4,200 research outputs found
E(7) Symmetric Area of the Black Hole Horizon
Extreme black holes with 1/8 of unbroken N=8 supersymmetry are characterized
by the non-vanishing area of the horizon. The central charge matrix has four
generic eigenvalues. The area is proportional to the square root of the
invariant quartic form of . It vanishes in all cases when 1/4 or 1/2
of supersymmetry is unbroken. The supergravity non-renormalization theorem for
the area of the horizon in N=8 case protects the unique U-duality invariant.Comment: a reference added, misprints remove
The prognostic value of the tumour marker Cyfra 21-1 in carcinoma of head and neck and its role in early detection of recurrent disease
This study examines a new tumour marker, Cyfra 21-1, as a prognostic marker in predicting the survival of H&N cancer patients, and its correlation with clinical outcome during prolonged follow up of these patients. The study included 67 patients with primary detection of carcinoma of H&N. The survival of these patients was evaluated in correlation with the disease stage and Cyfra 21-1 levels at initial diagnosis. 38 patients were followed clinically and with serial assays for at least 12 months, or until recurrence was diagnosed. Cyfra 21-1 levels were determined periodically, using an Elisa kit. Patients with Cyfra 21-1 < 1.5 ng ml–1had a higher survival rate compared to patients with Cyfra 21-1 ≥ 1.5 ng ml–1(63% vs. 20%, respectively). The risk ratio of Ln(Cyfra 21-1) is 1.62 (P = 0.028). In a Cox regression model that included the disease stage and Ln(Cyfra 21-1), Ln(Cyfra 21-1) was preferred as the main parameter for predicting patients survival. In 83% of the 12 patients with recurrent or residual disease, Cyfra 21-1 was elevated before or during clinical detection of the recurrence. Cyfra 21-1 was found to be a prognostic marker for carcinoma of H&N, unrelated to the stage of the disease. Elevated levels of Cyfra 21-1 without clinical evidence of disease can be attributed to the marker's mean lead-time as compared to the clinical appearance of the disease. © 2000 Cancer Research Campaign http://www.bjcancer.co
Struvite crystallization
The present invention provides a method and apparatus for removing phosphorus from phosphorus containing waste. In one embodiment, the method is preferably carried out by contacting the phosphorus containing waste with a non-cellular membrane and precipitating phosphorus from the waste as struvite. Another aspect of the invention includes a method of removing phosphorus from phosphorus containing sewage comprising filtrates and biosolids. The removal of phosphorus as struvite occurs in two stages as primary and secondary removal. In the primary removal process, the sewage from a dewatering unit is contacted with a first polymeric membrane reactor and the phosphorus is removed as primary struvite. Subsequently Mg is added so as promote struvite formation and the secondary removal process of struvite. In the secondary removal process, the sewage from GBT Filtrate well or Centrifuge Liquor well is contacted with a second monomolecular membrane and the phosphorus is removed as secondary struvite
Moduli, Scalar Charges, and the First Law of Black Hole Thermodynamics
We show that under variation of moduli fields the first law of black
hole thermodynamics becomes , where are the scalar charges. We also show
that the ADM mass is extremized at fixed , , when the moduli
fields take the fixed value which depend only on electric
and magnetic charges. It follows that the least mass of any black hole with
fixed conserved electric and magnetic charges is given by the mass of the
double-extreme black hole with these charges. Our work allows us to interpret
the previously established result that for all extreme black holes the moduli
fields at the horizon take a value depending only
on the electric and magnetic conserved charges: is such
that the scalar charges .Comment: 3 pages, no figures, more detailed versio
Predictable arguments of knowledge
We initiate a formal investigation on the power of predictability for argument of knowledge systems for NP. Specifically, we consider private-coin argument systems where the answer of the prover can be predicted, given the private randomness of the verifier; we call such protocols Predictable Arguments of Knowledge (PAoK).
Our study encompasses a full characterization of PAoK, showing that such arguments can be made extremely laconic, with the prover sending a single bit, and assumed to have only one round (i.e., two messages) of communication without loss of generality.
We additionally explore PAoK satisfying additional properties (including zero-knowledge and the possibility of re-using the same challenge across multiple executions with the prover), present several constructions of PAoK relying on different cryptographic tools, and discuss applications to cryptography
Spontaneous symmetry breaking in strong-coupling lattice QCD at high density
We determine the patterns of spontaneous symmetry breaking in strong-coupling
lattice QCD in a fixed background baryon density. We employ a
next-nearest-neighbor fermion formulation that possesses the SU(N_f)xSU(N_f)
chiral symmetry of the continuum theory. We find that the global symmetry of
the ground state varies with N_f and with the background baryon density. In all
cases the condensate breaks the discrete rotational symmetry of the lattice as
well as part of the chiral symmetry group.Comment: 10 pages, RevTeX 4; added discussion of accidental degeneracy of
vacuum after Eq. (35
Constraints on the electron-hole pair creation energy and Fano factor below 150 eV from Compton scattering in a Skipper-CCD
Fully-depleted thick silicon Skipper-charge-coupled devices (Skipper-CCDs)
are an important technology to probe neutrino and light-dark-matter
interactions due to their sub-electron read-out noise. However, the successful
search for rare neutrino or dark-matter events requires the signal and all
backgrounds to be fully characterized. In particular, a measurement of the
electron-hole pair creation energy below 150 eV and the Fano factor are
necessary for characterizing the dark matter and neutrino signals. Moreover,
photons from background radiation may Compton scatter in the silicon bulk,
producing events that can mimic a dark matter or neutrino signal. We present a
measurement of the Compton spectrum using a Skipper-CCD and a Am
source. With these data, we estimate the electron-hole pair-creation energy to
be eV at 130 K in the energy range between 99.3 eV
and 150 eV. By measuring the widths of the steps at 99.3 eV and 150 eV in the
Compton spectrum, we introduce a novel technique to measure the Fano factor,
setting an upper limit of 0.31 at 90% C.L. These results prove the potential of
Skipper-CCDs to characterize the Compton spectrum and to measure precisely the
Fano factor and electron-hole pair creation energy below 150 eV
On Black-Brane Instability In an Arbitrary Dimension
The black-hole black-string system is known to exhibit critical dimensions
and therefore it is interesting to vary the spacetime dimension , treating
it as a parameter of the system. We derive the large asymptotics of the
critical, i.e. marginally stable, string following an earlier numerical
analysis. For a background with an arbitrary compactification manifold we give
an expression for the critical mass of a corresponding black brane. This
expression is completely explicit for , the dimensional torus of
an arbitrary shape. An indication is given that by employing a higher
dimensional torus, rather than a single compact dimension, the total critical
dimension above which the nature of the black-brane black-hole phase transition
changes from sudden to smooth could be as low as .Comment: 1+14 pages, 2 eps figures. Replaced with the published versio
The in vitro effects of artificial and natural sweeteners on the immune system using whole blood culture assays
This article investigates the effects of commercially available artificial (aspartame, saccharin,
sucralose) and natural sweeteners (brown sugar, white sugar, molasses) on the immune system.
Human whole blood cultures were incubated with various sweeteners and stimulated in vitro with
either phytohemagglutinin or endotoxin. Harvested supernatants were screened for cytotoxicity and
cytokine release. Results showed that none of the artificial or natural sweeteners proved to be
cytotoxic, indicating that no cell death was induced in vitro. The natural sweetener, sugar cane
molasses (10 ug=mL), enhanced levels of the inflammatory biomarker IL-6 while all artificial
sweeteners (10 ug=mL) revealed a suppressive effect on IL-6 secretion (P<0.001). Exposure of
blood cells to sucralose-containing sweeteners under stimulatory conditions reduced levels of the
biomarker of humoral immunity, Interleukin-10 (P<0.001). The cumulative suppression of
Interleukin-6 and Interleukin-10 levels induced by sucralose may contribute to the inability in
mounting an effective humoral response when posed with an exogenous threat.Web of Scienc
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