86 research outputs found
Wake response to an ocean-feedback mechanism: Madeira Island case study
This discussion focused on the numerical study of a wake episode. The Weather
Research and Forecasting model was used in a downscale mode. The current
literature focuses the discussion on the adiabatic dynamics of atmospheric
wakes. Changes in mountain height and consequently on its relation to the
atmospheric inversion layer should explain the shift in wake regimes: from a
'strong-wake' to a 'weak-wake' scenario. Nevertheless, changes in SST
variability can also induce similar regime shifts. Increase in evaporation,
contributes to increase convection and thus to an uplift of the stratified
atmospheric layer, above the critical height, with subsequent internal gravity
wave activity.Comment: Under review proces
Lifshitz black holes in string theory
We provide the first black hole solutions with Lifshitz asymptotics found in
string theory. These are expected to be dual to models enjoying anisotropic
scale invariance with dynamical exponent z=2 at finite temperature. We employ a
consistent truncation of type IIB supergravity to four dimensions with an
arbitrary 5-dimensional Einstein manifold times a circle as internal geometry.
New interesting features are found that significantly differ from previous
results in phenomenological models. In particular, small black holes are shown
to be thermodynamically unstable, analogously to the usual AdS-Schwarzschild
black holes, and extremality is never reached. This signals a possible
Hawking-Page like phase transition at low temperatures.Comment: 19 pages, 7 figures. v2 references adde
Holographic Reconstruction and Renormalization in Asymptotically Ricci-flat Spacetimes
In this work we elaborate on an extension of the AdS/CFT framework to a
subclass of gravitational theories with vanishing cosmological constant. By
building on earlier ideas, we construct a correspondence between Ricci-flat
spacetimes admitting asymptotically hyperbolic hypersurfaces and a family of
conformal field theories on a codimension two manifold at null infinity. By
truncating the gravity theory to the pure gravitational sector, we find the
most general spacetime asymptotics, renormalize the gravitational action,
reproduce the holographic stress tensors and Ward identities of the family of
CFTs and show how the asymptotics is mapped to and reconstructed from conformal
field theory data. In even dimensions, the holographic Weyl anomalies identify
the bulk time coordinate with the spectrum of central charges with
characteristic length the bulk Planck length. Consistency with locality in the
bulk time direction requires a notion of locality in this spectrum.Comment: 44 pages, 4 figures. v2: minor changes in section
Stochastic Gravity: Theory and Applications
Whereas semiclassical gravity is based on the semiclassical Einstein equation
with sources given by the expectation value of the stress-energy tensor of
quantum fields, stochastic semiclassical gravity is based on the
Einstein-Langevin equation, which has in addition sources due to the noise
kernel.In the first part, we describe the fundamentals of this new theory via
two approaches: the axiomatic and the functional. In the second part, we
describe three applications of stochastic gravity theory. First, we consider
metric perturbations in a Minkowski spacetime: we compute the two-point
correlation functions for the linearized Einstein tensor and for the metric
perturbations. Second, we discuss structure formation from the stochastic
gravity viewpoint. Third, we discuss the backreaction of Hawking radiation in
the gravitational background of a quasi-static black hole.Comment: 75 pages, no figures, submitted to Living Reviews in Relativit
Stochastic Gravity: Theory and Applications
Whereas semiclassical gravity is based on the semiclassical Einstein equation
with sources given by the expectation value of the stress-energy tensor of
quantum fields, stochastic semiclassical gravity is based on the
Einstein-Langevin equation, which has in addition sources due to the noise
kernel. In the first part, we describe the fundamentals of this new theory via
two approaches: the axiomatic and the functional. In the second part, we
describe three applications of stochastic gravity theory. First, we consider
metric perturbations in a Minkowski spacetime, compute the two-point
correlation functions of these perturbations and prove that Minkowski spacetime
is a stable solution of semiclassical gravity. Second, we discuss structure
formation from the stochastic gravity viewpoint. Third, we discuss the
backreaction of Hawking radiation in the gravitational background of a black
hole and describe the metric fluctuations near the event horizon of an
evaporating black holeComment: 100 pages, no figures; an update of the 2003 review in Living Reviews
in Relativity gr-qc/0307032 ; it includes new sections on the Validity of
Semiclassical Gravity, the Stability of Minkowski Spacetime, and the Metric
Fluctuations of an Evaporating Black Hol
A Pan-HPV Vaccine Based on Bacteriophage PP7 VLPs Displaying Broadly Cross-Neutralizing Epitopes from the HPV Minor Capsid Protein, L2
Current human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines that are based on virus-like particles (VLPs) of the major capsid protein L1 largely elicit HPV type-specific antibody responses. In contrast, immunization with the HPV minor capsid protein L2 elicits antibodies that are broadly cross-neutralizing, suggesting that a vaccine targeting L2 could provide more comprehensive protection against infection by diverse HPV types. However, L2-based immunogens typically elicit much lower neutralizing antibody titers than L1 VLPs. We previously showed that a conserved broadly neutralizing epitope near the N-terminus of L2 is highly immunogenic when displayed on the surface of VLPs derived from the bacteriophage PP7. Here, we report the development of a panel of PP7 VLP-based vaccines targeting L2 that protect mice from infection with carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic HPV types that infect the genital tract and skin.L2 peptides from eight different HPV types were displayed on the surface of PP7 bacteriophage VLPs. These recombinant L2 VLPs, both individually and in combination, elicited high-titer anti-L2 IgG serum antibodies. Immunized mice were protected from high dose infection with HPV pseudovirus (PsV) encapsidating a luciferase reporter. Mice immunized with 16L2 PP7 VLPs or 18L2 PP7 VLPs were nearly completely protected from both PsV16 and PsV18 challenge. Mice immunized with the mixture of eight L2 VLPs were strongly protected from genital challenge with PsVs representing eight diverse HPV types and cutaneous challenge with HPV5 PsV.VLP-display of a cross-neutralizing HPV L2 epitope is an effective approach for inducing high-titer protective neutralizing antibodies and is capable of offering protection from a spectrum of HPVs associated with cervical cancer as well as genital and cutaneous warts
CDH1 promoter hypermethylation and E-cadherin protein expression in infiltrating breast cancer
BACKGROUND: The E-cadherin gene (CDH1) maps, at chromosome 16q22.1, a region often associated with loss of heterozygosity (LOH) in human breast cancer. LOH at this site is thought to lead to loss of function of this tumor suppressor gene and was correlated with decreased disease-free survival, poor prognosis, and metastasis. Differential CpG island methylation in the promoter region of the CDH1 gene might be an alternative way for the loss of expression and function of E-cadherin, leading to loss of tissue integrity, an essential step in tumor progression. METHODS: The aim of our study was to assess, by Methylation-Specific Polymerase Chain Reaction (MSP), the methylation pattern of the CDH1 gene and its possible correlation with the expression of E-cadherin and other standard immunohistochemical parameters (Her-2, ER, PgR, p53, and K-67) in a series of 79 primary breast cancers (71 infiltrating ductal, 5 infiltrating lobular, 1 metaplastic, 1 apocrine, and 1 papillary carcinoma). RESULTS: CDH1 hypermethylation was observed in 72% of the cases including 52/71 ductal, 4/5 lobular carcinomas and 1 apocrine carcinoma. Reduced levels of E-cadherin protein were observed in 85% of our samples. Although not statistically significant, the levels of E-cadherin expression tended to diminish with the CDH1 promoter region methylation. In the group of 71 ductal cancinomas, most of the cases of showing CDH1 hypermethylation also presented reduced levels of expression of ER and PgR proteins, and a possible association was observed between CDH1 methylation and ER expression (p = 0.0301, Fisher's exact test). However, this finding was not considered significant after Bonferroni correction of p-value. CONCLUSION: Our preliminary findings suggested that abnormal CDH1 methylation occurs in high frequencies in infiltrating breast cancers associated with a decrease in E-cadherin expression in a subgroup of cases characterized by loss of expression of other important genes to the mammary carcinogenesis process, probably due to the disruption of the mechanism of maintenance of DNA methylation in tumoral cells
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