The pomeron-pomeron interaction in the perturbative QCD

The pomeron-pomeron interaction is studied in the perturbative approach of BFKL-Bartels. The total pomeron-pomeron cross-section is proportional to $\alpha_{s}^{4}s^{\Delta}/\sqrt {t_{1}t_{2}}$ where $\sqrt{s}$ is the c.m. energy and $t_{1,2}$ are the virtualities of the colliding pomerons. Upon calculating the coefficient the cross-section is found to be of the order 2.2 mb at $\sqrt{s}= 6$ TeV and $\sqrt{-t_{1}}\sim\sqrt{-t_{2}}\sim 1$ GeV/c.Comment: 12 pages in LaTeX plus 2 postscript file

Direct Calculations of the Odderon Intercept in the Perturbative QCD

The odderon intercept is calculated directly, from its expression via an average energy of the odderon Hamiltonian, using both trial wave functions in the variational approach and the wave function recently constructed by R.A.Janik and J.Wosiek. The results confirm their reported value for the energy. The odderon intercept is calculated directly, from its expression via an average energy of the odderon Hamiltonian, using both trial wave functions in the variational approach and the wave function recently constructed by R.A.Janik and J.Wosiek.The results confirm their reported value for the energy. Variational calculations give energies some 30% higher. However they also predict the odderon intercept to be quite close to unity. In fact, for realistic values of $\alpha_s$, the intercept calculated variationally is at most 2% lower than the exact one: 0.94 instead of 0.96. It is also found that the solution for $q_3=0$ does not belong to the odderon spectrum. The diffusion parameter is found to be of the order 0.6.Comment: 20 page

Mapping the ultrafast flow of harvested solar energy in living photosynthetic cells

Photosynthesis transfers energy efficiently through a series of antenna complexes to the reaction center where charge separation occurs. Energy transfer in vivo is primarily monitored by measuring fluorescence signals from the small fraction of excitations that fail to result in charge separation. Here, we use two-dimensional electronic spectroscopy to follow the entire energy transfer process in a thriving culture of the purple bacteria, Rhodobacter sphaeroides. By removing contributions from scattered light, we extract the dynamics of energy transfer through the dense network of antenna complexes and into the reaction center. Simulations demonstrate that these dynamics constrain the membrane organization into small pools of core antenna complexes that rapidly trap energy absorbed by surrounding peripheral antenna complexes. The rapid trapping and limited back transfer of these excitations lead to transfer efficiencies of 83% and a small functional light-harvesting unit

Influence of particle size and fluorination ratio of CFₓ precursor compounds on the electrochemical performance of C-FeF₂ nanocomposites for reversible lithium storage

Systematical studies of the electrochemical performance of CFx-derived carbon–FeF2 nanocomposites for reversible lithium storage are presented. The conversion cathode materials were synthesized by a simple one-pot synthesis, which enables a reactive intercalation of nanoscale Fe particles in a CFx matrix, and the reaction of these components to an electrically conductive C–FeF2 compound. The pretreatment and the structure of the utilized CFx precursors play a crucial role in the synthesis and influence the electrochemical behavior of the conversion cathode material. The particle size of the CFx precursor particles was varied by ball milling as well as by choosing different C/F ratios. The investigations led to optimized C–FeF2 conversion cathode materials that showed specific capacities of 436 mAh/g at 40 °C after 25 cycles. The composites were characterized by Raman spectroscopy, X-Ray diffraction measurements, electron energy loss spectroscopy and TEM measurements. The electrochemical performances of the materials were tested by galvanostatic measurements

Prenatal exposure to pyrethroid pesticides and childhood behavior and executive functioning

Several previous studies of pyrethroid biomarkers and behavior have reported associations between concurrent pyrethroid levels and adverse behavioral problems in children. One geospatial study reported associations between prenatal exposure to pyrethroids and autism. However, the association between prenatal pyrethroid biomarkers and childhood behavior is unknown. The Mount Sinai Children's Environmental Health Center is a prospective birth cohort with urinary pyrethroid biomarkers during pregnancy and behavioral measurements at 4, 6, and 7–9 years of age. Primiparous women were enrolled between 1998 and 2002. 162 mother/child pairs with complete exposure and behavioral outcomes data were used to investigate associations between detectable levels of prenatal pyrethroid metabolites and scores on the Behavioral Assessment System for Children and the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function. Overall, detection frequencies of pyrethroid metabolites were low (<30%). In longitudinal mixed models, detectable levels of 3-PBA during pregnancy were associated with worse Internalizing (β −4.50, 95% CI −8.05, −0.95), Depression (β −3.21, 95% CI −6.38, −0.05), Somatization (β −3.22, 95% CI −6.38, −0.06), Behavioral Regulation (β −3.59, 95% CI −6.97, −0.21), Emotional Control (β −3.35, 95% CI −6.58, −0.12), Shifting (β −3.42, 95% CI −6.73, −0.11), and Monitoring (β −4.08, 95% CI −7.07, −1.08) scales. Detectable levels of cis-DCCA were associated with worse Externalizing (β −4.74, 95% CI −9.37, −0.10), Conduct Problems (β −5.35, 95% CI −9.90, −0.81), Behavioral Regulation (β −6.42, 95% CI −11.39, −1.45), and Inhibitory Control (β −7.20, 95% CI −12.00, −2.39). Although detection frequencies of pyrethroid metabolites were low, we found suggestive evidence that prenatal exposure to 3-PBA and cis-DCCA may be associated with a variety of behavioral and executive functioning deficits

Birth rates after radioactive iodine treatment for differentiated thyroid cancer

Treatment with radioactive iodine (RAI) for differentiated thyroid cancer has been associated with alterations in gonadal function in women, including changes in menstrual function and an earlier age at menopause. Our objective was to evaluate associations between RAI and postdiagnosis live birth rates among thyroid cancer survivors diagnosed at ages 15–39 years. We identified women diagnosed with differentiated thyroid cancer between January 2000 and December 2013 in the North Carolina Central Cancer Registry (CCR). CCR records were linked to state birth certificate files to identify livebirths to thyroid cancer survivors through December 2014. Person-years of follow-up were accrued from 6 months after diagnosis to first birth, 46th birthday, death, or December 31, 2014, whichever came first. Cox proportional hazards regression was used to estimate hazards ratios (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for first livebirth. Among 2,360 women with a differentiated thyroid cancer diagnosis, 53% received RAI. The cumulative incidence of birth at the end of follow-up (maximum 14.5 years) was 30.0 and 29.3% among those who were and were not treated with RAI, respectively. Overall, first birth rates did not significantly differ between groups (HR = 1.00; 95% CI: 0.82, 1.23). In our observational cohort, treatment with RAI was not associated with a reduced birth rate. Our findings add to the evidence available for counseling thyroid cancer patients with concerns about future fertility

Sedimentary evidence of the Late Holocene tsunami in the Shetland Islands (UK) at Loch Flugarth, northern Mainland

Tsunami deposits around the North Sea basin are needed to assess the long-term hazard of tsunamis. Here, we present sedimentary evidence of the youngest tsunami on the Shetland Islands from Loch Flugarth, a coastal lake on northern Mainland. Three gravity cores show organic-rich background sedimentation with many sub-centimetre-scale sand layers, reflecting recurring storm overwash and a sediment source limited to the active beach and uppermost subtidal zone. A basal 13-cm-thick sand layer, dated to 426–787 cal. a CE based on 14C, 137Cs and Bayesian age–depth modelling, was found in all cores. High-resolution grain-size analysis identified four normally graded or massive sublayers with inversely graded traction carpets at the base of two sublayers. A thin organic-rich ‘mud’ drape and a ‘mud’ cap cover the two uppermost sublayers, which also contain small rip-up clasts. Grain-size distributions show a difference between the basal sand layer and the coarser and better sorted storm layers above. Multivariate statistical analysis of X-ray fluorescence core scanning data also distinguishes both sand units: Zr, Fe and Ti dominate the thick basal sand, while the thin storm layers are high in K and Si. Enriched Zr and Ti in the basal sand layer, in combination with increased magnetic susceptibility, may be related to higher heavy mineral content reflecting an additional marine sediment source below the storm-wave base that is activated by a tsunami. Based on reinterpretation of chronological data from two different published sites and the chronostratigraphy of the present study, the tsunami seems to date to c. 1400 cal. a BP. Although the source of the tsunami remains unclear, the lack of evidence for this event outside of the Shetland Islands suggests that it had a local source and was smaller than the older Storegga tsunami (8.15 cal. ka BP), which affected most of the North Sea basin.</p

Left truncation bias to explain the protective effect of smoking on preeclampsia potential, but how plausible?

Background: An inverse association between maternal smoking and preeclampsia has been frequently observed in epidemiologic studies for several decades. In the May 2015 issue of this journal, Lisonkova and Joseph described a simulation study suggesting that bias from left truncation might explain the inverse association. The simulations were based on strong assumptions regarding the underlying mechanisms through which bias might occur. Methods: To examine the sensitivity of the previous authors' conclusions to these assumptions, we constructed a new Monte Carlo simulation using published estimates to frame our data-generating parameters. We estimated the association between smoking and preeclampsia across a range of scenarios that incorporated abnormal placentation and early pregnancy loss. Results: Our results confirmed that the previous authors' findings are highly dependent on assumptions regarding the strength of association between abnormal placentation and preeclampsia. Thus, the bias they described may be less pronounced than was suggested. Conclusions: Under empirically derived constraints of these critical assumptions, left truncation does not appear to fully explain the inverse association between smoking and preeclampsia. Furthermore, when considering processes in which left truncation may result from the exposure, it is important to precisely describe the target population and parameter of interest before assessing potential bias. We comment on the specification of a meaningful target population when assessing maternal smoking and preeclampsia as a public health issue. We describe considerations for defining a target population in studies of perinatal exposures when those exposures cause competing events (e.g., early pregnancy loss) for primary outcomes of interest

Prenatal exposure to organophosphorus pesticides and childhood neurodevelopmental phenotypes

Prenatal exposure to organophosphorus pesticides (OPs) has been associated with different neurodevelopmental outcomes across different cohorts. A phenotypic approach may address some of these differences by incorporating information across scales and accounting for the complex correlational structure of neurodevelopmental outcomes. Additionally, Bayesian hierarchical modeling can account for confounding by collinear co-exposures. We use this framework to examine associations between prenatal exposure to OPs and behavior, executive functioning, and IQ assessed at age 6–9 years in a cohort of 404 mother/infant pairs recruited during pregnancy. We derived phenotypes of neurodevelopment with a factor analysis, and estimated associations between OP metabolites and these phenotypes in Bayesian hierarchical models for exposure mixtures. We report seven factors: 1) Impulsivity and Externalizing, 2) Executive Functioning, 3) Internalizing, 4) Perceptual Reasoning, 5) Adaptability, 6) Processing Speed, and 7) Verbal Intelligence. These, along with the Working Memory Index, were standardized and scaled so that positive values reflected positive attributes and negative values represented adverse outcomes. Standardized dimethylphosphate metabolites were negatively associated with Internalizing factor scores (β^ − 0.13, 95% CI − 0.26, 0.00) but positively associated with Executive Functioning factor scores (β^ 0.18, 95% CI 0.04, 0.31). Standardized diethylphosphate metabolites were negatively associated with the Working Memory Index (β^ − 0.17, 95% CI − 0.33, − 0.03). Associations with factor scores were generally stronger and more precise than associations with individual instrument-specific items. Factor analysis of outcomes may provide some advantages in etiological studies of childhood neurodevelopment by incorporating information across scales to reduce dimensionality and improve precision