Thermodynamic Properties of the 2N-Piece Relativistic String

The thermodynamic free energy F(\beta) is calculated for a gas consisting of the transverse oscillations of a piecewise uniform bosonic string. The string consists of 2N parts of equal length, of alternating type I and type II material, and is relativistic in the sense that the velocity of sound everywhere equals the velocity of light. The present paper is a continuation of two earlier papers, one dealing with the Casimir energy of a 2N--piece string [I. Brevik and R. Sollie (1997)], and another dealing with the thermodynamic properties of a string divided into two (unequal) parts [I. Brevik, A. A. Bytsenko and H. B. Nielsen (1998)]. Making use of the Meinardus theorem we calculate the asymptotics of the level state density, and show that the critical temperatures in the individual parts are equal, for arbitrary spacetime dimension D. If D=26, we find \beta= (2/N)\sqrt{2\pi /T_{II}}, T_{II} being the tension in part II. Thermodynamic interactions of parts related to high genus g is also considered.Comment: 15 pages, LaTeX, 2 figures. Discussion in section 8 expande

Quantifying measures to limit wind driven resuspension of sediments for improvement of the ecological quality in some shallow Dutch lakes

Although phosphorus loadings are considered the main pressure for most shallow lakes, wind-driven resuspension can cause additional problems for these aquatic ecosystems. We quantified the potential effectiveness of measures to reduce the contribution of resuspended sediments, resulting from wind action, to the overall light attenuation for three comparable shallow peat lakes with poor ecological status in the Netherlands: Loosdrecht, Nieuwkoop, and Reeuwijk (1.8–2.7 m depth, 1.6–2.5 km fetch). These measures are: 1. wave reducing barriers, 2. water level fluctuations, 3. capping of the sediment with sand, and 4. combinations of above. Critical shear stress of the sediments for resuspension (Vcrit), size distribution, and optical properties of the suspended material were quantified in the field (June 2009) and laboratory. Water quality monitoring data (2002–2009) showed that light attenuation by organic suspended matter in all lakes is high. Spatial modeling of the impact of these measures showed that in Lake Loosdrecht limiting wave action can have significant effects (reductions from 6% exceedance to 2% exceedance of Vcrit), whereas in Lake Nieuwkoop and Lake Reeuwijk this is less effective. The depth distribution and shape of Lake Nieuwkoop and Lake Reeuwijk limit the role of wind-driven resuspension in the total suspended matter concentration. Although the lakes are similar in general appearance (origin, size, and depth range) measures suitable to improve their ecological status differ. This calls for care when defining the programme of measures to improve the ecological status of a specific lake based on experience from other lakes.

ETICA Workshop on Computer Ethics: Exploring Normative Issues

The ETICA project aims to identify emerging information and communication technologies. These technologies are then analysed and evaluated from an ethical perspective. The aim of this analysis is to suggest possible governance arrangements that will allow paying proactive attention to such ethical issues. During the ETICA workshop at the summer school, participants were asked to choose one of the 11 technologies that ETICA had identified. For each of these technologies there was a detailed description developed by work package 1 of the project. Workshop participants were asked to reflect on the ethical issues they saw as relevant and likely to arise from the technology. This paper discusses the ethical views of the workshop participants and contrasts them with the findings of the ethical analysis within the ETICA project

Роль страдающей депрессией матери в развитии личности ребенка

С позиций психодинамического подхода показана роль страдающей депрессией матери в формировании личности ребенка на первых этапах его постнатального развития и ее влияние на его психическое здоровье в дальнейшем.The role of the mother with depression in development of the child's personality at the first stages of the postnatal period as well as its influence on his/her mental state in future are shown from the perspective of a psychodynamic approach

Discontinuous Galerkin method for multifluid Euler equations

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/106454/1/AIAA2013-2595.pd

Воспитание толерантности в процессе преподавания гуманитарных дисциплин

Objective: To assess whether patient characteristics add to the fetal fibronectin test and cervical length measurement in the prediction of preterm delivery in symptomatic women. Study design: A nationwide prospective cohort study was conducted in all ten perinatal centres in the Netherlands. Women with symptoms of preterm labour between 24 and 34 weeks gestation with intact membranes were invited. In all women qualitative fibronectin testing (0.050 tig/mL cut-off) and cervical length measurement were performed. Only singleton pregnancies were included in this analysis. Logistic regression was used to construct two multivariable models to predict spontaneously delivery within 7 days: a model including cervical length and fetal fibronectin as predictors, and an extended model including all potential predictors. The models were internally validated using bootstrapping techniques. Predictive performances were assessed as the area under the receiver operator characteristic curve (AUC) and calibration plots. We compared the models' capability to identify women with a low risk to deliver within 7 days. A risk less than 5%, corresponding to the risk for women with a cervical length of at least 25 mm, was considered as low risk. Results: Seventy-three of 600 included women (12%) had delivered spontaneously within 7 days. The extended model included maternal age, parity, previous preterm delivery, vaginal bleeding, C-reactive protein, cervical length, dilatation and fibronectin status. Both models had high discriminative performances (AUC of 0.92 (95% CI 0.88-0.95) and 0.95 (95% CI 0.92-0.97) respectively). Compared to the model with fibronectin and cervical length, our extended model reclassified 38 women (6%) from low risk to high risk and 21 women (4%) from high risk to low risk. Preterm delivery within 7 days occurred once in both the reclassification groups. Conclusion: In women with symptoms of preterm labour before 34 weeks gestation, a model that integrates maternal characteristics, clinical signs and laboratory tests, did not predict delivery within 7 days better than a model with only fibronectin and cervical length. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved

Abstracts from the 8th International Conference on cGMP Generators, Effectors and Therapeutic Implications

This work was supported by a restricted research grant of Bayer AG