728 research outputs found
Extended Gauge Theories in Euclidean Space with Higher Spin Fields
The extended Yang-Mills gauge theory in Euclidean space is a renormalizable
(by power counting) gauge theory describing a local interacting theory of
scalar, vector, and tensor gauge fields (with maximum spin 2). In this article
we study the quantum aspects and various generalizations of this model in
Euclidean space. In particular the quantization of the pure gauge model in a
common class of covariant gauges is performed. We generalize the pure gauge
sector by including matter fermions in the adjoint representation of the gauge
group and analyze its N=1 and N=2 supersymmetric extensions. We show that the
maximum half-integer spin contained in these fermion fields in dimension 4 is
3/2. Moreover we develop an extension of this theory so as to include internal
gauge symmetries and the coupling to bosonic matter fields. The spontaneous
symmetry breaking of the extended gauge symmetry is also analyzed.Comment: LaTeX, 36 pages, section 4 expanded, new section 7 and new references
added, to appear in Annals of Physic
All the Exact Solutions of Generalized Calogero-Sutherland Models
A collective field method is extended to obtain all the explicit solutions of
the generalized Calogero-Sutherland models that are characterized by the roots
of all the classical groups, including the solutions corresponding to spinor
representations for and cases.Comment: Latex, 17 pages. Title and abstract slightly changed, plus minor
correction
f(R) Gravities, Killing Spinor Equations, "BPS" Domain Walls and Cosmology
We derive the condition on f(R) gravities that admit Killing spinor equations
and construct explicit such examples. The Killing spinor equations can be used
to reduce the fourth-order differential equations of motion to the first order
for both the domain wall and FLRW cosmological solutions. We obtain exact "BPS"
domain walls that describe the smooth Randall-Sundrum II, AdS wormholes and the
RG flow from IR to UV. We also obtain exact smooth cosmological solutions that
describe the evolution from an inflationary starting point with a larger
cosmological constant to an ever-expanding universe with a smaller cosmological
constant. In addition, We find exact smooth solutions of pre-big bang models,
bouncing or crunching universes. An important feature is that the scalar
curvature R of all these metrics is varying rather than a constant. Another
intriguing feature is that there are two different f(R) gravities that give
rise to the same "BPS" solution. We also study linearized f(R) gravities in
(A)dS vacua.Comment: 37 pages, discussion on gravity trapping in RSII modified, typos
corrected, further comments and references added; version to appear in JHE
The momentum analyticity of two-point correlators from perturbation theory and AdS/CFT
The momentum plane analyticity of two point function of a relativistic
thermal field theory at zero chemical potential is explored. A general
principle regarding the location of the singularities is extracted. In the case
of the N=4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory at large , a qualitative
change in the nature of the singularity (branch points versus simple poles)
from the weak coupling regime to the strong coupling regime is observed with
the aid of the AdS/CFT correspondence.Comment: 18 pages, 3 figures, typos fixed, 1 figure update
Non-Abelian Chern-Simons Particles in an External Magnetic Field
The quantum mechanics and thermodynamics of SU(2) non-Abelian Chern-Simons
particles (non-Abelian anyons) in an external magnetic field are addressed. We
derive the N-body Hamiltonian in the (anti-)holomorphic gauge when the Hilbert
space is projected onto the lowest Landau level of the magnetic field. In the
presence of an additional harmonic potential, the N-body spectrum depends
linearly on the coupling (statistics) parameter. We calculate the second virial
coefficient and find that in the strong magnetic field limit it develops a
step-wise behavior as a function of the statistics parameter, in contrast to
the linear dependence in the case of Abelian anyons. For small enough values of
the statistics parameter we relate the N-body partition functions in the lowest
Landau level to those of SU(2) bosons and find that the cluster (and virial)
coefficients dependence on the statistics parameter cancels.Comment: 35 pages, revtex, 3 eps figures include
Light smoking at base-line predicts a higher mortality risk to women than to men; evidence from a cohort with long follow-up
BACKGROUND: There is conflicting evidence as to whether smoking is more harmful to women than to men. The UK Cotton Workers’ Cohort was recruited in the 1960s and contained a high proportion of men and women smokers who were well matched in terms of age, job and length of time in job. The cohort has been followed up for 42 years. METHODS: Mortality in the cohort was analysed using an individual relative survival method and Cox regression. Whether smoking, ascertained at baseline in the 1960s, was more hazardous to women than to men was examined by estimating the relative risk ratio women to men, smokers to never smoked, for light (1–14), medium (15–24), heavy (25+ cigarettes per day) and former smoking. RESULTS: For all-cause mortality relative risk ratios were 1.35 for light smoking at baseline (95% CI 1.07-1.70), 1.15 for medium smoking (95% CI 0.89-1.49) and 1.00 for heavy smoking (95% CI 0.63-1.61). Relative risk ratios for light smoking at baseline for circulatory system disease was 1.42 (95% CI 1.01 to 1.98) and for respiratory disease was 1.89 (95% CI 0.99 to 3.63). Heights of participants provided no explanation for the gender difference. CONCLUSIONS: Light smoking at baseline was shown to be significantly more hazardous to women than to men but the effect decreased as consumption increased indicating a dose response relationship. Heavy smoking was equally hazardous to both genders. This result may help explain the conflicting evidence seen elsewhere. However gender differences in smoking cessation may provide an alternative explanation
The Relationship between the Level of Fatness and Fitness during Adolescence and the Risk Factors of Metabolic Disorders in Adulthood
BACKGROUND: The purpose of the current study was to investigate the association between the level of obesity and physical fitness (PF) during adolescence and the risk factors of metabolic disorders during adulthood.
METHODS: In the current analysis, 3,993 Korean adults (mean age, 38.70 +/- 1.69 years) were recruited. The level of body index (BI) and PF were examined during adolescence through high school record, and their health examination data, including systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), fasting glucose (FG), total cholesterol (TC), and current body mass index (BMI) were obtained from National Health Insurance Corporation Data. Gender-specific analyses were administered to compare health exam data across the level of BI, the level of PF, and a mixed level of BI and PF.
RESULTS: Most obese males during high school had statistically higher SBP, DBP, FG, and BMI in adulthood, and most obese females had higher BMI, as compared to most lean males or females. Least fit males during high school had statistically higher BMI in adulthood, and least fit females had statistically higher SBP, DBP, FG, TC, and BMI, as compared to most fit males or females. There was a significant relationship between the mixed level of BI and PF and SBP, DBP, TC and current BMI in both genders.
CONCLUSION: Maintaining a healthy level of body weight and PF during adolescence is recommended to prevent the development of metabolic diseases in adulthood.ope
Patterns of hepatocellular carcinoma incidence in Egypt from a population-based cancer registry
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is increasing worldwide, and is frequently attributed to rising rates of hepatitis C virus infection and interactions between viral and environmental risk factors. Because of Egypt's unique risk factor profile, we analyzed data from the Gharbiah Population-Based Cancer Registry for the period 1999–2003 to characterize demographic and geographic patterns of cases in this province. Methods: We calculated age- and sex-specific and age- and sex-standardized HCC incidence rates for the eight districts in Gharbiah. We also compared rates from Gharbiah with the USA (US Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results [SEER] database). Results: The analysis revealed a higher incidence in males than in females, significant geographic variations among districts, and a higher incidence in Gharbiah than that reported by SEER. Conclusion: The findings of this study document the heterogeneous distribution of HCC at regional and international levels. This population-based registry offers the opportunity for careful representative studies of various etiologies, particularly infectious and/or environmental factors that may contribute to risk.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/75374/1/j.1872-034X.2007.00299.x.pd
Risk Model-Based Lung Cancer Screening and Racial and Ethnic Disparities in the US
Importance The revised 2021 US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) guidelines for lung cancer screening have been shown to reduce disparities in screening eligibility and performance between African American and White individuals vs the 2013 guidelines. However, potential disparities across other racial and ethnic groups in the US remain unknown. Risk model–based screening may reduce racial and ethnic disparities and improve screening performance, but neither validation of key risk prediction models nor their screening performance has been examined by race and ethnicity.Objective To validate and recalibrate the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal, and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial 2012 (PLCOm2012) model—a well-established risk prediction model based on a predominantly White population—across races and ethnicities in the US and evaluate racial and ethnic disparities and screening performance through risk-based screening using PLCOm2012 vs the USPSTF 2021 criteria.Design, Setting, and Participants In a population-based cohort design, the Multiethnic Cohort Study enrolled participants in 1993-1996, followed up through December 31, 2018. Data analysis was conducted from April 1, 2022, to May 19. 2023. A total of 105 261 adults with a smoking history were included.Exposures The 6-year lung cancer risk was calculated through recalibrated PLCOm2012 (ie, PLCOm2012-Update) and screening eligibility based on a 6-year risk threshold greater than or equal to 1.3%, yielding similar eligibility as the USPSTF 2021 guidelines.Outcomes Predictive accuracy, screening eligibility-incidence (E-I) ratio (ie, ratio of the number of eligible to incident cases), and screening performance (sensitivity, specificity, and number needed to screen to detect 1 lung cancer).Results Of 105 261 participants (60 011 [57.0%] men; mean [SD] age, 59.8 [8.7] years), consisting of 19 258 (18.3%) African American, 27 227 (25.9%) Japanese American, 21 383 (20.3%) Latino, 8368 (7.9%) Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander, and 29 025 (27.6%) White individuals, 1464 (1.4%) developed lung cancer within 6 years from enrollment. The PLCOm2012-Update showed good predictive accuracy across races and ethnicities (area under the curve, 0.72-0.82). The USPSTF 2021 criteria yielded a large disparity among African American individuals, whose E-I ratio was 53% lower vs White individuals (E-I ratio: 9.5 vs 20.3; P < .001). Under the risk-based screening (PLCOm2012-Update 6-year risk ≥1.3%), the disparity between African American and White individuals was substantially reduced (E-I ratio: 15.9 vs 18.4; P < .001), with minimal disparities observed in persons of other minoritized groups, including Japanese American, Latino, and Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander. Risk-based screening yielded superior overall and race and ethnicity–specific performance to the USPSTF 2021 criteria, with higher overall sensitivity (67.2% vs 57.7%) and lower number needed to screen (26 vs 30) at similar specificity (76.6%).Conclusions The findings of this cohort study suggest that risk-based lung cancer screening can reduce racial and ethnic disparities and improve screening performance across races and ethnicities vs the USPSTF 2021 criteria
Dietary n-3 fatty acids have suppressive effects on mucin upregulation in mice infected with Pseudomonas aeruginosa
International audienceMucin hypersecretion and mucus plugging in the airways are characteristic features of chronic respiratory diseases like cystic fibrosis (CF) and contribute to morbidity and mortality. In CF, Pseudomonas aeruginosa superinfections in the lung exacerbate inflammation and alter mucus properties. There is increasing evidence that n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) exhibit anti-inflammatory properties in many inflammatory diseases while n-6 PUFA arachidonic acid (AA) favors inflammatory mediators such as eicosanoids prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) and leukotriene B4 (LTB4) that may enhance inflammatory reactions. This suggests that n-3 PUFAs may have a protective effect against mucus over-production in airway diseases. Therefore, we hypothesized that n-3 PUFAs may downregulate mucins expression. We designed an absolute real-time PCR assay to assess the effect of a 5-week diet enriched either with n-3 or n-6 PUFAs on the expression of large mucins in the lungs of mice infected by P. aeruginosa. Dietary fatty acids did not influence mucin gene expression in healthy mice. Lung infection induced an increase of the secreted gel-forming mucin Muc5b and a decrease of the membrane bound mucin Muc4. These deregulations are modulated by dietary fatty acids with a suppressive effect of n-3 PUFAs on mucin (increase of Muc5b from 19-fold up to 3.6 x 10(5)-fold for the n-3 PUFAs treated group and the control groups, respectively, 4 days post-infection and decrease of Muc4 from 15-fold up to 3.2 x 10(4)-fold for the control and the n-3 PUFAs treated groups, respectively, 4 days post-infection). Our data suggest that n-3 PUFAs enriched diet represents an inexpensive strategy to prevent or treat mucin overproduction in pulmonary bacterial colonization
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