θ\theta-dependence of QCD at Finite Isospin Density

We probe the $\theta$-dependence of QCD at finite isospin chemical potential $\mu_I$ using the effective chiral Lagrangian approach. The phase diagram in the $\theta$, $\mu_I$ plane is constructed and described in detail in terms of chiral and pion condensates. The physics at $\theta ~ \pi$ is investigated in both the normal and superfluid phase. Finally, the behaviour of the gluon condensate at finite $\mu_I$ is computed.Comment: 14 pages, 2 figure

Effect of reheating on electroweak baryogenesis

The latent heat released during the expansion of bubbles in the electroweak phase transition reheats the plasma and causes the bubble growth to slow down. This decrease of the bubble wall velocity affects the result of electroweak baryogenesis. Since the efficiency of baryogenesis peaks for a wall velocity $\sim 10^{-2}$, the resulting baryon asymmetry can either be enhanced or suppressed, depending on the initial value of the wall velocity. We calculate the evolution of the phase transition taking into account the release of latent heat. We find that, although in the SM the baryon production is enhanced by this effect, in the MSSM it causes a suppression to the final baryon asymmetry.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures. References added. Revised version to be published in Phys.Rev.

Dynamic Proteomics: a database for dynamics and localizations of endogenous fluorescently-tagged proteins in living human cells

Recent advances allow tracking the levels and locations of a thousand proteins in individual living human cells over time using a library of annotated reporter cell clones (LARC). This library was created by Cohen et al. to study the proteome dynamics of a human lung carcinoma cell-line treated with an anti-cancer drug. Here, we report the Dynamic Proteomics database for the proteins studied by Cohen et al. Each cell-line clone in LARC has a protein tagged with yellow fluorescent protein, expressed from its endogenous chromosomal location, under its natural regulation. The Dynamic Proteomics interface facilitates searches for genes of interest, downloads of protein fluorescent movies and alignments of dynamics following drug addition. Each protein in the database is displayed with its annotation, cDNA sequence, fluorescent images and movies obtained by the time-lapse microscopy. The protein dynamics in the database represents a quantitative trace of the protein fluorescence levels in nucleus and cytoplasm produced by image analysis of movies over time. Furthermore, a sequence analysis provides a search and comparison of up to 50 input DNA sequences with all cDNAs in the library. The raw movies may be useful as a benchmark for developing image analysis tools for individual-cell dynamic-proteomics. The database is available at http://www.dynamicproteomics.net/

θ−\theta- Parameter in 2 Color QCD at Finite Baryon and Isospin Density

We use 2-color QCD as a model to study the effects of simultaneous presence of the so-called $\theta$ parameter, chemical potentials for baryon number, $\mu_B$ and for isospin charge, $\mu_I$. We pay special attention to $\theta$, $\mu_B$, $\mu_I$ dependence of different vacuum condensates, including chiral and diquark condensates, as well as the gluon condensate, $$, and the topological susceptibility. We find that two phase transitions of the second order will occur when $\theta$ relaxes from $\theta=2\pi$ to $\theta=0$, if $\mu$ is of order of the pion mass. We demonstrate that the transition to the superfluid phase at $\theta = \pi$ occurs at a much lower chemical potential than at $\theta = 0$. We also show that the strong $\theta$ dependence present near $\theta = \pi$ in vacuum (Dashen's phenomenon), becomes smoothed out in the superfluid phase. Finally, we comment on the relevance of this study for the real world with N_c=3

Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency and long-term risk of immune-related disorders

IntroductionGlucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency is an X-linked enzymatic disorder that is particularly prevalent in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. This study aimed to assess the long-term health risks associated with G6PD deficiency.MethodsA retrospective cohort study was conducted using data from a national healthcare provider in Israel (Leumit Health Services). A total of 7,473 G6PD-deficient individuals were matched with 29,892 control subjects in a 1:4 ratio, based on age, gender, socioeconomic status, and ethnic groups. The exposure of interest was recorded G6PD diagnosis or positive G6PD diagnostic test. The main outcomes and measures included rates of infectious diseases, allergic conditions, and autoimmune disorders between 2002 and 2022.ResultsSignificantly increased rates were observed for autoimmune disorders, infectious diseases, and allergic conditions in G6PD-deficient individuals compared to the control group. Specifically, notable increases were observed for rheumatoid arthritis (odds ratio [OR] 2.41, p<0.001), systemic lupus erythematosus (OR 4.56, p<0.001), scleroderma (OR 6.87, p<0.001), pernicious anemia (OR 18.70, p<0.001), fibromyalgia (OR 1.98, p<0.001), Graves’ disease (OR 1.46, p=0.001), and Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (OR 1.26, p=0.001). These findings were supported by elevated rates of positive autoimmune serology and higher utilization of medications commonly used to treat autoimmune conditions in the G6PD-deficient group.DiscussionIn conclusion, individuals with G6PD deficiency are at a higher risk of developing autoimmune disorders, infectious diseases, and allergic conditions. This large-scale observational study provides valuable insights into the comprehensive association between G6PD deficiency and infectious and immune-related diseases. The findings emphasize the importance of considering G6PD deficiency as a potential risk factor in clinical practice and further research is warranted to better understand the underlying mechanisms of these associations

The impact of interaction models on the coherence of collective decision-making : a case study with simulated locusts

A key aspect of collective systems resides in their ability to exhibit coherent behaviors, which demonstrate the system as a single unit. Such coherence is assumed to be robust under local interactions and high density of individuals. In this paper, we go beyond the local interactions and we investigate the coherence degree of a collective decision under different interaction models: (i)Â how this degree may get violated by massive loss of interaction links or high levels of individual noise, and (ii)Â how efficient each interaction model is in restoring a high degree of coherence. Our findings reveal that some of the interaction models facilitate a significant recovery of the coherence degree because their specific inter-connecting mechanisms lead to a better inference of the swarm opinion. Our results are validated using physics-based simulations of a locust robotic swarm

First-order cosmological phase transitions in the radiation dominated era

We consider first-order phase transitions of the Universe in the radiation-dominated era. We argue that in general the velocity of interfaces is non-relativistic due to the interaction with the plasma and the release of latent heat. We study the general evolution of such slow phase transitions, which comprise essentially a short reheating stage and a longer phase equilibrium stage. We perform a completely analytical description of both stages. Some rough approximations are needed for the first stage, due to the non-trivial relations between the quantities that determine the variation of temperature with time. The second stage, instead, is considerably simplified by the fact that it develops at a constant temperature, close to the critical one. Indeed, in this case the equations can be solved exactly, including back-reaction on the expansion of the Universe. This treatment also applies to phase transitions mediated by impurities. We also investigate the relations between the different parameters that govern the characteristics of the phase transition and its cosmological consequences, and discuss the dependence of these parameters with the particle content of the theory.Comment: 38 pages, 3 figures; v2: Minor changes, references added; v3: several typos correcte

Figurative language processing in atypical populations: the ASD perspective

This document is protected by copyright and was first published by Frontiers. All rights reserved. It is reproduced with permissionThis paper is intended to provide a critical overview of experimental and clinical research documenting problems in figurative language processing in atypical populations with a focus on the Autistic Spectrum. Research in the comprehension and processing of figurative language in autism invariably documents problems in this area. The greater paradox is that even at the higher end of the spectrum or in the cases of linguistically talented individuals with Asperger syndrome, where structural language competence is intact, problems with extended language persist. If we assume that figurative and extended uses of language essentially depend on the perception and processing of more concrete core concepts and phenomena, the commonly observed failure in atypical populations to understand figurative language remains a puzzle. Various accounts have been offered to explain this issue, ranging from linking potential failure directly to overall structural language competence (Norbury, 2005; Brock et al., 2008) to right-hemispheric involvement (Gold and Faust, 2010). We argue that the dissociation between structural language and figurative language competence in autism should be sought in more general cognitive mechanisms and traits in the autistic phenotype (e.g., in terms of weak central coherence, Vulchanova et al., 2012b), as well as failure at on-line semantic integration with increased complexity and diversity of the stimuli (Coulson and Van Petten, 2002). This perspective is even more compelling in light of similar problems in a number of conditions, including both acquired (e.g., Aphasia) and developmental disorders (Williams Syndrome). This dissociation argues against a simple continuity view of language interpretation

The Fourteenth Data Release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey: First Spectroscopic Data from the extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey and from the second phase of the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment

The fourth generation of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS-IV) has been in operation since July 2014. This paper describes the second data release from this phase, and the fourteenth from SDSS overall (making this, Data Release Fourteen or DR14). This release makes public data taken by SDSS-IV in its first two years of operation (July 2014-2016). Like all previous SDSS releases, DR14 is cumulative, including the most recent reductions and calibrations of all data taken by SDSS since the first phase began operations in 2000. New in DR14 is the first public release of data from the extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (eBOSS); the first data from the second phase of the Apache Point Observatory (APO) Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE-2), including stellar parameter estimates from an innovative data driven machine learning algorithm known as "The Cannon"; and almost twice as many data cubes from the Mapping Nearby Galaxies at APO (MaNGA) survey as were in the previous release (N = 2812 in total). This paper describes the location and format of the publicly available data from SDSS-IV surveys. We provide references to the important technical papers describing how these data have been taken (both targeting and observation details) and processed for scientific use. The SDSS website (www.sdss.org) has been updated for this release, and provides links to data downloads, as well as tutorials and examples of data use. SDSS-IV is planning to continue to collect astronomical data until 2020, and will be followed by SDSS-V.Comment: SDSS-IV collaboration alphabetical author data release paper. DR14 happened on 31st July 2017. 19 pages, 5 figures. Accepted by ApJS on 28th Nov 2017 (this is the "post-print" and "post-proofs" version; minor corrections only from v1, and most of errors found in proofs corrected