352 research outputs found
Permutable entire functions satisfying algebraic differential equations
It is shown that if two transcendental entire functions permute, and if one
of them satisfies an algebraic differential equation, then so does the other
one.Comment: 5 page
New Instanton Solutions at Finite Temperature
We discuss the newly found exact instanton solutions at finite temperature
with a non-trivial Polyakov loop at infinity. They can be described in terms of
monopole constituents and we discuss in this context an old result due to
Taubes how to make out of monopoles non-trivial topological charge
configurations, with possible applications to abelian projection.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures (in 5 parts), latex using espcrc1.sty, presented
at "QCD at Finite Baryon Density", April 27-30, 1998, Bielefeld, German
Stability of Single Particle Tracers for Differentiating Between Heavy- and Light-Duty Vehicle Emissions
To determine the size and chemical composition of particles derived from on-road vehicle emissions, individual particles were sampledcontinuously with an aerosol time-of-flight mass spectrometer (ATOFMS) at the Caldecott Tunnel in Northern California. In this tunnel, traffic is segregated, such that in theory only light duty vehicle emissions or a mix of heavy- (HDV) and light-duty vehicle (LDV) emissions can be sampled separately. Two studies were carried out, one in November 1997 anda secondin July 2000, time periods with average ambient temperatures of 10–15 and 26–32 1C, respectively, with the instrument operating at ambient outdoor temperatures. Analysis of the chemical composition of the particles sampled in these studies shows that sampling conditions can strongly impact the determination of suitable markers for identifying particles emitted from different vehicle types during ambient studies
Which doctors and with what problems contact a specialist service for doctors? A cross sectional investigation
Background:
In the United Kingdom, specialist treatment and intervention services for doctors are underdeveloped. The MedNet programme, created in 1997 and funded by the London Deanery, aims to fill this gap by providing a self-referral, face-to-face, psychotherapeutic assessment service for doctors in London and South-East England. MedNet was designed to be a low-threshold service, targeting doctors without formal psychiatric problems. The aim of this study was to delineate the characteristics of doctors utilising the service, to describe their psychological morbidity, and to determine if early intervention is achieved.
Methods:
A cross-sectional study including all consecutive self-referred doctors (n = 121, 50% male) presenting in 2002–2004 was conducted. Measures included standardised and bespoke questionnaires both self-report and clinician completed. The multi-dimensional evaluation included: demographics, CORE (CORE-OM, CORE-Workplace and CORE-A) an instrument designed to evaluate the psychological difficulties of patients referred to outpatient services, Brief Symptom Inventory to quantify caseness and formal psychiatric illness, and Maslach Burnout Inventory.
Results:
The most prevalent presenting problems included depression, anxiety, interpersonal, self-esteem and work-related issues. However, only 9% of the cohort were identified as severely distressed psychiatrically using this measure. In approximately 50% of the sample, problems first presented in the preceding year. About 25% were on sick leave at the time of consultation, while 50% took little or no leave in the prior 12 months. A total of 42% were considered to be at some risk of suicide, with more than 25% considered to have a moderate to severe risk. There were no significant gender differences in type of morbidity, severity or days off sick.
Conclusion:
Doctors displayed high levels of distress as reflected in the significant proportion of those who were at some risk of suicide; however, low rates of severe psychiatric illness were detected. These findings suggest that MedNet clients represent both ends of the spectrum of severity, enabling early clinical engagement for a significant proportion of cases that is of importance both in terms of personal health and protecting patient care, and providing a timely intervention for those who are at risk, a group for whom rapid intervention services are in need and an area that requires further investigation in the UK
Molecular dissection of Wnt3a-Frizzled8 interaction reveals essential and modulatory determinants of Wnt signaling activity
Background: Wnt proteins are a family of secreted signaling molecules that regulate key developmental processes in metazoans. The molecular basis of Wnt binding to Frizzled and LRP5/6 co-receptors has long been unknown due to the lack of structural data on Wnt ligands. Only recently, the crystal structure of the Wnt8-Frizzled8-cysteine-rich-domain (CRD) complex was solved, but the significance of interaction sites that influence Wnt signaling has not been assessed. Results: Here, we present an extensive structure-function analysis of mouse Wnt3a in vitro and in vivo. We provide evidence for the essential role of serine 209, glycine 210 (site 1) and tryptophan 333 (site 2) in Fz binding. Importantly, we discovered that valine 337 in the site 2 binding loop is critical for signaling without contributing to binding. Mutations in the presumptive second CRD binding site (site 3) partly abolished Wnt binding. Intriguingly, most site 3 mutations increased Wnt signaling, probably by inhibiting Wnt-CRD oligomerization. In accordance, increasing amounts of soluble Frizzled8-CRD protein modulated Wnt3a signaling in a biphasic manner. Conclusions: We propose a concentration-dependent switch in Wnt-CRD complex formation from an inactive aggregation state to an activated high mobility state as a possible modulatory mechanism in Wnt signaling gradients
The Geroch group in the Ashtekar formulation
We study the Geroch group in the framework of the Ashtekar formulation. In
the case of the one-Killing-vector reduction, it turns out that the third
column of the Ashtekar connection is essentially the gradient of the Ernst
potential, which implies that the both quantities are based on the ``same''
complexification. In the two-Killing-vector reduction, we demonstrate Ehlers'
and Matzner-Misner's SL(2,R) symmetries, respectively, by constructing two sets
of canonical variables that realize either of the symmetries canonically, in
terms of the Ashtekar variables. The conserved charges associated with these
symmetries are explicitly obtained. We show that the gl(2,R) loop algebra
constructed previously in the loop representation is not the Lie algebra of the
Geroch group itself. We also point out that the recent argument on the
equivalence to a chiral model is based on a gauge-choice which cannot be
achieved generically.Comment: 40 pages, revte
On the Need for Phenomenological Theory of P-Vortices or Does Spaghetti Confinement Pattern Admit Condensed-Matter Analogies?
Usually the intuition from condensed-matter physics is used to provide ideas
for possible confinement mechanisms in gauge theories. Today, with a clear but
puzzling ``spaghetti'' confinement pattern, arising after a decade of lattice
computer experiments, which implies formation of a fluctuating net of peculiar
magnetic vortices rather than condensation of the homogeneously distributed
magnetic monopoles, the time is coming to reverse the logic and search for
similar patterns in condensed matter systems. The main thing to look for in a
condensed matter setup is the simultaneous existence of narrow tubes
(-vortices or 1-branes) of direction-changing electric field and broader
tubes (Abrikosov lines) of magnetic field, a pattern dual to the one,
presumably underlying confinement in gluodynamics. As a possible place for this
search we suggest systems with coexisting charge-density waves and
superconductivity.Comment: 20 pages, 7 figures; to be published in ZhET
Stationary BPS solutions to dilaton-axion gravity
Stationary four-dimensional BPS solutions to gravity coupled bosonic theories
admitting a three-dimensional sigma-model representation on coset spaces are
interpreted as null geodesics of the target manifold equipped with a certain
number of harmonic maps. For asymptotically flat (or Taub-NUT) space-times such
geodesics can be directly parametrized in terms of charges saturating the
Bogomol'nyi-Gibbons-Hull bound, and classified according to the structure of
related coset matrices. We investigate in detail the ``dilaton-axion gravity''
with one vector field, and show that in the space of BPS solutions an classical symmetry is acting. Within the present formalism the
most general multicenter (IWP/Taub-NUT dyon) solutions are derived in a simple
way. We also discover a large new class of asymptotically flat solutions for
which the dilaton and axion charges are constrained only by the BPS bound. The
string metrics for these solutions are generically regular. Both the IWP class
and the new class contain massless solutions.Comment: 29 pages, Latex, no figures. To be published in Phys. Rev. D. Minor
grammatical and bibliographical change
Eisenstein series for infinite-dimensional U-duality groups
We consider Eisenstein series appearing as coefficients of curvature
corrections in the low-energy expansion of type II string theory four-graviton
scattering amplitudes. We define these Eisenstein series over all groups in the
E_n series of string duality groups, and in particular for the
infinite-dimensional Kac-Moody groups E9, E10 and E11. We show that,
remarkably, the so-called constant term of Kac-Moody-Eisenstein series contains
only a finite number of terms for particular choices of a parameter appearing
in the definition of the series. This resonates with the idea that the constant
term of the Eisenstein series encodes perturbative string corrections in
BPS-protected sectors allowing only a finite number of corrections. We underpin
our findings with an extensive discussion of physical degeneration limits in
D<3 space-time dimensions.Comment: 69 pages. v2: Added references and small additions, to be published
in JHE
Covariant derivative expansion of Yang-Mills effective action at high temperatures
Integrating out fast varying quantum fluctuations about Yang--Mills fields
A_i and A_4, we arrive at the effective action for those fields at high
temperatures. Assuming that the fields A_i and A_4 are slowly varying but that
the amplitude of A_4 is arbitrary, we find a non-trivial effective gauge
invariant action both in the electric and magnetic sectors. Our results can be
used for studying correlation functions at high temperatures beyond the
dimensional reduction approximation, as well as for estimating quantum weights
of classical static configurations such as dyons.Comment: Minor changes. References added. Paper accepted for publication in
Phys.Rev.
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