561 research outputs found
Kaon Zero-Point Fluctuations in Neutron Star Matter
We investigate the contribution of zero-point motion, arising from
fluctuations in kaon modes, to the ground state properties of neutron star
matter containing a Bose condensate of kaons. The zero-point energy is derived
via the thermodynamic partition function, by integrating out fluctuations for
an arbitrary value of the condensate field. It is shown that the vacuum
counterterms of the chiral Lagrangian ensure the cancellation of divergences
dependent on , the charge chemical potential, which may be regarded as an
external vector potential. The total grand potential, consisting of the
tree-level potential, the zero-point contribution, and the counterterm
potential, is extremized to yield a locally charge neutral, beta-equilibrated
and minimum energy ground state. In some regions of parameter space we
encounter the well-known problem of a complex effective potential. Where the
potential is real and solutions can be obtained, the contributions from
fluctuations are found to be small in comparison with tree-level contributions.Comment: 40 pages RevTeX, 3 epsf figure
Kaon Condensates, Nuclear Symmetry Energy and Cooling of Neutron Stars
The cooling of neutron stars by URCA processes in the kaon-condensed neutron
star matter for various forms of nuclear symmetry energy is investigated. The
kaon-nucleon interactions are described by a chiral lagrangian. Nuclear matter
energy is parametrized in terms of the isoscalar contribution and the nuclear
symmetry energy in the isovector sector. High density behaviour of nuclear
symmetry energy plays an essential role in determining the composition of the
kaon-condensed neutron star matter which in turn affects the cooling
properties. We find that the symmetry energy which decreases at higher
densities makes the kaon-condensed neutron star matter fully protonized. This
effect inhibits strongly direct URCA processes resulting in slower cooling of
neutron stars as only kaon-induced URCA cycles are present. In contrast, for
increasing symmetry energy direct URCA processes are allowed in the almost
whole density range where the kaon condensation exists.Comment: 19 pages, 8 figures, elsart clas
State and Transition Models in Space and Time – Using STMs to Understand Broad Patterns of Ecosystem Change in Iceland
Managing ecological systems sustainably requires a deep understanding of ecosystem structure and the processes driving their dynamics. Conceptual models can lead to improved management, by providing a framework for organizing knowledge about a system and identifying the causal agents of change. We developed state-and-transition models (STMs) to describe landscape changes in Iceland over three historical periods with different human influence, from pre-settlement to present days. Our models identified the set of possible states, transitions and thresholds in these ecosystems and their changes over time. To illustrate the use of these models for predicting and improving management interventions, we applied our present-day STM to a case study in the central highlands of Iceland and monitored ecosystem changes within an ongoing field experiment with two management interventions (grazing exclusion and fertilization) in areas experiencing contrasting stages of degradation. The results of the experiment broadly align with the predictions of the model and underscore the importance of conceptual frameworks for adaptive management, where the best available knowledge is used to continuously refine and update the models
Rapid cooling of magnetized neutron stars
The neutrino emissivities resulting from direct URCA processes in neutron
stars are calculated in a relativistic Dirac-Hartree approach in presence of a
magnetic field. In a quark or a hyperon matter environment, the emissivity due
to nucleon direct URCA processes is suppressed relative to that from pure
nuclear matter. In all the cases studied, the magnetic field enhances
emissivity compared to the field-free cases.Comment: 9 pages; Revtex; figure include
Present and projected future mean radiant temperature for three European cities
Present-day and projected future changes in mean radiant temperature, T mrt in one northern, one mid-, and one southern European city (represented by Gothenburg, Frankfurt, and Porto), are presented, and the concept of hot spots is adopted. Air temperature, T a , increased in all cities by 2100, but changes in solar radiation due to changes in cloudiness counterbalanced or exacerbated the effects on T mrt. The number of days with high T mrt in Gothenburg was relatively unchanged at the end of the century (+1 day), whereas it more than doubled in Frankfurt and tripled in Porto. The use of street trees to reduce daytime radiant heat load was analyzed using hot spots to identify where trees could be most beneficial. Hot spots, although varying in intensity and frequency, were generally confined to near sunlit southeast-southwest facing walls, in northeast corner of courtyards, and in open spaces in all three cities. By adding trees in these spaces, the radiant heat load can be reduced, especially in spaces with no or few trees. A set of design principles for reducing the radiant heat load is outlined based on these findings and existing literature
Kaon Condensation in the Bound-State Approach to the Skyrme Model
We explore kaon condensation using the bound-state approach to the Skyrme
model on a 3-sphere. The condensation occurs when the energy required to
produce a falls below the electron fermi level. This happens at the
baryon number density on the order of 3--4 times nuclear density.Comment: LaTeX format, 15 pages. 3 Postscript figures, compressed and
uuencode
The Inferelator: an algorithm for learning parsimonious regulatory networks from systems-biology data sets de novo
We present a method (the Inferelator) for deriving genome-wide transcriptional regulatory interactions, and apply the method to predict a large portion of the regulatory network of the archaeon Halobacterium NRC-1. The Inferelator uses regression and variable selection to identify transcriptional influences on genes based on the integration of genome annotation and expression data. The learned network successfully predicted Halobacterium's global expression under novel perturbations with predictive power similar to that seen over training data. Several specific regulatory predictions were experimentally tested and verified
Hypotension during transsphenoidal pituitary surgery associated with increase in plasma levels of brain injury markers
BACKGROUND: Patients undergoing pituitary surgery may experience short- and long-term postoperative morbidity. Intraoperative factors such as hypotension might be a contributing factor. Our aim was to investigate the association between intraoperative hypotension and postoperative plasma levels of tau, neurofilament light (NfL), and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) as markers of perioperative brain injury. METHODS: Between June 2016 and October 2017, 35 patients from the Gothenburg Pituitary Tumor Study were included. For tau, NfL, and GFAP, concentrations were measured in plasma samples collected before and immediately following surgery, and on postoperative days 1 and 5. The difference between the highest postoperative value and the value before surgery was used for analysis (∆taupeak , ∆NfLpeak , ∆GFAPpeak ). Intraoperative hypotension was defined as the area under the curve of an absolute threshold below 70 mmHg (AUC70) and a relative threshold below 20% (AUC20%) of the baseline mean arterial blood pressure. RESULTS: Plasma tau and GFAP were highest immediately following surgery and on day 1, while NfL was highest on day 5. There was a positive correlation between AUC20% and both ∆taupeak (r2  = .20, p < .001) and ∆NfLpeak (r2  = .26, p < .001). No association was found between AUC20% and GFAP or between AUC70 and ∆taupeak , ∆NfLpeak or ∆GFAPpeak . CONCLUSION: Intraoperative relative, but not absolute, hypotension was associated with increased postoperative plasma tau and NfL concentrations. Patients undergoing pituitary surgery may be vulnerable to relative hypotension, but this needs to be validated in future prospective studies
Population assessment of future trajectories in coronary heart disease mortality.
Background:
Coronary heart disease (CHD) mortality rates have been decreasing in Iceland since the 1980s, largely
reflecting improvements in cardiovascular risk factors. The purpose of this study was to predict future CHD mortality in
Iceland based on potential risk factor trends.
Methods and findings:
The previously validated IMPACT model was used to predict changes in CHD mortality between 2010 and 2040 among the projected population of Iceland aged 25–74. Calculations were based on combining: i) data on population numbers and projections (Statistics Iceland), ii) population risk factor levels and projections (Refine Reykjavik study), and iii) effectiveness of specific risk factor reductions (published meta-analyses). Projections for three contrasting
scenarios were compared: 1) If the historical risk factor trends of past 30 years were to continue, the declining death rates of past decades would level off, reflecting population ageing. 2) If recent trends in risk factors (past 5 years) continue, this would result in a death rate increasing from 49 to 70 per 100,000. This would reflect a recent plateau in previously falling cholesterol levels and recent rapid increases in obesity and diabetes prevalence. 3) Assuming that in 2040 the entire population enjoys optimal risk factor levels observed in low risk cohorts, this would prevent almost all premature CHD deaths before 2040.
Conclusions:
The potential increase in CHD deaths with recent trends in risk factor levels is alarming both for Iceland and
probably for comparable Western populations. However, our results show considerable room for reducing CHD mortality.
Achieving the best case scenario could eradicate premature CHD deaths by 2040. Public health policy interventions based
on these predictions may provide a cost effective means of reducing CHD mortality in the future
In-medium meson properties and field transformations
Since the existing calculations of the effective meson mass in nuclear medium
involve approximations, it is important to examine whether they satisfy the
general requirement of the equivalence theorem that the physical observables
should be independent of the choice of field variables. We study here
consequences of nucleon field transformations. As an illustrative case we
consider the in-medium effective pion mass calculated for the s-wave
pion-nucleon interaction in the linear density approximation. We demonstrate
that it is necessary to include the Born term explicitly in order that the
effective pion mass should obey the equivalence theorem.Comment: 10 pages, using RevTeX4. More detailed discussion, references added.
To be published in Phys. Rev.
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