Pion transition form factor at the two-loop level vis-\`a-vis experimental data

We use light-cone QCD sum rules to calculate the pion-photon transition form factor, taking into account radiative corrections up to the next-to-next-to-leading order of perturbation theory. We compare the obtained predictions with all available experimental data from the CELLO, CLEO, and the BaBar Collaborations. We point out that the BaBar data are incompatible with the convolution scheme of QCD, on which our predictions are based, and can possibly be explained only with a violation of the factorization theorem. We pull together recent theoretical results and comment on their significance.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures, 3 tables. Presented by the first author at Workshop "Recent Advances in Perturbative QCD and Hadronic Physics", 20--25 July 2009, ECT*, Trento (Italy), in Honor of Prof. Anatoly Efremov's 75th Birthday. v2 wrong reference tag removed. v3 Fig. 4 and Ref. [27] correcte

A new blue-tailed Monitor lizard (Reptilia, Squamata, Varanus) of the Varanus indicus group from Mussau Island, Papua New Guinea

We describe a new species of Varanus from Mussau Island, north-east of New Guinea. The new species is a member of the Varanus indicus species group and is distinguished from all other members by both morphological and molecular genetic characters. It is the third species of Varanus reported from the Bismarck Archipelago and the first record of a yellow tongued member of the Varanus indicus species group from a remote oceanic island. The herpetofauna of Mussau Island has not been well studied but the discovery of this new species is in accordance with recent findings indicating that the island may harbor several unknown endemic vertebrates. The distribution of the closely related Varanus finschi is also discussed in the light of recent fieldwork and a review of old records.Valter Weijola, Stephen C. Donnellan, Christer Lindqvis

Rethinking Extension Communications: Is Issues Programming the Key?

Extension\u27s internal and external publics are increasing their demands for greater program accountability. At the same time, researchers have documented that many Extension communicators have been unhappy with being left out of the program-development process. This article examines the evolution of the role of communicators and shows how it is relevant to the current discussions of issues programming. The authors recommend administrators and communications units adopt a public relations model to better meet Extension\u27s objectives

Morphological differentiation correlates with ecological but not with genetic divergence in a Gehyra gecko

Body size affects life history, the ecological niche of an organism and its interactions with other organisms. Resultantly, marked differences in body size between related organisms are often an indication of a species boundary. This is particularly evident in the Gehyra variegata species complex of geckos, which displays differential body sizes between genetically divergent species, but high levels of intraspecific morphological conservatism. We report on a Gehyra population that displays extraordinary body size differentiation in comparison with other G. variegata species. We used morphological and environmental data to show this population is phenotypically and ecologically distinct from its parapatric congener Gehyra lazelli and that morphology and ecology are significantly correlated. Contrastingly, mtDNA analysis indicates paraphyly between the two groups, and allele frequencies at six microsatellite loci show no population structure concordant with morpho‐/ecotype. These results suggest either ecological speciation or environmentally induced phenotypic polymorphism, in an otherwise morphologically conservative group.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/90603/1/j.1420-9101.2012.02460.x.pd

How Are Curiosity and Interest Different? Naive Bayes Classification of People's Beliefs

Researchers studying curiosity and interest note a lack of consensus in whether and how these important motivations for learning are distinct. Empirical attempts to distinguish them are impeded by this lack of conceptual clarity. Following a recent proposal that curiosity and interest are folk concepts, we sought to determine a non-expert consensus view on their distinction using machine learning methods. In Study 1, we demonstrate that there is a consensus in how they are distinguished, by training a Naïve Bayes classification algorithm to distinguish between free-text definitions of curiosity and interest (n = 396 definitions) and using cross-validation to test the classifier on two sets of data (main n = 196; additional n = 218). In Study 2, we demonstrate that the non-expert consensus is shared by experts and can plausibly underscore future empirical work, as the classifier accurately distinguished definitions provided by experts who study curiosity and interest (n = 92). Our results suggest a shared consensus on the distinction between curiosity and interest, providing a basis for much-needed conceptual clarity facilitating future empirical work. This consensus distinguishes curiosity as more active information seeking directed towards specific and previously unknown information. In contrast, interest is more pleasurable, in-depth, less momentary information seeking towards information in domains where people already have knowledge. However, we note that there are similarities between the concepts, as they are both motivating, involve feelings of wanting, and relate to knowledge acquisition

Why Haven\u27t You Published That Research (and Your Other Ideas)?

Various disincentives and barriers keep communicators from pursuing scholarly publication opportunities

Isolation of a Housefly Head Protein Fraction that Exhibits High Affinity Binding of Cholinergic Ligands

The purification is described of a protein fraction, isolated from the central nervous system of housefly heads, that exhibits high affinity for cholinergic ligands. The purified material was found tq bind with high affinity acetylcholine, nicotinic ligands such as nicotine and decamethonium as well as atropine, dexetimide a:qg pilocarpine which are of a muscarinic nature. With all the ligands there appeared to be only a single site for binding with measured dissociation constants varying from 6.2 X 10-s M (dexetimide) to 5.4 x 10-6 M (pilocarpine). The concentration of binding sites was in the range of 381 nmol g-1 of protein (atropine) to 560 nmol g-1 of protein (pilocarpine)

Endpoint behavior of the pion distribution amplitude in QCD sum rules with nonlocal condensates

Starting from the QCD sum rules with nonlocal condensates for the pion distribution amplitude, we derive another sum rule for its derivative and its "integral" derivatives---defined in this work. We use this new sum rule to analyze the fine details of the pion distribution amplitude in the endpoint region $x\sim 0$. The results for endpoint-suppressed and flat-top (or flat-like) pion distribution amplitudes are compared with those we obtained with differential sum rules by employing two different models for the distribution of vacuum-quark virtualities. We determine the range of values of the derivatives of the pion distribution amplitude and show that endpoint-suppressed distribution amplitudes lie within this range, while those with endpoint enhancement---flat-type or CZ-like---yield values outside this range.Comment: 20 pages, 10 figures, 1 table, conclusions update

Panel: Going Virtual: Are there Real Opportunities for Business in Virtual Worlds?

Summary of Panel Topic (related to ICIS track theme on Social Networking