Kaluza-Klein towers in warped spaces with metric singularities

The version of the warp model that we proposed to explain the mass scale hierarchy has been extended by the introduction of one or more singularities in the metric. We restricted ourselves to a real massless scalar field supposed to propagate in a five dimensional bulk with the extradimension being compactified on a strip or on a circle. With the same emphasis on the hermiticity and commutativity properties of the Kakuza Klein operators, we have established all the allowed boundary conditions to be imposed on the fields. From them, for given positions of the singularities, one can deduce either mass eigenvalues building up a Kaluza Klein tower, or a tachyon, or a zero mass state. Assuming the Planck mass to be the high mass scale and by a choice, unique for all boundary conditions, of the major warp parameters, the low lying mass eigenvalues are of the order of the TeV, in this way explaining the mass scale hierarchy. In our model, the physical masses are related to the Kaluza Klein eigenvalues, depending on the location of the physical brane which is an arbitrary parameter of the model. Illustrative numerical calculations are given to visualize the structure of Kaluza Klein mass eigenvalue towers. Observation at high energy colliders like LHC of a mass tower with its characteristic structure would be the fingerprint of the model.Comment: 33 pages, 1 figur

Agronomic and nutritional considerations for increased soybean productivity

Increasing soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] productivity will require a comprehensive understanding of the agronomic, nutritional, and genetic factors that influence soybean yield. Despite recent agricultural innovations, there is a common perception that soybean yields have reached a plateau. While most producers overlook the fertility needs of soybean, others believe that improved nutritional management may hold promise for improving soybean productivity. The synergy between adequate nutrient availability in combination with complementary agronomic practices, may be necessary to realize the genetic yield potential of soybean. For these reasons, the objective of this research was to quantify how agronomic and nutritional management practices can be employed to improve soybean productivity which encompasses four research areas: What are the nutritional needs of current soybean cultivars which frequently realize higher yields now than ever before? Research was conducted to quantify the macro- and micronutrient needs of modern soybean cultivars. Nutrients exhibited variation in their uptake, partitioning, and remobilization and presented data should be considered relevant for producers who target or achieve a yield level of 3500 kg ha-1 or higher. Current soybean varieties also exhibited greater dry weight harvest index values relative to previous research which has concomitantly influenced the rate, duration, and partitioning of nutrient accumulation in soybean. Collectively, these findings emphasize the importance of season-long nutrient availability to most effectively meet soybean fertility needs. Can management practices be designed to supply these nutritional needs and achieve improved soybean productivity? Quantification of soybean fertility needs highlighted the importance of phosphate availability, and when supplied as one of five categorical management factors, significant yield increases were realized. Other factors including variety selection, seed treatment, foliar fungicide and insecticide use, and row spacing configuration contributed to improved soybean productivity across a range of environments. An additional study provided in-season applications of N, K, and S using a subsurface drip irrigation (SDI) system and improved seed yield by as much as 357 kg ha-1. Do other agronomic decisions such as variety selection influence the responsiveness to nutrient supply? Results indicated that variety selection significantly influences the outcome of nutritional and agronomic treatments. The value of fertilization, foliar fungicide and insecticide, and seed treatment practices were as much as two-fold greater when applied to fuller season varieties. Additional findings determined that varietal selection cannot be based on RM alone and that classifying varieties based on their responsiveness to nutrient supply was predictive of their response to supplemental agronomic management. What physiological basis exists to support these management-induced productivity improvements? Soybean’s indeterminate growth habit and compensatory nature between yield components emphasize the complexity of yield determination in soybean. As a result, a more thorough understanding of seed number and seed mass establishment was conducted within the canopy to identify how source and/or sink related factors may limit yield. Fertilization and foliar leaf protection treatments significantly improved yield through different, canopy-dependent, yield component strategies. Responses differed among cultivars which underscore the importance of variety selection and agronomic management as a concerted effort for improved soybean productivity

Exact bound states in volcano potentials

Quantum mechanics in a one--parameter family of volcano potentials is investigated. After a discussion on their construction and classical mechanics, we obtain exact, normalisable bound states for specific values of the energy. The nature of the wave functions and probability densities, as well as some curious features of the solutions are highlighted.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures, to appear in Phys. Lett.

Gravitational potential and X-ray luminosities of early-type galaxies observed with XMM-Newton and Chandra

We study dark matter content in early-type galaxies and investigate whether X-ray luminosities of early-type galaxies are determined by the surrounding gravitational potential. We derived gravitational mass profiles of 22 early-type galaxies observed with XMM-Newton and Chandra. Sixteen galaxies show constant or decreasing radial temperature profiles, and their X-ray luminosities are consistent with kinematical energy input from stellar mass loss. The temperature profiles of the other 6 galaxies increase with radius, and their X-ray luminosities are significantly higher. The integrated mass-to-light ratio of each galaxy is constant at that of stars within 0.5-1 r_e, and increases with radius, where r_e is the effective radius of a galaxy. The scatter of the central mass-to-light ratio of galaxies was less in K-band light. At 3r_e, the integrated mass-to-light ratios of galaxies with flat or decreasing temperature profiles are twice the value at 0.5r_e, where the stellar mass dominates, and at 6r_e, these increase to three times the value at 0.5r_e. This feature should reflect common dark and stellar mass distributions in early-type galaxies: Within 3r_e, the mass of dark matter is similar to the stellar mass, while within 6r_e, the former is larger than the latter by a factor of two. By contrast, X-ray luminous galaxies have higher gravitational mass in the outer regions than X-ray faint galaxies. We describe these X-ray luminous galaxies as the central objects of large potential structures; the presence or absence of this potential is the main source of the large scatter in the X-ray luminosity.Comment: 22 pages, 18 figures, 6 tables, accepted for publication in A&

Diagnostic and clinical experience of patients with pantothenate kinase-associated neurodegeneration

BACKGROUND: Pantothenate kinase-associated neurodegeneration (PKAN) is an autosomal recessive neurodegenerative disorder with brain iron accumulation (NBIA). OBJECTIVES: To assess PKAN diagnostic pathway, history, and burden across the spectrum of PKAN severity from patient and/or caregiver perspectives. METHODS: Caregivers of patients (n = 37) and patients themselves (n = 2) were interviewed in a validation study of the PKAN-Activities of Daily Living (ADL) scale. The current study used quartiles of the PKAN-ADL total score to divide patients by severity of impairment (Lowest, Second Lowest, Third Lowest, Highest). Diagnostic and treatment history, healthcare utilization, disease burden, and caregiver experience were compared between groups. RESULTS: The analyses included data from 39 patients. Mean age at PKAN symptom onset (P = 0.0007), initial MRI (P = 0.0150), and genetic testing (P = 0.0016) generally decreased across the PKAN severity spectrum. The mean duration of illness did not differ among PKAN severity groups (range, 9.7-15.2 years; P = 0.3029). First MRI led to diagnosis in 56.4% of patients (range, 30.0-90.0%). A mean (SD) of 13.0 (13.1) medical and 55.2 (78.5) therapy visits (eg, physical, speech) occurred in the past year. More patients in the higher PKAN severity groups experienced multiple current functional losses and/or earlier onset of problems (P-values \u3c 0.0500). Over half (56.8%) of caregivers experienced a change in employment because of caregiving. The percentage of patients requiring full-time caregiving increased across the PKAN severity spectrum (range, 11.1-100%; P = 0.0021). CONCLUSIONS: PKAN diagnosis was often delayed, most probably due to low awareness. Considerable burden of functional impairment and high healthcare utilization were found across the PKAN severity spectrum

The Spectral Zeta Function for Laplace Operators on Warped Product Manifolds of the type I×fNI\times_{f} N

In this work we study the spectral zeta function associated with the Laplace operator acting on scalar functions defined on a warped product of manifolds of the type $I\times_{f} N$ where $I$ is an interval of the real line and $N$ is a compact, $d$-dimensional Riemannian manifold either with or without boundary. Starting from an integral representation of the spectral zeta function, we find its analytic continuation by exploiting the WKB asymptotic expansion of the eigenfunctions of the Laplace operator on $M$ for which a detailed analysis is presented. We apply the obtained results to the explicit computation of the zeta regularized functional determinant and the coefficients of the heat kernel asymptotic expansion.Comment: 29 pages, LaTe

Resistance to Schistosoma mansoni is correlated with the number of spreading granulocytes in Biomphalaria glabrata

Molluscan internal defenses rely heavily on circulating hemocytes. In most cases, encounters with large foreign bodies result in recognition by hemocytes followed by spreading of these defense cells over the object’s surface. The resulting encapsulation concentrates the force of the hemocytes’ assault on the foreign object. B. glabrata snail lines obtained by self-fertilization of isolated 13-16-R1 [Oregon] individuals have yielded multiple inbred families in which genes are fixed at ~88% of the loci. Among the phenotypic traits that we have measured in 20 of these families are susceptibilities of snails to the PR1 [Oregon] strain of Schistosoma mansoni, and hematocrits of quickly spreading granulocytes present in the hemolymph.  Higher numbers of these cells predict a snail phenotype that is resistant to S. mansoni infection. Both resistant and susceptible snails are found in families with intermediate hematocrits. We infer that within the parental 13-16-R1 population hemocyte numbers are varied. When sufficiently numerous, a snail’s hemocytes can generally prevent parasitic infection. At lower hematocrits, a more complex set of variables interact to determine the outcome of an infection

Survival of molecular gas in Virgo's hot intracluster medium: CO near M86

We carried out CO(1-0) and CO(2-1) observations of 21 different regions in the vicinity of M86, NGC4438, and along the 120 kpc-long, Ha-emitting filamentary trail that connects them, aiming to test whether molecular gas can survive to be transferred from a spiral to an elliptical galaxy in Virgo's 10^7K intracluster medium (ICM). We targeted Ha-emitting regions that could be associated with the interface between cold molecular clouds and the hot ionized ICM. The data, obtained with the 30m telescope of the Institut de Radioastronomie Millimetrique, led to the detection of molecular gas close to M86. CO gas with a recession velocity that is similar to that of the stars, -265 km/s, and with a corresponding H2 mass of 2*10^7 M_sun, was detected ~10 kpc southeast of the nucleus of M86, near the peak of its HI emission. We argue that it is possible for this molecular gas either to have formed in situ from HI, or to have been stripped from NGC4438 directly in molecular form. In situ formation is nonetheless negligible for the 7*10^6 M_sun of gas detected at 12:26:15.9+12:58:49, at ~10 kpc northeast of M86, where no (strong) HI emission is present. This detection provides evidence for the survival of molecular gas in filaments for timescales of ~100 Myr. An amount equivalent to 5*10^7 M_sun of H2 gas that could be lost to the ICM or to neighboring galaxies was also discovered in the tidal tail northwest of NGC4438. A scenario of gas being alternatively brought to M86 from NGC4388 on its south was also examined but it was considered unlikely due to the non detection of CO below or at the HI stream velocities, 2000-2700 km/s.Comment: A&A, final versio

The Sloan Lens ACS Survey. VII. Elliptical Galaxy Scaling Laws from Direct Observational Mass Measurements

We use a sample of 53 massive early-type strong gravitational lens galaxies with well-measured redshifts (ranging from z=0.06 to 0.36) and stellar velocity dispersions (between 175 and 400 km/s) from the Sloan Lens ACS (SLACS) Survey to derive numerous empirical scaling relations. The ratio between central stellar velocity dispersion and isothermal lens-model velocity dispersion is nearly unity within errors. The SLACS lenses define a fundamental plane (FP) that is consistent with the FP of the general population of early-type galaxies. We measure the relationship between strong-lensing mass M_lens within one-half effective radius (R_e/2) and the dimensional mass variable M_dim = G^-1 sigma_e2^2 R_e/2 to be log_10 [M_lens/10^11 M_Sun] = (1.03 +/- 0.04) log_10 [M_dim/10^11 M_Sun] + (0.54 +/- 0.02) (where sigma_e2 is the projected stellar velocity dispersion within R_e/2). The near-unity slope indicates that the mass-dynamical structure of massive elliptical galaxies is independent of mass, and that the "tilt" of the SLACS FP is due entirely to variation in total (luminous plus dark) mass-to-light ratio with mass. Our results imply that dynamical masses serve as a good proxies for true masses in massive elliptical galaxies. Regarding the SLACS lenses as a homologous population, we find that the average enclosed 2D mass profile goes as log_10 [M(<R)/M_dim] = (1.10 +/- 0.09) log_10 [R/R_e] + (0.85 +/- 0.03), consistent with an isothermal (flat rotation curve) model when de-projected into 3D. This measurement is inconsistent with the slope of the average projected aperture luminosity profile at a confidence level greater than 99.9%, implying a minimum dark-matter fraction of f_DM = 0.38 +/- 0.07 within one effective radius. (abridged)Comment: 13 pages emulateapj; accepted for publication in the Ap

The radio properties of a complete, X-ray selected sample of nearby, massive elliptical galaxies

We investigate the radio properties of a complete sample of nearby, massive, X-ray bright elliptical and S0 galaxies. Our sample contains 18 galaxies with ROSAT All-Sky Survey X-ray fluxes Fx_(0.1-2.4 keV) > 3 x 10^(-12) erg/s/cm^2, within a distance of 100 Mpc. For these galaxies, we have complete (18/18) VLA radio and Chandra X-ray coverage. Nuclear radio emission is detected from 17/18 of the galaxies. Ten of the galaxies exhibit extended radio emission; of these ten, all but one also exhibit clear evidence of interaction of the radio source with the surrounding, X-ray emitting gas. Among the seven galaxies with unresolved radio sources, one has clear, and one has small, cavity-like features in the Chandra X-ray images; a third has a disturbed X-ray morphology. Using a radio luminosity limit equivalent to L_(1.4 Ghz) > 10^(23) W/Hz to calculate the radio-loud fraction, we find that this misses the majority of the radio detected galaxies in the sample. We determine integrated radio-to-X-ray flux ratios for the galaxies, GRx, which are shown to span a large range (factor of 100). We calculate the mass-weighted cooling times within 1 kpc, and find hints for an anticorrelation with the radio luminosity. We also calculate limits on k/f, where k is the ratio of the total particle energy to that of relativistic electrons radiating in the range 10 MHz-10 GHz and f is the volume filling factor of the plasma in the cavity. The k/f distribution is also broad, reflecting previous results for larger galaxy clusters. Lowering the X-ray flux limit, at the expense of less complete VLA and Chandra coverage, increases the size of our sample to 42 galaxies. Nuclear radio activity is detected in at least 34/42 of this extended sample.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS, 19 pages, 11 Figures and 7 Table