10,643 research outputs found
Isoscalar Giant Quadrupole Resonance State in the Relativistic Approach with the Momentum-Dependent Self-Energies
We study the excited energy of the isoscalar giant quadrupole resonance with
the scaling method in the relativistic many-body framework. In this calculation
we introduce the momentum-dependent parts of the Dirac self-energies arising
from the one-pion exchange on the assumption of the pseudo-vector coupling with
nucleon field. It is shown that this momentum-dependence enhances the Landau
mass significantly and thus suppresses the quadrupole resonance energy even
giving the small Dirac effective mass which causes a problem in the
momentum-independent mean-field theory.Comment: 12pages, 2 Postscript figure
Quantum Molecular Dynamics Approach to the Nuclear Matter Below the Saturation Density
Quantum molecular dynamics is applied to study the ground state properties of
nuclear matter at subsaturation densities. Clustering effects are observed as
to soften the equation of state at these densities. The structure of nuclear
matter at subsaturation density shows some exotic shapes with variation of the
density.Comment: 21 pages of Latex (revtex), 9 Postscript figure
Finite size effects on kaonic pasta structures
Non-uniform structures of mixed phases at the first-order phase transition to
charged kaon condensation are studied using a density functional theory within
the relativistic mean field model. Including electric field effects and
applying the Gibbs conditions in a proper way, we numerically determine density
profiles of nucleons, electrons and condensed kaons. Importance of charge
screening effects is elucidated and thereby we show that the Maxwell
construction is effectively justified. Surface effect is also studied to figure
out its effect on the density profiles
Ligula intestinalis (Cestoda: Pseudophyllidea) infection of Engraulicypris sardella (Pisces: Cyprinidae) in Lake Malawi
Fish parasites have diverse ecological impacts on fish populations and are presently becoming useful as bio-indicators of fish migration and feeding. Studies of fish parasite in Lake Malawi severely lag behind the strides made in eco-evolutionary studies of its ichthyofauna. Over a period of eleven months from April 2003, we examined more than 1300 Engraulicypris sardella from Lake Malawi for cestode parasites. About 54 % of the fish had infections of between one and eight Ligula intestinalis plerocercoids. The infection occurred throughout the study period (mean prevalence 59 ±13%) but was most prevalent in December and June and was least prevalent in April. The majority of the hosts (78%) had a light parasite burden (one or two). Parasite prevalence increased with age of the fish. Prevalence and infection intensity oscillated closely with periods of peak abundance of zooplankton, the main food of E. sardella and intermediate hosts (copepods) of L. intestinalis. Increased exposure to the parasite with age aggravated by an ontogenetic diet shift from phytoplanktivory to zooplanktivory may be interacting with fluctuations in zooplankton production in driving the trophic transmission patterns of L. intestinalis in this ecosystem.Keywords: Engraulicypris sardella; Ligula intestinalis; trophic transmission; Lake Malaw
Isospin effects on sub-threshold kaon production at intermediate energies
We show that in collisions with neutron rich heavy ions at energies around
the production threshold K^0 and K^+ yields might probe the isospin dependent
part of the nuclearEquation of State (EoS) at high baryon densities. In
particular we suggest the K^0/K^+ ratio as a promising observable. Results
obtained in a fully covariant relativistic transport approach are presented for
central Au+Au collisions in the beam energy range 0.8-1.8~AGeV. The focus is
put on the EoS influence which goes beyond the "collision-cascade" picture. The
isovector part of the in-medium interaction affects the kaon multiplicities via
two mechanisms: i) a "symmetry potential" effect, i.e. a larger neutron
repulsion in n-rich systems (isospin fractionation); ii) a "threshold" effect,
due to the change in the self-energies of the particles involved in inelastic
processes. Genuine relativistic contributions are revealed, that could allow to
directly ``measure'' the Lorentz structure of the effective isovector
interaction.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, revtex
Candidatus Bartonella merieuxii, a potential new zoonotic Bartonella species in canids from Iraq.
Bartonellae are emerging vector-borne pathogens infecting erythrocytes and endothelial cells of various domestic and wild mammals. Blood samples were collected from domestic and wild canids in Iraq under the United States Army zoonotic disease surveillance program. Serology was performed using an indirect immunofluorescent antibody test for B. henselae, B. clarridgeiae, B. vinsonii subsp. berkhoffii and B. bovis. Overall seroprevalence was 47.4% in dogs (n = 97), 40.4% in jackals (n = 57) and 12.8% in red foxes (n = 39). Bartonella species DNA was amplified from whole blood and representative strains were sequenced. DNA of a new Bartonella species similar to but distinct from B. bovis, was amplified from 37.1% of the dogs and 12.3% of the jackals. B. vinsonii subsp. berkhoffii was also amplified from one jackal and no Bartonella DNA was amplified from foxes. Adjusting for age, the odds of dogs being Bartonella PCR positive were 11.94 times higher than for wild canids (95% CI: 4.55-31.35), suggesting their role as reservoir for this new Bartonella species. This study reports on the prevalence of Bartonella species in domestic and wild canids of Iraq and provides the first detection of Bartonella in jackals. We propose Candidatus Bartonella merieuxii for this new Bartonella species. Most of the Bartonella species identified in sick dogs are also pathogenic for humans. Therefore, seroprevalence in Iraqi dog owners and bacteremia in Iraqi people with unexplained fever or culture negative endocarditis requires further investigation as well as in United States military personnel who were stationed in Iraq. Finally, it will also be essential to test any dog brought back from Iraq to the USA for presence of Bartonella bacteremia to prevent any accidental introduction of a new Bartonella species to the New World
A violation of the uncertainty principle implies a violation of the second law of thermodynamics
Uncertainty relations state that there exist certain incompatible
measurements, to which the outcomes cannot be simultaneously predicted. While
the exact incompatibility of quantum measurements dictated by such uncertainty
relations can be inferred from the mathematical formalism of quantum theory,
the question remains whether there is any more fundamental reason for the
uncertainty relations to have this exact form. What, if any, would be the
operational consequences if we were able to go beyond any of these uncertainty
relations? We give a strong argument that justifies uncertainty relations in
quantum theory by showing that violating them implies that it is also possible
to violate the second law of thermodynamics. More precisely, we show that
violating the uncertainty relations in quantum mechanics leads to a
thermodynamic cycle with positive net work gain, which is very unlikely to
exist in nature.Comment: 8 pages, revte
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