Combinatorial Tools for Regge Calculus

In this short note we briefly review some recent mathematical results relevant to the classical Regge Calculus evolution problem.Comment: 5 pages, LaTeX, no figures. To appear on the Proceedings of the 12th Italian Conference on General Relativity and Gravitational Physic

A Novel Vectorcardiogram System

This paper presents the proof-of-concept investigation for a miniaturized vectorcardiogram [VCG] system for ambulatory on-body applications that continuously monitors the electrical activity of the heart in three dimensions. We investigate the minimum distance between a pair of leads in the X, Y and Z axes such that the signals are distinguishable from the noise. The target dimensions for our VCG are 3x3x2 cm and, based on our preliminary results, it is possible to achieve these dimensions. The next step in our research is to build the miniaturized VCG system that includes processing, learning and communication capabilities

Explicitly symmetrical treatment of three-body phase space

We derive expressions for three-body phase space that are explicitly symmetrical in the masses of the three particles. We study geometrical properties of the variables involved in elliptic integrals and demonstrate that it is convenient to use the Jacobian zeta function to express the results in four and six dimensions.Comment: 20 pages, latex, 2 postscript figure

Tuberculosis incidence correlates with sunshine : an ecological 28-year time series study

Birmingham is the largest UK city after London, and central Birmingham has an annual tuberculosis incidence of 80 per 100,000. We examined seasonality and sunlight as drivers of tuberculosis incidence. Hours of sunshine are seasonal, sunshine exposure is necessary for the production of vitamin D by the body and vitamin D plays a role in the host response to tuberculosis. Methods: We performed an ecological study that examined tuberculosis incidence in Birmingham from Dec 1981 to Nov 2009, using publicly-available data from statutory tuberculosis notifications, and related this to the seasons and hours of sunshine (UK Meteorological Office data) using unmeasured component models. Results: There were 9,739 tuberculosis cases over the study period. There was strong evidence for seasonality, with notifications being 24.1% higher in summer than winter (p<0.001). Winter dips in sunshine correlated with peaks in tuberculosis incidence six months later (4.7% increase in incidence for each 100 hours decrease in sunshine, p<0.001). Discussion and Conclusion: A potential mechanism for these associations includes decreased vitamin D levels with consequent impaired host defence arising from reduced sunshine exposure in winter. This is the longest time series of any published study and our use of statutory notifications means this data is essentially complete. We cannot, however, exclude the possibility that another factor closely correlated with the seasons, other than sunshine, is responsible. Furthermore, exposure to sunlight depends not only on total hours of sunshine but also on multiple individual factors. Our results should therefore be considered hypothesis-generating. Confirmation of a potential causal relationship between winter vitamin D deficiency and summer peaks in tuberculosis incidence would require a randomized-controlled trial of the effect of vitamin D supplementation on future tuberculosis incidence

Seasonlity of Kawasaki Disease: A global perspective

The authors are for the Kawasaki Disease Global Climate ConsortiumBACKGROUND: Understanding global seasonal patterns of Kawasaki disease (KD) may provide insight into the etiology of this vasculitis that is now the most common cause of acquired heart disease in children in developed countries worldwide. METHODS: Data from 1970-2012 from 25 countries distributed over the globe were analyzed for seasonality. The number of KD cases from each location was normalized to minimize the influence of greater numbers from certain locations. The presence of seasonal variation of KD at the individual locations was evaluated using three different tests: time series modeling, spectral analysis, and a Monte Carlo technique. RESULTS: A defined seasonal structure emerged demonstrating broad coherence in fluctuations in KD cases across the Northern Hemisphere extra-tropical latitudes. In the extra-tropical latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere, KD case numbers were highest in January through March and approximately 40% higher than in the months of lowest case numbers from August through October. Datasets were much sparser in the tropics and the Southern Hemisphere extra-tropics and statistical significance of the seasonality tests was weak, but suggested a maximum in May through June, with approximately 30% higher number of cases than in the least active months of February, March and October. The seasonal pattern in the Northern Hemisphere extra-tropics was consistent across the first and second halves of the sample period. CONCLUSION: Using the first global KD time series, analysis of sites located in the Northern Hemisphere extra-tropics revealed statistically significant and consistent seasonal fluctuations in KD case numbers with high numbers in winter and low numbers in late summer and fall. Neither the tropics nor the Southern Hemisphere extra-tropics registered a statistically significant aggregate seasonal cycle. These data suggest a seasonal exposure to a KD agent that operates over large geographic regions and is concentrated during winter months in the Northern Hemisphere extra-tropics.published_or_final_versio

Breaking Of Conformal Invariance And Electromagnetic Field Generation In The Universe

It is shown that the breaking of the conformal invariance in quantum electrodynamics due to the trace anomaly results in the generation of long wave electromagnetic fields during inflationary stage of the universe evolution. If the coefficient of the logarithmic charge renormalization is large (due to a large number of charged particles species), these primordial electromagnetic fields can be strong enough to create the observed galactic magnetic fields.Comment: 6 pages, UM - TH - 93 - 0