On Bose-Einstein condensation on closed Robertson-Walker spacetimes

In this letter we summarize our analysis of Bose-Einstein condensation on closed Robertson-Walker spacetimes. In a previous work we defined an adiabatic KMS state on the Weyl-algebra of the free massive Klein-Gordon field. This state describes a free Bose gas on Robertson-Walker spacetimes. We use this state to analyze the possibility of Bose-Einstein condensation on closed Robertson-Walker spacetimes. We take into account the effects due to the finiteness of the spatial volume and show that they are not relevant in the early universe. Furthermore we show that a critical radius can be defined. The condensate disappears above the critical radius.Comment: 9 pages, 1 figure, uses elsart.cl

A KMS-like state of Hadamard type on Robertson-Walker spacetimes and its time evolution

In this work we define a new state on the Weyl algebra of the free massive scalar Klein-Gordon field on a Robertson-Walker spacetime and prove that it is a Hadamard state. The state is supposed to approximate a thermal equilibrium state on a Robertson-Walker spacetime and we call it an adiabatic KMS state. This opens the possibility to do quantum statistical mechanics on Robertson-Walker spacetimes in the algebraic framework and the analysis of the free Bose gas on Robertson-Walker spacetimes. The state reduces to an adiabatic vacuum state if the temperature is zero and it reduces to the usual KMS state if the scaling factor in the metric of the Robertson-Walker spacetime is constant. In the second part of our work we discuss the time evolution of adiabatic KMS states. The time evolution is described in terms of semigroups. We prove the existence of a propagator on the classical phase space. This defines a time evolution on the one-particle Hilbert space. We use this time evolution to analyze the evolution of the two-point function of the KMS state. The inverse temperature change is proportional to the scale factor in the metric of the Robertson-Walker spacetime, as one expects for a relativistic Bose gas.Comment: 21 pages, Latex2

Interview with Louise Lou Trucks

In her December 2014 interview with Michelle Dubert-Bellrichard, Louise “Lou” Trucks detailed her thoughts and memories of her time at Winthrop. Trucks spoke of the time period from 1960-1964 as a music and music education double major. Trucks shared the benefits of being a music major, her involvement in campus traditions and organizations, and the rigor of her studies. Trucks concludes her interview detailing her life after Winthrop in Bloomington, IN and Rochester, NY. This interview was conducted for inclusion into the Louise Pettus Archives and Special Collections Oral History Program.https://digitalcommons.winthrop.edu/oralhistoryprogram/1006/thumbnail.jp

Making Social Media More Social: A Literature Review of Academic Libraries’ Engagement and Connections Through Social Media Platforms

This chapter explores how academic libraries have used social media for broadcasting information, responsive communication, and engagement. Many libraries focus on the marketing aspect of social media, since it is a successful method of promoting events, services, and resources. However, exclusively using social media as a marketing tool ignores the best part of social media: the connections it fosters between people. The online community is just an extension of the in-person community that the academic library serves. This chapter examines the state of the literature on libraries’ use of social media through the lens of increasing engagement and connections with the community as the key to successful social media

Association mapping of genomic microdeletions and common susceptibility variants predisposing to genetic generalized epilepsies

Approximately 3% of the general population is affected by epilepsy during lifetime, making epilepsy one of the most common neurological diseases. Genetic generalized epilepsies (GGE) are the most common of genetic epilepsies and account for 20-30% of all epilepsies. GGE is subdivided into genetically determined subgroups with gradual transition, including genetic absence epilepsies (GAE), juvenile myoclonic epilepsy (JME), and epilepsy with generalized tonic-clonic seizures (EGTCS). In spite of a high heritability rate of 80% and a predominant genetic etiology, the genetic factors predisposing to GGE are still mostly unknown. In the present study, we carried out association studies to investigate whether genomic microdeletions and common susceptibility variants increase risk for GGE. To test the common disease/common variant hypothesis, genome-wide association studies (GWAS) were performed in several GGE cohorts using case-control and family-based study designs. For analysis, all patients were either pooled or stratified according to the subgroup they belong to in order to detect common or subgroupspecific risk factors, respectively. The GWAS comprised a case-control cohort of 1,523 European GGE patients and 2,454 German controls and a sample cohort of 566 European parent-offspring trios. Meta-GWAS analyses revealed significant association (P < 5.0 × 10-8) with GGE at 2p16.1 (rs35577149, meta-analysis P = 1.65E-08, OR[C] = 0.78, 95% CI 0.71 - 0.86). Significant association with JME was detected at 1q43 (rs12059546, meta-analysis P = 2.27E-08, OR[G] = 1.53, 95% CI 1.33 - 1.78). Suggestive evidence for association (P < 1.0E-05) was found for GGE at 8q12.2 (rs6999304, meta-analysis P= 1.77E-06, OR[G] = 1.33, 95% CI 1.17 - 1.51) and for GAE at 2q22.3 (rs75917352, meta-analysis P = 1.41E-07, OR[T] = 0.67, 95% CI 0.58 - 0.79). The associated regions harbor high-ranking candidate genes: CHRM3 at 1q43, VRK2 at 2p16.1, and ZEB2 at 2q22.3. Further replication efforts are necessary to elucidate whether these positional candidate genes contribute to the heritability of the common GGE syndromes. Exploring the rare variant/common disease hypothesis, we investigated the impact of six recurrent microdeletions on the genetic risk of GGE at the genomic hotspot regions 1q21.1, 15q11.2, 15q13.3, 16p11.2, 16p13.11, and 22q11.2, which had been implicated as rare genetic risk factors in a wide range of neurodevelopmental disorders. Recurrent microdeletions were assessed in 1,497 European GGE patients, 5,374 controls, and 566 GGE trios using high-resolution SNP microarrays. Considering all six microdeletion hot spots together, we found a significant excess of these microdeletions in 2,563 GGE patients versus 5,940 controls (P < 2.20E-16, OR = 7.65, 95% CI 4.59 - 13.18). Individually, significant associations with GGE were observed for the microdeletions at 15q11.2 (P = 1.12E-4, OR = 3.59, 95% CI 1.80 - 7.25), 15q13.3 (P = 5.48× 10−9) and 16p13.11 (P = 4.42E-06, OR = 17.39, 95% CI 3.86 - 159.88). In a candidate-gene approach, we tested whether exon-disrupting/removing microdeletions in the genes encoding NRXN1 and RBFOX1 confer susceptibility for GGE. We found a significant association with GGE at both loci (NRXN1: P = 0.0049; RBFOX1: P = 0.0083). However, high phenotypic variability and incomplete penetrance, resulting in apparently imperfect segregation, indicate that partial NRXN1 and RBFOX1 deletions represent susceptibility factors rather than highly penetrant mutations. The present study substantiates a role of both genomic microdeletions and common susceptibility variants in the genetic predisposition of common GGE syndromes. We strengthened the statistical evidence for associations of genetic variants at 1q43, 2p16.1, and 2q23.2 with GGE syndromes and identified a novel susceptibility locus at 8q12.2. Although individually rare, the associations of all microdeletions at 15q11.2, 15q13.3, 16p13.3, NRXN1, and RBFOX1 taken together contribute significantly to the genetic variance of GGE

An Assessment of the Effectiveness of Unannounced Safety Inspections Versus Announced Inspections in Academic Research Laboratories That Utilize Biological Hazards

Inspections are integral to comprehensive biosafety programs at academic research institutions that use a wide variety of infectious agents. However, there is no standardization of biosafety inspection procedures from institution to institution. This study analyzed results of 2,098 documented inspections conducted from January 2012 through December of 2016 performed by biosafety staff at a large Research I land grant institution in order to evaluate the effectiveness of an unannounced versus the more traditional announced approach to inspection procedure. Results demonstrated that: a) more findings were noted during unannounced inspections, therefore more accurately informing biosafety staff of the true day to day conditions of the laboratory; b) the most common findings decreased over the time; and c) over time, not only did findings noted in unannounced inspections decrease, but those noted in formalized announced inspections also decreased. Therefore, the results of this study support the implementation of unannounced inspections, specifically designed to prevent interruption of laboratorians’ work, as an adjunct to announced inspections at academic research institutions

Undoing the Dyad: Re-examining Mentorship with a Feminist Lens

Academic libraries consistently use mentoring programs to integrate new employees by sharing organizational knowledge and providing support to advance in their careers. Traditional models of mentorship are tools that help support existing power structures and keep in power those benefiting from the associated privilege. One way to interrogate traditional mentorship models and their inherent inequities is to apply a feminist lens in examining the expectations and actions of mentors and mentees. This chapter discusses how the traditional dyad mentoring model does not support everyone equally and explores alternative, inclusive models of mentorship, such as group mentoring and peer mentoring. We will connect historical context and theoretical models of mentorship with our own experiences through a feminist lens. Our goal is to highlight models that acknowledge the psychosocial aspect of mentorship, celebrate diverse identities and experiences, and seek to balance power structures

On the difference between the transition properties calculated with linear response- and equation of motion-CCSD approaches

In this work, we quantitatively investigate the difference between the linear response (LR) and the equation of motion (EOM) coupled cluster (CC) approaches in the calculation of transition properties, namely, dipole and oscillator strengths, for the most widely used truncated CC wave function, which includes single and double excitation operators. We compare systems of increasing size, where the size-extensivity may be important. Our results suggest that, for small molecules, the difference is small even with large basis sets. The difference increases with the size of the system, but it is numerically small until hundreds of electron pairs are correlated. Although these calculations may be possible in a few years, at present the EOM approach is more advantageous, albeit more approximate, because it is computationally less demanding