2,286 research outputs found
Willingness to participate in future HIV prevention studies among gay and bisexual men in Scotland, UK: a challenge for intervention trials
This article examines willingness to participate in future HIV prevention research among gay and bisexual men in Scotland, UK. Anonymous, self-complete questionnaires and Orasure Gäó oral fluid samples were collected in commercial gay venues. 1,320 men were eligible for inclusion. 78.2% reported willingness to participate in future HIV prevention research; 64.6% for an HIV vaccine, 57.4% for a behaviour change study, and 53.0% for a rectal microbicide. In multivariate analysis, for HIV vaccine research, greater age, minority ethnicity, and not providing an oral fluid sample were associated with lower willingness; heterosexual orientation and not providing an oral fluid sample were for microbicides; higher education and greater HIV treatment optimism were for behaviour change. STI testing remained associated with being more willing to participate in microbicide research and frequent gay scene use remained associated with being more willing to participate in behaviour change research. Having an STI in the past 12 months remained significantly associated with being willing to participate in all three study types. There were no associations between sexual risk behaviour and willingness. Although most men expressed willingness to participate in future research, recruitment of high-risk men, who have the potential to benefit most, is likely to be more challenging
Quantum black hole entropy and Newton constant renormalization
We discuss the status of the black hole entropy formula in low energy effective field theory. The low energy expansion of the
black hole entropy is studied in a non-equilibrium situation: the semiclassical
decay of hot flat space by black hole nucleation. In this context the entropy
can be defined as an enhancement factor in the semiclassical decay rate, which
is dominated by a sphaleron-like saddle point. We find that all perturbative
divergences appearing in Euclidean calculations of the entropy can be
renormalized in low energy couplings. We also discuss some formal aspects of
the relation between the Euclidean and Hamiltonian approaches to the one loop
corrections to black hole entropy and geometric entropy, and we emphasize the
virtues of the use of covariant regularization prescriptions. In fact, the
definition of black hole entropy in terms of decay rates {\it requires} the use
of covariant measures and accordingly, covariant regularizations in path
integrals. Finally, we speculate on the possibility that low energy effective
field theory could be sufficient to understand the microscopic degrees of
freedom underlying black hole entropy. We propose a qualitative physical
picture in which black hole entropy refers to a space of quasi-coherent states
of infalling matter, together with its gravitational field. We stress that this
scenario might provide a low energy explanation of both the black hole entropy
and the information puzzle.Comment: 24 pages, LaTeX. Several points have been clarified, though results
remain the same. Minor typos corrected, and references updated. Version to
appear in Phys. Rev.
Can sacrificial feeding areas protect aquatic plants from herbivore grazing? Using behavioural ecology to inform wildlife management
Effective wildlife management is needed for conservation, economic and human well-being objectives. However, traditional population control methods are frequently ineffective, unpopular with stakeholders, may affect non-target species, and can be both expensive and impractical to implement. New methods which address these issues and offer effective wildlife management are required. We used an individual-based model to predict the efficacy of a sacrificial feeding area in preventing grazing damage by mute swans (Cygnus olor) to adjacent river vegetation of high conservation and economic value. The accuracy of model predictions was assessed by a comparison with observed field data, whilst prediction robustness was evaluated using a sensitivity analysis. We used repeated simulations to evaluate how the efficacy of the sacrificial feeding area was regulated by (i) food quantity, (ii) food quality, and (iii) the functional response of the forager. Our model gave accurate predictions of aquatic plant biomass, carrying capacity, swan mortality, swan foraging effort, and river use. Our model predicted that increased sacrificial feeding area food quantity and quality would prevent the depletion of aquatic plant biomass by swans. When the functional response for vegetation in the sacrificial feeding area was increased, the food quantity and quality in the sacrificial feeding area required to protect adjacent aquatic plants were reduced. Our study demonstrates how the insights of behavioural ecology can be used to inform wildlife management. The principles that underpin our model predictions are likely to be valid across a range of different resource-consumer interactions, emphasising the generality of our approach to the evaluation of strategies for resolving wildlife management problems
Discrete approaches to quantum gravity in four dimensions
The construction of a consistent theory of quantum gravity is a problem in
theoretical physics that has so far defied all attempts at resolution. One
ansatz to try to obtain a non-trivial quantum theory proceeds via a
discretization of space-time and the Einstein action. I review here three major
areas of research: gauge-theoretic approaches, both in a path-integral and a
Hamiltonian formulation, quantum Regge calculus, and the method of dynamical
triangulations, confining attention to work that is strictly four-dimensional,
strictly discrete, and strictly quantum in nature.Comment: 33 pages, invited contribution to Living Reviews in Relativity; the
author welcomes any comments and suggestion
A New Class of Four-Dimensional N=1 Supergravity with Non-minimal Derivative Couplings
In the N=1 four-dimensional new-minimal supergravity framework, we
supersymmetrise the coupling of the scalar kinetic term to the Einstein tensor.
This coupling, although introduces a non-minimal derivative interaction of
curvature to matter, it does not introduce harmful higher-derivatives. For this
construction, we employ off-shell chiral and real linear multiplets. Physical
scalars are accommodated in the chiral multiplet whereas curvature resides in a
linear one.Comment: 18 pages, version published at JHE
Numerical Hermitian Yang-Mills Connections and Vector Bundle Stability in Heterotic Theories
A numerical algorithm is presented for explicitly computing the gauge
connection on slope-stable holomorphic vector bundles on Calabi-Yau manifolds.
To illustrate this algorithm, we calculate the connections on stable monad
bundles defined on the K3 twofold and Quintic threefold. An error measure is
introduced to determine how closely our algorithmic connection approximates a
solution to the Hermitian Yang-Mills equations. We then extend our results by
investigating the behavior of non slope-stable bundles. In a variety of
examples, it is shown that the failure of these bundles to satisfy the
Hermitian Yang-Mills equations, including field-strength singularities, can be
accurately reproduced numerically. These results make it possible to
numerically determine whether or not a vector bundle is slope-stable, thus
providing an important new tool in the exploration of heterotic vacua.Comment: 52 pages, 15 figures. LaTex formatting of figures corrected in
version 2
Learning auditory space: generalization and long-term effects
Background: Previous findings have shown that humans can learn to localize with altered auditory space cues. Here
we analyze such learning processes and their effects up to one month on both localization accuracy and sound
externalization. Subjects were trained and retested, focusing on the effects of stimulus type in learning, stimulus type
in localization, stimulus position, previous experience, externalization levels, and time.
Method: We trained listeners in azimuth and elevation discrimination in two experiments. Half participated in the
azimuth experiment first and half in the elevation first. In each experiment, half were trained in speech sounds and
half in white noise. Retests were performed at several time intervals: just after training and one hour, one day, one
week and one month later. In a control condition, we tested the effect of systematic retesting over time with post-tests
only after training and either one day, one week, or one month later.
Results: With training all participants lowered their localization errors. This benefit was still present one month after
training. Participants were more accurate in the second training phase, revealing an effect of previous experience on
a different task. Training with white noise led to better results than training with speech sounds. Moreover, the
training benefit generalized to untrained stimulus-position pairs. Throughout the post-tests externalization levels
increased. In the control condition the long-term localization improvement was not lower without additional contact
with the trained sounds, but externalization levels were lower.
Conclusion: Our findings suggest that humans adapt easily to altered auditory space cues and that such adaptation
spreads to untrained positions and sound types. We propose that such learning depends on all available cues, but
each cue type might be learned and retrieved differently. The process of localization learning is global, not limited to
stimulus-position pairs, and it differs from externalization processes.Foundation for Science and TechnologyFEDE
Search based software engineering: Trends, techniques and applications
© ACM, 2012. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of ACM for your personal use. Not for redistribution. The definitive version is available from the link below.In the past five years there has been a dramatic increase in work on Search-Based Software Engineering (SBSE), an approach to Software Engineering (SE) in which Search-Based Optimization (SBO) algorithms are used to address problems in SE. SBSE has been applied to problems throughout the SE lifecycle, from requirements and project planning to maintenance and reengineering. The approach is attractive because it offers a suite of adaptive automated and semiautomated solutions in situations typified by large complex problem spaces with multiple competing and conflicting objectives.
This article provides a review and classification of literature on SBSE. The work identifies research trends and relationships between the techniques applied and the applications to which they have been applied and highlights gaps in the literature and avenues for further research.EPSRC and E
Analogue peptides for the immunotherapy of human acute myeloid leukemia
Accepted manuscript. The final publication is available at: http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs00262-015-1762-9The use of peptide vaccines, enhanced by adjuvants, has shown some efficacy in clinical trials. However, responses are often short-lived and rarely induce notable memory responses. The reason is that self-antigens have already been presented to the immune system as the tumor develops, leading to tolerance or some degree of host tumor cell destruction. To try to break tolerance against self-antigens, one of the methods employed has been to modify peptides at the anchor residues to enhance their ability to bind major histocompatibility complex molecules, extending their exposure to the T-cell receptor. These modified or analogue peptides have been investigated as stimulators of the immune system in patients with different cancers with variable but sometimes notable success. In this review we describe the background and recent developments in the use of analogue peptides for the immunotherapy of acute myeloid leukemia describing knowledge useful for the application of analogue peptide treatments for other malignancies
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