Deuteron and antideuteron production in Au+Au collisions at sqrt(s_NN)=200 GeV

The production of deuterons and antideuterons in the transverse momentum range 1.1 < p_T < 4.3 GeV/c at mid-rapidity in Au + Au collisions at sqrt(s_NN)=200 GeV has been studied by the PHENIX experiment at RHIC. A coalescence analysis comparing the deuteron and antideuteron spectra with those of protons and antiprotons, has been performed. The coalescence probability is equal for both deuterons and antideuterons and increases as a function of p_T, which is consistent with an expanding collision zone. Comparing (anti)proton yields p_bar/p = 0.73 +/- 0.01, with (anti)deuteron yields: d_bar/d = 0.47 +/- 0.03, we estimate that n_bar/n = 0.64 +/- 0.04.Comment: 326 authors, 6 pages text, 5 figures, 1 Table. Submitted to PRL. Plain text data tables for the points plotted in figures for this and previous PHENIX publications are (or will be) publicly available at http://www.phenix.bnl.gov/papers.htm

Single Electrons from Heavy Flavor Decays in p+p Collisions at sqrt(s) = 200 GeV

The invariant differential cross section for inclusive electron production in p+p collisions at sqrt(s) = 200 GeV has been measured by the PHENIX experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider over the transverse momentum range $0.4 <= p_T <= 5.0 GeV/c at midrapidity (eta <= 0.35). The contribution to the inclusive electron spectrum from semileptonic decays of hadrons carrying heavy flavor, i.e. charm quarks or, at high p_T, bottom quarks, is determined via three independent methods. The resulting electron spectrum from heavy flavor decays is compared to recent leading and next-to-leading order perturbative QCD calculations. The total cross section of charm quark-antiquark pair production is determined as sigma_(c c^bar) = 0.92 +/- 0.15 (stat.) +- 0.54 (sys.) mb.Comment: 329 authors, 6 pages text, 3 figures. Submitted to Phys. Rev. Lett. Plain text data tables for the points plotted in figures for this and previous PHENIX publications are (or will be) publicly available at http://www.phenix.bnl.gov/papers.htm

Spin-2 spectrum of defect theories

We study spin-2 excitations in the background of the recently-discovered type-IIB solutions of D'Hoker et al. These are holographically-dual to defect conformal field theories, and they are also of interest in the context of the Karch-Randall proposal for a string-theory embedding of localized gravity. We first generalize an argument by Csaki et al to show that for any solution with four-dimensional anti-de Sitter, Poincare or de Sitter invariance the spin-2 excitations obey the massless scalar wave equation in ten dimensions. For the interface solutions at hand this reduces to a Laplace-Beltrami equation on a Riemann surface with disk topology, and in the simplest case of the supersymmetric Janus solution it further reduces to an ordinary differential equation known as Heun's equation. We solve this equation numerically, and exhibit the spectrum as a function of the dilaton-jump parameter $\Delta\phi$. In the limit of large $\Delta\phi$ a nearly-flat linear-dilaton dimension grows large, and the Janus geometry becomes effectively five-dimensional. We also discuss the difficulties of localizing four-dimensional gravity in the more general backgrounds with NS5-brane or D5-brane charge, which will be analyzed in detail in a companion paper.Comment: 41 pages, 6 figure

Effective Rheology of Bubbles Moving in a Capillary Tube

We calculate the average volumetric flux versus pressure drop of bubbles moving in a single capillary tube with varying diameter, finding a square-root relation from mapping the flow equations onto that of a driven overdamped pendulum. The calculation is based on a derivation of the equation of motion of a bubble train from considering the capillary forces and the entropy production associated with the viscous flow. We also calculate the configurational probability of the positions of the bubbles.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figur

Production of phi mesons at mid-rapidity in sqrt(s_NN) = 200 GeV Au+Au collisions at RHIC

We present the first results of meson production in the K^+K^- decay channel from Au+Au collisions at sqrt(s_NN) = 200 GeV as measured at mid-rapidity by the PHENIX detector at RHIC. Precision resonance centroid and width values are extracted as a function of collision centrality. No significant variation from the PDG accepted values is observed. The transverse mass spectra are fitted with a linear exponential function for which the derived inverse slope parameter is seen to be constant as a function of centrality. These data are also fitted by a hydrodynamic model with the result that the freeze-out temperature and the expansion velocity values are consistent with the values previously derived from fitting single hadron inclusive data. As a function of transverse momentum the collisions scaled peripheral.to.central yield ratio RCP for the is comparable to that of pions rather than that of protons. This result lends support to theoretical models which distinguish between baryons and mesons instead of particle mass for explaining the anomalous proton yield.Comment: 326 authors, 24 pages text, 23 figures, 6 tables, RevTeX 4. To be submitted to Physical Review C as a regular article. Plain text data tables for the points plotted in figures for this and previous PHENIX publications are (or will be) publicly available at http://www.phenix.bnl.gov/papers.htm

Measurement of Transverse Single-Spin Asymmetries for Mid-rapidity Production of Neutral Pions and Charged Hadrons in Polarized p+p Collisions at sqrt(s) = 200 GeV

The transverse single-spin asymmetries of neutral pions and non-identified charged hadrons have been measured at mid-rapidity in polarized proton-proton collisions at sqrt(s) = 200 GeV. The data cover a transverse momentum (p_T) range 0.5-5.0 GeV/c for charged hadrons and 1.0-5.0 GeV/c for neutral pions, at a Feynman-x (x_F) value of approximately zero. The asymmetries seen in this previously unexplored kinematic region are consistent with zero within statistical errors of a few percent. In addition, the inclusive charged hadron cross section at mid-rapidity from 0.5 < p_T < 7.0 GeV/c is presented and compared to NLO pQCD calculations. Successful description of the unpolarized cross section above ~2 GeV/c using NLO pQCD suggests that pQCD is applicable in the interpretation of the asymmetry results in the relevant kinematic range.Comment: 331 authors, 6 pages text, 2 figures, 3 tables. Submitted to Phys. Rev. Lett. Plain text data tables for the points plotted in figures for this and previous PHENIX publications are (or will be) publicly available at http://www.phenix.bnl.gov/papers.htm

Restrained Th17 response and myeloid cell infiltration into the central nervous system by human decidua-derived mesenchymal stem cells during experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis

Background: Multiple sclerosis is a widespread inflammatory demyelinating disease. Several immunomodulatory therapies are available, including interferon-β, glatiramer acetate, natalizumab, fingolimod, and mitoxantrone. Although useful to delay disease progression, they do not provide a definitive cure and are associated with some undesirable side-effects. Accordingly, the search for new therapeutic methods constitutes an active investigation field. The use of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) to modify the disease course is currently the subject of intense interest. Decidua-derived MSCs (DMSCs) are a cell population obtained from human placental extraembryonic membranes able to differentiate into the three germ layers. This study explores the therapeutic potential of DMSCs. Methods: We used the experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) animal model to evaluate the effect of DMSCs on clinical signs of the disease and on the presence of inflammatory infiltrates in the central nervous system. We also compared the inflammatory profile of spleen T cells from DMSC-treated mice with that of EAE control animals, and the influence of DMSCs on the in vitro definition of the Th17 phenotype. Furthermore, we analyzed the effects on the presence of some critical cell types in central nervous system infiltrates. Results: Preventive intraperitoneal injection of DMSCs resulted in a significant delay of external signs of EAE. In addition, treatment of animals already presenting with moderate symptoms resulted in mild EAE with reduced disease scores. Besides decreased inflammatory infiltration, diminished percentages of CD4+IL17+, CD11b+Ly6G+ and CD11b+Ly6C+ cells were found in infiltrates of treated animals. Early immune response was mitigated, with spleen cells of DMSC-treated mice displaying low proliferative response to antigen, decreased production of interleukin (IL)-17, and increased production of the anti-inflammatory cytokines IL-4 and IL-10. Moreover, lower RORγT and higher GATA-3 expression levels were detected in DMSC-treated mice. DMSCs also showed a detrimental influence on the in vitro definition of the Th17 phenotype. Conclusions: DMSCs modulated the clinical course of EAE, modified the frequency and cell composition of the central nervous system infiltrates during the disease, and mediated an impairment of Th17 phenotype establishment in favor of the Th2 subtype. These results suggest that DMSCs might provide a new cell-based therapy for the control of multiple sclerosis.This work was sponsored by grants from Acción Estratégica en Salud (PI13/00297 and PI11/00581), the Neurosciences and Aging Foundation, the Francisco Soria Melguizo Foundation, Octopharma, and Parkinson Madrid (PI2012/0032).S

Alignment of the ALICE Inner Tracking System with cosmic-ray tracks

37 pages, 15 figures, revised version, accepted by JINSTALICE (A Large Ion Collider Experiment) is the LHC (Large Hadron Collider) experiment devoted to investigating the strongly interacting matter created in nucleus-nucleus collisions at the LHC energies. The ALICE ITS, Inner Tracking System, consists of six cylindrical layers of silicon detectors with three different technologies; in the outward direction: two layers of pixel detectors, two layers each of drift, and strip detectors. The number of parameters to be determined in the spatial alignment of the 2198 sensor modules of the ITS is about 13,000. The target alignment precision is well below 10 micron in some cases (pixels). The sources of alignment information include survey measurements, and the reconstructed tracks from cosmic rays and from proton-proton collisions. The main track-based alignment method uses the Millepede global approach. An iterative local method was developed and used as well. We present the results obtained for the ITS alignment using about 10^5 charged tracks from cosmic rays that have been collected during summer 2008, with the ALICE solenoidal magnet switched off.Peer reviewe

Dynamics of the Volterra-type integral and differentiation operators on generalized Fock spaces

[EN] Various dynamical properties of the differentiation and Volterra-type integral operators on generalized Fock spaces are studied. We show that the differentiation operator is always supercyclic on these spaces. We further characterize when it is hypercyclic, power bounded and uniformly mean ergodic. We prove that the operator satisfies the Ritt's resolvent condition if and only if it is power bounded and uniformly mean ergodic. Some similar results are obtained for the Volterra-type and Hardy integral operators.J. Bonet was partially supported by the research projects MTM2016-76647-P and GV Prometeo 2017/102 (Spain). M. Worku is supported by ISP project, Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia.Bonet Solves, JA.; Mengestie, T.; Worku, M. (2019). Dynamics of the Volterra-type integral and differentiation operators on generalized Fock spaces. Results in Mathematics. 74(4):1-15. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00025-019-1123-7S115744Abanin, A.V., Tien, P.T.: Differentiation and integration operators on weighted Banach spaces of holomorphic functions. Math. Nachr. 290(8–9), 1144–1162 (2017)Atzmon, A., Brive, B.: Surjectivity and invariant subspaces of differential operators on weighted Bergman spaces of entire functions, Bergman spaces and related topics in complex analysis, Contemp. Math., vol. 404, Amer. Math. Soc., Providence, RI, pp. 27–39 (2006)Bayart, F., Matheron, E.: Dynamics of Linear Operators, Cambridge Tracts in Math, vol. 179. Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge (2009)Bermúdez, T., Bonilla, A., Peris, A.: On hypercyclicity and supercyclicity criteria. Bull. Austral. Math. Soc. 70, 45–54 (2004)Beltrán, M.J.: Dynamics of differentiation and integration operators on weighted space of entire functions. Studia Math. 221, 35–60 (2014)Beltrán, M.J., Bonet, J., Fernández, C.: Classical operators on weighted Banach spaces of entire functions. Proc. Am. Math. Soc. 141, 4293–4303 (2013)Bès, J., Peris, A.: Hereditarily hypercyclic operators. J. Funct. Anal. 167, 94–112 (1999)Bonet, J.: Dynamics of the differentiation operator on weighted spaces of entire functions. Math. Z. 26, 649–657 (2009)Bonet, J.: The spectrum of Volterra operators on weighted Banach spaces of entire functions. Q. J. Math. 66, 799–807 (2015)Bonet, J., Bonilla, A.: Chaos of the differentiation operator on weighted Banach spaces of entire functions. Complex Anal. Oper. Theory 7, 33–42 (2013)Bonet, J., Taskinen, J.: A note about Volterra operators on weighted Banach spaces of entire functions. Math. Nachr. 288, 1216–1225 (2015)Constantin, O., Persson, A.-M.: The spectrum of Volterra-type integration operators on generalized Fock spaces. Bull. Lond. Math. Soc. 47, 958–963 (2015)Constantin, O., Peláez, J.-Á.: Integral operators, embedding theorems and a Littlewood–Paley formula on weighted Fock spaces. J. Geom. Anal. 26, 1109–1154 (2016)De La Rosa, M., Read, C.: A hypercyclic operator whose direct sum is not hypercyclic. J. Oper. Theory 61, 369–380 (2009)Dunford, N.: Spectral theory. I. Convergence to projections. Trans. Am. Math. Soc. 54, 185–217 (1943)Grosse-Erdmann, K.G., Peris Manguillot, A.: Linear Chaos. Springer, New York (2011)Harutyunyan, A., Lusky, W.: On the boundedness of the differentiation operator between weighted spaces of holomorphic functions. Studia Math. 184, 233–247 (2008)Krengel, U.: Ergodic Theorems. Walter de Gruyter, Berlin (1985)Lyubich, Yu.: Spectral localization, power boundedness and invariant subspaces under Ritt’s type condition. Studia Mathematica 143(2), 153–167 (1999)Mengestie, T.: A note on the differential operator on generalized Fock spaces. J. Math. Anal. Appl. 458(2), 937–948 (2018)Mengestie, T.: Spectral properties of Volterra-type integral operators on Fock–Sobolev spaces. J. Kor. Math. Soc. 54(6), 1801–1816 (2017)Mengestie, T.: On the spectrum of volterra-type integral operators on Fock–Sobolev spaces. Complex Anal. Oper. Theory 11(6), 1451–1461 (2017)Mengestie, T., Ueki, S.: Integral, differential and multiplication operators on weighted Fock spaces. Complex Anal. Oper. Theory 13, 935–95 (2019)Mengestie, T., Worku, M.: Isolated and essentially isolated Volterra-type integral operators on generalized Fock spaces. Integr. Transf. Spec. Funct. 30, 41–54 (2019)Nagy, B., Zemanek, J.A.: A resolvent condition implying power boundedness. Studia Math. 134, 143–151 (1999)Nevanlinna, O.: Convergence of iterations for linear equations. Lecture Notes in Mathematics. ETH Zürich, Birkhäuser, Basel (1993)Ritt, R.K.: A condition that $$\lim _{n\rightarrow \infty } n^{-1}T^n =0$$. Proc. Am. Math. Soc. 4, 898–899 (1953)Ueki, S.: Characterization for Fock-type space via higher order derivatives and its application. Complex Anal. Oper. Theory 8, 1475–1486 (2014)Yosida, K.: Functional Analysis. Springer, Berlin (1978)Yosida, K., Kakutani, S.: Operator-theoretical treatment of Marko’s process and mean ergodic theorem. Ann. Math. 42(1), 188–228 (1941

Local population and regional environmental drivers of cholera in Bangladesh

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Regional environmental factors have been shown to be related to cholera. Previous work in Bangladesh found that temporal patterns of cholera are positively related to satellite-derived environmental variables including ocean chlorophyll concentration (OCC).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This paper investigates whether local socio-economic status (SES) modifies the effect of regional environmental forces. The study area is Matlab, Bangladesh, an area of approximately 200,000 people with an active health and demographic surveillance system. Study data include (1) spatially-referenced demographic and socio-economic characteristics of the population; (2) satellite-derived variables for sea surface temperature (SST), sea surface height (SSH), and OCC; and (3) laboratory confirmed cholera case data for the entire population. Relationships between cholera, the environmental variables, and SES are measured using generalized estimating equations with a logit link function. Additionally two separate seasonal models are built because there are two annual cholera epidemics, one pre-monsoon, and one post-monsoon.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>SES has a significant impact on cholera occurrence: the higher the SES score, the lower the occurrence of cholera. There is a significant negative association between cholera incidence and SSH during the pre-monsoon period but not for the post-monsoon period. OCC is positively associated with cholera during the pre-monsoon period but not for the post-monsoon period. SST is not related to cholera incidence.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Overall, it appears cholera is influenced by regional environmental variables during the pre-monsoon period and by local-level variables (e.g., water and sanitation) during the post-monsoon period. In both pre- and post-monsoon seasons, SES significantly influences these patterns, likely because it is a proxy for poor water quality and sanitation in poorer households.</p