Rotation and Spin in Physics

We delineate the role of rotation and spin in physics, discussing in order Newtonian classical physics, special relativity, quantum mechanics, quantum electrodynamics and general relativity. In the latter case, we discuss the generalization of the Kepler formula to post-Newtonian order $(c^{-2}$) including spin effects and two-body effects. Experiments which verify the theoretical results for general relativistic spin-orbit effects are discussed as well as efforts being made to verify the spin-spin effects

Effective Theory Approach to the Spontaneous Breakdown of Lorentz Invariance

We generalize the coset construction of Callan, Coleman, Wess and Zumino to theories in which the Lorentz group is spontaneously broken down to one of its subgroups. This allows us to write down the most general low-energy effective Lagrangian in which Lorentz invariance is non-linearly realized, and to explore the consequences of broken Lorentz symmetry without having to make any assumptions about the mechanism that triggers the breaking. We carry out the construction both in flat space, in which the Lorentz group is a global spacetime symmetry, and in a generally covariant theory, in which the Lorentz group can be treated as a local internal symmetry. As an illustration of this formalism, we construct the most general effective field theory in which the rotation group remains unbroken, and show that the latter is just the Einstein-aether theory.Comment: 45 pages, no figures

Reaction rates and transport in neutron stars

Understanding signals from neutron stars requires knowledge about the transport inside the star. We review the transport properties and the underlying reaction rates of dense hadronic and quark matter in the crust and the core of neutron stars and point out open problems and future directions.Comment: 74 pages; commissioned for the book "Physics and Astrophysics of Neutron Stars", NewCompStar COST Action MP1304; version 3: minor changes, references updated, overview graphic added in the introduction, improvements in Sec IV.A.

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

The effect of hypertensive disorders in pregnancy on small for gestational age and stillbirth: a population based study

BACKGROUND: Hypertensive disorders in pregnancy are leading causes of maternal, fetal and neonatal morbidity and mortality worldwide. However, studies attempting to quantify the effect of hypertension on adverse perinatal outcomes have been mostly conducted in tertiary centres. This population-based study explored the frequency of hypertensive disorders in pregnancy and the associated increase in small for gestational age (SGA) and stillbirth. METHODS: We used information on all pregnant women and births, in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, between 1988 and 2000. Pregnancies were excluded if delivery occurred < 20 weeks, if birthweight was < 500 grams, if there was a high-order multiple pregnancy (greater than twin gestation), or a major fetal anomaly. RESULTS: The study population included 135,466 pregnancies. Of these, 7.7% had mild pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH), 1.3% had severe PIH, 0.2% had HELLP (hemolysis, elevated liver enzymes, low platelets), 0.02% had eclampsia, 0.6% had chronic hypertension, and 0.4% had chronic hypertension with superimposed PIH. Women with any hypertension in pregnancy were 1.6 (95% CI 1.5–1.6) times more likely to have a live birth with SGA and 1.4 (95% CI 1.1–1.8) times more likely to have a stillbirth as compared with normotensive women. Adjusted analyses showed that women with gestational hypertension without proteinuria (mild PIH) and with proteinuria (severe PIH, HELLP, or eclampsia) were more likely to have infants with SGA (RR 1.5, 95% CI 1.4–1.6 and RR 3.2, 95% CI 2.8–3.6, respectively). Women with pre-existing hypertension were also more likely to give birth to an infant with SGA (RR 2.5, 95% CI 2.2–3.0) or to have a stillbirth (RR 3.2, 95% CI 1.9–5.4). CONCLUSIONS: This large, population-based study confirms and quantifies the magnitude of the excess risk of small for gestational age and stillbirth among births to women with hypertensive disease in pregnancy

Pandemic Influenza A H1N1 2009 Infection versus Vaccination: A Cohort Study Comparing Immune Responses in Pregnancy

Background: With the emergence of H1N1 pandemic (pH1N1) influenza, the CDC recommended that pregnant women be one of five initial target groups to receive the 2009 monovalent H1N1 vaccine, regardless of prior infection with this influenza strain. We sought to compare the immune response of pregnant women to H1N1 infection versus vaccination and to determine the extent of passive immunity conferred to the newborn. Methods/Findings: During the 2009-2010 influenza season, we enrolled a cohort of women who either had confirmed pH1N1 infection during pregnancy, did not have pH1N1 during pregnancy but were vaccinated against pH1N1, or did not have illness or vaccination. Maternal and umbilical cord venous blood samples were collected at delivery. Hemagglutination inhibition assays (HAI) for pH1N1 were performed. Data were analyzed using linear regression analyses. HAIs were performed for matched maternal/cord blood pairs for 16 women with confirmed pH1N1 infection, 14 women vaccinated against pH1N1, and 10 women without infection or vaccination. We found that pH1N1 vaccination and wild-type infection during pregnancy did not differ with respect to (1) HAI titers at delivery, (2) HAI antibody decay slopes over time, and (3) HAI titers in the cord blood. Conclusions: Vaccination against pH1N1 confers a similar HAI antibody response as compared to pH1N1 infection durin

Iron homeostasis and oxidative stress in idiopathic pulmonary alveolar proteinosis: a case-control study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Lung injury caused by both inhaled dusts and infectious agents depends on increased availability of iron and metal-catalyzed oxidative stress. Because inhaled particles, such as silica, and certain infections can cause secondary pulmonary alveolar proteinosis (PAP), we tested the hypothesis that idiopathic PAP is associated with an altered iron homeostasis in the human lung.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Healthy volunteers (n = 20) and patients with idiopathic PAP (n = 20) underwent bronchoalveolar lavage and measurements were made of total protein, iron, tranferrin, transferrin receptor, lactoferrin, and ferritin. Histochemical staining for iron and ferritin was done in the cell pellets from control subjects and PAP patients, and in lung specimens of patients without cardiopulmonary disease and with PAP. Lavage concentrations of urate, glutathione, and ascorbate were also measured as indices of oxidative stress.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Lavage concentrations of iron, transferrin, transferrin receptor, lactoferrin, and ferritin were significantly elevated in PAP patients relative to healthy volunteers. The cells of PAP patients had accumulated significant iron and ferritin, as well as considerable amounts of extracellular ferritin. Immunohistochemistry for ferritin in lung tissue revealed comparable amounts of this metal-storage protein in the lower respiratory tract of PAP patients both intracellularly and extracellularly. Lavage concentrations of ascorbate, glutathione, and urate were significantly lower in the lavage fluid of the PAP patients.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Iron homeostasis is altered in the lungs of patients with idiopathic PAP, as large amounts of catalytically-active iron and low molecular weight anti-oxidant depletion are present. These findings suggest a metal-catalyzed oxidative stress in the maintenance of this disease.</p

Performance of CMS muon reconstruction in pp collision events at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

The performance of muon reconstruction, identification, and triggering in CMS has been studied using 40 inverse picobarns of data collected in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV at the LHC in 2010. A few benchmark sets of selection criteria covering a wide range of physics analysis needs have been examined. For all considered selections, the efficiency to reconstruct and identify a muon with a transverse momentum pT larger than a few GeV is above 95% over the whole region of pseudorapidity covered by the CMS muon system, abs(eta) < 2.4, while the probability to misidentify a hadron as a muon is well below 1%. The efficiency to trigger on single muons with pT above a few GeV is higher than 90% over the full eta range, and typically substantially better. The overall momentum scale is measured to a precision of 0.2% with muons from Z decays. The transverse momentum resolution varies from 1% to 6% depending on pseudorapidity for muons with pT below 100 GeV and, using cosmic rays, it is shown to be better than 10% in the central region up to pT = 1 TeV. Observed distributions of all quantities are well reproduced by the Monte Carlo simulation.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DO

Chemoprevention of Colonic Polyps with Balsalazide: An Exploratory, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study

A number of agents, including aspirin, nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs, cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitors, folic acid, calcium, and vitamins, have been evaluated for their potential in chemoprevention of sporadic colorectal adenomas or cancer. Preclinical data suggest that 5-aminosalicylates also may have a chemopreventive effect. To investigate chemoprevention of colonic polyps with balsalazide, a 5-aminosalicylate prodrug. In this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study, adults diagnosed with small polyps in the rectosigmoid colon were treated with either balsalazide 3 g/d or placebo for 6 months. Follow-up lower endoscopy was performed, and all polyps were measured and analyzed histologically. The primary endpoint was reduction in mean size of the largest polyp per subject. Among 241 participants screened, 86 were randomized to treatment, with 75 subjects evaluable. Balsalazide 3 g/d (n = 38) did not significantly reduce the mean size of the largest colonic polyp or the number of polyps compared with placebo (n = 37). Although not significant, post-hoc analysis revealed that total adenoma burden per subject, calculated as the sum of the volumes of all adenomas in mm3, increased by 55% in the balsalazide group compared with 95% in the placebo group. Although balsalazide did not have significant chemopreventive effects on established colonic polyps, these results can aid in designing future prospective studies