Skyrme-force time-dependent Hartree-Fock calculations with axial symmetry

We discuss axially symmetric time-dependent Hartree-Fock calculations using a finite-range modification of the Skyrme energy functional. The finite-difference forms of the coordinate-space time-dependent Hartree-Fock equations, the method of time evolution, and other numerical aspects are presented. Detailed results for (^84)Kr-induced deep-inelastic collisions with (^208)Pb at E_(lab) = 494 MeV and with (^209)Bi at E_(lab) = 600 MeV and 714 MeV are compared with experiment. [NUCLEAR REACTIONS (^84)Kr + (^208)Pb at E_lab = 494 MeV and (^84)Kr + (^209)Bi at E_1ab=600 and 714 MeV, in the time-dependent Hartree-Fock approximation. Strongy damped collisions. Details of Skyrme force calculations with axial symmetry.

Elucidating the role of DEPTOR in Alzheimer's disease

This article has been made available through the Brunel Open Access Publishing Fund.The mammalian or mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) is a Ser/Thr protein kinase that, in response to nutrient stimulation, regulates cellular growth, proliferation, survival, protein synthesis and gene transcription. It has also been implicated in Alzheimer's disease (AD) with neuronal cells and hippocampal slices of AD transgenic mice experiencing dysregulated mTOR and synaptic plasticity in response to treatment with the toxic amyloid β (Aβ1-42) peptide, which has been implicated in AD. DEP domain-containing mTOR-interacting protein (DEPTOR) is a protein which can bind to mTOR and cause its inhibition, and functions as a regulatory protein of mTOR to control its activity. The inhibition of mTOR has been shown to have a neuroprotective effect; in an animal model, it was shown to protect against Aβ-induced neurotoxicity. In the present study, to investigate to role of DEPTOR in a model of AD, we neuronally differentiated the SH-SY5Y cell line and examined the effects of treatment with an Aβ42 peptide, thus mimicking plaque formation. This resulted in a significant increase in mTOR and a significant decrease in DEPTOR expression compared to the unstimulated controls. Moreover, to the best of our knowledge, we demonstrate for the first time a reduction in the protein level of DEPTOR in the precentral gyrus, postcentral gyrus and occipital lobe of a brain with AD compared to a normal control, as well as a significant reduction in DEPTOR expression in samples from late-onset AD (LOAD) compared to early-onset familial AD (EOFAD). The reduction in DEPTOR expression in cases of AD compared to healthy controls can lead to an augmentation of mTOR signalling, leading to Aβ accumulation, which in turn leads to a further reduction in DEPTOR expression. This results in the accumulation of amyloid plaque, shifting the balance from neuroprotection to neurodegeneration

Positive risk taking: debating the research agenda in the context of adult

The purpose of this paper is to present the case for examining the concept of Positive Risk Taking (PRT) in the context of adult protection. The paper argues there is a need for empirical research to understand the application of and attitudes to PRT to explore whether the concept has moved beyond a principle to make an identifiable difference to service users. By investigating evidence from policy, literature, and professional opinion, this paper presents the ethical tensions for professional practice in adult protection between respecting a service user’s freedom to make choices to enhance their independence whilst preserving safety for service users and society. This is considered in the context of risk in health and social care and the recent changes in society resulting from Covid-19. Inherent tensions are apparent in the evidence in health and social care between attitudes propounding safety first and those arguing for the benefits of risk taking. This indicates not only a need for a paradigm shift in attitudes but also a research agenda that promotes empirical studies of the implications of PRT from service user and professional perspectives. This paper draws attention to the relatively limited research into both professionals' and service user perspectives and experiences of PRT in practice

Coral symbiodinium community composition across the Belize Mesoamerican barrier reef system is influenced by host species and thermal variability

Accepted manuscrip

Analysis of fatigue, fatique-crack propagation, and fracture data

Analytical methods have been developed for consolidation of fatigue, fatigue-crack propagation, and fracture data for use in design of metallic aerospace structural components. To evaluate these methods, a comprehensive file of data on 2024 and 7075 aluminums, Ti-6A1-4V, and 300M and D6Ac steels was established. Data were obtained from both published literature and unpublished reports furnished by aerospace companies. Fatigue and fatigue-crack-propagation analyses were restricted to information obtained from constant-amplitude load or strain cycling of specimens in air at room temperature. Fracture toughness data were from tests of center-cracked tension panels, part-through crack specimens, and compact-tension specimens

Heavy meson masses and decay constants from relativistic heavy quarks in full lattice QCD

We determine masses and decay constants of heavy-heavy and heavy-charm pseudoscalar mesons as a function of heavy quark mass using a fully relativistic formalism known as Highly Improved Staggered Quarks for the heavy quark. We are able to cover the region from the charm quark mass to the bottom quark mass using MILC ensembles with lattice spacing values from 0.15 fm down to 0.044 fm. We obtain f_{B_c} = 0.427(6) GeV; m_{B_c} = 6.285(10) GeV and f_{\eta_b} = 0.667(6) GeV. Our value for f_{\eta_b} is within a few percent of f_{\Upsilon} confirming that spin effects are surprisingly small for heavyonium decay constants. Our value for f_{B_c} is significantly lower than potential model values being used to estimate production rates at the LHC. We discuss the changing physical heavy-quark mass dependence of decay constants from heavy-heavy through heavy-charm to heavy-strange mesons. A comparison between the three different systems confirms that the B_c system behaves in some ways more like a heavy-light system than a heavy-heavy one. Finally we summarise current results on decay constants of gold-plated mesons.Comment: 16 pages, 12 figure

Highly Improved Staggered Quarks on the Lattice, with Applications to Charm Physics

We use perturbative Symanzik improvement to create a new staggered-quark action (HISQ) that has greatly reduced one-loop taste-exchange errors, no tree-level order a^2 errors, and no tree-level order (am)^4 errors to leading order in the quark's velocity v/c. We demonstrate with simulations that the resulting action has taste-exchange interactions that are at least 3--4 times smaller than the widely used ASQTAD action. We show how to estimate errors due to taste exchange by comparing ASQTAD and HISQ simulations, and demonstrate with simulations that such errors are no more than 1% when HISQ is used for light quarks at lattice spacings of 1/10 fm or less. The suppression of (am)^4 errors also makes HISQ the most accurate discretization currently available for simulating c quarks. We demonstrate this in a new analysis of the psi-eta_c mass splitting using the HISQ action on lattices where a m_c=0.43 and 0.66, with full-QCD gluon configurations (from MILC). We obtain a result of~111(5) MeV which compares well with experiment. We discuss applications of this formalism to D physics and present our first high-precision results for D_s mesons.Comment: 21 pages, 8 figures, 5 table

A numerical investigation of the solution of a class of fourth-order eigenvalue problems

This paper is concerned with the accurate numerical approximation of the spectral properties of the biharmonic operator on various domains in two dimensions. A number of analytic results concerning the eigenfunctions of this operator are summarized and their implications for numerical approximation are discussed. In particular, the asymptotic behaviour of the first eigenfunction is studied since it is known that this has an unbounded number of oscillations when approaching certain types of corners on domain boundaries. Recent computational results of Bjorstad & Tjostheim, using a highly accurate spectral Legendre-Galerkin method, have demonstrated that a number of these sign changes may be accurately computed on a square domain provided sufficient care is taken with the numerical method. We demonstrate that similar accuracy is also achieved using an unstructured finite-element solver which may be applied to problems on domains with arbitrary geometries. A number of results obtained from this mixed finite-element approach are then presented for a variety of domains. These include a family of circular sector regions, for which the oscillatory behaviour is studied as a function of the internal angle, and another family of (symmetric and non-convex) domains, for which the parity of the least eigenfunction is investigated. The paper not only verifies existing asymptotic theory, but also allows us to make a new conjecture concerning the eigenfunctions of the biharmonic operator