Searching for tetraquarks on the lattice

We address the question whether the lightest scalar mesons sigma and kappa are tetraquarks. We present a search for possible light tetraquark states with J^PC=0^++ and I=0, 1/2, 3/2, 2 in the dynamical and the quenched lattice simulations using tetraquark interpolators. In all the channels, we unavoidably find lowest scattering states pi(k)pi(-k) or K(k)pi(-k) with back-to-back momentum k=0,2*pi/L,.. . However, we find an additional light state in the I=0 and I=1/2 channels, which may be related to the observed resonances sigma and kappa with a strong tetraquark component. In the exotic repulsive channels I=2 and I=3/2, where no resonance is observed, we find no light state in addition to the scattering states.Comment: 3 pages, 1 figure, proceedings of Lepton-Photon 2009, Hambur

Alumnae Bulletin - Number 3

Greetings to Alumnae Members and Graduates Alumnae Officers Membership Financial Statement as of 3-1-37 Sick Committee Are You? Alumnae Days Were You at the Bazaar? History of the Nurses\u27 Relief Fund Forget-Me-Not In Memoriam Here and There Marriages Reported During 1936-1937 A Resume Student Nurse Activity Jefferson Nurses Choral Club The Bulletin - Publicity Committee Do You Know? Bazaar Accoun

Prospective pathways between heroin use and nonmedical use of prescription opioids: Trajectories among young Swiss men

BACKGROUND. So far few studies have focused on the last steps of drug-use trajectories. Heroin has been described as a final stage, but the non-medical use of prescription opioids (NMUPOs) is often associated with heroin use. There is, however, no consensus yet about which one precedes the other. AIMS. The objective of this study was to test which of these two substances was likely to be induced by the other using a prospective design. MATERIAL AND METHODS. We used data from the Swiss Longitudinal Cohort Study on Substance Use Risk Factors (C-SURF) to assess exposure to heroin and NMUPO at two times points (N = 5,041). Cross-lagged panel models provided evidence regarding prospective pathways between heroin and NMUPOs. Power analyses provided evidence about significance and clinical relevance. RESULTS. Results showed that heroin use predicted later NMUPO use (? = 1.217, p < 0.001) and that the reverse pathway was non-significant (? = 0.240, p = .233). Heroin use seems to be an important determinant, causing a 150% risk increase for NMUPO use at follow-up, whereas NMUPO use at baseline increases the risk of heroin use at follow-up by a mere non-significant 20%. CONCLUSIONS. Thus, heroin users were more likely to move to NMUPOs than non-heroin users, whereas NMUPO users were not likely to move to heroin use. The pathway of substance use seemed to include first heroin use, then NMUPO use

The Mass-Radius Relationship for Very Low Mass Stars: Four New Discoveries from the HATSouth Survey

We report the discovery of four transiting F-M binary systems with companions between 0.1-0.2 Msun in mass by the HATSouth survey. These systems have been characterised via a global analysis of the HATSouth discovery data, combined with high-resolution radial velocities and accurate transit photometry observations. We determined the masses and radii of the component stars using a combination of two methods: isochrone fitting of spectroscopic primary star parameters, and equating spectroscopic primary star rotation velocity with spin-orbit synchronisation. These new very low mass companions are HATS550-016B (0.110 -0.006/+0.005 Msun, 0.147 -0.004/+0.003 Rsun), HATS551-019B (0.17 -0.01/+0.01 Msun, 0.18 -0.01/+0.01 Rsun), HATS551-021B (0.132 -0.005/+0.014 Msun, 0.154 -0.008/+0.006 Rsun), HATS553-001B (0.20 -0.02/+0.01 Msun, 0.22 -0.01/+0.01 Rsun). We examine our sample in the context of the radius anomaly for fully-convective low mass stars. Combining our sample with the 13 other well-studied very low mass stars, we find a tentative 5% systematic deviation between the measured radii and theoretical isochrone models.Comment: 17 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA

HATS-1b: The first transiting planet discovered by the hatsouth survey

We report the discovery of HATS-1b, a transiting extrasolar planet orbiting the moderately bright V = 12.05 G dwarf star GSC 6652-00186, and the first planet discovered by HATSouth, a global network of autonomous wide-field telescopes. HATS-1b has a period of P ≈ 3.4465 days, mass of Mp ≈ 1.86 MJ, and radius of Rp ≈ 1.30 RJ. The host star has a mass of 0.99 M⊙ and radius of 1.04 R⊙. The discovery light curve of HATS-1b has near-continuous coverage over several multi-day timespans, demonstrating the power of using a global network of telescopes to discover transiting planets.Development of the HATSouth project was funded by NSF MRI grant NSF/AST-0723074, operations are supported by NASA grant NNX09AB29G, and follow-up observations received partial support from grant NSF/AST-1108686. Followup observations with the ESO 2.2 m/FEROS instrument were performed under MPI guaranteed time (P087.A-9014(A), P088.A-9008(A), P089.A-9008(A)) and Chilean time (P087.C- 0508(A)). A.J. acknowledges support from Fondecyt project 1095213, Ministry of Economy ICM Nuclei P07-021-F and P10-022-F, Anillo ACT-086 and BASAL CATA PFB-06. V.S. acknowledges support form BASAL CATA PFB-06. M.R. acknowledges support from a Fondencyt postdoctoral fellowship N 3120097 and contributions from the ALMA-CONICYT FUND Project N 31090015. R.B. and N.E. acknowledge support from Fondecyt project 1095213. Work at the Australian National University is supported by ARC Laureate Fellowship Grant FL0992131. We acknowledge the use of the AAVSO Photometric All-Sky Survey (APASS), funded by the Robert Martin Ayers Sciences Fund, and the SIMBAD database, operated at CDS, Strasbourg, France

Intermediate window observable for the hadronic vacuum polarization contribution to the muon g−2g-2 from O(a)(a) improved Wilson quarks

Following the publication of the new measurement of the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon, the discrepancy between experiment and the theory prediction from the g−2 theory initiative has increased to 4.2σ. Recent lattice QCD calculations predict values for the hadronic vacuum polarization contribution that are larger than the data-driven estimates, bringing the Standard Model prediction closer to the experimental measurement. Euclidean time windows in the time-momentum representation of the hadronic vacuum polarization contribution to the muon g−2 can help clarify the discrepancy between the phenomenological and lattice predictions. We present our calculation of the intermediate distance window contribution using Nf=2+1 flavors of O(a) improved Wilson quarks. We employ ensembles at six lattice spacings below 0.1fm and pion masses down to the physical value. We present a detailed study of the continuum limit, using two discretizations of the vector current and two independent sets of improvement coefficients. Our result at the physical point displays a tension of 3.9σ with a recent evaluation of the intermediate window based on the data-driven method

Plasma osteopontin concentrations in preeclampsia - is there an association with endothelial injury?

Background: It has been previously reported that plasma osteopontin (OPN) concentrations are increased in cardiovascular disorders. The goal of the present study was to determine plasma OPN concentrations in healthy pregnant women and preeclamptic patients, and to investigate their relationship to the clinical characteristics of the study subjects and to markers of inflammation [C-reactive protein (CRP)], endothelial activation [von Willebrand factor antigen (VWF: Ag)] or endothelial injury (fibronectin), oxidative stress [malondialdehyde (MDA)] and trophoblast debris (cell-free fetal DNA). Methods: Forty-four patients with preeclampsia and 44 healthy pregnant women matched for age and gestational age were involved in this case-control study. Plasma OPN concentrations were measured with ELISA. Serum CRP concentrations were determined with an autoanalyzer using the manufacturer's reagents. Plasma VWF: Ag was quantified by ELISA, while plasma fibronectin concentrations were measured by nephelometry. Plasma MDA concentrations were estimated by the thiobarbituric acid-based colorimetric assay. The amount of cell-free fetal DNA in maternal plasma was determined by quantitative real-time PCR analysis of the sex-determining region Y (SRY) gene. For statistical analyses, non-parametric methods were applied. Results: Serum levels of CRP, as well as plasma concentrations of VWF: Ag, fibronectin, MDA and cell-free fetal DNA were significantly higher in preeclamptic patients than in healthy pregnant women. There was no significant difference in plasma OPN concentrations between controls and the preeclamptic group. However, preeclamptic patients with plasma fibronectin concentrations in the upper quartile had significantly higher plasma OPN concentrations than those below the 75th percentile, as well as healthy pregnant women [median (interquartile range): 9.38 (8.10-11.99) vs. 7.54 (6.31-9.40) and 7.40 (6.51-8.80) ng/mL, respectively, p < 0.05 for both]. Furthermore, in preeclamptic patients, plasma OPN concentrations showed a significant positive linear association with plasma fibronectin (Spearman R = 0.38, standardized regression coefficient (beta) = 0.41, p < 0.05 for both). Conclusions: Plasma OPN concentrations are increased in preeclamptic patients with extensive endothelial injury. However, further studies are warranted to explore the relationship between OPN and endothelial damage. Clin Chem Lab Med 2010;48: 181-7