On the Reliability of International Forest Sector Statistics: Problems and Needs for Improvements

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Coupled-Channels Approach for Dissipative Quantum Dynamics in Near-Barrier Collisions

A novel quantum dynamical model based on the dissipative quantum dynamics of open quantum systems is presented. It allows the treatment of both deep-inelastic processes and quantum tunneling (fusion) within a fully quantum mechanical coupled-channels approach. Model calculations show the transition from pure state (coherent) to mixed state (decoherent and dissipative) dynamics during a near-barrier nuclear collision. Energy dissipation, due to irreversible decay of giant-dipole excitations of the interacting nuclei, results in hindrance of quantum tunneling.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, Invited talk by A. Diaz-Torres at the FUSION08 Conference, Chicago, September 22-26, 2008, To appear in AIP Conference Proceeding

Reaction mechanisms in 24Mg+12C and 32S+24Mg

The occurence of "exotic" shapes in light N=Z alpha-like nuclei is investigated for 24Mg+12C and 32S+24Mg. Various approaches of superdeformed and hyperdeformed bands associated with quasimolecular resonant structures with low spin are presented. For both reactions, exclusive data were collected with the Binary Reaction Spectrometer in coincidence with EUROBALL IV installed at the VIVITRON Tandem facility of Strasbourg. Specific structures with large deformation were selectively populated in binary reactions and their associated $\gamma$-decays studied. The analysis of the binary and ternary reaction channels is discussed.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures, Paper presented at the Fusion08 International Conference on New Aspects of Heavy Ion Collisions Near the Coulomb Barrier, Chicago. Proceedings to be published by AIP Conference Proceedings Illinois, USA, September 22-26, 200

A Search for Instantons at HERA

A search for QCD instanton (I) induced events in deep-inelastic scattering (DIS) at HERA is presented in the kinematic range of low x and low Q^2. After cutting into three characteristic variables for I-induced events yielding a maximum suppression of standard DIS background to the 0.1% level while still preserving 10% of the I-induced events, 549 data events are found while 363^{+22}_{-26} (CDM) and 435^{+36}_{-22} (MEPS) standard DIS events are expected. More events than expected by the standard DIS Monte Carlo models are found in the data. However, the systematic uncertainty between the two different models is of the order of the expected signal, so that a discovery of instantons can not be claimed. An outlook is given on the prospect to search for QCD instanton events using a discriminant based on range searching in the kinematical region Q^2\gtrsim100\GeV^2 where the I-theory makes safer predictions and the QCD Monte Carlos are expected to better describe the inclusive data.Comment: Invited talk given at the Ringberg Workshop on HERA Physics on June 19th, 2001 on behalf of the H1 collaboratio

Charge density analysis of two polymorphs of antimony(III) oxide

High-resolution X-ray diffraction data have been collected on the cubic polymorph of antimony(III) oxide (senarmontite) to determine the charge distribution in the crystal. The results are in quantitative agreement with crystal Hartree–Fock calculations for this polymorph, and have been compared with theoretical calculations on the orthorhombic polymorph (valentinite). Information about the nature of bonding and relative bond strengths in the two polymorphs has been extracted in a straightforward manner via topological analysis of the electron density. All the close contacts in both polymorphs are found to be similar in nature based on the value of the Laplacian, the magnitude of the electron density and the local energy density at the bond critical points, and these characterise the observed interactions as substantially polar covalent, similar to molecular calculation results on Si–O and Ge–O. Electrostatic potential isosurfaces reveal the octopolar nature of this function for senarmontite, and shed light on the observed packing arrangement of Sb4O6 molecules in the crystal

The Use of Resources in Resource Acquisition

The author considers the processes through which a firm can acquire resources and argues that its current stock of resources create asymmetries in competition for new resources. Two simple models illustrate how this can work through linkages on the demand and/or cost side. The normative implication is that firms should expand their resource portfolios by building on their existing resources; different firms will then acquire different new resources, and small initial heterogeneities will amplify over time

Correlations in Ising chains with non-integrable interactions

Two-spin correlations generated by interactions which decay with distance r as r^{-1-sigma} with -1 <sigma <0 are calculated for periodic Ising chains of length L. Mean-field theory indicates that the correlations, C(r,L), diminish in the thermodynamic limit L -> \infty, but they contain a singular structure for r/L -> 0 which can be observed by introducing magnified correlations, LC(r,L)-\sum_r C(r,L). The magnified correlations are shown to have a scaling form F(r/L) and the singular structure of F(x) for x->0 is found to be the same at all temperatures including the critical point. These conclusions are supported by the results of Monte Carlo simulations for systems with sigma =-0.50 and -0.25 both at the critical temperature T=Tc and at T=2Tc.Comment: 13 pages, latex, 5 eps figures in a separate uuencoded file, to appear in Phys.Rev.

Using serum urate as a validated surrogate end point for flares in patients with gout:protocol for a systematic review and meta-regression analysis

INTRODUCTION: Gout is the most common inflammatory arthritis in men over 40 years of age. Long-term urate-lowering therapy is considered a key strategy for effective gout management. The primary outcome measure for efficacy in clinical trials of urate-lowering therapy is serum urate levels, effectively acting as a surrogate for patient-centred outcomes such as frequency of gout attacks or pain. Yet it is not clearly demonstrated that the strength of the relationship between serum urate and clinically relevant outcomes is sufficiently strong for serum urate to be considered an adequate surrogate. Our objective is to investigate the strength of the relationship between changes in serum urate in randomised controlled trials and changes in clinically relevant outcomes according to the ‘Biomarker-Surrogacy Evaluation Schema version 3’ (BSES3), documenting the validity of selected instruments by applying the ‘OMERACT Filter 2.0’. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: A systematic review described in terms of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) reporting guidelines will identify all relevant studies. Standardised data elements will be extracted from each study by 2 independent reviewers and disagreements are resolved by discussion. The data will be analysed by meta-regression of the between-arm differences in the change in serum urate level (independent variable) from baseline to 3 months (or 6 and 12 months if 3-month values are not available) against flare rate, tophus size and number and pain at the final study visit (dependent variables). ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: This study will not require specific ethics approval since it is based on analysis of published (aggregated) data. The intended audience will include healthcare researchers, policymakers and clinicians. Results of the study will be disseminated by peer-reviewed publications. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: CRD42016026991

Characterizing genomic alterations in cancer by complementary functional associations.

Systematic efforts to sequence the cancer genome have identified large numbers of mutations and copy number alterations in human cancers. However, elucidating the functional consequences of these variants, and their interactions to drive or maintain oncogenic states, remains a challenge in cancer research. We developed REVEALER, a computational method that identifies combinations of mutually exclusive genomic alterations correlated with functional phenotypes, such as the activation or gene dependency of oncogenic pathways or sensitivity to a drug treatment. We used REVEALER to uncover complementary genomic alterations associated with the transcriptional activation of β-catenin and NRF2, MEK-inhibitor sensitivity, and KRAS dependency. REVEALER successfully identified both known and new associations, demonstrating the power of combining functional profiles with extensive characterization of genomic alterations in cancer genomes