855 research outputs found
Is Neolithic land use correlated with demography? An evaluation of pollen-derived land cover and radiocarbon-inferred demographic change from Central Europe
The transformation of natural landscapes in Middle Europe began in the Neolithic as a result of the introduction of food-producing economies. This paper examines the relation between land-cover and demographic change in a regionally restricted case study. The study area is the Western Lake Constance area which has very detailed palynological as well as archaeological records. We compare land-cover change derived from nine pollen records using a pseudo-biomisation approach with 14C date probability density functions from archaeological sites which serve as a demographic proxy. We chose the Lake Constance area as a regional example where the pollen signal integrates a larger spatial pattern. The land-cover reconstructions for this region show first notable impacts at the Middle to Young Neolithic transition. The beginning of the Bronze Age is characterised by increases of arable land and pasture/meadow, whereas the deciduous woodland decreases dramatically. Changes in the land-cover classes show a correlation with the 14C density curve: the correlation is best with secondary woodland in the Young Neolithic which reflects the lake shore settlement dynamics. In the Early Bronze Age, the radiocarbon density correlates with open land-cover classes, such as pasture, meadow and arable land, reflecting a change in the land-use strategy. The close overall correspondence between the two archives implies that population dynamics and land-cover change were intrinsically linked. We therefore see human impact as a key driver for vegetation change in the Neolithic. Climate might have an influence on vegetation development, but the changes caused by human land use are clearly detectable from Neolithic times, at least in these densely settled, mid-altitude landscapes
Interaction effects between impurities in low dimensional spin-1/2 antiferromagnets
We are considering the interplay between several non-magnetic impurities in
the spin-1/2 Heisenberg antiferromagnet in chains, ladders and planes by
introducing static vacancies in numerical quantum Monte Carlo simulations. The
effective potential between two and more impurities is accurately determined,
which gives a direct measure of the quantum correlations in the systems. Large
effective interaction potentials are an indication of strong quantum
correlations in the system and reflect the detailed nature of the valence bond
ground states. In two-dimensions (2D) the interactions are smaller, but can
still be analyzed in terms of valence bonds.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures, accepted by Europhys. Lett. The latest pdf file
is available at http://www.physik.uni-kl.de/eggert/papers/interact2d.pd
The aging male: investigation, treatment and monitoring of late-onset hypogonadism in males
Androgen deficiency in the aging male has become a topic of increasing interest and debate throughout the world. The demographics clearly demonstrate the increasing percentage of the population that is in the older age groups. The data also support the concept that testosterone falls progressively with age and that a significant percentage of men over the age of 60 years have serum testosterone levels that are below the lower limits of young adults (age 20-30 years) men. The principal questions raised by these observations are whether older hypogonadal men will benefit from testosterone treatment and what will be the risks associated with such intervention. The past decade has brought evidence of benefit of androgen treatment on multiple target organs of hypogonadal men and recent studies show short-term beneficial effects of testosterone in older men that are similar to those in younger men. Long-term data on the effects of testosterone treatment in the older population are limited and specific risk data on the prostate and cardiovascular systems are needed. Answers to key questions of functional benefits that may retard frailty of the elderly are not yet available. The recommendations described below were prepared for the International Society of Andrology (ISA) and the International Society for the Study of the Aging Male (ISSAM) following a panel discussion with active participation from the audience sponsored by the ISA on the topic at the 4th ISSAM Congress in Prague in February 2004.peer-reviewe
Numerical Study of a Two-Dimensional Quantum Antiferromagnet with Random Ferromagnetic Bonds
A Monte Carlo method for finite-temperature studies of the two-dimensional
quantum Heisenberg antiferromagnet with random ferromagnetic bonds is
presented. The scheme is based on an approximation which allows for an analytic
summation over the realizations of the randomness, thereby significantly
alleviating the ``sign problem'' for this frustrated spin system. The
approximation is shown to be very accurate for ferromagnetic bond
concentrations of up to ten percent. The effects of a low concentration of
ferromagnetic bonds on the antiferromagnetism are discussed.Comment: 11 pages + 5 postscript figures (included), Revtex 3.0, UCSBTH-94-2
Classical Correlation-Length Exponent in Non-Universal Quantum Phase Transition of Diluted Heisenberg Antiferromagnet
Critical behavior of the quantum phase transition of a site-diluted
Heisenberg antiferromagnet on a square lattice is investigated by means of the
quantum Monte Carlo simulation with the continuous-imaginary-time loop
algorithm. Although the staggered spin correlation function decays in a power
law with the exponent definitely depending on the spin size , the
correlation-length exponent is classical, i.e., . This implies that
the length scale characterizing the non-universal quantum phase transition is
nothing but the mean size of connected spin clusters.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
Quantum Phase Transition of Randomly-Diluted Heisenberg Antiferromagnet on a Square Lattice
Ground-state magnetic properties of the diluted Heisenberg antiferromagnet on
a square lattice are investigated by means of the quantum Monte Carlo method
with the continuous-time loop algorithm. It is found that the critical
concentration of magnetic sites is independent of the spin size S, and equal to
the two-dimensional percolation threshold. However, the existence of quantum
fluctuations makes the critical exponents deviate from those of the classical
percolation transition. Furthermore, we found that the transition is not
universal, i.e., the critical exponents significantly depend on S.Comment: RevTeX, 4 pages including 5 EPS figure
An open-label clinical trial to investigate the efficacy and safety of corifollitropin alfa combined with hCG in adult men with hypogonadotropic hypogonadism
Subject disposition. (EPS 1138 kb
Disorder Induced Phase Transition in a Random Quantum Antiferromagnet
A two-dimensional Heisenberg model with random antiferromagnetic
nearest-neighbor exchange is studied using quantum Monte Carlo techniques. As
the strength of the randomness is increased, the system undergoes a transition
from an antiferromagnetically ordered ground state to a gapless disordered
state. The finite-size scaling of the staggered structure factor and
susceptibility is consistent with a dynamic exponent .Comment: Revtex 3.0, 10 pages + 5 postscript figures available upon request,
UCSBTH-94-1
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