the probability clouds of wave functions are well localized on classical orbits. For both closed and open classical orbits, the non-integer angular-momentum quantization with the level-space of angular momentum being greater or less than $\hbar$ is determined uniquely by the same rotational symmetry of classical orbits and probability clouds of coherent wave functions, which is not necessarily $2\pi$-periodic. The gauge potential of a magnetic flux impenetrable to the particle cannot change the quantization rule but is able to shift the spectrum of canonical angular momentum by a flux-dependent value, which results in a common topological phase for all wave functions in the given model. The quantum mechanical model of anyon proposed by Wilczek (Phys. Rev. Lette. 48, 1144) becomes a special case of the arbitrary-quantization.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figure

The Use and Efficacy of Comics in Healthcare: A Scoping Review in Graphic Medicine

Background: Graphic medicine is defined as the “interaction between the medium of comics and the discourse of healthcare”. We seek to understand the ways in which comics are currently being employed in healthcare settings and what effects, if any, these practices have on physician, patient, and their experiences and health outcomes. Methods: Our scoping review is following the six-stage methodology laid out by Arksey and O’Malley (2005) in order to map the field – an appropriate methodology, as graphic medicine is a relatively new field that thus far lacks clear boundaries. We built, tested, and conducted searches in six databases: (1) PubMed, (2) CINAHL, (3) SCOPUS, (4) ERIC, (5) Web of Science (Core), and (6) Google Scholar. Preliminary Findings: Search results netted 5,097 unique citations, which highlights a clear problem with current indexing of comics in medical databases, as at least 80% of the citations were in fact NOT comics at all. In-depth screening and analysis of relevant results is ongoing. Potential Impact: Graphic medicine shows potential as a tool in medical and patient education and may help bridge the health literacy gap. Next Steps: Our next steps include synthesis of relevant studies and ongoing hand-searching for results outside of typical scholarly publications. Questions for the MTL Community: How might you make use of comics in your practice and/or praxis

A multi-criteria model analysis framework for assessing integrated water-energy system transformation pathways

Sustainable development objectives surrounding water and energy are interdependent, and yet the associated performance metrics are often distinct. Regional planners tasked with designing future supply systems therefore require multi-criteria analysis methods and tools to determine a suitable combination of technologies and scale of investments. Previous research focused on optimizing system development strategy with respect to a single design objective, leading to potentially negative outcomes for other important sustainability metrics. This paper addresses this limitation, and presents a flexible multi-criteria model analysis framework that is applicable to long-term energy and water supply planning at national or regional scales in an interactive setup with decision-makers. The framework incorporates a linear systems-engineering model of the coupled supply technologies and inter-provincial transmission networks. The multi-criteria analysis approach enables the specification of diverse decision-making preferences for disparate criteria, and leads to quantitative understanding of trade-offs between the resulting criteria values of the corresponding Pareto-optimal solutions. A case study of the water-stressed nation of Saudi Arabia explores preferences combining aspiration and reservation levels in terms of cost, water sustainability and electricity sector CO2 emissions. The analysis reveals a suite of trade-off solutions, in which potential integrated water-energy system configurations remain relatively ambitious from both an economic and environmental perspective. The results highlight the importance of identifying suitable tradeoffs between water and energy sustainability objectives during the formulation of coupled transformation strategies

Perturbative Calculation of the Adiabatic Geometric Phase and Particle in a Well with Moving Walls

We use the Rayleigh-Schr\"odinger perturbation theory to calculate the corrections to the adiabatic geometric phase due to a perturbation of the Hamiltonian. We show that these corrections are at least of second order in the perturbation parameter. As an application of our general results we address the problem of the adiabatic geometric phase for a one-dimensional particle which is confined to an infinite square well with moving walls.Comment: Plain Latex, accepted for publication in J. Phys. A: Math. Ge

Mean-risk models using two risk measures: A multi-objective approach

This paper proposes a model for portfolio optimisation, in which distributions are characterised and compared on the basis of three statistics: the expected value, the variance and the CVaR at a specified confidence level. The problem is multi-objective and transformed into a single objective problem in which variance is minimised while constraints are imposed on the expected value and CVaR. In the case of discrete random variables, the problem is a quadratic program. The mean-variance (mean-CVaR) efficient solutions that are not dominated with respect to CVaR (variance) are particular efficient solutions of the proposed model. In addition, the model has efficient solutions that are discarded by both mean-variance and mean-CVaR models, although they may improve the return distribution. The model is tested on real data drawn from the FTSE 100 index. An analysis of the return distribution of the chosen portfolios is presented

Evolutionary patterns in sound production across fishes

Published versio

Prenatal origin of childhood AML occurs less frequently than in childhood ALL

Background While there is enough convincing evidence in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), the data on the pre-natal origin in childhood acute myeloid leukemia (AML) are less comprehensive. Our study aimed to screen Guthrie cards (neonatal blood spots) of non-infant childhood AML and ALL patients for the presence of their respective leukemic markers. Methods We analysed Guthrie cards of 12 ALL patients aged 2–6 years using immunoglobulin (Ig) and T-cell receptor (TCR) gene rearrangements (n = 15) and/or intronic breakpoints of TEL/AML1 fusion gene (n = 3). In AML patients (n = 13, age 1–14 years) PML/RARalpha (n = 4), CBFbeta/MYH11 (n = 3), AML1/ETO (n = 2), MLL/AF6 (n = 1), MLL/AF9 (n = 1) and MLL/AF10 (n = 1) fusion genes and/or internal tandem duplication of FLT3 gene (FLT3/ITD) (n = 2) were used as clonotypic markers. Assay sensitivity determined using serial dilutions of patient DNA into the DNA of a healthy donor allowed us to detect the pre-leukemic clone in Guthrie card providing 1–3 positive cells were present in the neonatal blood spot. Results In 3 patients with ALL (25%) we reproducibly detected their leukemic markers (Ig/TCR n = 2; TEL/AML1 n = 1) in the Guthrie card. We did not find patient-specific molecular markers in any patient with AML. Conclusion In the largest cohort examined so far we used identical approach for the backtracking of non-infant childhood ALL and AML. Our data suggest that either the prenatal origin of AML is less frequent or the load of pre-leukemic cells is significantly lower at birth in AML compared to ALL cases

L2 series solutions of the Dirac equation for power-law potentials at rest mass energy

We obtain solutions of the three dimensional Dirac equation for radial power-law potentials at rest mass energy as an infinite series of square integrable functions. These are written in terms of the confluent hypergeometric function and chosen such that the matrix representation of the Dirac operator is tridiagonal. The "wave equation" results in a three-term recursion relation for the expansion coefficients of the spinor wavefunction which is solved in terms of orthogonal polynomials. These are modified versions of the Meixner-Pollaczek polynomials and of the continuous dual Hahn polynomials. The choice depends on the values of the angular momentum and the power of the potential.Comment: 13 pages, 1 Tabl