Binary mixture of hard disks as a model glass former: Caging and uncaging

I have proposed a measure for the cage effect in glass forming systems. A binary mixture of hard disks is numerically studied as a model glass former. A network is constructed on the basis of the colliding pairs of disks. A rigidity matrix is formed from the isostatic (rigid) sub--network, corresponding to a cage. The determinant of the matrix changes its sign when an uncaging event occurs. Time evolution of the number of the uncaging events is determined numerically. I have found that there is a gap in the uncaging timescales between the cages involving different numbers of disks. Caging of one disk by two neighboring disks sustains for a longer time as compared with other cages involving more than one disk. This gap causes two--step relaxation of this system

Probing Majorana neutrinos in rare K and D, D_s, B, B_c meson decays

We study lepton number violating decays of charged K, D, D_s, B and B_c mesons of the form M^+\to {M'}^-\ell^+\ell^+, induced by the existence of Majorana neutrinos. These processes provide information complementary to neutrinoless double nuclear beta decays, and are sensitive to neutrino masses and lepton mixing. We explore neutrino mass ranges m_N from below 1 eV to several hundred GeV. We find that in many cases the branching ratios are prohibitively small, however in the intermediate range m_\pi < m_N < m_{B_c}, in specific channels and for specific neutrino masses, the branching ratios can be at the reach of high luminosity experiments like those at the LHC-b and future Super flavor-factories, and can provide bounds on the lepton mixing parameters.Comment: 25 page

Siblings of individuals with severe mental illness

Purpose – The importance of providing information, support and interventions for family members and carers of people who have severe mental illness (SMI) has garnered increasing attention in recent years. However, research to date has primarily focused on parents; the purpose of this paper is to review the literature investigating the experiences of siblings of individuals who have SMI. Design/methodology/approach – A literature review was undertaken to summarise the empirical data regarding the experiences and needs of siblings, and their potential contribution to supporting their siblings’ recovery journey. Findings – Sibling views, experiences and needs have thus far been little explored. Yet siblings often make significant contributions to their brother’s/sister’s care and social and emotional well-being, and their support can positively shape the recovery trajectory. This review finds that siblings require information and support for two reasons: to maintain their own well-being, and to be able to best support their sibling with SMI and the family as a whole. Several implications for clinical practice, workforce development and research are outlined. Originality/value – This paper provides a timely review of the literature to enhance awareness of the needs and experiences of siblings for health and social care professionals. Examples of good practice are proposed for statutory and voluntary service settings

A systematic review of the psychological correlates of adjustment outcomes in adults with inflammatory bowel disease

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic long term condition which poses significant psychosocial adjustment challenges. The purpose of this review was to systematically identify psychological factors related to adjustment in adults with IBD with the aim of suggesting evidence based targets that may be modifiable though psychological intervention. Twenty five studies met inclusion criteria and were included in the systematic review and a narrative synthesis was conducted. A wide range of psychological variables were addressed covering six broad categories; personality traits, interpersonal traits, stress and coping, emotions and emotional control, IBD related cognitions and non IBD related cognitions. The most consistent relationship was found between certain emotion focused coping strategies and worse adjustment outcomes in IBD. Some evidence also hi-lighted a relationship between personality traits (such as neuroticism,) perceived stress, emotions and emotional control (such as alexithymia) and IBD related cognitions (such as illness perceptions) and negative adjustment outcomes. The results of this review suggest that interventions to improve adjustment in IBD may benefit from a focus on coping strategies, perceived stress and IBD related cognitions

Nonlinear optical conductivity of two-dimensional semiconductors with Rashba spin-orbit coupling in terahertz regime

We reveal that two-dimensional semiconductors with Rashba spin-orbit interaction (R2DG) exhibit exceptionally strong nonlinear optical response (NOR) in the terahertz frequency regime. The spin-split of the parabolic energy band in R2DG allows strong multiple-photon process to occur via inter-subband mechanism. We show sharp multiple photon edges in the nonlinear conductivity. The edges correspond to the cut-off effect produced by the multiple-photon process. For Rashba coupling parameter of λ R ≈ 10−10 eV m, electric field strength in the order of only 102 V/cm is required for the NOR to dominate over the linear response. Furthermore, the roles of the parabolic ‘free electron’ term H 0 and the linear Rashba term H R on NOR of R2DG are also investigated. Although the NOR is made possible due to the presence of a finite H R , H 0 does play an important role on the NOR especially in high temperature regime. H 0 has rendered R2DG a strong optical nonlinearity at elevated temperature which is not found in a purely linear system such as graphene. The results suggest the possibilities of Rashba spintronic system in the application of nonlinear terahertz devices

COPe-support - a multi-component digital intervention for family carers for people affected by psychosis: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Psychosis often causes significant distress and impacts not only in the individuals, but also those close to them. Many relatives and friends ('carers') provide long-term support and need resources to assist them. We have co-produced a digital mental health intervention called COPe-support (Carers fOr People with Psychosis e-support) to provide carers with flexible access to high quality psychoeducation and interactive support from experts and peers. This study evaluates the effectiveness of COPe-support to promote mental wellbeing and caregiving experiences in carers. METHODS: This study is a single-blind, parallel arm, individually randomized controlled trial (RCT) comparing COPe-support, with attention control. Both groups continue to receive usual care. COPe-support provides interactive web-based psychoeducation on psychosis-related issues, wellbeing-promotion and network support through forums. The attention-control is a non-interactive online information resource pack. Carers living in England are eligible if they provide at least weekly support to a family member or close friend affected by psychosis, and use internet communication (including emails) daily. All trial procedures are run online, including collection of outcome measurements which participants will directly input into our secure platform. Following baseline assessment, a web-based randomization system will be used to allocate 360 carers to either arm. Participants have unlimited access to the allocated condition for 40 weeks. Data collection is at three time points (10, 20, and 40 weeks after randomization). Analyses will be conducted by trial statisticians blinded to allocation. The primary outcome is mental wellbeing measured by Warwick Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale (WEMWBS), at 20 weeks. As well as an intention-to-treat analysis, a complier average causal effect (CACE) analysis will be conducted to estimate the intervention effect in participants who have accessed COPe-support content twice or more. The secondary objectives and analysis will examine other health and caregiving-related outcomes and explore mechanisms. In a process evaluation, we will interview 20% of the intervention arm participants regarding the acceptability of COPe-support. We will explore in detail participants' usage patterns. DISCUSSION: The results of this trial will provide valuable information about the effectiveness of COPe-support in promoting wellbeing and caregiving experiences in carers. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The RCT is registered with the Current Controlled Trials registration (ISRCTN 89563420, registration date: 02/03/2018)

Comments on Baryon Melting in Quark Gluon Plasma with Gluon Condensation

We consider a black hole solution with a non-trivial dilaton from IIB super gravity which is expected to describe a strongly coupled hot gauge plasma with non-vanishing gluon condensation present. We construct a rotating and moving baryon to probe the screening and phases of the plasma. Melting of the baryons in hot plasma in this background had been studied previously, however, we show that baryons melt much lower temperature than has been suggested previously.Comment: 3 figures, 12 page