817 research outputs found
The inflated significance of neutral genetic diversity in conservation genetics
The current rate of species extinction is rapidly approaching unprecedented highs, and life on Earth presently faces a sixth mass extinction event driven by anthropogenic activity, climate change, and ecological collapse. The field of conservation genetics aims at preserving species by using their levels of genetic diversity, usually measured as neutral genome-wide diversity, as a barometer for evaluating population health and extinction risk. A fundamental assumption is that higher levels of genetic diversity lead to an increase in fitness and long-term survival of a species. Here, we argue against the perceived importance of neutral genetic diversity for the conservation of wild populations and species. We demonstrate that no simple general relationship exists between neutral genetic diversity and the risk of species extinction. Instead, a better understanding of the properties of functional genetic diversity, demographic history, and ecological relationships is necessary for developing and implementing effective conservation genetic strategies.JoĂŁo C. Teixeira and Christian D. Hube
The Quest for Antiinflammatory and Immunomodulatory Strategies in Heart Failure
Intensive research over the last 3 decades has unequivocally demonstrated the relevance of inflammation in heart failure (HF). Despite our current and ever increasing knowledge about inflammation, the clinical success of antiinflammatory and immunomodulatory therapies in HF is still limited. This review outlines the complexity and diversity of inflammation, its reciprocal interaction with HF, and addresses future perspectives, calling for immunomodulatory therapies that are specific for factors that activate the immune system without the risk of nonspecific immune suppression
Villous Mucinous Cystadenoma of the Appendix in a Postmenopausal Woman
Because a significant number of mucoceles are caused by mucinous cystadenocarcinoma, the authors stress that a general surgeon be consulted in cases of right lower quadrant “dumbbell shaped” abdominal cysts
Hierarchical Structure of Azbel-Hofstader Problem: Strings and loose ends of Bethe Ansatz
We present numerical evidence that solutions of the Bethe Ansatz equations
for a Bloch particle in an incommensurate magnetic field (Azbel-Hofstadter or
AH model), consist of complexes-"strings". String solutions are well-known from
integrable field theories. They become asymptotically exact in the
thermodynamic limit. The string solutions for the AH model are exact in the
incommensurate limit, where the flux through the unit cell is an irrational
number in units of the elementary flux quantum.
We introduce the notion of the integral spectral flow and conjecture a
hierarchical tree for the problem. The hierarchical tree describes the topology
of the singular continuous spectrum of the problem. We show that the string
content of a state is determined uniquely by the rate of the spectral flow
(Hall conductance) along the tree. We identify the Hall conductances with the
set of Takahashi-Suzuki numbers (the set of dimensions of the irreducible
representations of with definite parity).
In this paper we consider the approximation of noninteracting strings. It
provides the gap distribution function, the mean scaling dimension for the
bandwidths and gives a very good approximation for some wave functions which
even captures their multifractal properties. However, it misses the
multifractal character of the spectrum.Comment: revtex, 30 pages, 6 Figs, 8 postscript files are enclosed, important
references are adde
Infrared Behavior of Three-Point Functions in Landau Gauge Yang-Mills Theory
Analytic solutions for the three-gluon and ghost-gluon vertices in Landau
gauge Yang-Mills theory at low momenta are presented in terms of hypergeometric
series. They do not only show the expected scaling behavior but also additional
kinematic divergences when only one momentum goes to zero. These singularities,
which have also been proposed previously, induce a strong dependence on the
kinematics in many dressing functions. The results are generalized to two and
three dimensions and a range of values for the ghost propagator's infrared
exponent kappa.Comment: 21 pages, 29 figures; numerical data of the infrared dressing
functions can be obtained from the authors v2: a few minor changes,
corresponds to version appearing in EPJ
On the infrared scaling solution of SU(N) Yang-Mills theories in the maximally Abelian gauge
An improved method for extracting infrared exponents from functional
equations is presented. The generalizations introduced allow for an analysis of
quite complicated systems such as Yang-Mills theory in the maximally Abelian
gauge. Assuming the absence of cancellations in the appropriately renormalized
integrals the only consistent scaling solution yields an infrared enhanced
diagonal gluon propagator in support of the Abelian dominance hypothesis. This
is explicitly shown for SU(2) and subsequently verified for SU(N), where
additional interactions exist. We also derive the most infrared divergent
scaling solution possible for vertex functions in terms of the propagators'
infrared exponents. We provide general conditions for the existence of a
scaling solution for a given system and comment on the cases of linear
covariant gauges and ghost anti-ghost symmetric gauges.Comment: 23 pages, 10 figures; version coincides with version published in
EPJ
Reexamining nonstandard interaction effects on supernova neutrino flavor oscillations
Several extensions of the standard electroweak model allow new four-fermion
interactions (nu_a nu_b * ff) with strength eps_ab*G_F, where (a,b) are flavor
indices. We revisit their effects on flavor oscillations of massive
(anti)neutrinos in supernovae, in order to achieve, in the region above the
protoneutron star, an analytical treatment valid for generic values of the
neutrino mixing angles (omega,phi,psi)=(theta_12,theta_13,theta_23). Assuming
that eps_ab<<1, we find that the leading effects on the flavor transitions
occurring at high (H) and low (L) density along the supernova matter profile
can be simply embedded through the replacements phi-->phi+eps_H and
omega-->omega+eps_L, respectively, where eps_H and eps_L are specific linear
combinations of the eps_ab's. Similar replacements hold for eventual
oscillations in the Earth matter. From a phenomenological point of view, the
most relevant consequence is a possible uncontrolled bias (phi-->phi+eps_H) in
the value of the mixing angle phi inferred by inversion of supernova neutrino
data. Such a drawback, however, does not preclude the discrimination of the
neutrino mass spectrum hierarchy (direct or inverse) through supernova neutrino
oscillations.Comment: Text clarified, one figure added. To appear in PR
Microscopic View on Short-Range Wetting at the Free Surface of the Binary Metallic Liquid Gallium-Bismuth: An X-ray Reflectivity and Square Gradient Theory Study
We present an x-ray reflectivity study of wetting at the free surface of the
binary liquid metal gallium-bismuth (Ga-Bi) in the region where the bulk phase
separates into Bi-rich and Ga-rich liquid phases. The measurements reveal the
evolution of the microscopic structure of wetting films of the Bi-rich,
low-surface-tension phase along different paths in the bulk phase diagram. A
balance between the surface potential preferring the Bi-rich phase and the
gravitational potential which favors the Ga-rich phase at the surface pins the
interface of the two demixed liquid metallic phases close to the free surface.
This enables us to resolve it on an Angstrom level and to apply a mean-field,
square gradient model extended by thermally activated capillary waves as
dominant thermal fluctuations. The sole free parameter of the gradient model,
i.e. the so-called influence parameter, , is determined from our
measurements. Relying on a calculation of the liquid/liquid interfacial tension
that makes it possible to distinguish between intrinsic and capillary wave
contributions to the interfacial structure we estimate that fluctuations affect
the observed short-range, complete wetting phenomena only marginally. A
critical wetting transition that should be sensitive to thermal fluctuations
seems to be absent in this binary metallic alloy.Comment: RevTex4, twocolumn, 15 pages, 10 figure
Multiple Andreev Reflection and Giant Excess Noise in Diffusive Superconductor/Normal-Metal/Superconductor Junctions
We have studied superconductor/normal metal/superconductor (SNS) junctions
consisting of short Au or Cu wires between Nb or Al banks. The Nb based
junctions display inherent electron heating effects induced by the high thermal
resistance of the NS boundaries. The Al based junctions show in addition
subharmonic gap structures in the differential conductance dI/dV and a
pronounced peak in the excess noise at very low voltages V. We suggest that the
noise peak is caused by fluctuations of the supercurrent at the onset of
Josephson coupling between the superconducting banks. At intermediate
temperatures where the supercurrent is suppressed a noise contribution ~1/V
remains, which may be interpreted as shot noise originating from large multiple
charges.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figures, extended versio
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