Scaling laws for diffusion on (trans)fractal scale-free networks

Fractal (or transfractal) features are common in real-life networks and are known to in uence the dynamic processes taking place in the network itself. Here we consider a class of scale-free deterministic networks, called (u; v)-owers, whose topological properties can be controlled by tuning the parameters u and v; in particular, for u > 1, they are fractals endowed with a fractal dimension df , while for u = 1, they are transfractal endowed with a transfractal dimension ~ df . In this work we investigate dynamic processes (i.e., random walks) and topological properties (i.e., the Laplacian spectrum) and we show that, under proper conditions, the same scalings (ruled by the related dimensions), emerge for both fractal and transfractal

Gluelump spectrum from Coulomb gauge QCD

We compute the energy spectrum of gluelumps defined as gluonic excitations bound to a localized, static octet source. We are able to reproduce the nontrivial ordering of the spin-parity levels and show how this is related to the non-abelian part of the Coulomb interaction between color charges.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figure

Heavy quarkonium hybrids from Coulomb gauge QCD

Using the non-relativisitc reduction of Coulomb gauge QCD we compute spectrum of the low mass hybrid mesons containing a heavy quark-antiquark pair. The gluon degrees of freedom are treated in the mean field approximation calibrated to the gluelump spectrum. We discuss the role of the non-abelian nature of the QCD Coulomb interaction in the ordering of the spin-parity levels.Comment: 12 pages, 6 figure

Use of the MMPI-3 with Catholic and Episcopal Seminary and Religious Life Applicants

Psychological evaluations and testing using the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) among other instruments have been used to screen clerical and religious life applicants for decades. While much research has been conducted and published regarding these evaluations, the newer MMPI-3 has not been examined among this population. This study reviewed MMPI-3 results from 18 applicants to seminary and religious life from the Roman Catholic and Episcopal faith traditions to determine if the participants are generally psychological healthy and if they have any consistent elevations in their MMPI-3 testing scores. Additionally, we examined MMPI-3 differences among Catholics versus Episcopal applicants. Our preliminary results using a small sample suggest that applicants to seminary and religious life are generally psychologically healthy but tend to be defensive, presenting themselves in a favorable and virtuous manner. Additionally, Catholics tend to score higher on inconsistent responses but lower on psychoticism than Episcopalians. Further research should use larger and more diverse sample sizes to better understand how the MMPI-3 performs among this population

The Effects of Dark Matter Decay and Annihilation on the High-Redshift 21 cm Background

The radiation background produced by the 21 cm spin-flip transition of neutral hydrogen at high redshifts can be a pristine probe of fundamental physics and cosmology. At z~30-300, the intergalactic medium (IGM) is visible in 21 cm absorption against the cosmic microwave background (CMB), with a strength that depends on the thermal (and ionization) history of the IGM. Here we examine the constraints this background can place on dark matter decay and annihilation, which could heat and ionize the IGM through the production of high-energy particles. Using a simple model for dark matter decay, we show that, if the decay energy is immediately injected into the IGM, the 21 cm background can detect energy injection rates >10^{-24} eV cm^{-3} sec^{-1}. If all the dark matter is subject to decay, this allows us to constrain dark matter lifetimes <10^{27} sec. Such energy injection rates are much smaller than those typically probed by the CMB power spectra. The expected brightness temperature fluctuations at z~50 are a fraction of a mK and can vary from the standard calculation by up to an order of magnitude, although the difference can be significantly smaller if some of the decay products free stream to lower redshifts. For self-annihilating dark matter, the fluctuation amplitude can differ by a factor <2 from the standard calculation at z~50. Note also that, in contrast to the CMB, the 21 cm probe is sensitive to both the ionization fraction and the IGM temperature, in principle allowing better constraints on the decay process and heating history. We also show that strong IGM heating and ionization can lead to an enhanced H_2 abundance, which may affect the earliest generations of stars and galaxies.Comment: submitted to Phys Rev D, 14 pages, 8 figure

Catastrophic disassembly of actin filaments via Mical-mediated oxidation.

Actin filament assembly and disassembly are vital for cell functions. MICAL Redox enzymes are important post-translational effectors of actin that stereo-specifically oxidize actin's M44 and M47 residues to induce cellular F-actin disassembly. Here we show that Mical-oxidized (Mox) actin can undergo extremely fast (84 subunits/s) disassembly, which depends on F-actin's nucleotide-bound state. Using near-atomic resolution cryoEM reconstruction and single filament TIRF microscopy we identify two dynamic and structural states of Mox-actin. Modeling actin's D-loop region based on our 3.9 Å cryoEM reconstruction suggests that oxidation by Mical reorients the side chain of M44 and induces a new intermolecular interaction of actin residue M47 (M47-O-T351). Site-directed mutagenesis reveals that this interaction promotes Mox-actin instability. Moreover, we find that Mical oxidation of actin allows for cofilin-mediated severing even in the presence of inorganic phosphate. Thus, in conjunction with cofilin, Mical oxidation of actin promotes F-actin disassembly independent of the nucleotide-bound state