Neutron matter with a model interaction

An infinite system of neutrons interacting by a model pair potential is considered. We investigate a case when this potential is sufficiently strong attractive, so that its scattering length tends to infinity. It appeared, that if the structure of the potential is simple enough, including no finite parameters, reliable evidences can be presented that such a system is completely unstable at any finite density. The incompressibility as a function of the density is negative, reaching zero value when the density tends to zero. If the potential contains a sufficiently strong repulsive core then the system possesses an equilibrium density. The main features of a theory describing such systems are considered.Comment: 8 pages, LaTeX. In press, Eur. Phys. J.

The Nuclear Sigma Term in the Skyrme Model: Pion-Nucleus Interaction

The nuclear sigma term is calculated including the nuclear matrix element of the derivative of the NN interaction with respect to the quark mass, $m_q\frac{\partial V_{NN}}{\partial m_q}$. The NN potential is evaluated in the skyrmion-skyrmion picture within the quantized product ansatz. The contribution of the NN potential to the nuclear sigma term provides repulsion to the pion-nucleus interaction. The strength of the s-wave pion-nucleus optical potential is estimated including such contribution. The results are consistent with the analysis of the experimental data.Comment: 16 pages (latex), 3 figures (eps), e-mail: [email protected] and [email protected]

Gut microbiome diversity and high-fibre intake are related to lower long-term weight gain

BACKGROUND: Cross-sectional studies suggest that the microbes in the human gut have a role in obesity by influencing thehuman body’s ability to extract and store calories. The aim of this study was to assess if there is a correlation between change inbody weight over time and gut microbiome composition.METHODS: We analysed 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequence data derived from the faecal samples of 1632 healthy females fromTwinsUK to investigate the association between gut microbiome measured cross-sectionally and longitudinal weight gain (adjustedfor caloric intake and baseline body mass index). Dietary fibre intake was investigated as a possible modifier.RESULTS: Less than half of the variation in long-term weight change was found to be heritable (h2 = 0.41 (0.31, 0.47)). Gutmicrobiota diversity was negatively associated with long-term weight gain, whereas it was positively correlated with fibre intake.Nine bacterial operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were significantly associated with weight gain after adjusting for covariates,family relatedness and multiple testing (false discovery rate o0.05). OTUs associated with lower long-term weight gain includedthose assigned to Ruminococcaceae (associated in mice with improved energy metabolism) and Lachnospiraceae. A Bacterioidesspecies OTU was associated with increased risk of weight gain but this appears to be driven by its correlation with lower levels ofdiversity.CONCLUSIONS: High gut microbiome diversity, high-fibre intake and OTUs implicated in animal models of improved energymetabolism are all correlated with lower term weight gain in humans independently of calorie intake and other confounders

A renormalisation group approach to two-body scattering in the presence of long-range forces

We apply renormalisation-group methods to two-body scattering by a combination of known long-range and unknown short-range potentials. We impose a cut-off in the basis of distorted waves of the long-range potential and identify possible fixed points of the short-range potential as this cut-off is lowered to zero. The expansions around these fixed points define the power countings for the corresponding effective field theories. Expansions around nontrivial fixed points are shown to correspond to distorted-wave versions of the effective-range expansion. These methods are applied to scattering in the presence of Coulomb, Yukawa and repulsive inverse-square potentials.Comment: 22 pages (RevTeX), 4 figure

Haloperidol and Ziprasidone for Treatment of Delirium in Critical Illness

BACKGROUND: There are conflicting data on the effects of antipsychotic medications on delirium in patients in the intensive care unit (ICU). METHODS: In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, we assigned patients with acute respiratory failure or shock and hypoactive or hyperactive delirium to receive intravenous boluses of haloperidol (maximum dose, 20 mg daily), ziprasidone (maximum dose, 40 mg daily), or placebo. The volume and dose of a trial drug or placebo was halved or doubled at 12-hour intervals on the basis of the presence or absence of delirium, as detected with the use of the Confusion Assessment Method for the ICU, and of side effects of the intervention. The primary end point was the number of days alive without delirium or coma during the 14-day intervention period. Secondary end points included 30-day and 90-day survival, time to freedom from mechanical ventilation, and time to ICU and hospital discharge. Safety end points included extrapyramidal symptoms and excessive sedation. RESULTS: Written informed consent was obtained from 1183 patients or their authorized representatives. Delirium developed in 566 patients (48%), of whom 89% had hypoactive delirium and 11% had hyperactive delirium. Of the 566 patients, 184 were randomly assigned to receive placebo, 192 to receive haloperidol, and 190 to receive ziprasidone. The median duration of exposure to a trial drug or placebo was 4 days (interquartile range, 3 to 7). The median number of days alive without delirium or coma was 8.5 (95% confidence interval [CI], 5.6 to 9.9) in the placebo group, 7.9 (95% CI, 4.4 to 9.6) in the haloperidol group, and 8.7 (95% CI, 5.9 to 10.0) in the ziprasidone group (P=0.26 for overall effect across trial groups). The use of haloperidol or ziprasidone, as compared with placebo, had no significant effect on the primary end point (odds ratios, 0.88 [95% CI, 0.64 to 1.21] and 1.04 [95% CI, 0.73 to 1.48], respectively). There were no significant between-group differences with respect to the secondary end points or the frequency of extrapyramidal symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: The use of haloperidol or ziprasidone, as compared with placebo, in patients with acute respiratory failure or shock and hypoactive or hyperactive delirium in the ICU did not significantly alter the duration of delirium. (Funded by the National Institutes of Health and the VA Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center; MIND-USA ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01211522 .)

Parton energy loss at strong coupling and the universal bound

The apparent universality of jet quenching observed in heavy ion collisions at RHIC for light and heavy quarks, as well as for quarks and gluons, is very puzzling and calls for a theoretical explanation. Recently it has been proposed that the synchrotron--like radiation at strong coupling gives rise to a universal bound on the energy of a parton escaping from the medium. Since this bound appears quite low, almost all of the observed particles at high transverse momentum have to originate from the surface of the hot fireball. Here I make a first attempt of checking this scenario against the RHIC data and formulate a "Universal Bound Model" of jet quenching that can be further tested at RHIC and LHC.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures, invited plenary talk given at "Hard Probes 2008" Conference, 8-14 June 2008, Illa da Toxa, Galicia, Spai

Future Directions in Parity Violation: From Quarks to the Cosmos

I discuss the prospects for future studies of parity-violating (PV) interactions at low energies and the insights they might provide about open questions in the Standard Model as well as physics that lies beyond it. I cover four types of parity-violating observables: PV electron scattering; PV hadronic interactions; PV correlations in weak decays; and searches for the permanent electric dipole moments of quantum systems.Comment: Talk given at PAVI 06 workshop on parity-violating interactions, Milos, Greece (May, 2006); 10 page

On the Nature of the party statute

国内学者对于“党内法规”的研究相对完善，在不同角度分别给出了不同的定义，综合的来看我们可以将“党内法规”这一个宏观概念诠释为包含了法律、纪律、行政规范以及制度建设等多个方面。在本文的研究中我们应该严谨地来探讨“党内法规”的本意，并从中找到我们是在什么意义上或什么层面上使用这个概念。这样便于我们有效地进行有关的科学探讨。 在当前理论研究中，学术界对于“党内法规”这个提法是有一定争议的。有学者认为，“由于‘党内法规’这一提法不能准确地将党的规章制度与国家法律法规相区别，建议用‘党的纪律’代替‘党内法规’的相关定义，此种提法是相对准确的。同时，部分研究人员从法学的角度给出了不同的定义，其认为法规与..." Party regulations," the word as a concept , there are many inherent meanings , including party discipline , party system , the party's legal . From the party's history, " the party regulations," often from a different angle or significance used up . As an academic discussion , we should rigorously to explore the "inner regulations," the intention , and find meaning in what we are or what level t...学位：法律硕士院系专业：法学院法律系_法律硕士(JM)学号：X200812014

Atmospheric Heating and Wind Acceleration: Results for Cool Evolved Stars based on Proposed Processes

A chromosphere is a universal attribute of stars of spectral type later than ~F5. Evolved (K and M) giants and supergiants (including the zeta Aurigae binaries) show extended and highly turbulent chromospheres, which develop into slow massive winds. The associated continuous mass loss has a significant impact on stellar evolution, and thence on the chemical evolution of galaxies. Yet despite the fundamental importance of those winds in astrophysics, the question of their origin(s) remains unsolved. What sources heat a chromosphere? What is the role of the chromosphere in the formation of stellar winds? This chapter provides a review of the observational requirements and theoretical approaches for modeling chromospheric heating and the acceleration of winds in single cool, evolved stars and in eclipsing binary stars, including physical models that have recently been proposed. It describes the successes that have been achieved so far by invoking acoustic and MHD waves to provide a physical description of plasma heating and wind acceleration, and discusses the challenges that still remain.Comment: 46 pages, 9 figures, 1 table; modified and unedited manuscript; accepted version to appear in: Giants of Eclipse, eds. E. Griffin and T. Ake (Berlin: Springer