QCD over TcT_c: hadrons, partons and continuum

In this paper we provide a physical picture for the QCD phase transition in terms of qualitative changes in the spectral functions. Our approach takes into account the crossover nature of this transition and counts for the observed strong correlation seen in higher order susceptibilities. We demonstrate that the hadron resonance gas, which alone describes the thermodynamics at temperatures $T<T_c$, will appreciably contribute to the total pressure until $T\leq 3T_c$. In this intermediate regime the QCD matter consists of strongly correlated excitations, interpretable as either hadrons or partons. As hadronic spectral peaks gradually vanish, the partonic excitations start to form a stand-alone quasiparticle gas. The conventional picture of a quark gluon plasma emerges only at $T\geq 3T_c$.Comment: 13 pages, 17 figures, uses revtex4-1; some typos correcte

Nuclear and Quark Matter at High Temperature

We review important ideas on nuclear and quark matter description on the basis of high- temperature field theory concepts, like resummation, dimensional reduction, interaction scale separation and spectral function modification in media. Statistical and thermodynamical concepts are spotted in the light of these methods concentrating on the - partially still open - problems of the hadronization process.Comment: Review intended for EPJ A Topical Issu

Pion and Kaon Spectra from Distributed Mass Quark Matter

After discussing some hints for possible masses of quasiparticles in quark matter on the basis of lattice equation of state, we present pion and kaon transverse spectra obtained by recombining quarks with distributed mass and thermal cut power-law momenta as well as fragmenting by NLO pQCD with intrinsic $k_T$ {and nuclear} broadening.Comment: Talk given at SQM 200

Hamiltonian Dynamics of Yang-Mills Fields on a Lattice

We review recent results from studies of the dynamics of classical Yang-Mills fields on a lattice. We discuss the numerical techniques employed in solving the classical lattice Yang-Mills equations in real time, and present results exhibiting the universal chaotic behavior of nonabelian gauge theories. The complete spectrum of Lyapunov exponents is determined for the gauge group SU(2). We survey results obtained for the SU(3) gauge theory and other nonlinear field theories. We also discuss the relevance of these results to the problem of thermalization in gauge theories.Comment: REVTeX, 51 pages, 20 figure

An evaluation of Te Rau Puawai workforce 100: Stakeholder perspectives

To evaluate the Te Rau Puawai programme, the Ministry of Health commissioned the Maori and Psychology Research Unit of the University of Waikato in July 2001. The overall aim of the evaluation was to provide the Ministry with a clearer understanding of the programme including: the perceived critical success factors, the barriers if any regarding Te Rau Puawai, the impact of the programme, the extent to which the programme may be transferable, gaps in the programme, and suggested improvements. There are a number of stakeholders who do not have a direct role in the provision of Te Rau Puawai. These people are not involved in the day to day running of Te Rau Puawai (as do, for example, the coordinator, support team or academic mentors), nevertheless they play an important role, contributing in a variety of ways to the programme

Self-consistency in non-extensive thermodynamics of highly excited hadronic states

The self-consistency of a thermodynamical theory for hadronic sys- tems based on the non-extensive statistics is investigated. We show that it is possible to obtain a self-consistent theory according to the asymptotic bootstrap principle if the mass spectrum and the energy density increase q-exponentially. A direct consequence is the existence of a limiting effective temperature for the hadronic system. We show that this result is in agreement with experiments.Comment: 8 page

Hierarchical analysis of avian re-nesting behavior: mean, across-individual, and intra-individual responses

&copy; 2015, Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg. Anti-predator behavior is a key aspect of life history evolution, usually studied at the population (mean), or across-individual levels. However individuals can also differ in their intra-individual (residual) variation, but to our knowledge, this has only been studied once before in free-living animals. Here we studied the distances moved and changes in nest height and concealment between successive nesting attempts of marked pairs of grey fantails (Rhipidura albiscapa) in relation to nest fate, across the breeding season. We predicted that females (gender that decides where the nest is placed) should on average show adaptive behavioral responses to the experience of prior predation risk such that after an unsuccessful nesting attempt, replacement nests should be further away, higher from the ground, and more concealed compared with replacement nests after successful nesting attempts. We found that, on average, females moved greater distances to re-nest after unsuccessful nesting attempts (abandoned or depredated) in contrast to after a successful attempt, suggesting that re-nesting decisions are sensitive to risk. We found no consistent across-individual differences in distances moved, heights, or concealment. However, females differed by 53-fold (or more) in their intra-individual variability (i.e., predictability) with respect to distances moved and changes in nest height between nesting attempts, indicating that either some systematic variation went unexplained and/or females have inherently different predictability. Ignoring these individual differences in residual variance in our models obscured the effect of nest fate on re-nesting decisions that were evident at the mean level

T cell migration in intact lymph nodes in vivo

In the lymph node, T cells migrate rapidly and with striking versatility in a continuous scan for antigen presenting dendritic cells. The scanning process is greatly facilitated by the lymph node structure and composition. In vivo imaging has been instrumental in deciphering the spatiotemporal dynamics of intranodal T cell migration in both health and disease. Here we review recent developments in uncovering the migration modes employed by T cells in the lymph node, the underlying molecular mechanisms, and the scanning strategies utilised by T cells to ensure a timely response to antigenic stimuli