A new approach for the limit to tree height using a liquid nanolayer model

Liquids in contact with solids are submitted to intermolecular forces inferring density gradients at the walls. The van der Waals forces make liquid heterogeneous, the stress tensor is not any more spherical as in homogeneous bulks and it is possible to obtain stable thin liquid films wetting vertical walls up to altitudes that incompressible fluid models are not forecasting. Application to micro tubes of xylem enables to understand why the ascent of sap is possible for very high trees like sequoias or giant eucalyptus.Comment: In the conclusion is a complementary comment to the Continuum Mechanics and Thermodynamics paper. 21 pages, 4 figures. Continuum Mechanics and Thermodynamics 20, 5 (2008) to appea

Static overscreening and nonlinear response in the Hubbard Model

We investigate the static charge response for the Hubbard model. Using the Slave-Boson method in the saddle-point approximation we calculate the charge susceptibility. We find that RPA works quite well close to half-filling, breaking, of course, down close to the Mott transition. Away from half filling RPA is much less reliable: Already for very small values of the Hubbard interaction U, the linear response becomes much more efficient than RPA, eventually leading to overscreening already beyond quite moderate values of U. To understand this behavior we give a simple argument, which implies that the response to an external perturbation at large U should actually be strongly non-linear. This prediction is confirmed by the results of exact diagonalization.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figures, RevTe

Statistics of Atmospheric Correlations

For a large class of quantum systems the statistical properties of their spectrum show remarkable agreement with random matrix predictions. Recent advances show that the scope of random matrix theory is much wider. In this work, we show that the random matrix approach can be beneficially applied to a completely different classical domain, namely, to the empirical correlation matrices obtained from the analysis of the basic atmospheric parameters that characterise the state of atmosphere. We show that the spectrum of atmospheric correlation matrices satisfy the random matrix prescription. In particular, the eigenmodes of the atmospheric empirical correlation matrices that have physical significance are marked by deviations from the eigenvector distribution.Comment: 8 pages, 9 figs, revtex; To appear in Phys. Rev.

Time-dependent Gutzwiller theory of magnetic excitations in the Hubbard model

We use a spin-rotational invariant Gutzwiller energy functional to compute random-phase-approximation-like (RPA) fluctuations on top of the Gutzwiller approximation (GA). The method can be viewed as an extension of the previously developed GA+RPA approach for the charge sector [G. Seibold and J. Lorenzana, Phys. Rev. Lett. {\bf 86}, 2605 (2001)] with respect to the inclusion of the magnetic excitations. Unlike the charge case, no assumptions about the time evolution of the double occupancy are needed in this case. Interestingly, in a spin-rotational invariant system, we find the correct degeneracy between triplet excitations, showing the consistency of both computations. Since no restrictions are imposed on the symmetry of the underlying saddle-point solution, our approach is suitable for the evaluation of the magnetic susceptibility and dynamical structure factor in strongly correlated inhomogeneous systems. We present a detailed study of the quality of our approach by comparing with exact diagonalization results and show its much higher accuracy compared to the conventional Hartree-Fock+RPA theory. In infinite dimensions, where the GA becomes exact for the Gutzwiller variational energy, we evaluate ferromagnetic and antiferromagnetic instabilities from the transverse magnetic susceptibility. The resulting phase diagram is in complete agreement with previous variational computations.Comment: 12 pages, 8 figure

Association of a marker of N-acetylglucosamine with progressive multiple sclerosis and neurodegeneration

IMPORTANCE: N-glycan branching modulates cell surface receptor availability, and its deficiency in mice promotes inflammatory demyelination, reduced myelination, and neurodegeneration. N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) is a rate-limiting substrate for N-glycan branching, but, to our knowledge, endogenous serum levels in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) are unknown. OBJECTIVE: To investigate a marker of endogenous serum GlcNAc levels in patients with MS. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: A cross-sectional discovery study and cross-sectional confirmatory study were conducted at 2 academic MS centers in the US and Germany. The discovery study recruited 54 patients with MS from an outpatient clinic as well as 66 healthy controls between April 20, 2010, and June 21, 2013. The confirmatory study recruited 180 patients with MS from screening visits at an academic MS study center between April 9, 2007, and February 29, 2016. Serum samples were analyzed from December 2, 2013, to March 2, 2015. Statistical analysis was performed from February 23, 2020, to March 18, 2021. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Serum levels of GlcNAc plus its stereoisomers, termed N-acetylhexosamine (HexNAc), were assessed using targeted tandem mass spectroscopy. Secondary outcomes (confirmatory study) comprised imaging and clinical disease markers. RESULTS: The discovery cohort included 66 healthy controls (38 women; mean [SD] age, 42 [20] years), 33 patients with relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS; 25 women; mean [SD] age, 50 [11] years), and 21 patients with progressive MS (PMS; 14 women; mean [SD] age, 55 [7] years). The confirmatory cohort included 125 patients with RRMS (83 women; mean [SD] age, 40 [9] years) and 55 patients with PMS (22 women; mean [SD] age, 49 [80] years). In the discovery cohort, the mean (SD) serum level of GlcNAc plus its stereoisomers (HexNAc) was 710 (174) nM in healthy controls and marginally reduced in patients with RRMS (mean [SD] level, 682 [173] nM; P = .04), whereas patients with PMS displayed markedly reduced levels compared with healthy controls (mean [SD] level, 548 [101] nM; P = 9.55 × 10(-9)) and patients with RRMS (P = 1.83 × 10(-4)). The difference between patients with RRMS (mean [SD] level, 709 [193] nM) and those with PMS (mean [SD] level, 405 [161] nM; P = 7.6 × 10(-18)) was confirmed in the independent confirmatory cohort. Lower HexNAc serum levels correlated with worse expanded disability status scale scores (ρ = -0.485; P = 4.73 × 10(-12)), lower thalamic volume (t = 1.7; P = .04), and thinner retinal nerve fiber layer (B = 0.012 [SE = 7.5 × 10(-11)]; P = .008). Low baseline serum HexNAc levels correlated with a greater percentage of brain volume loss at 18 months (t = 1.8; P = .04). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: This study suggests that deficiency of GlcNAc plus its stereoisomers (HexNAc) may be a biomarker for PMS. Previous preclinical, human genetic, and ex vivo human mechanistic studies revealed that N-glycan branching and/or GlcNAc may reduce proinflammatory responses, promote myelin repair, and decrease neurodegeneration. Combined, the data suggest that GlcNAc deficiency may be associated with progressive disease and neurodegeneration in patients with MS

A Study of Cosmic Ray Secondaries Induced by the Mir Space Station Using AMS-01

The Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS-02) is a high energy particle physics experiment that will study cosmic rays in the $\sim 100 \mathrm{MeV}$ to $1 \mathrm{TeV}$ range and will be installed on the International Space Station (ISS) for at least 3 years. A first version of AMS-02, AMS-01, flew aboard the space shuttle \emph{Discovery} from June 2 to June 12, 1998, and collected $10^8$ cosmic ray triggers. Part of the \emph{Mir} space station was within the AMS-01 field of view during the four day \emph{Mir} docking phase of this flight. We have reconstructed an image of this part of the \emph{Mir} space station using secondary $\pi^-$ and $\mu^-$ emissions from primary cosmic rays interacting with \emph{Mir}. This is the first time this reconstruction was performed in AMS-01, and it is important for understanding potential backgrounds during the 3 year AMS-02 mission.Comment: To be submitted to NIM B Added material requested by referee. Minor stylistic and grammer change

Treatment-limiting renal tubulopathy in patients treated with tenofovir disoproxil fumarate.

OBJECTIVES: Tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) is widely used in the treatment or prevention of HIV and hepatitis B infection. TDF may cause renal tubulopathy in a small proportion of recipients. We aimed to study the risk factors for developing severe renal tubulopathy. METHODS: We conducted an observational cohort study with retrospective identification of cases of treatment-limiting tubulopathy during TDF exposure. We used multivariate Poisson regression analysis to identify risk factors for tubulopathy, and mixed effects models to analyse adjusted estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) slopes. RESULTS: Between October 2002 and June 2013, 60 (0.4%) of 15,983 patients who had received TDF developed tubulopathy after a median exposure of 44.1 (IQR 20.4, 64.4) months. Tubulopathy cases were predominantly male (92%), of white ethnicity (93%), and exposed to antiretroviral regimens that contained boosted protease inhibitors (PI, 90%). In multivariate analysis, age, ethnicity, CD4 cell count and use of didanosine or PI were significantly associated with tubulopathy. Tubulopathy cases experienced significantly greater eGFR decline while receiving TDF than the comparator group (-6.60 [-7.70, -5.50] vs. -0.34 [-0.43, -0.26] mL/min/1.73 m2/year, p < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: Older age, white ethnicity, immunodeficiency and co-administration of ddI and PI were risk factors for tubulopathy in patients who received TDF-containing antiretroviral therapy. The presence of rapid eGFR decline identified TDF recipients at increased risk of tubulopathy

Anisotropic flow of charged hadrons, pions and (anti-)protons measured at high transverse momentum in Pb-Pb collisions at sNN=2.76\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}=2.76 TeV

The elliptic, $v_2$, triangular, $v_3$, and quadrangular, $v_4$, azimuthal anisotropic flow coefficients are measured for unidentified charged particles, pions and (anti-)protons in Pb-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}} = 2.76$ TeV with the ALICE detector at the Large Hadron Collider. Results obtained with the event plane and four-particle cumulant methods are reported for the pseudo-rapidity range $|\eta|<0.8$ at different collision centralities and as a function of transverse momentum, $p_{\rm T}$, out to $p_{\rm T}=20$ GeV/$c$. The observed non-zero elliptic and triangular flow depends only weakly on transverse momentum for $p_{\rm T}>8$ GeV/$c$. The small $p_{\rm T}$ dependence of the difference between elliptic flow results obtained from the event plane and four-particle cumulant methods suggests a common origin of flow fluctuations up to $p_{\rm T}=8$ GeV/$c$. The magnitude of the (anti-)proton elliptic and triangular flow is larger than that of pions out to at least $p_{\rm T}=8$ GeV/$c$ indicating that the particle type dependence persists out to high $p_{\rm T}$.Comment: 16 pages, 5 captioned figures, authors from page 11, published version, figures at http://aliceinfo.cern.ch/ArtSubmission/node/186

Centrality dependence of charged particle production at large transverse momentum in Pb-Pb collisions at sNN=2.76\sqrt{s_{\rm{NN}}} = 2.76 TeV

The inclusive transverse momentum ($p_{\rm T}$) distributions of primary charged particles are measured in the pseudo-rapidity range $|\eta|<0.8$ as a function of event centrality in Pb-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm{NN}}}=2.76$ TeV with ALICE at the LHC. The data are presented in the $p_{\rm T}$ range $0.15<p_{\rm T}<50$ GeV/$c$ for nine centrality intervals from 70-80% to 0-5%. The Pb-Pb spectra are presented in terms of the nuclear modification factor $R_{\rm{AA}}$ using a pp reference spectrum measured at the same collision energy. We observe that the suppression of high-$p_{\rm T}$ particles strongly depends on event centrality. In central collisions (0-5%) the yield is most suppressed with $R_{\rm{AA}}\approx0.13$ at $p_{\rm T}=6$-7 GeV/$c$. Above $p_{\rm T}=7$ GeV/$c$, there is a significant rise in the nuclear modification factor, which reaches $R_{\rm{AA}} \approx0.4$ for $p_{\rm T}>30$ GeV/$c$. In peripheral collisions (70-80%), the suppression is weaker with $R_{\rm{AA}} \approx 0.7$ almost independently of $p_{\rm T}$. The measured nuclear modification factors are compared to other measurements and model calculations.Comment: 17 pages, 4 captioned figures, 2 tables, authors from page 12, published version, figures at http://aliceinfo.cern.ch/ArtSubmission/node/284

Measurement of the polarisation of W bosons produced with large transverse momentum in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV with the ATLAS experiment

This paper describes an analysis of the angular distribution of W->enu and W->munu decays, using data from pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV recorded with the ATLAS detector at the LHC in 2010, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of about 35 pb^-1. Using the decay lepton transverse momentum and the missing transverse energy, the W decay angular distribution projected onto the transverse plane is obtained and analysed in terms of helicity fractions f0, fL and fR over two ranges of W transverse momentum (ptw): 35 < ptw < 50 GeV and ptw > 50 GeV. Good agreement is found with theoretical predictions. For ptw > 50 GeV, the values of f0 and fL-fR, averaged over charge and lepton flavour, are measured to be : f0 = 0.127 +/- 0.030 +/- 0.108 and fL-fR = 0.252 +/- 0.017 +/- 0.030, where the first uncertainties are statistical, and the second include all systematic effects.Comment: 19 pages plus author list (34 pages total), 9 figures, 11 tables, revised author list, matches European Journal of Physics C versio