Weak transition matrix elements from finite-volume correlation functions

The two-body decay rate of a weakly decaying particle (such as the kaon) is shown to be proportional to the square of a well-defined transition matrix element in finite volume. Contrary to the physical amplitude, the latter can be extracted from finite-volume correlation functions in euclidean space without analytic continuation. The K -> pi pi transitions and other non-leptonic decays thus become accessible to established numerical techniques in lattice QCD.Comment: Plain TeX source, 19 pages, figures include

Home & place making after stroke:Exploring the gap between rehabilitation and living environment

This thesis addresses the question why many stroke survivors, even when they have received optimal treatment in the rehabilitation center, fall into a black hole when they are at home. The goal is twofold: 1) to gain a better understanding of the experienced gap between the rehabilitation and living environment of stroke survivors, and 2) to help improve the transfer from the rehabilitation to the living environment with help of scientific knowledge. This thesis shows that to improve rehabilitation care till into the own living environment, available evidence-based knowledge should be enriched with practical knowledge of rehabilitation professionals and experience-based knowledge from stroke survivors and caregivers. Interviews with stroke survivors reveal that ‘being at home’ does not equal ‘feeling at home’. Resuming life at home after a stroke is very different from recovering in the rehabilitation environment. In order to better understand the problems, other theory is needed than only theory from rehabilitation medicine. This thesis provides a new theoretical perspective for rehabilitation medicine. We have viewed stroke survivors’ and their caregivers’ experiences through a socio-spatial lens. This results in a shift in focus from functional recovery to identity confusion and feeling at home at important places after stroke. It is recommended to have one professional in outpatient and home rehabilitation, who acts as a coach, and assists stroke survivors and caregivers in rebuilding meaningful and interconnected relationships with their lives, place by place

Molecular Cytology of ‘Little Animals’:Personal Recollections of Escherichia coli (and <i>Bacillus subtilis</i>)

This article relates personal recollections and starts with the origin of electron microscopy in the sixties of the previous century at the University of Amsterdam. Novel fixation and embedding techniques marked the discovery of the internal bacterial structures not visible by light microscopy. A special status became reserved for the freeze-fracture technique. By freeze-fracturing chemically fixed cells, it proved possible to examine the morphological effects of fixation. From there on, the focus switched from bacterial structure as such to their cell cycle. This invoked bacterial physiology and steady-state growth combined with electron microscopy. Electron-microscopic autoradiography with pulses of [3H] Dap revealed that segregation of replicating DNA cannot proceed according to a model of zonal growth (with envelope-attached DNA). This stimulated us to further investigate the sacculus, the peptidoglycan macromolecule. In particular, we focused on the involvement of penicillin-binding proteins such as PBP2 and PBP3, and their role in division. Adding aztreonam (an inhibitor of PBP3) blocked ongoing divisions but not the initiation of new ones. A PBP3-independent peptidoglycan synthesis (PIPS) appeared to precede a PBP3-dependent step. The possible chemical nature of PIPS is discussed

Postcard: State of Kansas

This color printed postcard features an illustration of a woman in a red dress holding a sunflower. She is standing with an umbrella in the other hand and a hat on her head. The top left and right depict the Seal of Kansas and an American emblem. Printed text is on the left of the card. Handwriting is on the back of the card.https://scholars.fhsu.edu/tj_postcards/1826/thumbnail.jp

Jihadism and Suicide Attacks:al-Qaeda, al-Sahab and the Meanings of Martyrdom

Dit proefschrift onderzoekt waarom zelfmoordaanslagen zo’n belangrijke rol spelen binnen de jihadistische beweging, en in het bijzonder binnen het al-Qaeda van Osama bin Laden en Ayman al-Zawahiri. Dit doet het op basis van de martelarenvideo’s van al-Qaeda’s mediagroep al-Sahab: vrij professionele films over ‘martelaren’ en hun aanslagen, zoals die van 11 september 2001 in New York en Washington en 7 juli 2005 in Londen. Uit het onderzoek blijkt dat jihadisten zelfmoordaanslagen niet in de eerste plaats gebruiken als een middel om de overwinning in de aardse strijd te behalen, noch als een eenvoudige manier om het Paradijs te bereiken. Zelfmoordaanslagen kunnen beter worden begrepen als symbolische acties waardoor de daders een aantal kernideeën en -waarden van het jihadisme uitdrukken. Zo is de vorm waarin de aanslagen worden gepleegd gebaseerd op tradities over de veldslagen van de profeet Mohammed. Iedere aanslag symboliseert daardoor het idee dat jihadisten de pure islam van de profeet Mohammed volgen en diens strijd tegen het kwaad in de huidige tijd voortzetten. Maar ook representeren de aanslagen in de ogen van de daders het idee dat zij als enige daadwerkelijk bereid zijn offers te brengen voor hun lijdende geloofsgenoten in landen als Afghanistan, Irak en Palestina. De aanslagen herstellen de geschonden eer en waardigheid van de islam, en worden daarom gezien als waardevol, ongeacht hun directe resultaat. Op deze manier spelen de aanslagen een belangrijke rol in het publiceren van het jihadisme en zijn gedachtegoed, en daarmee in het aantrekken en verbinden van aanhangers van deze uiterst diverse en diffuse beweging.This dissertation explores the central role of suicide attacks in the jihadist movement, and particularly al-Qaeda (Central), in the twenty-first century. For this purpose, it studies the martyrdom videos of al-Qaeda’s media group al-Sahab: extensive and quite professional films about suicide bombers and their suicide attacks, among which are the 9/11 attacks and the 2005 London subway bombings.The dissertation shows that the perpetrators and their supporters do neither primarily perceive suicide attacks as a profitable means to achieve victory on the battlefield, nor as a shortcut to Paradise. They can be better understood as symbolic actions through which the perpetrators show (potential) supporters of the movement what jihadism is about. The attacks express the claim that jihadists follow the pure Islam of the prophet Muhammad and continue his struggle against evil in the present era. In addition, they represent the idea that jihadists stand up for the suffering of their fellow Muslims in countries such as Afghanistan, Iraq and Palestine. In the eyes of the perpetrators and their supporters, the attacks undo the humiliation of Islam and restore its honour and dignity, which is why they are seen as valuable regardless of their immediate results. Along these lines, the dissertation argues that suicide attacks play a crucial role in publicising jihadism, and therefore in attracting, binding and mobilising the support of this extraordinary diverse and diffuse movement