2,485 research outputs found
The 1/N Expansion in Noncommutative Quantum Mechanics
We study the 1/N expansion in noncommutative quantum mechanics for the
anharmonic and Coulombian potentials. The expansion for the anharmonic
oscillator presented good convergence properties, but for the Coulombian
potential, we found a divergent large N expansion when using the usual
noncommutative generalization of the potential. We proposed a modified version
of the noncommutative Coulombian potential which provides a well-behaved 1/N
expansion.Comment: v2: resided version, to appear in PRD, 18 pages, 4 figure
Chern-Simons like term generation in an extended model of QED under external conditions
The possibility of a Chern-Simons like term generation in an extended model
of QED, in which a Lorentz and CPT non-covariant interaction term for fermions
is present, has been investigated at finite temperature and in the presence of
a background color magnetic field. To this end, the photon polarization
operator in an external constant axial-vector field has been considered.
One-loop contributions to its antisymmetric component due to fermions in the
linear order of the axial-vector field have been obtained. Moreover, the first
nontrivial correction to the induced CS term due to the presence of a weak
constant homogeneous color magnetic field has been derived.Comment: RevTex, 10 pages with 3 figure
Non-abelian plane waves and stochastic regimes for (2+1)-dimensional gauge field models with Chern-Simons term
An exact time-dependent solution of field equations for the 3-d gauge field
model with a Chern-Simons (CS) topological mass is found. Limiting cases of
constant solution and solution with vanishing topological mass are considered.
After Lorentz boost, the found solution describes a massive nonlinear
non-abelian plane wave. For the more complicate case of gauge fields with CS
mass interacting with a Higgs field, the stochastic character of motion is
demonstrated.Comment: LaTeX 2.09, 13 pages, 11 eps figure
Cascade Birth of Universes in Multidimensional Spaces
The formation mechanism of universes with distinctly different properties is
considered within the framework of pure gravity in a space of D > 4 dimensions.
The emergence of the Planck scale and its relationship to the inflaton mass are
discussed.Comment: 10 p., minor correction
How do we know that research ethics committees are really working? The neglected role of outcomes assessment in research ethics review
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Countries are increasingly devoting significant resources to creating or strengthening research ethics committees, but there has been insufficient attention to assessing whether these committees are actually improving the protection of human research participants.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>Research ethics committees face numerous obstacles to achieving their goal of improving research participant protection. These include the inherently amorphous nature of ethics review, the tendency of regulatory systems to encourage a focus on form over substance, financial and resource constraints, and conflicts of interest. Auditing and accreditation programs can improve the quality of ethics review by encouraging the development of standardized policies and procedures, promoting a common base of knowledge, and enhancing the status of research ethics committees within their own institutions. However, these mechanisms focus largely on questions of structure and process and are therefore incapable of answering many critical questions about ethics committees' actual impact on research practices.</p> <p>The first step in determining whether research ethics committees are achieving their intended function is to identify what prospective research participants and their communities hope to get out of the ethics review process. Answers to this question can help guide the development of effective outcomes assessment measures. It is also important to determine whether research ethics committees' guidance to investigators is actually being followed. Finally, the information developed through outcomes assessment must be disseminated to key decision-makers and incorporated into practice. This article offers concrete suggestions for achieving these goals.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Outcomes assessment of research ethics committees should address the following questions: First, does research ethics committee review improve participants' understanding of the risks and potential benefits of studies? Second, does the process affect prospective participants' decisions about whether to participate in research? Third, does it change participants' subjective experiences in studies or their attitudes about research? Fourth, does it reduce the riskiness of research? Fifth, does it result in more research responsive to the local community's self-identified needs? Sixth, is research ethics committees' guidance to researchers actually being followed?</p
Accuracy of a remote quantitative image analysis in the whole slide images
The rationale for choosing a remote quantitative method supporting a diagnostic decision requires some empirical studies and knowledge on scenarios including valid telepathology standards. The tumours of the central nervous system [CNS] are graded on the base of the morphological features and the Ki-67 labelling Index [Ki-67 LI]. Various methods have been applied for Ki-67 LI estimation. Recently we have introduced the Computerized Analysis of Medical Images [CAMI] software for an automated Ki-67 LI counting in the digital images
Emergence of Skyrme crystal in Gross-Neveu and 't Hooft models at finite density
We study two-dimensional, large field theoretic models (Gross-Neveu
model, 't Hooft model) at finite baryon density near the chiral limit. The same
mechanism which leads to massless baryons in these models induces a breakdown
of translational invariance at any finite density. In the chiral limit baryonic
matter is characterized by a spatially varying chiral angle with a wave number
depending only on the density. For small bare quark masses a sine-Gordon kink
chain is obtained which may be regarded as simplest realization of the Skyrme
crystal for nuclear matter. Characteristic differences between confining and
non-confining models are pointed out.Comment: 27 pages, 11 figures, added reference, corrected sig
Transcriptional regulation of the IGF signaling pathway by amino acids and insulin-like growth factors during myogenesis in Atlantic salmon
The insulin-like growth factor signalling pathway is an important regulator of skeletal muscle growth. We examined the mRNA expression of components of the insulin-like growth factor (IGF) signalling pathway as well as Fibroblast Growth Factor 2 (FGF2) during maturation of myotubes in primary cell cultures isolated from fast myotomal muscle of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar). The transcriptional regulation of IGFs and IGFBP expression by amino acids and insulin-like growth factors was also investigated. Proliferation of cells was 15% d(-1) at days 2 and 3 of the culture, increasing to 66% d(-1) at day 6. Three clusters of elevated gene expression were observed during the maturation of the culture associated with mono-nucleic cells (IGFBP5.1 and 5.2, IGFBP-6, IGFBP-rP1, IGFBP-2.2 and IGF-II), the initial proliferation phase (IGF-I, IGFBP-4, FGF2 and IGF-IRb) and terminal differentiation and myotube production (IGF2R, IGF-IRa). In cells starved of amino acids and serum for 72 h, IGF-I mRNA decreased 10-fold which was reversed by amino acid replacement. Addition of IGF-I and amino acids to starved cells resulted in an 18-fold increase in IGF-I mRNA indicating synergistic effects and the activation of additional pathway(s) leading to IGF-I production via a positive feedback mechanism. IGF-II, IGFBP-5.1 and IGFBP-5.2 expression was unchanged in starved cells, but increased with amino acid replacement. Synergistic increases in expression of IGFBP5.2 and IGFBP-4, but not IGFBP5.1 were observed with addition of IGF-I, IGF-II or insulin and amino acids to the medium. IGF-I and IGF-II directly stimulated IGFBP-6 expression, but not when amino acids were present. These findings indicate that amino acids alone are sufficient to stimulate myogenesis in myoblasts and that IGF-I production is controlled by both endocrine and paracrine pathways. A model depicting the transcriptional regulation of the IGF pathway in Atlantic salmon muscle following feeding is proposed.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe
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