Quantum Universe on Extremely Small Space-time Scales

The semiclassical approach to the quantum geometrodynamical model is used for the description of the properties of the Universe on extremely small space-time scales. Under this approach, the matter in the Universe has two components of the quantum nature which behave as antigravitating fluids. The first component does not vanish in the limit ħ → 0 and can be associated with dark energy. The second component is described by an extremely rigid equation of state and goes to zero after the transition to large space-time scales. On small space-time scales, this quantum correction turns out to be significant. It determines the geometry of the Universe near the initial cosmological singularity point. This geometry is conformal to a unit four-sphere embedded in a five-dimensional Euclidean flat space. During the consequent expansion of the Universe, when reaching the post-Planck era, the geometry of the Universe changes into that conformal to a unit four-hyperboloid in a five-dimensional Lorentz-signatured flat space. This agrees with the hypothesis about the possible change of geometry after the origin of the expanding Universe from the region near the initial singularity point. The origin of the Universe can be interpreted as a quantum transition of the system from a region in the phase space forbidden for the classical motion, but where a trajectory in imaginary time exists, into a region, where the equations of motion have the solution which describes the evolution of the Universe in real time. Near the boundary between two regions, from the side of real time, the Universe undergoes almost an exponential expansion which passes smoothly into the expansion under the action of radiation dominating over matter which is described by the standard cosmological model.Квазiкласичний пiдхiд до квантово-геометродинамiчної моделi застосовано для опису властивостей всесвiту на екстремально малих просторово-часових масштабах. У цьому пiдходi матерiя у всесвiтi має двi компоненти квантової природи, якi поводять себе як антигравiтуючi рiдини. Перша компонента не набуває нульового значення в границi ħ → 0 та може бути асоцiйована з темною енергiєю. Друга компонента описується екстремально жорстким рiвнянням стану i прямує до нуля пiсля переходу до великих просторово-часових масштабiв. На малих просторовочасових масштабах ця квантова поправка вiдiграє значну роль. Вона визначає геометрiю всесвiту бiля точки початкової космологiчної сингулярностi. Ця геометрiя є конформною до одиничної 4-сфери, зануреної у 5-вимiрний евклiдовий плоский простiр. Пiд час наступного розширення всесвiту, пiсля досягнення пост-планкiвської ери, геометрiя всесвiту перетворюється на геометрiю, конформну до одиничного 4-гiперболоїда у 5- вимiрному плоскому просторi з лоренцiвською сигнатурою. Це узгоджується з гiпотезою про можливу змiну геометрiї пiсля виникнення всесвiту, що розширюється з областi поблизу точки початкової сингулярностi. Виникнення всесвiту може бути iнтерпретовано як квантовий перехiд системи з областi у фазовому просторi, забороненої для класичного руху, але де iснує траєкторiя в уявному часi, в область, де рiвняння руху мають розв’язок, що описує еволюцiю всесвiту у реальному часi. Поблизу межi мiж двома областями, з боку реального часу, всесвiт зазнає майже експоненцiального розширення, яке гладко переходить у розширення пiд дiєю випромiнювання, що домiнує над матерiєю, у вiдповiдностi iз стандартною космологiчною моделлю

Bimodal granulocyte transit time through the human lung demonstrated by deconvolution analysis

AbstractThe lungs are an important site of granulocyte pooling. The aim of the study is to quantify pulmonary vascular granulocyte transit time using deconvolution analysis, as has previously been performed to measure pulmonary red cell transit time. Granulocyte and red cell studies were performed in separate groups of patients. Both cell types were labelled with Tc-99m, which for granulocyte labelling was complexed with hexamethylpropyleneamine oxime (HMPAO). The red cell impulse response function (IRF) was monoexponential with a median transit time of 4·3 s. The granulocyte IRF was biexponential in 19 of 22 subjects, 18 of whom had systemic inflammation (inflammatory bowel disease, systemic vasculitis or graft-vs-host disease) and four were controls without inflammatory disease. The median transit time of the fast component ranged from 20 to 25 s and of the slow component 120–138 s in the four patient groups. The fraction of cells undergoing slow transit correlated significantly with (a) mean granulocyte transit time and (b) the fraction showing shape change in vitro. We conclude that granulocyte transit time through the pulmonary circulation is bimodal and that shape-changed (activated) cells transit more slowly that non-activated cells. The size of the fraction undergoing slow transit is closely related to mean granulocyte transit time and is an important determinant of the size of the pulmonary vascular granulocyte pool

Cardiovascular disease prevalence in patients with inflammatory arthritis, diabetes mellitus and osteoarthritis: a cross-sectional study in primary care

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>There is accumulating evidence for an increased cardiovascular burden in inflammatory arthritis, but the true magnitude of this cardiovascular burden is still debated. We sought to determine the prevalence rate of non-fatal cardiovascular disease (CVD) in inflammatory arthritis, diabetes mellitus and osteoarthritis (non-systemic inflammatory comparator) compared to controls, in primary care.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Data on CVD morbidity (ICPC codes K75 (myocardial infarction), K89 (transient ischemic attack), and/or K90 (stroke/cerebrovascular accident)) from patients with inflammatory arthritis (n = 1,518), diabetes mellitus (n = 11,959), osteoarthritis (n = 4,040) and controls (n = 158,439) were used from the Netherlands Information Network of General Practice (LINH), a large nationally representative primary care based cohort. Data were analyzed using multi-level logistic regression analyses and corrected for age, gender, hypercholesterolemia and hypertension.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>CVD prevalence rates were significantly higher in inflammatory arthritis, diabetes mellitus and osteoarthritis compared with controls. These results attenuated - especially in diabetes mellitus - but remained statistically significant after adjustment for age, gender, hypertension and hypercholesterolemia for inflammatory arthritis (OR = 1.5 (1.2-1.9)) and diabetes mellitus (OR = 1.3 (1.2-1.4)). The association between osteoarthritis and CVD reversed after adjustment (OR = 0.8 (0.7-1.0)).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>These results confirm an increased prevalence rate of CVD in inflammatory arthritis to levels resembling diabetes mellitus. By contrast, lack of excess CVD in osteoarthritis further suggests that the systemic inflammatory load is critical to the CVD burden in inflammatory arthritis.</p