Unitarity analysis of general Born-Infeld gravity theories

We develop techniques of analyzing the unitarity of general Born-Infeld (BI) gravity actions in D-dimensional spacetimes. Determinantal form of the action allows us to find a compact expression quadratic in the metric fluctuations around constant curvature backgrounds. This is highly nontrivial since for the BI actions, in principle, infinitely many terms in the curvature expansion should contribute to the quadratic action in the metric fluctuations around constant curvature backgrounds, which would render the unitarity analysis intractable. Moreover in even dimensions, unitarity of the theory depends only on finite number of terms built from the powers of the curvature tensor. We apply our techniques to some four-dimensional examples.Comment: 26 pages, typos corrected, version to appear in Phys. Rev.

THE DISTRIBUTION AND POPULATION DENSITY OF THE CEREAL WEEVIL, PACHYTYCHIUSHORDEI (BRULLÉ) (COLEOPTERA: CURCULIONIDAE) IN CEREAL FIELDS IN NORTHERN CYPRUS

The Cereal weevil, Pachytychiushordei (Brulle) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) is an important pest of barley and wheat. This study was conducted to determine the distribution areas and the population density of P. hordei in Northern Cyprus. The sampling were conducted in 57 cereal fields of 46 villages in Lefkoşa, Girne, Güzelyurt, Gazimağusa and İskele districts in 2012-2013 years. Sweep net were used in samplings. At the end of the study, P. hordei has been found common all in regions and the highest population densities were 379 adults/100 sweepnet and 247 adults/100 sweep net in Hisarköy/Girne in the years 2012-2013 respectively. In addition, damage states of P. hordei was evaluated

All unitary cubic curvature gravities in D dimensions

We construct all the unitary cubic curvature gravity theories built on the contractions of the Riemann tensor in D -dimensional (anti)-de Sitter spacetimes. Our construction is based on finding the equivalent quadratic action for the general cubic curvature theory and imposing ghost and tachyon freedom, which greatly simplifies the highly complicated problem of finding the propagator of cubic curvature theories in constant curvature backgrounds. To carry out the procedure we have also classified all the unitary quadratic models. We use our general results to study the recently found cubic curvature theories using different techniques and the string generated cubic curvature gravity model. We also study the scattering in critical gravity and give its cubic curvature extensions.Comment: 24 pages, 1 figure, v2: A subsection on cubic curvature extensions of critical gravity is added, v3: The part regarding critical gravity is revised. Version to appear in Class. Quant. Gra

“İlköğretim ve Ortaöğretimde Öğrenim Gören Öğrencilerin Spor ve Oyun Alışkanlıklarının İncelenmesi”,

Bu çalışmanın amacı ilköğretim ve ortaöğretimde öğrenim gören öğrencilerin spor ve oyun alışkanlıkları incelemektir. Araştırma bulgularına göre öğrencilerin %7,3’ünün bir spor kulübünde, %40.6’sının okul spor etkinliklerinde yer aldığı ve %52.1’inin ise hiç spor yapmadığı tespit edilmiştir. Oyun kültürü bakımından; öğrencilerin tercihi, %86.1’i “Bilgisayar oyunları”, %70.7’si “Zeka oyunları”, %62.6’sı “Atari oyunları” ve %49.8’i “Çocuk oyunları” olduğu gözlenmiştir. Geleneksel oyun kültürü hakkında; %54.3’ünün bilgi sahibi olduğu, %45.7’sinin bilgi sahibi olmadığı, bilgi sahibi olunan geleneksel spor dalları arasında da; %46.4’ü “Yağlı güreş”, %29.1’i “Cirit oyunu” ve %28.8’i “Atıcılık ve Avcılık” yer aldığı bulunmuştur. Sonuç olarak, ilköğretim öğrencilerinin, geleneksel oyun kültürü ve fiziksel aktivite alışkanlıklarının değişime uğradığı, yerini bilgisayar oyunlarına, yeni alışkanlıklara bıraktığı ve çocuklarımızın geleneksel oyun kültüründen uzaklaştığı kanısına varılmıştır

Effect of acetic acid on telomerase activity in premalignant and malignant cervical lesions

PubMe

Preparation and characterization of porous TiO2 thin films by sol-gel method for Extremely Thin Absorber-ETA solar cell applications

Nanoporous TiO2 thin films have been widely used as window and n-type material for the Extremely Thin Absorber-ETA solar cells. Nano scale titanium dioxide (TiO2) films were deposited on the surfaces of bare glass and Indium Tin Oxide (ITO) coated glass substrates using spin coating method. The effect of different spinning rates on the surface structures and properties of the films was investigated. The surface morphology of nanostructure TiO2-coated films were characterized by Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), Scanning Electron Microcopy (SEM), X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and BET studies. UV-Vis spectroscopy and dark I-V measurement were also performed to get the information about the optical and electrical properties. The test results proved that; by changing the spinning rates homogeneous anatase films of TiO2 with different thicknesses can be produced. The investigation show that TiO2 porous films obtained by spin coating method with 8000 rpm-spinning rate have the appropriate properties for ETA solar cell studyNano-gözenekli TiO2 ince filmleri, Çok İnce Soğurucu - ETA güneş gözeleri için pencere katmanı ve n-tipi malzeme olarak yaygın bir şekilde kullanılmaktadır. Nano boyutlu titanyum dioksit (TiO2) filmleri işlenmemiş cam ve indiyum kalay oksit (ITO) kaplı cam alttaş yüzeylerine döndürerek kaplama (spin coating) yöntemi kullanılarak büyütülmüştür. Farklı döndürme hızlarının yüzey yapıları ve ince filmlerin özellikleri üzerine etkileri incelenmiştir. Nano-yapıda TiO2 kaplı filmlerin yüzey morfolojisi Atomik Kuvvet Mikroskopu (AFM), Taramalı Elektron Mikroskopu (SEM), X-Işını Kırınımı (XRD) ve BET çalışmaları ile karakterize edilmiştir. Ayrıca, UV-Vis spektroskopi ve karanlık I-V ölçümleri optik ve elektriksel özellikler hakkında bilgi edinmek için gerçekleştirilmiştir. Deneme sonuçları, döndürme hızlarını değiştirerek farklı kalınlıklarda homojen anataz TiO2 ince filmlerinin üretilebildiğini göstermektedir. Araştırmalar 8000 rpm döndürme hızı ile döndürerek kaplama metodu ile elde edilen gözenekli TiO2 filmlerin ETA güneş gözeleri çalışması için uygun özellikler taşıdığını göstermekted

Neural Network-Based Equations for Predicting PGA and PGV in Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas

Parts of Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas have experienced increased rates of seismicity in recent years, providing new datasets of earthquake recordings to develop ground motion prediction models for this particular region of the Central and Eastern North America (CENA). This paper outlines a framework for using Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) to develop attenuation models from the ground motion recordings in this region. While attenuation models exist for the CENA, concerns over the increased rate of seismicity in this region necessitate investigation of ground motions prediction models particular to these states. To do so, an ANN-based framework is proposed to predict peak ground acceleration (PGA) and peak ground velocity (PGV) given magnitude, earthquake source-to-site distance, and shear wave velocity. In this framework, approximately 4,500 ground motions with magnitude greater than 3.0 recorded in these three states (Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas) since 2005 are considered. Results from this study suggest that existing ground motion prediction models developed for CENA do not accurately predict the ground motion intensity measures for earthquakes in this region, especially for those with low source-to-site distances or on very soft soil conditions. The proposed ANN models provide much more accurate prediction of the ground motion intensity measures at all distances and magnitudes. The proposed ANN models are also converted to relatively simple mathematical equations so that engineers can easily use them to predict the ground motion intensity measures for future events. Finally, through a sensitivity analysis, the contributions of the predictive parameters to the prediction of the considered intensity measures are investigated.Comment: 5th Geotechnical Earthquake Engineering and Soil Dynamics Conference, Austin, TX, USA, June 10-13. (2018

On asymptotically AdS-like solutions of three dimensional massive gravity

In this paper we have added Maxwell, Maxwell-Chern-Simons and gravitational Chern-Simons terms to Born-Infeld extended new massive gravity and we have found different types of (non)extremal charged black holes. For each black hole we find mass, angular momentum, entropy and temperature. Since our solutions are asymptotically AdS or warped-AdS, we infer central charges of dual CFTs by using Cardy's formula. Computing conserved charges associated to asymptotic symmetry transformations confirms calculation of central charges. For CFTs dual to asymptotically AdS solutions we find left central charges from Cardy's formula, while conserved charge approach gives both left and right central charges. For CFTs dual to asymptotically warped-AdS solutions, left and right central charges are equal when we have Maxwell-Chern-Simons term but they have different values when gravitational Chern-Simons term is included.Comment: 30 pages, 11 tables. Improved version (two new sections added for asymptotic conserved charges). Accepted in JHE

Spartalizumab or placebo in combination with dabrafenib and trametinib in patients with BRAF\textit{BRAF}V600-mutant melanoma: exploratory biomarker analyses from a randomized phase 3 trial (COMBI-i)

BackgroundThe randomized phase 3 COMBI-i trial did not meet its primary endpoint of improved progression-free survival (PFS) with spartalizumab plus dabrafenib and trametinib (sparta-DabTram) vs placebo plus dabrafenib and trametinib (placebo-DabTram) in the overall population of patients with unresectable/metastatic $\textit{BRAF}$V600-mutant melanoma. This prespecified exploratory biomarker analysis was performed to identify subgroups that may derive greater treatment benefit from sparta-DabTram.MethodsIn COMBI-i (ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02967692), 532 patients received spartalizumab 400 mg intravenously every 4 weeks plus dabrafenib 150 mg orally two times daily and trametinib 2 mg orally one time daily or placebo-DabTram. Baseline/on-treatment pharmacodynamic markers were assessed via flow cytometry-based immunophenotyping and plasma cytokine profiling. Baseline programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) status and T-cell phenotype were assessed via immunohistochemistry; $\textit{BRAF}$V600 mutation type, tumor mutational burden (TMB), and circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) via DNA sequencing; gene expression signatures via RNA sequencing; and CD4$^{+}$/CD8$^{+}$ T-cell ratio via immunophenotyping.ResultsExtensive biomarker analyses were possible in approximately 64% to 90% of the intention-to-treat population, depending on sample availability and assay. Subgroups based on PD-L1 status/TMB or T-cell inflammation did not show significant differences in PFS benefit with sparta-DabTram vs placebo-DabTram, although T-cell inflammation was prognostic across treatment arms. Subgroups defined by $\textit{BRAF}$V600K mutation (HR 0.45 (95% CI 0.21 to 0.99)), detectable ctDNA shedding (HR 0.75 (95% CI 0.58 to 0.96)), or CD4$^{+}$/CD8$^{+}$ ratio above median (HR 0.58 (95% CI 0.40 to 0.84)) derived greater PFS benefit with sparta-DabTram vs placebo-DabTram. In a multivariate analysis, ctDNA emerged as strongly prognostic (p=0.007), while its predictive trend did not reach significance; in contrast, CD4$^{+}$/CD8$^{+}$ ratio was strongly predictive (interaction p=0.0131).ConclusionsThese results support the feasibility of large-scale comprehensive biomarker analyses in the context of a global phase 3 study. T-cell inflammation was prognostic but not predictive of sparta-DabTram benefit, as patients with high T-cell inflammation already benefit from targeted therapy alone. Baseline ctDNA shedding also emerged as a strong independent prognostic variable, with predictive trends consistent with established measures of disease burden such as lactate dehydrogenase levels. CD4$^{+}$/CD8$^{+}$ T-cell ratio was significantly predictive of PFS benefit with sparta-DabTram but requires further validation as a biomarker in melanoma. Taken together with previous observations, further study of checkpoint inhibitor plus targeted therapy combination in patients with higher disease burden may be warranted