Local thermal energy as a structural indicator in glasses

Identifying heterogeneous structures in glasses --- such as localized soft spots --- and understanding structure-dynamics relations in these systems remain major scientific challenges. Here we derive an exact expression for the local thermal energy of interacting particles (the mean local potential energy change due to thermal fluctuations) in glassy systems by a systematic low-temperature expansion. We show that the local thermal energy can attain anomalously large values, inversely related to the degree of softness of localized structures in a glass, determined by a coupling between internal stresses --- an intrinsic signature of glassy frustration ---, anharmonicity and low-frequency vibrational modes. These anomalously large values follow a fat-tailed distribution, with a universal exponent related to the recently observed universal $\omega^4$ density of states of quasi-localized low-frequency vibrational modes. When the spatial thermal energy field --- a `softness field' --- is considered, this power-law tail manifests itself by highly localized spots which are significantly softer than their surroundings. These soft spots are shown to be susceptible to plastic rearrangements under external driving forces, having predictive powers that surpass those of the normal-modes-based approach. These results offer a general, system/model-independent, physical-observable-based approach to identify structural properties of quiescent glasses and to relate them to glassy dynamics.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures + Supporting Information, shorter title, minor textual change

The Physics Case for the New Muon (g-2) Experiment

This White Paper briefly reviews the present status of the muon (g-2) experiment and the physics motivation for a new effort. The present comparison between experiment and theory indicates a tantalizing $3.4 \sigma$ deviation. An improvement in precision on this comparison by a factor of 2--with the central value remaining unchanged--will exceed the ``discovery'' threshold, with a sensitivity above $6 \sigma$. The 2.5-fold reduction improvement goal of the new Brookhaven E969 experiment, along with continued steady reduction of the standard model theory uncertainty, will achieve this more definitive test. Already, the (g-2) result is arguably the most compelling indicator of physics beyond the standard model and, at the very least, it represents a major constraint for speculative new theories such as supersymmetry or extra dimensions. In this report, we summarize the present experimental status and provide an up-to-date accounting of the standard model theory, including the expectations for improvement in the hadronic contributions, which dominate the overall uncertainty. Our primary focus is on the physics case that motivates improved experimental and theoretical efforts. Accordingly, we give examples of specific new-physics implications in the context of direct searches at the LHC as well as general arguments about the role of an improved (g-2) measurement. A brief summary of the plans for an upgraded effort complete the report.Comment: 18 pages, 7 figure

The processing of ambiguous sentences by first and second language learners of English

This study compares the way English-speaking children and adult second language learners of English resolve relative clause attachment ambiguities in sentences such as The dean liked the secretary of the professor who was reading a letter. Two groups of advanced L2 learners of English with Greek or German as their L1 participated in a set of off-line and on-line tasks. While the participants ' disambiguation preferences were influenced by lexical-semantic properties of the preposition linking the two potential antecedent NPs (of vs. with), there was no evidence that they were applying any structure-based ambiguity resolution strategies of the type that have been claimed to influence sentence processing in monolingual adults. These findings differ markedly from those obtained from 6 to 7 yearold monolingual English children in a parallel auditory study (Felser, Marinis, & Clahsen, submitted) in that the children's attachment preferences were not affected by the type of preposition at all. We argue that whereas children primarily rely on structure-based parsing principles during processing, adult L2 learners are guided mainly by non-structural informatio

Experimental Methods in IIR: The Tension between Rigour and Ethics in Studies Involving Users with Dyslexia

Designing user studies in the interactive information retrieval (IIR) paradigm on people with impairments may sometimes require different methodological considerations than for other users. Consequently, there may be a tension between what the community regards as being a rigorous methodology against what researchers can do ethically with their users. This paper discusses issues to consider when designing IIR studies involving people with dyslexia, such as sampling, informed consent and data collection. The conclusion is that conducting user studies on participants with dyslexia requires special considerations at all stages of the experimental design. The purpose of this paper is to raise awareness and understanding in the research community about experimental methods involving users with dyslexia, and addresses researchers, as well as editors and reviewers. Several of the issues raised do not only apply to people with dyslexia, but have implications when researching other groups, for instance elderly people and users with learning, cognitive, sensory or motor impairments

The 99th percentile of reference population for cTnI and cTnT assay: Methodology, pathophysiology and clinical implications

According to recent international guidelines, including the 2012 Third Universal Definiton of Myocardial Infarction by the Joint ESC/ACCF/AHA/WHF Task Force, an increase in cardiac troponin (cTn) levels over the 99th percentile upper reference limit (99th URL) should be considered clinically relevant, this cut-off being measured with an imprecision â\u89¤10 CV%. In theory 99th URL values strongly depend not only on demographic and physiological variables (i.e. criteria for considering the reference population "healthy"), but also on the analytical performance of cTn methods and mathematical algorithms used for the calculation. The aim of the present article was therefore to review the methodological and pathophysiological factors affecting the evaluation and calculation of the 99th URL for cTn assay. The critical analysis made showed that no uniform procedure is followed, and nor have experts or regulatory bodies provided uniform guidelines for researchers or cTn assays manufacturers as an aid in "their quest to define normality". In particular, little attention has been paid to the way in which a healthy reference population is to be selected, or the criteria for calculating the 99th URL value for cTn assays, thus highlighting the need for international recommendations not only for demographic and physiological variables criteria for defining a healthy reference population, but also for calculating mathematical algorithms for establishing/calculating clinical decision values. An expert consensus group, comprising laboratory and clinical scientists, biomedical statisticians, industrial and regulatory representatives, should be responsible for drawing up these guidelines

The GALEX Extended Mission: Surveying UV Tracers of the Hidden Side of Galaxy Evolution

The Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX) continues its surveys of the ultraviolet sky. GALEX surveys have supported the following galaxy evolution investigations: calibrating UV as a star formation rate tracer, using wide and deep surveys to measure star formation history, studying the evolution of dust extinction and metallicity, selecting and analyzing galaxies in transitory states, finding local analogs to Lyman Break Galaxies, probing and time-dating star formation in a wide variety of physical regimes. Our continuing mission is focussed on relating star formation history and galaxy evolution paths to the properties of dark matter halos and their assembly history, and on beginning to relate the evolution of galaxies to that of black holes and the intergalactic medium. GALEX has proven that the UV is an ideal band to find and map star formation in low mass, low density objects, and potentially in primordial gas. With future UV missions it may be possible to map emission from the intergalactic and circum-galactic medium, and make a definitive connection between galaxy evolution and the cooling, accretion, heating, and enrichment of gas in the cosmic web