Violation and persistence of the K-quantum number in warm rotating nuclei

The validity of the K-quantum number in rapidly rotating warm nuclei is investigated as a function of thermal excitation energy U and angular momentum I, for the rare-earth nucleus 163Er. The quantal eigenstates are described with a shell model which combines a cranked Nilsson mean-field and a residual two-body interaction, together with a term which takes into account the angular momentum carried by the K-quantum number in an approximate way. K-mixing is produced by the interplay of the Coriolis interaction and the residual interaction; it is weak in the region of the discrete rotational bands (U \lesim 1MeV), but it gradually increases until the limit of complete violation of the K-quantum number is approached around U \sim 2 - 2.5 MeV. The calculated matrix elements between bands having different K-quantum numbers decrease exponentially as a function of $\Delta K$, in qualitative agreement with recent data.Comment: 29 pages, 7 figure

On the role of soil moisture in the generation of heavy rainfall during the Oder flood event in July 1997

Soil moisture-atmosphere feedbacks play an important role in the regional climate over many regions worldwide, not only for the mean climate but also for extreme events. Several studies have shown that the extent and severity of droughts and heat waves can be significantly impacted by dry or wet soil moisture conditions. To date, the impact of soil moisture on heavy rainfall events has been less frequently investigated. Thus, we consider the role of soil moisture in the formation of heavy rainfall using the Oder flood event in July 1997 as an example. Here, we used the regional climate model CCLM as an uncoupled stand alone model and the coupled COSTRICE system, where CCLM is coupled with an ocean and a sea ice model over the Baltic and North Sea regions. The results from climate simulations over Europe show that the coupled model can capture the second phase (18-20 July) of heavy rainfall that led to the Oder flood, while the uncoupled model does not. Sensitivity experiments demonstrate that the better performance of the coupled model can be attributed to the simulated soil moisture conditions in July 1997 in Central Europe, which were wetter for the coupled model than for the uncoupled model. This finding indicates that the soil moisture preceding the event significantly impacted the generation of heavy rainfall in this second phase. The better simulation in the coupled model also implies the added value that the atmosphere-ocean coupling has on the simulation of this specific extreme event. As none of the model versions captured the first phase (4-8 July), despite the differences in soil moisture, it can be concluded that the importance of soil moisture for the generation of heavy rainfall events strongly depends on the event and the general circulation pattern associated with it

Government responsiveness in the European Union: evidence from council voting

Are governments responsive to public preferences when legislating in international organizations? This paper demonstrates that governments respond to domestic public opinion even when acting at the international level. Specifically, we examine conflict in the European Union’s primary legislative body, the Council of the European Union (EU). We argue that domestic electoral incentives compel governments to react to public opinion. Analyzing a unique dataset on all legislative decisions adopted in the Council since 1999, we show that governments are more likely to oppose legislative proposals that extend the level and scope of EU authority when their domestic electorates are skeptical about the EU. We also find that governments are more responsive when the issue of European integration is salient in domestic party politics. Our findings demonstrate that governments can use the international stage to signal their responsiveness to public concerns and that such signals resonate in the domestic political debate

AXL modulates extracellular matrix protein expression and is essential for invasion and metastasis in endometrial cancer

The receptor tyrosine kinase AXL promotes migration, invasion, and metastasis. Here, we evaluated the role of AXL in endometrial cancer. High immunohistochemical expression of AXL was found in 76% (63/83) of advanced-stage, and 77% (82/107) of high-grade specimens and correlated with worse survival in uterine serous cancer patients. In vitro, genetic silencing of AXL inhibited migration and invasion but had no effect on proliferation of ARK1 endometrial cancer cells. AXL-deficient cells showed significantly decreased expression of phospho-AKT as well as uPA, MMP-1, MMP-2, MMP-3, and MMP-9. In a xenograft model of human uterine serous carcinoma with AXL-deficient ARK1 cells, there was significantly less tumor burden than xenografts with control ARK1 cells. Together, these findings underscore the therapeutic potentials of AXL as a candidate target for treatment of metastatic endometrial cancer

Visual span and change detection in soccer: an expertise study

There is evidence to suggest that sports experts are able to extract more perceptual information from a single fixation than novices when exposed to meaningful tasks that are specific to their field of expertise. In particular, Reingold et al. (2001) showed that chess experts use a larger visual span including fewer fixations when compared to their less skilled counterparts. The aim of the present study was to examine whether also in a more complex environment, namely soccer, skilled players use a larger visual span and fewer fixations than less skilled players when attempting to recognise players' positions. To this end, we combined the gaze-contingent window technique with the change detection paradigm. Results seem to suggest that skilled soccer players do not use a larger visual span than less skilled players. However, skilled soccer players showed significantly fewer fixations of longer duration than their less skilled counterparts, supporting the notion that experts may extract more information from a single glance. © 2011 Psychology Press

Solutions to Maxwell's Equations using Spheroidal Coordinates

Analytical solutions to the wave equation in spheroidal coordinates in the short wavelength limit are considered. The asymptotic solutions for the radial function are significantly simplified, allowing scalar spheroidal wave functions to be defined in a form which is directly reminiscent of the Laguerre-Gaussian solutions to the paraxial wave equation in optics. Expressions for the Cartesian derivatives of the scalar spheroidal wave functions are derived, leading to a new set of vector solutions to Maxwell's equations. The results are an ideal starting point for calculations of corrections to the paraxial approximation

Lifetime measurements of Triaxial Strongly Deformed bands in 163^{163}Tm

With the Doppler Shift Attenuation Method, quadrupole transition moments, $Q_t$, were determined for the two recently proposed Triaxial Strongly Deformed (TSD) bands in $^{163}$Tm. The measured $Q_t$ moments indicate that the deformation of these bands is larger than that of the yrast, signature partners. However, the measured values are smaller than those predicted by theory. This observation appears to be valid for TSD bands in several nuclei of the regionComment: 8 pages, 5 figures. Submitted to Physical Review

Quantum generalized constant coupling model for geometrically frustrated antiferromagnets

A generalized constant coupling approximation for quantum geometrically frustrated antiferromagnets is presented. Starting from a frustrated unit, we introduce the interactions with the surrounding units in terms of an internal effective field which is fixed by a self consistency condition. Results for the static magnetic susceptibility and specific heat are compared with previous results in the framework of this same model for the classical limit. The range of applicability of the model is discussed.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figures, 1 Tables, typeset using RevTeX 4, small correction in Table