Electromagnetic quasinormal modes of five-dimensional topological black holes

We calculate exactly the QNF of the vector type and scalar type electromagnetic fields propagating on a family of five-dimensional topological black holes. To get a discrete spectrum of quasinormal frequencies for the scalar type electromagnetic field we find that it is necessary to change the boundary condition usually imposed at the asymptotic region. Furthermore for the vector type electromagnetic field we impose the usual boundary condition at the asymptotic region and we discuss the existence of unstable quasinormal modes in the five-dimensional topological black holes.Comment: 16 pages. Already published in Revista Mexicana de Fisic

Child education and work choices in the presence of a conditional cash transfer programme in rural Colombia

This research is part of a large evaluation effort, undertaken by a consortium formed by IFS, Econometria and SEI, which has considered the effects of Familias en Accion on a variety of outcomes one year after its implementation. In early reports, we focussed on the effects of the programme on school enrolment. In this paper, we both expand those results, by carefully analysing anticipation effects along with other issues, and complement them with an analysis of child labour - both paid and unpaid (including domestic) work. The child labour analysis is made possible due to a rich time use module of the surveys that has not previously been analysed. We find that the programme increased the school participation rates of 14 to 17 year old children quite substantially, by between 5 and 7 percentage points, and had lower, but non-negligible effects on the enrolment of younger children of between 1.4 and 2.4 percentage points. In terms of work, the effects are generally largest for younger children whose participation in domestic work decreased by around 10 to 12 percentage points after the programme but whose participation in income-generating work remained largely unaffected by the programme. We also find evidence of school and work time not being fully substitutable, suggesting that some, but not all, of the increased time at school may be drawn from children's leisure time

On SIR epidemic models with generally distributed infectious periods: number of secondary cases and probability of infection

Recently, Clancy [SIR epidemic models with general infectious period distribution, Statist. Prob. Lett. 85 (2014) 1–5] has shown how SIR epidemics in which individuals’ infection periods are not necessarily exponentially distributed may be modeled in terms of a piecewise-deterministic Markov process (PDMP). In this paper, we present a more detailed description of the underlying PDMP, from which we analyze the population transmission number and the infection probability of a certain susceptible individual

Risk Classification of Bladder Cancer by Gene Expression and Molecular Subtype

This study evaluated a panel including the molecular taxonomy subtype and the expression of 27 genes as a diagnostic tool to stratify bladder cancer patients at risk of aggressive behavior, using a well-characterized series of non-muscle invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) as well as muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC). The study was conducted using the novel NanoString nCounter gene expression analysis. This technology allowed us to identify the molecular subtype and to analyze the gene expression of 27 bladder-cancer-related genes selected through a recent literature search. The differential gene expression was correlated with clinicopathological variables, such as the molecular subtypes (luminal, basal, null/double negative), histological subtype (conventional urothelial carcinoma, or carcinoma with variant histology), clinical subtype (NMIBC and MIBC), tumor stage category (Ta, T1, and T2–4), tumor grade, PD-L1 expression (high vs. low expression), and clinical risk categories (low, intermediate, high and very high). The multivariate analysis of the 19 genes significant for cancer-specific survival in our cohort study series identified TP53 (p = 0.0001), CCND1 (p = 0.0001), MKI67 (p < 0.0001), and molecular subtype (p = 0.005) as independent predictors. A scoring system based on the molecular subtype and the gene expression signature of TP53, CCND1, or MKI67 was used for risk assessment. A score ranging from 0 (best prognosis) to 7 (worst prognosis) was obtained and used to stratify our patients into two (low [score 0–2] vs. high [score 3–7], model A) or three (low [score 0–2] vs. intermediate [score 3–4] vs. high [score 5–7], model B) risk categories with different survival characteristics. Mean cancer-specific survival was longer (122 + 2.7 months) in low-risk than intermediate-risk (79.4 + 9.4 months) or high-risk (6.2 + 0.9 months) categories (p < 0.0001; model A); and was longer (122 + 2.7 months) in low-risk than high-risk (58 + 8.3 months) (p < 0.0001; model B). In conclusion, the molecular risk assessment model, as reported here, might be used better to select the appropriate management for patients with bladder cancer

Exact solutions of an elliptic Calogero--Sutherland model

A model describing N particles on a line interacting pairwise via an elliptic function potential in the presence of an external field is partially solved in the quantum case in a totally algebraic way. As an example, the ground state and the lowest excitations are calculated explicitly for N=2.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, typeset with RevTeX 4b3 and AMS-LaTe

Gene deficiency in activating Fcγ receptors influences the macrophage phenotypic balance and reduces atherosclerosis in mice

Immunity contributes to arterial inflammation during atherosclerosis. Oxidized low-density lipoproteins induce an autoimmune response characterized by specific antibodies and immune complexes in atherosclerotic patients. We hypothesize that specific Fcγ receptors for IgG constant region participate in atherogenesis by regulating the inflammatory state of lesional macrophages. In vivo we examined the role of activating Fcγ receptors in atherosclerosis progression using bone marrow transplantation from mice deficient in γ-chain (the common signaling subunit of activating Fcγ receptors) to hyperlipidemic mice. Hematopoietic deficiency of Fcγ receptors significantly reduced atherosclerotic lesion size, which was associated with decreased number of macrophages and T lymphocytes, and increased T regulatory cell function. Lesions of Fcγ receptor deficient mice exhibited increased plaque stability, as evidenced by higher collagen and smooth muscle cell content and decreased apoptosis. These effects were independent of changes in serum lipids and antibody response to oxidized low-density lipoproteins. Activating Fcγ receptor deficiency reduced pro-inflammatory gene expression, nuclear factor-κB activity, and M1 macrophages at the lesion site, while increasing anti-inflammatory genes and M2 macrophages. The decreased inflammation in the lesions was mirrored by a reduced number of classical inflammatory monocytes in blood. In vitro, lack of activating Fcγ receptors attenuated foam cell formation, oxidative stress and pro-inflammatory gene expression, and increased M2-associated genes in murine macrophages. Our study demonstrates that activating Fcγ receptors influence the macrophage phenotypic balance in the artery wall of atherosclerotic mice and suggests that modulation of Fcγ receptor-mediated inflammatory responses could effectively suppress atherosclerosis