372 research outputs found
Minimal Stability in Maximal Supergravity
Recently, it has been shown that maximal supergravity allows for
non-supersymmetric AdS critical points that are perturbatively stable. We
investigate this phenomenon of stability without supersymmetry from the
sGoldstino point of view. In particular, we calculate the projection of the
mass matrix onto the sGoldstino directions, and derive the necessary conditions
for stability. Indeed we find a narrow window allowing for stable SUSY breaking
points. As a by-product of our analysis, we find that it seems impossible to
perturb supersymmetric critical points into non-supersymmetric ones: there is a
minimal amount of SUSY breaking in maximal supergravity.Comment: 27 pages, 1 figure. v2: two typos corrected, published versio
Diffusive transport of light in two-dimensional granular materials
We study photon diffusion in a two-dimensional random packing of monodisperse
disks as a simple model of granular material. We apply ray optics approximation
to set up a persistent random walk for the photons. We employ Fresnel's
intensity reflectance with its rich dependence on the incidence angle and
polarization state of the light. We present an analytic expression for the
transport-mean-free path in terms of the refractive indices of grains and host
medium, grain radius, and packing fraction. We perform numerical simulations to
examine our analytical result.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figure
Assessment of the Sabellaria alveolata reefs’ structural features along the Southern coast of Sicily (Strait of Sicily, Mediterranean Sea)
The honeycomb worm Sabellaria alveolata is a gregarious tube-dwelling polychaete that builds remarkable biogenic reefs in
marine coastal waters. Sabellaria alveolata reefs are considered valuable marine habitats requiring protection measures for their
conservation, as they play a key role in the functioning of coastal ecosystems. Sabellarid reefs are extensively developed along the
Atlantic coasts of Europe and reported for the Mediterranean Sea and the Italian coasts, where large reefs have been recorded in
several localities. Fragmentary information is available on their health status, Sabellaria reefs thus being listed as “Data Deficient”
in the Red List of Marine Habitats. To fill this knowledge gap, this study focused on the analysis of the structure of three reefs
found along the southern coast of Sicily. In particular, we aimed to assess their phases with respect to the natural cycle that characterizes
the sabellarid reefs. Reef features were analyzed both on the macroscale, based on the bioconstruction size (diameter and
thickness) and degree of fragmentation, and on the microscale, based on the measurement of worm density, opercular length and
sand porch presence. This study reveals relevant differences among reefs of the studied locations. These differences we attribute
to the temporal shift linked to the natural reef phases, albeit further analyses are needed to understand the possible effect of natural
and anthropogenic sources of variation on the Southern Sicilian reefs. In conclusion, Sabellaria reefs are a unique and persistent
habitat along the Sicilian coast requiring proper management and conservation measures
Aquaporin-2 Promoter Is Synergistically Regulated by Nitric Oxide and Nuclear Factor of Activated T Cells
www.karger.com/nne This is an Open Access article licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 License (www.karger.com/OA-license), applicable to the online version of the article only. Distribution for non-commercial purposes only
Dienogest alone or dienogest combined with estrogens in the treatment of ovarian endometriomas, that is the question. A retrospective cohort study
Purpose: to compare the effects of Dienogest 2 mg (D) alone or combined with estrogens (D + ethinylestradiol 0.03 mg, D + EE; D + estradiol valerate 1-3 mg, D + EV) in terms of symptoms and endometriotic lesions variations. Methods: This retrospective study included symptomatic patients in reproductive age with ultrasound diagnosis of ovarian endometriomas. Medical therapy for at least 12 months with D, D + EE or D + EV was required. Women were evaluated at baseline visit (V1) and after 6 (V2) and 12 months (V3) of therapy. Results: 297 patients were enrolled (156 in the D group, 58 in the D + EE group, 83 in the D + EV group). Medical treatment leaded to a significant reduction in size of endometriomas after 12 months, with no differences between the three groups. When comparing D and D + EE/D + EV groups, a significant decrease of dysmenorrhea was detected in the D group than in D + EE/D + EV group. Conversely, the reduction of dysuria was more significative in the D + EE/D + EV groups rather than in the D group. Regarding tolerability, treatment associated side effects were reported by 16.2% patients. The most frequent one was uterine bleeding/spotting, significantly higher in the D + EV group. Conclusion: Dienogest alone or associated with estrogens (EE/EV) seems to be equally effective in reducing endometriotic lesions mean diameter. The reduction of dysmenorrhea was more significative when D was administered alone, while dysuria seems to improve more when D is associated with estrogens
Stability Constraints on Classical de Sitter Vacua
We present further no-go theorems for classical de Sitter vacua in Type II
string theory, i.e., de Sitter constructions that do not invoke
non-perturbative effects or explicit supersymmetry breaking localized sources.
By analyzing the stability of the 4D potential arising from compactification on
manfiolds with curvature, fluxes, and orientifold planes, we found that
additional ingredients, beyond the minimal ones presented so far, are necessary
to avoid the presence of unstable modes. We enumerate the minimal setups for
(meta)stable de Sitter vacua to arise in this context.Comment: 18 pages; v2: argument improved, references adde
3D Patient-Specific Virtual Models for Presurgical Planning in Patients with Recto-Sigmoid Endometriosis Nodules: A Pilot Study
Background and Objective: In recent years, 3D printing has been used to support surgical planning or to guide intraoperative procedures in various surgical specialties. An improvement in surgical planning for recto-sigmoid endometriosis (RSE) excision might reduce the high complication rate related to this challenging surgery. The aim of this study was to build novel presurgical 3D models of RSE nodules from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and compare them with intraoperative findings. Materials and Methods: A single-center, observational, prospective, cohort, pilot study was performed by enrolling consecutive symptomatic women scheduled for minimally invasive surgery for RSE between November 2019 and June 2020 at our institution. Preoperative MRI were used for building 3D models of RSE nodules and surrounding pelvic organs. 3D models were examined during multi-disciplinary preoperative planning, focusing especially on three domains: degree of bowel stenosis, nodule's circumferential extension, and bowel angulation induced by the RSE nodule. After surgery, the surgeon was asked to subjectively evaluate the correlation of the 3D model with the intra-operative findings and to express his evaluation as "no correlation", "low correlation", or "high correlation" referring to the three described domains. Results: seven women were enrolled and 3D anatomical virtual models of RSE nodules and surrounding pelvic organs were generated. In all cases, surgeons reported a subjective "high correlation" with the surgical findings. Conclusion: Presurgical 3D models could be a feasible and useful tool to support surgical planning in women with recto-sigmoidal endometriotic involvement, appearing closely related to intraoperative findings
The opposite of Dante's hell? The transfer of ideas for social housing at international congresses in the 1850s–1860s
With the advent of industrialization, the question of developing adequate housing for the emergent working classes became more pressing than before. Moreover, the problem of unhygienic houses in industrial cities did not stop at the borders of a particular nation-state; sometimes literally as pandemic diseases spread out 'transnationally'. It is not a coincidence that in the nineteenth century the number of international congresses on hygiene and social topics expanded substantially. However, the historiography about social policy in general and social housing in particular, has often focused on individual cases because of the different pace of industrial and urban development and is thus dominated by national perspectives. In this paper, I elaborate on transnational exchange processes and local adaptations and transformations. I focus on the transfer of the housing model of SOMCO in Mulhouse, (a French house building association) during social international congresses. I examine whether cross-national networking enabled and facilitated the implementation of ideas on the local scale. I will elaborate on the transmission and the local adaptation of the Mulhouse-model in Belgium. Convergences, divergences, and different factors that influenced the local transformations (personal choice, political situation, socioeconomic circumstances) will be taken into accoun
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