Pion and Kaon Decay Constants: Lattice vs. Resonance Chiral Theory

The Lattice results for the pion and kaon decay constants are analysed within the Resonance Chiral Theory framework in the large NC limit. The approximately linear behaviour of the observable at large light-quark mass is explained through the interaction with the lightest multiplet of scalar resonances. The analysis of the Lattice results allows to obtain the resonance mass MS=1049 +- 25 MeV and the Chiral Perturbation Theory parameters at leading order in 1/NC.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figure

Observations and dynamical implications of active normal faulting in South Peru

SUMMARY Orogenic plateaus can exist in a delicate balance in which the buoyancy forces due to gravity acting on the high topography and thick crust of the plateau interior are balanced by the compressional forces acting across their forelands. Any shortening or extension within a plateau can indicate a perturbation to this force balance. In this study, we present new observations of the kinematics, morphology and slip rates of active normal faults in the South Peruvian Altiplano obtained from field studies, high-resolution DEMs, Quaternary dating and remote sensing. We then investigate the implications of this faulting for the forces acting on the Andes. We find that the mountains are extending ∼NNE–SSW to ∼NE–SW along a normal fault system that cuts obliquely across the Altiplano plateau, which in many places reactivates Miocene-age reverse faults. Radiocarbon dating of offset late Quaternary moraines and alluvial fan surfaces indicates horizontal extension rates across the fault system of between 1 and 4 mm yr–1—equivalent to an extensional strain rate in the range of 0.5–2 × 10−8 1 yr–1 averaged across the plateau. We suggest the rate and pattern of extension implies there has been a change in the forces exerted between the foreland and the Andes mountains. A reduction in the average shear stresses on the sub-Andean foreland detachment of ≲4 MPa (20–25 per cent of the total force) can account for the rate of extension. These results show that, within a mountain belt, the pattern of faulting is sensitive to small spatial and temporal variations in the strength of faults along their margins.Denman Baynes Senior Studentship, Clare College Cambridge Arup Santander Mobility Grant (University of Cambridge

Influence of water availability in the distributions of branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraether in soils of the Iberian Peninsula

The combined application of the MBT (degree of methylation) and CBT (degree of cyclization) indices, based on the distribution of branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (brGDGTs) in soils, has been proposed as a paleoproxy to estimate mean annual temperature (MAT). CBT quantifies the degree of cyclization of brGDGTs and relates to soil pH. MBT and the simplified version MBT' quantify the degree of methylation of brGDGTs and relate to MAT and soil pH. However, other factors such as soil water availability have also been suggested to influence MBT' and possibly restrict the combined application of the MBT' and CBT indices as a paleotemperature proxy. To assess the effect of hydrological conditions on MBT' and CBT, a set of 23 Iberian Peninsula soil samples, covering a MAT range from 10 to 18 °C and a mean annual precipitation (MAP) range of 405 mm to 1455 mm, was analyzed. We found that the CBT was indeed significantly correlated with soil pH in our sample set. In contrast, MBT' was not correlated with MAT but had a significant correlation with the aridity index (AI), a parameter related to water availability in soils. The AI can explain 50% of the variation of the MBT', and 70% of the residuals of MAT estimated with the MBT/CBT proxy as compared to instrumentally measured MAT. We propose that, in arid settings, where water may be an ecologically limiting factor, MBT' is influenced by hydrological conditions rather than temperature. Thus, our results suggest that the combination of MBT' and CBT indices should be applied with caution in paleotemperature reconstructions in soils from dry subhumid to hyperarid environments

Plant height and hydraulic vulnerability to drought and cold

Understanding how plants survive drought and cold is increasingly important as plants worldwide experience dieback with drought in moist places and grow taller with warming in cold ones. Crucial in plant climate adaptation are the diameters of water-transporting conduits. Sampling 537 species across climate zones dominated by angiosperms, we find that plant size is unambiguously the main driver of conduit diameter variation. And because taller plants have wider conduits, and wider conduits within species are more vulnerable to conduction-blocking embolisms, taller conspecifics should be more vulnerable than shorter ones, a prediction we confirm with a plantation experiment. As a result, maximum plant size should be short under drought and cold, which cause embolism, or increase if these pressures relax. That conduit diameter and embolism vulnerability are inseparably related to plant size helps explain why factors that interact with conduit diameter, such as drought or warming, are altering plant heights worldwide

Thin Sea Ice, Thick Snow, and Widespread Negative Freeboard Observed During N-ICE2015 North of Svalbard

In recent years, sea-ice conditions in the Arctic Ocean changed substantially toward a younger and thinner sea-ice cover. To capture the scope of these changes and identify the differences between individual regions, in situ observations from expeditions are a valuable data source. We present a continuous time series of in situ measurements from the N-ICE2015 expedition from January to June 2015 in the Arctic Basin north of Svalbard, comprising snow buoy and ice mass balance buoy data and local and regional data gained from electromagnetic induction (EM) surveys and snow probe measurements from four distinct drifts. The observed mean snow depth of 0.53 m for April to early June is 73% above the average value of 0.30 m from historical and recent observations in this region, covering the years 1955–2017. The modal total ice and snow thicknesses, of 1.6 and 1.7 m measured with ground-based EM and airborne EM measurements in April, May, and June 2015, respectively, lie below the values ranging from 1.8 to 2.7 m, reported in historical observations from the same region and time of year. The thick snow cover slows thermodynamic growth of the underlying sea ice. In combination with a thin sea-ice cover this leads to an imbalance between snow and ice thickness, which causes widespread negative freeboard with subsequent flooding and a potential for snow-ice formation. With certainty, 29% of randomly located drill holes on level ice had negative freeboard

Elastofibroma Dorsi

Se realiza un estudio clínico-patológico de dos casos, mujeres de 57 y 45 años, de "elastofibroma dorsi" intervenidos quirúrgicamente. En una enferma apareció como una tumoracion asintomática y en otra asociada a dolor en el hombro irradiado a miembro superior derecho. Se describen las particularizadas clínicas, las exploraciones complementarias, los hallazgos quirúrgicos y las características histológicas de estos tumores de partes blandas cuyo origen debe referirse a una alteración del tejido fibroelástico. Se confronta nuestra experiencia con los casos anteriormente publicados confirmándose su aparición en mujeres adultas o añosas dedicadas a trabajos manuales rutinarios, que parecen estar implicados en la patogenia del elastofibroma dorsi. En uno de los casos, aunque localizado en el espacio anatómico escápulo-torácico, su situación era supraescapular frente a la típicamente infraescapular del elastofibroma dorsi, y la consideramos la primera observación de la literatura.A clinical-pathological study of two cases of elastofibroma dorsi was carried out. Both patients were female, 57 and 45 years old, and underwent surgical operation. One patients was sympton-free, while the other complained of pain in the shoulder which spread to the upper right arm. The autors describe the clinical details, the diagnostic methods employed, the results of surgery and the histopathological features of these tumours which must have originated in a modification of conective tissue, especially in elastic fibres. We compare our findings with those of previously published cases and can confirm the appearence of these tumours in adults or middle-aged women who carry out rutinary manual work, which seems to be connected with the pathogeny of the elastofibroma dorsi. These are normally found adjacent to the vertebral border of the escapula at its inferior angle, but in one case ot was located in the supra-escapular region and we believe this is the first evidence of this kind in the literature

The Atlantic Ocean at the last glacial maximum: 1. Objective mapping of the GLAMAP sea-surface conditions

Recent efforts of the German paleoceanographic community have resulted in a unique data set of reconstructed sea-surface temperature for the Atlantic Ocean during the Last Glacial Maximum, plus estimates for the extents of glacial sea ice. Unlike prior attempts, the contributing research groups based their data on a common definition of the Last Glacial Maximum chronozone and used the same modern reference data for calibrating the different transfer techniques. Furthermore, the number of processed sediment cores was vastly increased. Thus the new data is a significant advance not only with respect to quality, but also to quantity. We integrate these new data and provide monthly data sets of global sea-surface temperature and ice cover, objectively interpolated onto a regular 1°x1° grid, suitable for forcing or validating numerical ocean and atmosphere models. This set is compared to an existing subjective interpolation of the same base data, in part by employing an ocean circulation model. For the latter purpose, we reconstruct sea surface salinity from the new temperature data and the available oxygen isotope measurements

Actuación preventiva de diagnóstico y control de movimientos en los edificios afectados por subsidencia en el barrio de la Estación de Sallent (Barcelona)

The present paper deals with the subsidence problem arising in buildings of a neighborhood of Sallent (Barcelona, Spain) due to the excavation of an old mine tunnels. The necessary preventative measures required to deal with this problem prior to the final evacuation of the buildings led to the thorough understanding of their technical characteristics, their damage, and the dynamics of their cracks and their safety conditions. The article presents the methodology that was followed for decision making. The data obtained allow us to know on one hand, the relationship between the movements of the soil and the buildings, and on the other, to contrast the actual behavior of the buildings due to the stresses generated by the differential settlement in their foundations.El presente artículo se refiere a la problemática de subsidencia surgida en los edificios de un barrio de la población de Sallent como consecuencia de los efectos de la excavación de las galerías subterráneas de una antigua explotación minera. Las necesarias medidas preventivas requeridas para hacer frente a dicha problemática propiciaron el conocimiento exhaustivo de las características técnico constructivas de los edificios, de sus daños y de la dinámica de sus afectaciones y condiciones de seguridad a lo largo del periodo de tiempo anterior a su definitivo desalojo. En el artículo se expone el proceso seguido para la toma de decisiones. Los datos obtenidos permiten, por una parte, conocer la relación entre los movimientos del terreno y los de los edificios, y por otra contrastar las formas reales de comportamiento de los edificios afectados frente a solicitaciones generadas por asentamientos diferenciales en sus firmes de cimentación

ERP evidence suggests executive dysfunction in ecstasy polydrug users

Background: Deficits in executive functions such as access to semantic/long-term memory have been shown in ecstasy users in previous research. Equally, there have been many reports of equivocal findings in this area. The current study sought to further investigate behavioural and electro-physiological measures of this executive function in ecstasy users. Method: Twenty ecstasy–polydrug users, 20 non-ecstasy–polydrug users and 20 drug-naïve controls were recruited. Participants completed background questionnaires about their drug use, sleep quality, fluid intelligence and mood state. Each individual also completed a semantic retrieval task whilst 64 channel Electroencephalography (EEG) measures were recorded. Results: Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) revealed no between-group differences in behavioural performance on the task. Mixed ANOVA on event-related potential (ERP) components P2, N2 and P3 revealed significant between-group differences in the N2 component. Subsequent exploratory univariate ANOVAs on the N2 component revealed marginally significant between-group differences, generally showing greater negativity at occipito-parietal electrodes in ecstasy users compared to drug-naïve controls. Despite absence of behavioural differences, differences in N2 magnitude are evidence of abnormal executive functioning in ecstasy–polydrug users

Corrections to the SU(3)×SU(3){\bf SU(3)\times SU(3)} Gell-Mann-Oakes-Renner relation and chiral couplings L8rL^r_8 and H2rH^r_2

Next to leading order corrections to the $SU(3) \times SU(3)$ Gell-Mann-Oakes-Renner relation (GMOR) are obtained using weighted QCD Finite Energy Sum Rules (FESR) involving the pseudoscalar current correlator. Two types of integration kernels in the FESR are used to suppress the contribution of the kaon radial excitations to the hadronic spectral function, one with local and the other with global constraints. The result for the pseudoscalar current correlator at zero momentum is $\psi_5(0) = (2.8 \pm 0.3) \times 10^{-3} GeV^{4}$, leading to the chiral corrections to GMOR: $\delta_K = (55 \pm 5)$. The resulting uncertainties are mostly due to variations in the upper limit of integration in the FESR, within the stability regions, and to a much lesser extent due to the uncertainties in the strong coupling and the strange quark mass. Higher order quark mass corrections, vacuum condensates, and the hadronic resonance sector play a negligible role in this determination. These results confirm an independent determination from chiral perturbation theory giving also very large corrections, i.e. roughly an order of magnitude larger than the corresponding corrections in chiral $SU(2) \times SU(2)$. Combining these results with our previous determination of the corrections to GMOR in chiral $SU(2) \times SU(2)$, $\delta_\pi$, we are able to determine two low energy constants of chiral perturbation theory, i.e. $L^r_8 = (1.0 \pm 0.3) \times 10^{-3}$, and $H^r_2 = - (4.7 \pm 0.6) \times 10^{-3}$, both at the scale of the $\rho$-meson mass.Comment: Revised version with minor correction