546 research outputs found
Wave Function of a Brane-like Universe
Within the mini-superspace model, brane-like cosmology means performing the
variation with respect to the embedding (Minkowski) time before fixing
the cosmic (Einstein) time . The departure from Einstein limit is
parameterized by the 'energy' conjugate to , and characterized by a
classically disconnected Embryonic epoch. In contrast with canonical quantum
gravity, the wave-function of the brane-like Universe is (i) -dependent,
and (ii) vanishes at the Big Bang. Hartle-Hawking and Linde proposals dictate
discrete 'energy' levels, whereas Vilenkin proposal resembles -particle
disintegration.Comment: Revtex, 4 twocolumn pages, 3 eps figures (accepted for publication in
Class. Quan. Grav.
Sonographic Evaluation of Lisfranc Ligament Injuries
Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/135195/1/jum2009283351.pd
Paradigmatic status of an endo- and exoglucanase and its effect on crystalline cellulose degradation
BACKGROUND: Microorganisms employ a multiplicity of enzymes to efficiently degrade the composite structure of plant cell wall cellulosic polysaccharides. These remarkable enzyme systems include glycoside hydrolases (cellulases, hemicellulases), polysaccharide lyases, and the carbohydrate esterases. To accomplish this challenging task, several strategies are commonly observed either separately or in combination. These include free enzyme systems, multifunctional enzymes, and multi-enzyme self-assembled designer cellulosome complexes. RESULTS: In order to compare these different paradigms, we employed a synthetic biology approach to convert two different cellulases from the free enzymatic system of the well-studied bacterium, Thermobifida fusca, into bifunctional enzymes with different modular architectures. We then examined their performance compared to those of the combined parental free-enzyme and equivalent designer-cellulosome systems. The results showed that the cellulolytic activity displayed by the different architectures of the bifunctional enzymes was somewhat inferior to that of the wild-type free enzyme system. CONCLUSIONS: The activity exhibited by the designer cellulosome system was equal or superior to that of the free system, presumably reflecting the combined proximity of the enzymes and high flexibility of the designer cellulosome components, thus enabling efficient enzymatic activity of the catalytic modules
Dressing Up the Kink
Many quantum field theoretical models possess non-trivial solutions which are
stable for topological reasons. We construct a self-consistent example for a
self-interacting scalar field--the quantum (or dressed) kink--using a two
particle irreducible effective action in the Hartree approximation. This new
solution includes quantum fluctuations determined self-consistently and
nonperturbatively at the 1-loop resummed level and allowed to backreact on the
classical mean-field profile. This dressed kink is static under the familiar
Hartree equations for the time evolution of quantum fields. Because the quantum
fluctuation spectrum is lower lying in the presence of the defect, the quantum
kink has a lower rest energy than its classical counterpart. However its energy
is higher than well-known strict 1-loop results, where backreaction and
fluctuation self-interactions are omitted. We also show that the quantum kink
exists at finite temperature and that its profile broadens as temperature is
increased until it eventually disappears.Comment: 13 pages, latex, 3 eps figures; revised with yet additional
references, minor rewordin
A survey of agent-oriented methodologies
This article introduces the current agent-oriented methodologies. It discusses what approaches have been followed (mainly extending existing object oriented and knowledge engineering methodologies), the suitability of these approaches for agent modelling, and some conclusions drawn from the survey
The structure of dyadic support among couples with and without a long-term disability
Abstract This study examines support relationships among 65 couples in which the husband had a long-term spinal cord injury, and a comparison group of 65 couples without disability. Based on facet theory, we constructed a mapping sentence that forms a definitional framework for couple support, and developed a detailed inventory to assess attitudes regarding mutual support in couple relations, the sense of support availability, support behaviors of giving and receiving, the degree to which the support meets one's needs, response to received support, and preference for support from within the couple and from external sources. These are all measured with respect to instrumental, emotional and informational support. Smallest space analysis showed various structures of the relations between elements of support among men and women living with and without disability, as well as a core element of reciprocal support common to both men and women in couples with and without disability
Hawking Radiation and Unitary evolution
We find a family of exact solutions to the semi-classical equations
(including back-reaction) of two-dimensional dilaton gravity, describing
infalling null matter that becomes outgoing and returns to infinity without
forming a black hole. When a black hole almost forms, the radiation reaching
infinity in advance of the original outgoing null matter has the properties of
Hawking radiation. The radiation reaching infinity after the null matter
consists of a brief burst of negative energy that preserves unitarity and
transfers information faster than the theoretical bound for positive energy.Comment: LaTex file + uuencoded ps version including 4 figure
Motor complications in Parkinsonâs disease:results from 3,343 patients followed for up to 12 years
Background: Motor complications are well recognised in Parkinsonâs disease (PD), but their reported prevalence varies and functional impact has not been well studied. Objectives: To quantify the presence, severity, impact and associated factors for motor complications in PD.Methods: Analysis of 3 large prospective cohort studies of recent-onset PD patients followed for up to 12 years. The MDS-UPDRS part 4 assessed motor complications and multivariable logistic regression tested for associations. Genetic risk score (GRS) for Parkinsonâs was calculated from 79 single nucleotide polymorphisms. Results: 3,343 cases were included (64.7% male). Off periods affected 35.0% (95% CI 33.0, 37.0) at 4-6 years and 59.0% (55.6, 62.3) at 8-10 years. Dyskinesia affected 18.5% (95% CI 16.9, 20.2) at 4-6 years and 42.1% (38.7, 45.5) at 8-10 years. Dystonia affected 13.4% (12.1, 14.9) at 4-6 years and 22.8% (20.1, 25.9) at 8-10 years. Off periods consistently caused greater functional impact than dyskinesia. Motor complications were more common among those with higher drug doses, younger age at diagnosis, female gender, and greater dopaminergic responsiveness (in challenge tests), with associations emerging 2 to 4 years post-diagnosis. Higher Parkinsonâs GRS was associated with early dyskinesia (0.026 †P †0.050 from 2 to 6 years).Conclusions: Off periods are more common and cause greater functional impairment than dyskinesia. We confirm previously reported associations between motor 4 complications with several demographic and medication factors. Greater dopaminergic responsiveness and a higher genetic risk score are two novel and significant independent risk factors for the development of motor complications
A Powerful Statistical Framework for Generalization Testing in GWAS, with Application to the HCHS/SOL
In GWAS, âgeneralizationâ is the replication of genotype-phenotype association in a population with different ancestry than the population in which it was first identified. The standard for reporting findings from a GWAS requires a two-stage design, in which discovered associations are replicated in an independent follow-up study. Current practices for declaring generalizations rely on testing associations while controlling the Family Wise Error Rate (FWER) in the discovery study, then separately controlling error measures in the follow-up study. While this approach limits false generalizations, we show that it does not guarantee control over the FWER or False Discovery Rate (FDR) of the generalization null hypotheses. In addition, it fails to leverage the two-stage design to increase power for detecting generalized associations. We develop a formal statistical framework for quantifying the evidence of generalization that accounts for the (in)consistency between the directions of associations in the discovery and follow-up studies. We develop the directional generalization FWER (FWERg) and FDR (FDRg) controlling r-values, which are used to declare associations as generalized. This framework extends to generalization testing when applied to a published list of SNP-trait associations. We show that our framework accommodates various SNP selection rules for generalization testing based on p-values in the discovery study, and still control FWERg or FDRg. A key finding is that it is often beneficial to use a more lenient p-value threshold then the genome-wide significance threshold. For instance, in a GWAS of Total Cholesterol (TC) in the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL), when testing all SNPs with p-values\u3c 5 Ă 10â8 (15 genomic regions) for generalization in a large GWAS of whites, we generalized SNPs from 15 regions. But when testing all SNPs with p-values\u3c 6.6Ă10â5 (89 regions), we generalized SNPs from 27 regions
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