Numerical investigation of iso-spectral cavities built from trinagles

We present computational approaches as alternatives to a recent microwave cavity experiment by S. Sridhar and A. Kudrolli [Phys. Rev. Lett. 72, 2175 (1994)] on isospectral cavities built from triangles. A straightforward proof of isospectrality is given, based on the mode-matching method. Our results show that the experiment is accurate to 0.3% for the first 25 states. The level statistics resemble those of a Gaussian orthogonal ensemble when the integrable part of the spectrum is removed.

Understanding quantum wires with circular bends

It is shown that propagation around a circular bend in a quantum wire is well approximated by a one¿dimensional problem with a square¿well potential replacing the bend. Simple analytic expressions are obtained for the transmission and bound states.

Variational study of 3He-4He mixtures

The ground-state properties of the 3He-4He mixture are investigated by assuming the wave function to be a product of pair correlations. The antisymmetry of the 3He component is taken into account by Fermi-hypernetted-chain techniques and the results are compared with those obtained from the lowest-order Wu-Feenberg expansion and the boson-boson approximation. A little improvement is found in the 3He maximum solubility. A microscopic theory to calculate 3He static properties such as zero-concentration chemical potential and excess-volume parameter is derived and the results are compared with the experiments.

Quantum wire with periodic serial structure

Electron wave motion in a quantum wire with periodic structure is treated by direct solution of the Schrödinger equation as a mode-matching problem. Our method is particularly useful for a wire consisting of several distinct units, where the total transfer matrix for wave propagation is just the product of those for its basic units. It is generally applicable to any linearly connected serial device, and it can be implemented on a small computer. The one-dimensional mesoscopic crystal recently considered by Ulloa, Castaño, and Kirczenow [Phys. Rev. B 41, 12 350 (1990)] is discussed with our method, and is shown to be a strictly one-dimensional problem. Electron motion in the multiple-stub T-shaped potential well considered by Sols et al. [J. Appl. Phys. 66, 3892 (1989)] is also treated. A structure combining features of both of these is investigated.

L'Obra mèdica catalana de dos cirurgians del 1700: Anton de Borja i Carles Pallejà

En aquest llibre trobem l'obra de 1672 "Principios de cirugía útiles y provechosos, para que puedan aprovecharse los principiantes en esta facultad" del cirurgià espanyol Jerónimo de Ayala. És una còpia editada per Carles Pallejà a partir d'una traducció d'Anton de Borja.Tot plegat ve presentat i acompanyat d'un estudi de l'autor, Pere Vallribera, així com d'una crítica històrica del text original i el seu context.

Estudi de la zona de finalització més eficaç per guanyar el punt mitjançant l'atac de dreta en el tennis de taula

L’objectiu d’aquest estudi és determinar la zona més efectiva per guanyar el punt mitjançant l’atac de dreta en el tennis de taula. S’utilitza una adaptació del sistema d’anàlisi dels tres nivells d’habilitat, proposat pels acadèmics xinesos Wu i Li (1990) per tal de classificar els punts de la forma que ens permetin analitzar les zones de finalització i les formes com s’obtenen els punts. L’estudi analitza cinc partits dels sis millors jugadors del rànquing mundial de la ITTF. El resultat de l’estudi és que la zona de finalització més eficaç per obtenir el punt mitjançant l’atac de dreta és la zona 1 de la taula del rival.

Application of Multi-SNP Approaches Bayesian LASSO and AUC-RF to Detect Main Effects of Inflammatory-Gene Variants Associated with Bladder Cancer Risk

The relationship between inflammation and cancer is well established in several tumor types, including bladder cancer. We performed an association study between 886 inflammatory-gene variants and bladder cancer risk in 1,047 cases and 988 controls from the Spanish Bladder Cancer (SBC)/EPICURO Study. A preliminary exploration with the widely used univariate logistic regression approach did not identify any significant SNP after correcting for multiple testing. We further applied two more comprehensive methods to capture the complexity of bladder cancer genetic susceptibility: Bayesian Threshold LASSO (BTL), a regularized regression method, and AUC-Random Forest, a machine-learning algorithm. Both approaches explore the joint effect of markers. BTL analysis identified a signature of 37 SNPs in 34 genes showing an association with bladder cancer. AUC-RF detected an optimal predictive subset of 56 SNPs. 13 SNPs were identified by both methods in the total population. Using resources from the Texas Bladder Cancer study we were able to replicate 30% of the SNPs assessed. The associations between inflammatory SNPs and bladder cancer were reexamined among non-smokers to eliminate the effect of tobacco, one of the strongest and most prevalent environmental risk factor for this tumor. A 9 SNP-signature was detected by BTL. Here we report, for the first time, a set of SNP in inflammatory genes jointly associated with bladder cancer risk. These results highlight the importance of the complex structure of genetic susceptibility associated with cancer risk.

A non-extensive maximum entropy based regulations method for bad conditioned inverse problems

A regularization method based on the non-extensive maximum entropy principle is devised. Special emphasis is given to the q=1/2 case. We show that, when the residual principle is considered as constraint, the q=1/2 generalized distribution of Tsallis yields a regularized solution for bad-conditioned problems. The so devised regularized distribution is endowed with a component which corresponds to the well known regularized solution of Tikhonov (1977).

Electronic properties of a quantum wire with arbitrary bending angle

The electron transmission and bound state properties of a quantum wire with a sharp bend at arbitrary angle are studied, extending results on the right angle sharp bend (the L¿shaped wire). These new results are compared to those of a similar structure, the circular bend wire. The possibility of using a bent wire to perform transistor action is also discussed.

Comunicación, identidad y fútbol: la relación entre el Barça y la sociedad barcelonesa

Análisis de la importancia del Barça como una institución nacionalista. Por su identidad especial que lo ha convertido en un símbolo importante dentro de Cataluña, como un puente entre deporte y sociedad, deporte y política.

Predictors and consequences of adherence to the treatment of pediatric patients with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in Central Europe and East Asia.

PURPOSE: To assess baseline predictors and consequences of medication non-adherence in the treatment of pediatric patients with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) from Central Europe and East Asia. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Data for this post-hoc analysis were taken from a 1-year prospective, observational study that included a total of 1,068 newly-diagnosed pediatric patients with ADHD symptoms from Central Europe and East Asia. Medication adherence during the week prior to each visit was assessed by treating physicians using a 5-point Likert scale, and then dichotomized into either adherent or non-adherent. Clinical severity was measured by the Clinical Global Impressions-ADHD-Severity (CGI-ADHD) scale and the Child Symptom Inventory-4 (CSI-4) Checklist. Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) was measured using the Child Health and Illness Profile-Child Edition (CHIP-CE). Regression analyses were used to assess baseline predictors of overall adherence during follow-up, and the impact of time-varying adherence on subsequent outcomes: response (defined as a decrease of at least 1 point in CGI), changes in CGI-ADHD, CSI-4, and the five dimensions of CHIP-CE. RESULTS: Of the 860 patients analyzed, 64.5% (71.6% in Central Europe and 55.5% in East Asia) were rated as adherent and 35.5% as non-adherent during follow-up. Being from East Asia was found to be a strong predictor of non-adherence. In East Asia, a family history of ADHD and parental emotional distress were associated with non-adherence, while having no other children living at home was associated with non-adherence in Central Europe as well as in the overall sample. Non-adherence was associated with poorer response and less improvement on CGI-ADHD and CSI-4, but not on CHIP-CE. CONCLUSION: Non-adherence to medication is common in the treatment of ADHD, particularly in East Asia. Non-adherence was associated with poorer response and less improvement in clinical severity. A limitation of this study is that medication adherence was assessed by the treating clinician using a single item question.

La adquisición de la interrogación: las interrogativas parciales en catalán y castellano = The acquisition of interrogatives:Wh-questions in Catalan and Spanish

En este trabajo se describe la naturaleza y secuencia de adquisición de las preguntas interrogativas parcialesen niños de habla catalana y/o castellana dentro de un marco de análisis según el cual la adquisición de lasestructuras lingüísticas se construye gradualmente desde estructuras concretas hasta estructuras más abstractas.La muestra utilizada se compone de 10 niños y niñas procedentes de corpus longitudinales cuyas edades van delos 17 meses a los 3 años. El análisis se ha realizado atendiendo a la estructura sintáctica de la oración, loserrores, los pronombres y adverbios interrogativos, y la tipología verbal. Los resultados muestran que la secuenciade adquisición pasa por un momento inicial caracterizado por producciones estereotipadas o fórmulas,durante el cual sólo aparecen algunas partículas interrogativas en estructuras muy concretas. Posteriormente lainterrogación aparece con otros pronombres y adverbios y se diversifica a otros verbos, además, no se observanerrores en la construcción sintáctica. Estos resultados suponen un hecho diferencial respecto de estudios previos enlengua inglesa