Beyond the Small-Angle Approximation For MBR Anisotropy from Seeds

In this paper we give a general expression for the energy shift of massless particles travelling through the gravitational field of an arbitrary matter distribution as calculated in the weak field limit in an asymptotically flat space-time. It is {\it not} assumed that matter is non-relativistic. We demonstrate the surprising result that if the matter is illuminated by a uniform brightness background that the brightness pattern observed at a given point in space-time (modulo a term dependent on the oberver's velocity) depends only on the matter distribution on the observer's past light-cone. These results apply directly to the cosmological MBR anisotropy pattern generated in the immediate vicinity of of an object like a cosmic string or global texture. We apply these results to cosmic strings, finding a correction to previously published results for in the small-angle approximation. We also derive the full-sky anisotropy pattern of a collapsing texture knot.Comment: 23 pages, FERMILAB-Pub-94/047-

Impact of BRAF, MLH1 on the incidence of microsatellite instability high colorectal cancer in populations based study

We have identified an alternative pathway of tumorigenesis in sporadic colon cancer, involving microsatellite instability due to mismatched repair methylation, which may be driven by mutations in the BRAF gene (V600E). Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the most common cancer in the world, and African Americans show a higher incidence than other populations in the United States. We analyzed sporadic CRCs in Omani (of African origin, N = 61), Iranian (of Caucasian origin, N = 53) and African American (N = 95) patients for microsatellite instability, expression status of mismatched repair genes (hMLH1, hMSH2) and presence of the BRAF (V600E) mutation. In the Omani group, all tumors with BRAF mutations were located in the left side of the colon, and for African Americans, 88% [7] of tumors with BRAF mutations were found in the right side of the colon. In African Americans, 31% of tumors displayed microsatellite instability at two or more markers (MSI-H), while this rate was 26% and 13% for tumors in the Iranian and Omani groups, respectively. A majority of these MSI-H tumors were located in the proximal colon (right side) in African American and Iranian subjects, whereas most were located in the distal colon (left side) in Omani subjects. Defects in hMLH1 gene expression were found in 77% of MSI-H tumors in both African Americans and Iranians and in 38% of tumors in Omanis. BRAF mutations were observed in all subjects: 10% of tumors in African Americans (8/82), 2% of tumors in Iranians (1/53), and 19% of tumors in Omanis (11/59). Our findings suggest that CRC occurs at a younger age in Omani and Iranian patients, and these groups showed a lower occurrence of MSI-H than did African American patients. Our multivariate model suggests an important and significant role of hMLH1 expression and BRAF mutation in MSI-H CRC in these populations. The high occurrence of MSI-H tumors in African Americans may have significant implications for treatment, since patients with MSI-H lesions display a different response to chemotherapeutic agents such as 5-fluorouracil

Spatiotemporal correlations of handset-based service usages

We study spatiotemporal correlations and temporal diversities of handset-based service usages by analyzing a dataset that includes detailed information about locations and service usages of 124 users over 16 months. By constructing the spatiotemporal trajectories of the users we detect several meaningful places or contexts for each one of them and show how the context affects the service usage patterns. We find that temporal patterns of service usages are bound to the typical weekly cycles of humans, yet they show maximal activities at different times. We first discuss their temporal correlations and then investigate the time-ordering behavior of communication services like calls being followed by the non-communication services like applications. We also find that the behavioral overlap network based on the clustering of temporal patterns is comparable to the communication network of users. Our approach provides a useful framework for handset-based data analysis and helps us to understand the complexities of information and communications technology enabled human behavior.Comment: 11 pages, 15 figure

Characterizing the non-linear growth of large-scale structure in the Universe

The local Universe displays a rich hierarchical pattern of galaxy clusters and superclusters. The early Universe, however, was almost smooth, with only slight 'ripples' seen in the cosmic microwave background radiation. Models of the evolution of structure link these observations through the effect of gravity, because the small initially overdense fluctuations attract additional mass as the Universe expands. During the early stages, the ripples evolve independently, like linear waves on the surface of deep water. As the structures grow in mass, they interact with other in non-linear ways, more like waves breaking in shallow water. We have recently shown how cosmic structure can be characterized by phase correlations associated with these non-linear interactions, but hitherto there was no way to use that information to reach quantitative insights into the growth of structures. Here we report a method of revealing phase information, and quantify how this relates to the formation of a filaments, sheets and clusters of galaxies by non-linear collapse. We use a new statistic based on information entropy to separate linear from non-linear effects and thereby are able to disentangle those aspects of galaxy clustering that arise from initial conditions (the ripples) from the subsequent dynamical evolution.Comment: Accepted for publication in Nature. For high-resolution Figure 3, please see http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/~ppzpc/phases/n0colorphase.html, For the animations and the idea of this paper please see http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/~ppzpc/phases/index.htm

A computational approach to chemical etiologies of diabetes.

Computational meta-analysis can link environmental chemicals to genes and proteins involved in human diseases, thereby elucidating possible etiologies and pathogeneses of non-communicable diseases. We used an integrated computational systems biology approach to examine possible pathogenetic linkages in type 2 diabetes (T2D) through genome-wide associations, disease similarities, and published empirical evidence. Ten environmental chemicals were found to be potentially linked to T2D, the highest scores were observed for arsenic, 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin, hexachlorobenzene, and perfluorooctanoic acid. For these substances we integrated disease and pathway annotations on top of protein interactions to reveal possible pathogenetic pathways that deserve empirical testing. The approach is general and can address other public health concerns in addition to identifying diabetogenic chemicals, and offers thus promising guidance for future research in regard to the etiology and pathogenesis of complex diseases

Grand Unified Inflation Confronts WMAP

In a class of realistic four and five dimensional supersymmetric grand unified models, the scalar spectral index is found to be $n_s=0.98 (\pm 0.01)$, in excellent agreement with the values determined by several previous experiments and most recently by the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP). The models predict $dn_s/d{\rm ln}k\sim 10^{-3}$ and a negligible tensor-to-scalar ratio $r\sim 10^{-8}$. A new five dimensional supersymmetric SO(10) model along these is presented in which inflation is associated with the breaking of SO(10) to SU(5) at scale $M$, with $\delta T/T\propto (M/M_{\rm Planck})^2$, so that $M\simeq 10^{16}$ GeV. The inflaton decay leads to the observed baryon asymmetry via leptogenesis. We also discuss how the monopole problem is solved without the use of non-renormalizable terms.Comment: A new resolution of the monopole problem proposed. 1+9 page

The Standard Cosmological Model

The Standard Model of Particle Physics (SMPP) is an enormously successful description of high energy physics, driving ever more precise measurements to find "physics beyond the standard model", as well as providing motivation for developing more fundamental ideas that might explain the values of its parameters. Simultaneously, a description of the entire 3-dimensional structure of the present-day Universe is being built up painstakingly. Most of the structure is stochastic in nature, being merely the result of the particular realisation of the "initial conditions" within our observable Universe patch. However, governing this structure is the Standard Model of Cosmology (SMC), which appears to require only about a dozen parameters. Cosmologists are now determining the values of these quantities with increasing precision in order to search for "physics beyond the standard model", as well as trying to develop an understanding of the more fundamental ideas which might explain the values of its parameters. Although it is natural to see analogies between the two Standard Models, some intrinsic differences also exist, which are discussed here. Nevertheless, a truly fundamental theory will have to explain both the SMPP and SMC, and this must include an appreciation of which elements are deterministic and which are accidental. Considering different levels of stochasticity within cosmology may make it easier to accept that physical parameters in general might have a non-deterministic aspect.Comment: 16 pages, 2 figures, invited talk at "Theory Canada 1", June 2005, Vancouve

Physics, Astrophysics and Cosmology with Gravitational Waves

Gravitational wave detectors are already operating at interesting sensitivity levels, and they have an upgrade path that should result in secure detections by 2014. We review the physics of gravitational waves, how they interact with detectors (bars and interferometers), and how these detectors operate. We study the most likely sources of gravitational waves and review the data analysis methods that are used to extract their signals from detector noise. Then we consider the consequences of gravitational wave detections and observations for physics, astrophysics, and cosmology.Comment: 137 pages, 16 figures, Published version <http://www.livingreviews.org/lrr-2009-2

f(R) theories

Over the past decade, f(R) theories have been extensively studied as one of the simplest modifications to General Relativity. In this article we review various applications of f(R) theories to cosmology and gravity - such as inflation, dark energy, local gravity constraints, cosmological perturbations, and spherically symmetric solutions in weak and strong gravitational backgrounds. We present a number of ways to distinguish those theories from General Relativity observationally and experimentally. We also discuss the extension to other modified gravity theories such as Brans-Dicke theory and Gauss-Bonnet gravity, and address models that can satisfy both cosmological and local gravity constraints.Comment: 156 pages, 14 figures, Invited review article in Living Reviews in Relativity, Published version, Comments are welcom