Highlights from PHENIX II: Exploring the QCD medium

Much of the present experimental effort at RHIC is now directed towards understanding the properties of the hot and dense colored medium created in A+A collisions. Recent results from PHENIX on the dynamical evolution of the medium and its response to high momentum probes are presented, and their impact on our overall understanding of heavy-ion collisions is discussed.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures - To appear in the conference proceedings for Quark Matter 2009, March 30 - April 4, Knoxville, Tennessee. Revised versio

“I wyl poure out the wordes of sorrowe”: politics in the Protestant and Catholic settings of Psalms 51 and 79 during the English Reformation

The music of the Tudor era in England reflected the period’s political instability. This instability had its roots in, among other things, the religious movement known as the Reformation. Protestant and Catholic factions relied upon biblical texts, sermons, tracts and other circulating works to spread their propaganda, with musical settings of the Psalms also finding a part in this dissemination. Beginning in the reign of Edward VI, the metrical psalters of the Anglican Church functioned as personal devotional instruments aimed at laity possessing limited musical and academic training. They provided, in their simple tunes and metricized texts, an easy means of memorizing the Psalms. Latin motets, on the other hand, especially those circulating in copied manuscript collections in the latter half of the sixteenth century, reflected the political situation of English Catholics who were legally unable to worship openly by incorporating such texts as Psalm 50 [51] (Miserere mei, Deus) and Psalm 78 [79] (Deus, venerunt gentes) into laments of persecution. These motet collections may have served dual roles as repositories for the music of esteemed English composers and methods of reeducating and supporting underground communities of Catholics. This study examines Psalm 50 [51] and 78 [79] settings by Protestant and Catholic composers in Tudor England and the circumstances surrounding the implementation of political indoctrination associated with these settings. Included in the discussion are excerpts from the metrical psalters, including those of Miles Coverdale (1488-1569) and Sternhold and Hopkins (1549-end of century). Psalm motets by William Byrd (1540-1623) and his setting of Infelix ego, the prison meditation on Psalm 50 [51] by 15th-century Dominican friar Girolamo Savonarola are also explored. Along with the Byrd motet, English settings of the same text by William Hunnis (d. 1597) and William Mundy (1529-1591) are shown as examples of Savonarola’s influence on both Catholic and Protestant English Reformation thought. In considering the metrical psalters and Latin motets of the Tudor period as religious educational propaganda, this project offers a fresh look at sacred music in the time of the Tudors and its role in the socio-political environment of 16th-century England, with implications for historians as well as choral conductors. Through the information given here, the study aims to provide conductors with impetus for new ideas regarding performance of these motets and anthems while also delivering a unique historical perspective on the political role of sacred music in Tudor England

Evaluation of the synoptic and mesoscale predictive capabilities of a mesoscale atmospheric simulation system

The overall performance characteristics of a limited area, hydrostatic, fine (52 km) mesh, primitive equation, numerical weather prediction model are determined in anticipation of satellite data assimilations with the model. The synoptic and mesoscale predictive capabilities of version 2.0 of this model, the Mesoscale Atmospheric Simulation System (MASS 2.0), were evaluated. The two part study is based on a sample of approximately thirty 12h and 24h forecasts of atmospheric flow patterns during spring and early summer. The synoptic scale evaluation results benchmark the performance of MASS 2.0 against that of an operational, synoptic scale weather prediction model, the Limited area Fine Mesh (LFM). The large sample allows for the calculation of statistically significant measures of forecast accuracy and the determination of systematic model errors. The synoptic scale benchmark is required before unsmoothed mesoscale forecast fields can be seriously considered

Human immunodeficiency virus pre-exposure prophylaxis knowledge, attitudes, and self-efficacy among family planning providers in the Southern United States: Bridging the gap in provider training

BACKGROUND: Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is an effective human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevention intervention, but its access and use are suboptimal, especially for women. Healthcare providers provision of PrEP is a key component of the METHODS: We used data from providers in clinics that did not currently provide PrEP from a web-based survey administered to Title X clinic staff in 18 Southern states from February to June 2018. We developed generalized linear mixed models to evaluate associations between provider-, clinic-, and county-level variables with provider knowledge, attitudes, and self-efficacy in PrEP care, guided by the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research. RESULTS: Among 351 providers from 193 clinics, 194 (55%) were nonprescribing and 157 (45%) were prescribing providers. Provider ability to prescribe medications was significantly associated PrEP knowledge, attitudes, and self-efficacy. Self-efficacy was lowest in the PrEP initiation step of PrEP care and was positively associated with PrEP attitudes, PrEP knowledge, and contraception self-efficacy. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that PrEP training gaps for family planning providers may be bridged by addressing unfavorable PrEP attitudes, integrating PrEP and contraception training, tailoring training by prescribing ability, and focusing on the initiation steps of PrEP care

History and modes of star formation in the most active region of the Small Magellanic Cloud, NGC 346

We discuss the star formation history of the SMC region NGC 346 based on Hubble Space Telescope images. The region contains both field stars and cluster members. Using a classical synthetic CMD procedure applied to the field around NGC 346 we find that there the star formation pace has been rising from a quite low rate 13 Gyr ago to \approx 1.4 \times 10^{-8} Mo yr^{-1}pc^{-2} in the last 100 Myr. This value is significantly higher than in other star forming regions of the SMC. For NGC 346 itself, we compare theoretical and observed Color-Magnitude Diagrams (CMDs) of several stellar sub-clusters identified in the region, and we derive their basic evolution parameters. We find that NGC 346 experienced different star formation regimes, including a dominant and focused "high density mode", with the sub-clusters hosting both pre-main sequence (PMS) and upper main sequence (UMS) stars, and a diffuse "low density mode", as indicated by the presence of low-mass PMS sub-clusters. Quantitatively, the star formation in the oldest sub-clusters started about 6 Myr ago with remarkable synchronization, it continued at high rate (up to 2 \times 10^{-5} Mo yr^{-1} pc^{-2}) for about 3 Myr and is now progressing at a lower rate. Interestingly, sub-clusters mainly composed by low mass PMS stars seem to experience now the first episode of star formation, following multi-seeded spatial patterns instead of resulting from a coherent trigger. Two speculative scenarios are put forth to explain the deficiency of UMS stars: the first invokes under-threshold conditions of the parent gas; the second speculates that the initial mass function (IMF) is a function of time, with the youngest sub-clusters not having had sufficient time to form more massive stars.Comment: 17 pages. Accepted for publication in A

Multiply-connected Bose-Einstein condensed alkali gases: Current-carrying states and their decay

The ability to support metastable current-carrying states in multiply-connected settings is one of the prime signatures of superfluidity. Such states are investigated theoretically for the case of trapped Bose condensed alkali gases, particularly with regard to the rate at which they decay via thermal fluctuations. The lifetimes of metastable currents can be either longer or shorter than experimental time-scales. A scheme for the experimental detection of metastable states is sketched.Comment: 4 pages, including 1 figure (REVTEX

Multi-photon transitions between energy levels in a current-biased Josephson tunnel junction

The escape of a small current-biased Josephson tunnel junction from the zero voltage state in the presence of weak microwave radiation is investigated experimentally at low temperatures. The measurements of the junction switching current distribution indicate the macroscopic quantum tunneling of the phase below a cross-over temperature of $T^{\star} \approx 280 \rm{mK}$. At temperatures below $T^{\star}$ we observe both single-photon and \emph{multi-photon} transitions between the junction energy levels by applying microwave radiation in the frequency range between $10 \rm{GHz}$ and $38 \rm{GHz}$ to the junction. These observations reflect the anharmonicity of the junction potential containing only a small number of levels.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure

Critical currents in Josephson junctions with macroscopic defects

The critical currents in Josephson junctions of conventional superconductors with macroscopic defects are calculated for different defect critical current densities as a function of the magnetic field. We also study the evolution of the different modes with the defect position, at zero external field. We study the stability of the solutions and derive simple arguments, that could help the defect characterization. In most cases a reentrant behavior is seen, where both a maximum and a minimum current exist.Comment: 17 pages with 16 figures, submitted to Supercond. Sci. Techno