Event by Event fluctuation in K/pi ratio at RHIC

We present the preliminary results from our analysis of event by event fluctuation in K/pi ratio in Au+Au collision at \sqrt s_{NN} = 200 GeV and at 62.4 GeV using STAR detector at RHIC. Two different methods have been used to extract the strength of dynamical fluctuation and the centrality dependence of that. The results from the study of energy and centrality dependence of the dynamical fluctuation are presented. From the excitation function it is seen that at two RHIC energies the measure of dynamical fluctuation is constant with values very close to that at 12.3 GeV at SPS. The dynamical fluctuation is found to be positive and decreasing with increasing centrality at RHIC. The results are compared with HIJING model calculation with jets. Results from HIJING are found to be very close to data from central collisions whereas it over predicts the data for peripheral events.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, for ICPAQGP - 2005 (Recalculated the errors shown in Fig 2 and Table 1

Baryonic Resonance Studies with STAR

Yields and spectra of $\Sigma(1385)$ are measured in $p+p$, d+Au and Au+Au collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}}=200$ GeV . The nuclear modification factors in d+Au collisions are presented. The $p_{T}$ dependent medium effects are investigated via the nuclear modification factors. The implications of these results on various models are discussed.Comment: Strange Quark Matter 2006 Conference Talk Proceeding

Renormalization-Scale-Invariant PQCD Predictions for R_e+e- and the Bjorken Sum Rule at Next-to-Leading Order

We discuss application of the physical QCD effective charge $\alpha_V$, defined via the heavy-quark potential, in perturbative calculations at next-to-leading order. When coupled with the Brodsky-Lepage-Mackenzie prescription for fixing the renormalization scales, the resulting series are automatically and naturally scale and scheme independent, and represent unambiguous predictions of perturbative QCD. We consider in detail such commensurate scale relations for the $e^+e^-$ annihilation ratio $R_{e^+e^-}$ and the Bjorken sum rule. In both cases the improved predictions are in excellent agreement with experiment.Comment: 13 Latex pages with 5 figures; to be published in Physical Review

Randomised double blind placebo controlled trial investigating the effect of calcium and vitamin D supplementation on bone mineral density and bone metabolism in adult patients with cystic fibrosis

AbstractBackgroundLow bone mineral density (BMD) is prevalent in adults with cystic fibrosis and might be related to calcium and vitamin D malabsorption from the gastrointestinal tract. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of calcium and vitamin D supplementation on BMD and bone metabolism in these subjects.MethodsPatients were invited to participate if they had a BMD Z score of −1 or less in the lumbar spine, proximal femur or distal forearm. Patients were randomised to receive calcium 1 g+vitamin D 800 IU or placebo daily, in addition to their regular vitamin D supplements (900 IU/day). BMD and bone biochemical markers were measured before and after 1 year of treatment.ResultsAfter 12 months, the treatment group (n=15) showed a reduced rate of bone loss compared with the control group (n=15) in the lumbar spine (mean difference 1.9% [CI −0.9% to 4.6%]), total hip (mean difference 0.7% [CI −2.2% to 3.5%]) and distal forearm (mean difference 1.7% [CI −2.2% to 5.5%]), but these changes did not reach statistical significance. There was also a trend towards a reduction in bone turnover in the treatment group.ConclusionsCalcium and vitamin D supplementation reduced the rate of bone turnover and bone loss in adult patients with cystic fibrosis, but these changes did not reach statistical significance. These data suggest that a longer term trial of this simple intervention would be justified

Cardiopulmonary Mortality and Fine Particulate Air Pollution by Species and Source in a National U.S. Cohort

The purpose of this study was to estimate cardiopulmonary mortality associations for long-term exposure to PM2.5 species and sources (i.e., components) within the U.S. National Health Interview Survey cohort. Exposures were estimated through a chemical transport model for six species (i.e., elemental carbon (EC), primary organic aerosols (POA), secondary organic aerosols (SOA), sulfate (SO4), ammonium (NH4), nitrate (NO3)) and five sources of PM2.5 (i.e., vehicles, electricity-generating units (EGU), non-EGU industrial sources, biogenic sources (bio), “other” sources). In single-pollutant models, we found positive, significant (p < 0.05) mortality associations for all components, except POA. After adjusting for remaining PM2.5 (total PM2.5 minus component), we found significant mortality associations for EC (hazard ratio (HR) = 1.36; 95% CI [1.12, 1.64]), SOA (HR = 1.11; 95% CI [1.05, 1.17]), and vehicle sources (HR = 1.06; 95% CI [1.03, 1.10]). HRs for EC, SOA, and vehicle sources were significantly larger in comparison to those for remaining PM2.5 (per unit μg/m3). Our findings suggest that cardiopulmonary mortality associations vary by species and source, with evidence that EC, SOA, and vehicle sources are important contributors to the PM2.5 mortality relationship. With further validation, these findings could facilitate targeted pollution regulations that more efficiently reduce air pollution mortality.This publication was developed as part of the Center for Air, Climate, and Energy Solutions (CACES), which was supported under Assistance Agreement No. R835873 awarded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. It has not been formally reviewed by EPA. The views expressed in this document are solely those of authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Agency. EPA does not endorse any products or commercial services mentioned in this publication. We also acknowledge support from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation project REMEDIA under grant agreement No 874753.Peer Reviewed"Article signat per 13 autors/es:" Zachari A. Pond, Carlos S. Hernandez, Peter J. Adams, Spyros N. Pandis, George R. Garcia, Allen L. Robinson, Julian D. Marshall, Richard Burnett, Ksakousti Skyllakou, Pablo Garcia Rivera, Eleni Karnezi, Carver J. Coleman, C. Arden Pope III"Postprint (author's final draft

Guiding neutral atoms around curves with lithographically patterned current-carrying wires

Laser-cooled neutral atoms from a low-velocity atomic source are guided via a magnetic field generated between two parallel wires on a glass substrate. The atoms bend around three curves, each with a 15-cm radius of curvature, while traveling along a 10-cm-long track. A maximum flux of 2*10^6 atoms/sec is achieved with a current density of 3*10^4 A/cm^2 in the 100x100-micrometer-cross-section wires. The kinetic energy of the guided atoms in one transverse dimension is measured to be 42 microKelvin.Comment: 9 page

Limiting distributions for explosive PAR(1) time series with strongly mixing innovation

This work deals with the limiting distribution of the least squares estimators of the coefficients a r of an explosive periodic autoregressive of order 1 (PAR(1)) time series X r = a r X r--1 +u r when the innovation {u k } is strongly mixing. More precisely {a r } is a periodic sequence of real numbers with period P \textgreater{} 0 and such that P r=1 |a r | \textgreater{} 1. The time series {u r } is periodically distributed with the same period P and satisfies the strong mixing property, so the random variables u r can be correlated

Graph products of spheres, associative graded algebras and Hilbert series

Given a finite, simple, vertex-weighted graph, we construct a graded associative (non-commutative) algebra, whose generators correspond to vertices and whose ideal of relations has generators that are graded commutators corresponding to edges. We show that the Hilbert series of this algebra is the inverse of the clique polynomial of the graph. Using this result it easy to recognize if the ideal is inert, from which strong results on the algebra follow. Non-commutative Grobner bases play an important role in our proof. There is an interesting application to toric topology. This algebra arises naturally from a partial product of spheres, which is a special case of a generalized moment-angle complex. We apply our result to the loop-space homology of this space.Comment: 19 pages, v3: elaborated on connections to related work, added more citations, to appear in Mathematische Zeitschrif