Two-body Pion Absorption on 3He^3He at Threshold

It is shown that a satisfactory explanation of the ratio of the rates of the reactions $^3He(\pi^-,nn)$ and $^3He(\pi^-,np)$ for stopped pions is obtained once the effect of the short range two-nucleon components of the axial charge operator for the nuclear system is taken into account. By employing realistic models for the nucleon-nucleon interaction in the construction of these components of the axial charge operator, the predicted ratios agree with the empirical value to within 10-20\%.Comment: 19, UHPHYDOR-94-

Hints of (trans-Planckian) asymptotic freedom in semiclassical cosmology

We employ the semiclassical approximation to the Wheeler-DeWitt equation in the spatially flat de Sitter Universe to investigate the dynamics of a minimally coupled scalar field near the Planck scale. We find that, contrary to naive intuition, the effects of quantum gravitational fluctuations become negligible and the scalar field states asymptotically approach plane-waves at very early times. These states can then be used as initial conditions for the quantum states of matter to show that each mode essentially originated in the minimum energy vacuum. Although the full quantum dynamics cannot be solved exactly for the case at hand, our results can be considered as supporting the general idea of asymptotic safety in quantum gravity.Comment: 11 pages, 2 figures; replaced to match content of published versio

Rabies mortality and morbidity associated with animal bites in Africa: a case for integrated rabies disease surveillance, prevention and control: a scoping review

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this scoping review was to map the current situation and available evidence and gaps on rabies morbidity, mortality, integrated rabies surveillance programmes, and existing prevention and control strategies in Africa. METHODS: We conducted a systematic scoping review following the Joanna Briggs methodology and Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for scoping reviews checklist. Medline, Embase, CINAHL (EBSCOHost), Scopus, Web of Science and rabies web conferences were used to search for peer-reviewed publications between January 1946 and May 2020. Two researchers reviewed the studies and extracted data based on author (year) and region, study design and data collection duration, participants/comparators, interventions, control conditions/exposures and outcomes (rabies mortality and morbidity) and key findings/gaps/challenges. The results were reported narratively using Arksey and O'Malley's methodological framework. RESULTS: Electronic search yielded 2775 records, of which 43 studies were included. A total of 543 714 bite victims were censored through the included studies. Most of the victims were less than 15 years of age. The studies included rabies morbidity (21) and mortality (15) fluctuating in space and time across Africa depending on countries' rabies prevention and control practices (16). Others were surveillance (nine studies); surveillance and prevention (five studies); management and control (seven studies); and surveillance, prevention and control (six studies). We found challenges in rabies reporting, existing dog vaccination programmes and post-exposure prophylaxis availability or compliance. CONCLUSION: This study found challenges for dog rabies control and elimination in Africa and the need for a policy to drive the goal of zero dog-transmitted rabies to humans by 2030.This is an open-access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build on this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited, appropriate credit is given, any changes made indicated and the use is non-commercial (see http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/)

Casimir effect: running Newton constant or cosmological term

We argue that the instability of Euclidean Einstein gravity is an indication that the vacuum is non perturbative and contains a condensate of the metric tensor in a manner reminiscent of Yang-Mills theories. As a simple step toward the characterization of such a vacuum the value of the one-loop effective action is computed for Euclidean de Sitter spaces as a function of the curvature when the unstable conformal modes are held fixed. Two phases are found, one where the curvature is large and gravitons should be confined and another one which appears to be weakly coupled and tends to be flat. The induced cosmological constant is positive or negative in the strongly or weakly curved phase, respectively. The relevance of the Casimir effect in understanding the UV sensitivity of gravity is pointed out.Comment: Final, slightly extended version, to appear in Classical and Quantum Gravit

Sustained Weight Loss Following 12-Month Pramlintide Treatment as an Adjunct to Lifestyle Intervention in Obesity

OBJECTIVE—To assess long-term weight loss efficacy and safety of pramlintide used at different dosing regimens and in conjunction with lifestyle intervention (LSI)

Strategic responses to global challenges: The case of European banking, 1973–2000

In applying a strategy, structure, ownership and performance (SSOP) framework to three major clearing banks (ABN AMRO, UBS, Barclays), this article debates whether the conclusions generated by Whittington and Mayer about European manufacturing industry can be applied to the financial services sector. While European integration plays a key role in determining strategy, it is clear that global factors were far more important in determining management actions, leading to significant differences in structural adaptation. The article also debates whether this has led to improved performance, given the problems experienced with both geographical dispersion and diversification, bringing into question the quality of decision-making over the long term

A new measurement of the properties of the rare decay K -> pi+ e+ e-

A large low-background sample of events (10300) has been collected for the rare decay of kaons in flight K+ -> pi+ e+ e- by experiment E865 at the Brookhaven AGS. The decay products were accepted by a broad band high-resolution charged particle spectrometer with particle identification. The branching ratio (2.94 +- 0.05(stat.) +- 0.13(syst.) +- 0.05(model))*10**{-7} was determined normalizing to events from the decay chain K+ -> pi+ pi0; pi0 -> e+ e- gamma. From the analysis of the decay distributions the vector nature of this decay is firmly established now, and limits on scalar and tensor contributions are deduced. From the (e+ e-) invariant mass distribution the decay form factor f(z)=f0(1+ delta*z) (z=M(ee)**2/m(K)**2) is determined with delta=2.14 +- 0.13 +- 0.15. Chiral QCD perturbation theory predictions for the form factor are also tested, and terms beyond leading order O(p**4) are found to be important.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure