Simple quantum cosmology: Vacuum energy and initial state

A static non-singular 10-dimensional closed Friedmann universe of Planck size, filled with a perfect fluid with an equation of state with w = -2/3, can arise spontaneously by a quantum fluctuation from nothing in 11-dimensional spacetime. A quantum transition from this state can initiate the inflationary quantum cosmology outlined in Ref. 2 [General Relativity and Gravitation 33, 1415, 2001 - gr-qc/0103021]. With no fine-tuning, that cosmology predicts about 60 e-folds of inflation and a vacuum energy density depending only on the number of extra space dimensions (seven), G, h, c and the ratio between the strength of gravity and the strength of the strong force. The fraction of the total energy in the universe represented by this vacuum energy depends on the Hubble constant. Hubble constant estimates from WMAP, SDSS, the Hubble Key Project and Sunyaev-Zeldovich and X-ray flux measurements range from 60 to 72 km/(Mpc sec). With a mid-range Hubble constant of 65 km/(Mpc sec), the model in Ref. 2 predicts Omega-sub-Lambda = 0.7Comment: To be published in General Relativity and Gravitation, Vol. 37, May 2005. 5 pages, no figure

A long-brewing crisis : The historical antecedents of major alcohol policy change in Ireland

Introduction: The Public Health (Alcohol) Act 2018 in Ireland has been hailed as a world-leading package of alcohol policy reforms. Existing studies have identified the events that led to alcohol emerging onto the high-level policy agenda in Ireland, particularly after 2009. Using policy feedback theory, this study specifically investigates the political consequences of accumulating alcohol-related health and social harms for processes of policy change prior to 2009. Methods: The study traces the development of alcohol policy in Ireland over the past three decades. It draws on primary documents, secondary literature and interviews with public health advocates, medical doctors, public health experts and key decision-makers. Results: The study documents a decades-long struggle to have alcohol recognised as a public health issue in Ireland. We identify 2008/2009 as the key turning point, where policy conditions decisively shifted in a public health direction. We show how insufficient institutional authority and the accumulation of the effects of earlier policy failures helped foster this dynamic. These two factors elevated the visibility of alcohol-related harm for key stakeholders, helping spur greater demand for major policy change. Discussion and Conclusions: Not acting on the population health harms caused by alcohol can produce significant societal costs, particularly when consumption is rising, and entail subsequent political consequences. Understanding of innovations in alcohol policy decision making requires an appreciation of the historical context, including earlier policy failures

Hubungan Antara Lama Penggunaan Aspirin Dengan Nilai Agregasi Trombosit Pada Pasien Hipertensi Di Rsup Prof. Dr. R. D. Kandou Manado

: The sufferer of hypertension around the world do not get medical treatment adequately. One of the hypertensive treatments is by the use of anti platelet hypertension aspirin. Aspirin on hypertension is to prevent any clinical manifestation from cardiovascular from happening. However, it could cause arterial wall hardening and decreases haemostasis ability. Test of red blood cell aggregation function is needed to monitor red blood cell function on hypertensive patient. Method: This study was analytical and employed cross sectional research design. The sample of the study were the sufferers of hypertensionfromaspirin USAge treated in polyclinic of nephrology – hypertension and heart and cardiac polyclinic of internal diseasedivision in RSUP Prof. Dr. R. D. Kandou Manado. Patients included in inclusion criteria were 40 to 80 years old, proven to have hypertension by doctor, hypertension by aspirin USAge, maleand female, and signed in informed consent. Result: There were 20 patients of hypertension by aspirin USAge employed as sample in this study. Result of T test and spearman\u27s correlation test showed that there is no significant correlation between aspirin USAge and the number of red blood cells\u27 aggregation (ADP 10µm p = 0,116, ADP 5µm p = 0,9). Conclusion: On hypertensive patients, there is no correlation between the period of aspirin USAge and red blood cells\u27 aggregation

Nonequilibrium candidate Monte Carlo: A new tool for efficient equilibrium simulation

Metropolis Monte Carlo simulation is a powerful tool for studying the equilibrium properties of matter. In complex condensed-phase systems, however, it is difficult to design Monte Carlo moves with high acceptance probabilities that also rapidly sample uncorrelated configurations. Here, we introduce a new class of moves based on nonequilibrium dynamics: candidate configurations are generated through a finite-time process in which a system is actively driven out of equilibrium, and accepted with criteria that preserve the equilibrium distribution. The acceptance rule is similar to the Metropolis acceptance probability, but related to the nonequilibrium work rather than the instantaneous energy difference. Our method is applicable to sampling from both a single thermodynamic state or a mixture of thermodynamic states, and allows both coordinates and thermodynamic parameters to be driven in nonequilibrium proposals. While generating finite-time switching trajectories incurs an additional cost, driving some degrees of freedom while allowing others to evolve naturally can lead to large enhancements in acceptance probabilities, greatly reducing structural correlation times. Using nonequilibrium driven processes vastly expands the repertoire of useful Monte Carlo proposals in simulations of dense solvated systems

Dark Matter and Dark Energy

I briefly review our current understanding of dark matter and dark energy. The first part of this paper focusses on issues pertaining to dark matter including observational evidence for its existence, current constraints and the `abundance of substructure' and `cuspy core' issues which arise in CDM. I also briefly describe MOND. The second part of this review focusses on dark energy. In this part I discuss the significance of the cosmological constant problem which leads to a predicted value of the cosmological constant which is almost $10^{123}$ times larger than the observed value \la/8\pi G \simeq 10^{-47}GeV$^4$. Setting \la to this small value ensures that the acceleration of the universe is a fairly recent phenomenon giving rise to the `cosmic coincidence' conundrum according to which we live during a special epoch when the density in matter and \la are almost equal. Anthropic arguments are briefly discussed but more emphasis is placed upon dynamical dark energy models in which the equation of state is time dependent. These include Quintessence, Braneworld models, Chaplygin gas and Phantom energy. Model independent methods to determine the cosmic equation of state and the Statefinder diagnostic are also discussed. The Statefinder has the attractive property \atridot/a H^3 = 1 for LCDM, which is helpful for differentiating between LCDM and rival dark energy models. The review ends with a brief discussion of the fate of the universe in dark energy models.Comment: 40 pages, 11 figures, Lectures presented at the Second Aegean Summer School on the Early Universe, Syros, Greece, September 2003, New References added Final version to appear in the Proceeding

Energy composition of the Universe: time-independent internal symmetry

The energy composition of the Universe, as emerged from the Type Ia supernova observations and the WMAP data, looks preposterously complex, -- but only at the first glance. In fact, its structure proves to be simple and regular. An analysis in terms of the Friedmann integral enables to recognize a remarkably simple time-independent covariant robust recipe of the cosmic mix: the numerical values of the Friedmann integral for vacuum, dark matter, baryons and radiation are approximately identical. The identity may be treated as a symmetry relation that unifies cosmic energies into a regular set, a quartet, with the Friedmann integral as its common genuine time-independent physical parameter. Such cosmic internal (non-geometrical) symmetry exists whenever cosmic energies themselves exist in nature. It is most natural for a finite Universe suggested by the WMAP data. A link to fundamental theory may be found under the assumption about a special significance of the electroweak energy scale in both particle physics and cosmology. A freeze-out model developed on this basis demonstrates that the physical nature of new symmetry might be due to the interplay between electroweak physics and gravity at the cosmic age of a few picoseconds. The big `hierarchy number' of particle physics represents the interplay in the model. This number quantifies the Friedmann integral and gives also a measure to some other basic cosmological figures and phenomena associated with new symmetry. In this way, cosmic internal symmetry provides a common ground for better understanding of old and recent problems that otherwise seem unrelated; the coincidence of the observed cosmic densities, the flatness of the co-moving space, the initial perturbations and their amplitude, the cosmic entropy are among them.Comment: 32 page

Detection and analysis of RNA methylation [version 1; peer review: 2 approved]

Our understanding of the expanded genetic alphabet has been growing rapidly over the last two decades, and many of these developments came more than 80 years after the original discovery of a modified guanine in tuberculosis DNA. These new understandings, leading to the field of epigenetics, have led to exciting new fundamental and applied knowledge and to the development of novel classes of drugs exploiting this new biology. The number of methyl modifications to RNA is about seven times greater than those found on DNA, and our ability to interrogate these enigmatic nucleobases has lagged significantly until recent years as an explosion in technologies and understanding has revealed the roles and regulation of RNA methylation in several fundamental and disease-associated biological processes. Here, we outline how the technology has evolved and which strategies are commonly used in the modern epitranscriptomics revolution and give a foundation in the understanding and application of the rich variety of these methods to novel biological questions

Multiple genetic associations with Irish wolfhound dilated cardiomyopathy

Cardiac disease is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in dogs and humans, with dilated cardiomyopathy being a large contributor to this. The Irish Wolfhound (IWH) is one of the most commonly affected breeds and one of the few breeds with genetic loci associated with the disease. Mutations in more than 50 genes are associated with human dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), yet very few are also associated with canine DCM. Furthermore, none of the identified canine loci explain many cases of the disease and previous work has indicated that genotypes at multiple loci may act together to influence disease development. In this study, loci previously associated with DCM in IWH were tested for associations in a new cohort both individually and in combination. We have identified loci significantly associated with the disease individually, but no genotypes individually or in pairs conferred a significantly greater risk of developing DCM than the population risk. However combining three loci together did result in the identification of a genotype which conferred a greater risk of disease than the overall population risk. This study suggests multiple rather than individual genetic factors, cooperating to influence DCM risk in IWH