Area Coverage of Expanding E.T. Signals in the Galaxy: SETI and Drake's N

The Milky Way Galaxy contains an unknown number, $N$, of civilizations that emit electromagnetic radiation (of unknown wavelengths) over a finite lifetime, $L$. Here we are assuming that the radiation is not produced indefinitely, but within $L$ as a result of some unknown limiting event. When a civilization stops emitting, the radiation continues traveling outward at the speed of light, $c$, but is confined within a shell wall having constant thickness, $cL$. We develop a simple model of the Galaxy that includes both the birthrate and detectable lifetime of civilizations to compute the possibility of a SETI detection at the Earth. Two cases emerge for radiation shells that are (1) thinner than or (2) thicker than the size of the Galaxy, corresponding to detectable lifetimes, $L$, less than or greater than the light-travel time, $\sim 100,000$ years, across the Milky Way, respectively. For case (1), each shell wall has a thickness smaller than the size of the Galaxy and intersects the galactic plane in a donut shape (annulus) that fills only a fraction of the Galaxy's volume, inhibiting SETI detection. But the ensemble of such shell walls may still fill our Galaxy, and indeed may overlap locally, given a sufficiently high birthrate of detectable civilizations. In the second case, each radiation shell is thicker than the size of our Galaxy. Yet, the ensemble of walls may or may not yield a SETI detection depending on the civilization birthrate. We compare the number of different electromagnetic transmissions arriving at Earth to Drake's $N$, the number of currently emitting civilizations, showing that they are equal to each other for both cases (1) and (2). However, for $L < 100,000$ years, the transmissions arriving at Earth may come from distant civilizations long extinct, while civilizations still alive are sending signals yet to arrive.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figures, to be published in PAS

Nonadiabatic effects in a generalized Jahn-Teller lattice model: heavy and light polarons, pairing and metal-insulator transition

The ground state polaron potential of 1D lattice of two-level molecules with spinless electrons and two Einstein phonon modes with quantum phonon-assisted transitions between the levels is found anharmonic in phonon displacements. The potential shows a crossover from two nonequivalent broad minima to a single narrow minimum corresponding to the level positions in the ground state. Generalized variational approach implies prominent nonadiabatic effects:(i) In the limit of the symmetric E-e Jahn- Teller situation they cause transition between the regime of the predominantly one-level "heavy" polaron and a "light" polaron oscillating between the levels due to phonon assistance with almost vanishing polaron displacement. It implies enhancement of the electron transfer due to decrease of the "heavy" polaron mass (undressing) at the point of the transition. Pairing of "light" polarons due to exchange of virtual phonons occurs. Continuous transition to new energy ground state close to the transition from "heavy" polaron phase to "light" (bi)polaron phase occurs. In the "heavy" phase, there occurs anomalous (anharmonic) enhancements of quantum fluctuations of the phonon coordinate, momentum and their product as functions of the effective coupling. (ii) Dependence of the polaron mass on the optical phonon frequency appears.(iii) Rabi oscillations significantly enhance quantum shift of the insulator-metal transition line to higher values of the critical effective e-ph coupling supporting so the metallic phase. In the E-e JT case, insulator-metal transition coincide with the transition between the "heavy" and the "light" (bi)polaron phase at certain (strong) effective e-ph interaction.Comment: Paper in LaTex format (file jtseptx.tex) and 9 GIF-figures (ppic_1.gif,...ppic_9.gif

Inflammatory Bowel Disease in Patients with Congenital Chloride Diarrhoea

Publisher Copyright: © 2021 The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of European Crohn's and Colitis Organisation. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: [email protected]: Congenital chloride diarrhoea [CLD] is a rare autosomal recessive disease caused by mutations in the solute family carrier 26 member 3 [SLC26A3] gene. Patients suffer from life-long watery diarrhoea and chloride loss. Inflammatory bowel disease [IBD] has been reported in individual patients with CLD and in scl26a3-deficient mice. Methods: We performed an international multicentre analysis to build a CLD cohort and to identify cases with IBD. We assessed clinical and genetic characteristics of subjects and studied the cumulative incidence of CLD-associated IBD. Results: In a cohort of 72 patients with CLD caused by 17 different SLC26A3 mutations, we identified 12 patients [17%] diagnosed with IBD. Nine patients had Crohn's disease, two ulcerative colitis and one IBD-unclassified [IBD-U]. The prevalence of IBD in our cohort of CLD was higher than the highest prevalence of IBD in Europe [p < 0.0001]. The age of onset was variable [13.5 years, interquartile range: 8.5-23.5 years]. Patients with CLD and IBD had lower z-score for height than those without IBD. Four of 12 patients had required surgery [ileostomy formation n = 2, ileocaecal resection due to ileocaecal valve stenosis n = 1 and colectomy due to stage II transverse colon cancer n = 1]. At last follow-up, 5/12 were on biologics [adalimumab, infliximab or vedolizumab], 5/12 on immunosuppressants [azathioprine or mercaptopurine], one on 5-ASA and one off-treatment. Conclusions: A substantial proportion of patients with CLD develop IBD. This suggests the potential involvement of SL26A3-mediated anion transport in IBD pathogenesis. Patients with CLD-associated IBD may require surgery for treatment failure or colon cancer.Peer reviewe

Quantum state preparation and macroscopic entanglement in gravitational-wave detectors

Long-baseline laser-interferometer gravitational-wave detectors are operating at a factor of 10 (in amplitude) above the standard quantum limit (SQL) within a broad frequency band. Such a low classical noise budget has already allowed the creation of a controlled 2.7 kg macroscopic oscillator with an effective eigenfrequency of 150 Hz and an occupation number of 200. This result, along with the prospect for further improvements, heralds the new possibility of experimentally probing macroscopic quantum mechanics (MQM) - quantum mechanical behavior of objects in the realm of everyday experience - using gravitational-wave detectors. In this paper, we provide the mathematical foundation for the first step of a MQM experiment: the preparation of a macroscopic test mass into a nearly minimum-Heisenberg-limited Gaussian quantum state, which is possible if the interferometer's classical noise beats the SQL in a broad frequency band. Our formalism, based on Wiener filtering, allows a straightforward conversion from the classical noise budget of a laser interferometer, in terms of noise spectra, into the strategy for quantum state preparation, and the quality of the prepared state. Using this formalism, we consider how Gaussian entanglement can be built among two macroscopic test masses, and the performance of the planned Advanced LIGO interferometers in quantum-state preparation

High-Throughput Analysis of Synthetic Peptides for the Immunodiagnosis of Canine Visceral Leishmaniasis

Globally, the number of new human cases of visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is estimated to be approximately 500,000 per year. This is the most severe of all forms of leishmaniasis, and the zoonotic form of VL, caused by Leishmania infantum (also known as Leishmania chagasi), represents 20% of human visceral leishmaniasis worldwide; additionally, its prevalence is increasing in urban and peri-urban areas of the tropics. In Brazil, the identification and elimination of infected dogs, which act as a reservoir for Leishmania parasites, is a control measure employed in addition to the use of insecticides against the vectors and the identification and treatment of infected humans. Currently, the diagnostic methods employed to identify infected animals are not able to detect all of these dogs, which compromises the effectiveness of control measures. Moreover, one of the most important issues in controlling VL is the difficulty of diagnosing asymptomatic dogs, which act as parasite reservoirs. Therefore, to contribute to the improvement of the diagnostic methods for CVL, we aimed to identify and characterize new antigens that were more sensitive and specific and could be applied in epidemiologic surveys

Patterns and universals of mate poaching across 53 nations : the effects of sex, culture, and personality on romantically attracting another person’s partner

As part of the International Sexuality Description Project, 16,954 participants from 53 nations were administered an anonymous survey about experiences with romantic attraction. Mate poaching--romantically attracting someone who is already in a relationship--was most common in Southern Europe, South America, Western Europe, and Eastern Europe and was relatively infrequent in Africa, South/Southeast Asia, and East Asia. Evolutionary and social-role hypotheses received empirical support. Men were more likely than women to report having made and succumbed to short-term poaching across all regions, but differences between men and women were often smaller in more gender-egalitarian regions. People who try to steal another's mate possess similar personality traits across all regions, as do those who frequently receive and succumb to the poaching attempts by others. The authors conclude that human mate-poaching experiences are universally linked to sex, culture, and the robust influence of personal dispositions.peer-reviewe

Are men universally more dismissing than women? Gender differences in romantic attachment across 62 cultural regions

The authors thank Susan Sprecher (USA), Del Paulhus (Canada), Glenn D. Wilson (England), Qazi Rahman (England), Alois Angleitner (Germany), Angelika Hofhansl (Austria), Tamio Imagawa (Japan), Minoru Wada (Japan), Junichi Taniguchi (Japan), and Yuji Kanemasa (Japan) for helping with data collection and contributing significantly to the samples used in this study.Gender differences in the dismissing form of adult romantic attachment were investigated as part of the International Sexuality Description Project—a survey study of 17,804 people from 62 cultural regions. Contrary to research findings previously reported in Western cultures, we found that men were not significantly more dismissing than women across all cultural regions. Gender differences in dismissing romantic attachment were evident in most cultures, but were typically only small to moderate in magnitude. Looking across cultures, the degree of gender differentiation in dismissing romantic attachment was predictably associated with sociocultural indicators. Generally, these associations supported evolutionary theories of romantic attachment, with smaller gender differences evident in cultures with high–stress and high–fertility reproductive environments. Social role theories of human sexuality received less support in that more progressive sex–role ideologies and national gender equity indexes were not cross–culturally linked as expected to smaller gender differences in dismissing romantic attachment.peer-reviewe

The Current State of Cephalopod Science and Perspectives on the Most Critical Challenges Ahead From Three Early-Career Researchers

International audienceHere, three researchers who have recently embarked on careers in cephalopod biology discuss the current state of the field and offer their hopes for the future. Seven major topics are explored genetics, aquaculture, climate change, welfare, behavior, cognition, and neurobiology. Recent developments in each of these fields are reviewed and the potential of emerging technologies to address specific gaps in knowledge about cephalopods are discussed. Throughout, the authors highlight specific challenges that merit particular focus in the near-term. This review and prospectus is also intended to suggest some concrete near-term goals to cephalopod researchers and inspire those working outside the field to consider the revelatory potential of these remarkable creatures

Narcissism and the strategic pursuit of short-term mating : universal links across 11 world regions of the International Sexuality Description Project-2.

Previous studies have documented links between sub-clinical narcissism and the active pursuit of short-term mating strategies (e.g., unrestricted sociosexuality, marital infidelity, mate poaching). Nearly all of these investigations have relied solely on samples from Western cultures. In the current study, responses from a cross-cultural survey of 30,470 people across 53 nations spanning 11 world regions (North America, Central/South America, Northern Europe, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Southern Europe, Middle East, Africa, Oceania, Southeast Asia, and East Asia) were used to evaluate whether narcissism (as measured by the Narcissistic Personality Inventory; NPI) was universally associated with short-term mating. Results revealed narcissism scores (including two broad factors and seven traditional facets as measured by the NPI) were functionally equivalent across cultures, reliably associating with key sexual outcomes (e.g., more active pursuit of short-term mating, intimate partner violence, and sexual aggression) and sex-related personality traits (e.g., higher extraversion and openness to experience). Whereas some features of personality (e.g., subjective well-being) were universally associated with socially adaptive facets of Narcissism (e.g., self-sufficiency), most indicators of short-term mating (e.g., unrestricted sociosexuality and marital infidelity) were universally associated with the socially maladaptive facets of narcissism (e.g., exploitativeness). Discussion addresses limitations of these cross-culturally universal findings and presents suggestions for future research into revealing the precise psychological features of narcissism that facilitate the strategic pursuit of short-term mating