5,658 research outputs found
Renormalization Group Analysis of a Quivering String Model of Posture Control
Scaling concepts and renormalization group (RG) methods are applied to a
simple linear model of human posture control consisting of a trembling or
quivering string subject to damping and restoring forces. The string is driven
by uncorrelated white Gaussian noise intended to model the corrections of the
physiological control system. We find that adding a weak quadratic nonlinearity
to the posture control model opens up a rich and complicated phase space
(representing the dynamics) with various non-trivial fixed points and basins of
attraction. The transition from diffusive to saturated regimes of the linear
model is understood as a crossover phenomenon, and the robustness of the linear
model with respect to weak non-linearities is confirmed. Correlations in
posture fluctuations are obtained in both the time and space domain. There is
an attractive fixed point identified with falling. The scaling of the
correlations in the front-back displacement, which can be measured in the
laboratory, is predicted for both the large-separation (along the string) and
long-time regimes of posture control.Comment: 20 pages, 13 figures, RevTeX, accepted for publication in PR
Different facets of the raise and peel model
The raise and peel model is a one-dimensional stochastic model of a
fluctuating interface with nonlocal interactions. This is an interesting
physical model. It's phase diagram has a massive phase and a gapless phase with
varying critical exponents. At the phase transition point, the model exhibits
conformal invariance which is a space-time symmetry. Also at this point the
model has several other facets which are the connections to associative
algebras, two-dimensional fully packed loop models and combinatorics.Comment: 29 pages 17 figure
Trigonometry of spacetimes: a new self-dual approach to a curvature/signature (in)dependent trigonometry
A new method to obtain trigonometry for the real spaces of constant curvature
and metric of any (even degenerate) signature is presented. The method
encapsulates trigonometry for all these spaces into a single basic
trigonometric group equation. This brings to its logical end the idea of an
absolute trigonometry, and provides equations which hold true for the nine
two-dimensional spaces of constant curvature and any signature. This family of
spaces includes both relativistic and non-relativistic homogeneous spacetimes;
therefore a complete discussion of trigonometry in the six de Sitter,
minkowskian, Newton--Hooke and galilean spacetimes follow as particular
instances of the general approach. Any equation previously known for the three
classical riemannian spaces also has a version for the remaining six
spacetimes; in most cases these equations are new. Distinctive traits of the
method are universality and self-duality: every equation is meaningful for the
nine spaces at once, and displays explicitly invariance under a duality
transformation relating the nine spaces. The derivation of the single basic
trigonometric equation at group level, its translation to a set of equations
(cosine, sine and dual cosine laws) and the natural apparition of angular and
lateral excesses, area and coarea are explicitly discussed in detail. The
exposition also aims to introduce the main ideas of this direct group
theoretical way to trigonometry, and may well provide a path to systematically
study trigonometry for any homogeneous symmetric space.Comment: 51 pages, LaTe
Structural and Electronic Properties of Small Neutral (MgO)n Clusters
Ab initio Perturbed Ion (PI) calculations are reported for neutral
stoichiometric (MgO)n clusters (n<14). An extensive number of isomer structures
was identified and studied. For the isomers of (MgO)n (n<8) clusters, a full
geometrical relaxation was considered. Correlation corrections were included
for all cluster sizes using the Coulomb-Hartree-Fock (CHF) model proposed by
Clementi. The results obtained compare favorably to the experimental data and
other previous theoretical studies. Inclusion of correlaiotn is crucial in
order to achieve a good description of these systems. We find an important
number of new isomers which allows us to interpret the experimental magic
numbers without the assumption of structures based on (MgO)3 subunits. Finally,
as an electronic property, the variations in the cluster ionization potential
with the cluster size were studied and related to the structural isomer
properties.Comment: 24 pages, LaTeX, 7 figures in GIF format. Accepted for publication in
Phys. Rev.
Ameliorating Systematic Uncertainties in the Angular Clustering of Galaxies: A Study using SDSS-III
We investigate the effects of potential sources of systematic error on the
angular and photometric redshift, z_phot, distributions of a sample of redshift
0.4 < z < 0.7 massive galaxies whose selection matches that of the Baryon
Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS) constant mass sample. Utilizing over
112,778 BOSS spectra as a training sample, we produce a photometric redshift
catalog for the galaxies in the SDSS DR8 imaging area that, after masking,
covers nearly one quarter of the sky (9,913 square degrees). We investigate
fluctuations in the number density of objects in this sample as a function of
Galactic extinction, seeing, stellar density, sky background, airmass,
photometric offset, and North/South Galactic hemisphere. We find that the
presence of stars of comparable magnitudes to our galaxies (which are not
traditionally masked) effectively remove area. Failing to correct for such
stars can produce systematic errors on the measured angular auto-correlation
function, w, that are larger than its statistical uncertainty. We describe how
one can effectively mask for the presence of the stars, without removing any
galaxies from the sample, and minimize the systematic error. Additionally, we
apply two separate methods that can be used to correct the systematic errors
imparted by any parameter that can be turned into a map on the sky. We find
that failing to properly account for varying sky background introduces a
systematic error on w. We measure w, in four z_phot slices of width 0.05
between 0.45 < z_phot < 0.65 and find that the measurements, after correcting
for the systematic effects of stars and sky background, are generally
consistent with a generic LambdaCDM model, at scales up to 60 degrees. At
scales greater than 3 degrees and z_phot > 0.5, the magnitude of the
corrections we apply are greater than the statistical uncertainty in w.Comment: Accepted by MNRA
A genome-wide association study follow-up suggests a possible role for PPARG in systemic sclerosis susceptibility
Introduction:
A recent genome-wide association study (GWAS) comprising a French cohort of systemic sclerosis (SSc) reported several non-HLA single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) showing a nominal association in the discovery phase. We aimed to identify previously overlooked susceptibility variants by using a follow-up strategy.<p></p>
Methods:
Sixty-six non-HLA SNPs showing a P value <10-4 in the discovery phase of the French SSc GWAS were analyzed in the first step of this study, performing a meta-analysis that combined data from the two published SSc GWASs. A total of 2,921 SSc patients and 6,963 healthy controls were included in this first phase. Two SNPs, PPARG rs310746 and CHRNA9 rs6832151, were selected for genotyping in the replication cohort (1,068 SSc patients and 6,762 healthy controls) based on the results of the first step. Genotyping was performed by using TaqMan SNP genotyping assays.
Results:
We observed nominal associations for both PPARG rs310746 (PMHâ=â1.90âĂâ10-6, OR, 1.28) and CHRNA9 rs6832151 (PMHâ=â4.30âĂâ10-6, OR, 1.17) genetic variants with SSc in the first step of our study. In the replication phase, we observed a trend of association for PPARG rs310746 (P valueâ=â0.066; OR, 1.17). The combined overall Mantel-Haenszel meta-analysis of all the cohorts included in the present study revealed that PPARG rs310746 remained associated with SSc with a nominal non-genome-wide significant P value (PMHâ=â5.00âĂâ10-7; OR, 1.25). No evidence of association was observed for CHRNA9 rs6832151 either in the replication phase or in the overall pooled analysis.<p></p>
Conclusion:
Our results suggest a role of PPARG gene in the development of SSc
Poly[ADP-Ribose] Polymerase-1 Expression Is Related To Cold Ischemia, Acute Tubular Necrosis, and Delayed Renal Function In Kidney Transplantation
Cold ischemia time especially impacts on outcomes of expanded-criteria donor (ECD) transplantation. Ischemia-reperfusion (IR) injury produces excessive poly[ADP-Ribose] Polymerase-1 (PARP-1) activation. The present study explored the hypothesis that increased tubular expression of PARP-1 contributes to delayed renal function in suboptimal ECD kidney allografts and in non-ECD allografts that develop posttransplant acute tubular necrosis (ATN)
Opposite-side flavour tagging of B mesons at the LHCb experiment
The calibration and performance of the oppositeside
flavour tagging algorithms used for the measurements
of time-dependent asymmetries at the LHCb experiment
are described. The algorithms have been developed using
simulated events and optimized and calibrated with
B
+ âJ/ÏK
+, B0 âJ/ÏK
â0 and B0 âD
ââ
Ό
+
ΜΌ decay
modes with 0.37 fbâ1 of data collected in pp collisions
at
â
s = 7 TeV during the 2011 physics run. The oppositeside
tagging power is determined in the B
+ â J/ÏK
+
channel to be (2.10 ± 0.08 ± 0.24) %, where the first uncertainty
is statistical and the second is systematic
Therapeutic effect of all-trans-retinoic acid (at-RA) on an autoimmune nephritis experimental model: role of the VLA-4 integrin
BACKGROUND: Mercuric chloride (HgCl(2)) induces an autoimmune nephritis in the Brown Norway (BN) rats characterized by anti-glomerular basement membrane antibodies (anti-GBM Ab) deposition, proteinuria and a severe interstitial nephritis, all evident at day 13 of the disease. We assessed the effects of all-trans retinoic acid (at-RA) in this experimental model. At-RA is a vitamin A metabolite which has shown beneficial effects on several nephropathies, even though no clear targets for at-RA were provided. METHODS: We separated animals in four different experimental groups (HgCl(2), HgCl(2)+at-RA, at-RA and vehicle). From each animal we collected, at days 0 and 13, numerous biological samples: urine, to measure proteinuria by colorimetry; blood to determine VLA-4 expression by flow citometry; renal tissue to study the expression of VCAM-1 by Western blot, the presence of cellular infiltrates by immunohistochemistry, the IgG deposition by immunofluorescence, and the cytokines expression by RT-PCR. Additionally, adhesion assays to VCAM-1 were performed using K562 α4 transfectant cells. ANOVA tests were used for statistical significance estimation. RESULTS: We found that at-RA significantly decreased the serum levels of anti-GBM and consequently its deposition along the glomerular membrane. At-RA markedly reduced proteinuria as well as the number of cellular infiltrates in the renal interstitium, the levels of TNF-α and IL-1ÎČ cytokines and VCAM-1 expression in renal tissue. Moreover, we reported here for the first time in an in vivo model that at-RA reduced, to basal levels, the expression of VLA-4 (α4ÎČ1) integrin induced by mercury on peripheral blood leukocytes (PBLs). In addition, using K562 α4 stable transfectant cells, we found that at-RA inhibited VLA-4 dependent cell adhesion to VCAM-1. CONCLUSION: Here we demonstrate a therapeutic effect of at-RA on an autoimmune experimental nephritis model in rats. We report a significant reduction of the VLA-4 integrin expression on PBLs as well as the inhibition of the VLA4/VCAM1-dependent leukocyte adhesion by at-RA treatment. Thereby we point out the VLA-4 integrin as a target for at-RA in vivo
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