Field Theory for a Deuteron Quantum Liquid

Based on general symmetry principles we study an effective Lagrangian for a neutral system of condensed spin-1 deuteron nuclei and electrons, at greater-than-atomic but less-than-nuclear densities. We expect such matter to be present in thin layers within certain low-mass brown dwarfs. It may also be produced in future shock-wave-compression experiments as an effective fuel for laser induced nuclear fusion. We find a background solution of the effective theory describing a net spin zero condensate of deuterons with their spins aligned and anti-aligned in a certain spontaneously emerged preferred direction. The spectrum of low energy collective excitations contains two spin waves with linear dispersions -- like in antiferromagnets -- as well as gapped longitudinal and transverse modes related to the Meissner effect -- like in superconductors. We show that counting of the Nambu-Goldstone modes of spontaneously broken internal and space-time symmetries obeys, in a nontrivial way, the rules of the Goldstone theorem for Lorentz non-invariant systems. We discuss thermodynamic properties of the condensate, and its potential manifestation in the low-mass brown dwarfs.Comment: 19 LaTeX pages; v2: 2 refs added, JHEP versio

Translating and validating a Training Needs Assessment tool into Greek

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The translation and cultural adaptation of widely accepted, psychometrically tested tools is regarded as an essential component of effective human resource management in the primary care arena. The Training Needs Assessment (TNA) is a widely used, valid instrument, designed to measure professional development needs of health care professionals, especially in primary health care. This study aims to describe the translation, adaptation and validation of the TNA questionnaire into Greek language and discuss possibilities of its use in primary care settings.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A modified version of the English self-administered questionnaire consisting of 30 items was used. Internationally recommended methodology, mandating forward translation, backward translation, reconciliation and pretesting steps, was followed. Tool validation included assessing item internal consistency, using the alpha coefficient of Cronbach. Reproducibility (test – retest reliability) was measured by the kappa correlation coefficient. Criterion validity was calculated for selected parts of the questionnaire by correlating respondents' research experience with relevant research item scores. An exploratory factor analysis highlighted how the items group together, using a Varimax (oblique) rotation and subsequent Cronbach's alpha assessment.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The psychometric properties of the Greek version of the TNA questionnaire for nursing staff employed in primary care were good. Internal consistency of the instrument was very good, Cronbach's alpha was found to be 0.985 (p < 0.001) and Kappa coefficient for reproducibility was found to be 0.928 (p < 0.0001). Significant positive correlations were found between respondents' current performance levels on each of the research items and amount of research involvement, indicating good criterion validity in the areas tested. Factor analysis revealed seven factors with eigenvalues of > 1.0, KMO (Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin) measure of sampling adequacy = 0.680 and Bartlett's test of sphericity, p < 0.001.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The translated and adapted Greek version is comparable with the original English instrument in terms of validity and reliability and it is suitable to assess professional development needs of nursing staff in Greek primary care settings.</p

Cavity formation on the surface of a body entering water with deceleration

The two-dimensional water entry of a rigid symmetric body with account for cavity formation on the body surface is studied. Initially the liquid is at rest and occupies the lower half plane. The rigid symmetric body touches the liquid free surface at a single point and then starts suddenly to penetrate the liquid vertically with a time-varying speed. We study the effect of the body deceleration on the pressure distribution in the flow region. It is shown that, in addition to the high pressures expected from the theory of impact, the pressure on the body surface can later decrease to sub-atmospheric levels. The creation of a cavity due to such low pressures is considered. The cavity starts at the lowest point of the body and spreads along the body surface forming a thin space between a new free surface and the body. Within the linearised hydrodynamic problem, the positions of the two turnover points at the periphery of the wetted area are determined by Wagner’s condition. The ends of the cavity’s free surface are modelled by the Brillouin–Villat condition. The pressure in the cavity is assumed to be a prescribed constant, which is a parameter of the model. The hydrodynamic problem is reduced to a system of integral and differential equations with respect to several functions of time. Results are presented for constant deceleration of two body shapes: a parabola and a wedge. The general formulation made also embraces conditions where the body is free to decelerate under the total fluid force. Contrasts are drawn between results from the present model and a simpler model in which the cavity formation is suppressed. It is shown that the expansion of the cavity can be significantly slower than the expansion of the corresponding zone of sub-atmospheric pressure in the simpler model. For forced motion and cavity pressure close to atmospheric, the cavity grows until almost complete detachment of the fluid from the body. In the problem of free motion of the body, cavitation with vapour pressure in the cavity is achievable only for extremely large impact velocities

Breast cancer surface receptors predict risk for developing brain metastasis and subsequent prognosis

Determining the status of breast cancer surface receptors (estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, HER2/neu) has become routine in the care of patients with this disease and has proven to be helpful in guiding treatment. For this reason, breast cancer has become a model for molecularly guided therapy in solid tumors. Emerging data support that these receptors are associated with risk for developing brain metastases. Additionally, once brain metastases have occurred these receptors may also correlate with prognosis

The phases of deuterium at extreme densities

We consider deuterium compressed to higher than atomic, but lower than nuclear densities. At such densities deuterium is a superconducting quantum liquid. Generically, two superconducting phases compete, a "ferromagnetic" and a "nematic" one. We provide a power counting argument suggesting that the dominant interactions in the deuteron liquid are perturbative (but screened) Coulomb interactions. At very high densities the ground state is determined by very small nuclear interaction effects that probably favor the ferromagnetic phase. At lower densities the symmetry of the theory is effectively enhanced to SU(3), and the quantum liquid enters a novel phase, neither ferromagnetic nor nematic. Our results can serve as a starting point for investigations of the phase dynamics of deuteron liquids, as well as exploration of the stability and dynamics of the rich variety of topological objects that may occur in phases of the deuteron quantum liquid, which range from Alice strings to spin skyrmions to Z_2 vortices.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures; v2: fixed typo

Integrative analyses identify modulators of response to neoadjuvant aromatase inhibitors in patients with early breast cancer

Introduction Aromatase inhibitors (AIs) are a vital component of estrogen receptor positive (ER+) breast cancer treatment. De novo and acquired resistance, however, is common. The aims of this study were to relate patterns of copy number aberrations to molecular and proliferative response to AIs, to study differences in the patterns of copy number aberrations between breast cancer samples pre- and post-AI neoadjuvant therapy, and to identify putative biomarkers for resistance to neoadjuvant AI therapy using an integrative analysis approach. Methods Samples from 84 patients derived from two neoadjuvant AI therapy trials were subjected to copy number profiling by microarray-based comparative genomic hybridisation (aCGH, n = 84), gene expression profiling (n = 47), matched pre- and post-AI aCGH (n = 19 pairs) and Ki67-based AI-response analysis (n = 39). Results Integrative analysis of these datasets identified a set of nine genes that, when amplified, were associated with a poor response to AIs, and were significantly overexpressed when amplified, including CHKA, LRP5 and SAPS3. Functional validation in vitro, using cell lines with and without amplification of these genes (SUM44, MDA-MB134-VI, T47D and MCF7) and a model of acquired AI-resistance (MCF7-LTED) identified CHKA as a gene that when amplified modulates estrogen receptor (ER)-driven proliferation, ER/estrogen response element (ERE) transactivation, expression of ER-regulated genes and phosphorylation of V-AKT murine thymoma viral oncogene homolog 1 (AKT1). Conclusions These data provide a rationale for investigation of the role of CHKA in further models of de novo and acquired resistance to AIs, and provide proof of concept that integrative genomic analyses can identify biologically relevant modulators of AI response

Lambda and Antilambda polarization from deep inelastic muon scattering

We report results of the first measurements of Lambda and Antilambda polarization produced in deep inelastic polarized muon scattering on the nucleon. The results are consistent with an expected trend towards positive polarization with increasing x_F. The polarizations of Lambda and Antilambda appear to have opposite signs. A large negative polarization for Lambda at low positive x_F is observed and is not explained by existing models.A possible interpretation is presented.Comment: 9 pages, 2 figure

Life satisfaction and confidence in national institutions: evidence from South America

A number of South American countries experienced turbulent democratic, political and economic upheaval over the last 40 years in the form of coup d’états in the 1970s, tumultuous elections, and repeated severe economic crises, some of which happened fairly recently. Starting in 2010, a number of court proceedings across the region have made past military coup d’états the focus of national conversations. South American citizens may, therefore, have lost confidence in national institutions that have repeatedly disappointed their trust and expectations; a situation with potentially detrimental effects on their well-being. Using eight waves of the Gallup World Poll collected between 2009 and 2016 across ten South American countries, we investigate to what extent people’s confidence in financial institutions, the honesty of elections, the military, the judicial system, the national government and the police is associated with people’s current and expectation of future life satisfaction. We find that people who report confidence in these six institutions rate their current and expected life satisfaction, on average, to be higher than those who lack these types of institutional confidence, even after controlling for demographic factors and macroeconomic indicators. In addition, we investigate changes over time for all six measures of confidence in institutions as well as for current and expectation of future life satisfaction. Our results suggest that governments’ investments in well-functioning institutions may contribute positively to subjective well-being in a society. However, our analysis is correlational and we thus cannot rule out reverse causality

π+\pi^+ photoproduction on the proton for photon energies from 0.725 to 2.875 GeV

Differential cross sections for the reaction $\gamma p \to n \pi^+$ have been measured with the CEBAF Large Acceptance Spectrometer (CLAS) and a tagged photon beam with energies from 0.725 to 2.875 GeV. Where available, the results obtained here compare well with previously published results for the reaction. Agreement with the SAID and MAID analyses is found below 1 GeV. The present set of cross sections has been incorporated into the SAID database, and exploratory fits have been made up to 2.7 GeV. Resonance couplings have been extracted and compared to previous determinations. With the addition of these cross sections to the world data set, significant changes have occurred in the high-energy behavior of the SAID cross-section predictions and amplitudes.Comment: 18 pages, 10 figure