Casimir Effect for the Piecewise Uniform String

The Casimir energy for the transverse oscillations of a piecewise uniform closed string is calculated. In its simplest version the string consists of two parts I and II having in general different tension and mass density, but is always obeying the condition that the velocity of sound is equal to the velocity of light. The model, first introduced by Brevik and Nielsen in 1990, possesses attractive formal properties implying that it becomes easily regularizable by several methods, the most powerful one being the contour integration method. We also consider the case where the string is divided into 2N pieces, of alternating type-I and type-II material. The free energy at finite temperature, as well as the Hagedorn temperature, are found. Finally, we make some remarks on the relationship between this kind of theory and the theory of quantum star graphs, recently considered by Fulling et al.Comment: 10 pages, 1 figure, Submitted to the volume "Cosmology, Quantum Vacuum, and Zeta Functions", in honour of Professor Emilio Elizalde on the occasion of his 60th birthda

Monitoramento ambiental: a degradação ambiental no trópico semi-árido do Nordeste brasileiro.

O Nordeste brasileiro, sobretudo sua porção semi-árida, vem sofrendo cada vez mais o impacto das atividades humanas sobre seus recursos naturais. A Embrapa, através de sua unidade de pesquisa localizada em Petrolina, PE., aplicando as mais novas tecnologias, baseadas na utilização conjunta de imagens obtidas por intermedio de satélites artificiais e do conhecimento adquirido sobre o meio ambiente, durante as duas últimas décadas, tem disponibilizado para a comunidade científica e o público em geral, uma série de informações relativas às condições que se encontra o meio ambiente

Monotonic Distributive Semilattices

In the study of algebras related to non-classical logics, (distributive) semilattices are always present in the background. For example, the algebraic semantic of the {→, ∧, ⊤}-fragment of intuitionistic logic is the variety of implicative meet-semilattices (Chellas 1980; Hansen 2003). In this paper we introduce and study the class of distributive meet-semilattices endowed with a monotonic modal operator m. We study the representation theory of these algebras using the theory of canonical extensions and we give a topological duality for them. Also, we show how our new duality extends to some particular subclasses.Fil: Celani, Sergio Arturo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Departamento de Matemática; ArgentinaFil: Menchón, María Paula. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Departamento de Matemática; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

Mesoscopic theory for inhomogeneous mixtures

Mesoscopic density functional theory for inhomogeneous mixtures of sperical particles is developed in terms of mesoscopic volume fractions by a systematic coarse-graining procedure starting form microscopic theory. Approximate expressions for the correlation functions and for the grand potential are obtained for weak ordering on mesoscopic length scales. Stability analysis of the disordered phase is performed in mean-field approximation (MF) and beyond. MF shows existence of either a spinodal or a $\lambda$-surface on the volume-fractions - temperature phase diagram. Separation into homogeneous phases or formation of inhomogeneous distribution of particles occurs on the low-temperature side of the former or the latter surface respectively, depending on both the interaction potentials and the size ratios between particles of different species. Beyond MF the spinodal surface is shifted, and the instability at the $\lambda$-surface is suppressed by fluctuations. We interpret the $\lambda$-surface as a borderline between homogeneous and inhomogeneous (containing clusters or other aggregates) structure of the disordered phase. For two-component systems explicit expressions for the MF spinodal and $\lambda$-surfaces are derived. Examples of interaction potentials of simple form are analyzed in some detail, in order to identify conditions leading to inhomogeneous structures.Comment: 6 figure

A unified wavelet-based modelling framework for non-linear system identification: the WANARX model structure

A new unified modelling framework based on the superposition of additive submodels, functional components, and wavelet decompositions is proposed for non-linear system identification. A non-linear model, which is often represented using a multivariate non-linear function, is initially decomposed into a number of functional components via the wellknown analysis of variance (ANOVA) expression, which can be viewed as a special form of the NARX (non-linear autoregressive with exogenous inputs) model for representing dynamic input–output systems. By expanding each functional component using wavelet decompositions including the regular lattice frame decomposition, wavelet series and multiresolution wavelet decompositions, the multivariate non-linear model can then be converted into a linear-in-theparameters problem, which can be solved using least-squares type methods. An efficient model structure determination approach based upon a forward orthogonal least squares (OLS) algorithm, which involves a stepwise orthogonalization of the regressors and a forward selection of the relevant model terms based on the error reduction ratio (ERR), is employed to solve the linear-in-the-parameters problem in the present study. The new modelling structure is referred to as a wavelet-based ANOVA decomposition of the NARX model or simply WANARX model, and can be applied to represent high-order and high dimensional non-linear systems

Determinants of low back pain among operating room nurses in gaza governmental hospitals

Globally, Low Back Pain (LBP) comprises a significant occupational hazard in nursing profession. This study aimed to identify determinants of LBP among operating room nurses at Governmental hospitals in Gaza governorates. The design of this study is a quantitative, descriptive, analytical, cross-sectional one. To ensure validity of the instrument; face, content and criterion related validity were carried out and to test reliability of the instrument; small scale reliability test and Cronbach’s Alpha coefficient were carried out. The study population consisted of 159 nurses who represented all the target population. The researcher used a self-constructed, self administered questionnaire. In total, 143 respondents completed the questionnaire with a response rate of 89.9%. Different statistical procedures were used for data analysis including cross tabulation, percentages, mean and Chi square test. The results revealed that the overall prevalence of low back pain among operating room nurses was 70.6%. The prevalence of pain was 68.2% among males and 78.8% among females. The highest complaint of low back pain (100.0%) was reported among those who have a long work experience (23–36 years). The prevalence of LBP was 82.8% among those who have body mass index (BMI) more than 30. There were no significant differences between (gender, years of experience and BMI) and LBP distribution. Prolonged time standing during surgery was the main risk factor for low back pain (67.1%), followed by work overload (65.0%), lifting and transferring patients (62.9%). The study concluded that work related LBP was high among operating room nurses

Impaired interferon-γ responses, increased interleukin-17 expression, and a tumor necrosis factor–α transcriptional program in invasive aspergillosis

This article is available open access through the publisher’s website. Copyright @ 2009 Oxford University Press.Background - Invasive aspergillosis (IA) is the most common cause of death associated with fungal infection in the developed world. Historically, susceptibility to IA has been associated with prolonged neutropenia; however, IA has now become a major problem in patients on calcineurin inhibitors and allogenic hematopoetic stem cell transplant patients following engraftment. These observations suggest complex cellular mechanisms govern immunity to IA. Methods - To characterize the key early events that govern outcome from infection with Aspergillus fumigatus we performed a comparative immunochip microarray analysis of the pulmonary transcriptional response to IA between cyclophosphamide-treated mice and immunocompetent mice at 24 h after infection. Results - We demonstrate that death due to infection is associated with a failure to generate an incremental interferon-γ response, increased levels of interleukin-5 and interleukin-17a transcript, coordinated expression of a network of tumor necrosis factor–α-related genes, and increased levels of tumor necrosis factor–α. In contrast, clearance of infection is associated with increased expression of a number genes encoding proteins involved in innate pathogen clearance, as well as apoptosis and control of inflammation. Conclusion - This first organ-level immune response transcriptional analysis for IA has enabled us to gain new insights into the mechanisms that govern fungal immunity in the lung.The BBSRC, CGD Research Trust, and the MRC

Mudanças climáticas no Semiárido brasileiro: medidas de mitigação e adaptação.

O objetivo deste artigo é discutir os impactos das mudanças climáticas e medidas de mitigação e adaptação que já estão sendo executadas no Semiárido brasileiro. Os potenciais impactos negativos sobre os recursos hídricos e a agricultura de sequeiro poderão comprometer a população da região. Medidas de mitigação como o manejo correto do solo, a redução de emissão de metano em ruminantes, o manejo florestal da Caatinga, a integração lavoura-pecuária-floresta e a produção e uso de biocombustíveis podem reduzir a emissão dos gases do efeito estufa. Medidas de adaptação como uso do melhoramento genético, a captação da água de chuva, adoção de novos sistemas produtivos, aproveitamento do potencial produtivo das plantas da Caatinga poderão contribuir para minimizar os efeitos das mudanças climáticas. A demanda por pesquisas nesse contexto continuará crescente, necessitando de esforços multidisciplinares, com a interação entre as instituições de pesquisa, a fim de definir métodos e estratégias para serem aplicados no Semiárido. A formulação de políticas públicas que incentivem a adoção destas práticas será imprescindível para que as mesmas sejam colocadas em prática

Geotecnologias conciliando preservação ambiental e fortalecimento das atividades produtivas na região do Araripe-PE.

A região do Araripe, no Estado de Pernambuco, tem tido cada vez mais a matéria prima de base florestal como principal insumo na matriz energética. As empresas ali instaladas fazem uso, quase que exclusivamente, da vegetação nativa para o eneficiamento e transformação da gipsita, constituindo assim o maior pólo gesseiro do Brasil e segundo do mundo. Assim, existe a necessidade de se investir na oferta de madeira através das praticas de reflorestamentos, manejo da vegetação nativa e recuperação de areas degradadas para suprir o déficit energético. Deste modo, este artigo, utilizando-se das geotecnologias baseadas em imagens de satélites e geoprocessamento, teve como objetivo caracterizar ambientalmente os municípios da região, ontemplando os solos, a cobertura vegetal e uso antrópico, com vista à realização de uma espacialização dos diferentes ambientes para execução das praticas mencionadas. A analise realizada remete as seguintes indicações: a área indicada para pratica de manejo florestal é da ordem 470.000 ha; a área indicada para florestam ento/reflorestamento é da ordem de 110.000 ha; a área indicada para recuperação é da ordem de 267.000 ha e indicadas para Reserva legal é da ordem de 6.000 ha

Rheology of Water Flows Confined Between Multi-Layer Graphene Walls.

Water confined by hydrophilic materials shows unique transport properties compared to bulk water thereby offering new opportunities for development of nano-fluidic devices. Recent experimental and numerical studies showed that nano-confined water undergoes liquid-to-solid phase-like transitions depending on the degree of confinement. In the case of water confined by graphene layers, the Van der Waals forces are known to deform the graphene layers, whose bending leads to further non-uniform confinement effects. Despite the extensive studies of nano-confined water at equilibrium conditions, the interplay between the confinement and rheological water properties, such as viscosity, slip length and normal stress differences under shear flow conditions, is poorly understood. The current investigation uses a validated all-atom non-equilibrium molecular dynamics model to simultaneously analyse continuum transport and atomistic structure properties of water in a slit between two moving graphene walls under Couette flow conditions. A range of different slit widths and velocity strain rates are considered. It is shown that under the sub-nanometer confinement, water loses its rotational symmetry of a Newtonian fluid. In such conditions, water transforms into ice, where the atomistic structure is completely insensitive to the applied shear force and which behaves like a frozen slab sliding between the graphene walls. This leads to the shear viscosity increase, although not as dramatic as the normal force increase that contributes to the increased friction force reported in previous experimental studies. On the other end of the spectra, for flows at large velocity strain rates in moderate to large slits between the graphene walls, water is in the liquid state and reveals a shear thinning behavior. In this case, water exhibits a constant slip length on the wall, which is typical of liquids in the vicinity of hydrophobic surfaces