466 research outputs found
Dirty black holes: Quasinormal modes
In this paper, we investigate the asymptotic nature of the quasinormal modes
for "dirty" black holes -- generic static and spherically symmetric spacetimes
for which a central black hole is surrounded by arbitrary "matter" fields. We
demonstrate that, to the leading asymptotic order, the [imaginary] spacing
between modes is precisely equal to the surface gravity, independent of the
specifics of the black hole system.
Our analytical method is based on locating the complex poles in the first
Born approximation for the scattering amplitude. We first verify that our
formalism agrees, asymptotically, with previous studies on the Schwarzschild
black hole. The analysis is then generalized to more exotic black hole
geometries. We also extend considerations to spacetimes with two horizons and
briefly discuss the degenerate-horizon scenario.Comment: 15 pages; uses iopart.cls setstack.sty; V2: one additional reference
added, no physics changes; V3: two extra references, minor changes in
response to referee comment
Highly damped quasinormal modes of Kerr black holes
Motivated by recent suggestions that highly damped black hole quasinormal
modes (QNM's) may provide a link between classical general relativity and
quantum gravity, we present an extensive computation of highly damped QNM's of
Kerr black holes. We do not limit our attention to gravitational modes, thus
filling some gaps in the existing literature. The frequency of gravitational
modes with l=m=2 tends to \omega_R=2 \Omega, \Omega being the angular velocity
of the black hole horizon. If Hod's conjecture is valid, this asymptotic
behaviour is related to reversible black hole transformations. Other highly
damped modes with m>0 that we computed do not show a similar behaviour. The
real part of modes with l=2 and m<0 seems to asymptotically approach a constant
value \omega_R\simeq -m\varpi, \varpi\simeq 0.12 being (almost) independent of
a. For any perturbing field, trajectories in the complex plane of QNM's with
m=0 show a spiralling behaviour, similar to the one observed for
Reissner-Nordstrom (RN) black holes. Finally, for any perturbing field, the
asymptotic separation in the imaginary part of consecutive modes with m>0 is
given by 2\pi T_H (T_H being the black hole temperature). We conjecture that
for all values of l and m>0 there is an infinity of modes tending to the
critical frequency for superradiance (\omega_R=m) in the extremal limit.
Finally, we study in some detail modes branching off the so--called
``algebraically special frequency'' of Schwarzschild black holes. For the first
time we find numerically that QNM multiplets emerge from the algebraically
special Schwarzschild modes, confirming a recent speculation.Comment: 19 pages, 11 figures. Minor typos corrected. Updated references to
take into account some recent development
A note on quasinormal modes: A tale of two treatments
There is an apparent discrepancy in the literature with regard to the
quasinormal mode frequencies of Schwarzschild-de Sitter black holes in the
degenerate-horizon limit. On the one hand, a Poschl-Teller-inspired method
predicts that the real part of the frequencies will depend strongly on the
orbital angular momentum of the perturbation field whereas, on the other hand,
the degenerate limit of a monodromy-based calculation suggests there should be
no such dependence (at least, for the highly damped modes). In the current
paper, we provide a possible resolution by critically re-assessing the limiting
procedure used in the monodromy analysis.Comment: 11 pages, Revtex format; (v2) new addendum in response to reader
comments, also references, footnote and acknowledgments adde
NQO2 is a reactive oxygen species generating off-target for acetaminophen
[Image: see text] The analgesic and antipyretic compound acetaminophen (paracetamol) is one of the most used drugs worldwide. Acetaminophen overdose is also the most common cause for acute liver toxicity. Here we show that acetaminophen and many structurally related compounds bind quinone reductase 2 (NQO2) in vitro and in live cells, establishing NQO2 as a novel off-target. NQO2 modulates the levels of acetaminophen derived reactive oxygen species, more specifically superoxide anions, in cultured cells. In humans, NQO2 is highly expressed in liver and kidney, the main sites of acetaminophen toxicity. We suggest that NQO2 mediated superoxide production may function as a novel mechanism augmenting acetaminophen toxicity
Measurement of (anti)deuteron and (anti)proton production in DIS at HERA
The first observation of (anti)deuterons in deep inelastic scattering at HERA
has been made with the ZEUS detector at a centre-of-mass energy of 300--318 GeV
using an integrated luminosity of 120 pb-1. The measurement was performed in
the central rapidity region for transverse momentum per unit of mass in the
range 0.3<p_T/M<0.7. The particle rates have been extracted and interpreted in
terms of the coalescence model. The (anti)deuteron production yield is smaller
than the (anti)proton yield by approximately three orders of magnitude,
consistent with the world measurements.Comment: 26 pages, 9 figures, 5 tables, submitted to Nucl. Phys.
Forward jet production in deep inelastic ep scattering and low-x parton dynamics at HERA
Differential inclusive jet cross sections in neutral current deep inelastic
ep scattering have been measured with the ZEUS detector. Three phase-space
regions have been selected in order to study parton dynamics where the effects
of BFKL evolution might be present. The measurements have been compared to the
predictions of leading-logarithm parton shower Monte Carlo models and
fixed-order perturbative QCD calculations. In the forward region, QCD
calculations at order alpha_s^1 underestimate the data up to an order of
magnitude at low x. An improved description of the data in this region is
obtained by including QCD corrections at order alpha_s^2, which account for the
lowest-order t-channel gluon-exchange diagrams, highlighting the importance of
such terms in parton dynamics at low x.Comment: 25 pages, 4 figure
BNCI Horizon 2020 - Towards a Roadmap for Brain/Neural Computer Interaction
In this paper, we present BNCI Horizon 2020, an EU Coordination and Support Action (CSA) that will provide a roadmap for brain-computer interaction research for the next years, starting in 2013, and aiming at research efforts until 2020 and beyond. The project is a successor of the earlier EU-funded Future BNCI CSA that started in 2010 and produced a roadmap for a shorter time period. We present how we, a consortium of the main European BCI research groups as well as companies and end user representatives, expect to tackle the problem of designing a roadmap for BCI research. In this paper, we define the field with its recent developments, in particular by considering publications and EU-funded research projects, and we discuss how we plan to involve research groups, companies, and user groups in our effort to pave the way for useful and fruitful EU-funded BCI research for the next ten years
Site-specific analysis of gene expression in early osteoarthritis using the Pond-Nuki model in dogs
BACKGROUND: Osteoarthritis (OA) is a progressive and debilitating disease that often develops from a focal lesion and may take years to clinically manifest to a complete loss of joint structure and function. Currently, there is not a cure for OA, but early diagnosis and initiation of treatment may dramatically improve the prognosis and quality of life for affected individuals. This study was designed to determine the feasibility of analyzing changes in gene expression of articular cartilage using the Pond-Nuki model two weeks after ACL-transection in dogs, and to characterize the changes observed at this time point. METHODS: The ACL of four dogs was completely transected arthroscopically, and the contralateral limb was used as the non-operated control. After two weeks the dogs were euthanatized and tissues harvested from the tibial plateau and femoral condyles of both limbs. Two dogs were used for histologic analysis and Mankin scoring. From the other two dogs the surface of the femoral condyle and tibial plateau were divided into four regions each, and tissues were harvested from each region for biochemical (GAG and HP) and gene expression analysis. Significant changes in gene expression were determined using REST-XL, and Mann-Whitney rank sum test was used to analyze biochemical data. Significance was set at (p < 0.05). RESULTS: Significant differences were not observed between ACL-X and control limbs for Mankin scores or GAG and HP tissue content. Further, damage to the tissue was not observed grossly by India ink staining. However, significant changes in gene expression were observed between ACL-X and control tissues from each region analyzed, and indicate that a unique regional gene expression profile for impending ACL-X induced joint pathology may be identified in future studies. CONCLUSION: The data obtained from this study lend credence to the research approach and model for the characterization of OA, and the identification and validation of future diagnostic modalities. Further, the changes observed in this study may reflect the earliest changes in AC reported during the development of OA, and may signify pathologic changes within a stage of disease that is potentially reversible
Reproductive factors and risk of hormone receptor positive and negative breast cancer: a cohort study
Background: The association of reproductive factors with hormone receptor (HR)-negative breast tumors remains uncertain. Methods: Within the EPIC cohort, Cox proportional hazards models were used to describe the relationships of reproductive factors (menarcheal age, time between menarche and first pregnancy, parity, number of children, age at first and last pregnancies, time since last full-term childbirth, breastfeeding, age at menopause, ever having an abortion and use of oral contraceptives [OC]) with risk of ER-PR-(n = 998) and ER+PR+ (n = 3,567) breast tumors. Results: A later first full-term childbirth was associated with increased risk of ER+PR+ tumors but not with risk of ER-PR-tumors (= 35 vs. = 19 years HR: 1.47 [95% CI 1.15-1.88] p(trend) < 0.001 for ER+PR+ tumors; = 35 vs. = 19 years HR: 0.93 [95% CI 0.53-1.65] p(trend) = 0.96 for ER-PR-tumors; P-het = 0.03). The risk associations of menarcheal age, and time period between menarche and first full-term childbirth with ER-PR-tumors were in the similar direction with risk of ER+PR+ tumors (p(het) = 0.50), although weaker in magnitude and statistically only borderline significant. Other parity related factors such as ever a full-term birth, number of births, age-and time since last birth were associated only with ER+PR+ malignancies, however no statistical heterogeneity between breast cancer subtypes was observed. Breastfeeding and OC use were generally not associated with breast cancer subtype risk. Conclusion: Our study provides possible evidence that age at menarche, and time between menarche and first full-term childbirth may be associated with the etiology of both HR-negative and HR-positive malignancies, although the associations with HR-negative breast cancer were only borderline significant
Directed -in vitro- evolution of Precambrian and extant Rubiscos
Rubisco is an ancient, catalytically conserved yet slow enzyme, which plays a central role in the
biosphere’s carbon cycle. The design of Rubiscos to increase agricultural productivity has hitherto
relied on the use of in vivo selection systems, precluding the exploration of biochemical traits that are
not wired to cell survival. We present a directed -in vitro- evolution platform that extracts the enzyme
from its biological context to provide a new avenue for Rubisco engineering. Precambrian and extant
form II Rubiscos were subjected to an ensemble of directed evolution strategies aimed at improving
thermostability. The most recent ancestor of proteobacteria -dating back 2.4 billion years- was uniquely
tolerant to mutagenic loading. Adaptive evolution, focused evolution and genetic drift revealed a
panel of thermostable mutants, some deviating from the characteristic trade-offs in CO2-fixing speed
and specificity. Our findings provide a novel approach for identifying Rubisco variants with improved
catalytic evolution potential.This work was supported by the REPSOL Research contracts Rubolution (RC020401120018), Rubolution 2.0 (RC
020401140042), the CSIC project PIE-201780E043 and the Australian Research Council grant CE140100015
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