University of Vienna

About: University of Vienna is a education organization based out in Vienna, Austria. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Context (language use). The organization has 44686 authors who have published 95840 publications receiving 2907492 citations.

Would-Be Worlds: How Simulation Is Changing the Frontiers of Science

Abstract: From the Publisher: In Would-Be Worlds, acclaimed author John Casti takes readers on a fascinating excursion through a number of remarkable silicon microworlds and shows us how they are being used to formulate important new theories and to solve a host of practical problems. We visit Tierra, a "computerized terrarium" in which artificial life forms known as biomorphs grow and mutate, revealing new insights into natural selection and evolution. We play a game of Balance of Power, a simulation of the complex forces shaping geopolitics. And we take a drive through TRANSIMS, a model of the city of Albuquerque, New Mexico, to discover the root causes of events like traffic jams and accidents. Along the way, Casti probes the answers to a host of profound questions these "would-be worlds" raise about the new science of simulation.

Prevalence of flat foot in preschool-aged children.

Abstract: OBJECTIVES. Our aim with this study was to establish the prevalence of flat foot in a population of 3- to 6-year-old children to evaluate cofactors such as age, weight, and gender and to estimate the number of unnecessary treatments performed. METHODS. A total of 835 children (411 girls and 424 boys) were included in this study. The clinical diagnosis of flat foot was based on a valgus position of the heel and a poor formation of the arch. Feet of the children were scanned (while they were in a standing position) by using a laser surface scanner, and rearfoot angle was measured. Rearfoot angle was defined as the angle of the upper Achilles tendon and the distal extension of the rearfoot. RESULTS. Prevalence of flexible flat foot in the group of 3- to 6-year-old children was 44%. Prevalence of pathological flat foot was CONCLUSIONS. This study is the first to use a three-dimensional laser surface scanner to measure the rearfoot valgus in preschool-aged children. The data demonstrate that the prevalence of flat foot is influenced by 3 factors: age, gender, and weight. In overweight children and in boys, a highly significant prevalence of flat foot was observed; in addition, a retarded development of the medial arch in the boys was discovered. At the time of the study, >90% of the treatments were unnecessary.

Evolution, nucleosynthesis, and yields of low-mass asymptotic giant branch stars at different metallicities

Abstract: The envelope of thermally pulsing asymptotic giant branch (TP-AGB) stars undergoing periodic third dredge-up (TDU) episodes is enriched in both light and heavy elements, the ashes of a complex internal nucleosynthesis involving p, α, and n captures over hundreds of stable and unstable isotopes. In this paper, new models of low-mass AGB stars (2 M ☉), with metallicity ranging between Z = 0.0138 (the solar one) and Z = 0.0001, are presented. Main features are (1) a full nuclear network (from H to Bi) coupled to the stellar evolution code, (2) a mass loss-period-luminosity relation, based on available data for long-period variables, and (3) molecular and atomic opacities for C- and/or N-enhanced mixtures, appropriate for the chemical modifications of the envelope caused by the TDU. For each model, a detailed description of the physical and chemical evolutions is presented; moreover, we present a uniform set of yields, comprehensive of all chemical species (from hydrogen to bismuth). The main nucleosynthesis site is the thin 13C pocket, which forms in the core-envelope transition region after each TDU episode. The formation of this 13C pocket is the principal by-product of the introduction of a new algorithm, which shapes the velocity profile of convective elements at the inner border of the convective envelope: both the physical grounds and the calibration of the algorithm are discussed in detail. We find that the pockets shrink (in mass) as the star climbs the AGB, so that the first pockets, the largest ones, leave the major imprint on the overall nucleosynthesis. Neutrons are released by the 13C(α, n)16O reaction during the interpulse phase in radiative conditions, when temperatures within the pockets attain T ~ 1.0 × 108 K, with typical densities of (106-107) neutrons cm–3. Exceptions are found, as in the case of the first pocket of the metal-rich models (Z = 0.0138, Z = 0.006 and Z = 0.003), where the 13C is only partially burned during the interpulse: the surviving part is ingested in the convective zone generated by the subsequent thermal pulse (TP) and then burned at T ~ 1.5 × 108 K, thus producing larger neutron densities (up to 1011 neutrons cm–3). An additional neutron exposure, caused by the 22Ne(α, n)25Mg during the TPs, is marginally activated at large Z, but becomes an important nucleosynthesis source at low Z, when most of the 22Ne is primary. The final surface compositions of the various models reflect the differences in the initial iron-seed content and in the physical structure of AGB stars belonging to different stellar populations. Thus, at large metallicities the nucleosynthesis of light s-elements (Sr, Y, Zr) is favored, whilst, decreasing the iron content, the overproduction of heavy s-elements (Ba, La, Ce, Nd, Sm) and lead becomes progressively more important. At low metallicities (Z = 0.0001) the main product is lead. The agreement with the observed [hs/ls] index observed in intrinsic C stars at different [Fe/H] is generally good. For the solar metallicity model, we found an interesting overproduction of some radioactive isotopes, like 60Fe, as a consequence of the anomalous first 13C pocket. Finally, light elements (C, F, Ne, and Na) are enhanced at any metallicity.

Entropy dissipation methods for degenerate parabolic problems and generalized Sobolev inequalities

Abstract: We analyse the large-time asymptotics of quasilinear (possibly) degenerate parabolic systems in three cases: 1) scalar problems with confinement by a uniformly convex potential, 2) unconfined scalar equations and 3) unconfined systems. In particular we are interested in the rate of decay to equilibrium or self-similar solutions. The main analytical tool is based on the analysis of the entropy dissipation. In the scalar case this is done by proving decay of the entropy dissipation rate and bootstrapping back to show convergence of the relative entropy to zero. As by-product, this approach gives generalized Sobolev-inequalities, which interpolate between the Gross logarithmic Sobolev inequality and the classical Sobolev inequality. The time decay of the solutions of the degenerate systems is analyzed by means of a generalisation of the Nash inequality. Porous media, fast diffusion, p-Laplace and energy transport systems are included in the considered class of problems. A generalized Csiszar–Kullback inequality allows for an estimation of the decay to equilibrium in terms of the relative entropy.