Interaction Strengths for the Fock-Space Formulation of the Nuclear Pairing Problem

A realistic nuclear mean-field hamiltonian with pairing has been diagonalized using Fock space representation that allows for nearly exact treatment of the problem. Calculations were performed for all the even-even nuclei with Z in (20, 100), whose pairing gaps were possible to extract out of the experimental masses. The optimal values of the pairing strength constants for the protons and neutrons have been found.Comment: Seminar given at XXXVII School of Physics in Zakopane, Poland. Paper in LaTeX, 4 pages including one figure, submitted to Acta Physica Polonica

The Dinosaur in the Living Room: A Proposal to Enable Academic Access to Fossils Discovered on Private Land

The United States has been a major source of scientifically significant paleontological discoveries over the course of its history. In addition to invaluable primary source material for the study of evolution and climate change, American paleontology has additionally been invoked as symbols of American power since the founding of the country. Even though fossils are prominent national heritage, the United States today only uniformly regulates their excavation and use on federal public lands through the Paleontological Resources Preservation Act. When fossils are discovered on private land, landowners and those with whom they contract often sell them to private collectors, which can lead to research quality specimens becoming inaccessible to museums and universities seeking to research or publicly display them. This Note will use the discovery and litigation over the Dueling Dinosaurs, fossils of two dinosaurs preserved in combat, as a case study to demonstrate the current futility of legal action in providing for scientific access. This Note will argue that the federal government should pass a Model Act that provides universities and museums the opportunity to appeal for a delay in the sale for scientifically significant specimens that would allow an institution to have temporary custody over the material. Such a proposal should not be subject to just compensation under eminent domain law because of the financial benefit landowners should receive from affiliation with and analysis from such an institution

On current ambiguity in the interpretation of fission at intermediate excitation energy

AbstractVarious approaches are currently used to interpret experimental data on fission. We critically examine a wide set of observables measured for fission of Po206,210 nuclei at medium excitation energy, and illustrate the ambiguity in current analysis. Dynamical calculations based on the four-dimensional Langevin equation using a macroscopic potential energy landscape are performed, and found to consistently describe available measurements. This observation calls into question the robustness of recent analysis based on statistical-model calculations and concluding, on the contrary, to substantial shell effects at the fission saddle point in Po206,210. The inconsistency in interpretation reached by the two approaches shows that, depending on the system, the conclusion can be strongly model-dependent. Although this may not be surprising, it emphasizes the today still limited reliability of firmly extracting fundamental nuclear properties from customary analysis

HIGH-SENSITIVITY C-REACTIVE PROTEIN (hsCRP) IN YOUNG ADULTS: RELATION TO AEROBIC CAPACITY, PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AND RISK FACTORS FOR CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASES

Atheromatosis develops as a result of a chronic inflammatory process of the arteries. Inflammatory biomarkers, particularly high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), positively correlate with atheromatosis risk factors and can be used to estimate and predict the risk of cardiovascular events. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between hsCRP concentration and BMI, body composition, classical risk factors for cardiovascular diseases, energy expenditure for physical activity (WEE) and  ·VO2max. 166 volunteers (78 women and 88 men) were included in the examinations. Their mean age was 20.2±0.9 years. Health condition was described by the following variables: smoking, WEE,  ·VO2max, body mass index (BMI), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), fat mass (FM), fat-free mass (FFM), lipid profile, hsCRP, glucose and insulin concentration, and insulin resistance. Between the subgroups created on the basis of hsCRP concentration, in quartiles 1 to 3 and quartile 4, a comparative analysis was carried out. 79.5�0of women and 69.3�0of men had hsCRP values within the references ranges. Moderately high values were found in 14.1�0of women and 22.7�0of men and high in 6.4�0and 7.9�20respectively. Mean values of BMI, FFM, WHR, WEE,  ·VO2max, glucose and triglyceride concentration, and TC/HDL index were significantly lower, while FM and HDL were significantly higher, in women than in men. In the quartile 4 subgroup compared to the quartile 1-3 subgroup, we found significantly lower HDL concentration and a tendency for higher values of BMI (p=0.06) and TC (p=0.07) as well as higher percentages of smoking among men. In young, physically active, healthy persons, serum concentration of hsCRP is not related to physical activity or  ·VO2max