Kaon Energies in Dense Matter

We discuss the role of kaon-nucleon and nucleon-nucleon correlations in kaon condensation in dense matter. Correlations raise the threshold density for kaon condensation, possibly to densities higher than those encountered in stable neutron stars.Comment: RevTeX, 11 pages, 2 PostScript figures; manuscript also available, in PostScript form, at http://www.nordita.dk/locinfo/preprints.htm

Nucleon-nucleon interaction in the Skyrme model

We consider the interaction of two skyrmions in the framework of the sudden approximation. The widely used product ansatz is investigated. Its failure in reproducing an attractive central potential is associated with terms that violate G-parity. We discuss the construction of alternative ans\"atze and identify a plausible solution to the problem.Comment: 18 pages, 9 figure

Theory of muonic hydrogen - muonic deuterium isotope shift

We calculate the corrections of orders alpha^3, alpha^4 and alpha^5 to the Lamb shift of the 1S and 2S energy levels of muonic hydrogen (mu p) and muonic deuterium (mu d). The nuclear structure effects are taken into account in terms of the proton r_p and deuteron r_d charge radii for the one-photon interaction and by means of the proton and deuteron electromagnetic form factors in the case of one-loop amplitudes. The obtained numerical value of the isotope shift (mu d) - (mu p) for the splitting (1S-2S) 101003.3495 meV can be considered as a reliable estimation for corresponding experiment with the accuracy 10^{-6}. The fine structure interval E(1S)-8E(2S) in muonic hydrogen and muonic deuterium are calculated.Comment: 22 pages, 7 figure

A neural signature of the unique hues

Since at least the 17th century there has been the idea that there are four simple and perceptually pure “unique” hues: red, yellow, green, and blue, and that all other hues are perceived as mixtures of these four hues. However, sustained scientific investigation has not yet provided solid evidence for a neural representation that separates the unique hues from other colors. We measured event-related potentials elicited from unique hues and the ‘intermediate’ hues in between them. We find a neural signature of the unique hues 230 ms after stimulus onset at a post-perceptual stage of visual processing. Specifically, the posterior P2 component over the parieto-occipital lobe peaked significantly earlier for the unique than for the intermediate hues (Z = -2.9, p = .004). Having identified a neural marker for unique hues, fundamental questions about the contribution of neural hardwiring, language and environment to the unique hues can now be addressed

Detection of Ki-ras mutations in tissue and plasma samples of patients with pancreatic cancer using PNA-mediated PCR clamping and hybridisation probes

In the present study, we combined the PCR-clamping approach with melting curve analysis using mutant specific hybridisation probes and wild-type specific peptide nucleic acids (PNAs) to determine the genotypes of the most frequent point mutation in codon 12 of the proto-oncogene Ki-ras in tissue and plasma samples of patients with pancreatic cancer. The sensitivity of our assay was 1–5 × 10−5. The melting curve analysis of tissue samples of four patients revealed two valine mutations, one none-valine mutation and one wild-type sequence. Ki-ras alterations were found in 28% of DNAs (18 out of 64) of nonrelated plasma samples of 10 patients with ductal adenocarcinoma of the pancreas. The valine mutation was the predominantly detected gene alteration (83%). Out of ten patients investigated, four patients (40%) became positive during clinical observation with respect to Ki-ras mutation. All four patients exhibited progressive disease and high levels of tumour marker CA 19-9. In conclusion, the one-step procedure discribed may be a useful clinical tool for analysing Ki-ras point mutations in tissue and plasmas samples. In addition, this method can be adapted for simultanous detection of multiple mutations and quantitation