Systematic Search of Exactly Solvable Non-Central Potentials

Recently developed supersymmetric perturbation theory has been successfully employed to make a complete mathematical analysis the reason behind exact solvability of some non-central potentials. This investigation clarifies once more the effectiveness of the present formalism.Comment: 7 pages, no figure

1881 and 1949 earthquakes at the Chios-Cesme Strait (Aegean Sea) and their relation to tsunamis

The most earthquake-prone areas in the eastern central Aegean Sea are the Izmir Bay, the Karaburun peninsula and the island of Chios. The level of seismic activity and tsunami potential are influenced by the presence of normal faults around the region. There have been about 20 moderate-size earthquakes from 496 BC to 1949 AD. Among these earthquakes, the ones on the dates 20 March 1389, 13 November 1856, 19/22 January 1866, 3 April 1881 and 23 July 1949 produced tsunamis. The Chios-Cesme earthquake (1881, Mw 6.5) took place in the South of the Cesme strait while the Chios-Karaburun earthquake (1949, Mw 6.7) occurred in the North. The tsunamis caused by the earthquakes affected the coasts of Chios Island and Cesme. These waves are thought to be associated with the earthquakes and co-seismic underwater failures possibly occurred along the coasts of the Chios Island and Karaburun Peninsula or on the complex subaqueous morphology between these lands. Some sea waves or oscillations observed following the aftershocks are believed to be related to other natural phenomena; e.g. the seiches occurred mainly in open-narrow bays as triggered by the earthquakes

Direct measurement of molecular stiffness and damping in confined water layers

We present {\em direct} and {\em linear} measurements of the normal stiffness and damping of a confined, few molecule thick water layer. The measurements were obtained by use of a small amplitude (0.36 $\textrm{\AA}$), off-resonance Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) technique. We measured stiffness and damping oscillations revealing up to 7 layers separated by 2.56 $\pm$ 0.20 $\textrm{\AA}$. Relaxation times could also be calculated and were found to indicate a significant slow-down of the dynamics of the system as the confining separation was reduced. We found that the dynamics of the system is determined not only by the interfacial pressure, but more significantly by solvation effects which depend on the exact separation of tip and surface. Thus ` solidification\rq seems to not be merely a result of pressure and confinement, but depends strongly on how commensurate the confining cavity is with the molecule size. We were able to model the results by starting from the simple assumption that the relaxation time depends linearly on the film stiffness.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figures, will be submitted to PR

Quality characteristics and oxidative stabilityof chicken kavurma formulated with chicken abdominal fat as beef fat replacer

Kavurma is a traditional cooked ready-to-eat meat product that mainly produce in Middle East countries. In kavurma formulation, main ingredients are beef/mutton meat, beef/mutton fat and salt. In this regard, fat has high influence on product’s general characteristics. Due to increasing demand on poultry products, food industry working on novel formulations include chicken meat and chicken abdominal fat. Chicken abdominal fat is an important by-product of chicken meat industry and rich in mono and polyunsaturated fatty acids. For this reason, chicken abdominal fat could be used to improve healthier products. In this study, effects of using chicken abdominal fat (CAF) in chicken kavurma formulation as partial beef fat (BF) replacer on pH, color, textural and sensorial quality and oxidative stability during cold storage (4°C) for 3 months was studied. For this purpose, one control (C: 100% BF) sample and four modified samples, P1 (87.5% BF+12.5% CAF), P2 (75% BF+25% CAF), P3 (62.5% BF+37.5% CAF) and P4 (50% BF+50% CAF), were produced. Proximate composition and texture profile analysis of samples were determined after production whereas pH, lipid oxidation parameters, color and sensory properties of samples were performed on days 0, 30, 60 and 90. Using CAF in kavurma formulations more than 25% resulted higher pH drop during storage, and resulted lower taste and general acceptability scores compared to C samples at the end of storage. P2, P3 and P4 samples had lower TBARS value compared to C during storage period probably result of antioxidative antioxidative ingredients in chicken fed. As expected, due to the semi liquid characteristic of CAF, using this fat type resulted softer products. To sum up, using CAF as BF replacer resulted lower TBARS compared to C, but it had some negative influence on sensory and quality characteristics at high ratio

Minimal Scalar Sector of 3-3-1 Models without Exotic Electric Charges

We study the minimal set of Higgs scalars, for models based on the local gauge group $SU(3)_c \otimes SU(3)_L \otimes U(1)_X$ which do not contain particles with exotic electric charges. We show that only two Higgs $SU(3)_L$ triplets are needed in order to properly break the symmetry. The exact tree-level scalar mass matrices resulting from symmetry breaking are calculated at the minimum of the most general scalar potential, and the gauge bosons are obtained, together with their couplings to the physical scalar fields. We show how the scalar sector introduced is enough to produce masses for fermions in a particular model which is an $E_6$ subgroup. By using experimental results we constrain the scale of new physics to be above 1.3 TeV.Comment: LaTeX, 22 pages, 1 figure include

Duality Twists on a Group Manifold

We study duality-twisted dimensional reductions on a group manifold G, where the twist is in a group \tilde{G} and examine the conditions for consistency. We find that if the duality twist is introduced through a group element \tilde{g} in \tilde{G}, then the flat \tilde{G}-connection A =\tilde{g}^{-1} d\tilde{g} must have constant components M_n with respect to the basis 1-forms on G, so that the dependence on the internal coordinates cancels out in the lower dimensional theory. This condition can be satisfied if and only if M_n forms a representation of the Lie algebra of G, which then ensures that the lower dimensional gauge algebra closes. We find the form of this gauge algebra and compare it to that arising from flux compactifications on twisted tori. As an example of our construction, we find a new five dimensional gauged, massive supergravity theory by dimensionally reducing the eight dimensional Type II supergravity on a three dimensional unimodular, non-semi-simple, non-abelian group manifold with an SL(3,R) twist.Comment: 22 page

How to determine an effective potential for a variable cosmological term

It is shown that if a variable cosmological term in the present Universe is described by a scalar field with minimal coupling to gravity and with some phenomenological self-interaction potential $V(\varphi)$, then this potential can be unambiguously determined from the following observational data: either from the behaviour of density perturbations in dustlike matter component as a function of redshift (given the Hubble constant additionally), or from the luminosity distance as a function of redshift (given the present density of dustlike matter in terms of the critical one).Comment: Latex, 7 pages, JETP Lett., in press, 199

A MIXED METHODS APPROACH TO DEVELOPING A SCALE ON PARENTS’ PRACTICES TO REWARD AND PUNISH THEIR CHILDREN

This exploratory mixed method research aimed to develop parent and child forms of a scale to measure parents’ practices to reward and punish their children. For the qualitative strand, semi-structured interviews were conducted with parents (n = 54) and their children (n = 39). The qualitative analysis revealed four major themes regarding parental rewarding practices (material rewards, activity-based rewards, permission, and verbal and emotional rewards) and three major themes regarding parental punishment practices (response cost, verbal and emotional punishment, and corporal punishment), which were used to develop two sets of prospective items. At the quantitative strand, EFA and CFA analysis were performed using data obtained from a total of 701 parents and 620 children to test the psychometric properties. As a result of the research, both Parent (PRPS-P) and Child (PRPS-C) forms of Parental Reward and Punishment Scale (PRPS) were developed for use at the K-12 level with favorable psychometric properties

PTPN22 gene polymorphism in Takayasu's arteritis

Objective. Takayasu's arteritis (TA) is a chronic, rare granulomatous panarteritis of unknown aetiology involving mainly the aorta and its major branches. In this study, genetic susceptibility to TA has been investigated by screening the functional single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of PTPN22 gene encoding the lymphoid-specific protein tyrosine phosphatase. Methods. Totally, 181 patients with TA and 177 healthy controls are genotyped by PCR-RFLP method for the SNP rs2476601 (A/G) of PTPN22 gene. Polymorphic region was amplified by PCR and digested with Xcm I enzyme. Results. Detected frequencies of heterozygous genotype (AG) were 5.1% (9/177) in control group and 3.8% (7/181) in TA group (P = 0.61, odds ratio: 0.75, 95% CI: 0.3, 2.0). No association with angiographic type, vascular involvement or prognosis of TA was observed either. Conclusion. The distribution of PTPN22 polymorphism did not reveal any association with TA in Turkey. © The Author 2008. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Society for Rheumatology. All rights reserved