Upsilon Spectrum from NRQCD with Improved Action

We explore the effect of higher order operators in the non-relativistic formulation of QCD (NRQCD). We calculated masses in the b \bar b spectrum using quenched gauge configurations at beta = 6.0 and two different NRQCD actions which have been corrected to order mv^4 and mv^6. The two-point functions are calculated in a gauge invariant fashion. We find the general structure of the spectrum to be the same in the two cases. Using the P - 3S1 splitting we determine the inverse lattice spacings to be 2.44(4) GeV and 2.44(5) GeV for the mv^4 and mv^6 actions, respectively. We do observe shifts in the spin splittings. The hyperfine splitting is reduced by approximately 4 MeV, while the fine splitting is down by up to 10 MeV, albeit with large statistical errors.Comment: 11 pages, LaTeX2e , 4 figures, uses styles [11pt, a4wide, epsf]. A minor typo in figure 2 has been correcte

Gut Microbial Influences on the Mammalian Intestinal Stem Cell Niche

The mammalian intestinal epithelial stem cell (IESC) niche is comprised of diverse epithelial, immune, and stromal cells, which together respond to environmental changes within the lumen and exert coordinated regulation of IESC behavior. There is growing appreciation for the role of the gut microbiota in modulating intestinal proliferation and differentiation, as well as other aspects of intestinal physiology. In this review, we evaluate the diverse roles of known niche cells in responding to gut microbiota and supporting IESCs. Furthermore, we discuss the potential mechanisms by which microbiota may exert their influence on niche cells and possibly on IESCs directly. Finally, we present an overview of the benefits and limitations of available tools to study niche-microbe interactions and provide our recommendations regarding their use and standardization. The study of host-microbe interactions in the gut is a rapidly growing field, and the IESC niche is at the forefront of host-microbe activity to control nutrient absorption, endocrine signaling, energy homeostasis, immune response, and systemic health

Exploring Adaptive Management for Greater Sage Grouse in Northern Montana in the Face of Climate Change

A collaboration has begun in Montana among several state and federal agencies and non-governmental organizations interested in the management of greater sage grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) in a > 5,000,000-ac (> 20,234-ha) landscape including the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge. The first step was conducting personal interviews with field biologists and managers in the general area to assess what management actions they are making. Using this information, we conducted an on-line survey to further identify those actions and how they are made. Finally, almost 40 managers and scientists met to discuss whether an adaptive management approach might be useful to gain an understanding of the interaction among habitats and management actions and how this will be affected by annual weather and climate patterns. A conceptual model of how these factors affect the life cycle of grouse has been drafted, and we are gathering comments on it. The intent is for that to be used as an ecological response model for assessing the effects of possible climate change scenarios. Future work will entail: (1) further delineation of management actions and the social networks associated with them, (2) building and evaluating a working model using rapid prototype methods, (3) conducting futures analyses of associated landscapes, (4) continuing to foster collaborative effort, and (5) working one-onone with managers to evaluate model and adaptive management applicability using such tools as LCMAP (Landscape Conservation Management and Analysis Portal)

Scaling of the B and D meson spectrum in lattice QCD

We give results for the $B$ and the $D$ meson spectrum using NRQCD on the lattice in the quenched approximation. The masses of radially and orbitally excited states are calculated as well as $S$-wave hyperfine and $P$-wave fine structure. Radially excited $P$-states are observed for the first time. Radial and orbital excitation energies match well to experiment, as does the strange-non-strange $S$-wave splitting. We compare the light and heavy quark mass dependence of various splittings to experiment. Our $B$-results cover a range in lattice spacings of more than a factor of two. Our $D$-results are from a single lattice spacing and we compare them to numbers in the literature from finer lattices using other methods. We see no significant dependence of physical results on the lattice spacing. PACS: 11.15.Ha 12.38.Gc 14.40.Lb 14.40.NdComment: 78 pages, 29 tables, 30 figures Revised version. Minor corrections to spelling and wordin

Aberrant miR-29 is a predictive feature of severe phenotypes in pediatric Crohn’s disease

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Aberrant miR-29 is a predictive feature of severe phenotypes in pediatric Crohn’s disease

Funding Information: This work was supported by 5P01DK094779 (NIH/NIDDK) awarded to SZS, TSF, and PS; the NIDDK R01 DK136262 awarded to SZS; and 5R21HD104922-02 (NIH/NICHD) awarded to PS. We would also like to thank BioRender for its help in creating our graphical abstract.Peer reviewe

Comparative Study of full QCD Hadron Spectrum and Static Quark Potential with Improved Actions

We investigate effects of action improvement on the light hadron spectrum and the static quark potential in two-flavor QCD for $a^{-1} \approx 1$ GeV and $m_{PS}/m_V = 0.7-0.9$. We compare a renormalization group improved action with the plaquette action for gluons, and the SW-clover action with the Wilson action for quarks. We find a significant improvement in the hadron spectrum by improving the quark action, while the gluon improvement is crucial for a rotationally invariant static potential. We also explore the region of light quark masses corresponding to $m_{PS}/m_V \geq 0.4$ on a 2.7 fm lattice using the improved gauge and quark action. A flattening of the potential is not observed up to 2 fm.Comment: LaTeX, 35 pages, 22 eps figures, uses revtex and eps

Quenched QCD with O(a) improvement: I. The spectrum of light hadrons

We present a comprehensive study of the masses of pseudoscalar and vector mesons, as well as octet and decuplet baryons computed in O(a) improved quenched lattice QCD. Results have been obtained using the non-perturbative definition of the improvement coefficient c_sw, and also its estimate in tadpole improved perturbation theory. We investigate effects of improvement on the incidence of exceptional configurations, mass splittings and the parameter J. By combining the results obtained using non-perturbative and tadpole improvement in a simultaneous continuum extrapolation we can compare our spectral data to experiment. We confirm earlier findings by the CP-PACS Collaboration that the quenched light hadron spectrum agrees with experiment at the 10% level.Comment: 36 pages, 7 postscript figures, REVTEX; typo in Table XVIII corrected; extended discussion of finite-size effects in sections III and VII; version to appear in Phys. Rev.

Nature-Based Interventions for Improving Health and Wellbeing : The Purpose, the People and the Outcomes

Engagement with nature is an important part of many people's lives, and the health and wellbeing benefits of nature-based activities are becoming increasingly recognised across disciplines from city planning to medicine. Despite this, urbanisation, challenges of modern life and environmental degradation are leading to a reduction in both the quantity and the quality of nature experiences. Nature-based health interventions (NBIs) can facilitate behavioural change through a somewhat structured promotion of nature-based experiences and, in doing so, promote improved physical, mental and social health and wellbeing. We conducted a Delphi expert elicitation process with 19 experts from seven countries (all named authors on this paper) to identify the different forms that such interventions take, the potential health outcomes and the target beneficiaries. In total, 27 NBIs were identified, aiming to prevent illness, promote wellbeing and treat specific physical, mental or social health and wellbeing conditions. These interventions were broadly categorized into those that change the environment in which people live, work, learn, recreate or heal (for example, the provision of gardens in hospitals or parks in cities) and those that change behaviour (for example, engaging people through organized programmes or other activities). We also noted the range of factors (such as socioeconomic variation) that will inevitably influence the extent to which these interventions succeed. We conclude with a call for research to identify the drivers influencing the effectiveness of NBIs in enhancing health and wellbeing.Peer reviewe