22 research outputs found
Electroweak Baryogenesis in the Next to Minimal Supersymmetric Model
In the electroweak phase transition there arises the problem of baryon number
washout by sphaleron transitions, which can be avoided if the phase transition
is strongly enough first order. The minimal supersymmetric standard model has
just two Higgs doublets H1 and H2, while the next to minimal model, NMSSM, has
an additional singlet, N, this latter giving rise to the helpful feature that
the Higgs potential contains a tree level trilinear field term. We use the
tunneling criterion for the existence of a first order electroweak phase
change. A quantitative statistical analysis indicates that with parameters of
the NMSSM satisfying the experimental constraints a strong first order phase
change occurs in about 50% of cases.Comment: 15 pages, plain LaTe
Fractal Reconnection in Solar and Stellar Environments
Recent space based observations of the Sun revealed that magnetic
reconnection is ubiquitous in the solar atmosphere, ranging from small scale
reconnection (observed as nanoflares) to large scale one (observed as long
duration flares or giant arcades). Often the magnetic reconnection events are
associated with mass ejections or jets, which seem to be closely related to
multiple plasmoid ejections from fractal current sheet. The bursty radio and
hard X-ray emissions from flares also suggest the fractal reconnection and
associated particle acceleration. We shall discuss recent observations and
theories related to the plasmoid-induced-reconnection and the fractal
reconnection in solar flares, and their implication to reconnection physics and
particle acceleration. Recent findings of many superflares on solar type stars
that has extended the applicability of the fractal reconnection model of solar
flares to much a wider parameter space suitable for stellar flares are also
discussed.Comment: Invited chapter to appear in "Magnetic Reconnection: Concepts and
Applications", Springer-Verlag, W. D. Gonzalez and E. N. Parker, eds. (2016),
33 pages, 18 figure
Cognitive and emotional consequences of binge drinking: role of amygdala and prefrontal cortex
Binge drinking is an increasingly recognized problem within the UK. We have studied the relationship of binge drinking to cognitive and emotional functioning in young adults, and have found evidence for increased impulsivity, impairments in spatial working memory and impaired emotional learning. Since in human studies it is difficult to understand whether such behavioural changes pre-date or are a consequence of binge drinking, we have also studied parallel behaviours in a rodent model, in which rats are exposed to intermittent episodes of alcohol consumption and withdrawal. In this model, and in parallel with our findings in human binge drinkers, and alcoholic patients who have undergone multiple episodes of detoxification, we have found evidence for impairments in aversive conditioning as well as increased impulsivity. These behavioural changes are accompanied by facilitated excitatory neurotransmission and reduced plasticity (long-term potentiation (LTP)) in amygdala and hippocampus. The impaired LTP is accompanied by both impaired associative learning and inappropriate generalization of previously learned associations to irrelevant stimuli. We propose that repeated episodes of withdrawal from alcohol induce aberrant neuronal plasticity that results in altered cognitive and emotional competences
Nucleotide sequence of a Singapore isolate of zucchini yellow mosaic virus coat protein gene revealed an altered DAG Motif
10.1007/BF01703393Virus Genes74381-387VIGE
Designing environmental policy: lessons from the regulation of mercury emissions
Regulation, Cost-benefit analysis, Environmental economics, D61, L50, L51, Q52,