What is Double Parton Scattering?

Processes such as double Drell-Yan and same-sign WW production have contributions from double parton scattering, which are not well-defined because of a delta(z_\perp=0) singularity that is generated by QCD evolution. We study the single and double parton contributions to these processes, and show how to handle the singularity using factorization and operator renormalization. We compute the QCD evolution of double parton distribution functions (PDFs) due to mixing with single PDFs. The modified evolution of dPDFs at z_\perp=0, including generalized dPDFs for the non-forward case, is given in the appendix. We include a brief discussion of the experimental interpretation of dPDFs and how they can probe flavor, spin and color correlations of partons in hadrons.Comment: 7 pages, 12 figures; v2: appendix fixed and extended, journal versio

Perturbative rates and colour rearrangement effects in four-jet events at LEP2

An important issue in the direct reconstruction method of determining the W mass from q\bar q Q\bar Q events at LEP2 concerns the impact of the relatively unknown QCD interconnection effects. It has been suggested that a study of `short string' states, in which colour singlet states are formed from q \bar Q and Q\bar q pairs with small phase--space separation, could shed important light on this issue. We show that such configurations can also be generated by conventional background e^+e^-\ar 4~parton processes, in particular QCD q \bar q g g and q \bar q Q \bar Q and non--resonant electroweak q \bar q Q \bar Q production. We study the colour and kinematic structure of these background contributions, and estimate the event rate to be expected at LEP2. We find that the QCD processes are heavily suppressed, but that non--resonant q \bar q Q \bar Q production may be comparable in rate to the expected `short string' signal from W^+W^- production

Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis as a tool to extract fishing footprints and estimate fishing pressure: application to small scale coastal fisheries and implications for management in the context of the Maritime Spatial Planning Directive

In the context of the Maritime Spatial Planning Directive and with the intention of contributing to the implementation of a future maritime spatial plan, it was decided to analyze data from the small scale coastal fisheries sector of Greece and estimate the actual extent of its activities, which is largely unknown to date. To this end we identified the most influential components affecting coastal fishing: fishing capacity, bathymetry, distance from coast, Sea Surface Chlorophyll (Chl-a) concentration, legislation, marine traffic activity, trawlers and purse seiners fishing effort and no-take zones. By means of Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) conducted through a stepwise procedure, the potential fishing footprint with the corresponding fishing intensity was derived. The method provides an innovative and cost-effective way to assess the impact of the, notoriously hard to assess, coastal fleet. It was further considered how the inclusion of all relevant anthropogenic activities (besides fishing) could provide the background needed to plan future marine activities in the framework of Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) and form the basis for a more realistic management approach

Expression and function of conserved nuclear receptor genes in Caenorhabditis elegans

AbstractThe Caenorhabditis elegans genome encodes 284 nuclear receptor (NR) genes. Among these 284 NR genes are 15 genes conserved among the Metazoa. Here, we analyze the expression and function of eight heretofore uncharacterized conserved C. elegans NR genes. Reporter gene analysis demonstrates that these genes have distinct expression patterns and that a majority of the C. elegans cell types express a conserved NR gene. RNA interference with NR gene function resulted in visible phenotypes for three of the genes, revealing functions in various processes during postembryonic development. Five of the conserved NR genes are orthologs of NR genes that function during molting and metamorphosis in insects. Functional studies confirm a role for most of these ‘ecdysone cascade’ NR orthologs during the continuous growth and dauer molts. Transcript levels for these genes fluctuate in a reiterated pattern during the molting cycles, reminiscent of the expression hierarchy observed in the insect ecdysone response. Together, these analyses provide a foundation for further dissecting the role of NRs in nematode development as well as for evaluating conservation of NR functions among the Metazoa