370 research outputs found
A New Perspective on the Nonextremal Enhancon Solution
We discuss the nonextremal generalisation of the enhancon mechanism. We find
that the nonextremal shell branch solution does not violate the Weak Energy
Condition when the nonextremality parameter is small, in contrast to earlier
discussions of this subject. We show that this physical shell branch solution
fills the mass gap between the extremal enhancon solution and the nonextremal
horizon branch solution.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures, reference adde
Benefits of a 3D geological model for major tunnelling works : an example from Farringdon, east-central London, UK
In the design of major construction works, the better the ground conditions are known, the more control there is on the assessment of risks for construction, contract and personnel, and ultimately on final costs. Understanding of the ground conditions is usually expressed as a conceptual ground model that is informed by the results of desk study and of dedicated ground investigation. Using the GSI3D software, a 3D geological model (a model composed of attributed solid volumes, rather than of surfaces) can be constructed that exactly honours geologists’ interpretations of the data. The data are used in their true 3D position. The 3D model of faulted Lambeth Group (Palaeogene) strata in the area of the proposed new Crossrail Farringdon underground station, in central London, has several types of benefit. These include allowing optimum use of available ground investigation data, including third party data, with confidence. The model provides an understanding of the local geological structure that had not been possible using other commonly used methods: in particular, it shows the likely distribution of numerous water-bearing coarse deposits and their faulted offsets, which has potentially significant effects on groundwater control. The model can help to focus ground investigation, constrain design and control ris
The Incidence and Cost of New Onset Hyperlipidemia Claims Among US Wait-Listed and Transplanted Renal Allograft Recipients
Background: Hyperlipidemia increases mortality and is common with kidney-disease. New-onset
hyperlipidemia (NOHL) among patients wait-listed and after transplantation may impact costs and graft-survival of
patients with kidney disease. Methods: Using the United States Renal Data System, we compared the costs to Medicare
associated with or without NOHL in wait-listed patients in the second and first year pre-transplant and transplanted
patients in the first and second year post-transplant. We also examined the impact on graft-survival of NOHL. Results:
New onset hyperlipidemia was especially expensive when it occurred well before transplantation. When compared with
individuals with no hyperlipidemia, patients with early onset hyperlipidemia cost an extra 14,673 in the two years following transplantation. As has been found in prior studies,
patients without any NOHL had the worst graft survival rates. Conclusions: Although NOHL was associated with
increased pre- and post-transplant costs, patients diagnosed with NOHL between the second year before and second year
after transplantation experienced higher graft-survival rates than those without NOHL by 2-years post-transplantation.
Prior studies attribute this relationship to inflammation and malnutrition, which result in lower cholesterol levels and
worse outcomes
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Germ cell determination and the developmental origin of germ cell tumors
YesIn each generation, the germline is tasked with producing somatic lineages that form the body, and segregating a population of cells for gametogenesis. During animal development, when do cells of the germline irreversibly commit to producing gametes? Integrating findings from diverse species, we conclude that the final commitment of the germline to gametogenesis - the process of germ cell determination - occurs after primordial germ cells (PGCs) colonize the gonads. Combining this understanding with medical findings, we present a model whereby germ cell tumors arise from cells that failed to undertake germ cell determination, regardless of their having colonized the gonads. We propose that the diversity of cell types present in these tumors reflects the broad developmental potential of migratory PGCs.This work was supported by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute where D.C.P. is an Investigator, and the Frontier Research Program from the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. P.K.N. is a recipient of the Hope Funds for Cancer Research Fellowship (HFCR-15-06-06) and an Early Career Fellowship from the National Health and Medical Research Council, Australia (GNT1053776)
Licensing of primordial germ cells for gametogenesis depends on genital ridge signaling
In mouse embryos at mid-gestation, primordial germ cells (PGCs) undergo licensing to become gametogenesis-competent cells (GCCs), gaining the capacity for meiotic initiation and sexual differentiation. GCCs then initiate either oogenesis or spermatogenesis in response to gonadal cues. Germ cell licensing has been considered to be a cell-autonomous and gonad-independent event, based on observations that some PGCs, having migrated not to the gonad but to the adrenal gland, nonetheless enter meiosis in a time frame parallel to ovarian germ cells -- and do so regardless of the sex of the embryo. Here we test the hypothesis that germ cell licensing is cell-autonomous by examining the fate of PGCs in Gata4 conditional mutant (Gata4 cKO) mouse embryos. Gata4, which is expressed only in somatic cells, is known to be required for genital ridge initiation. PGCs in Gata4 cKO mutants migrated to the area where the genital ridge, the precursor of the gonad, would ordinarily be formed. However, these germ cells did not undergo licensing and instead retained characteristics of PGCs. Our results indicate that licensing is not purely cell-autonomous but is induced by the somatic genital ridge
Thermodynamics Inducing Massive Particles' Tunneling and Cosmic Censorship
By calculating the change of entropy, we prove that the first law of black
hole thermodynamics leads to the tunneling probability of massive particles
through the horizon, including the tunneling probability of massive charged
particles from the Reissner-Nordstr\"om black hole and the Kerr-Newman black
hole. Novelly, we find the trajectories of massive particles are close to that
of massless particles near the horizon, although the trajectories of massive
charged particles may be affected by electromagnetic forces. We show that
Hawking radiation as massive particles tunneling does not lead to violation of
the weak cosmic-censorship conjecture
Background Independent Quantum Mechanics and Gravity
We argue that the demand of background independence in a quantum theory of
gravity calls for an extension of standard geometric quantum mechanics. We
discuss a possible kinematical and dynamical generalization of the latter by
way of a quantum covariance of the state space. Specifically, we apply our
scheme to the problem of a background independent formulation of Matrix Theory.Comment: 9 pages, LaTe
Parity Violation in Proton-Proton Scattering
Measurements of parity-violating longitudinal analyzing powers (normalized
asymmetries) in polarized proton-proton scattering provide a unique window on
the interplay between the weak and strong interactions between and within
hadrons. Several new proton-proton parity violation experiments are presently
either being performed or are being prepared for execution in the near future:
at TRIUMF at 221 MeV and 450 MeV and at COSY (Kernforschungsanlage Juelich) at
230 MeV and near 1.3 GeV. These experiments are intended to provide stringent
constraints on the set of six effective weak meson-nucleon coupling constants,
which characterize the weak interaction between hadrons in the energy domain
where meson exchange models provide an appropriate description. The 221 MeV is
unique in that it selects a single transition amplitude (3P2-1D2) and
consequently constrains the weak meson-nucleon coupling constant h_rho{pp}. The
TRIUMF 221 MeV proton-proton parity violation experiment is described in some
detail. A preliminary result for the longitudinal analyzing power is Az = (1.1
+/-0.4 +/-0.4) x 10^-7. Further proton-proton parity violation experiments are
commented on. The anomaly at 6 GeV/c requires that a new multi-GeV
proton-proton parity violation experiment be performed.Comment: 13 Pages LaTeX, 5 PostScript figures, uses espcrc1.sty. Invited talk
at QULEN97, International Conference on Quark Lepton Nuclear Physics --
Nonperturbative QCD Hadron Physics & Electroweak Nuclear Processes --, Osaka,
Japan May 20--23, 199
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