Ultracold collisions in tight harmonic traps: Quantum defect model and application to metastable helium atoms

We analyze a system of two colliding ultracold atoms under strong harmonic confinement from the viewpoint of quantum defect theory and formulate a generalized self-consistent method for determining the allowed energies. We also present two highly efficient computational methods for determining the bound state energies and eigenfunctions of such systems. The perturbed harmonic oscillator problem is characterized by a long asymptotic region beyond the effective range of the interatomic potential. The first method, which is based on quantum defect theory and is an adaptation of a technique developed by one of the authors (GP) for highly excited states in a modified Coulomb potential, is very efficient for integrating through this outer region. The second method is a direct numerical solution of the radial Schr\"{o}dinger equation using a discrete variable representation of the kinetic energy operator and a scaled radial coordinate grid. The methods are applied to the case of trapped spin-polarized metastable helium atoms. The calculated eigenvalues agree very closely for the two methods, and with those computed self-consistently using the generalized self-consistent method.Comment: 11 pages,REVTEX, text substantially revised, title modifie

千葉医学雑誌 90巻4号 裏表紙

This file contains the subquadrat-level sward data for the experimental sward seed rate treatments. A full description of the data is contained in the Readme sheet of the fil

Bostonia. Volume 13

Founded in 1900, Bostonia magazine is Boston University's main alumni publication, which covers alumni and student life, as well as university activities, events, and programs

Hot DQ White Dwarfs: Something Different

We present a detailed analysis of all the known Hot DQ white dwarfs in the Fourth Data Release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) recently found to have carbon dominated atmospheres. Our spectroscopic and photometric analysis reveals that these objects all have effective temperatures between ~18,000 and 24,000 K. The surface composition is found to be completely dominated by carbon, as revealed by the absence of Hbeta and HeI 4471 lines (or determination of trace amount in a few cases). We find that the surface gravity of all objects but one seems to be ''normal'' and around log g = 8.0 while one is likely near log g = 9.0. The presence of a weak magnetic field is directly detected by spectropolarimetry in one object and is suspected in two others. We propose that these strange stars could be cooled down versions of the weird PG1159 star H1504+65 and form a new family of hydrogen and helium deficient objects following the post-AGB phase. Finally, we present the results of full nonadiabatic calculations dedicated specifically to each of the Hot DQ that show that only SDSS J142625.70+575218.4 is expected to exhibit luminosity variations. This result is in excellent agreement with recent observations by Montgomery et al. who find that J142625.70+575218.4 is the only pulsator among 6 Hot DQ white dwarfs surveyed in February 2008.Comment: 33 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in Ap

Prospective study of psychological morbidity and illness perceptions in young people with inflammatory bowel disease

Background and Aims: Psychological morbidity is increased in young people with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Illness perceptions may be an important factor. This study aimed to describe the prevalence and severity of psychological morbidity and examine relationships between baseline illness perceptions and anxiety, depression and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) at baseline and 12-months later in 16-21-years olds with IBD. Methods: IBD patients (n = 121) completed measures of anxiety, depression, HRQoL, and illness perceptions (IPQ-R) at baseline and follow-up (n = 100, 83%). Results: mong the 121 patients at baseline (median age 19.3 years, 40% female, 62% Crohn's disease, 73% in clinical remission), 55% reported elevated symptoms of anxiety/depression and 83% low HRQoL. Negative illness perceptions at baseline were significantly correlated with greater anxiety, depression and lower HRQoL at baseline and follow-up. In regression analysis at baseline, IPQ-R domain of greater perception of a cyclical nature of IBD was an independent predictor of anxiety, whilst a greater perceived emotional impact of IBD was an independent predictor of anxiety, depression and HRQoL. Female gender and clinical relapse were also independent predictors of lower HRQoL. After controlling for baseline measures, clinical risk factors and illness perceptions did not explain additional variance in psychological morbidity at follow-up. Conclusion: A high prevalence of psychological morbidity, stable over one year, was demonstrated in young people with IBD. Having negative illness perceptions, being female and active disease predicted those at greatest risk of psychological morbidity. Illness perceptions may be an appropriate target for psychological interventions

Needs analysis report following the sexual exploitation of children in Rotherham

It has been an immense honour to listen to the experiences of the people of Rotherham. The project team received a warm welcome and felt humbled at the extraordinary courage of victims, survivors and their families. We wish to express our heartfelt thanks to everyone who took part in the study. The knowledge and opinions shared by our participants are the foundation of this report. No-one wants to think about what child sexual abuse and exploitation really means. Recognising that children have been humiliated, raped and tortured is extremely distressing. As such, it is no surprise that many felt anger and rage when they understood that those with authority failed to protect vulnerable children and young people. There is a need to face the awful reality that child sexual abuse has always happened. However, in the age of the internet, the number of children at risk of sexual abuse has increased. Those who sexually abuse children are mostly, but not always, men. Not discounting the vast number of boys who have suffered abuse, most of the known victims of sexual abuse are girls. Both victims and perpetrators come from every walk of life. The threat is such that we all have a responsibility to consider what we can do to protect every child in our family and communities. The public criticism of Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council (RMBC) and South Yorkshire Police, following Professor Jay’s report was right and inevitable. Positively, there have been several examples of how RMBC and South Yorkshire Police have responded to criticism and improved the way they respond to victims and survivors. However, there have also been negative consequences of public scrutiny, with many people in the study reporting that they want to regain pride in their hometown. Those who took part in this study did not shy away from exploring the difficulties they face. Naturally, participants continue to talk about issues of trust, as past mistakes created a sense of vulnerability. However, there is also evidence that healing is taking place. Many participants made suggestions of how they and RMBC could and should collaborate to strengthen, individuals, families and their communities Indeed, there is a determination to meet current and future needs with a sense of collective rigour. Some of these tasks involve developing internal structures, such as communication and the provision of appropriate resources. Rotherham, like many other towns and cities in Britain, is also faced with external threats which can exacerbate internal challenges. An example of this is how recognition of the involvement of some men of Asian Pakistani heritage, in the abuse of children in Rotherham, led some political groups to capitalise on fears. However, it is clear that children are best protected in resilient families and communities. Thankfully, Rotherham and its people continue to demonstrate resilience. In addition, there is also a strong sense of realism, no-one in Rotherham expects perfection, but they do expect to do everything possible to protect children and young people. One woman made the distinction between surviving and thriving: “…I don’t want to survive, I want to thrive…” We hope this report contributes to that aim and welcome your views on the findings from data collected between April and June 2015. We recognise that the data is reflective of views expressed at that time and that RMBC and the people of Rotherham, have continued to respond to needs throughout the course of this analysis process

Vortex Dynamics in Dissipative Systems

We derive the exact equation of motion for a vortex in two- and three- dimensional non-relativistic systems governed by the Ginzburg-Landau equation with complex coefficients. The velocity is given in terms of local gradients of the magnitude and phase of the complex field and is exact also for arbitrarily small inter-vortex distances. The results for vortices in a superfluid or a superconductor are recovered.Comment: revtex, 5 pages, 1 encapsulated postscript figure (included), uses aps.sty, epsf.te

Chemotherapy for advanced breast cancer: what influences oncologists' decision-making?

Chemotherapy is widely used in the management of patients with advanced breast cancer. However, a considerable proportion of patients experience toxic side effects without gaining benefit. This study aimed to elicit oncologists' views of the goals of chemotherapy for patients with advanced breast cancer and to elicit which factors are important in decisions to recommend chemotherapy to such patients. 30 oncologists underwent a semi-structured interview to examine their views of 5 goals of chemotherapy and of various disease, treatment and patient-related factors that might influence decisions to offer treatment. The clinicians also made decisions regarding treatment in relation to a hypothetical patient scenario under varying clinical conditions. Relief of symptoms and improvement of activity were rated as the most valuable and achievable goals of treatment. The patient's performance status, frailty and their wishes regarding treatment were the most important patient-related factors in determining decision-making. The most important disease/treatment-related factors were pace of the disease, previous poor response to chemotherapy, co-existing symptoms and concurrent medical conditions. The hypothetical scenario revealed that co-existing medical conditions, adverse previous response, increased age and depression would decrease the likelihood of recommending chemotherapy, whereas key symptoms (e.g. breathlessness) and the patient's goals would increase the likelihood. The findings suggest that British oncologists primarily aim to improve patients' physical function, although subjective factors, such as a patient's desire for anti-cancer treatment and their future goals, also influence decisions to offer treatment. © 2001 Cancer Research Campaign http://www.bjcancer.co

The scattering of muons in low Z materials

This paper presents the measurement of the scattering of 172 MeV/c muons in assorted materials, including liquid hydrogen, motivated by the need to understand ionisation cooling for muon acceleration. Data are compared with predictions from the Geant 4 simulation code and this simulation is used to deconvolute detector effects. The scattering distributions obtained are compared with the Moliere theory of multiple scattering and, in the case of liquid hydrogen, with ELMS. With the exception of ELMS, none of the models are found to provide a good description of the data. The results suggest that ionisation cooling will work better than would be predicted by Geant 4.7.0p01.Comment: pdfeTeX V 3.141592-1.21a-2.2, 30 pages with 22 figure

Verb preference effects in the sentence comprehension of fluent aphasic individuals

This investigation examined sentence processing of fluent aphasic subjects with varying severity levels. Subjects performed a cross-modal lexical decision task for transitive and intransitive verbs in preferred and non-preferred frameworks. Verb processing was measured by reaction times during on-line sentence comprehension. Reaction times to the cross-modal lexical decision (CMLD) task indicated that the subjects with aphasia were insensitive to preference information associated with the processing of verbs in sentences. Severity level did not alter the pattern observed regarding verb type and preferences