Complex Scaled Spectrum Completeness for Coupled Channels

The Complex Scaling Method (CSM) provides scattering wave functions which regularize resonances and suggest a resolution of the identity in terms of such resonances, completed by the bound states and a smoothed continuum. But, in the case of inelastic scattering with many channels, the existence of such a resolution under complex scaling is still debated. Taking advantage of results obtained earlier for the two channel case, this paper proposes a representation in which the convergence of a resolution of the identity can be more easily tested. The representation is valid for any finite number of coupled channels for inelastic scattering without rearrangement.Comment: Latex file, 13 pages, 4 eps-figure

An anatomy of the cooling of the North Atlantic Ocean in the 1960s and 1970s

In the 1960s and early 1970s sea surface temperatures in the North Atlantic Ocean cooled rapidly. There is still considerable uncertainty about the causes of this event, although various mechanisms have been proposed. In this observational study it is demonstrated that the cooling proceeded in several distinct stages. Cool anomalies initially appeared in the mid-1960s in the Nordic Seas and Gulf Stream Extension, before spreading to cover most of the Subpolar Gyre. Subsequently, cool anomalies spread into the tropical North Atlantic before retreating, in the late 1970s, back to the Subpolar Gyre. There is strong evidence that changes in atmospheric circulation, linked to a southward shift of the Atlantic ITCZ, played an important role in the event, particularly in the period 1972-76. Theories for the cooling event must account for its distinctive space-time evolution. Our analysis suggests that the most likely drivers were: 1) The “Great Salinity Anomaly” of the late 1960s; 2) An earlier warming of the subpolar North Atlantic, which may have led to a slow-down in the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation; 3) An increase in anthropogenic sulphur dioxide emissions. Determining the relative importance of these factors is a key area for future work

Fossil pollen and spores as a tool for reconstructing ancient solar-ultraviolet irradiance received by plants : an assessment of prospects and challenges using proxy-system modelling

Ultraviolet-B radiation (UV-B, 280-315 nm) constitutes less than 1% of the total solar radiation that reaches the Earth's surface but has a disproportional impact on biological and ecological processes from the individual to the ecosystem level. Absorption of UV-B by ozone is also one of the primary heat sources to the stratosphere, so variations in UV-B have important relationships to the Earth's radiation budget. Yet despite its importance for understanding atmospheric and ecological processes, there is limited understanding about the changes in UV-B radiation in the geological past. This is because systematic measurements of total ozone and surface UV-B only exist since the 1970s, so biological or geochemical proxies from sediment archives are needed to reconstruct UV-B irradiance received at the Earth surface beyond the experimental record. Recent developments have shown that the quantification of UV-B-absorbing compounds in pollen and spores have the potential to provide a continuous record of the solar-ultraviolet radiation received by plants. There is increasing interest in developing this proxy in palaeoclimatic and palaeoecological research. However, differences in interpretation exist between palaeoecologists, who are beginning to apply the proxy under various geological settings, and UV-B ecologists, who question whether a causal dose-response relationship of pollen and spore chemistry to UV-B irradiance has really been established. Here, we use a proxy-system modelling approach to systematically assess components of the pollen-and spore-based UV-B-irradiance proxy to ask how these differences can be resolved. We identify key unknowns and uncertainties in making inferences about past UV-B irradiance, from the pollen sensor, the sedimentary archive, and through the laboratory and experimental procedures in order to target priority areas of future work. We argue that an interdisciplinary approach, modifying methods used by plant ecologists studying contemporary responses to solar-UV-B radiation specifically to suit the needs of palaeoecological analyses, provides a way forward in developing the most reliable reconstructions for the UV-B irradiance received by plants across a range of timescales.Peer reviewe

Multiple case-study analysis of quality management practices within UK Six Sigma and non-Six Sigma manufacturing small- and medium-sized enterprises

This paper examines multiple case-study analysis of quality management practices within UK Six Sigma and non-Six Sigma manufacturing small- and medium-sized enterprises

Exact Algorithms for Maximum Independent Set

We show that the maximum independent set problem (MIS) on an $n$-vertex graph can be solved in $1.1996^nn^{O(1)}$ time and polynomial space, which even is faster than Robson's $1.2109^{n}n^{O(1)}$-time exponential-space algorithm published in 1986. We also obtain improved algorithms for MIS in graphs with maximum degree 6 and 7, which run in time of $1.1893^nn^{O(1)}$ and $1.1970^nn^{O(1)}$, respectively. Our algorithms are obtained by using fast algorithms for MIS in low-degree graphs in a hierarchical way and making a careful analyses on the structure of bounded-degree graphs

The relationship of childhood adversity with diurnal cortisol patterns and C-reactive protein at 60-64 years of age in the 1946 National Survey of Health and Development

Background: Early life adversity is increasingly prevalent and associated with greater morbidity and mortality. It is hypothesised that the link between psychosocial early life adversity and poor health in adulthood is due to abnormal hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis functioning (often measured as cortisol patterning) and inflammation (often measured via c-reactive protein (CRP)). This study aimed to investigate the relationship between early life psychosocial adversity and cortisol patterning and CRP at 60-64 years of age. / Methods: The MRC National Survey of Health and Development (NSHD) was used. The analytic “cortisol sample” included 843 individuals and the “CRP sample” included 1,150 individuals. Data on adversity experienced between ages 0-15 years were utilised to compose a cumulative childhood psychosocial early life adversity (ELA) score (0, 1, 2, 3+). CRP and salivary cortisol (waking, 30 min after waking, and evening) were collected at 60-64 years. Associations between the psychosocial ELA score and cortisol outcomes (cortisol awakening response (CAR), diurnal slope (DS), and evening and morning cortisol) were assessed using general linear regression. Tobit regression was used to assess the association between psychosocial ELA score and CRP. Adjustments were made for age at follow-up, sex, childhood maternal education, childhood paternal social class, childhood housing tenure, and birth weight. After testing for sex by ELA score interactions, analyses were repeated stratified by sex for the CRP sample. / Results: In fully adjusted models, individuals who experienced the highest level of childhood psychosocial adversity (3+) had a 24.63 (-41.49, -7.76) % lower waking cortisol and a 7.30 (1.49, 13.12) % lower decline in cortisol across the day compared to those with a psychosocial ELA score of zero. In females, the highest level of childhood psychosocial adversity, compared to the lowest, was associated with 32.61 (2.98, 62.25) % higher CRP at 60-64 years, which attenuated to 20.38% (-9.38, 50.14) upon adjustment for measures of early life socioeconomic position. Conversely, the association between childhood psychosocial adversity and CRP in males was null. / Conclusions: Our results suggest that high-levels of psychosocial adversity in childhood might result in a lower morning cortisol and flatter DS in mid-to-late-adulthood. The finding that adversity was related to higher CRP in females but not males requires replication and further investigation

The Relationship of Early-Life Adversity With Adulthood Weight and Cardiometabolic Health Status in the 1946 National Survey of Health and Development

OBJECTIVE: Evidence linking early-life adversity with an adverse cardiometabolic profile in adulthood is equivocal. This study investigates early-life adversity in relation to weight and cardiometabolic health status at ages 60 to 64 years. METHODS: We included 1059 individuals from the 1946 National Survey of Health and Development. Data on adversity between ages 0 to 15 years were used to create a cumulative childhood psychosocial adversity score and a socioeconomic adversity score. Cardiometabolic and weight/height data collected at ages 60 to 64 years were used to create four groups: metabolically healthy normal weight, metabolically unhealthy normal weight, metabolically healthy overweight/obese, and metabolically unhealthy overweight/obese. Associations between the two exposure scores and weight/health status were examined using multinomial logistic regression, with adjustment for sex and age at the outcome visit. RESULTS: Sixty-two percent of normal-weight individuals were metabolically healthy, whereas only 34% of overweight/obese individuals were metabolically healthy. In a mutually adjusted model including both exposure scores, a psychosocial score of ≥3 (compared with 0) was associated with increased risk of being metabolically unhealthy (compared with healthy) in both normal-weight adults (relative risk = 2.49; 95% confidence interval = 0.87–7.13) and overweight/obese adults (1.87; 0.96–3.61). However, the socioeconomic adversity score was more strongly related to metabolic health status in overweight/obese adults (1.60; 0.98–2.60) than in normal-weight adults (0.95; 0.46–1.96). CONCLUSIONS: Independently of socioeconomic adversity, psychosocial adversity in childhood may be associated with a poor cardiometabolic health profile, in both normal-weight and overweight/obese adults. Childhood adversity might cause obesity via the adoption of unhealthy behaviors. It might also cause poor cardiometabolic health, either via obesity or via another pathway (e.g., altered stress response). Robson et al. found that childhood adversity was associated with poor cardiometabolic health at ages 60 to 64 years, in both normal-weight and overweight/obese adults. Further research is needed to understand the mechanisms by which childhood adversity might affect cardiometabolic health without necessarily increasing body weight