Fermi surface renormalization in Hubbard ladders

We derive the one-loop renormalization equations for the shift in the Fermi-wavevectors for one-dimensional interacting models with four Fermi-points (two left and two right movers) and two Fermi velocities v_1 and v_2. We find the shift to be proportional to (v_1-v_2)U^2, where U is the Hubbard-U. Our results apply to the Hubbard ladder and to the t_1-t_2 Hubbard model. The Fermi-sea with fewer particles tends to empty. The stability of a saddle point due to shifts of the Fermi-energy and the shift of the Fermi-wavevector at the Mott-Hubbard transition are discussed.Comment: 5 pages, 4 Postscript figure

Perceived discrimination and self-rated health in the immigrant population of the Basque Country, Spain

Objective To examine the effect of perceived discrimination and self-rated health among the immigrant population in the Basque Country, Spain, and determine whether this effect varies according to region of origin, age, sex and education. Methods Descriptive cross-sectional study. The study population included immigrants aged 18 and older residing in the Basque Country. Data from the 2014 Foreign Immigrant Population Survey (n=3,456) were used. Log-binomial regression was used to quantify the association between perceived discrimination and self-rated health before and after checking for the selected characteristics. Results Almost 1 in 10 immigrant adults reports perceiving discrimination. In adjusted analyses, the immigrants perceiving discrimination were almost were 1.92 more likely to rate their health as poor (prevalence ratio: 1.92; 95% CI: 1.44–2.56) than those who did not report discrimination. This association did not vary according to region of origin, age, sex or educational level. Conclusions Perceived discrimination shows a consistent relationship with perceived health. Moreover, this association did not depend on the region of origin, age, sex or educational level of immigrants. These results show the need for implementing inclusive policies to eliminate individual and institutional discrimination and reduce health inequalities between the immigrant and native populations

Seasonal cycle of precipitation variability in South America on intraseasonal timescales

The seasonal cycle of the intraseasonal (IS) variability of precipitation in South America is described through the analysis of bandpass filtered outgoing longwave radiation (OLR) anomalies. The analysis is discriminated between short (10--30 days) and long (30--90 days) intraseasonal timescales. The seasonal cycle of the 30--90-day IS variability can be well described by the activity of first leading pattern (EOF1) computed separately for the wet season (October--April) and the dry season (May--September). In agreement with previous works, the EOF1 spatial distribution during the wet season is that of a dipole with centers of actions in the South Atlantic Convergence Zone (SACZ) and southeastern South America (SESA), while during the dry season, only the last center is discernible. In both seasons, the pattern is highly influenced by the activity of the Madden--Julian Oscillation (MJO). Moreover, EOF1 is related with a tropical zonal-wavenumber-1 structure superposed with coherent wave trains extended along the South Pacific during the wet season, while during the dry season the wavenumber-1 structure is not observed. The 10--30-day IS variability of OLR in South America can be well represented by the activity of the EOF1 computed through considering all seasons together, a dipole but with the stronger center located over SESA. While the convection activity at the tropical band does not seem to influence its activity, there are evidences that the atmospheric variability at subtropical-extratropical regions might have a role. Subpolar wavetrains are observed in the Pacific throughout the year and less intense during DJF, while a path of wave energy dispersion along a subtropical wavetrain also characterizes the other seasons. Further work is needed to identify the sources of the 10--30-day-IS variability in South America

High Resolution Spectroscopy of the high galactic latitude RV Tauri star CE Virginis

Analysis of the surface composition of the suspected cool RV Tauri star CE Vir shows no systematic trend in depletions of elements with respect to condensation temperature. However, there is a significant depletion of the elements with respect to the first ionization potential of the element. The derived Li abundance of log $\epsilon$ (Li) = 1.5$\pm$0.2 indicates production of Li in the star. Near infrared colours indicate sporadic dust formation close to the photosphere.Comment: 12 pages, including 8 pages: Accepted for publication in MNRA

Aging-associated symptoms in the physician-patient dialogue in a group of long-term diagnosed HIV-infected individuals

Background: The significant decrease in mortality has resulted in a large number of individuals aged over 50 living with HIV infection. Additionally, the coexistence of certain pathologies suggests premature aging. In this scenario, the presence of aging-associated symptoms in the physician-patient dialogue is yet to be explored. Methods: Cross-sectional observational study to evaluate the presence of aging-associated symptoms in the physician-patient dialogue and to explore the possible differences between genders in a sample of 100 HIV-1 infected subjects diagnosed at least 15 years ago. The survey assessed questions/comments made by the patient, questions/comments made by the physician and patients’ interest in obtaining more information than was provided. Number of patients and percentages were given and compared using the w2 or Fisher exact test (as appropriate). Results: Participants were 60 men and 40 women, diagnosed with HIV infection a median (IQ) of 18 (15.7–21) years ago, who had a nadir CD4 and CD4 cell count at the study entry of 172 (95–272) and 543 (403–677), respectively. Eighty percent of the subjects had VL <25 copies and 42% were HCV/HIV co-infected (31 subjects with low fibrosis stage). The infection route had been mainly intravenous drug use (37%) and MSM (32%). Men and women had similar demographic and clinical characteristics. Sixty-two percent of the participants acknowledged asking their physicians about aging-associated symptoms (58% men vs 66% women; p=0.50), 48% reported that their physicians had provided information without having been asked (48% men vs 55% women; p=0.51) and 75% confirmed that they would like to have more information about aging-associated symptoms (22% men vs 80% women; p<0.001). Conclusions: Around half of the men and women interviewed had discussed aging-associated symptoms with their physician. However, this seemed insufficient for four-fifths of the women, who would have liked to have obtained more information about aging

Progress in the development of early diagnosis and a drug with unique pharmacology to improve cancer therapy

Cancer continues to be one of the major health and socio-economic problems worldwide, despite considerable efforts to improve its early diagnosis and treatment. The identification of new constituents as biomarkers for early diagnosis of neoplastic cells and the discovery of new type of drugs with their mechanistic actions are crucial to improve cancer therapy. New drugs have entered the market, thanks to industrial and legislative efforts ensuring continuity of pharmaceutical development. New targets have been identified, but cancer therapy and the anti-cancer drug market still partly depend on anti-mitotic agents. The objective of this paper is to show the effects of KAR-2, a potent anti-mitotic compound, and TPPP/p25, a new unstructured protein, on the structural and functional characteristics of the microtubule system. Understanding the actions of these two potential effectors on the microtubule system could be the clue for early diagnosis and improvement of cancer therapy