The nucleon-sigma coupling constant in QCD Sum Rules

The external-field QCD Sum Rules method is used to evaluate the coupling constant of the light isoscalar-scalar meson (``$\sigma$'' or \epsilon) to the nucleon. The contributions that come from the excited nucleon states and the response of the continuum threshold to the external field are calculated. The obtained value of the coupling constant is compatible with the large value required in one-boson exchange potential models of the two-nucleon interaction.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figure

Исследование семантических распределенных параметров информационных компонент системы защиты

A real time quantitative PCR combined with propidium monoazide (PMA) treatment of samples was implemented to quantify live C. jejuni, C. coli and C. lari on broiler chicken carcasses at selected processing steps in the slaughterhouse. The samples were enumerated by culture for comparison. The Campylobacter counts determined with the PMA-qPCR and the culture method were not concordant. We conclude that the qPCR combined with PMA treatment of the samples did not fully reduce the signal from dead cells

Decade-Scale Trend in Sea Water Salinity Revealed Through δ18O Analysis of Montastraea annularis Annual Growth Bands

Stable oxygen isotope ratios (δ18O) of coral skeletons are influenced by ambient water temperature and by the oxygen isotope ratio in the surrounding sea water, which, in turn, is linked to evaporation (salinity) and precipitation. To investigate this relationship more thoroughly, we collected hourly temperature data from the Hen and Chickens Reef in the Florida Keys between 1975 and 1988 and compared them to the δ18O of Montastraea annularis skeleton that grew during the same interval. To ensure that we obtained the correct oxygen isotopic range in the skeleton we typically sampled the coral at a resolution of 20–30 samples in 1 year; in 1 year we sampled the coral at a resolution of 70 samples·year−1. Despite our high-resolution sampling, we were unable to obtain the full temperature-induced δ18O range in the skeleton. Our data suggest that, during the summer, evaporation causes isotopic enrichment in the water, partially masking the temperature-induced signal. Our data also show that oxygen isotopic composition of seawater at the reef has increased since 1981. This increase indicates that salinity has increased slightly during the past decade, perhaps as a result of increased evaporation in waters of Florida Bay and the Keys. This phenomenon is probably not caused by a decrease in the outflow of freshwater into Florida Bay from the Everglades but may be related to the measured deficit in precipitation that has occurred over the past decade

Soft-core meson-baryon interactions. II. πN\pi N and K+NK^+ N scattering

The $\pi N$ potential includes the t-channel exchanges of the scalar-mesons $\sigma$ and f_0, vector-meson $\rho$, tensor-mesons f_2 and f_2' and the Pomeron as well as the s- and u-channel exchanges of the nucleon N and the resonances $\Delta$, Roper and S_{11}. These resonances are not generated dynamically. We consider them as, at least partially, genuine three-quark states and we treat them in the same way as the nucleon. The latter two resonances were needed to find the proper behavior of the phase shifts at higher energies in the corresponding partial waves. The soft-core $\pi N$-model gives an excellent fit to the empirical $\pi N$ S- and P-wave phase shifts up to T_{lab}=600 MeV. Also the scattering lengths have been reproduced well and the soft-pion theorems for low-energy $\pi N$ scattering are satisfied. The soft-core model for the $K^+ N$ interaction is an SU_f(3)-extension of the soft-core $\pi N$-model. The $K^+ N$ potential includes the t-channel exchanges of the scalar-mesons a_0, $\sigma$ and f_0, vector-mesons $\rho$, $\omega$ and $\phi$, tensor-mesons a_2, f_2 and f_2' and the Pomeron as well as u-channel exchanges of the hyperons $\Lambda$ and $\Sigma$. The fit to the empirical $K^+ N$ S-, P- and D-wave phase shifts up to T_{lab}=600 MeV is reasonable and certainly reflects the present state of the art. Since the various $K^+ N$ phase shift analyses are not very consistent, also scattering observables are compared with the soft-core $K^+ N$-model. A good agreement for the total and differential cross sections as well as the polarizations is found.Comment: 24 pages, 20 PostScript figures, revtex4, submitted to Phys. Rev.

The effect of the application of mono-lauric acid with glycerol mono-laurate in weaned piglets, on the use of antimicrobials in sow herds

The Dutch government has obliged the pig industry to reduce the use of antimicrobials at farm level with 50% by 2013. The search for alternatives for antimicrobials and other tools which can improve the health status of the farm is intensified. One example of an alternative for antimicrobials is Daafit, a combination of lauric acid and glycerol-mono-laurate, produced by the firm Daavision B.V.

Comment on piNN Coupling from High Precision np Charge Exchange at 162 MeV

In this updated and expanded version of our delayed Comment we show that the np backward cross section, as presented by the Uppsala group, is seriously flawed (more than 25 sd.). The main reason is the incorrect normalization of the data. We show also that their extrapolation method, used to determine the charged piNN coupling constant, is a factor of about 10 less accurate than claimed by Ericson et al. The large extrapolation error makes the determination of the coupling constant by the Uppsala group totally uninteresting.Comment: 5 pages, latex2e with a4wide.sty. This is an updated and extended version of the Comment published in Phys. Rev. Letters 81, 5253 (1998

The hyperon-nucleon interaction: conventional versus effective field theory approach

Hyperon-nucleon interactions are presented that are derived either in the conventional meson-exchange picture or within leading order chiral effective field theory. The chiral potential consists of one-pseudoscalar-meson exchanges and non-derivative four-baryon contact terms. With regard to meson-exchange hyperon-nucleon models we focus on the new potential of the Juelich group, whose most salient feature is that the contributions in the scalar--isoscalar (\sigma) and vector--isovector (\rho) exchange channels are constrained by a microscopic model of correlated \pi\pi and KKbar exchange.Comment: 28 pages, 8 figures, submitted to Lecture Notes in Physic

Semiclassical quantization of SU(3) skyrmions

Semiclassical quantization of the SU(3)-skyrmions is performed by means of the collective coordinate method. The quantization condition known for the SU(2)-solitons quantized with SU(3) collective coordinates is generalized for the SU(3) skyrmions with strangeness content different from zero. Quantization of the dipole-type configuration with large strangeness content found recently is considered as an example, the spectrum and the mass splitting of the quantized states are estimated. The energy and baryon number density of SU(3) skyrmions are presented in the form emphasizing their symmetry in different SU(2) subgroups of SU(3), and the lower boundary for the static energy of SU(3) skyrmions is derived.Comment: 16 pages, 2 figures (available upon request). Submitted to JETP on May 6, 1997; in print. A preliminary short version of this paper is hep-th/960916

Therapeutic and educational objectives in robot assisted play for children with autism

“This material is presented to ensure timely dissemination of scholarly and technical work. Copyright and all rights therein are retained by authors or by other copyright holders. All persons copying this information are expected to adhere to the terms and constraints invoked by each author's copyright. In most cases, these works may not be reposted without the explicit permission of the copyright holder." “Copyright IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. However, permission to reprint/republish this material for advertising or promotional purposes or for creating new collective works for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or to reuse any copyrighted component of this work in other works must be obtained from the IEEE.” DOI: 10.1109/ROMAN.2009.5326251This article is a methodological paper that describes the therapeutic and educational objectives that were identified during the design process of a robot aimed at robot assisted play. The work described in this paper is part of the IROMEC project (Interactive Robotic Social Mediators as Companions) that recognizes the important role of play in child development and targets children who are prevented from or inhibited in playing. The project investigates the role of an interactive, autonomous robotic toy in therapy and education for children with special needs. This paper specifically addresses the therapeutic and educational objectives related to children with autism. In recent years, robots have already been used to teach basic social interaction skills to children with autism. The added value of the IROMEC robot is that play scenarios have been developed taking children's specific strengths and needs into consideration and covering a wide range of objectives in children's development areas (sensory, communicational and interaction, motor, cognitive and social and emotional). The paper describes children's developmental areas and illustrates how different experiences and interactions with the IROMEC robot are designed to target objectives in these areas.Final Published versio

Kaon photoproduction: background contributions, form factors and missing resonances

The photoproduction p(gamma, K+)Lambda process is studied within a field-theoretic approach. It is shown that the background contributions constitute an important part of the reaction dynamics. We compare predictions obtained with three plausible techniques for dealing with these background contributions. It appears that the extracted resonance parameters drastically depend on the applied technique. We investigate the implications of the corrections to the functional form of the hadronic form factor in the contact term, recently suggested by Davidson and Workman (Phys. Rev. C 63, 025210). The role of background contributions and hadronic form factors for the identification of the quantum numbers of ``missing'' resonances is discussed.Comment: 11 pages, 7 eps figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.