QCD modeling of hadron physics

We review recent developments in the understanding of meson properties as solutions of the Bethe-Salpeter equation in rainbow-ladder truncation. Included are recent results for the pseudoscalar and vector meson masses and leptonic decay constants, ranging from pions up to c\bar{c} bound states; extrapolation to b\bar{b} states is explored. We also present a new and improved calculation of F_\pi(Q^2) and an analysis of the \pi\gamma\gamma transition form factor for both \pi(140) and \pi(1330). Lattice-QCD results for propagators and the quark-gluon vertex are analyzed, and the effects of quark-gluon vertex dressing and the three-gluon coupling upon meson masses are considered.Comment: 17 pages, 19 postscript figures, contribution to the proceedings of LC05, Cairns, Australia, July 200

Synthesis of novel urethanes from a castor oil derived C22-acyloin

The synthesis of new bio-based chemical building blocks, resulting from the condensation of a renewable C-22 acyloin derived from non-edible castor oil, with mono- and bifunctional isocyanates is reported. The condensation with aliphatic mono-isocyanates was relatively straightforward, however phenyl isocyanates only resulted in low yields together with the formation of a cyclic hemi-aminal during purification. The condensation with diisocyanates was successful for the aliphatic hexamethylene diisocyanate. As for the aromatic 2,4-toluene diisocyanate, a low yield of the desired product was obtained, since a similar ring closing reaction took place. The urethanes were synthesized in order to evaluate their plasticizing and viscosity-modifying properties

Dynamic Decomposition of Spatiotemporal Neural Signals

Neural signals are characterized by rich temporal and spatiotemporal dynamics that reflect the organization of cortical networks. Theoretical research has shown how neural networks can operate at different dynamic ranges that correspond to specific types of information processing. Here we present a data analysis framework that uses a linearized model of these dynamic states in order to decompose the measured neural signal into a series of components that capture both rhythmic and non-rhythmic neural activity. The method is based on stochastic differential equations and Gaussian process regression. Through computer simulations and analysis of magnetoencephalographic data, we demonstrate the efficacy of the method in identifying meaningful modulations of oscillatory signals corrupted by structured temporal and spatiotemporal noise. These results suggest that the method is particularly suitable for the analysis and interpretation of complex temporal and spatiotemporal neural signals

Tomato marchitez virus, a new plant picorna-like virus from tomato related to tomato torrado virus

A new virus was isolated from a tomato plant from the state of Sinaloa in Mexico. This plant showed symptoms locally known as `marchitez disease¿: severe leaf necrosis, beginning at the base of the leaflets, and necrotic rings on the fruits. A virus was isolated from the infected plant consisting of isometric particles with a diameter of approximately 28¿nm. The viral genome consists of two (+)ssRNA molecules of 7221 (RNA1) and 4898¿nts (RNA2). The viral capsid contains three coat proteins of 35, 26 and 24¿kDa, respectively. The abovementioned characteristics: symptoms, morphology, number and size of coat proteins, and number of RNAs are similar to those of the previously described tomato torrado virus (ToTV). Sequence analysis of the entire viral genome shows that this new virus is related to, but distinct from, ToTV and that these members of two obviously new virus species belong to the recently proposed plant virus genus Torradovirus. For this new virus, the name tomato marchitez virus (ToMarV) is proposed

Anal canal duplication in an 11-year-old-child

Anal canal duplication (ACD) is the least frequent digestive duplication. Symptoms are often absent but tend to increase with age. Recognition is, however, important as almost half of the patients with ACD have concomitant malformations. We present the clinical history of an eleven-year-old girl with ACD followed by a review of symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis based on all the reported cases in English literature