411 research outputs found
Diversity in the Tail of the Intersecting Brane Landscape
Techniques are developed for exploring the complete space of intersecting
brane models on an orientifold. The classification of all solutions for the
widely-studied T^6/Z_2 x Z_2 orientifold is made possible by computing all
combinations of branes with negative tadpole contributions. This provides the
necessary information to systematically and efficiently identify all models in
this class with specific characteristics. In particular, all ways in which a
desired group G can be realized by a system of intersecting branes can be
enumerated in polynomial time. We identify all distinct brane realizations of
the gauge groups SU(3) x SU(2) and SU(3) x SU(2) x U(1) which can be embedded
in any model which is compatible with the tadpole and SUSY constraints. We
compute the distribution of the number of generations of "quarks" and find that
3 is neither suppressed nor particularly enhanced compared to other odd
generation numbers. The overall distribution of models is found to have a long
tail. Despite disproportionate suppression of models in the tail by K-theory
constraints, the tail in the distribution contains much of the diversity of
low-energy physics structure.Comment: 48 pages, 8 figure
Power of Black Hole Physics: Seeing through the Vacuum Landscape
In this paper we generalize the black hole bound of arXiv:0706.2050 to de
Sitter spaces, and apply it to various vacua in the landscape, with a special
emphasis on slow-roll inflationary vacua. Non-trivial constraints on the
lifetime and the Hubble expansion rate emerge. For example, the general
tendency is, that for the fixed number and the increasing mass of the species,
vacua must become more curved and more unstable, either classically or quantum
mechanically. We also discuss the constraints on the lifetime of vacua in the
landscape, due to decay into the neighboring states.Comment: 33 page
Selection Of A Novel Aptamer Against Vitronectin Using Capillary Electrophoresis And Next Generation Sequencing
Breast cancer (BC) results in â40,000 deaths each year in the United States and even among survivors treatment of the disease may have devastating consequences, including increased risk for heart disease and cognitive impairment resulting from the toxic effects of chemotherapy. Aptamer-mediated drug delivery can contribute to improved treatment outcomes through the selective delivery of chemotherapy to BC cells, provided suitable cancer-specific antigens can be identified. We report here the use of capillary electrophoresis in conjunction with next generation sequencing to develop the first vitronectin (VN) binding aptamer (VBA-01; Kd 405 nmol/l, the first aptamer to vitronectin (VN; Kd = 405 nmol/l), a protein that plays an important role in wound healing and that is present at elevated levels in BC tissue and in the blood of BC patients relative to the corresponding nonmalignant tissues. We used VBA-01 to develop DVBA-01, a dimeric aptamer complex, and conjugated doxorubicin (Dox) to DVBA-01 (7:1 ratio) using pH-sensitive, covalent linkages. Dox conjugation enhanced the thermal stability of the complex (60.2 versus 46.5°C) and did not decrease affinity for the VN target. The resulting DVBA-01-Dox complex displayed increased cytotoxicity to MDA-MB-231 BC cells that were cultured on plasticware coated with VN (1.8âĂâ10â»â¶mol/l) relative to uncoated plates (2.4âĂâ10â»â¶ mol/l), or plates coated with the related protein fibronectin (2.1âĂâ10â»â¶ mol/l). The VBA-01 aptamer was evaluated for binding to human BC tissue using immunohistochemistry and displayed tissue specific binding and apparent association with BC cells. In contrast, a monoclonal antibody that preferentially binds to multimeric VN primarily stained extracellular matrix and vessel walls of BC tissue. Our results indicate a strong potential for using VN-targeting aptamers to improve drug delivery to treat BC
Model building with intersecting D6-branes on smooth Calabi-Yau manifolds
We study intersecting D6-branes in Calabi-Yau manifolds that are smooth
hypersurfaces in weighted projective spaces. We develop the techniques for
calculating intersection numbers between special Lagrangian sub-manifolds
defined as fixed loci of anti-holomorphic involutions. We present global
Pati-Salam and MSSM-like models that are supersymmetric up to a decoupled
hidden sector.Comment: 29p
Yukawa couplings and masses of non-chiral states for the Standard Model on D6-branes on T6/Z6'
The perturbative leading order open string three-point couplings for the
Standard Model with hidden USp(6) on fractional D6-branes on T6/Z6' from
arXiv:0806.3039 [hep-th], arXiv:0910.0843 [hep-th] are computed. Physical
Yukawa couplings consisting of holomorphic Wilsonian superpotential terms times
a non-holomorphic prefactor involving the corresponding classical open string
Kaehler metrics are given, and mass terms for all non-chiral matter states are
derived. The lepton Yukawa interactions are at leading order flavour diagonal,
while the quark sector displays a more intricate pattern of mixings. While N=2
supersymmetric sectors acquire masses via only two D6-brane displacements -
which also provide the hierarchies between up- and down-type Yukawas within one
quark or lepton generation -, the remaining vector-like states receive masses
via perturbative three-point couplings to some Standard Model singlet fields
with vevs along flat directions. Couplings to the hidden sector and messengers
for supersymmetry breaking are briefly discussed.Comment: 52 pages (including 8p. appendix); 5 figures; 14 tables; v2:
discussion in section 4.1.3 extended, footnote 5 added, typos corrected,
accepted by JHE
Guardians and research staff experiences and views about the consent process in hospital-based paediatric research studies in urban Malawi: A qualitative study
Background: Obtaining consent has become a standard way of respecting the patientâs rights and autonomy in clinical research. Ethical guidelines recommend that the childâs parent/s or authorised legal guardian provides informed consent for their childâs participation. However, obtaining informed consent in paediatric research is challenging. Parents become vulnerable because of stress related to their childâs illness. Understanding the views held by guardians and researchers about the consent process in Malawi, where there are limitations in health care access and research literacy will assist in developing appropriate consent guidelines.
Methods: We conducted 20 in-depth interviews with guardians of children and research staff who had participated in paediatric clinical trial and observational studies in acute and non-acute settings in the Southern Region of Malawi. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and thematically analysed. Interviews were compared across studies and settings to identify differences and similarities in participantsâ views about informed consent processes. Data analysis was facilitated by NVIVO 11 software.
Results: All participants across study types and settings reported that they associated participating in research with therapeutic benefits. Substantial differences were noted in the decision-making process across study settings. Guardians from acute studies felt that the role of their spouses was neglected during consenting, while staff reported that they had problems obtaining consent from guardians when their partners were not present. Across all study types and settings, research staff reported that they emphasised the benefits more than the risks of the study to participants, due to pressure to recruit. Participants from non-acute settings were more likely to recall information shared during the consent process than participants in the acute setting.
Conclusion: The health care context, culture and research process influenced participantsâ understanding of study information across study types and settings. We advise research managers or principal investigators to define minimum requirements that would not compromise the consent process and conduct study specific training for staff. The use of one size fits all consent process may not be ideal. More guidance is needed on how these differences can be incorporated during the consent process to improve understanding and delivery of consent
Intersecting D-Branes on Shift Z2 x Z2 Orientifolds
We investigate Z2 x Z2 orientifolds with group actions involving shifts. A
complete classification of possible geometries is presented where also previous
work by other authors is included in a unified framework from an intersecting
D-brane perspective. In particular, we show that the additional shifts not only
determine the topology of the orbifold but also independently the presence of
orientifold planes. In the second part, we work out in detail a basis of
homological three cycles on shift Z2 x Z2 orientifolds and construct all
possible fractional D-branes including rigid ones. A Pati-Salam type model with
no open-string moduli in the visible sector is presented.Comment: 36 pages, 4 figures, refs. adde
Rapidly-Varying Speed of Sound, Scale Invariance and Non-Gaussian Signatures
We show that curvature perturbations acquire a scale invariant spectrum for
any constant equation of state, provided the fluid has a suitably
time-dependent sound speed. In order for modes to exit the physical horizon,
and in order to solve the usual problems of standard big bang cosmology, we
argue that the only allowed possibilities are inflationary (albeit not
necessarily slow-roll) expansion or ekpyrotic contraction. Non-Gaussianities
offer many distinguish features. As usual with a small sound speed,
non-Gaussianity can be relatively large, around current sensitivity levels. For
DBI-like lagrangians, the amplitude is negative in the inflationary branch, and
can be either negative or positive in the ekpyrotic branch. Unlike the power
spectrum, the three-point amplitude displays a large tilt that, in the
expanding case, peaks on smallest scales. While the shape is predominantly of
the equilateral type in the inflationary branch, as in DBI inflation, it is of
the local form in the ekpyrotic branch. The tensor spectrum is also generically
far from scale invariant. In the contracting case, for instance, tensors are
strongly blue tilted, resulting in an unmeasurably small gravity wave amplitude
on cosmic microwave background scales.Comment: 41 pages, 12 figures. v4: Few typos in equations (7.39) correcte
On Susy Standard-like models from orbifolds of D=6 Gepner orientifolds
As a further elaboration of the proposal of Ref. [1] we address the
construction of Standard-like models from configurations of stacks of
orientifold planes and D-branes on an internal space with the structure
. As a first step, the construction of
D=6 Type II B orientifolds on Gepner points, in the diagonal invariant case and
for both, odd and even, affine levels is discussed. We build up the explicit
expressions for B-type boundary states and crosscaps and obtain the amplitudes
among them. From such amplitudes we read the corresponding spectra and the
tadpole cancellation equations. Further compactification on a T^2 torus, by
simultaneously orbifolding the Gepner and the torus internal sectors, is
performed. The embedding of the orbifold action in the brane sector breaks the
original gauge groups and leads to N=1 supersymmetric chiral spectra. Whenever
even orbifold action on the torus is considered, new branes, with worldvolume
transverse to torus coordinates, must be included. The detailed rules for
obtaining the D=4 model spectra and tadpole equations are shown. As an
illustration we present a 3 generations Left-Right symmetric model that can be
further broken to a MSSM model.Comment: 40 pages, 2 figures, added references, table 3 correcte
- âŠ