Convergence properties of Taylor expansions of observables, which are also used in lattice QCD calculations at non-zero chemical potential, are analyzed in an effective Nf=2+1 flavor Polyakov ...quark–meson model. A recently developed algorithmic technique allows the calculation of higher-order Taylor expansion coefficients in functional approaches. This novel technique is for the first time applied to an effective Nf=2+1 flavor Polyakov quark–meson model and the findings are compared with the full model solution at finite densities. The results are used to discuss prospects for locating the QCD phase boundary and a possible critical endpoint in the phase diagram.
To establish a classification of bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) that includes both leaflet morphology and aortic shape.
Two academic medical centres of the University of Washington, Seattle.
191 adult ...patients with BAV.
Review of clinical data and transthoracic echocardiograms.
Assessment of leaflet morphology; valve function; aortic shape and dimensions.
We identified three morphologies: type 1, fusion of right and left coronary cusp (n = 152); type 2, right and non-coronary fusion (n = 39); and type 3, left and non-coronary fusion (n = 1). Comparing type 1 and 2 BAV, there were no significant differences in age, height, weight, blood pressure or aortic valve function. Type 1 was more common in men (69 vs 45%). The aortic sinuses were larger in type 1, while type 2 had larger arch dimensions. Myxomatous mitral valves were more common in type 2 BAV (13% vs 2.6%, p<0.05). Three aortic shapes were defined: normal (N), sinus effacement (E), and ascending dilatation (A). Comparing type 1 to type 2 BAV, shape N was more common in type 1 (60% vs 32%), and type A was more common in type 2 (35% vs 54%,); type E was rare (p<0.01 across all groups).
A comprehensive BAV phenotype includes aortic shape. Type 1 BAV is associated with male gender and normal aortic shape but a larger sinus diameter. Type 2 leaflet morphology is associated with ascending aorta dilatation , larger arch dimensions and higher prevalence of myxomatous mitral valve disease.
Novel order parameters for the confinement-deconfinement phase transition of quenched QCD and fundamentally charged scalar QCD are presented. Similar to the well-known dual condensate, they are ...defined via generalized matter propagators with U(1)-valued boundary conditions. The order parameters are easily accessible with functional methods. Their validity and accessibility is explicitly demonstrated by numerical studies of the Dyson–Schwinger equations for the matter propagators. Even in the case of heavy scalar matter, where the propagator does not show a signature of the phase transition, a discontinuity due to the transition can be extracted in the order parameters, establishing also fundamentally charged scalar matter as a probe for color confinement.
Global sea surface temperatures (SSTs) are increasing, and in Hawai'i, rates of ocean warming are projected to double by the end of the 21st century. However, current nearshore warming trends and ...their possible impacts on intertidal communities are not well understood. This study represents the first investigation into the possible effects of rising SST on intertidal algal and invertebrate communities across the Main Hawaiian Islands (MHI). By utilizing citizen-science data coupled with high-resolution, daily SST satellite measurements from 12 intertidal sites across the MHI from 2004-2019, the response of intertidal algal and invertebrate abundance and community diversity to changes in SST was investigated across multiple spatial scales. Results show high rates of SST warming (0.40°C Decade-1) over this study's timeframe, similar to predicted rates of warming for Hawai'i by the end of the 21st century. Changes in abundance and diversity in response to SST were variable among intertidal sites, but differences in antecedent SST among intertidal sites were significantly associated with community dissimilarity. In addition, a statistically significant positive relationship was found between SST and Simpson's diversity index, and a significant relationship was also found between SST and the abundance of six dominant taxa. For five of these six dominant taxa, antecedent SSTs over the 6-12 months preceding sampling were the most influential for describing changes to abundance. The increase in community diversity in response to higher SSTs was best explained by temperatures in the 10 months preceding sampling, and the resultant decreased abundance of dominant turf algae. These results highlight rapidly warming nearshore SSTs in Hawai'i and the longer-term effects of antecedent SSTs as significant drivers of change within Hawaiian intertidal communities. Therefore, we suggest that future research and management should consider the possibility of lagging effects of antecedent SST on intertidal communities in Hawai'i and elsewhere.
Within the proper-time renormalization group approach, the chiral phase diagram of a two-flavor quark–meson model is studied. In the chiral limit, the location of the tricritical point which is ...linked to a Gaussian fixed point, is determined. For quark chemical potentials smaller than the tricritical one the second-order phase transition belongs to the
O
(
4
)
universality class. For temperatures below the tricritical one we find initially a weak first-order phase transition which is commonly seen in model studies and also in recent lattice simulations. In addition, below temperatures of
T
≲
17
MeV
we find two phase transitions. The chiral restoration transition is initially also of first-order but turns into a second-order transition again. This leads to the possibility that there may be a “second tricritical” point in the QCD phase diagram in the chiral limit.
Abstract
The mid-Proterozoic or "boring billion" exhibited extremely stable environmental conditions, with little change in atmospheric oxygen levels, and mildly oxygenated shallow oceans. A limited ...number of passive margins with extremely long lifespans are observed from this time, suggesting that subdued tectonic activity—a plate slowdown—was the underlying reason for the environmental stability. However, the Proterozoic also has a unique magmatic and metamorphic record; massif-type anorthosites and anorogenic Rapakivi granites are largely confined to this period and the temperature/pressure (thermobaric ratio) of granulite facies metamorphism peaked at over 1500 °C/GPa during the Mesoproterozoic. Here, we develop a method of calculating plate velocities from the passive margin record, benchmarked against Phanerozoic tectonic velocities. We then extend this approach to geological observations from the Proterozoic, and provide the first quantitative constraints on Proterozoic plate velocities that substantiate the postulated slowdown. Using mantle evolution models, we calculate the consequences of this slowdown for mantle temperatures, magmatic regimes and metamorphic conditions in the crust. We show that higher mantle temperatures in the Proterozoic would have resulted in a larger proportion of intrusive magmatism, with mantle-derived melts emplaced at the Moho or into the lower crust, enabling the production of anorthosites and Rapakivi granites, and giving rise to extreme thermobaric ratios of crustal metamorphism when plate velocities were slowest.
The idea of the functional renormalization group and one-loop improved renormalization group flows are reviewed. The associated flow equations and nonperturbative approximations schemes for its ...solutions are discussed. These techniques are then applied to the strong interaction in the framework of an effective quark meson model, which is introduced in great detail. The renormalization group analysis of the two flavor quark meson model is extended to finite temperature and quark chemical potential which allows for an analysis of the chiral phase diagram beyond the mean field approximation.
Mandatory COVID-19 vaccination requirements for healthcare workers in the United States, instituted at the height of the pandemic to protect vulnerable patients and preserve the infrastructure of ...healthcare, nonetheless met with resistance by some members of the work force. As unprecedented numbers of employees sought religious accommodations, chaplain leaders were recruited by institutional leadership to adjudicate these requests, either alone or as part of a committee.
This study reports results of a survey conducted from 6/1/2022 to 7/15/2022 with U.S. healthcare chaplains (n = 76) who were involved in the evaluation of coworker requests for religious exemption to the COVID-19 vaccine anytime during the pandemic until they accessed the survey. Chaplains were recruited online through national chaplaincy and ethics organizations. A mixed methods design facilitates integration of statistically significant associations with chaplains’ in-depth reflections on their experience. Surveying the religious experts on the review committee affords a rare look into how the tension between the free exercise of religion in the workplace and the obligation to protect the public played out during the pandemic. The study further addresses a gap in research literature on the experience of chaplains during the pandemic and identifies unique features of moral injury experienced by a subset of healthcare providers.
Chaplains largely perceived their involvement as promoting an ethical, informed process of review. Although all chaplains found this role stressful, high levels of meaning were protective against distress. Sources of distress identified included: ethical concern that granting exemptions would lead to the spread of the virus; inconsistencies in the review process; and, repeated exposure to coworkers’ misunderstanding and political use of religious teachings. Featuring prominently in comments from chaplains was the difficulty navigating requests in the context of anti-science, anti-vaccine, and politically charged public discourse.
•Religious accommodation requests increased in healthcare during the pandemic.•Chaplains brought religious expertise to organizational review committees.•Chaplains helped promote a fair, informed review process and religious pluralism.•Moral injury resulted from repeat exposure to the politicized nature of requests.
We present the Planck Sky Model (PSM), a parametric model for generating all-sky, few arcminute resolution maps of sky emission at submillimetre to centimetre wavelengths, in both intensity and ...polarisation. Several options are implemented to model the cosmic microwave background, Galactic diffuse emission (synchrotron, free-free, thermal and spinning dust, CO lines), Galactic H ii regions, extragalactic radio sources, dusty galaxies, and thermal and kinetic Sunyaev-Zeldovich signals from clusters of galaxies. Each component is simulated by means of educated interpolations/extrapolations of data sets available at the time of the launch of the Planck mission, complemented by state-of-the-art models of the emission. Distinctive features of the simulations are spatially varying spectral properties of synchrotron and dust; different spectral parameters for each point source; modelling of the clustering properties of extragalactic sources and of the power spectrum of fluctuations in the cosmic infrared background. The PSM enables the production of random realisations of the sky emission, constrained to match observational data within their uncertainties. It is implemented in a software package that is regularly updated with incoming information from observations. The model is expected to serve as a useful tool for optimising planned microwave and sub-millimetre surveys and testing data processing and analysis pipelines. It is, in particular, used to develop and validate data analysis pipelines within the Planck collaboration. A version of the software that can be used for simulating the observations for a variety of experiments is made available on a dedicated website.
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