9,500 research outputs found
Contractions, Hopf algebra extensions and cov. differential calculus
We re-examine all the contractions related with the
deformed algebra and study the consequences that the contraction process has
for their structure. We also show using
as an example that, as in the undeformed case, the contraction may generate
Hopf algebra cohomology. We shall show that most of the different Hopf algebra
deformations obtained have a bicrossproduct or a cocycle bicrossproduct
structure, for which we shall also give their dual `group' versions. The
bicovariant differential calculi on the deformed spaces associated with the
contracted algebras and the requirements for their existence are examined as
well.Comment: TeX file, 25 pages. Macros are include
On the coupling of vector fields to the Gauss-Bonnet invariant
Inflationary models including vector fields have attracted a great deal of
attention over the past decade. Such an interest owes to the fact that they
might contribute to, or even be fully responsible for, the curvature
perturbation imprinted in the CMB. However, the necessary breaking of the
vector field's conformal invariance during inflation is not without problems.
In recent years it has been realized that a number of instabilities endangering
the consistency of the theory arise when the conformal invariance is broken by
means of a non-minimal coupling to gravity. In this paper we consider a massive
vector field non-minimally coupled to gravity through the Gauss-Bonnet
invariant, and investigate whether the vector can obtain a nearly
scale-invariant perturbation spectrum while evading the emergence of
perturbative instabilities. We find that the strength of the coupling must be
extremely small if the vector field is to have a chance to contribute to the
total curvature perturbation.Comment: 8 pages, 1 figur
Effective actions, relative cohomology and Chern Simons forms
The explicit expression of all the WZW effective actions for a simple group G
broken down to a subgroup H is established in a simple and direct way, and the
formal similarity of these actions to the Chern-Simons forms is explained.
Applications are also discussed.Comment: 11 pages. Latex2e file. Published versio
Na/K pump regulation of cardiac repolarization: Insights from a systems biology approach
The sodium-potassium pump is widely recognized as the principal mechanism for active ion transport across the cellular membrane of cardiac tissue, being responsible for the creation and maintenance of the transarcolemmal sodium and potassium gradients, crucial for cardiac cell electrophysiology. Importantly, sodium-potassium pump activity is impaired in a number of major diseased conditions, including ischemia and heart failure. However, its subtle ways of action on cardiac electrophysiology, both directly through its electrogenic nature and indirectly via the regulation of cell homeostasis, make it hard to predict the electrophysiological consequences of reduced sodium-potassium pump activity in cardiac repolarization. In this review, we discuss how recent studies adopting the Systems Biology approach, through the integration of experimental and modeling methodologies, have identified the sodium-potassium pump as one of the most\ud
important ionic mechanisms in regulating key properties of cardiac repolarization and its rate-dependence, from subcellular to whole organ levels. These include the role of the pump in the biphasic modulation of cellular repolarization and refractoriness, the rate control of intracellular sodium and calcium dynamics and therefore of the adaptation of repolarization to changes in heart rate, as well as its importance in regulating pro-arrhythmic substrates through modulation of dispersion of repolarization and restitution. Theoretical findings are consistent across a variety of cell types and species including human, and widely in agreement with experimental findings. The novel insights and hypotheses on the role of the pump in cardiac electrophysiology obtained through this integrative approach could eventually lead to novel therapeutic and diagnostic strategies
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