On the spin of gravitational bosons

We unearth spacetime structure of massive vector bosons, gravitinos, and gravitons. While the curvatures associated with these particles carry a definite spin, the underlying potentials cannot be, and should not be, interpreted as single spin objects. For instance, we predict that a spin measurement in the rest frame of a massive gravitino will yield the result 3/2 with probability one half, and 1/2 with probability one half. The simplest scenario leaves the Riemannian curvature unaltered; thus avoiding conflicts with classical tests of the theory of general relativity. However, the quantum structure acquires additional contributions to the propagators, and it gives rise to additional phases.Comment: Honorable mention, 2002 Gravity Research Foundation Essay

PHYSICAL ACTIVITY, SELF-ESTEEM AND BODY COMPOSITION AMONG MALE COLLEGE TEACHERS

The aim of the present study was to assess the relationship of physical activity level with self-esteem, anthropometric characteristics and body composition among male college teachers. Total 300 male college teachers from different colleges of Malwa Region of Punjab were selected thorough purposive sampling technique. The age of subjects ranged between 31 to 60 years. Height was measured by using the standard anthropometric rod. Body weight of the subjects was measured with a portable weighing machine. Body mass index was then calculated using the formula weight (kg)/height2 (m). The skinfolds thicknesses of body parts of the subjects were taken with Harpenden skinfold caliper. Percentage body fat as estimated from the sum of skinfolds was calculated using standardized equations. Physical activity level of the subjects was evaluated with the help of International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) long version (2002). Self-esteem of the subjects was examined with the help of Rosenberg’s self-esteem scale. The results of the study revealed that 30 % of male college teachers were physically inactive, 54.67% were moderately active and 15.33% were highly physically active. It was shown from results that 47 % of male college teachers had normal weight, 41.33% were overweight and 11.67% were reported to be obese. The result of the study shows that physical activity level of college teachers was found to have significantly negative relationship with height (p<0.05), weight (p<0.05), BMI (p<0.05), fat percent (p<0.05) and lean body mass(p<0.05). Self-esteem had significantly positive association (p<0.05) with physical activity level among college teachers. It is concluded that the physical activity enhances the self-esteem and body composition among the college teachers.  Article visualizations

Some Remarks on the Neutrino Oscillation Phase in a Gravitational Field

The weak gravitational field expansion method to account for the gravitationally induced neutrino oscillation effect is critically examined. It is shown that the splitting of the neutrino phase into a ``kinematic'' and a ``gravitational'' phase is not always possible because the relativistic factor modifies the particle interference phase splitting condition in a gravitational field.Comment: 4 pages, no figure

Flavor-oscillation clocks, continuous quantum measurements and a violation of Einstein equivalence principle

The relation between Einstein equivalence principle and a continuous quantum measurement is analyzed in the context of the recently proposed flavor-oscillation clocks, an idea pioneered by Ahluwalia and Burgard (Gen. Rel Grav. Errata 29, 681 (1997)). We will calculate the measurement outputs if a flavor-oscillation clock, which is immersed in a gravitational field, is subject to a continuous quantum measurement. Afterwards, resorting to the weak equivalence principle, we obtain the corresponding quantities in a freely falling reference frame. Finally, comparing this last result with the measurement outputs that would appear in a Minkowskian spacetime it will be found that they do not coincide, in other words, we have a violation of Einstein equivalence principle. This violation appears in two different forms, namely: (i) the oscillation frequency in a freely falling reference frame does not match with the case predicted by general relativity, a feature previously obtained by Ahluwalia; (ii) the probability distribution of the measurement outputs, obtained by an observer in a freely falling reference frame, does not coincide with the results that would appear in the case of a Minkowskian spacetime.Comment: 16 pages, accepted in Mod. Phys. Letts.

Special relativity with two invariant scales: Motivation, Fermions, Bosons, Locality, and Critique

We present a Master equation for description of fermions and bosons for special relativities with two invariant scales, SR2, (c and lambda_P). We introduce canonically-conjugate variables (chi^0, chi) to (epsilon, pi) of Judes-Visser. Together, they bring in a formal element of linearity and locality in an otherwise non-linear and non-local theory. Special relativities with two invariant scales provide all corrections, say, to the standard model of the high energy physics, in terms of one fundamental constant, lambda_P. It is emphasized that spacetime of special relativities with two invariant scales carries an intrinsic quantum-gravitational character. In an addenda, we also comment on the physical importance of a phase factor that the whole literature on the subject has missed and present a brief critique of SR2. In addition, we remark that the most natural and physically viable SR2 shall require momentum-space and spacetime to be non-commutative with the non-commutativity determined by the spin content and C, P, and T properties of the examined representation space. Therefore, in a physically successful SR2, the notion of spacetime is expected to be deeply intertwined with specific properties of the test particle.Comment: Int. J. Mod. Phys. D (in press). Extended version of a set of two informal lectures given in "La Sapienza" (Rome, May 2001

Comment on "Gravitationally Induced Neutrino-Oscillation Phases"

We critically examine the recent claim (gr-qc/9603008) of a ``new effect'' of gravitationally induced quantum mechanical phases in neutrino oscillations. A straightforward exercise in the Schwarzschild coordinates appropriate to a spherically symmetric non-rotating star shows that, although there is a general relativistic effect of the star's gravity on neutrino oscillations, it is not of the form claimed, and is too small to be measured.Comment: Plain LaTeX, 7 pages, no figure

Interactions of a j=1j=1 boson in the 2(2j+1)2(2j+1) component theory

The amplitudes for boson-boson and fermion-boson interactions are calculated in the second order of perturbation theory in the Lobachevsky space. An essential ingredient of the used model is the Weinberg's $2(2j+1)$ component formalism for describing a particle of spin $j$, recently developed substantially. The boson-boson amplitude is then compared with the two-fermion amplitude obtained long ago by Skachkov on the ground of the hamiltonian formulation of quantum field theory on the mass hyperboloid, $p_0^2 -{\bf p}^2=M^2$, proposed by Kadyshevsky. The parametrization of the amplitudes by means of the momentum transfer in the Lobachevsky space leads to same spin structures in the expressions of $T$ matrices for the fermion and the boson cases. However, certain differences are found. Possible physical applications are discussed.Comment: REVTeX 3.0 file. 12pp. Substantially revised version of IFUNAM preprints FT-93-24, FT-93-3

A Consideration of Biomarkers to be Used for Evaluation of Inflammation in Human Nutritional Studies

To monitor inflammation in a meaningful way, the markers used must be valid: they must reflect the inflammatory process under study and they must be predictive of future health status. In 2009, the Nutrition and Immunity Task Force of the International Life Sciences Institute, European Branch, organized an expert group to attempt to identify robust and predictive markers, or patterns or clusters of markers, which can be used to assess inflammation in human nutrition studies in the general population. Inflammation is a normal process and there are a number of cells and mediators involved. These markers are involved in, or are produced as a result of, the inflammatory process irrespective of its trigger and its location and are common to all inflammatory situations. Currently, there is no consensus as to which markers of inflammation best represent low-grade inflammation or differentiate between acute and chronic inflammation or between the various phases of inflammatory responses. There are a number of modifying factors that affect the concentration of an inflammatory marker at a given time, including age, diet and body fatness, among others. Measuring the concentration of inflammatory markers in the bloodstream under basal conditions is probably less informative compared with data related to the concentration change in response to a challenge. A number of inflammatory challenges have been described. However, many of these challenges are poorly standardised. Patterns and clusters may be important as robust biomarkers of inflammation. Therefore, it is likely that a combination of multiple inflammatory markers and integrated readouts based upon kinetic analysis following defined challenges will be the most informative biomarker of inflammation. Copyright © ILSI Europe 2013.Peer Reviewe

An Integrated In Vitro–In Silico Approach for Silver Nanoparticle Dosimetry in Cell Cultures

Potential human and environmental hazards resulting from the exposure of living organisms to silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) have been the subject of intensive discussion in the last decade. Despite the growing use of Ag NPs in biomedical applications, a quantification of the toxic effects as a function of the total silver mass reaching cells (namely, target cell dose) is still needed. To provide a more accurate dose-response analysis, we propose a novel integrated approach combining well-established computational and experimental methodologies. We first used a particokinetic model (ISD3) for providing experimental validation of computed Ag NP sedimentation in static-cuvette experiments. After validation, ISD3 was employed to predict the total mass of silver reaching human endothelial cells and hepatocytes cultured in 96 well plates. Cell viability measured after 24 h of culture was then related to this target cell dose. Our results show that the dose perceived by the cell monolayer after 24 h of exposure is around 85% lower than the administered nominal media concentration. Therefore, accurate dosimetry considering particle characteristics and experimental conditions (e.g., time, size and shape of wells) should be employed for better interpreting effects induced by the amount of silver reaching cells