The `bare' strange stars might not be bare

It is proposed that the `bare' strange matter stars might not be bare, and radio pulsars might be in fact `bare' strange stars. As strange matter stars being intensely magnetized rotate, the induced unipolar electric fields would be large enough to construct magnetospheres. This situation is very similar to that discussed by many authors for rotating neutron stars. Also, the strange stars with accretion crusts in binaries could act as X-ray pulsars or X-ray bursters. There are some advantages if radio pulsars are `bare' strange stars.Comment: 11 pages, 1 Postscript figures, LaTeX, Chin. Phys. Lett. 1998, Vol.15, Nov.12, p.93

Free-Boundary Dynamics in Elasto-plastic Amorphous Solids: The Circular Hole Problem

We develop an athermal shear-transformation-zone (STZ) theory of plastic deformation in spatially inhomogeneous, amorphous solids. Our ultimate goal is to describe the dynamics of the boundaries of voids or cracks in such systems when they are subjected to remote, time-dependent tractions. The theory is illustrated here for the case of a circular hole in an infinite two-dimensional plate, a highly symmetric situation that allows us to solve much of the problem analytically. In spite of its special symmetry, this example contains many general features of systems in which stress is concentrated near free boundaries and deforms them irreversibly. We depart from conventional treatments of such problems in two ways. First, the STZ analysis allows us to keep track of spatially heterogeneous, internal state variables such as the effective disorder temperature, which determines plastic response to subsequent loading. Second, we subject the system to stress pulses of finite duration, and therefore are able to observe elasto-plastic response during both loading and unloading. We compute the final deformations and residual stresses produced by these stress pulses. Looking toward more general applications of these results, we examine the possibility of constructing a boundary-layer theory that might be useful in less symmetric situations.Comment: 30 pages (preprint format), 9 figure

N=2 Supersymmetric Scalar-Tensor Couplings

We determine the general coupling of a system of scalars and antisymmetric tensors, with at most two derivatives and undeformed gauge transformations, for both rigid and local N=2 supersymmetry in four-dimensional spacetime. Our results cover interactions of hyper, tensor and double-tensor multiplets and apply among others to Calabi-Yau threefold compactifications of Type II supergravities. As an example, we give the complete Lagrangian and supersymmetry transformation rules of the double-tensor multiplet dual to the universal hypermultiplet.Comment: 23 pages, LaTeX2e with amsmath.sty; v2: corrected typos and added referenc

Effect of propranolol on facial processing in autism spectrum disorder

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by social interaction deficits, communication impairments, and restricted, repetitive behaviors. ASD, with estimates of incidence as high as 1 in 88 individuals, has a largely unknown etiology. Pharmacological intervention is currently being explored to improve symptoms of ASD, including those in the social domain. Social interaction deficits in this population may include facial processing abnormalities, such as reduced eye contact, and increased fixation on less socially-salient facial regions, such as the mouth. However, there is variability in the degree of these deficits in the current literature. Additionally, it has been previously hypothesized that stress mediates poor facial processing in individuals with ASD. This pilot study examines the effect of propranolol, a nonselective beta-adrenergic antagonist anxiolytic, on facial processing in individuals with ASD and typically developing controls

Constitutive representation of damage development and healing in WIPP salt

There has been considerable interest in characterizing and modeling the constitutive behavior of rock salt with particular reference to long-term creep and creep failure. The interest is motivated by the projected use of excavated rooms in salt rock formations as repositories for nuclear waste. It is presumed that closure of those rooms by creep ultimately would encapsulate the waste material, resulting in its effective isolation. A continuum mechanics approach for treating damage healing is formulated as part of a constitutive model for describing coupled creep, fracture, and healing in rock salt. Formulation of the healing term is, described and the constitutive model is evaluated against experimental data of rock salt from the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) site. The results indicate that healing anistropy in WIPP salt can be modeled with an appropriate power-conjugate equivalent stress, kinetic equation, and evolution equation for damage healing

The ancestry of eastern paraguay: A typical south american profile with a unique pattern of admixture

Immigrants from diverse origins have arrived in Paraguay and produced important demographic changes in a territory initially inhabited by indigenous Guarani. Few studies have been performed to estimate the proportion of Native ancestry that is still preserved in Paraguay and the role of females and males in admixture processes. Therefore, 548 individuals from eastern Paraguay were genotyped for three marker sets: mtDNA, Y-SNPs and autosomal AIM-InDels. A genetic homogeneity was found between departments for each set of markers, supported by the demographic data collected, which showed that only 43% of the individuals have the same birthplace as their parents. The results show a sex-biased intermarriage, with higher maternal than paternal Native American ancestry. Within the native mtDNA lineages in Paraguay (87.2% of the total), most haplogroups have a broad distribution across the subcontinent, and only few are concentrated around the Paraná River basin. The frequency distribution of the European paternal lineages in Paraguay (92.2% of the total) showed a major contribution from the Iberian region. In addition to the remaining legacy of the colonial period, the joint analysis of the different types of markers included in this study revealed the impact of post-war migrations on the current genetic background of Paraguay.Funding: F.S. and L.G. were supported by Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Rio de Janeiro–FAPERJ, Brazil (process E-26/202.275/2019 and CNE-2018). L.G. was supported by Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico–CNPq, Brazil (ref. 306342/2019-7). V.G. is supported by FCT under the program contract provided in Decree-Law no.57/2016 of August 29

Non-supersymmetric extremal multicenter black holes with superpotentials

Using the superpotential approach we generalize Denef's method of deriving and solving first-order equations describing multicenter extremal black holes in four-dimensional N = 2 supergravity to allow non-supersymmetric solutions. We illustrate the general results with an explicit example of the stu model.Comment: 17 pages, v2: some clarifications adde

Fluxes, moduli fixing and MSSM-like vacua in a simple IIA orientifold

We study the effects of adding RR, NS and metric fluxes on a T^6/(\Omega (-1)^{F_L} I_3) Type IIA orientifold. By using the effective flux-induced superpotential we obtain Minkowski or AdS vacua with broken or unbroken supersymmetry. In the Minkowski case some combinations of real moduli remain undetermined, whereas all can be stabilized in the AdS solutions. Many flux parameters are available which are unconstrained by RR tadpole cancellation conditions allowing to locate the minima at large volume and small dilaton. We also find that in AdS supersymmetric vacua with metric fluxes, the overall flux contribution to RR tadpoles can vanish or have opposite sign to that of D6-branes, allowing for new model-building possibilities. In particular, we construct the first N=1 supersymmetric intersecting D6-brane models with MSSM-like spectrum and with all closed string moduli stabilized. Some axion-like fields remain undetermined but they are precisely required to give St\"uckelberg masses to (potentially anomalous) U(1) brane fields. We show that the cancellation of the Freed-Witten anomaly guarantees that the axions with flux-induced masses are orthogonal to those giving masses to the U(1)'s. Cancellation of such anomalies also guarantees that the D6-branes in our N=1 supersymmetric AdS vacua are calibrated so that they are forced to preserve one unbroken supersymmetry.Comment: 61 pages, Latex, v2: added references, v3: minor correction