1,002 research outputs found
Release of Mast Cell Tryptase into Saliva: A Tool to Diagnose Food Allergy by a Mucosal Challenge Test?
Background: Our aim was to examine whether measurement of the saliva mast cell tryptase (MCT) concentrations before and after a mucosal challenge test with the offending food would be helpful in diagnosing food allergy. Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of 44 food challenge tests performed in 38 patients between 2006 and 2009. Patients with a suspected history of food allergy chewed the food until they developed symptoms or until the amount of time known from the patients' history to usually be required for the provocation of symptoms had passed. In 5 patients, saliva samples for the measurement of MCT were collected at minutes 0, 1, 4, 8, 11, and 16 after the first onset of symptoms. The remainder of the patients only had samples taken before chewing and 4 min after the end of the test period. Results: During repeated measurements, MCT peaked about 4 min after the onset of symptoms (p = 0.028). During 33 of the 44 tests (75.0%), we observed oral symptoms during testing; after 25 of the 33 (75.8%) tests evoking symptoms, the saliva MCT concentration increased. The MCT increase was negative in all other tests where no oral symptoms could be provoked. Conclusions: The measurement of saliva MCT 4 min after the onset of symptoms may be helpful to diagnose food allergy. Because of numerous confounding variables, however, a negative saliva MCT increase does not exclude food allergy. Copyright (C) 2011 S. Karger AG, Base
The Sphaleron Rate in SU(N) Gauge Theory
The sphaleron rate is defined as the diffusion constant for topological
number NCS = int g^2 F Fdual/32 pi^2. It establishes the rate of equilibration
of axial light quark number in QCD and is of interest both in electroweak
baryogenesis and possibly in heavy ion collisions. We calculate the
weak-coupling behavior of the SU(3) sphaleron rate, as well as making the most
sensible extrapolation towards intermediate coupling which we can. We also
study the behavior of the sphaleron rate at weak coupling at large Nc.Comment: 18 pages with 3 figure
Sphalerons and the Electroweak Phase Transition in Models with Higher Scalar Representations
In this work we investigate the sphaleron solution in a
gauge theory, which also encompasses the Standard Model, with higher scalar
representation(s) (). We show that the field profiles
describing the sphaleron in higher scalar multiplet, have similar trends like
the doublet case with respect to the radial distance. We compute the sphaleron
energy and find that it scales linearly with the vacuum expectation value of
the scalar field and its slope depends on the representation. We also
investigate the effect of gauge field and find that it is small for the
physical value of the mixing angle, and resembles the case for the
doublet. For higher representations, we show that the criterion for strong
first order phase transition, , is relaxed with respect to
the doublet case, i.e. .Comment: 20 pages, 5 figures & 1 table, published versio
Skyrmion Multi-Walls
Skyrmion walls are topologically-nontrivial solutions of the Skyrme system
which are periodic in two spatial directions. We report numerical
investigations which show that solutions representing parallel multi-walls
exist. The most stable configuration is that of the square -wall, which in
the limit becomes the cubically-symmetric Skyrme crystal. There is
also a solution resembling parallel hexagonal walls, but this is less stable.Comment: 7 pages, 1 figur
Moyal star product approach to the Bohr-Sommerfeld approximation
The Bohr-Sommerfeld approximation to the eigenvalues of a one-dimensional
quantum Hamiltonian is derived through order (i.e., including the
first correction term beyond the usual result) by means of the Moyal star
product. The Hamiltonian need only have a Weyl transform (or symbol) that is a
power series in , starting with , with a generic fixed point in
phase space. The Hamiltonian is not restricted to the kinetic-plus-potential
form. The method involves transforming the Hamiltonian to a normal form, in
which it becomes a function of the harmonic oscillator Hamiltonian.
Diagrammatic and other techniques with potential applications to other normal
form problems are presented for manipulating higher order terms in the Moyal
series.Comment: 27 pages, no figure
Introduction: Crime and Deviance through the Lens of Popular Culture
The introductory chapter sets out the collection’s theoretical framework, which favours a view of popular culture as an arena where issues of crime, deviance, criminal victimisation and justice are debated and negotiated. It draws attention to the mediatisation of the crime problem and the increasing academic interest in the interrelationship between crime, deviance and popular culture in the twenty-first century. In addition, this chapter introduces the five thematic sections of the collection and outlines the topics addressed in the chapters of each section
Baryon Washout, Electroweak Phase Transition, and Perturbation Theory
We analyze the conventional perturbative treatment of sphaleron-induced
baryon number washout relevant for electroweak baryogenesis and show that it is
not gauge-independent due to the failure of consistently implementing the
Nielsen identities order-by-order in perturbation theory. We provide a
gauge-independent criterion for baryon number preservation in place of the
conventional (gauge-dependent) criterion needed for successful electroweak
baryogenesis. We also review the arguments leading to the preservation
criterion and analyze several sources of theoretical uncertainties in obtaining
a numerical bound. In various beyond the standard model scenarios, a realistic
perturbative treatment will likely require knowledge of the complete two-loop
finite temperature effective potential and the one-loop sphaleron rate.Comment: 25 pages, 9 figures; v2 minor typos correcte
Excluding Electroweak Baryogenesis in the MSSM
In the context of the MSSM the Light Stop Scenario (LSS) is the only region
of parameter space that allows for successful Electroweak Baryogenesis (EWBG).
This possibility is very phenomenologically attractive, since it allows for the
direct production of light stops and could be tested at the LHC. The ATLAS and
CMS experiments have recently supplied tantalizing hints for a Higgs boson with
a mass of ~ 125 GeV. This Higgs mass severely restricts the parameter space of
the LSS, and we discuss the specific predictions made for EWBG in the MSSM.
Combining data from all the available ATLAS and CMS Higgs searches reveals a
tension with the predictions of EWBG even at this early stage. This allows us
to exclude EWBG in the MSSM at greater than (90) 95% confidence level in the
(non-)decoupling limit, by examining correlations between different Higgs decay
channels. We also examine the exclusion without the assumption of a ~ 125 GeV
Higgs. The Higgs searches are still highly constraining, excluding the entire
EWBG parameter space at greater than 90% CL except for a small window of m_h ~
117 - 119 GeV.Comment: 24 Pages, 4 Figures (v3: fixed typos, minor corrections, added
references
Thermodynamics of SU(N) Yang-Mills theories in 2+1 dimensions II - The deconfined phase
We present a non-perturbative study of the equation of state in the
deconfined phase of Yang-Mills theories in D=2+1 dimensions. We introduce a
holographic model, based on the improved holographic QCD model, from which we
derive a non-trivial relation between the order of the deconfinement phase
transition and the behavior of the trace of the energy-momentum tensor as a
function of the temperature T. We compare the theoretical predictions of this
holographic model with a new set of high-precision numerical results from
lattice simulations of SU(N) theories with N=2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 colors. The
latter reveal that, similarly to the D=3+1 case, the bulk equilibrium
thermodynamic quantities (pressure, trace of the energy-momentum tensor, energy
density and entropy density) exhibit nearly perfect proportionality to the
number of gluons, and can be successfully compared with the holographic
predictions in a broad range of temperatures. Finally, we also show that, again
similarly to the D=3+1 case, the trace of the energy-momentum tensor appears to
be proportional to T^2 in a wide temperature range, starting from approximately
1.2 T_c, where T_c denotes the critical deconfinement temperature.Comment: 2+36 pages, 10 figures; v2: comments added, curves showing the
holographic predictions included in the plots of the pressure and energy and
entropy densities, typos corrected: version published in JHE
MRI of the lung (1/3):methods
Proton magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has recently emerged as a clinical tool to image the lungs. This paper outlines the current technical aspects of MRI pulse sequences, radiofrequency (RF) coils and MRI system requirements needed for imaging the pulmonary parenchyma and vasculature. Lung MRI techniques are presented as a “technical toolkit”, from which MR protocols will be composed in the subsequent papers for comprehensive imaging of lung disease and function (parts 2 and 3). This paper is pitched at MR scientists, technicians and radiologists who are interested in understanding and establishing lung MRI methods. Images from a 1.5 T scanner are used for illustration of the sequences and methods that are highlighted.
Main Messages
• Outline of the hardware and pulse sequence requirements for proton lung MRI
• Overview of pulse sequences for lung parenchyma, vascular and functional imaging with protons
• Demonstration of the pulse-sequence building blocks for clinical lung MRI protocol
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