Equations of motion approach to the spin-1/2 Ising model on the Bethe lattice

We exactly solve the ferromagnetic spin-1/2 Ising model on the Bethe lattice in the presence of an external magnetic field by means of the equations of motion method within the Green's function formalism. In particular, such an approach is applied to an isomorphic model of localized Fermi particles interacting via an intersite Coulomb interaction. A complete set of eigenoperators is found together with the corresponding eigenvalues. The Green's functions and the correlation functions are written in terms of a finite set of parameters to be self-consistently determined. A procedure is developed, that allows us to exactly fix the unknown parameters in the case of a Bethe lattice with any coordination number z. Non-local correlation functions up to four points are also provided together with a study of the relevant thermodynamic quantities.Comment: RevTex, 29 pages, 13 figure

CFT description of the Fully Frustrated XY model and phase diagram analysis

Following a suggestion given in Nucl. Phys. B 300 (1988)611,we show how the U(1)*Z_{2} symmetry of the fully frustrated XY (FFXY) model on a square lattice can be accounted for in the framework of the m-reduction procedure developed for a Quantum Hall system at "paired states" fillings nu =1 (cfr. Cristofano et al.,Mod. Phys. Lett. A 15 (2000)1679;Nucl. Phys. B 641 (2002)547). The resulting twisted conformal field theory (CFT) with central charge c=2 is shown to well describe the physical properties of the FFXY model. In particular the whole phase diagram is recovered by analyzing the flow from the Z_{2} degenerate vacuum of the c=2 CFT to the infrared fixed point unique vacuum of the c=3/2 CFT. The last theory is known to successfully describe the critical behavior of the system at the overlap temperature for the Ising and vortex-unbinding transitions.Comment: 18 pages, 1 figure, to appear in JSTA

Dissipative quantum mechanics and Kondo-like impurities on noncommutative two-tori

In a recent paper, by exploiting the notion of Morita equivalence for field theories on noncommutative tori and choosing rational values of the noncommutativity parameter $\theta$ (in appropriate units), a general one-to-one correspondence between the $m$-reduced conformal field theory (CFT) describing a quantum Hall fluid (QHF) at paired states fillings $\nu =\frac{m}{pm+2}$ and an Abelian noncommutative field theory (NCFT) has been established . That allowed us to add new evidence to the relationship between noncommutativity and quantum Hall fluids\cite% {ncmanybody}. On the other hand, the $m$-reduced CFT is equivalent to a system of two massless scalar bosons with a magnetic boundary interaction as introduced by Callan et al., at the so called ``magic''\ points. We are then able to describe, within such a framework, the dissipative quantum mechanics of a particle confined to a plane and subject to an external magnetic field normal to it. Here we develop such a point of view by focusing on the case $m=2$ which corresponds to a quantum Hall bilayer. The key role of a localized impurity which couples the two layers is emphasized and the effect of noncommutativity in terms of generalized magnetic translations (GMT) is fully exploited. As a result, general GMT operators are introduced, in the form of a tensor product, which act on the QHF and defect space respectively, and a comprehensive study of their rich structure is performed.Comment: 18 pages, 1 figure, accepted for publication in International Journal of Modern Physics

Electron sampling depth and saturation effects in perovskite films investigated by soft x-ray absorption spectroscopy

Knowledge of the electron sampling depth and related saturation effects is important for quantitative analysis of X-ray absorption spectroscopy data, yet for oxides with the perovskite structure no quantitative values are so far available. Here we study absorption saturation in films of two of the most-studied perovskites, LCMO and YBCO, at the L2,3 edge of Mn and Cu, respectively. By measuring the electron-yield intensity as a function of photon incidence angle and film thickness, the sampling depth d, photon attenuation length, lambda, and the ratio lambda/d have been independently determined between 50 and 300 K. The extracted sampling depth dLCMO=3 nm for LCMO at high temperatures in its polaronic insulator state (150-300K) is not much larger than values reported for pure transition metals (d Co or Ni=2-2.5nm) at room temperature, but it is smaller than dYBCO=3.9 nm for metallic YBCO that is in turn smaller than the value reported for Fe3O4 (d=4.5 nm) The measured dLCMO increases to 4.5 nm when LCMO is in the metallic state at low temperatures. These results indicate that a universal rule of thumb for the sampling depth in oxides cannot be assumed, and that it can be measurably influenced by electronic phase transitions that derive from strong correlations.Comment: 19 pages, 7 figure

Model-based lamotrigine clearance changes during pregnancy: clinical implication

Objective: The objective of the study was to characterize changes in the oral clearance (CL/F) of lamotrigine (LTG) over the course of pregnancy and the postpartum period through a model-based approach incorporating clinical characteristics that may influence CL/F, in support of developing clinical management guidelines. Methods: Women receiving LTG therapy who were pregnant or planning pregnancy were enrolled. Maternal blood samples were collected at each visit. A pharmacokinetic analysis was performed using a population-based, nonlinear, mixed-effects model. Results: A total of 600 LTG concentrations from 60 women (64 pregnancies) were included. The baseline LTG CL/F was 2.16 L/h with a between-subject variability of 40.6%. The influence of pregnancy on CL/F was described by gestational week. Two subpopulations of women emerged based on the rate of increase in LTG CL/F during pregnancy. The gestational age-associated increase in CL/F displayed a 10-fold higher rate in 77% of the women (0.118 L/h per week) compared to 23% (0.0115 L/h per week). The between-subject variability in these slopes was 43.0%. The increased CL/F at delivery declined to baseline values with a half-life of 0.55 weeks. Interpretation The majority of women had a substantial increase in CL/F from 2.16 to 6.88 L/h by the end of pregnancy, whereas 23% of women had a minimal increase. An increase in CL/F may correspond to decreases in LTG blood concentrations necessitating the need for more frequent dosage adjustments and closer monitoring in some pregnant women with epilepsy. Postpartum doses should be tapered to preconception dose ranges within 3 weeks of delivery

Empowerment and women in adventure tourism : a negotiated journey

Women’s participation in adventure tourism is growing, yet few studies have explored this group of tourists. This conceptual paper seeks to extend our understanding of female adventure tourists by examining the empowering journey women can take through constraint negotiation to enjoy the benefits of adventure tourism. Using content analysis to review the literature on women’s adventure experiences in tourism and recreation settings reveals prominent themes that have been consolidated to propose constraint, negotiation and benefit categories. A conceptual model is presented that illustrates the opportunities for women’s empowerment within these categories and examines the interrelationships and interdependency between them. The model shows that constraints, negotiations and benefits can be experienced simultaneously, at different points in a woman’s adventure tourism journey and used as a vehicle for empowerment. Women will also re-evaluate these categories before, during and after their adventure tourism experience. Therefore, the categories are not fixed and evolve each time a woman participates in adventure tourism throughout her life. Suggestions are made for further study in this under-researched area

The modern pollen-vegetation relationship of a tropical forest-savannah mosaic landscape, Ghana, West Africa

Transitions between forest and savannah vegetation types in fossil pollen records are often poorly understood due to over-production by taxa such as Poaceae and a lack of modern pollen-vegetation studies. Here, modern pollen assemblages from within a forest-savannah transition in West Africa are presented and compared, their characteristic taxa discussed, and implications for the fossil record considered. Fifteen artificial pollen traps were deployed for 1 year, to collect pollen rain from three vegetation plots within the forest-savannah transition in Ghana. High percentages of Poaceae and Melastomataceae/Combretaceae were recorded in all three plots. Erythrophleum suaveolens characterised the forest plot, Manilkara obovata the transition plot and Terminalia the savannah plot. The results indicate that Poaceae pollen influx rates provide the best representation of the forest-savannah gradient, and that a Poaceae abundance of >40% should be considered as indicative of savannah-type vegetation in the fossil record

Dynamics in a supercooled molecular liquid: Theory and Simulations

We report extensive simulations of liquid supercooled states for a simple three-sites molecular model, introduced by Lewis and Wahnstr"om [L. J. Lewis and G. Wahnstr"om, Phys. Rev. E 50, 3865 (1994)] to mimic the behavior of ortho-terphenyl. The large system size and the long simulation length allow to calculate very precisely --- in a large q-vector range --- self and collective correlation functions, providing a clean and simple reference model for theoretical descriptions of molecular liquids in supercooled states. The time and wavevector dependence of the site-site correlation functions are compared with detailed predictions based on ideal mode-coupling theory, neglecting the molecular constraints. Except for the wavevector region where the dynamics is controlled by the center of mass (around 9 nm-1), the theoretical predictions compare very well with the simulation data.

Changes in γ-secretase activity and specificity caused by the introduction of consensus aspartyl protease active motif in Presenilin 1

Presenilin (PS1 or PS2) is an essential component of the active γ-secretase complex that liberates the Aβ peptides from amyloid precursor protein (APP). PS1 is regarded as an atypical aspartyl protease harboring two essential aspartic acids in the context of the sequence D257LV and D385FI, respectively, rather than the typical DTG...DTG catalytic motif of classical aspartyl proteases. In the present studies, we introduced the sequence DTG in PS1 at and around the catalytic D257 and D385 residues to generate three PS1 mutants: D257TG, D385TG, and the double-mutant D257TG/D385TG. The effects of these changes on the γ-secretase activity in the presence or absence of γ-secretase inhibitors and modulators were investigated. The results showed that PS1 mutants having D385TG robustly enhanced Aβ42 production compared to the wild type (wt), and were more sensitive than wt to inhibition by a classical aspartyl protease transition state mimic, and fenchylamine, a sulfonamide derivative. Unlike wt PS1 and some of its clinical mutants, all three PS1 artificial mutants decreased cleavage of Notch S3-site, suggesting that these artificial mutations may trigger conformational changes at the substrate docking and catalytic site that cause alteration of substrate specificity and inhibition pattern. Consistent with this notion, we have found that NSAID enzymatic inhibitors of COX, known modulators of the γ-secretase activity, cause PS1 mutants containing D385TG to produce higher levels of both Aβ38 and Aβ42, but to reduce levels of Aβ39, showing a pattern of Aβ formation different from that observed with wild type PS1 and its clinical mutants. This study provides an important structural clue for the rational design of drugs to inhibit processing of APP at the γ-site without interfering with Notch processing

Linear Kondo conductance in a quantum dot

In a tunneling experiment across a quantum dot it is possible to change the coupling between the dot and the contacts at will, by properly tuning the trasparency of the barriers and the temperature. Gate voltages allow for changes of the relative position of the dot addition energies and the Fermi level of the leads. Here we discuss the two limiting cases: weak and strong coupling in the tunneling Hamiltonian. In the latter case Kondo resonant conductance can emerge at low temperature in a Coulomb blockade valley. We give a pedagogical approach to the single-channel Kondo physics at equilibrium and review the Nozieres scattering picture of the correlated fixed point. We emphasize the effect of an applied magnetic field and show how an orbital Kondo effect can take place in vertical quantum dots tuned both to an even and to an odd number of electrons at a level crossing. We extend the approach to the two-channel overscreened Kondo case and discuss recent proposals for detecting the non-Fermi liquid fixed point which could be reached at strong coupling.Comment: 31 pages, invited review articl