4,044 research outputs found
Cosmological Evolution of Brane World Moduli
We study cosmological consequences of non-constant brane world moduli in five
dimensional brane world models with bulk scalars and two boundary branes. We
focus on the case where the brane tension is an exponential function of the
bulk scalar field, . In the limit , the model reduces to the two-brane model of Randall-Sundrum, whereas larger
values of allow for a less warped bulk geometry. Using the moduli
space approximation, we derive the four-dimensional low-energy effective action
from a supergravity-inspired five-dimensional theory. For arbitrary values of
, the resulting theory has the form of a bi-scalar-tensor theory. We
show that, in order to be consistent with local gravitational observations,
has to be small (less than ) and the separation of the branes
must be large. We study the cosmological evolution of the interbrane distance
and the bulk scalar field for different matter contents on each branes. Our
findings indicate that attractor solutions exist which drive the moduli fields
towards values consistent with observations. The efficiency of the attractor
mechanism crucially depends on the matter content on each branes. In the
five-dimensional description, the attractors correspond to the motion of the
negative tension brane towards a bulk singularity, which signals the eventual
breakdown of the four-dimensional description and the necessity of a better
understanding of the bulk singularity.Comment: 18 pages, 10 figures, typos and factor of 2 corrected, version to
appear in Physical Review
Juvenile polyposis of infancy in a child with deletion of BMPR1A and PTEN genes: Surgical approach
Juvenile polyposis of infancy is the most severe and life-threatening form of juvenile polyposis. This disease typically presents in the first two years of life with gastrointestinal bleeding, diarrhea, inanition, and exudative enteropathy. In very few reports concerning this entity, a large deletion in the long arm of chromosome 10 (10q23), encompassing the PTEN and BMPR1A genes, was found. The authors report a case of delayed diagnosis of juvenile polyposis of infancy at 6years of age. A 3.34Mb long de novo deletion was identified at 10q23.1q23.31, encompassing the PTEN and BMPR1A genes. The disease course was severe with diarrhea, abdominal pain, inanition, refractory anemia, rectal bleeding, hypoalbuminemia, and exudative enteropathy. A sub-total colectomy, combined with intraoperative endoscopic removal of ileal and rectal stump polyps, was required for palliative disease control
On Brane Cosmology and Naked Singularities
Brane-world singularities are analysed, emphasizing the case of supergravity
in singular spaces where the singularity puzzle is naturally resolved. These
naked singularities are either time-like or null, corresponding to the finite
or infinite amount of conformal time that massless particles take in order to
reach them. Quantum mechanically we show that the brane-world naked
singularities are inconsistent. Indeed we find that time-like singularities are
not wave-regular, so the time-evolution of wave packets is not uniquely defined
in their vicinity, while null singularities absorb incoming radiation. Finally
we stress that for supergravity in singular spaces there is a topological
obstruction, whereby naked singularities are necessarily screened off by the
second boundary brane.Comment: 12 page
Corrosion behaviour of substoichiometric TiNx films produced by DC magnetron sputtering
The present work describes the corrosion behaviour of substoichiometric TiNx films obtained by dc reactive magnetron sputtering. The coatings thickness ranged from 1.7 to 4.2 µm and the nitrogen content varied between 0 and 55 at. %. According to structural characterization by XRD, the films revealed a hexagonal α-Ti phase with a strong [002] orientation for low nitrogen contents. For nitrogen contents of 20% and 30%, the ε-Ti2N phase appears with a [200] orientation and further increasing of nitrogen content showed that the δ-TiN phase was dominant. Potentiodynamic polarisation and Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) techniques were used to study the corrosion properties of TiNx films when immersed in artificial sweat solutions. Results of potentiodynamic polarisation tests showed that all films have a high corrosion resistance reflected by corrosion current densities values lower than 0.7µA/cm2. Also, EIS tests corroborated the results obtained in the polarisation tests, showing that films containing low percentages of nitrogen (less than 8 %) reveal the best corrosion resistance. Further increases in nitrogen content lead to a decrease in corrosion resistance. An exception to this behaviour was found for the film, with 30 % N. This sample presents an excellent corrosion resistance which increases with the immersion time. Higher nitrogen contents (52 and 55 %) promote a relative increase in the corrosion resistance when compared with 45 and 50 at % films, but never reaching values obtained for nitrogen contents lower than 30 % at.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia - (FCT
Corrosion resistance of ZrNxOy thin films obtained by rf reactive magnetron sputtering
The main aim of this work is the investigation of the corrosion resistance of single layered zirconium oxynitride, ZrNxOy, thin films in
artificial sweat solution at ambient emperature. The films were produced by rf reactive magnetron sputtering, using a pure Zr target at a constant temperature of 300 8C. Two different sets of samples were produced. In the first set of films, the substrate bias voltage was the main
variable, whereas in the second set, the flow rate of reactive gases (oxygen/nitrogen ratio) was varied. The control of the amount of oxygen allowed the film properties to be tailored from those of covalent zirconium nitride to those of the correspondent ionic oxide. The corrosion behaviour was evaluated by potentiodynamic polarization and Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) tests. The analysis of EIS data provided detailed information of the corrosion processes occurring at the surface of the system throughout the immersion time. The modifications of the coating microstructure and/or chemical composition induced by the variation of the deposition parameters were also evaluated and correlated with the corrosion mechanisms occurring in each system
Corrosion behaviour of single layered ZrNxOy thin films in artificial sweat solutions
Applications of coloured thin films can be found on the production of high-quality
consumer products, such as eyeglass frames, wristwatch casings and wristbands. These components should possess scratch and corrosion resistant surfaces through the desired lifetime. Recently, metal oxynitrides, MeNxOy (Me = early transition metal) were proposed for decorative applications. In these materials, variations on the amount of oxygen allow the film properties to be tailored, originating a wide range of colours. Additionally, these materials should also fulfil the wear and corrosion requirements above referred.
In the present work the corrosion behaviour of single layered zirconium oxynitride, ZrNxOy
films, immersed in artificial sweat solutions, is described. Films were produced by rf reactive magnetron sputtering at a constant substrate temperature of 300 ºC, from a pure Zr target. The main processing variable was the flow rate of reactive. The corrosion resistance was evaluated by potentiodynamic polarisation tests and Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) at different immersion times, at room temperature.
The corrosion resistance of the films is strongly affected by the O/N ratio. A slight
tendency to improving the corrosion resistance of the films was found with the increasing in the atomic fraction of oxygen. Nevertheless, pitting was found in all samples. However, the amount of pits seems to be strongly dependent not only on the composition of the film, but also on the processing-induced defects distribution.European Union, FCT- Portugal and European community (FEDER)
Tribocorrosion behaviour of zrNxOy thin films for decorative applications
The main aim of this work is the investigation of the tribocorrosion behaviour of single layered zirconium oxynitride, ZrNxOy, thin films in alternative linear regime of sliding and immersed in an artificial sweat solution at room temperature. The films were produced by rf reactive magnetron sputtering, using a pure Zr target at a constant temperature of 300º C. Two different sets of samples were produced. In the first set of films the substrate bias voltage was the main variable, whereas in the second set, the flow rate of reactive gases (oxygen/nitrogen ratio) was varied. The control of the amount of oxygen allowed the film properties to be tailored from those of covalent zirconium nitride to those of the correspondent ionic oxide. During the wear test both the open circuit potential and the corrosion current were monitored. Also, Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) tests were performed before and after sliding in order to evaluate, in detail, the modification of the protective character of the coating introduced by the joint action of wear and corrosion. The modifications of the coating microstructure and/or chemical composition induced by the variation of the deposition parameters was also evaluated and correlated with the corrosion mechanisms occurring in each system
Constraining parameter space in type-II two-Higgs doublet model in light of a 126 GeV Higgs boson
We explore the implications of a 126 GeV Higgs boson indicated by the recent
LHC results for two-Higgs doublet model (2HDM). Identifying the 126 GeV Higgs
boson as either the lighter or heavier of CP even neutral Higgs bosons in 2HDM,
we examine how the masses of Higgs fields and mixing parameters can be
constrained by the theoretical conditions and experimental constraints. The
theoretical conditions taken into account are the vacuum stability,
perturbativity and unitarity required to be satisfied up to a cut-off scale. We
also show how bounds on the masses of Higgs bosons and mixing parameters depend
on the cut-off scale. In addition, we investigate whether the allowed regions
of parameter space can accommodate particularly the enhanced di-photon signals,
ZZ* and WW* decay modes of the Higgs boson, and examine the prediction of the
signal strength of Z{\gamma} decay mode for the allowed regions of the
parameter space.Comment: To be published in JHEP, 20 pages, 11 figures, Figures and results
are updated for the recent LHC result
Structural and corrosion behaviour of stoichiometric and substoichiometric TiN thin films
This paper reports the structural and electrochemical behaviour of TiN thin films prepared by d.c. reactive magnetron sputtering. x
X-Ray diffraction showed the development of the hexagonal a-Ti phase, with strong w002x orientation, for low nitrogen contents.
For nitrogen contents of 20 and 30 at.%, the ´-Ti N phase appears with w200x orientation. With further increasing the nitrogen 2
content, the d-TiN phase becomes dominant. Composition and the resulting changes in microstructure (crystalline phases and the
lattice distortion induced by the growth conditions) are the two main parameters that seem to rule coating properties. Results of
potentiodynamic polarisation tests showed that all films have a high corrosion resistance reflected by corrosion current densities
below 0.7 mAycm . Also, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy tests corroborated the results obtained in the polarisation tests, 2
showing that films containing low percentages of nitrogen (less than 8%) reveal the best corrosion resistance. Further increases
in nitrogen content lead to a decrease in the corrosion resistance. An exception to this behaviour was found for the film with 30
at.% N. This sample presents an excellent corrosion resistance, which in fact, increases with the immersion time. Higher nitrogen
contents (52 and 55 at.%) promote a relative increase in the corrosion resistance when compared with 50 at.% films. This
behaviour might be explained by the particular microstructural characteristics of the films
A paradox of syntactic priming: why response tendencies show priming for passives, and response latencies show priming for actives
Speakers tend to repeat syntactic structures across sentences, a phenomenon called syntactic priming. Although it has been suggested that repeating syntactic structures should result in speeded responses, previous research has focused on effects in response tendencies. We investigated syntactic priming effects simultaneously in response tendencies and response latencies for active and passive transitive sentences in a picture description task. In Experiment 1, there were priming effects in response tendencies for passives and in response latencies for actives. However, when participants' pre-existing preference for actives was altered in Experiment 2, syntactic priming occurred for both actives and passives in response tendencies as well as in response latencies. This is the first investigation of the effects of structure frequency on both response tendencies and latencies in syntactic priming. We discuss the implications of these data for current theories of syntactic processing
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