1,267 research outputs found
Radiative Mechanism to Light Fermion Masses in the MSSM
In a previous work we have showed that the Symmetry,
imply that the light fermions, the electron and the quarks, and , get
their masses only at one loop level. Here, we considere the more general
hypothesis for flavour mixing in the sfermion sector in the MSSM. Then, we
present our results to the masses of these light fermions and as a final result
we can explain why the quark is heavier than the quarks. This
mechanism is in agrement with the experimental constraint on the sfermion's
masses values.Comment: 22 pages, 8 figures, TeX mistakes corrected, accepted for publication
in JHE
Dynamic space utilization for lame and non-lame gestating sows estimated by the lying-standing sequence
peer-reviewedThe objective of this study was to estimate the dynamic space utilization for lame and non-lame sows using their lying-standing postural sequence profile. Eighty-five sows (parity 0.9âŻÂ±âŻ1.14; range 0 to 4) were used. Sows were moved to a pen on 30, 60 and 90 days of gestation and a ceiling mounted camera was installed above the pen to record one lying-standing event per sow. Observations ceased when the sow lied and stood, or 2.5 h elapsed from recording commencement. Additionally, each sow was evaluated for walking lameness while moving from their gestation stall to the pen. Still frames were captured from the sowsâ lying and standing sequences and were combined into a single image and measured by counting pixels from contouring the sowsâ body (CONTOUR), overlaying a grid on the sow image and counting any square including any part of the sow (FULL-GRID) and only counting any square that was half full or more (HALF-GRID). The space utilized while turning around was calculated by measuring the sowsâ length from snout to the base of the tail and using that length as the diameter of a circle (D-PIVOT), or as the radius of a circle (R-PIVOT). Parity was re-classified as 0, 1, and 2+. There were no observed differences in the dynamic space utilized to lie, stand or turn around between lame and non-lame sows (P > 0.05). On average, sows used 1.2âŻÂ±âŻ0.47 m2 to lie and 1.3âŻÂ±âŻ0.46 m2 to stand. There was no difference between the CONTOUR and HALF-GRID methods (P > 0.05); however, using the FULL-GRID sows required 0.3 m2 more floor area to lie and stand compared with the other measuring methods (P < 0.05). Space used to turn around differed between measuring method (P < 0.05). Sows required 1.9âŻÂ±âŻ0.18 m2 for D-PIVOT and 7.3âŻÂ±âŻ0.18 m2 for R-PIVOT to turn around. Space utilized to lie-down and stand-up increased as gestation progressed (P < 0.05). Under the conditions of this study, lameness did not influence dynamic space utilization; however, lameness recorded was relatively mild and might not have been sufficiently severe to significantly affect the results. These results could be important in decision-making process for housing specifications regarding US sow gestation housing
Psychiatric comorbidity in individuals with bullous pemphigoid and all bullous disorders in the Danish national registers
BACKGROUND: Bullous pemphigoid (BP) is an autoimmune blistering skin disease that takes a profound physical and mental toll on those affected. The aim of the study was to investigate the bidirectional association between BP and all bullous disorders (ABD) with a broad array of psychiatric disorders, exploring the influence of prescribed medications. METHODS: This nationwide, register-based cohort study encompassed 6,470,450 individuals born in Denmark and alive from 1994 to 2016. The hazard ratios (HRs) of a subsequent psychiatric disorder in patients with BP/ABD and the reverse exposure and outcome were evaluated. RESULTS: Several psychiatric disorders were associated with increased risk of subsequent BP (4.18-fold for intellectual disorders, 2.32-fold for substance use disorders, 2.01-fold for schizophrenia and personality disorders, 1.92-1.85-1.49-fold increased risk for organic disorders, neurotic and mood disorders), independent of psychiatric medications. The association between BP and subsequent psychiatric disorders was not significant after adjusting for BP medications, except for organic disorders (HR 1.27, CI 1.04-1.54). Similar results emerged with ABD. CONCLUSION: Psychiatric disorders increase the risk of a subsequent diagnosis of BP/ABD independent of medications, whereas medications used for the treatment of BP/ABD appear to account for the subsequent onset of psychiatric disorders. Clinically, an integrated approach attending to both dermatological and psychiatric symptoms is recommended, and dermatologists should remain vigilant for early symptoms of psychiatric disorders to decrease mental health comorbidity
Cosmic Acceleration in Brans-Dicke Cosmology
We consider Brans-Dicke theory with a self-interacting potential in Einstein
conformal frame. We show that an accelerating expansion is possible in a
spatially flat universe for large values of the Brans-Dicke parameter
consistent with local gravity experiments.Comment: 10 Pages, 3 figures, To appear in General Relativity and Gravitatio
Tensor-scalar gravity and binary-pulsar experiments
Some recently discovered nonperturbative strong-field effects in
tensor-scalar theories of gravitation are interpreted as a scalar analog of
ferromagnetism: "spontaneous scalarization". This phenomenon leads to very
significant deviations from general relativity in conditions involving strong
gravitational fields, notably binary-pulsar experiments. Contrary to
solar-system experiments, these deviations do not necessarily vanish when the
weak-field scalar coupling tends to zero. We compute the scalar "form factors"
measuring these deviations, and notably a parameter entering the pulsar timing
observable gamma through scalar-field-induced variations of the inertia moment
of the pulsar. An exploratory investigation of the confrontation between
tensor-scalar theories and binary-pulsar experiments shows that nonperturbative
scalar field effects are already very tightly constrained by published data on
three binary-pulsar systems. We contrast the probing power of pulsar
experiments with that of solar-system ones by plotting the regions they exclude
in a generic two-dimensional plane of tensor-scalar theories.Comment: 35 pages, REVTeX 3.0, uses epsf.tex to include 9 Postscript figure
Bounding Helly numbers via Betti numbers
We show that very weak topological assumptions are enough to ensure the
existence of a Helly-type theorem. More precisely, we show that for any
non-negative integers and there exists an integer such that
the following holds. If is a finite family of subsets of such that for any
and every
then has Helly number at most . Here
denotes the reduced -Betti numbers (with singular homology). These
topological conditions are sharp: not controlling any of these first Betti numbers allow for families with unbounded Helly number.
Our proofs combine homological non-embeddability results with a Ramsey-based
approach to build, given an arbitrary simplicial complex , some well-behaved
chain map .Comment: 29 pages, 8 figure
Flavor changing Z-decays from scalar interactions at a Giga-Z Linear Collider
The flavor changing decay Z -> d_I \bar{d}_J is investigated with special
emphasis on the b \bar{s} final state. Various models for flavor violation are
considered: two Higgs doublet models (2HDM's), supersymmetry (SUSY) with flavor
violation in the up and down-type squark mass matrices and SUSY with flavor
violation mediated by R-parity-violating interaction. We find that, within the
SUSY scenarios for flavor violation, the branching ratio for the decay Z -> b
\bar{s} can reach 10^{-6} for large \tan\beta values, while the typical size
for this branching ratio in the 2HDM's considered is about two orders of
magnitudes smaller at best. Thus, flavor changing SUSY signatures in radiative
Z decays such as Z -> b \bar{s} may be accessible to future ``Z factories''
such as a Giga-Z version of the TESLA design.Comment: 27 pages, 15 figures, REVTeX4. A new section added and a few minor
corrections were made in the tex
Holographic Dark Energy Model and Scalar-Tensor Theories
We study the holographic dark energy model in a generalized scalar tensor
theory. In a universe filled with cold dark matter and dark energy, the effect
of potential of the scalar field is investigated in the equation of state
parameter. We show that for a various types of potentials, the equation of
state parameter is negative and transition from deceleration to acceleration
expansion of the universe is possible.Comment: 11 pages, no figure. To appear in General Relativity and Gravitatio
Antibody and delayed-type hypersensitivity responses to Ochrobactrum anthropi cytosolic and outer membrane antigens in infections by smooth and rough Brucella spp
Immunological cross-reactions between Brucella spp. and Ochrobactrum anthropi were investigated in animals and humans naturally infected by Brucella spp. and in experimentally infected rams (Brucella ovis infected), rabbits (Brucella melitensis infected), and mice (B. melitensis and Brucella abortus infected). In the animals tested, O. anthropi cytosolic proteins evoked a delayed-type hypersensitivity reaction of a frequency and intensity similar to that observed with B. melitensis brucellin. O. anthropi cytosolic proteins also reacted in gel precipitation tests with antibodies in sera from Brucella natural hosts with a frequency similar to that observed with B. melitensis proteins, and absorption experiments and immunoblotting showed antibodies to both Brucella-specific proteins and proteins common to Brucella and O. anthropi. No antibodies to O. anthropi cytosolic proteins were detected in the sera of Brucella-free hosts. Immunoblotting with sera of Brucella-infected sheep and goats showed immunoglobulin G (IgG) to Brucella group 3 outer membrane proteins and to O. anthropi proteins of similar molecular weight. No IgG to the O-specific polysaccharide of O. anthropi lipopolysaccharide was detected in the sera of Brucella-infected hosts. The sera of sheep, goats, and rabbits infected with B. melitensis contained IgG to O. anthropi rough lipopolysaccharide and lipid A, and B. ovis and O. anthropi rough lipopolysaccharides showed equal reactivities with IgG in the sera of B. ovis-infected rams. The findings show that the immunoresponse of Brucella-infected hosts to protein antigens is not necessarily specific for brucellae and suggest that the presence of O. anthropi or some related bacteria explains the previously described reactivities to Brucella rough lipopolysaccharide and outer membrane proteins in healthy animals
Grain Surface Models and Data for Astrochemistry
AbstractThe cross-disciplinary field of astrochemistry exists to understand the formation, destruction, and survival of molecules in astrophysical environments. Molecules in space are synthesized via a large variety of gas-phase reactions, and reactions on dust-grain surfaces, where the surface acts as a catalyst. A broad consensus has been reached in the astrochemistry community on how to suitably treat gas-phase processes in models, and also on how to present the necessary reaction data in databases; however, no such consensus has yet been reached for grain-surface processes. A team of âŒ25 experts covering observational, laboratory and theoretical (astro)chemistry met in summer of 2014 at the Lorentz Center in Leiden with the aim to provide solutions for this problem and to review the current state-of-the-art of grain surface models, both in terms of technical implementation into models as well as the most up-to-date information available from experiments and chemical computations. This review builds on the results of this workshop and gives an outlook for future directions
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