Effective potential for nonrelativistic non-Abelian Chern-Simons matter system in constant background fields

We present the effective potential for nonrelativistic matter coupled to non-Abelian Chern-Simons gauge fields. We perform the calculation using a functional method in constant background fields to satisfy Gauss's law and to simplify the computation. Both the quantum gauge and matter fields are integrated over. The gauge fixing is achieved with an $R_\xi$-gauge in the $\xi\to 0$ limit. Divergences appearing in the matter sector are regulated via operator regularization. We find no corrections to the Chern-Simons coupling constant and the system experiences conformal symmetry breaking to one-loop order except at the known value of self-duality. These results agree with previous analysis of the non-Abelian Aharonov-Bohm scattering.Comment: 17 pages in Tex (phyzzx), UdeM-LPN-TH-94-200, CRM-219

A study of stress-free living bone and its application to space flight

Observations of animals and human subjects in weightless space flight (Skylab and COSMOS) document altered bone metabolism. Bone metabolism is affected by a number of local and systemic factors. The calcification and growth of transplanted bone is independent of local muscle, nervous, and mechanical forces; therefore, transplanted bone would provide data on the role of local vs. systematic factors. Bone metabolism in living transplanted bone, devoid of stress, was investigated as a possible tool for the investigation of countermeasures against disuse bone loss. An animal model using Sprague-Dawley rats was developed for transplantation of femur bone tissue on a nutrient vascular pedicel. The long term course of these implants was assessed through the measure of regional and total bone mineral, blood flow, and methylene diphosphonate (MDP) uptake. Clomid, an estrogen agonist/antagonist, was shown to protect bone from disuse loss of minerals by retarding trabecular and cortical resorption

Studies of the nucler equation of state using numerical calculations of nuclear drop collisions

A numerical calculation for the full thermal dynamics of colliding nuclei was developed. Preliminary results are reported for the thermal fluid dynamics in such processes as Coulomb scattering, fusion, fusion-fission, bulk oscillations, compression with heating, and collisions of heated nuclei

Towards Observing the Intercommutation of Flux Tubes in Superconductors

We propose a simple experiment to investigate the intercommutation of flux tubes in type II superconductors. Using this method the intercommutation of strings can be observed directly and the dependence of intercommutation on the angle of crossing of strings can also be analyzed.Comment: 8 pages (LATEX), three figures included at the end of the paper, NSF-ITP-94-2

Cruelty to the Mentally ILL: An Eighth Amendment Challenge to the Abolition of the Insanity Defense

This Comment addresses the present gap in insanity-defense laws created by the defense’s abolition and offers an Eighth Amendment based remedy. Part I reviews the history and evolution of the insanity defense in Anglo-American law. It then describes how four states have statutorily abolished the defense. It concludes with a discussion of Clark v. Arizona, the Court’s most recent decision on the constitutionality of the insanity defense. Part II turns to the Eighth Amendment, examining its historical understanding and the contemporary evolving-standards-of-decency analysis, through which the Court assesses the constitutionality of modern-day punishments. Part II concludes with a discussion of Robinson v. California and Powell v. Texas, two non-death-penalty Eighth Amendment decisions that illustrate contrasting approaches to Eighth Amendment interpretation. Part III examines the Court’s recent Eighth Amendment death-penalty jurisprudence, focusing on two decisions involving mentally deficient offenders, Roper v. Simmons and Atkins v. Virginia, where the Court expanded the Eighth Amendment to protect two groups—minors and the mentally retarded—against the imposition of capital punishment. Part IV argues that these recent precedents are sufficiently analogous, legally and factually, to the insane-offender context; therefore, the Court should apply the rules and reasoning of these decisions to the issue of punishing the insane. Part V then applies the Roper and Atkins Eighth Amendment analyses to the issue of criminal punishment for otherwise insane offenders, the end result of abolishing the insanity defense. Part V concludes that under these new precedents, abolition of the insanity defense results in unconstitutionally excessive punishments, in violation of the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution. Accordingly, this Comment concludes that the safeguard against this constitutional violation—the affirmative insanity defense—merits constitutional protection

Family violence exposure and family relationship skills in adolescents exposed to community violence

Community violence exposure has been associated with a plethora of adverse aftereffects; therefore, greater understanding of compensatory and potentiating factors associated with exposure is essential for effective intervention and prevention. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relations among school violence exposure, neighborhood violence exposure, family violence exposure, parent-adolescent relationship skills, and outcomes. Participants consisted of 100 adolescents, aged 13 to 20 years. Adolescents completed the Screen for Adolescent Violence Exposure, the Behavior Assessment System for Children- Self Report of Personality, the Child Health and Illness Profile- Adolescent Edition, and the Parent-Adolescent Relationship Questionnaire. Parents/guardians completed the Behavior Assessment System for Children- Parent Report, the Parent-Adolescent Relationship Questionnaire, and a demographic questionnaire. Hierarchical regression analyses were conducted to determine if family violence and family relationship skills in adolescents exposed to school and neighborhood violence were moderator variables in the prediction of personal adjustment, adaptive skills, psychological distress, and conduct. Results revealed that family violence exposure moderated the association between school and neighborhood violence exposure and conduct. For neighborhood violence exposure, there was no relation between exposure and conduct at low levels of family violence exposure. However, there was an inverse association between neighborhood violence exposure and conduct, including delinquent and health risk behaviors and association with deviant peers, at high levels of family violence exposure. These results indicated that family violence exposure was a potentiating factor within the environments of adolescents exposed to neighborhood violence. For school violence exposure, there was no relation between school violence exposure and conduct at low levels of family violence exposure. At high levels of family violence exposure, there was a positive link between school violence exposure and conduct, such that increased school violence exposure was related to less delinquent behavior and fewer negative peer influences. Lastly, adolescent-rated communication/problem solving skills moderated the association between school violence exposure and psychological distress, including anxiety, depression, and social stress. At more positive levels of adolescent-rated skills, the adverse impact of school violence exposure was negated. At negative levels of adolescent-rated family skills, adolescents reported more anxiety, depression, and social stress as school violence exposure increased