Staircase Models from Affine Toda Field Theory

We propose a class of purely elastic scattering theories generalising the staircase model of Al. B. Zamolodchikov, based on the affine Toda field theories for simply-laced Lie algebras g=A,D,E at suitable complex values of their coupling constants. Considering their Thermodynamic Bethe Ansatz equations, we give analytic arguments in support of a conjectured renormalisation group flow visiting the neighbourhood of each W_g minimal model in turn.Comment: 22 pages, Saclay-Bologna preprint SPhT/92-065, DFUB-92-0

WORK TOGETHER… WHEN APART CHALLENGES AND WHAT IS NEED FOR EFFECTIVE VIRTUAL TEAMS

Increasingly competitive global markets and accelerating technological changes have increased the need for people to contact via electronic medium to have daily updates, the people those who could not able to meet face to face every day. Those who contact via electronic medium i.e. Virtual Team, are having number of benefit but to achieve these potential benefits, however, leaders need to overcome liabilities inherent in the lack of direct contact among team members and managers. Team members may not naturally know how to interact effectively across space and time. By this paper author try to throw some lights on the challenges that virtual team faces and try to elaborate what is needed for Virtual Team

Stress Arising from the COVID-19 Pandemic: Impacts on Coparenting Quality and Child Internalizing and Externalizing Problems

Since emerging in late 2019, the highly contagious coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has caused worldwide disruptions, with major shutdowns in school, work, and other aspects of life. These stressors uniquely impacted families with young children. The present study investigated the impact of the pandemic on family functioning and risk for child internalizing and externalizing problems during the first year after the pandemic. The study included three waves of data collection from a larger longitudinal study aimed at understanding how couples navigate the prenatal-postpartum transition and the impacts of the family on early child development. We found that family pandemic-related stress was significantly associated with increased child externalizing behaviors via poorer coparenting relationship quality as reported by mothers; however, maternal coparenting was not significantly associated with child internalizing symptoms. Interestingly, there was not a significant association between COVID-related stress and coparenting relationship quality reported by fathers, and paternal views of coparenting were not associated with child behavioral problems. Although the acute phase of the pandemic has passed, results have important implications for research and practice such as improving family communication and successfully negotiating childrearing responsibilities when parents are adapting to major life changes and disruptions to family routines

Survival with Treated and Well-Controlled Blood Pressure: Findings from a Prospective Cohort Study.

AIM: To compare survival and incident cardiovascular disease between normotensive, untreated hypertensive, treated and poorly-controlled hypertensive and treated and well-controlled hypertensive adults. METHODS AND RESULTS: Data from the British Regional Heart Study (men) and British Women's Heart and Health Study (women) were used (N = 6476). Blood pressure and treatment were assessed at baseline (1998-2001) when participants were aged 60-79 years and participants were followed up for a median of 8 years. Date and cause of death were obtained from death certificates and non-fatal cardiovascular disease events were obtained from repeat detailed medical record reviews. Of the whole cohort 52% of women and 49% of men had untreated hypertension and a further 22% and 18%, respectively, had poorly treated hypertension. Just 3% of women and 4% of men had treated and well controlled hypertension and 23% and 29%, respectively, were normotensive. Compared to normotensive individuals, incident cardiovascular disease (fatal and non-fatal) was increased in those with poorly-controlled hypertension (Hazard Ratio (HR): 1.88; 95%CI: 1.53, 2.30), those with untreated hypertension (HR 1.46; 95%CI 1.22, 1.75) and those who were well-controlled hypertension (HR 1.38; 95%CI 0.94, 2.03). Adjustment for baseline differences in mean blood pressure between the groups resulted in attenuation of the increased risk in the poorly-controlled (1.52 (1.18, 1.97) and untreated groups (1.21 (0.97, 1.52), but did not change the association in the well-controlled group. All-cause mortality was also increased in all three hypertension groups but estimates were imprecise with wide confidence intervals. CONCLUSIONS: Half of women and men aged 60-79 in Britain had untreated hypertension and only a very small proportion of those with diagnosed and treated hypertension were well controlled. Those with hypertension, irrespective of whether this was treated and controlled or not, were at greater risk of future cardiovascular disease than those who are normotensive

Polarization-controlled evolution of light transverse modes and associated Pancharatnam geometric phase in orbital angular momentum

We present an easy, efficient and fast method to generate arbitrary linear combinations of light orbital angular momentum eigenstates $\ell=\pm 2$ starting from a linearly polarized TEM$_{00}$ laser beam. The method exploits the spin-to-orbital angular momentum conversion capability of a liquid-crystal-based $q$-plate and a Dove prism inserted in a Sagnac polarizing interferometer. The nominal generation efficiency is 100\%, being limited only by reflection and scattering losses in the optical components. When closed paths are followed on the polarization Poincar\'{e} sphere of the input beam, the associated Pancharatnam geometric phase is transferred unchanged to the orbital angular momentum state of the output beam.Comment: 5 pages and 5 figure

Optimisation of quantum Monte Carlo wave function: steepest descent method

We have employed the steepest descent method to optimise the variational ground state quantum Monte Carlo wave function for He, Li, Be, B and C atoms. We have used both the direct energy minimisation and the variance minimisation approaches. Our calculations show that in spite of receiving insufficient attention, the steepest descent method can successfully minimise the wave function. All the derivatives of the trial wave function respect to spatial coordinates and variational parameters have been computed analytically. Our ground state energies are in a very good agreement with those obtained with diffusion quantum Monte Carlo method (DMC) and the exact results.Comment: 13 pages, 3 eps figure

People living with HIV and AIDS in everyday conditions of township life in South Africa: between structural constraint and individual tactics

The HIV/AIDS pandemic in South Africa has negatively transformed the lives of many in townships and rural areas. People living with AIDS (PWAs) are the socially weakened, whose means of survival include migrating, enduring gender violence, and they are thus confined to living in the margins of society. Using the concept of tactic as defined by de Certeau, this paper shows how anthropology can use the narratives of everyday life to make sense of the different ways the socially weakened create networks of support, find a cure, and generate forms of income or use running away as a means to avoid gender violence. This paper argues that if the State hopes to successfully introduce antiretroviral therapy and so turn everyday logics of survival into long-term strategies, it needs to commit itself firmly to reducing inherited forms of inequalities. Similarly, the State\'s commitment to eradicate poverty also requires it to take cognisance of the different borderline activities the socially weakened regard as avenues of survival. Rather than morally condemn such activity as a wrongdoing, the State should enhance its knowledge of the socio-economic conditions that almost coerce the socially weakened to ‘do wrong\'. The data were collected during intensive fieldworlk carried out in Alexandra township and Diepkloof (Gauteng) in 2001 - 2002, using participant observation and repeated in-depth interviews. Key words: HIV/AIDS, social anthropology, conditions of life, tactics, life narratives, structural constraint. RÉSUMÉ La pandémie du VIH/SIDA en Afrique du Sud a négativement transformé la vie de nombreux individus aussi bien dans les townships que dans les zones rurales. Les séropositifs, souffrant de discriminations, développent des moyens de survie impliquant notamment la migration ou le fait d\'accepter des violences inscrites dans des relations de genre, á l\'instar de ceux qui, nombreux, vivent aux marges de la société sud africaine.A partir du concept de tactique, défini par de Certeau, cet article montre comment l\'anthropologie peut faire usage de récits du quotidien afin de rendre compte de l\'existence de réseaux de soutiens, afin de comprendre comment ceux vivant dans les marges trouvent des soins et génèrent des formes de revenus ou bien utilisent la fuite comme moyen d\'échapper aux violences de genre. Subtiliser, braconner, ‘voler à la tire\', ou vendre des substances illicites sont certaines des tactiques de survie que ceux qui vivent aux marges utilisent pour rester en vie. L\'argument de cet article est que si l\'objectif de l\'État sud africain est d\'introduire avec succès les médicaments antirétroviraux et ainsi de favoriser pour les individus le passage de logiques quotidiennes de survie à des stratégies à long terme, il doit simultanément s\'atteler fermement à la réduction des inégalités socio-économiques héritées du passé. Parallèlement, l\'engagement de l\'État pour l\'éradication de la pauvreté nécessite également de reconnaître que certaines activités illicites ou simplement blâmables constituent des moyens de survie. Plutôt que de condamner moralement de telles activités, l\'État doit améliorer ses connaissances de la matrice socio-économique qui les génère. Les données présentées dans cet article furent collectées lors d\'enquêtes de terrain menées de 2001 à 2002 dans le township d\'Alexandra et à Diepkloof (Gauteng) et reposant à la fois sur une observation participante et des entretiens ouverts répétés. Mots clefs: VIH/SIDA, anthropologie sociale, conditions de vie, tactiques, récits de vie, contraintes structurelles. Sahara J Vol.2(1) 2005: 217-23

Spin-to-Orbital Angular Momentum Conversion and Spin-Polarization Filtering in Electron Beams

We propose the design of a space-variant Wien filter for electron beams that induces a spin half-turn and converts the corresponding spin angular momentum variation into orbital angular momentum of the beam itself by exploiting a geometrical phase arising in the spin manipulation. When applied to a spatially coherent input spin-polarized electron beam, such a device can generate an electron vortex beam, carrying orbital angular momentum. When applied to an unpolarized input beam, the proposed device, in combination with a suitable diffraction element, can act as a very effective spin-polarization filter. The same approach can also be applied to neutron or atom beams.Comment: 9 pages, 5 figure