Bound-state gravity from higher derivatives

In certain Lorentz-covariant higher-derivative field theories of spins < or =1, would-be ultraviolet divergences generate color-singlet poles as infrared divergences. Absence of higher-order poles implies ten-dimensional supersymmetric Yang-Mills with bound-state supergravity, in close analogy with open string theory.Comment: TeX file, 12 pages, 4 figure

Holocene record of the Antarctic shag (Notocarbo bransfieldensis) in Fuegian waters

International audienceThe Antarctic Shag can be discriminated from its congeners by five osteological characters. Using these characters, we were able to identify bones of this species in five shell middens located in southern Fuego-Patagonia. The temporal distribution of these elements extends from historical times (280 YBP) to the middle Holocene (6,100 YBP). These extra-limital birds may have reached Fuegian waters through chance events, by postbreeding dispersal, or as vagrants from a yet undiscovered Fuegian colony. We discuss the implication of these and other findings on the specific status of the Antarctic Shag and its sympatry with the Imperial Shag. The current designation of the Antarctic Shag is proposed as Notocarbo bransfieldensis (Friedmann 1945)

Historical diversity of cormorants and shags from Amchitka Island, Alaska

International audienceWe studied the historical biodiversity of cormorants and shags in the central Aleutians by examining the presence and abundance of bones deposited in two large Aleut middens located on Amchitka Island, Alaska. The temporal range of discrete strata in these deposits was from Russian-era contact to about 2,650 years before present. We found six species in these middens: Pelagic, Red-faced, and Kenyon' s Shags (Stictocarbo [Phalacro-corax] pelagicus, S. urile, S. kenyoni), Double-crested (Hypoleucus [Phalacrocorax] auritus), Japanese (Phalacrocorax capillatus) and Pallas' s Cormorants (Compsohalieus [Phalacroco-rax] perspicillatus), ranked in order of abundance. Historical patterns of abundance differed among species. Japanese and Pallas' s Cormorants were most likely chance arrivals to the island, Double-crested Cormorants were not found post-contact and we hypothesize that Arctic Foxes may have extirpated them here; Pelagic and Red-faced Shags have remained in constant proportion over the years and abundances may relate to environmental or climatic change. Little is known about S. kenyoni. These results suggest that the diversity of the marine coastal avifauna has experienced dynamic change during the late Holocene and that the distributions of shags and cormorants in particular were different than now known

The Western Aleutians: Cultural Isolation and Environmental Change

International audienceRecent research in the westem Aleutians addresses two primary issues: the nature and extent of cultural exchange along the Aleutian chain, and Holocene environmental change and its effects on the development of Aleut culture. Cultural isolation is a major paradigm of researchers working in the Aleutians. Review of the distribution of several cultural traits suggests the Aleuts adopted many cultural elements originating outside the chain, but the distribution of these to the westem islands was uneven

Subcritical Superstrings

We introduce the Liouville mode into the Green-Schwarz superstring. Like massive supersymmetry without central charges, there is no kappa symmetry. However, the second-class constraints (and corresponding Wess-Zumino term) remain, and can be solved by (twisted) chiral superspace in dimensions D=4 and 6. The matter conformal anomaly is c = 4-D < 1. It thus can be canceled for physical dimensions by the usual Liouville methods, unlike the bosonic string (for which the consistency condition is c = D <= 1).Comment: 9 pg., compressed postscript file (.ps.Z), other formats (.dvi, .ps, .ps.Z, 8-bit .tex) available at http://insti.physics.sunysb.edu/~siegel/preprints/ or at ftp://max.physics.sunysb.edu/preprints/siege

String Field Theory of Noncritical Strings

We construct the Hamiltonian operator of the string field theory for $c=0$ string theory. It describes how strings evolve in the coordinate frame, which is defined by using the geodesic distance on the worldsheet. The Hamiltonian consists of three-string interaction terms and a tadpole term. We show that one can derive the loop amplitudes of $c=0$ string theory from this Hamiltonian.Comment: 13 pages ( LaTex file ), KEK-TH-364, UT-64

A Background Independent Formulation of Noncritical String Theory

Using the string field theory recently proposed by the authors and collaborators, we give a background independent formulation of rational noncritical string theories with $c\leq 1$. With a little modification of the string field Hamiltonians previously constructed, we obtain string field theories which include various rational noncritical string theories as classical backgrounds.Comment: 13 pages, LaTex fil

Excavations at KIS-008, Buldir Island: Evaluation and Potential

International audienc

Integrability of Schwinger-Dyson Equations in 2D Quantum Gravity and c < 1 Non-critical String Field Theory

We investigate the integrability of the Schwinger-Dyson equations in $c = 1 - \frac{6}{m(m+1)}$ string field theory which were proposed by Ikehara et al as the continuum limit of the Schwinger-Dyson equations of the matrix chain model. We show the continuum Schwinger-Dyson equations generate a closed algebra. This algebra contains Virasoro algebra but does not coincide with $W_{\infty}$ algebra. We include in the Schwinger-Dyson equations a new process of removing from the loop boundaries the operator ${\cal H}(\sigma)$ which locally changes the spin configuration. We also derive the string field Hamiltonian from the continuum Schwinger-Dyson equations. Its form is universal for all $c = 1 - \frac{6}{m(m+1)}$ string theories.Comment: 15 pages, Latex, 4 figure

A prospective trial comparing FDG-PET/CT and CT to assess tumor response to cetuximab in patients with incurable squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck

Computed tomography (CT), the standard method to assess tumor response to cetuximab in incurable squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN), performs poorly as judged by the disparity between high disease control rate (46%) and short time to progression (TTP) (70 days). F-18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET)/CT is an alternative method to assess tumor response. The primary objective of this prospective trial was to evaluate the metabolic response of target lesions, assessed as the change in maximum standardized uptake value (SUV(max)) on FDG-PET/CT before and after 8 weeks (cycle 1) of cetuximab. Secondary objectives were to compare tumor response by CT (RECIST 1.0) and FDG-PET/CT (EORTC criteria) following cycle 1, and determine TTP with continued cetuximab administration in patients with disease control by CT after cycle 1 but stratified for disease control or progression by FDG-PET/CT. Among 27 patients, the mean percent change of SUV(max) of target lesions after cycle 1 was −21% (range: +72% to −81%); by FDG-PET/CT, partial response (PR)/stable disease (SD) occurred in 15 patients (56%) and progression in 12 (44%), whereas by CT, PR/SD occurred in 20 (74%) and progression in 7 (26%). FDG-PET/CT and CT assessments were discordant in 14 patients (P = 0.0029) and had low agreement (κ = 0.30; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.12, 0.48). With disease control by CT after cycle 1, median TTP was 166 days (CI: 86, 217) if the FDG-PET/CT showed disease control and 105 days (CI: 66, 159) if the FDG-PET/CT showed progression (P < 0.0001). Median TTP of the seven patients whose post cycle 1 CT showed progression compared to the 12 whose FDG-PET/CT showed progression were similar (53 [CI: 49, 56] vs. 61 [CI: 50, 105] days, respectively). FDG-PET/CT may be better than CT in assessing benefit of cetuximab in incurable SCCHN