514 research outputs found
Soft Covariant Gauges on the Lattice
We present an exploratory study of a one-parameter family of covariant,
non-perturbative lattice gauge-fixing conditions, that can be implemented
through a simple Monte Carlo algorithm. We demonstrate that at the numerical
level the procedure is feasible, and as a first application we examine the
gauge dependence of the gluon propagator.Comment: 11 pages, Latex, epsf.sty included + 5 PostScript picture
Gluon Propagator in the Infrared Region
The gluon propagator is calculated in quenched QCD for two different lattice
sizes (16^3x48 and 32^3x64) at beta=6.0. The volume dependence of the
propagator in Landau gauge is studied. The smaller lattice is instrumental in
revealing finite volume and anisotropic lattice artefacts. Methods for
minimising these artefacts are developed and applied to the larger lattice
data. New structure seen in the infrared region survives these conservative
cuts to the lattice data. This structure serves to rule out a number of models
that have appeared in the literature. A fit to a simple analytical form
capturing the momentum dependence of the nonperturbative gluon propagator is
also reported.Comment: 13 pages, 9 figures, using RevTeX. Submitted to Phys. Rev. D. This
and related papers can also be obtained from
http://www.physics.adelaide.edu.au/~jskuller/papers
Confinement Phenomenology in the Bethe-Salpeter Equation
We consider the solution of the Bethe-Salpeter equation in Euclidean metric
for a qbar-q vector meson in the circumstance where the dressed quark
propagators have time-like complex conjugate mass poles. This approximates
features encountered in recent QCD modeling via the Dyson-Schwinger equations;
the absence of real mass poles simulates quark confinement. The analytic
continuation in the total momentum necessary to reach the mass shell for a
meson sufficiently heavier than 1 GeV leads to the quark poles being within the
integration domain for two variables in the standard approach. Through Feynman
integral techniques, we show how the analytic continuation can be implemented
in a way suitable for a practical numerical solution. We show that the would-be
qbar-q width to the meson generated from one quark pole is exactly cancelled by
the effect of the conjugate partner pole; the meson mass remains real and there
is no spurious qbar-q production threshold. The ladder kernel we employ is
consistent with one-loop perturbative QCD and has a two-parameter infrared
structure found to be successful in recent studies of the light SU(3) meson
sector.Comment: Submitted for publication; 10.5x2-column pages, REVTEX 4, 3
postscript files making 3 fig
A Lattice Study of the Gluon Propagator in Momentum Space
We consider pure glue QCD at beta=5.7, beta=6.0 and beta=6.3. We evaluate the
gluon propagator both in time at zero 3-momentum and in momentum space. From
the former quantity we obtain evidence for a dynamically generated effective
mass, which at beta=6.0 and beta=6.3 increases with the time separation of the
sources, in agreement with earlier results. The momentum space propagator G(k)
provides further evidence for mass generation. In particular, at beta=6.0, for
k less than 1 GeV, the propagator G(k) can be fit to a continuum formula
proposed by Gribov and others, which contains a mass scale b, presumably
related to the hadronization mass scale. For higher momenta Gribov's model no
longer provides a good fit, as G(k) tends rather to follow an inverse power
law. The results at beta=6.3 are consistent with those at beta=6.0, but only
the high momentum region is accessible on this lattice. We find b in the range
of three to four hundred MeV and the exponent of the inverse power law about
2.7. On the other hand, at beta=5.7 (where we can only study momenta up to 1
GeV) G(k) is best fit to a simple massive boson propagator with mass m. We
argue that such a discrepancy may be related to a lack of scaling for low
momenta at beta=5.7. {}From our results, the study of correlation functions in
momentum space looks promising, especially because the data points in Fourier
space turn out to be much less correlated than in real space.Comment: 19 pages + 12 uuencoded PostScript picture
JWST MIRI and NIRCam Unveil Previously Unseen Infrared Stellar Populations in NGC 6822
NGC 6822 is a nearby (\sim490 kpc) non-interacting low-metallicity (0.2
Z_\odot) dwarf galaxy which hosts several prominent Hii regions, including
sites of highly embedded active star formation. In this work, we present an
imaging survey of NGC 6822 conducted with the NIRCam and MIRI instruments
onboard JWST. We provide a description of the data reduction, source
extraction, and stellar population identifications from combined near- and
mid-infrared (IR) photometry. Our NIRCam observations reach seven magnitudes
deeper than previous JHKs surveys of this galaxy, which were sensitive to just
below the tip of the red giant branch (TRGB). These JWST observations thus
reveal for the first time in the near-IR the red clump stellar population and
extend nearly three magnitudes deeper. In the mid-IR, we observe roughly two
magnitudes below the TRGB with the MIRI F770W and F1000W filters. With these
improvements in sensitivity, we produce a catalogue of \sim900,000 point
sources over an area of \sim 6.0 x 4.3 arcmin2. We present several NIRCam and
MIRI colour-magnitude diagrams and discuss which colour combinations provide
useful separations of various stellar populations to aid in future JWST
observation planning. Finally, we find populations of carbon- and oxygen-rich
asymptotic giant branch stars which will assist in improving our understanding
of dust production in low-metallicity, early Universe analogue galaxies
Mood Induction in Depressive Patients: A Comparative Multidimensional Approach
Anhedonia, reduced positive affect and enhanced negative affect are integral characteristics of major depressive disorder (MDD). Emotion dysregulation, e.g. in terms of different emotion processing deficits, has consistently been reported. The aim of the present study was to investigate mood changes in depressive patients using a multidimensional approach for the measurement of emotional reactivity to mood induction procedures. Experimentally, mood states can be altered using various mood induction procedures. The present study aimed at validating two different positive mood induction procedures in patients with MDD and investigating which procedure is more effective and applicable in detecting dysfunctions in MDD. The first procedure relied on the presentation of happy vs. neutral faces, while the second used funny vs. neutral cartoons. Emotional reactivity was assessed in 16 depressed and 16 healthy subjects using self-report measures, measurements of electrodermal activity and standardized analyses of facial responses. Positive mood induction was successful in both procedures according to subjective ratings in patients and controls. In the cartoon condition, however, a discrepancy between reduced facial activity and concurrently enhanced autonomous reactivity was found in patients. Relying on a multidimensional assessment technique, a more comprehensive estimate of dysfunctions in emotional reactivity in MDD was available than by self-report measures alone and this was unsheathed especially by the mood induction procedure relying on cartoons. The divergent facial and autonomic responses in the presence of unaffected subjective reactivity suggest an underlying deficit in the patients' ability to express the felt arousal to funny cartoons. Our results encourage the application of both procedures in functional imaging studies for investigating the neural substrates of emotion dysregulation in MDD patients. Mood induction via cartoons appears to be superior to mood induction via faces and autobiographical material in uncovering specific emotional dysfunctions in MDD
From Africa to Europe and back: refugia and range shifts cause high genetic differentiation in the Marbled White butterfly Melanargia galathea
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The glacial-interglacial oscillations caused severe range modifications of biota. Thermophilic species became extinct in the North and survived in southern retreats, e.g. the Mediterranean Basin. These repeated extinction and (re)colonisation events led to long-term isolation and intermixing of populations and thus resulted in strong genetic imprints in many European species therefore being composed of several genetic lineages. To better understand these cycles of repeated expansion and retraction, we selected the Marbled White butterfly <it>Melanargia galathea</it>. Fourty-one populations scattered over Europe and the Maghreb and one population of the sibling taxon <it>M. lachesis </it>were analysed using allozyme electrophoresis.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We obtained seven distinct lineages applying neighbour joining and STRUCTURE analyses: (i) Morocco, (ii) Tunisia, (iii) Sicily, (iv) Italy and southern France, (v) eastern Balkans extending to Central Europe, (vi) western Balkans with western Carpathian Basin as well as (vii) south-western Alps. The hierarchy of these splits is well matching the chronology of glacial and interglacial cycles since the Günz ice age starting with an initial split between the <it>galathea </it>group in North Africa and the <it>lachesis </it>group in Iberia. These genetic structures were compared with past distribution patterns during the last glacial stage calculated with distribution models.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Both methods suggest climatically suitable areas in the Maghreb and the southern European peninsulas with distinct refugia during the last glacial period and underpin strong range expansions to the North during the Postglacial. However, the allozyme patterns reveal biogeographical structures not detected by distribution modelling as two distinct refugia in the Maghreb, two or more distinct refugia at the Balkans and a close link between the eastern Maghreb and Sicily. Furthermore, the genetically highly diverse western Maghreb might have acted as source or speciation centre of this taxon, while the eastern, genetically impoverished Maghreb population might result from a relatively recent recolonisation from Europe via Sicily.</p
Neural correlates of enhanced visual short-term memory for angry faces: An fMRI study
Copyright: © 2008 Jackson et al.Background: Fluid and effective social communication requires that both face identity and emotional expression information are encoded and maintained in visual short-term memory (VSTM) to enable a coherent, ongoing picture of the world and its players. This appears to be of particular evolutionary importance when confronted with potentially threatening displays of emotion - previous research has shown better VSTM for angry versus happy or neutral face identities.Methodology/Principal Findings: Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, here we investigated the neural correlates of this angry face benefit in VSTM. Participants were shown between one and four to-be-remembered angry, happy, or neutral faces, and after a short retention delay they stated whether a single probe face had been present or not in the previous display. All faces in any one display expressed the same emotion, and the task required memory for face identity. We find enhanced VSTM for angry face identities and describe the right hemisphere brain network underpinning this effect, which involves the globus pallidus, superior temporal sulcus, and frontal lobe. Increased activity in the globus pallidus was significantly correlated with the angry benefit in VSTM. Areas modulated by emotion were distinct from those modulated by memory load.Conclusions/Significance: Our results provide evidence for a key role of the basal ganglia as an interface between emotion and cognition, supported by a frontal, temporal, and occipital network.The authors were supported by a Wellcome Trust grant (grant number 077185/Z/05/Z) and by BBSRC (UK) grant BBS/B/16178
NEMO: A Project for a km Underwater Detector for Astrophysical Neutrinos in the Mediterranean Sea
The status of the project is described: the activity on long term
characterization of water optical and oceanographic parameters at the Capo
Passero site candidate for the Mediterranean km neutrino telescope; the
feasibility study; the physics performances and underwater technology for the
km; the activity on NEMO Phase 1, a technological demonstrator that has
been deployed at 2000 m depth 25 km offshore Catania; the realization of an
underwater infrastructure at 3500 m depth at the candidate site (NEMO Phase 2).Comment: Proceeding of ISCRA 2006, Erice 20-27 June 200
Declining recurrence among ductal carcinoma in situ patients treated with breast-conserving surgery in the community setting
Introduction: Randomized trials indicate that adjuvant radiotherapy plus tamoxifen decrease the five-year risk of recurrence among ductal carcinoma in situ patients treated with breast-conserving surgery from about 20% to 8%. The aims of this study were to examine the use and impact of these therapies on risk of recurrence among ductal carcinoma in situ patients diagnosed and treated in the community setting. Methods: We identified 2,995 patients diagnosed with ductal carcinoma in situ between 1990 and 2001 and treated with breast-conserving surgery at three large health plans. Medical charts were reviewed to confirm diagnosis and treatment and to obtain information on subsequent breast cancers. On a subset of patients, slides from the index ductal carcinoma in situ were reviewed for histopathologic features. Cumulative incidence curves were generated and Cox regression was used to examine changes in five-year risk of recurrence across diagnosis years, with and without adjusting for trends in use of adjuvant therapies. Results: Use of radiotherapy increased from 25.8% in 1990-1991 to 61.3% in 2000-2001; tamoxifen increased from 2.3% to 34.4%. A total of 245 patients had a local recurrence within five years of their index ductal carcinoma in situ. The five-year risk of any local recurrence decreased from 14.3% (95% confidence interval 9.8 to 18.7) for patients diagnosed in 1990-1991 to 7.7% (95% confidence interval 5.5 to 9.9) for patients diagnosed in 1998-1999; invasive recurrence decreased from 7.0% (95% confidence interval 3.8 to 10.3) to 3.1% (95% confidence interval 1.7 to 4.6). In Cox models, the association between diagnosis year and risk of recurrence was modestly attenuated after accounting for use of adjuvant therapy. Between 1990-1991 and 2000-2001, the proportion of patients with tumors with high nuclear grade decreased from 46% to 32% (P = 0.03) and those with involved surgical margins dropped from 15% to 0% (P = 0.03). Conclusions: The marked increase in the 1990s in the use of adjuvant therapy for ductal carcinoma in situ patients treated with breast-conserving surgery in the community setting only partially explains the 50% decline in risk of recurrence. Changes in pathology factors have likely also contributed to this decline
- …