648 research outputs found
A thermodynamically self-consistent theory for the Blume-Capel model
We use a self-consistent Ornstein-Zernike approximation to study the
Blume-Capel ferromagnet on three-dimensional lattices. The correlation
functions and the thermodynamics are obtained from the solution of two coupled
partial differential equations. The theory provides a comprehensive and
accurate description of the phase diagram in all regions, including the wing
boundaries in non-zero magnetic field. In particular, the coordinates of the
tricritical point are in very good agreement with the best estimates from
simulation or series expansion. Numerical and analytical analysis strongly
suggest that the theory predicts a universal Ising-like critical behavior along
the -line and the wing critical lines, and a tricritical behavior
governed by mean-field exponents.Comment: 11 figures. to appear in Physical Review
Density anomaly in a competing interactions lattice gas model
We study a very simple model of a short-range attraction and an outer shell
repulsion as a test system for demixing phase transition and density anomaly.
The phase-diagram is obtained by applying mean field analysis and Monte Carlo
simulations to a two dimensional lattice gas with nearest-neighbors attraction
and next-nearest-neighbors repulsion (the outer shell). Two liquid phases and
density anomaly are found.
The coexistence line between these two liquid phases meets a critical line
between the fluid and the low density liquid at a tricritical point. The line
of maximum density emerges in the vicinity of the tricritical point, close to
the demixing transition
MicroRNA profiling reveals marker of motor neuron disease in ALS models
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder marked by the loss of motor neurons (MNs) in the brain and spinal cord, leading to fatally debilitating weakness. Because this disease predominantly affects MNs, we aimed to characterize the distinct expression profile of that cell type to elucidate underlying disease mechanisms and to identify novel targets that inform on MN health during ALS disease time course. microRNAs (miRNAs) are short, noncoding RNAs that can shape the expression profile of a cell and thus often exhibit cell-type-enriched expression. To determine MN-enriched miRNA expression, we used Cre recombinase-dependent miRNA tagging and affinity purification in mice. By defining thein vivomiRNA expression of MNs, all neurons, astrocytes, and microglia, we then focused on MN-enriched miRNAs via a comparative analysis and found that they may functionally distinguish MNs postnatally from other spinal neurons. Characterizing the levels of the MN-enriched miRNAs in CSF harvested from ALS models of MN disease demonstrated that one miRNA (miR-218) tracked with MN loss and was responsive to an ALS therapy in rodent models. Therefore, we have used cellular expression profiling tools to define the distinct miRNA expression of MNs, which is likely to enrich future studies of MN disease. This approach enabled the development of a novel, drug-responsive marker of MN disease in ALS rodents.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENTAmyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disease in which motor neurons (MNs) in the brain and spinal cord are selectively lost. To develop tools to aid in our understanding of the distinct expression profiles of MNs and, ultimately, to monitor MN disease progression, we identified small regulatory microRNAs (miRNAs) that were highly enriched or exclusive in MNs. The signal for one of these MN-enriched miRNAs is detectable in spinal tap biofluid from an ALS rat model, where its levels change as disease progresses, suggesting that it may be a clinically useful marker of disease status. Furthermore, rats treated with ALS therapy have restored expression of this MN RNA marker, making it an MN-specific and drug-responsive marker for ALS rodents.</jats:p
Interactive effects of testosterone and immune challenge on aerobic performance in house sparrows
Drude model and Lifshitz formula
Since nearly 10 years, it is known that inserting the permittivity of the
Drude model into the Lifshitz formula for free energy causes a violation of the
third law of thermodynamics. In this paper we show that the standard Matsubara
formulation for free energy contains a contribution that is non-perturbative in
the relaxation parameter. We argue that the correct formula must have a
perturbative expansion and conclude that the standard Matsubara formulation
with the permittivity of the Drude model inserted is not correct. We trace the
non-perturbative contribution in the complex frequency plane, where it shows up
as a self-intersection or a bifurcation of the integration path.Comment: accepted for publication in EPJ
Passion in the Workplace: Empirical Insights from Team Sport Organisations
Although sport management scholars have focused on a fairly wide number of psychologically-related constructs in the workplace, passion has not been part of this research agenda. The present study is the first attempt to fill this gap by exploring employees’ passion in the workplace setting of sport organisations. It does so by applying for the first time the dualistic model of passion developed by Vallerand et al. (2003), which measures two distinct types of passion: harmonious and obsessive.
Online survey data were gathered from administrative employees in the United Kingdom’s football industry, responsible for either business-related functions or the clubs’ social agenda (N=236) in order to measure the passion experienced by individuals guided by different institutional logics. The particular instrument has two components: harmonious and obsessive passion towards the job. Besides the passion scales, the survey contained measures related to demographic variables (e.g., age, gender and education), to employment position in the organisation and to previous job experience. Data were statistically analysed in Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) and analysis of variance, using SPSS and Amos 18.0. To determine the effect of contextual variables on the passion for the job, t-test and ANOVA were also used.
Both groups of employees are passionate about their job. They remain harmoniously passionate throughout their career and show low level of obsessive passion. The type of work activities influences both levels of harmonious and obsessive passion experienced by personnel within sport organisations with employees responsible for the social agenda being slightly more harmoniously and obsessively passionate compared to those responsible for the business agenda.
Vallerand et al.’s (2003) dualistic model of passion has been adapted to measure passion at workplace within sport organisations. The particular working environment that forms these organisations attracts and/or facilitates employees to experience a positive work–life balance
Casimir energy and geometry : beyond the Proximity Force Approximation
We review the relation between Casimir effect and geometry, emphasizing
deviations from the commonly used Proximity Force Approximation (PFA). We use
to this aim the scattering formalism which is nowadays the best tool available
for accurate and reliable theory-experiment comparisons. We first recall the
main lines of this formalism when the mirrors can be considered to obey
specular reflection. We then discuss the more general case where non planar
mirrors give rise to non-specular reflection with wavevectors and field
polarisations mixed. The general formalism has already been fruitfully used for
evaluating the effect of roughness on the Casimir force as well as the lateral
Casimir force or Casimir torque appearing between corrugated surfaces. In this
short review, we focus our attention on the case of the lateral force which
should make possible in the future an experimental demonstration of the
nontrivial (i.e. beyond PFA) interplay of geometry and Casimir effect.Comment: corrected typos, added references, QFEXT'07 special issue in J. Phys.
Bulk versus boundary (gravitational Casimir) effects in quantum creation of inflationary brane-world Universe
The role of bulk matter quantum effects (via the corresponding effective
potential discussed on the example of conformal scalar) and of boundary matter
quantum effects (via the conformal anomaly induced effective action) is
considered in brane-world cosmology. Scenario is used where brane tension is
not free parameter, and the initial bulk-brane classical action is defined by
some considerations. The effective bulk-brane equations of motion are analyzed.
The quantum creation of 4d de Sitter or Anti-de Sitter(AdS) brane Universe
living in 5d AdS space is possible when quantum bulk and (or) brane matter is
taken into account. The consideration of only conformal field theory (CFT)
living on the brane admits the full analytical treatment. Then bulk
gravitational Casimir effect leads to deformation of 5d AdS space shape as well
as of shape of spherical or hyperbolic branes. The generalization of above
picture for the dominant bulk quantum gravity naturally represents such
scenario as self-consistent warped compactification within AdS/CFT set-up.Comment: LaTeX file, 17 pages, minor change
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