317 research outputs found
“Detection and significance of adenoviruses in cases of sudden infant death”.
Respiratory tract infections have been thought to act as a trigger mechanism in sudden infant death. In 118 autopsy cases of infant death, paraffin-embedded or frozen lung tissues were investigated by means of a nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to detect adenovirus (AV) DNA. The primers used are general primers and allow the detection of most pathogenic adenoviruses with high specificity and sensitivity and independently of devitalization of viruses or degradation of viral DNA. For the investigation three groups were established: there were 13 cases of unnatural death, 78 cases of natural death without histological signs of interstitial pneumonia, and 27 cases with interstitial pneumonia. The first group was AV negative. In the group without interstitial pneumonia AV was detected in 10.2% of the cases. In the group with interstitial pneumonia the frequency of AV detection was almost 26%. The results obtained demonstrate an association between interstitial pneumonia and detection of AV DNA, indicating that AV may play an important part in pulmonary infection in infants. Histological evidence of interstitial pneumonia was not observed in all AV-positive cases, perhaps because nonspecific virus-related changes occurred only in early stages of viral infection. Comparison of the AV frequency in SIDS (15%) and non-SIDS cases (4%) indicates an association between pulmonary AV infections and sudden death. These results support the working hypothesis of respiratory infections acting as a trigger mechanism in sudden infant death
Non-intersecting leaf insertion algorithm for tree structure models
We present an algorithm and an implementation to insert broadleaves or needleleaves to a quantitative structure model according to an arbitrary distribution, and a data structure to store the required information efficiently. A structure model contains the geometry and branching structure of a tree. The purpose of the work is to offer a tool for making more realistic simulations with tree models with leaves, particularly for tree models developed from terrestrial laser scan (TLS) measurements. We demonstrate leaf insertion using cylinder-based structure models, but the associated software implementation is written in a way that enables the easy use of other types of structure models. Distributions controlling leaf location, size and angles as well as the shape of individual leaves are user-definable, allowing any type of distribution. The leaf generation process consist of two stages, the first of which generates individual leaf geometry following the input distributions, while in the other stage intersections are prevented by doing transformations when required. Initial testing was carried out on English oak trees to demonstrate the approach and to assess the required computational resources. Depending on the size and complexity of the tree, leaf generation takes between 6 and 18 minutes. Various leaf area density distributions were defined, and the resulting leaf covers were compared to manual leaf harvesting measurements. The results are not conclusive, but they show great potential for the method. In the future, if our method is demonstrated to work well for TLS data from multiple tree types, the approach is likely to be very useful for 3D structure and radiative transfer simulation applications, including remote sensing, ecology and forestry, among others
Instanton effects in N=1 brane models and the Kahler metric of twisted matter
We consider locally consistent systems of magnetized D9 branes on an
orbifolded six-torus which support N=1 gauge theories. In such realizations,
the matter multiplets arise from "twisted" strings connecting different stacks
of branes. The introduction of Euclidean 5 branes (E5) wrapped on the
six-dimensional compact space leads to instanton effects. For instance, if the
system is engineered so as to yield SQCD, a single E5 brane may account for the
ADS/TVY superpotential. We discuss the subtle interplay that exists between the
annuli diagrams with an E5 boundary and the holomorphicity properties of the
effective low-energy action of the N=1 theory. The consistency of this picture
allows to obtain information on the Kahler metric of the chiral matter
multiplets arising from twisted strings.Comment: 33 pages, 4 figures. V2: improved discussion, clarifyng comments and
references added. Version to be published in JHE
Unoriented D-brane Instantons vs Heterotic worldsheet Instantons
We discuss Fermi interactions of four hyperini generated by ``stringy''
instantons in a Type I / Heterotic dual pair on T^4/Z_2.Comment: Minor corrections and clarifications. Added reference
Instantons in N=2 magnetized D-brane worlds
In a toroidal orbifold of type IIB string theory we study instanton effects
in N=2 super Yang-Mills theories engineered with systems of wrapped magnetized
D9 branes and Euclidean D5 branes. We analyze the various open string sectors
in this brane system and study the 1-loop amplitudes described by annulus
diagrams with mixed boundary conditions, explaining their role in the stringy
instanton calculus. We show in particular that the non-holomorphic terms in
these annulus amplitudes precisely reconstruct the appropriate Kahler metric
factors that are needed to write the instanton correlators in terms of purely
holomorphic variables. We also explicitly derive the correct holomorphic
structure of the instanton induced low energy effective action in the Coulomb
branch.Comment: 40 pages, 5 figures, JHEP class. Some footnotes added and typos
corrected. Version published in JHE
Cartan-Weyl 3-algebras and the BLG Theory I: Classification of Cartan-Weyl 3-algebras
As Lie algebras of compact connected Lie groups, semisimple Lie algebras have
wide applications in the description of continuous symmetries of physical
systems. Mathematically, semisimple Lie algebra admits a Cartan-Weyl basis of
generators which consists of a Cartan subalgebra of mutually commuting
generators H_I and a number of step generators E^\alpha that are characterized
by a root space of non-degenerate one-forms \alpha. This simple decomposition
in terms of the root space allows for a complete classification of semisimple
Lie algebras. In this paper, we introduce the analogous concept of a
Cartan-Weyl Lie 3-algebra. We analyze their structure and obtain a complete
classification of them. Many known examples of metric Lie 3-algebras (e.g. the
Lorentzian 3-algebras) are special cases of the Cartan-Weyl 3-algebras. Due to
their elegant and simple structure, we speculate that Cartan-Weyl 3-algebras
may be useful for describing some kinds of generalized symmetries. As an
application, we consider their use in the Bagger-Lambert-Gustavsson (BLG)
theory.Comment: LaTeX. 34 pages.v2. deleted some distracting paragraphs in the
introduction to bring more out the main results of the paper. typos corrected
and references adde
Dynamical supersymmetry breaking from unoriented D-brane instantons
We study the non-perturbative dynamics of an unoriented Z_5-quiver theory of
GUT kind with gauge group U(5) and chiral matter. At strong coupling the
non-perturbative dynamics is described in terms of set of baryon/meson
variables satisfying a quantum deformed constraint. We compute the effective
superpotential of the theory and show that it admits a line of supersymmetric
vacua and a phase where supersymmetry is dynamically broken via gaugino
condensation.Comment: 24 pages, 1 figur
Non-perturbative Vacuum Destabilization and D-brane Dynamics
We analyze the process of string vacuum destabilization due to instanton
induced superpotential couplings which depend linearly on charged fields. These
non-perturbative instabilities result in potentials for the D-brane moduli and
lead to processes of D-brane recombination, motion and partial moduli
stabilization at the non-perturbative vacuum. By using techniques of D-brane
instanton calculus, we explicitly compute this scalar potential in toroidal
orbifold compactifications with magnetized D-branes by summing over the
possible discrete instanton configurations. We illustrate explicitly the
resulting dynamics in globally consistent models. These instabilities can have
phenomenological applications to breaking hidden sector gauge groups, open
string moduli stabilization and supersymmetry breaking. Our results suggest
that breaking supersymmetry by Polonyi-like models in string theory is more
difficult than expected.Comment: 61 pages, 6 figures, 5 tables; Minor corrections, version published
in JHE
D-brane Instantons on the T^6/Z_3 orientifold
We give a detailed microscopic derivation of gauge and stringy instanton
generated superpotentials for gauge theories living on D3-branes at
Z_3-orientifold singularities. Gauge instantons are generated by D(-1)-branes
and lead to Affleck, Dine and Seiberg (ADS) like superpotentials in the
effective N=1 gauge theories with three generations of bifundamental and
anti/symmetric matter. Stringy instanton effects are generated by Euclidean
ED3-branes wrapping four-cycles on T^6/\Z_3. They give rise to Majorana masses
in one case and non-renormalizable superpotentials for the other cases. Finally
we determine the conditions under which ADS like superpotentials are generated
in N=1 gauge theories with adjoints, fundamentals, symmetric and antisymmetric
chiral matter.Comment: 31 pages, no figure
FCNC Processes from D-brane Instantons
Low string scale models might be tested at the LHC directly by their Regge
resonances. For such models it is important to investigate the constraints of
Standard Model precision measurements on the string scale. It is shown that
highly suppressed FCNC processes like K0- bar K^0 oscillations or leptonic
decays of the D0-meson provide non-negligible lower bounds on both the
perturbatively and surprisingly also non-perturbatively induced string theory
couplings. We present both the D-brane instanton formalism to compute such
amplitudes and discuss various possible scenarios and their constraints on the
string scale for (softly broken) supersymmetric intersecting D-brane models.Comment: 28 pages, 13 figures, reference added, 1 typo corrected, style file
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