Yukawa Structure with Maximal Predictability

A simple Ansatz for the quark mass matrices is considered, based on the assumption of a power structure for the matrix elements and the requirement of maximal predictability. A good fit to the present experimental data is obtained and the position of the vertex of the unitarity triangle, i.e. (\bar{\rho},\bar{\eta}), is predicted.Comment: 13 pages, 2 EPS figures, some modifications and references added; version to appear in Phys. Lett.

On Pregnancy Journey and Early Parenting: Young Indigenous Mothers in Context

The objective of this study was to explore and understand the experiences of young Indigenous mothers during their pregnancy and early parenting. Using qualitative descriptive phenomenology, the study was conducted among 14 purposefully chosen Indigenous young mothers aged 14-17 years old and caring for at least one child who is two years of age. There were seven participants for the focus group discussion and seven for the in-depth interview. The descriptive phenomenological method developed by Colaizzi was used in the research study to analyze data. The study's findings showed that the challenges experienced by the participants were used to process the data. The three main themes of the study are as follows: The Winding River of Motherhood, Prayer as a Universal Solvent, and Navigating Life’s Waters. The means of coping with the challenges the participants experienced were Faith’s Resilient Beacon, and Pillars of Unwavering Support. Finally, the insights they shared with their fellow Indigenous mothers and society in general were the themes: The Art of Making Wise Choices, The Scholar’s Beacon, and Echoes of the Looking Glass. It entails that the families, government, and other concerned agencies aggressively promote and offer educational opportunities, livelihood programs, and healthcare services for young Indigenous mothers as a powerful advocacy to positively impact their life paths.&nbsp

Atypical modulations of N170 component during emotional processing and their links to social behaviors in ex-combatants

ABSTRACT: Emotional processing (EP) is crucial for the elaboration and implementation of adaptive social strategies. EP is also necessary for the expression of social cognition and behavior (SCB) patterns. It is well-known that war contexts induce socio-emotional atypical functioning, in particular for those who participate in combats. Thus, ex-combatants represent an ideal non-clinical population to explore EP modulation and to evaluate its relation with SCB. The aim of this study was to explore EP and its relation with SCB dimensions such as empathy, theory of mind and social skills in a sample of 50 subjects, of which 30 were ex-combatants from illegally armed groups in Colombia, and 20 controls without combat experience. We adapted an Emotional Recognition Task for faces and words and synchronized it with electroencephalographic recording. Ex-combatants presented with higher assertion skills and showed more pronounced brain responses to faces than Controls. They did not show the bias toward anger observed in control participants whereby the latter group was more likely to misclassify neutral faces as angry. However, ex-combatants showed an atypical word valence processing. That is, words with different emotions yielded no differences in N170 modulations. SCB variables were successfully predicted by neurocognitive variables. Our results suggest that in ex-combatants the links between EP and SCB functions are reorganized. This may reflect neurocognitive modulations associated to chronic exposure to war experiences

Inverting the Supersymmetric Standard Model Spectrum: from Physical to Lagrangian Ino Parameters

We examine the possibility of recovering the supersymmetric (and soft supersymmetry breaking) Lagrangian parameters as direct {\em analytical} expressions of appropriate physical masses, for the unconstrained (but CP and R-parity conserving) minimal supersymmetric standard model. We concentrate mainly on the algebraically non-trivial "inversion" for the ino parameters, and obtain, for given values of $\tan\beta$, simple analytical expressions for the $\mu$, $M_1$ and $M_2$ parameters in terms of three arbitrary input physical masses, namely either two chargino and one neutralino masses, or alternatively one chargino and two neutralino masses. We illustrate and discuss in detail the possible occurrence of ambiguities in this reconstruction. The dependence of the resulting ino Lagrangian parameters upon physical masses is illustrated, and some simple generic behaviour uncovered in this way. We finally briefly sketch generalizing such an inversion to the full set of MSSM Lagrangian parameters.Comment: Latex, 28 pages, 6 figures, 1 table, some typos corrected, one paragraph extended in section 4.2. Version to appear in Phys. Rev.

New method for determining the quark-gluon vertex

We present a novel nonperturbative approach for calculating the form factors of the quark-gluon vertex in terms of an unknown three-point function, in the Landau gauge. The key ingredient of this method is the exact all-order relation connecting the conventional quark-gluon vertex with the corresponding vertex of the background field method, which is Abelian-like. When this latter relation is combined with the standard gauge technique, supplemented by a crucial set of transverse Ward identities, it allows the approximate determination of the nonperturbative behavior of all 12 form factors comprising the quark-gluon vertex, for arbitrary values of the momenta. The actual implementation of this procedure is carried out in the Landau gauge, in order to make contact with the results of lattice simulations performed in this particular gauge. The most demanding technical aspect involves the approximate calculation of the components of the aforementioned (fully dressed) three-point function, using lattice data as input for the gluon propagators appearing in its diagrammatic expansion. The numerical evaluation of the relevant form factors in three special kinematical configurations (soft-gluon and quark symmetric limit, zero quark momentum) is carried out in detail, finding qualitative agreement with the available lattice data. Most notably, a concrete mechanism is proposed for explaining the puzzling divergence of one of these form factors observed in lattice simulations

Diversion of Benzodiazepines through Healthcare Sources

Background—Benzodiazepines (BZ) are often diverted from legal sources to illicit markets at various points in the distribution process which begins with a pharmaceutical manufacturer, followed by distribution to healthcare providers, and finally, to the intended users. Little is known about the extent of BZ diversion involving distribution points directly related to healthcare sources (e.g., a script doctor) as opposed to points further down the distribution chain (e.g., street dealers). The present study examines the scope of BZ diversion via mechanisms directly related to a healthcare source. It examines the association between BZ dependence and the direct utilization of particular healthcare-related diversion sources among a diverse sample of prescription drug abusers in South Florida. Method—Cross-sectional data were collected from five different groups of drug users: methadone-maintenance clients (n = 247), street drug users (n = 238), public-pay treatment clients (n = 246), private-pay treatment clients (n = 228), and stimulant using men who have sex with men (MSM; n = 248). Results—Findings suggest that those ages 26 to 35 years old, non-Hispanic White participants, private-pay treatment clients, those who are insured, and those with higher incomes had higher odds of utilizing healthcare diversion sources. Participants utilized a pharmacy as a diversion source more than other healthcare sources of diversion, and the highest number of BZs were obtained from doctor shopping compared to other diversion sources. Those who reported BZ dependence also had 2.5 times greater odds of using a healthcare source to obtain BZs than those who did not meet criteria for dependence. Discussion—Prevention of BZ diversion through healthcare sources should include strategies to reduce doctor shopping and diversion from pharmacies

Patterns of gauge symmetry in the background field method

The correlation functions of Yang-Mills theories formulated in the background field method satisfy linear Slavnov-Taylor identities, which are naive generalizations of simple tree level relations, with no deformations originating from the ghost sector of the theory. In recent years, a stronger version of these identities has been found to hold at the level of the background gluon self-energy, whose transversality is enforced separately for each special block of diagrams contributing to the gluon Schwinger-Dyson equation. In the present work we demonstrate by means of explicit calculations that the same distinct realization of the Slavnov-Taylor identity persists in the case of the background three-gluon vertex. The analysis is carried out at the level of the exact Schwinger-Dyson equation for this vertex, with no truncations or simplifying assumptions. The demonstration entails the contraction of individual vertex diagrams by the relevant momentum, which activates Slavnov-Taylor identities of vertices and multi-particle kernels nested inside these graphs; the final result emerges by virtue of a multitude of extensive cancellations, without the need of performing explicit integrations. In addition, we point out that background Ward identities amount to replacing derivatives of propagators by zero-momentum background-gluon insertions, in exact analogy to standard properties of Abelian gauge theories. Finally, certain potential applications of these results are briefly discussed.Comment: 35 pages, 9 figure