766 research outputs found
Cosmology in massive gravity
We argue that more cosmological solutions in massive gravity can be obtained
if the metric tensor and the tensor defined by
St\"{u}ckelberg fields take the homogeneous and isotropic form. The standard
cosmology with matter and radiation dominations in the past can be recovered
and CDM model is easily obtained. The dynamical evolution of the
universe is modified at very early times.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure,add more reference
Improved cosmological constraints on the curvature and equation of state of dark energy
We apply the Constitution compilation of 397 supernova Ia, the baryon
acoustic oscillation measurements including the parameter, the distance
ratio and the radial data, the five-year Wilkinson microwave anisotropy probe
and the Hubble parameter data to study the geometry of the universe and the
property of dark energy by using the popular Chevallier-Polarski-Linder and
Jassal-Bagla-Padmanabhan parameterizations. We compare the simple
method of joined contour estimation and the Monte Carlo Markov chain method,
and find that it is necessary to make the marginalized analysis on the error
estimation. The probabilities of and in the
Chevallier-Polarski-Linder model are skew distributions, and the marginalized
errors are ,
, , and
. For the Jassal-Bagla-Padmanabhan model, the
marginalized errors are ,
, , and
. The equation of state parameter of dark energy
is negative in the redshift range at more than level.
The flat CDM model is consistent with the current observational data
at the level.Comment: 10 figures, 12 pages, Classical and Quantum Gravity in press; v2 to
match the pulished versio
Observational constraint on dynamical evolution of dark energy
We use the Constitution supernova, the baryon acoustic oscillation, the
cosmic microwave background, and the Hubble parameter data to analyze the
evolution property of dark energy. We obtain different results when we fit
different baryon acoustic oscillation data combined with the Constitution
supernova data to the Chevallier-Polarski-Linder model. We find that the
difference stems from the different values of . We also fit the
observational data to the model independent piecewise constant parametrization.
Four redshift bins with boundaries at , 0.53, 0.85 and 1.8 were chosen
for the piecewise constant parametrization of the equation of state parameter
of dark energy. We find no significant evidence for evolving .
With the addition of the Hubble parameter, the constraint on the equation of
state parameter at high redshift isimproved by 70%. The marginalization of the
nuisance parameter connected to the supernova distance modulus is discussed.Comment: revtex, 16 pages, 5 figures, V2: published versio
Thermodynamics of Chaplygin gas
We clarify thermodynamics of the Chaplygin gas by introducing the
integrability condition. All thermal quantities are derived as functions of
either volume or temperature. Importantly, we find a new general equation of
state, describing the Chaplygin gas completely. We confirm that the Chaplygin
gas could show a unified picture of dark matter and energy which cools down
through the universe expansion without any critical point (phase transition).Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, version "Accepted for publication in Astrophysics
& Space Science
Simple scheme for expanding a polarization-entangled W state by adding one photon
We propose a simple scheme for expanding a polarization-entangled W state. By
mixing a single photon and one of the photons in an n-photon W state at a
polarization-dependent beam splitter (PDBS), we can obtain an (n+1)-photon W
state after post-selection. Our scheme also opens the door for generating
n-photon W states using single photons and linear optics.Comment: 3 pages, 2 figure
Comparison of urinary aflatoxin M1 and aflatoxin albumin adducts as biomarkers for assessing aflatoxin exposure in Tanzanian children
Purpose: To determine levels of urinary aflatoxin M1 (AFM1) in children and correlate the concentrations with previously reported aflatoxin albumin adduct (AF-alb) levels in these children. Materials and methods: Matched urine and blood samples were collected from 84 Tanzanian children aged 6–14 months old. From 31 children in one village (Kigwa), samples were collected at three time points six months apart. Samples were collected from 31 and 22 children from two different regions at the second time point only. Urinary AFM1 was measured using a commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit with a modified protocol to improve sensitivity. AF-alb was measured using an established ELISA method. Results: The relative ranking of the three villages for exposure to aflatoxin based on either AFM1 or AF-alb biomarker measurements was the same. In Kigwa village, both AFM1 and AF-alb levels were higher at six months post-harvest compared to baseline. However, at the next visit, the AFM1 levels dropped from a GM (interquartile range) of 71.0 (44.7, 112.6) at visit two to 49.3 (31.5, 77.3) pg/ml urine, whereas AF-alb levels increased from 47.3 (29.7, 75.2) to 52.7 (35.4, 78.3) pg/mg albumin between these two visits, reflecting the fact that AFM1 measures short-term exposure, whereas AF-alb measures longer term exposure. There was a correlation between AFB1 intake and AFM1 excretion (r= 0.442, p ≤ 0.001). Conclusions: Urinary AFM1 is a good biomarker for AFB1 exposure in Tanzanian children, reflecting geographical and temporal variations in exposure to this foodborne toxin
Constraints on Dark Energy Models from Weak Gravity Conjecture
We study the constraints on the dark energy model with constant equation of
state parameter and the holographic dark energy model by using the
weak gravity conjecture. The combination of weak gravity conjecture and the
observational data gives at the confidence level. The
holographic dark energy model realized by a scalar field is in swampland.Comment: 4 two column pages, 3 figures, accepted by Chin. Phys. Let
Prognostic parameters for recurrence of papillary thyroid microcarcinoma
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Papillary thyroid microcarcinoma (PTMC) is defined as a papillary thyroid carcinoma less than or equal to 1.0 cm in size. Independent prognostic factors for clinical recurrence of PTMC have not been clearly delineated.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Clinicopathological parameters predicting PTMC recurrence were determined by retrospective analysis of 307 patients.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Of the 293 patients eligible for analysis, 14 (5%) had recurrence during a median follow-up time of 65 months. Recurrence was observed in 8 of 166 patients (0.5%) treated with total or near-total thyroidectomy; gender (P = 0.02) and presence of lateral cervical node metastases at initial surgery (P = 0.01) were associated with recurrence. Six of the 127 patients (0.5%) treated with hemi- or subtotal thyroidectomy experience recurrences, but no significant prognostic factor for recurrence was identified. Multivariate Cox-regression analysis showed that gender and cervical lymph node metastasis were significant variables</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>PTMC showed very diverse disease extent and could not be regarded as indolent, relatively benign disease based on the primary tumor size. The extent of surgery should be based on prognostic parameters, such as gender and lateral neck node metastasis, in patients with PTMC.</p
Interventions Targeting Child Undernutrition in Developing Countries May Be Undermined by Dietary Exposure to Aflatoxin
Child undernutrition, a form of malnutrition, is a major public health burden in developing countries. Supplementation interventions targeting the major micronutrient deficiencies have only reduced the burden of child undernutrition to a certain extent, indicating that there are other underlying determinants that need to be addressed. Aflatoxin exposure, which is also highly prevalent in developing countries, may be considered an aggravating factor for child undernutrition. Increasing evidence suggests that aflatoxin exposure can occur in any stage of life, including in utero through a trans-placental pathway and in early childhood (through contaminated weaning food and family food). Early life exposure to aflatoxin is associated with adverse effects on low birth weight, stunting, immune suppression, and the liver function damage. The mechanisms underlying impaired growth and aflatoxin exposure are still unclear but intestinal function damage, reduced immune function, and alteration in the insulin-like growth factor axis caused by the liver damage are the suggested hypotheses. Given the fact that both aflatoxin and child undernutrition are common in sub-Saharan Africa, effective interventions aimed at reducing undernutrition cannot be satisfactorily achieved until the interactive relationship between aflatoxin and child undernutrition is clearly understood, and an aflatoxin mitigation strategy takes effect in those vulnerable mothers and children
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