38,101 research outputs found
Susceptibility of a two-level atom near an isotropic photonic band edge: transparency and band edge profile reconstruction
We discuss the necessary conditions for a two-level system in the presence of
an isotropic band edge to be transparent to a probe laser field. The two-level
atom is transparent whenever it is coupled to a reservoir constituted of two
parts - a flat and a non-flat density of modes representing a PBG structure. A
proposal on the reconstruction of the band edge profile from the experimentally
measured susceptibility is also presented.Comment: 15 pages, 3 figure
Treatment of heavy quarks in QCD
We show that to correctly describe the effects of the heavy-quark mass, m_h,
in DGLAP evolution, it is necessary to work in the so-called `physical' scheme.
In this way, we automatically obtain a smooth transition through the
heavy-quark thresholds. Moreover, we show that to obtain NLO accuracy, it is
sufficient to account for the heavy-quark mass, m_h, just in the LO (one-loop)
splitting function. The use of the MS-bar factorisation scheme is not
appropriate, since at NLO we deal with a mixture of quarks and gluon (that is,
the mass of the heavy parton is not well-defined). The formulae for the
explicit m_h dependence of the splitting functions, and for alpha_s, are
presented.Comment: 14 pages, 3 figures, references updated, version to be published in
EPJ
Treatment of the infrared contribution: NLO QED evolution as a pedagogic example
We show that the conventional prescription used for DGLAP parton evolution at
NLO has an inconsistent treatment of the contribution from the infrared (IR)
region. We illustrate the problem by studying the simple example of QED
evolution, treating the electron and photon as partons. The deficiency is not
present in a physical approach which removes the IR divergency and allows
calculation in the normal 4-dimensional space.Comment: 15 pages, 2 figures, erratum at the end of the articl
Improving the Drell-Yan probe of small x partons at the LHC via a k_t cut
We show that the observation of the Drell-Yan production of low-mass
lepton-pairs (M 3) at the LHC can make a
direct measurement of parton distribution functions (PDFs) in the low x region,
x < 10^{-4}. We describe a procedure that greatly reduces the sensitivity of
the predictions to the choice of the factorization scale and, in particular,
show how, by imposing a cutoff on the transverse momentum of the lepton-pair,
the data are able to probe PDFs in the important low scale, low x domain. We
include the effects of the Sudakov suppression factor.Comment: 14 pages, 5 figures, version to be published in EPJC, with expanded
explanatio
Physical factorisation scheme for PDFs for non-inclusive applications
We introduce the physical factorisation scheme, which is necessary to
describe observables which are `not completely inclusive'. We derive the
formulae for NLO DGLAP evolution in this scheme, and also for the `rotation' of
the conventional MSbar PDFs into the physical representation. Unlike, the MSbar
prescription, where, for example, the gluon PDF at NLO obtains an admixture of
the quark-singlet PDF, and vice-versa, the physical approach does not mix
parton PDFs of different types. That is, the physical approach retains the
precise quantum numbers of each PDF. The NLO corrections to DGLAP evolution in
the physical scheme are less than those in the MSbar case, indicating a better
convergence of the perturbative series
Lactobacillus crispatus as the etiological agent in cytolytic vaginosis
Introduction: Lactobacillus spp. dominate the vaginal niche but can also be involved in other vaginal dysbiosis, such as cytolytic vaginosis (CV), which remains poorly studied. It is characterized by a cryptic symptomatology, that often confounds the clinic.
Goals: The aim of this work was to search for the etiological agent of CV, by studying the vaginal microbiome and metabolomics of women afflicted with this disease and compare it with women with other clinical diagnostic.
Methods: Twenty-one vaginal washes have been collected from women attending a gynaecology consultation of a private clinic. The samples were categorized according with clinical diagnosis at the time of sampling (CV, 11; vulvovaginal candidosis, 8; Healthy, 2). The distribution of bacterial species, and their prevalence was assessed by next-generation sequencing of the 16S V4 region. In addition, total lactate D-lactic acid and L-lactic acid was quantified in all washes by a commercial kit, as well as lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity.
Results: L. crispatus was dominant (>70%) in all CV samples. Lactate was increased in CV in comparison with other cases. The presence of D-lactic acid isomer was associated with presence of L. crispatus. LDH activity was increased in vaginal washes that tested positive for the presence of L. crispatus, however no direct association was found with CV cases.
Discussion/Conclusions: The microbiome of women afflicted with CV was dominated in all cases by L. crispatus, contrarily with the results obtained for women diagnosed with other clinical symptomatology. In addition, the finding that an increase in D-lactic acid is associated with CV patients can be related to the role of L. crispatus in CV. The determination of LDH activity did not correlate exclusively with CV cases. On the other hand, D-lactic acid and total lactate quantification could be used as a valuable biomarker to diagnose this cryptic vaginal infection.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
The LHC can probe small x PDFs; the treatment of the infrared region
First, we show how to reduce the sensitivity of the NLO predictions of the
Drell-Yan production of low-mass, lepton-pairs, at high rapidity, to the choice
of factorization scale. In this way, observations of this process at the LHC
can make direct measurements of parton distribution functions in the low x
domain; x < 10^{-4}. Second, we find an inconsistency in the conventional NLO
treatment of the infrared region. We illustrate the problem using the NLO
coefficient function of Drell-Yan production.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figure, contribution to the Proceedings of
"Diffraction2012", Puerto del Carmen, Lanzarote, Spain, Sept. 10-15th, 201
Assessment of Lactobacillus crispatus´ role in vaginal infections: friend or foe?
Lactobacillus spp. are the most prevalent microorganisms in the vaginal milleu. Several probiotic mechanisms have been associated with Lactobacillus, but the most relevant one is lactate production – resulting in a low pH value, typical of the healthy vagina. However, its pathogenic state is still unknown. We aim to elucidate the role of a commensal vaginal microorganism, Lactobacillus crispatus, in vaginal infections. Twenty-four vaginal washes have been collected from women attending a gynaecology consultation of a private clinic. The samples were categorized according with clinical diagnosis at the time of sampling. The distribution of bacterial species, and their prevalence was assessed by Next-Generation Sequencing of the 16S rRNA V4 region. In addition, L- and D-lactate concentration, and LDH enzymatic activity was quantified in all washes by a commercial kit. Detection of Candida spp. was performed by PCR. L. crispatus was dominant (>70%) in 11 out of 24 samples – diagnosed for vaginal atrophy (VA, 3), cytolytic vaginosis (CV, 2) and lactobacillosis (LB, 2). Lactate was increased in CV, LB and VA cases only. The remaining samples, diagnosed for vulvovaginal candidosis in its majority, had lower prevalence of L. crispatus; and lower to moderate lactate metabolite. There was not a direct relationship between LDH enzymatic activity and clinical diagnosis. L. crispatus dominance, associated with increased lactate production, was observed in CV, LB and VA cases. These results indicate that this microorganism might have a role in dysbiosis of the vagina associated with these specific pathologies.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
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