946 research outputs found
Extended WKB method, resonances and supersymmetric radial barriers
Semiclassical approximations are implemented in the calculation of position
and width of low energy resonances for radial barriers. The numerical
integrations are delimited by t/T<<8, with t the period of a classical particle
in the barrier trap and T the resonance lifetime. These energies are used in
the construction of `haired' short range potentials as the supersymmetric
partners of a given radial barrier. The new potentials could be useful in the
study of the transient phenomena which give rise to the Moshinsky's diffraction
in time.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figures, 3 table
Synchronization, Diversity, and Topology of Networks of Integrate and Fire Oscillators
We study synchronization dynamics of a population of pulse-coupled
oscillators. In particular, we focus our attention in the interplay between
networks topological disorder and its synchronization features. Firstly, we
analyze synchronization time in random networks, and find a scaling law
which relates to networks connectivity. Then, we carry on comparing
synchronization time for several other topological configurations,
characterized by a different degree of randomness. The analysis shows that
regular lattices perform better than any other disordered network. The fact can
be understood by considering the variability in the number of links between two
adjacent neighbors. This phenomenon is equivalent to have a non-random topology
with a distribution of interactions and it can be removed by an adequate local
normalization of the couplings.Comment: 6 pages, 8 figures, LaTeX 209, uses RevTe
The interaction of depressive symptoms and hazardous drinking in relation to tobacco craving among treatment seeking depressed smokers: Sex differences
Objectives: The present study sought to address whether there is sex effect in the interactive effect between depressive symptoms and hazardous drinking in the prediction of smoking craving after cognitive-behavioral smoking cessation treatment among those with at least mild depression.
Methods: Participants (n=114, mean age 42.0, SD=9.73, 64% women) were treatment-seeking smokers who attended 6 weekly 1-hour sessions involving psychological treatment for cessation. Participants reported depressive symptoms and alcohol use at baseline and reported craving at baseline and after treatment.
Results: Results indicated that there was a statistically significant 3-way interaction (depression by alcohol use by sex) for smoking craving (B=-0.30, standard error [SE]=0.14, P=0.042) and appetitive craving (B=-.21, SE=0.09, P=0.031), but not negative reinforcement craving. The form of the significant interactions indicted that higher levels of depressive symptoms and alcohol use were related to greater levels of craving at the end of treatment only among men.
Conclusions: The current findings provide novel empirical evidence suggesting that there is a clinically relevant interplay between depressive symptoms and alcohol use regarding general craving and appetitive craving among male treatment-seeking smokers. Although the present results should be replicated in larger samples, this type of research can inform the development of sex-specific interventions for smoking cessation
Phase-fluctuation induced reduction of the kinetic energy at the superconducting transition
Recent reflectivity measurements provide evidence for a "violation" of the
in-plane optical integral in the underdoped high-T_c compound
Bi_2Sr_2CaCu_2O_{8+\delta} up to frequencies much higher than expected by
standard BCS theory. The sum rule violation may be related to a loss of
in-plane kinetic energy at the superconducting transition. Here, we show that a
model based on phase fluctuations of the superconducting order parameter can
account for this change of in-plane kinetic energy at T_c. The change is due to
a transition from a phase-incoherent Cooper-pair motion in the pseudogap regime
above T_c to a phase-coherent motion at T_c.Comment: 5 pages, 3 eps-figure
XY model in small-world networks
The phase transition in the XY model on one-dimensional small-world networks
is investigated by means of Monte-Carlo simulations. It is found that
long-range order is present at finite temperatures, even for very small values
of the rewiring probability, suggesting a finite-temperature transition for any
nonzero rewiring probability. Nature of the phase transition is discussed in
comparison with the globally-coupled XY model.Comment: 5 pages, accepted in PR
Self-avoiding walks and connective constants in small-world networks
Long-distance characteristics of small-world networks have been studied by
means of self-avoiding walks (SAW's). We consider networks generated by
rewiring links in one- and two-dimensional regular lattices. The number of
SAW's was obtained from numerical simulations as a function of the number
of steps on the considered networks. The so-called connective constant,
, which characterizes the long-distance
behavior of the walks, increases continuously with disorder strength (or
rewiring probability, ). For small , one has a linear relation , and being constants dependent on the underlying
lattice. Close to one finds the behavior expected for random graphs. An
analytical approach is given to account for the results derived from numerical
simulations. Both methods yield results agreeing with each other for small ,
and differ for close to 1, because of the different connectivity
distributions resulting in both cases.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figure
Cosmological distance indicators
We review three distance measurement techniques beyond the local universe:
(1) gravitational lens time delays, (2) baryon acoustic oscillation (BAO), and
(3) HI intensity mapping. We describe the principles and theory behind each
method, the ingredients needed for measuring such distances, the current
observational results, and future prospects. Time delays from strongly lensed
quasars currently provide constraints on with < 4% uncertainty, and with
1% within reach from ongoing surveys and efforts. Recent exciting discoveries
of strongly lensed supernovae hold great promise for time-delay cosmography.
BAO features have been detected in redshift surveys up to z <~ 0.8 with
galaxies and z ~ 2 with Ly- forest, providing precise distance
measurements and with < 2% uncertainty in flat CDM. Future BAO
surveys will probe the distance scale with percent-level precision. HI
intensity mapping has great potential to map BAO distances at z ~ 0.8 and
beyond with precisions of a few percent. The next years ahead will be exciting
as various cosmological probes reach 1% uncertainty in determining , to
assess the current tension in measurements that could indicate new
physics.Comment: Review article accepted for publication in Space Science Reviews
(Springer), 45 pages, 10 figures. Chapter of a special collection resulting
from the May 2016 ISSI-BJ workshop on Astronomical Distance Determination in
the Space Ag
A Model for the Development of the Rhizobial and Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Symbioses in Legumes and Its Use to Understand the Roles of Ethylene in the Establishment of these two Symbioses
We propose a model depicting the development of nodulation and arbuscular mycorrhizae. Both processes are dissected into many steps, using Pisum sativum L. nodulation mutants as a guideline. For nodulation, we distinguish two main developmental programs, one epidermal and one cortical. Whereas Nod factors alone affect the cortical program, bacteria are required to trigger the epidermal events. We propose that the two programs of the rhizobial symbiosis evolved separately and that, over time, they came to function together. The distinction between these two programs does not exist for arbuscular mycorrhizae development despite events occurring in both root tissues. Mutations that affect both symbioses are restricted to the epidermal program. We propose here sites of action and potential roles for ethylene during the formation of the two symbioses with a specific hypothesis for nodule organogenesis. Assuming the epidermis does not make ethylene, the microsymbionts probably first encounter a regulatory level of ethylene at the epidermisâoutermost cortical cell layer interface. Depending on the hormone concentrations there, infection will either progress or be blocked. In the former case, ethylene affects the cortex cytoskeleton, allowing reorganization that facilitates infection; in the latter case, ethylene acts on several enzymes that interfere with infection thread growth, causing it to abort. Throughout this review, the difficulty of generalizing the roles of ethylene is emphasized and numerous examples are given to demonstrate the diversity that exists in plants
Spatial regulation of the glycocalyx component podocalyxin is a switch for prometastatic function
The glycocalyx component and sialomucin podocalyxin (PODXL) is required for normal tissue development by promoting apical membranes to form between cells, triggering lumen formation. Elevated PODXL expression is also associated with metastasis and poor clinical outcome in multiple tumor types. How PODXL presents this duality in effect remains unknown. We identify an unexpected function of PODXL as a decoy receptor for galectin-3 (GAL3), whereby the PODXL-GAL3 interaction releases GAL3 repression of integrin-based invasion. Differential cortical targeting of PODXL, regulated by ubiquitination, is the molecular mechanism controlling alternate fates. Both PODXL high and low surface levels occur in parallel subpopulations within cancer cells. Orthotopic intraprostatic xenograft of PODXL-manipulated cells or those with different surface levels of PODXL define that this axis controls metastasis in vivo. Clinically, interplay between PODXL-GAL3 stratifies prostate cancer patients with poor outcome. Our studies define the molecular mechanisms and context in which PODXL promotes invasion and metastasis
Search for a W' boson decaying to a bottom quark and a top quark in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV
Results are presented from a search for a W' boson using a dataset
corresponding to 5.0 inverse femtobarns of integrated luminosity collected
during 2011 by the CMS experiment at the LHC in pp collisions at sqrt(s)=7 TeV.
The W' boson is modeled as a heavy W boson, but different scenarios for the
couplings to fermions are considered, involving both left-handed and
right-handed chiral projections of the fermions, as well as an arbitrary
mixture of the two. The search is performed in the decay channel W' to t b,
leading to a final state signature with a single lepton (e, mu), missing
transverse energy, and jets, at least one of which is tagged as a b-jet. A W'
boson that couples to fermions with the same coupling constant as the W, but to
the right-handed rather than left-handed chiral projections, is excluded for
masses below 1.85 TeV at the 95% confidence level. For the first time using LHC
data, constraints on the W' gauge coupling for a set of left- and right-handed
coupling combinations have been placed. These results represent a significant
improvement over previously published limits.Comment: Submitted to Physics Letters B. Replaced with version publishe
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