Growth of the neo-aortic valve after the Ross procedure

Rovira Riera, AntoniPla general d'edifici, en un solar amb tres façanes. Fou construït al segle segle XIX, abans de 1842. Tot i que la seva autoria és encara dubtosa, ha estat atribuït a Antoni Rovira Riera

Systematics of species of the genus Akodon (Rodentia: Sigmodontinae) in southeastern Brazil and implications for the biogeography of the Campos de Altitude

http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/111041/1/MP197.pd

Towards a holographic dual of large-N_c QCD

We study N_f D6-brane probes in the supergravity background dual to N_c D4-branes compactified on a circle with supersymmetry-breaking boundary conditions. In the limit in which the resulting Kaluza--Klein modes decouple, the gauge theory reduces to non-supersymmetric, four-dimensional QCD with N_c colours and N_f << N_c flavours. As expected, this decoupling is not fully realised within the supergravity/Born--Infeld approximation. For N_f = 1 and massless quarks, m_q = 0, we exhibit spontaneous chiral symmetry breaking by a quark condensate, \neq 0, and find the associated massless `pion' in the spectrum. The latter becomes massive for m_q > 0, obeying the Gell-Mann--Oakes--Renner relation: M_pi^2= - m_q / \f_pi^2. In the case N_f > 1 we provide a holographic version of the Vafa--Witten theorem, which states that the U(N_f) flavour symmetry cannot be spontaneously broken. Further we find N_f^2 - 1 unexpectedly light pseudo-scalar mesons in the spectrum. We argue that these are not (pseudo) Goldstone bosons and speculate on the string mechanism responsible for their lightness. We then study the theory at finite temperature and exhibit a phase transition associated with a discontinuity in the chiral condensate. D6/anti-D6 pairs are also briefly discussed.Comment: 43 pages, LaTeX; v3: Scalar vs. pseudo-scalar nature of mesons clarified, references added. v4: Small change in Acknowledgment

The New Generation of Computer Literacy

A tremendous mismatch is developing between two of the most critical components of any computer literacy course: the textbooks and the students. We are encountering a new generation of students (literally as well as figuratively!) who are much better acquainted with computer usage than their earlier counterparts. Yet many textbooks with increasing emphasis in those same computer tools continue to appear. There are signs of a coming change in that a few authors and publishers apparently are becoming aware of the need for innovations in texts for non-scientists. These textbooks open the door for a new orientation to principles in the teaching of computer literacy

Local environment of Nitrogen in GaN{y}As{1-y} epilayers on GaAs (001) studied using X-ray absorption near edge spectroscopy

X-ray absorption near-edge spectroscopy (XANES) is used to study the N environment in bulk GaN and in GaN{y}As{1-y} epilayers on GaAs (001), for y \~5%. Density-functional optimized structures were used to predict XANES via multiple-scattering theory. We obtain striking agreement for pure GaN. An alloy model with nitrogen pairs on Ga accurately predicts the threshold energy, the width of the XANES ``white line'', and features above threshold, for the given X-ray polarization. The presence of N-pairs may point to a role for molecular N_2 in epitaxial growth kinetics.Comment: Four pages (PRL style) with two figure

Counter-propagating entangled photons from a waveguide with periodic nonlinearity

The conditions required for spontaneous parametric down-conversion in a waveguide with periodic nonlinearity in the presence of an unguided pump field are established. Control of the periodic nonlinearity and the physical properties of the waveguide permits the quasi-phase matching equations that describe counter-propagating guided signal and idler beams to be satisfied. We compare the tuning curves and spectral properties of such counter-propagating beams to those for co-propagating beams under typical experimental conditions. We find that the counter-propagating beams exhibit narrow bandwidth permitting the generation of quantum states that possess discrete-frequency entanglement. Such states may be useful for experiments in quantum optics and technologies that benefit from frequency entanglement.Comment: submitted to Phys. Rev.

The Gross-Neveu Model from String Theory

We study an intersecting D-brane model which at low energies describes (1+1)-dimensional chiral fermions localized at defects on a stack of N_c D4-branes. Fermions at different defects interact via exchange of massless (4+1)-dimensional fields. At weak coupling this interaction gives rise to the Gross-Neveu (GN) model and can be studied using field theoretic techniques. At strong coupling one can describe the system in terms of probe branes propagating in a curved background in string theory. The chiral symmetry is dynamically broken at zero temperature and is restored above a critical temperature T_c which depends on the coupling. The phase transition at T_c is first order at strong coupling and second order at weak coupling.Comment: 32 pages, harvmac (b

Breeding for specific bioregions: a genotype by environment study of horticultural and nutritional traits integrating breeder and farmer priorities for organic broccoli cultivar improvement

The genotype by environment interaction study of broccoli, amongst others demonstrates that traits of a cultivar are sometimes ranked differently when grown in an organic production system compared to a conventional system. This has strong implications for breeding strategies. The breeders interviewed acknowledged that more attention on abiotic and biotic stress resistance in a broccoli breeding programme is needed which is in accordance with the farmers' varietal requirements. The first findings of the field trials show that cultivar performance is influenced by season and region, and differences in treatment (organic versus conventional management). The field trials showed that there are cultivars with broad adaptation such as "Green Goliath". These cultivars performed across locations, seasons and treatments within the sub-top group, however, organic farmers would benefit more from cultivars specifically adapted to their region and season. The trial results showed a wide range of glucosinolate levels. Glucoraphanin was very genotype dependent, while glucobrassicin and neoglucobrassicin were more influenced by abiotic and biotic environmental factors. Therefore, there are opportunities for nutritional performance enhancement under organic conditions which would provide an added value to the product quality with respect to human and plant health. Further elaboration of the dataset will contribute to the design of regional breeding strategies for improved broccoli cultivars for the organic market