Addendum: Attenuation of the intensity within a superdeformed band

We investigate a random matrix model [Phys. Rev. C {\bf 65} 024302 (2002] for the decay-out of a superdeformed band as a function of the parameters: $\Gamma^\downarrow/\Gamma_S$, $\Gamma_N/D$, $\Gamma_S/D$ and $\Delta/D$. Here $\Gamma^\downarrow$ is the spreading width for the mixing of an SD state $|0>$ with a normally deformed (ND) doorway state $|d>$, $\Gamma_S$ and $\Gamma_N$ are the electromagnetic widths of the the SD and ND states respectively, $D$ is the mean level spacing of the compound ND states and $\Delta$ is the energy difference between $|0>$ and $|d>$. The maximum possible effect of an order-chaos transition is inferred from analytical and numerical calculations of the decay intensity in the limiting cases for which the ND states obey Poisson and GOE statistics. Our results show that the sharp attenuation of the decay intensity cannot be explained solely by an order-chaos transition.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, submitted to Physical Review

Energy averages over regular and chaotic states in the decay out of superdeformed bands

We describe the decay out of a superdeformed band using the methods of reaction theory. Assuming that decay-out occurs due to equal coupling (on average) to a sea of equivalent chaotic normally deformed (ND) states, we calculate the average intraband decay intensity and show that it can be written as an ``optical'' background term plus a fluctuation term, in total analogy with average nuclear cross sections. We also calculate the variance in closed form. We investigate how these objects are modified when the decay to the ND states occurs via an ND doorway and the ND states' statistical properties are changed from chaotic to regular. We show that the average decay intensity depends on two dimensionless variables in the first case while in the second case, four variables enter the picture.Comment: 8 pages, 1 figure, presented at FUSION03, Matsushima, Miyagi, Japan, Nov 12-15, 2003, to appear in Progress of Theoretical Physics; corrected typo

Finite element studies of the mechanical behaviour of the diaphragm in normal and pathological cases

The diaphragm is a muscular membrane separating the abdominal and thoracic cavities, and its motion is directly linked to respiration. In this study, using data from a 59-year-old female cadaver obtained from the Visible Human Project, the diaphragm is reconstructed and, from the corresponding solid object, a shell finite element mesh is generated and used in several analyses performed with the ABAQUS 6.7 software. These analyses consider the direction of the muscle fibres and the incompressibility of the tissue. The constitutive model for the isotropic strain energy as well as the passive and active strain energy stored in the fibres is adapted from Humphrey's model for cardiac muscles. Furthermore, numerical results for the diaphragmatic floor under pressure and active contraction in normal and pathological cases are presented

Consumo de Savia por Melanerpes cactorum y su Rol en la Estructuración de Ensambles de Aves en Bosques Secos

The White-fronted Woodpecker (Melanerpes cactorum) drills holes in branches and trunks to feed on sap flows, providing an energy-rich food resource for other birds. Here we describe ecological and behavioral traits of the White-fronted Woodpecker related to its sap-feeding habits in the semiarid Chaco of Argentina and explore the structure of the avian assemblage in relation to the sap resource. Sap consumption by the White-fronted Woodpecker and other sap-feeding species was strongly seasonal and positively associated with periods of resource scarcity. The White-fronted Woodpecker actively defended the sap wells from smaller birds. Specialist and facultative nectarivores that assimilate sucrose at a high rate represented an important proportion of sap-feeding birds. In this system of woodpecker, sap, and other sap-feeding species, each species’ consumption depends on its physiological and behavioral characteristics as well as on the availability of other food in the surrounding environment.Melanerpes cactorum perfora ramas y troncos de árboles y arbustos para consumir la savia que fluye de las perforaciones, posibilitando a otras especies de aves el acceso a un recurso de alto contenido energé- tico. En este estudio describimos rasgos de la historia natural de M. cactorum relacionados con su alimentación en el Chaco semiárido de Argentina e investigamos la estructuración de ensambles de aves en torno al recurso savia. Para M. cactorum y las especies de aves que consumieron savia, el consumo de savia fue marcadamente estacional, posiblemente asociado a periodos de escasez de recursos. Melanerpes cactorum defendió activamente las perforaciones ante algunas especies de aves cuya masa corporal fue menor a la de los carpinteros. Las especies nectarívoras especialistas y facultativas con alta tasa de asimilación de sacarosa representaron una importante proporción de las aves que consumieron savia. En el sistema carpinteros–savia–aves consumidoras de savia, el consumo de este recurso depende de características fisiológicas y comportamentales de las especies, como así también de la disponibilidad de otros recursos alimenticios en los ambientes que habitan.Fil: Nuñez Montellano, Maria Gabriela. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales e Instituto Miguel Lillo. Instituto de Ecología Regional; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Tucumán; ArgentinaFil: Blendinger, Pedro Gerardo. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales e Instituto Miguel Lillo. Instituto de Ecología Regional; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Tucumán; ArgentinaFil: Macchi, Leandro. Universidad Nacional de Tucumán. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales e Instituto Miguel Lillo. Instituto de Ecología Regional; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Tucumán; Argentin

Comorbidity of Severe Psychotic Disorders With Measures of Substance Use

Although early mortality in severe psychiatric illness is linked to smoking and alcohol, no studies have comprehensively characterized substance use behavior in severe psychotic illness. In particular, recent assessments of substance use in individuals with mental illness are based on population surveys that do not include individuals with severe psychotic illness

Evidence for dark matter in the inner Milky Way

The ubiquitous presence of dark matter in the universe is today a central tenet in modern cosmology and astrophysics. Ranging from the smallest galaxies to the observable universe, the evidence for dark matter is compelling in dwarfs, spiral galaxies, galaxy clusters as well as at cosmological scales. However, it has been historically difficult to pin down the dark matter contribution to the total mass density in the Milky Way, particularly in the innermost regions of the Galaxy and in the solar neighbourhood. Here we present an up-to-date compilation of Milky Way rotation curve measurements, and compare it with state-of-the-art baryonic mass distribution models. We show that current data strongly disfavour baryons as the sole contribution to the galactic mass budget, even inside the solar circle. Our findings demonstrate the existence of dark matter in the inner Galaxy while making no assumptions on its distribution. We anticipate that this result will compel new model-independent constraints on the dark matter local density and profile, thus reducing uncertainties on direct and indirect dark matter searches, and will shed new light on the structure and evolution of the Galaxy.Comment: First submitted version of letter published in Nature Physics on Febuary 9, 2015: http://www.nature.com/nphys/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nphys3237.htm

The moment of truth for WIMP Dark Matter

We know that dark matter constitutes 85% of all the matter in the Universe, but we do not know of what it is made. Amongst the many Dark Matter candidates proposed, WIMPs (weakly interacting massive particles) occupy a special place, as they arise naturally from well motivated extensions of the standard model of particle physics. With the advent of the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, and a new generation of astroparticle experiments, the moment of truth has come for WIMPs: either we will discover them in the next five to ten years, or we will witness the inevitable decline of WIMP paradigm.Comment: To appear in Nature (Nov 18, 2010

Rare Copy Number Variants in \u3cem\u3eNRXN1\u3c/em\u3e and \u3cem\u3eCNTN6\u3c/em\u3e Increase Risk for Tourette Syndrome

Tourette syndrome (TS) is a model neuropsychiatric disorder thought to arise from abnormal development and/or maintenance of cortico-striato-thalamo-cortical circuits. TS is highly heritable, but its underlying genetic causes are still elusive, and no genome-wide significant loci have been discovered to date. We analyzed a European ancestry sample of 2,434 TS cases and 4,093 ancestry-matched controls for rare (\u3c 1% frequency) copy-number variants (CNVs) using SNP microarray data. We observed an enrichment of global CNV burden that was prominent for large (\u3e 1 Mb), singleton events (OR = 2.28, 95% CI [1.39–3.79], p = 1.2 × 10−3) and known, pathogenic CNVs (OR = 3.03 [1.85–5.07], p = 1.5 × 10−5). We also identified two individual, genome-wide significant loci, each conferring a substantial increase in TS risk (NRXN1 deletions, OR = 20.3, 95% CI [2.6–156.2]; CNTN6 duplications, OR = 10.1, 95% CI [2.3–45.4]). Approximately 1% of TS cases carry one of these CNVs, indicating that rare structural variation contributes significantly to the genetic architecture of TS

Reviving calm technology in the e-tourism context

Tourism industry practitioners should understand the controversial nature of the information and communication technology (ICT) proliferation to ensure the ICT solutions do not consume too much of their attention, thus jeopardizing consumer enjoyment of tourism services. The concept of calm technology or calm design serves this purpose. Calm design suggests that technology should quietly recede in the background and come into play with users when and if required, thus delivering and/or enhancing a desired experience. Although this concept is of relevance to e-tourism, until recently, it has never been considered within. This is where this paper contributes to knowledge as, for the first time, it introduces calm design into the e-tourism context and critically evaluates the determinants of its broader adoption within the tourism industry. It positions calm design within the e-tourism realm, discusses its implications for customer service management, supply chain management and destination management, and discloses opportunities for future research