The Gribov horizon and the one-loop color-Coulomb potential

We recalculate the color-Coulomb potential to one-loop order, under the assumption that the effect of the Gribov horizon is to make i) the transverse gluon propagator less singular; and ii) the color-Coulomb potential more singular, than their perturbative behavior in the low-momentum limit. As a first guess, the effect of the Gribov horizon is mimicked by introducing a transverse momentum-dependent gluon mass term, leading to a propagator of the Gribov form, with the prescription that the mass parameter should be adjusted to the unique value where the infrared behavior of the Coulomb potential is enhanced. We find that this procedure leads to a Coulomb potential rising asymptotically as a linear term modified by a logarithm.Comment: 15 pages, 2 figure

X-ray Spectral Analysis of the Steady States of GRS 1915+105

We report on the X-ray spectral behavior within the steady states of GRS 1915+105. Our work is based on the full data set on the source obtained using the Proportional Counter Array on the Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer and 15 GHz radio data obtained using the Ryle Telescope. The steady observations within the X-ray data set naturally separated into two regions in the color-color diagram and we refer to them as steady-soft and steady-hard. GRS 1915+105 displays significant curvature in the coronal component in both the soft and hard data within the {\it RXTE}/PCA bandpass. A majority of the steady-soft observations displays a roughly constant inner disk radius (R_in), while the steady-hard observations display an evolving disk truncation which is correlated to the mass accretion rate through the disk. The disk flux and coronal flux are strongly correlated in steady-hard observations and very weakly correlated in the steady-soft observations. Within the steady-hard observations we observe two particular circumstances when there are correlations between the coronal X-ray flux and the radio flux with log slopes \eta~0.68 +/- 0.35 and \eta ~ 1.12 +/- 0.13. They are consistent with the upper and lower tracks of Gallo et al. (2012), respectively. A comparison of model parameters to the state definitions show that almost all steady-soft observations match the criteria of either thermal or steep power law state, while a large portion of the steady-hard observations match the hard state criteria when the disk fraction constraint is neglected.Comment: 21 pages, 15 figures, 2 tables. Accepted for publication in Ap

A relativistic chiral quark model for pseudoscalar emission from heavy mesons

The amplitudes for one-pion mediated transitions between heavy meson excited states are obtained in the framework of the relativistic chiral quark model. The effective coupling constants to pions and the decay widths of excited heavy mesons with l<=2 for non-radially excited, and the l=0 radially excited mesons are presented for both charmed and beauty mesons. We also discuss the allowed decays of strange excited heavy mesons by emission of a K-meson.Comment: 20 pages, revte

Effects of adenotonsillectomy on plasma inflammatory biomarkers in obese children with obstructive sleep apnea: A community-based study.

BackgroundObesity and obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSA) are highly prevalent and frequently overlapping conditions in children that lead to systemic inflammation, the latter being implicated in the various end-organ morbidities associated with these conditions.AimTo examine the effects of adenotonsillectomy (T&amp;A) on plasma levels of inflammatory markers in obese children with polysomnographically diagnosed OSA who were prospectively recruited from the community.MethodsObese children prospectively diagnosed with OSA, underwent T&amp;A and a second overnight polysomnogram (PSG) after surgery. Plasma fasting morning samples obtained after each of the two PSGs were assayed for multiple inflammatory and metabolic markers including interleukin (IL)-6, IL-18, plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1), monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1), matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9), adiponectin, apelin C, leptin and osteocrin.ResultsOut of 122 potential candidates, 100 obese children with OSA completed the study with only one-third exhibiting normalization of their PSG after T&amp;A (that is, apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) ≤1/hour total sleep time). However, overall significant decreases in MCP-1, PAI-1, MMP-9, IL-18 and IL-6, and increases in adropin and osteocrin plasma concentrations occurred after T&amp;A. Several of the T&amp;A-responsive biomarkers exhibited excellent sensitivity and moderate specificity to predict residual OSA (that is, AHI⩾5/hTST).ConclusionsA defined subset of systemic inflammatory and metabolic biomarkers is reversibly altered in the context of OSA among community-based obese children, further reinforcing the concept on the interactive pro-inflammatory effects of sleep disorders such as OSA and obesity contributing to downstream end-organ morbidities

Use of biological drugs in patients with psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis in italy: Results from the PSONG survey

This Italian multicenter retrospective study compared the drug survival and efficacy of differentanti-TNF agents in psoriasis (PsO) and psoriatic arthritis (PsA) patients. A database of PsO/PsApatients treated with adalimumab, etanercept, and infliximab from May 2013 to May 2014 wasanalyzed. PASI 75, 90, and 100 was calculated at each time point to evaluate efficacy. Drug sur-vival rate and probability of maintaining PASI response were evaluated. The impact of dependentvariables on probability of PASI 75 loss was evaluated by logistic regression. 1,235 patients wereincluded, 577 with PsO and 658 with PsA. Highest survival rates were observed with adalimumabfollowed by etanercept and infliximab in PsO and PsA patients. The probability of maintainingPASI response was significantly higher for adalimumab followed by infliximab. For PsO patients,the odds of losing PASI 75 was higher in etanercept-treated patients (OR: 8.1; 95% CI: 4.2–15.6,p<.001) or infliximab (OR: 6.6; 95% CI: 2.6–16.3,p<.001) vs. adalimumab. Likewise, for PsApatients the odds of losing PASI 75 was higher in etanercept-treated patients (OR: 2.3; 95% CI:1.4–3.8,p5.01) or infliximab (OR: 2.2; 95% CI: 1.1–4.1,p5.018) vs. adalimumab. Adalimumabcould be the best therapeutic option over other anti-TNF agents for the treatment of PsO and PsApatients

Professionalization of Sport Educators in European Prisons

Actualmente, las actividades físicas y deportivas forman parte del paisaje de las prisiones y se les adjudica un papel (re)educativo. Sin embargo, se desconoce cómo se desarrollan dichas actividades y la profesionalización del personal encargado de las mismas. En este estudio se administró un cuestionario a 341 profesionales de prisiones, ubicadas en cinco países europeos, con el objetivo de indagar en el rol que juega la formación especializada en deportes y el diseño instruccional en la profesionalización de estos educadores. Los resultados indican que la formación deportiva especializada es mayor en los profesionales con menos años de experiencia y, especialmente, en aquellos con estudios superiores. Un gran porcentaje de los educadores planifican los principales elementos del diseño instruccional, aunque la mitad aún mantiene los objetivos en mente. Utilizan principalmente la estrategia metodológica de instrucción directa y formas verbales de evaluación. Se concluye que los educadores noveles con mayor nivel de estudios muestran mayor grado de profesionalizaciónSport is nowadays part of the prison landscape and it receives a (re)educational role. Nevertheless, it is unknown how are they developed and the professionalization features of the staff in charge of these activities. Therefore, a sample of 341 professionals from prisons located in five European countries responded to a survey conducted to explore the role that specialized sportive training and instructional design play in the professionalization of sport educators. The results indicate that the specialized sports training is higher among professionals with less years of experience and, especially, among those with higher-university studies. Larger percentage of educators plan the main elements of design, however, half of them still kept in mind the objectives. They mainly use direct instruction methodological strategies and oral forms of assessment. The paper concludes that those educators with less years of experience and more level of education show higher degree of professionalizationEste artículo deriva del proyecto "Prisoners on the move. Move into sport, move through sport", que fue financiado por la Unión Europea (EAC/22/2010). Los miembros del equipo de investigación pertenecen a De Rode Antraciet de Bélgica (Coordinador del proyecto), Kriminal Forsorgen de Dinamarca, Sport et Citoyenneté de Francia, CRED de Rumania, Sport for Solidarity del Reino Unido y la Universitat de València de España. El estudio del cual deriva este artículo lo diseñaron y desarrollaron los autores de este trabajo

A Study of the Nambu--Jona-Lasinio Model on the Lattice

We present our full analysis of the two flavor Nambu--Jona-Lasinio model with $SU(2) \times SU(2)$ chiral symmetry on the four--dimensional hypercubic lattice with naive and Wilson fermions. We find that this model is an excellent toy field theory to investigate issues related to lattice QCD. We use the large $N$ approximation to leading order in $1/N$ to obtain non perturbative analytical results over almost the whole parameter range. By using numerical simulations we estimate that the size of the $1/N$ corrections for most of the quantities we consider are small and in this way we strengthen the validity of the leading order large $N$ calculations. We obtain results regarding the approach to the continuum chiral limit, the effects of the zero momentum fermionic modes on finite lattices and the scalar and pseudoscalar spectrum. Note: The full ps file of this preprint is also available via anonymous ftp to ftp.scri.fsu.edu. To get the ps file, ftp to this address and use for username "anonymous" and for password your complete E-mail address. The file is in the directory pub/vranas (to go to that directory type: cd pub/vranas) and is called NJL_long.ps (to get it type: get NJL_long.ps)Comment: 35 pages, LaTex file. (Added section with title: "The zero pion mass line on a finite lattice at large $N$".

Investigational systemic drugs for moderate to severe plaque psoriasis: What’s new?

Introduction: The therapeutic armamentarium for the treatment of psoriasis, a chronic inflammatory skin disease, is now reasonably broad and structured, with several therapeutic agents that demonstrated a successful long-term control of this condition. However, there are still unfulfilled gaps resulting from the inherent limitations of existing therapies, which have paved the way for the identification of new therapeutic strategies or the improvement of the existing ones. Areas covered: The aim of this review is to thoroughly explore new therapeutic strategies and novel drugs that are currently in the pipeline for the treatment of psoriasis, focusing primarily on agents that are currently in phase I/II of clinical development. Some of which retrace already existing therapeutic approaches, such as the IL23/Th17 pathway inhibition, while others unveil new and yet unexplored ones. Expert opinion: Since the therapeutic landscape of psoriasis is wide, it is not yet clear whether novel agents will fill the remaining gaps in the context of a broader and more diversified set of oral and biologic therapies. Nevertheless, with the development of precision medicine approaches, the development of innovative targeted drugs will still have a therapeutic rationale in psoriasis

An effective field theory approach to the electroweak corrections at LEP energies

In the framework of the effective field theory (EFT) we discuss the electroweak (EW) corrections at LEP energies. We obtain the effective Lagrangian in the large m_t limit, and reproduce analytically the dominant EW corrections to the LEP2 processes e+ e- --> gamma Z and e+ e- --> Z Z. To include effects of finite top-quark and Higgs masses, we use the effective Lagrangian at tree level and fit LEP1/SLD observables with four arbitrary parameters, plus alpha_s(m_Z). The EFT approach works remarkably well. Using the effective couplings determined from the fit, and tree-level EFT formulae, we predict the cross sections for e+ e- --> Z Z, gamma Z at a level better than 1%.Comment: 17 pages incl. 2 eps figures, REVTeX. New references added and few misprints correcte