Temperature dependent orbital degree of freedom in a bilayer manganite by magnetic Compton scattering

We have measured temperature-dependent magnetic Compton profiles (MCPs) from a single crystal of La$_{1.2}$Sr$_{1.8}$Mn$_2$O$_7$. The MCPs, which involved the scattering of circularly polarized x-rays, are in general related to the momentum density of all the unpaired spins in the system. Nevertheless, we show that when the x-ray scattering vector lies along the [110] direction, the number of magnetic electrons of a specific symmetry, i.e. $d$-electrons of $x^2-y^2$ symmetry, yield a distinct signature in the MCP, allowing us to monitor substantial changes in the occupancy of the $d_{x^2-y^2}$ states over the investigated temperature range of 5-200K. This study indicates that magnetic Compton scattering can provide a powerful window on the properties of specific magnetic electrons in complex materials.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, to appear in Phys. Rev. Let

On the nucleon self-energy in nuclear matter

We consider the nucleon self-energy in nuclear matter in the absence of Pauli blocking. It is evaluated using the partial-wave analysis of $NN$ scattering data. Our results are compared with that of a realistic calculation to estimate the effect of this blocking. It is also possible to use our results as a check on the realistic calculations.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figure

Three-dimensional light-matter interface for collective spin squeezing in atomic ensembles

We study the three-dimensional nature of the quantum interface between an ensemble of cold, trapped atomic spins and a paraxial laser beam, coupled through a dispersive interaction. To achieve strong entanglement between the collective atomic spin and the photons, one must match the spatial mode of the collective radiation of the ensemble with the mode of the laser beam while minimizing the effects of decoherence due to optical pumping. For ensembles coupling to a probe field that varies over the extent of the cloud, the set of atoms that indistinguishably radiates into a desired mode of the field defines an inhomogeneous spin wave. Strong coupling of a spin wave to the probe mode is not characterized by a single parameter, the optical density, but by a collection of different effective atom numbers that characterize the coherence and decoherence of the system. To model the dynamics of the system, we develop a full stochastic master equation, including coherent collective scattering into paraxial modes, decoherence by local inhomogeneous diffuse scattering, and backaction due to continuous measurement of the light entangled with the spin waves. This formalism is used to study the squeezing of a spin wave via continuous quantum nondemolition (QND) measurement. We find that the greatest squeezing occurs in parameter regimes where spatial inhomogeneities are significant, far from the limit in which the interface is well approximated by a one-dimensional, homogeneous model.Comment: 24 pages, 7 figure

MACS: Multi-agent COTR system for Defense Contracting

The field of intelligent multi-agent systems has expanded rapidly in the recent past. Multi-agent architectures and systems are being investigated and continue to develop. To date, little has been accomplished in applying multi-agent systems to the defense acquisition domain. This paper describes the design, development, and related considerations of a multi-agent system in the area of procurement and contracting for the defense acquisition community

Proof-Pattern Recognition and Lemma Discovery in ACL2

We present a novel technique for combining statistical machine learning for proof-pattern recognition with symbolic methods for lemma discovery. The resulting tool, ACL2(ml), gathers proof statistics and uses statistical pattern-recognition to pre-processes data from libraries, and then suggests auxiliary lemmas in new proofs by analogy with already seen examples. This paper presents the implementation of ACL2(ml) alongside theoretical descriptions of the proof-pattern recognition and lemma discovery methods involved in it

Mediterranean Diet as a Shield against Male Infertility and Cancer Risk Induced by Environmental Pollutants: A Focus on Flavonoids

The role of environmental factors in influencing health status is well documented. Heavy metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls, dioxins, pesticides, ultrafine particles, produced by human activities put a strain on the body’s entire defense system. Therefore, together with public health measures, evidence-based individual resilience measures are necessary to mitigate cancer risk under environmental stress and to prevent reproductive dysfunction and non-communicable diseases; this is especially relevant for workers occupationally exposed to pollutants and/or populations residing in highly polluted areas. The Mediterranean diet is characterized by a high intake of fruits and vegetables rich in flavonoids, that can promote the elimination of pollutants in tissues and fluids and/or mitigate their effects through different mechanisms. In this review, we collected evidence from pre-clinical and clinical studies showing that the impairment of male fertility and gonadal development, as well as cancers of reproductive system, due to the exposure of organic and inorganic pollutants, may be counteracted by flavonoids

Semen Analysis in “Urology-Naïve” Patients: A Chance of Uroandrological Screening in Young Males

(1) Background: While females start their gynecological examinations during puberty, only few men decide to be visited by urologists in their youth. Given the participation in the EcoFoodFertility research project, our department had the opportunity to screen young males that were supposedly healthy. (2) Results: from January 2019 to July 2020, we evaluated 157 patients with sperm, blood analysis, and uroandrological examinations. The inclusion criteria were age 18–40 and absence of previous urological disease (urology-naïve). The primary endpoint of the study was to record uroandrological diseases that are occasionally discovered during examination in asymptomatic young men. The average age was 26.9 years (range 18–40); average testicular volume was 15.7 mL (range 12–22 mL); and 45.2% reported abnormal semen analysis: 62 cases of teratozoospermia, 27 asthenozoospermia, 18 oligozoospermia, and 2 azoospermia were discovered respectively; 4/157 patients were diagnosed with hypogonadism; 2 cases with suspicious testicular mass resulted in testicular cancer; and 31 suspected varicoceles and 8 patients with mild sexual dysfunctions were managed. (3) Conclusions: an uroandrological evaluation of young asymptomatic males allowed for the prompt diagnosis of different urological conditions, including cancerous ones, in our series. Despite being debatable, combining urological counselling with physical examination, semen analysis, and a laboratory profile could be useful and cost-effective in order to ameliorate male health

Out-of-hospital cardiac arrests in a large metropolitan area : synergistic effect of exposure to air particulates and high temperature

Aims: Air pollution and climate change are intrinsically linked to emerging hazards for global health. High air particulate matter (PM) levels may trigger out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). High temperature could act synergistically with PM in determining OHCA. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of PM exposure alone, and in combination with temperature, on the risk of OHCA, in a large European metropolitan area with population >4 million. Methods: We evaluated the association between short-term PM exposure, temperature, and the risk of OHCA over a two-year study period, allowing us to investigate 5761 events using a time-stratified case-crossover design combined with a distributed lag non-linear model. Results: Higher risk of OHCA was associated with short-term exposure to PM10. The strongest association was experienced three days before the cardiac event where the estimated change in risk was 1.70% (0.48\u20132.93%) per 10 \ub5g/m3 of PM. The cumulative exposure risk over the lags 0\u20136 was 8.5% (0.0\u201317.9%). We observed a joint effect of PM and temperature in triggering cardiac arrests, with a maximum effect of 14.9% (10.0\u201320.0%) increase, for high levels of PM before the cardiac event, in the presence of high temperature. Conclusion: The present study helps to clarify the controversial role of PM as OHCA determinant. It also highlights the role of increased temperature as a key factor in triggering cardiac events. This evidence suggests that tackling both air pollution and climate change might have a relevant impact in terms of public health