127 research outputs found
Unitarity and the Bethe-Salpeter Equation
We investigate the relation between different three-dimensional reductions of
the Bethe-Salpeter equation and the analytic structure of the resultant
amplitudes in the energy plane. This correlation is studied for both the
interaction Lagrangian and the system with -, -,
and -channel pole diagrams as driving terms. We observe that the equal-time
equation, which includes some of the three-body unitarity cuts, gives the best
agreement with the Bethe-Salpeter result. This is followed by other 3-D
approximations that have less of the analytic structure.Comment: 17 pages, 8 figures; RevTeX. Version accepted for publication in
Phys. Rev.
What is the structure of the Roper resonance?
We investigate the structure of the nucleon resonance N^*(1440) (Roper)
within a coupled-channel meson exchange model for pion-nucleon scattering. The
coupling to pipiN states is realized effectively by the coupling to the sigmaN,
piDelta and rhoN channels. The interaction within and between these channels is
derived from an effective Lagrangian based on a chirally symmetric Lagrangian,
which is supplemented by well known terms for the coupling of the Delta isobar,
the omega meson and the 'sigma', which is the name given here to the strong
correlation of two pions in the scalar-isoscalar channel. In this model the
Roper resonance can be described by meson-baryon dynamics alone; no genuine
N^*(1440) (3 quark) resonance is needed in order to fit piN phase shifts and
inelasticities.Comment: 55 pages, 14 figure
The Return of The Prodigal Goldstone Boson
We propose that the mass of the meson is a particularly
sensitive probe of the properties of finite energy density hadronic matter and
quark gluon plasma. We argue that the mass of the excitation in
hot and dense matter should be small, and therefore that the
production cross section should be much increased relative to that for pp
collisions. This may have observable consequences in dilepton and diphoton
experiments.Comment: LaTeX, 15 pages; revised version to appear in Phys.Rev.
Human performance and strategies while solving an aircraft routing and sequencing problem: an experimental approach
As airport resources are stretched to meet increasing demand for services, effective use of ground infrastructure is increasingly critical for ensuring operational efficiency. Work in operations research has produced algorithms providing airport tower controllers with guidance on optimal timings and sequences for flight arrivals, departures, and ground movement. While such decision support systems have the potential to improve operational efficiency, they may also affect users’ mental workload, situation awareness, and task performance. This work sought to identify performance outcomes and strategies employed by human decision makers during an experimental airport ground movement control task with the goal of identifying opportunities for enhancing user-centered tower control decision support systems. To address this challenge, thirty novice participants solved a set of vehicle routing problems presented in the format of a game representing the airport ground movement task practiced by runway controllers. The games varied across two independent variables, network map layout (representing task complexity) and gameplay objective (representing task flexibility), and verbal protocol, visual protocol, task performance, workload, and task duration were collected as dependent variables. A logistic regression analysis revealed that gameplay objective and task duration significantly affected the likelihood of a participant identifying the optimal solution to a game, with the likelihood of an optimal solution increasing with longer task duration and in the less flexible objective condition. In addition, workload appeared unaffected by either independent variable, but verbal protocols and visual observations indicated that high-performing participants demonstrated a greater degree of planning and situation awareness. Through identifying human behavior during optimization problem solving, the work of tower control can be better understood, which, in turn, provides insights for developing decision support systems for ground movement management
Vacuum Contributions in a Chiral Effective Lagrangian for Nuclei
A relativistic hadronic model for nuclear matter and finite nuclei, which
incorporates nonlinear chiral symmetry and broken scale invariance, is
presented and applied at the one-baryon-loop level to finite nuclei. The model
contains an effective light scalar field that is responsible for the mid-range
nucleon--nucleon attraction and which has anomalous scaling behavior. One-loop
vacuum contributions in this background scalar field at finite density are
constrained by low-energy theorems that reflect the broken scale invariance of
quantum chromodynamics. A mean-field energy functional for nuclear matter and
nuclei is derived that contains small powers of the fields and their
derivatives, and the validity of this truncation is discussed. Good fits to the
bulk properties of finite nuclei and single-particle spectra are obtained.Comment: 24 pages, RevTex, 5 figures, uuencoded compressed postscrip
Survival of Escherichia coli in the environment: fundamental and public health aspects
In this review, our current understanding of the species Escherichia coli and its persistence in the open environment is examined. E. coli consists of six different subgroups, which are separable by genomic analyses. Strains within each subgroup occupy various ecological niches, and can be broadly characterized by either commensalistic or different pathogenic behaviour. In relevant cases, genomic islands can be pinpointed that underpin the behaviour. Thus, genomic islands of, on the one hand, broad environmental significance, and, on the other hand, virulence, are highlighted in the context of E. coli survival in its niches. A focus is further placed on experimental studies on the survival of the different types of E. coli in soil, manure and water. Overall, the data suggest that E. coli can persist, for varying periods of time, in such terrestrial and aquatic habitats. In particular, the considerable persistence of the pathogenic E. coli O157:H7 is of importance, as its acid tolerance may be expected to confer a fitness asset in the more acidic environments. In this context, the extent to which E. coli interacts with its human/animal host and the organism's survivability in natural environments are compared. In addition, the effect of the diversity and community structure of the indigenous microbiota on the fate of invading E. coli populations in the open environment is discussed. Such a relationship is of importance to our knowledge of both public and environmental health. The ISME Journal (2011) 5, 173-183; doi:10.1038/ismej.2010.80; published online 24 June 2010NATO [ESP.EAP.CLG 981785]; The Soil Biotechnology Foundationinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Near-threshold and meson productions in collisions
Using a relativistic effective Lagrangian at the hadronic level,
near-threshold and meson productions in proton proton ()
collisions, , are studied within the distorted wave
Born approximation. Both initial and final state interactions are
included. In addition to total cross section data, both and
angular distribution data are used to constrain further the model parameters.
For the reaction we consider two different possibilities:
with and without the inclusion of nucleon resonances. The nucleon resonances
are included in a way to be consistent with the
reaction. It is shown that the inclusion of nucleon resonances can describe the
data better overall than without their inclusion. However, the SATURNE data in
the range of excess energies MeV are still underestimated by about a
factor of two. As for the reaction it is found that the
presently limited available data from DISTO can be reproduced by four sets of
values for the vector and tensor coupling constants. Further
measurements of the energy dependence of the total cross section near threshold
energies should help to constrain better the coupling constant.Comment: Latex, 37 pages, 13 figures (14 EPS-figure files), text modified,
version to appear in Phys. ReV.
Mathematical Model of Plasmid-Mediated Resistance to Ceftiofur in Commensal Enteric Escherichia coli of Cattle
Antimicrobial use in food animals may contribute to antimicrobial resistance in bacteria of animals and humans. Commensal bacteria of animal intestine may serve as a reservoir of resistance-genes. To understand the dynamics of plasmid-mediated resistance to cephalosporin ceftiofur in enteric commensals of cattle, we developed a deterministic mathematical model of the dynamics of ceftiofur-sensitive and resistant commensal enteric Escherichia coli (E. coli) in the absence of and during parenteral therapy with ceftiofur. The most common treatment scenarios including those using a sustained-release drug formulation were simulated; the model outputs were in agreement with the available experimental data. The model indicated that a low but stable fraction of resistant enteric E. coli could persist in the absence of immediate ceftiofur pressure, being sustained by horizontal and vertical transfers of plasmids carrying resistance-genes, and ingestion of resistant E. coli. During parenteral therapy with ceftiofur, resistant enteric E. coli expanded in absolute number and relative frequency. This expansion was most influenced by parameters of antimicrobial action of ceftiofur against E. coli. After treatment (>5 weeks from start of therapy) the fraction of ceftiofur-resistant cells among enteric E. coli, similar to that in the absence of treatment, was most influenced by the parameters of ecology of enteric E. coli, such as the frequency of transfer of plasmids carrying resistance-genes, the rate of replacement of enteric E. coli by ingested E. coli, and the frequency of ceftiofur resistance in the latter
Biofluid Biomarkers in Huntington's Disease
Huntington's disease (HD) is a chronic progressive neurodegenerative condition where new markers of disease progression are needed. So far no disease-modifying interventions have been found, and few interventions have been proven to alleviate symptoms. This may be partially explained by the lack of reliable indicators of disease severity, progression, and phenotype.Biofluid biomarkers may bring advantages in addition to clinical measures, such as reliability, reproducibility, price, accuracy, and direct quantification of pathobiological processes at the molecular level; and in addition to empowering clinical trials, they have the potential to generate useful hypotheses for new drug development.In this chapter we review biofluid biomarker reports in HD, emphasizing those we feel are likely to be closest to clinical applicability
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