Muon anomalous magnetic moment from effective supersymmetry

We present a detailed analysis on the possible maximal value of the muon (g-2) (= 2 a_mu) within the context of effective SUSY models with R parity conservation. First of all, the mixing among the second and the third family sleptons can contribute at one loop level to the a_mu(SUSY) and tau -> mu gamma simultaneously. One finds that the a_mu(SUSY) can be as large as (10-20)*10^-10 for any tan beta, imposing the upper limit on the tau -> mu gamma branching ratio. Furthermore, the two-loop Barr-Zee type contributions to a_mu(SUSY) can be significant for large tan beta, if a stop is light and mu and A_t are large enough (O(1) TeV). In this case, it is possible to have a_mu(SUSY) upto O(10)*10^-10 without conflicting with tau -> l gamma. We conclude that the possible maximal value for a_mu(SUSY) is about 20*10^-10 for any tan beta. Therefore the BNL experiment on the muon a_mu can exclude the effective SUSY models only if the measured deviation is larger than \sim 30*10^-10.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figure

Jet Fragmentation via Recombination of Parton Showers

We study hadron production in jets by applying quark recombination to jet shower partons. With the jet showers obtained from PYTHIA and augmented by additional non-perturbative effects, we compute hadron spectra in e+ + e-collisions at sqrt(s)=200 GeV. Including contributions from resonance decays, we find that the resulting transverse momentum spectra for pions, kaons, and protons reproduce reasonably those from the string fragmentation as implemented in PYTHIA.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, contribution to Nucleus-Nucleus Collisions 201

Three Dimensional Structure and Energy Balance of a Coronal Mass Ejection

The Ultraviolet Coronagraph Spectrometer (UVCS) observed Doppler shifted material of a partial Halo Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) on December 13 2001. The observed ratio of [O V]/O V] is a reliable density diagnostic important for assessing the state of the plasma. Earlier UVCS observations of CMEs found evidence that the ejected plasma is heated long after the eruption. We have investigated the heating rates, which represent a significant fraction of the CME energy budget. The parameterized heating and radiative and adiabatic cooling have been used to evaluate the temperature evolution of the CME material with a time dependent ionization state model. The functional form of a flux rope model for interplanetary magnetic clouds was also used to parameterize the heating. We find that continuous heating is required to match the UVCS observations. To match the O VI-bright knots, a higher heating rate is required such that the heating energy is greater than the kinetic energy. The temperatures for the knots bright in Ly$\alpha$ and C III emission indicate that smaller heating rates are required for those regions. In the context of the flux rope model, about 75% of the magnetic energy must go into heat in order to match the O VI observations. We derive tighter constraints on the heating than earlier analyses, and we show that thermal conduction with the Spitzer conductivity is not sufficient to account for the heating at large heights.Comment: 40 pages, 16 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ For associated mpeg file, please see https://www.cora.nwra.com/~jylee/mpg/f5.mp

Trauma histories among justice-involved youth: findings from the National Child Traumatic Stress Network.

BackgroundUp to 90% of justice-involved youth report exposure to some type of traumatic event. On average, 70% of youth meet criteria for a mental health disorder with approximately 30% of youth meeting criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Justice-involved youth are also at risk for substance use and academic problems, and child welfare involvement. Yet, less is known about the details of their trauma histories, and associations among trauma details, mental health problems, and associated risk factors.ObjectiveThis study describes detailed trauma histories, mental health problems, and associated risk factors (i.e., academic problems, substance/alcohol use, and concurrent child welfare involvement) among adolescents with recent involvement in the juvenile justice system.MethodThe National Child Traumatic Stress Network Core Data Set (NCTSN-CDS) is used to address these aims, among which 658 adolescents report recent involvement in the juvenile justice system as indexed by being detained or under community supervision by the juvenile court.ResultsAge of onset of trauma exposure was within the first 5 years of life for 62% of youth and approximately one-third of youth report exposure to multiple or co-occurring trauma types each year into adolescence. Mental health problems are prevalent with 23.6% of youth meeting criteria for PTSD, 66.1% in the clinical range for externalizing problems, and 45.5% in the clinical range for internalizing problems. Early age of onset of trauma exposure was differentially associated with mental health problems and related risk factors among males and females.ConclusionsThe results indicate that justice-involved youth report high rates of trauma exposure and that this trauma typically begins early in life, is often in multiple contexts, and persists over time. Findings provide support for establishing trauma-informed juvenile justice systems that can respond to the needs of traumatized youth

The locally covariant Dirac field

We describe the free Dirac field in a four dimensional spacetime as a locally covariant quantum field theory in the sense of Brunetti, Fredenhagen and Verch, using a representation independent construction. The freedom in the geometric constructions involved can be encoded in terms of the cohomology of the category of spin spacetimes. If we restrict ourselves to the observable algebra the cohomological obstructions vanish and the theory is unique. We establish some basic properties of the theory and discuss the class of Hadamard states, filling some technical gaps in the literature. Finally we show that the relative Cauchy evolution yields commutators with the stress-energy-momentum tensor, as in the scalar field case.Comment: 36 pages; v2 minor changes, typos corrected, updated references and acknowledgement

The evolution of gregariousness in parasitoid wasps

Data are assembled on the clutch-size strategies adopted by extant species of parasitoid wasp. These data are used to reconstruct the history of clutch-size evolution in the group using a series of plausible evolutionary assumptions. Extant families are either entirely solitary, both solitary and gregarious, or else clutch size is unknown. Parsimony analysis suggests that the ancestors of most families were solitary, a result which is robust to different phylogenetic relationships and likely data inadequacies. This implies that solitariness was ubiquitous throughout the initial radiation of the group, and that transitions to gregariousness have subsequently occurred a minimum of 43 times in several, but not all lineages. Current data suggest that species-rich and small-bodied lineages are more likely to have evolved gregariousness, and contain more species with small gregarious brood sizes. I discuss the implications of these data for clutch-size theory

Feedback Heating by Cosmic Rays in Clusters of Galaxies

Recent observations show that the cooling flows in the central regions of galaxy clusters are highly suppressed. Observed AGN-induced cavities/bubbles are a leading candidate for suppressing cooling, usually via some form of mechanical heating. At the same time, observed X-ray cavities and synchrotron emission point toward a significant non-thermal particle population. Previous studies have focused on the dynamical effects of cosmic-ray pressure support, but none have built successful models in which cosmic-ray heating is significant. Here we investigate a new model of AGN heating, in which the intracluster medium is efficiently heated by cosmic-rays, which are injected into the ICM through diffusion or the shredding of the bubbles by Rayleigh-Taylor or Kelvin-Helmholtz instabilities. We include thermal conduction as well. Using numerical simulations, we show that the cooling catastrophe is efficiently suppressed. The cluster quickly relaxes to a quasi-equilibrium state with a highly reduced accretion rate and temperature and density profiles which match observations. Unlike the conduction-only case, no fine-tuning of the Spitzer conduction suppression factor f is needed. The cosmic ray pressure, P_c/P_g <~ 0.1 and dP_c/dr <~ 0.1 \rho g, is well within observational bounds. Cosmic ray heating is a very attractive alternative to mechanical heating, and may become particularly compelling if GLAST detects the gamma-ray signature of cosmic-rays in clusters.Comment: Revised version accepted for publication in MNRAS. Significantly expanded discussion and new simulations exploring parameter space/model robustness; conclusions unchange

Antrodia cinnamomea reduces obesity and modulates the gut microbiota in high-fat diet-fed mice.

BackgroundObesity is associated with gut microbiota dysbiosis, disrupted intestinal barrier and chronic inflammation. Given the high and increasing prevalence of obesity worldwide, anti-obesity treatments that are safe, effective and widely available would be beneficial. We examined whether the medicinal mushroom Antrodia cinnamomea may reduce obesity in mice fed with a high-fat diet (HFD).MethodsMale C57BL/6J mice were fed a HFD for 8 weeks to induce obesity and chronic inflammation. The mice were treated with a water extract of A. cinnamomea (WEAC), and body weight, fat accumulation, inflammation markers, insulin sensitivity and the gut microbiota were monitored.ResultsAfter 8 weeks, the mean body weight of HFD-fed mice was 39.8±1.2 g compared with 35.8±1.3 g for the HFD+1% WEAC group, corresponding to a reduction of 4 g or 10% of body weight (P&lt;0.0001). WEAC supplementation reduced fat accumulation and serum triglycerides in a statistically significant manner in HFD-fed mice. WEAC also reversed the effects of HFD on inflammation markers (interleukin-1β, interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor-α), insulin resistance and adipokine production (leptin and adiponectin). Notably, WEAC increased the expression of intestinal tight junctions (zonula occludens-1 and occludin) and antimicrobial proteins (Reg3g and lysozyme C) in the small intestine, leading to reduced blood endotoxemia. Finally, WEAC modulated the composition of the gut microbiota, reducing the Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio and increasing the level of Akkermansia muciniphila and other bacterial species associated with anti-inflammatory properties.ConclusionsSupplementation with A. cinnamomea produces anti-obesogenic, anti-inflammatory and antidiabetic effects in HFD-fed mice by maintaining intestinal integrity and modulating the gut microbiota