Rotating Boson Stars in 5 Dimensions

We study rotating boson stars in five spacetime dimensions. The boson fields consist of a complex doublet scalar field. Considering boson stars rotating in two orthogonal planes with both angular momenta of equal magnitude, a special ansatz for the boson field and the metric allows for solutions with nontrivial dependence on the radial coordinate only. The charge of the scalar field equals the sum of the angular momenta. The rotating boson stars are globally regular and asymptotically flat. For our choice of a sixtic potential the rotating boson star solutions possess a flat spacetime limit. We study the solutions in flat and curved spacetime.Comment: 17 pages, 6 figure

Influence of culture on pain comorbidity in women with and without temporomandibular disorder-pain

Evidence on cultural differences in prevalence and impact of common chronic pain conditions, comparing individuals with temporomandibular disorders (TMD) versus individuals without TMD, is limited. The aim was to assess cross-cultural comorbid pain conditions in women with chronic TMD pain. Consecutive women patients (n = 122) with the index condition of chronic TMD pain diagnosed per the research diagnostic criteria for TMD and TMD-free controls (n = 121) matched for age were recruited in Saudi Arabia, Italy and Sweden. Self-report questionnaires assessed back, chest, stomach and head pain for prevalence, pain intensity and interference with daily activities. Logistic regression was used for binary variables, and ancova was used for parametric data analysis, adjusting for age and education. Back pain was the only comorbid condition with a different prevalence across cultures; Swedes reported a lower prevalence compared to Saudis (P 50% due to back pain compared to Italians or Swedes (P < 0·01). Headache was the most common comorbid condition in all three cultures. The total number of comorbid conditions did not differ cross-culturally but were reported more by TMD-pain cases than TMD-free controls (P < 0·01). For both back and head pain, higher average pain intensities (P < 0·01) and interference with daily activities (P < 0·01) were reported by TMD-pain cases, compared to TMD-free controls. Among TMD-pain cases, Italians reported the highest pain-related disability (P < 0·01). Culture influences the associated comorbidity of common pain conditions. The cultural influence on pain expression is reflected in different patterns of physical representation

Structural health monitoring of the Tamar suspension bridge

This is the peer reviewed version of the article, which has been published in final form at DOI 10.1002/stc.1481. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving.This paper presents experiences and lessons from the structural health monitoring practice on the Tamar Bridge in Plymouth, UK, a 335-m span suspension bridge opened in 1961. After 40 years of operations, the bridge was strengthened and widened in 2001 to meet a European Union Directive to carry heavy goods vehicles up to 40 tonnes by a process in which additional stay cables and cantilever decks were added and the composite deck was replaced with a lightweight orthotropic steel deck. At that time, a structural monitoring system comprising wind, temperature, cable tension and deck level sensors was installed to monitor the bridge behaviour during and after the upgrading. In 2006 and 2009, respectively, a dynamic response monitoring system with real-time modal parameter identification and a robotic total station were added to provide a more complete picture of the bridge behaviour, and in 2006 a one-day ambient vibration survey of the bridge was carried out to characterize low-frequency vibration modes of the suspended structure. Practical aspects of the instrumentation, data processing and data management are discussed, and some key response observations are presented. The bridge is a surprisingly complex structure with a number of inter-linked load-response mechanisms evident, all of which have to be characterized as part of a long-term structural health monitoring exercise. Structural temperature leading to thermal expansion of the deck, main cables and additional stays is a major factor on global deformation, whereas vehicle loading and wind are usually secondary factors. Dynamic response levels and modal parameters show apparently complex relationships among themselves and with the quasi-static load and response. As well as the challenges of fusing and managing data from three distinct but parallel monitoring systems, there is a significant challenge in interpreting the load and response data firstly to diagnose the normal service behaviour and secondly to identify performance anomalies. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

Rotating Boson Stars and Q-Balls

We consider axially symmetric, rotating boson stars. Their flat space limits represent spinning Q-balls. We discuss their properties and determine their domain of existence. Q-balls and boson stars are stationary solutions and exist only in a limited frequency range. The coupling to gravity gives rise to a spiral-like frequency dependence of the boson stars. We address the flat space limit and the limit of strong gravitational coupling. For comparison we also determine the properties of spherically symmetric Q-balls and boson stars.Comment: 22 pages, 18 figure

A cross-linguistic database of phonetic transcription systems

Contrary to what non-practitioners might expect, the systems of phonetic notation used by linguists are highly idiosyncratic. Not only do various linguistic subfields disagree on the specific symbols they use to denote the speech sounds of languages, but also in large databases of sound inventories considerable variation can be found. Inspired by recent efforts to link cross-linguistic data with help of reference catalogues (Glottolog, Concepticon) across different resources, we present initial efforts to link different phonetic notation systems to a catalogue of speech sounds. This is achieved with the help of a database accompanied by a software framework that uses a limited but easily extendable set of non-binary feature values to allow for quick and convenient registration of different transcription systems, while at the same time linking to additional datasets with restricted inventories. Linking different transcription systems enables us to conveniently translate between different phonetic transcription systems, while linking sounds to databases allows users quick access to various kinds of metadata, including feature values, statistics on phoneme inventories, and information on prosody and sound classes. In order to prove the feasibility of this enterprise, we supplement an initial version of our cross-linguistic database of phonetic transcription systems (CLTS), which currently registers five transcription systems and links to fifteen datasets, as well as a web application, which permits users to conveniently test the power of the automatic translation across transcription systems

Variations in coastal temperatures on the southern and central California coast

The results of a time series analysis of several years of coastal ocean temperature records are presented for discussion. The records have been analyzed by using digital filtering, covariance and spectral analysis. The low-frequency component of the temperature signal shows a strong seasonal component in southern California. There is little seasonal fluctuation between Point Conception and Pacific Grove. A period of midwinter warming is apparent in southern California. Intermediate frequency components show strong correlations in southern California with the presence of distinct and substantial temperature events occurring almost simultaneously over distances of the order of 200 km. High-frequency components have a large standard deviation in summer (0.8°C) and a low standard deviation in winter (0.4°C); these components are uncorrelated at stations even a few miles apart. Some coastal stations show a strong possible diurnal component; others, including the offshore islands, show no such components. Morro Bay appears to have an extraordinarily large diurnal component of temperature fluctuation. No attempt has been made in this paper to relate these phenomena to other oceanographic or meteorological variables

Phases and geometry of the N=1 A_2 quiver gauge theory and matrix models

We study the phases and geometry of the N=1 A_2 quiver gauge theory using matrix models and a generalized Konishi anomaly. We consider the theory both in the Coulomb and Higgs phases. Solving the anomaly equations, we find that a meromorphic one-form sigma(z)dz is naturally defined on the curve Sigma associated to the theory. Using the Dijkgraaf-Vafa conjecture, we evaluate the effective low-energy superpotential and demonstrate that its equations of motion can be translated into a geometric property of Sigma: sigma(z)dz has integer periods around all compact cycles. This ensures that there exists on Sigma a meromorphic function whose logarithm sigma(z)dz is the differential. We argue that the surface determined by this function is the N=2 Seiberg-Witten curve of the theory.Comment: 41 pages, 2 figures, JHEP style. v2: references adde

Reasoning with comparative moral judgements: an argument for Moral Bayesianism

The paper discusses the notion of reasoning with comparative moral judgements (i.e judgements of the form “act a is morally superior to act b”) from the point of view of several meta-ethical positions. Using a simple formal result, it is argued that only a version of moral cognitivism that is committed to the claim that moral beliefs come in degrees can give a normatively plausible account of such reasoning. Some implications of accepting such a version of moral cognitivism are discussed

The effect of culture on pain sensitivity

Cross-cultural differences in pain sensitivity have been identified in pain-free subjects as well as in chronic pain patients. The aim was to assess the impact of culture on psychophysical measures using mechanical and electrical stimuli in patients with temporomandibular disorder (TMD) pain and pain-free matched controls in three cultures. This case-control study compared 122 female cases of chronic TMD pain (39 Saudis, 41 Swedes and 42 Italians) with equal numbers of age- and gender-matched TMD-free controls. Pressure pain threshold (PPT) and tolerance (PPTo) were measured over one hand and two masticatory muscles. Electrical perception threshold and electrical pain threshold (EPT) and tolerance (EPTo) were recorded between the thumb and index fingers. Italian females reported significantly lower PPT in the masseter muscle than other cultures (P < 0.001) and in the temporalis muscle than Saudis (P = 0.003). Swedes reported significantly higher PPT in the thenar muscle than other cultures (P = 0.017). Italians reported significantly lower PPTo in all muscles than Swedes (P ≤ 0.006) and in the masseter muscle than Saudis (P < 0.001). Italians reported significantly lower EPTo than other cultures (P = 0.01). Temporomandibular disorder cases, compared to TMD-free controls, reported lower PPT and PPTo in all the three muscles (P < 0.001). This study found cultural differences between groups in the PPT, PPTo and EPTo. Overall, Italian females reported the highest sensitivity to both mechanical and electrical stimulation, while Swedes reported the lowest sensitivity. Mechanical pain thresholds differed more across cultures than did electrical pain thresholds. Cultural factors may influence response to type of pain test

On narrowing coated conductor film: emergence of granularity-induced field hysteresis of transport critical current

Critical current density Jc in polycrystalline or granular superconducting material is known to be hysteretic with applied field H due to the focusing of field within the boundary between adjacent grains. This is of concern in the so-called coated conductors wherein superconducting film is grown on a granular, but textured surface of a metal substrate. While previous work has mainly been on Jc determined using induced or magnetization currents, the present work utilizes transport current via an applied potential in strip geometry. It is observed that the effect is not as pronounced using transport current, probably due to a large difference in criterion voltage between the two types of measurements. However, when the films are narrowed by patterning into 200-, 100-, or 80-micron, the hysteresis is clearly seen, because of the forcing of percolation across higher-angle grain boundaries. This effect is compared for films grown on ion-beam-assisted-deposited (IBAD) YSZ substrate and those grown on rolling-assisted-biaxially-textures substrates (RABiTS) which have grains that are about ten times larger. The hysteresis is more pronounced for the latter, which is more likely to have a weak grain boundary spanning the width of the microbridge. This is also of concern to applications in which coated conductors will be striated in order to reduce of AC losses.Comment: text-only: 10 pages, plus 5 figures on 5 page