On the effective potential for Horava-Lifshitz-like theories with the arbitrary critical exponent

We calculate the one-loop effective potential for Horava-Lifshitz-like QED and Yukawa-like theory for arbitrary values of the critical exponent and the space-time dimension.Comment: 10 pages, version accepted in PL

Proteus: A Hierarchical Portfolio of Solvers and Transformations

In recent years, portfolio approaches to solving SAT problems and CSPs have become increasingly common. There are also a number of different encodings for representing CSPs as SAT instances. In this paper, we leverage advances in both SAT and CSP solving to present a novel hierarchical portfolio-based approach to CSP solving, which we call Proteus, that does not rely purely on CSP solvers. Instead, it may decide that it is best to encode a CSP problem instance into SAT, selecting an appropriate encoding and a corresponding SAT solver. Our experimental evaluation used an instance of Proteus that involved four CSP solvers, three SAT encodings, and six SAT solvers, evaluated on the most challenging problem instances from the CSP solver competitions, involving global and intensional constraints. We show that significant performance improvements can be achieved by Proteus obtained by exploiting alternative view-points and solvers for combinatorial problem-solving.Comment: 11th International Conference on Integration of AI and OR Techniques in Constraint Programming for Combinatorial Optimization Problems. The final publication is available at link.springer.co

Hippocampal Insulin Signaling And Neuroprotection Mediated By Physical Exercise In Alzheimeŕs Disease

Epidemiological studies indicate continuous increases in the prevalence of Alzheimer's Disease (AD) in the next few decades. The key feature of this disease is hippocampal neurodegeneration. This structure has an important role in learning and memory. Intense research efforts have sought to elucidate neuroprotective mechanisms responsible for hippocampal integrity. Insulin signaling seems to be a very promising pathway for the prevention and treatment of AD. This hormone has been described as a powerful activator of neuronal survival. Recent research showed that reduced insulin sensitivity leads to low-grade inflammation, and both phenomena are closely related to AD genesis. Concomitantly, exercise has been shown to exert anti-inflammatory effects and to promote improvement in insulin signaling in the hippocampus, which supports neuronal survival and constitutes an interesting non-pharmacological alternative for the prevention and treatment of AD. This review examines recent advances in understanding the molecular mechanisms involved in hippocampal neuroprotection mediated by exercise.2

On the effective potential in higher-derivative superfield theories

We study the one-loop quantum corrections for higher-derivative superfield theories, generalizing the approach for calculating the superfield effective potential. In particular, we calculate the effective potential for two versions of higher-derivative chiral superfield models. We point out that the equivalence of the higher-derivative theory for the chiral superfield and the one without higher derivatives but with an extended number of chiral superfields occurs only when the mass term is contained in the general Lagrangian. The presence of divergences can be taken as an indication of this equivalence.Comment: 14 page

Dynamical Chern-Simons modified gravity, Godel Universe and variable cosmological constant

We study the condition for the consistency of the G\"{o}del metric with the dynamical Chern-Simons modified gravity. It turns out to be that this compatibility can be achieved only if the cosmological constant is variable in the space.Comment: 8 pages, references adde

Polyamines, Gelling Agents in Tissue Culture, Micropropagation of Medicinal Plants and Bioreactors

Currently, tissue cultures of species of agricultural importance have wide applicability in industrial production processes. Tissue culture is a name given to a set of techniques that allow the regeneration of cells, tissues and organs of plants, from segments of plant organs or tissues, using nutrient solutions in aseptic and controlled environment. This regeneration is based on the totipotency of plant cells. Totipotency is a capability indicating that plant cells, in different times, may express the potential to form a new multicellular individual. Tissue culture appears to be a good alternative to conventional propagation, requiring less physical space, with high multiplication rate, without incidence of pests and diseases during cultivation, and enabling higher control of the variables involved. Thus, in the in vitro environment, with the required stimuli and appropriate conditions, different cell types express different behaviors, possibly leading to cell multiplication and differentiation into a specific tissue, characterized by a form and a function, which may lead to the regeneration of a new individual

Equivalence between supersymmetric self-dual and Maxwell-Chern-Simons models coupled to a matter spinor superfield

We study the duality of the supersymmetric self-dual and Maxwell-Chern-Simons theories coupled to a fermionic matter superfield, using a master action. This approach evades the difficulties inherent to the quartic couplings that appear when matter is represented by a scalar superfield. The price is that the spinorial matter superfield represents a unusual supersymmetric multiplet, whose main physical properties we also discuss.Comment: v2, 16 pages, elsarticle.cls, accepted for publication in PL

Barrier Distributions as a Tool to Investigate Fusion and Fission

The recent availability of precisely measured fusion cross-sections has enabled the extraction of a representation of the distribution of barriers encountered during fusion. These representations, obtained from a variety of reactions, provide a direct observation of how the structure of the fusing nuclei changes the inter-nuclear potential landscape, thus affecting the fusion probability. Recent experiments showing the effects of static quadrupole and hexadecapole deformation, single-- and double-phonon states, transfer of nucleons between two nuclei, and high lying excited states are reviewed. The application of these concepts to the explanation of the anomalous fission-fragment anisotropies observed following reactions with actinides is discussed.Comment: 12 pages, To be published in the Proceedings of the NN 97 Conference, Gatlinburg, Tennessee, June 1997 (Nucl. Phys. A

Fauna de flebotomíneos (Diptera: Psychodidae: Phlebotominae) em terra firme e planície fluvial na área de influência do gasoduto Coari-Manaus, Amazonas, Brasil

The object of this work was to make a preliminary survey of the entomofauna sandflies in the areas under the influence of the Coari-Manaus (AM) gas pipeline. The collections were made from 4 to 8 August 2003, in five of the seven municipal districts under the influence of the gas pipeline, using light traps of the type CDC. We captured 205 individuals, distributed in 25 species, belonging to eight subgenera (151 - 73.7%) and four groups (54 - 26.3%). The Lutzomyia umbratilis was the most numerous species found (43 - 21.0%). The species Lutzomyia preclara, collected in the municipal districts of Caapiranga and Manacupuru, was registered for the first time in the state of Amazonas, and the second time in Brasil.Este trabalho teve como objetivo realizar um levantamento preliminar da entomofauna de flebotomíneos nas áreas de influência do gasoduto Coari-Manaus (AM). As coletas foram realizadas no período de 4 a 8 de agosto (2003), em cinco dos sete municípios da área de influência do gasoduto, utilizando-se de armadilhas de luz do tipo CDC. Foram capturados 205 indivíduos, distribuídos em 25 espécies, pertencentes a oito subgêneros (151 - 73,7%) e quatro grupos (54 - 26,3%). A espécie Lutzomyia umbratilis foi a mais numerosa encontrando-se 21,0% (43) do total coletado. Nestas coletas foi registrada pela primeira vez no Amazonas e segunda no Brasil a espécie Lutzomyia preclara, coletada nos municípios de Caapiranga e Manacapuru