Vacuum Polarization and Dynamical Chiral Symmetry Breaking: Phase Diagram of QED with Four-Fermion Contact Interaction

We study chiral symmetry breaking for fundamental charged fermions coupled electromagnetically to photons with the inclusion of four-fermion contact self-interaction term. We employ multiplicatively renormalizable models for the photon dressing function and the electron-photon vertex which minimally ensures mass anomalous dimension = 1. Vacuum polarization screens the interaction strength. Consequently, the pattern of dynamical mass generation for fermions is characterized by a critical number of massless fermion flavors above which chiral symmetry is restored. This effect is in diametrical opposition to the existence of criticality for the minimum interaction strength necessary to break chiral symmetry dynamically. The presence of virtual fermions dictates the nature of phase transition. Miransky scaling laws for the electromagnetic interaction strength and the four-fermion coupling, observed for quenched QED, are replaced by a mean-field power law behavior corresponding to a second order phase transition. These results are derived analytically by employing the bifurcation analysis, and are later confirmed numerically by solving the original non-linearized gap equation. A three dimensional critical surface is drawn to clearly depict the interplay of the relative strengths of interactions and number of flavors to separate the two phases. We also compute the beta-function and observe that it has ultraviolet fixed point. The power law part of the momentum dependence, describing the mass function, reproduces the quenched limit trivially. We also comment on the continuum limit and the triviality of QED.Comment: 9 pages, 10 figure

Análisis de las pinturas murales de la capilla de los Santos Corporales de Daroca (Zaragoza)

La capilla de los Santos Corporales, ubicada en la Iglesia Colegial de Santa María de Daroca (Zaragoza), alberga una muestra importante de pintura mural medieval de los siglos XIV y XVI. Durante su reciente proceso de restauración, la Unidad de Arqueometría del I.C.M.U.V. ha analizado los pigmentos que inte gran sus pinturas murales. Se han efectuado análisis in situ de fluorescencia de rayos X dispersiva en energía (EDXRF) de una pintura mural que forma parte de un ábside románico del s. XIV, de un relieve que forma parte del retablo relicario cuya policromía data del XVI y de la decoración que se le dio a las bóvedas de las capillas del s. XVI. Adicionalmente se tomaron muestras de pigmentos procedentes de la bóveda del s. XIV que han sido analizadas mediante EDXRF, difracción de ra yos X (XRD) y microscopía electrónica de bamdo (SEM)

Socio-Demographic Determinants of Faculty Research Productivity in a Level-III Philippine State College

This paper explores the extent of research productivity and its socio-demographic determinants among faculty members in a level-III state college in the Philippines. The results aim to influence the decision-making on identifying appropriate interventions to further enhance research productivity and encourage faculty members to engage in research undertakings. The results suggest that socio-demographic characteristics of faculty members such as age, administrative designation, and supervision of graduate research determine their likelihood of publishing a research paper.        CITE THIS PAPER: Ambong, Ryan Mark A.; Dagos, Rizzi Angelica T.; Lumbo, Susanita G.; Roldan, Amalia E.; Ferrer, Veronica C. (2022). "Socio-Demographic Determinants of Faculty Research Productivity in a Level-III Philippine State College" Journal of Social Sciences: Transformations & Transitions (JOSSTT) 2(05):22. DOI: https://doi.org/10.52459/josstt2522082

evaluation of liver fibrosis concordance analysis between noninvasive scores apri and fib 4 evolution and predictors in a cohort of hiv infected patients without hepatitis c and b infection

Background. There is lack of data on the incidence of liver fibrosis (LF) progression in patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) monoinfection and risk factors for LF. Methods. We performed an observational prospective study in a cohort of HIV-infected patients who had initiated highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). FIB-4 and aspartate aminotransferase (AST)-to-platelet ratio index (APRI) were assessed. The concordance between the 2 scores was assessed by weighted kappa coefficient. Kaplan-Meier analysis was used to estimate the incidence of LF. Cox regression analysis was used to assess the predictors of transition. Results. A total of 1112 patients were observed for a mean of 2249 days of follow-up. The concordance between FIB-4 and APRI was moderate (kappa = .573). The incidence of transition to higher FIB-4 classes was 0.064 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.056―0.072) per person-year of follow-up (PYFU), whereas the incidence of transition to higher APRI classes was 0.099 (95% CI, 0.089-0.110) per PYFU. The incidence of transition to FIB-4 >3.25 was 0.013 per PYFU (95% CI, 0.010-0.017) and 0.018 per PYFU (95% CI, 0.014―0.022) for APRI >1.5. In multivariate analyses, for transition to higher classes, HIV RNA level 3.25 and APRI> 1.5 as study outcomes. Conclusions. Overall, our results suggest a possible benefit associated with earlier HAART initiation, provided that the effectiveness of HAART is sustained and treatment with DDX is avoided

Transcriptional regulation of the urokinase receptor (u-PAR) - A central molecule of invasion and metastasis

The phenomenon of tumor-associated proteolysis has been acknowledged as a decisive step in the progression of cancer. This short review focuses on the urokinase receptor (u-PAR), a central molecule involved in tumor-associated invasion and metastasis, and summarizes the transcriptional regulation of u-PAR. The urokinase receptor (u-PAR) is a heavily glycosylated cell surface protein and binds the serine protease urokinase specifically and with high affinity. It consists of three similar cysteine-rich repeats and is anchored to the cell membrane via a GPI-anchor. The u-PAR gene comprises 7 exons and is located on chromosome 19q13. Transcriptional activation of the u-PAR promoter region can be induced by binding of transcription factors (Sp1, AP-1, AP-2, NF-kappaB). One current study gives an example for transcriptional downregulation of u-PAR through a PEA3/ets transcriptional silencing element. Knowledge of the molecular regulation of this molecule in tumor cells could be very important for diagnosis and therapy in the near future

Response to antipsychotic drugs in treatment-resistant schizophrenia : Conclusions based on systematic review

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