The growth rate of the harmonious chromatic number

In this paper we investigate the growth rate of the harmonious chromatic number of a family of regular graphs, as a function of the number of vertices, when the valency or the diameter is fixed. We also look at families of graphs where the harmonious coloring is minimal.     

Stabilization of stochastic systems under Markovian switching

The problem of state feedback stabilization of discrete-time stochastic processes under Markovian switching is considered. The jump Markovian switching is modeled by a discrete-time Markov chain, and the noise or stochastic environmental disturbance is modeled by a sequence of identically independently normally distributed random variables. Necessary and sufficient conditions based on linear matrix inequalities (LMI’s) for stochastic stability is obtained. The proposed control law for this stochastic stabilization result depends on the mode of the system as well as the environmental disturbances. The robustness results of such stability concepts against all admissible uncertainties are also investigated. An example is given to demonstrate the obtained results.     

The function of Shp2 tyrosine phosphatase in the dispersal of acetylcholine receptor clusters

Background

Tone languages such as Thai and Mandarin Chinese use differences in fundamental frequency (F₀, pitch) to distinguish lexical meaning. Previous behavioral studies have shown that native speakers of a non-tone language have difficulty discriminating among tone contrasts and are sensitive to different F₀ dimensions than speakers of a tone language. The aim of the present ERP study was to investigate the effect of language background and training on the non-attentive processing of lexical tones. EEG was recorded from 12 adult native speakers of Mandarin Chinese, 12 native speakers of American English, and 11 Thai speakers while they were watching a movie and were presented with multiple tokens of low-falling, mid-level and high-rising Thai lexical tones. High-rising or low-falling tokens were presented as deviants among mid-level standard tokens, and vice versa. EEG data and data from a behavioral discrimination task were collected before and after a two-day perceptual categorization training task.

Results

Behavioral discrimination improved after training in both the Chinese and the English groups. Low-falling tone deviants versus standards elicited a mismatch negativity (MMN) in all language groups. Before, but not after training, the English speakers showed a larger MMN compared to the Chinese, even though English speakers performed worst in the behavioral tasks. The MMN was followed by a late negativity, which became smaller with improved discrimination. The High-rising deviants versus standards elicited a late negativity, which was left-lateralized only in the English and Chinese groups.

Conclusion

Results showed that native speakers of English, Chinese and Thai recruited largely similar mechanisms when non-attentively processing Thai lexical tones. However, native Thai speakers differed from the Chinese and English speakers with respect to the processing of late F₀ contour differences (high-rising versus mid-level tones). In addition, native speakers of a non-tone language (English) were initially more sensitive to F₀ onset differences (low-falling versus mid-level contrast), which was suppressed as a result of training. This result converges with results from previous behavioral studies and supports the view that attentive as well as non-attentive processing of F₀ contrasts is affected by language background, but is malleable even in adult learners.     

Secondary ion yields produced by keV atomic and polyatomic ion impacts on a self-assembled monolayer surface

A suite of keV polyatomic or 'cluster' projectiles was used to bombard unoxidized and oxidized self-assembled monolayer surfaces. Negative secondary ion yields, collected at the limit of single ion impacts, were measured and compared for both molecular and fragment ions. In contrast to targets that are orders of magnitude thicker than the penetration range of the primary ions, secondary ion yields from polyatomic projectile impacts on self-assembled monolayers show little to no enhancement when compared with monatomic projectiles at the same velocity. This unusual trend is most likely due to the structural arrangement and bonding characteristics of the monolayer molecules with the Au(111). Copyright 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Constraints on the universe as a numerical simulation

The level scheme above the proton threshold in ²⁶Si is crucial for evaluating the ²⁵Al(p, γ)²⁶Si stellar reaction, which is important for understanding the astrophysical origin of the long-lived cosmic radioactivity ²⁶Al(T _1/2 = 7.17 × 10⁵ y) in the Galaxy. The excited states in ²⁶Si have been studied using an in-beam γ-ray spectroscopy technique with the ²⁴Mg(³He, nγ)²⁶Si reaction. γ-rays with energies up to 4.6 MeV emitted from excited states in ²⁶Si have been measured using large volume HPGe detectors. The spin-parity of one of the most important states reported recently at 5890.0keV has been assigned as 0⁺ by γ-γ angular correlation measurements in this work.     

Nuclear physics from lattice QCD

We review recent progress toward establishing lattice Quantum Chromodynamics as a predictive calculational framework for nuclear physics. A survey of the current techniques that are used to extract low-energy hadronic scattering amplitudes and interactions is followed by a review of recent two-body and few-body calculations by the NPLQCD collaboration and others. An outline of the nuclear physics that is expected to be accomplished with Lattice QCD in the next decade, along with estimates of the required computational resources, is presented.     

The S-wave pion–nucleon scattering lengths from pionic atoms using effective field theory

The pion–deuteron scattering length is computed to next-to-next-to-leading order in baryon chiral perturbation theory. A modified power-counting is then formulated which properly accounts for infrared enhancements engendered by the large size of the deuteron, as compared to the pion Compton wavelength. We use the precise experimental value of the real part of the pion–deuteron scattering length determined from the decay of pionic deuterium, together with constraints on pion–nucleon scattering lengths from the decay of pionic hydrogen, to extract the isovector and isoscalar S-wave pion–nucleon scattering lengths, a⁻ and a⁺, respectively. We find a⁻=[0.0936(±0.0011)]M_π⁻¹ and a⁺=[−0.0029(±0.0009)]M_π⁻¹.     

Nucleon-nucleon scattering from fully dynamical lattice QCD

We present results of the first fully dynamical lattice QCD determination of nucleon-nucleon scattering lengths in the 1S0 channel and 3S1 - 3D1 coupled channels. The calculations are performed with domain-wall valence quarks on the MILC staggered configurations with a lattice spacing of b = 0.125 fm in the isospin-symmetric limit, and in the absence of electromagnetic interactions.     

Evidence for a bound H dibaryon from lattice QCD

We present evidence for the existence of a bound H dibaryon, an I=0, J=0, s=-2 state with valence quark structure uuddss, at a pion mass of m(π)～389 MeV. Using the results of lattice QCD calculations performed on four ensembles of anisotropic clover gauge-field configurations, with spatial extents of L～2.0, 2.5, 3.0, and 3.9 fm at a spatial lattice spacing of b(s)～0.123 fm, we find an H dibaryon bound by B(∞)(H)=16.6±2.1±4.6 MeV at a pion mass of m(π)～389 MeV.