329 research outputs found
Harmonic Superspace Gaugeon Formalism for the ABJM Theory
In this paper we will analyse the ABJM theory in harmonic superspace. The
harmonic superspace variables will be parameterized by the coset
and thus will have manifest supersymmetry. We will study the
quantum gauge transformations and the BRST transformations of this theory in
gaugeon formalism. We will use this BRST symmetry to project out the physical
sub-space from the total Hilbert space. We will also show that the evolution of
the -matrix is unitary for this ABJM theory in harmonic
superspace.Comment: 11, pages, 0 figures, accepted for publication in Mod. Phys. Lett.
The influence of maternal unhealthy diet on maturation of offspring gut microbiota in rat
Background
Despite well-known effects of diet on gut microbiota diversity, relatively little is known about how maternal diet quality shapes the longitudinal maturation of gut microbiota in offspring. To investigate, we fed female rats standard chow (Chow) or a western-style, high-choice cafeteria diet (Caf) prior to and during mating, gestation and lactation. At weaning (3 weeks), male and female offspring were either maintained on their mother’s diet (ChowChow, CafCaf groups) or switched to the other diet (ChowCaf, CafChow). Fecal microbial composition was assessed in dams and longitudinally in offspring at 3, 7 and 14 weeks of age.
Results
The effect of maternal diet on maturation of offspring gut microbiota was assessed by α- and β-diversities, Deseq2/LEfSe, and SourceTracker analyses. Weanling gut microbiota composition was characterised by reduced α- and β-diversity profiles that clustered away from dams and older siblings. After weaning, offspring gut microbiota came to resemble an adult-like gut microbiota, with increased α-diversity and reduced dissimilarity of β-diversity. Similarly, Deseq2/LEfSe analyses found fewer numbers of altered operational taxonomic units (OTUs) between groups from weaning to adulthood. SourceTracker analyses indicated a greater overall contribution of Caf mothers’ microbial community (up to 20%) to that of their offspring than the contribution of Chow mothers (up to 8%). Groups maintained on the maternal diet (ChowChow, CafCaf), versus those switched to the other diet (ChowCaf, CafChow) post-weaning significantly differed from each other at 14 weeks (Permutational Multivariate Analysis of Variance), indicating interactive effects of maternal and post-weaning diet on offspring gut microbiota maturation. Nevertheless, this developmental trajectory was unaffected by sex and appeared consistent between ChowChow, CafCaf, ChowCaf and CafChow groups.
Conclusions
Introducing solid food at weaning triggered the maturation of offspring gut microbiota to an adult-like profile in rats, in line with previous human studies. Postweaning Caf diet exposure had the largest impact on offspring gut microbiota, but this was modulated by maternal diet history. An unhealthy maternal Caf diet did not alter the developmental trajectory of offspring gut microbiota towards an adult-like profile, insofar as it did not prevent the age-associated increase in α-diversity and reduction in β-diversity dissimilarity
Pathological Features of Breast Cancer seen in Northwestern Tanzania: A Nine Years Retrospective Study.
Breast cancer is more common in Western Countries compared to African populations. However in African population, it appears that the disease tends to be more aggressive and occurring at a relatively young age at the time of presentation. The aim of this study was to describe the trend of Breast Cancer in Northwestern Tanzania. This was a retrospective study which involved all cases of breast cancer diagnosed histologically at Bugando Medical Center from 2002 to 2010. Histological results and slides were retrieved from the records in the Pathology department, clinical information and demographic data for patients were retrieved from surgical wards and department of medical records. Histology slides were re-evaluated for the histological type, grade (By modified Bloom-Richardson score), and presence of necrosis and skin involvement. Data was entered and analyzed by SPSS computer software version 15. There were 328 patients histologically confirmed to have breast cancer, the mean age at diagnosis was 48.7 years (+/- 13.1). About half of the patients (52.4%) were below 46 years of age, and this group of patients had significantly higher tendency for lymph node metastasis (p = 0.012). The tumor size ranged from 1 cm to 18 cm in diameter with average (mean) of 5.5 cm (+/- 2.5), and median size of 6 cm. Size of the tumor (above 6 cm in diameter) and presence of necrosis within the tumor was significantly associated with high rate of lymph node metastasis (p = 0.000). Of all patients, 64% were at clinical stage III (specifically IIIB) and 70.4% had lymph node metastasis at the time of diagnosis. Only 4.3% of the patients were in clinical stage I at the time of diagnosis. Majority of the patients had invasive ductal carcinoma (91.5%) followed by mucinous carcinoma (5.2%), Invasive lobular carcinoma (3%) and in situ ductal carcinoma (0.3%). In all patients, 185 (56.4%) had tumor with histological grade 3. Breast cancer in this region show a trend towards relative young age at diagnosis with advanced stage at diagnosis and high rate of lymph node metastasis. Poor Referral system, lack of screening programs and natural aggressive biological behavior of tumor may contribute to advanced disease at the time of diagnosis
The BV Formalization of Chern-Simons Theory on Deformed Superspace
In this paper we will study non-abelian Chern-Simons theory on a deformed
superspace. We will deform the superspace in such a way that it includes the
noncommutativity between bosonic and fermionic coordinates. We will first
analyse the BRST and the anti-BRST symmetries of the Chern-Simons theory on
this deformed superspace. Then we will analyse the extended BRST and the
extended anti-BRST symmetries of this theory in the Batalin-Vilkovisky (BV)
formalism. Finally, we will express these extended BRST and extended anti-BRST
symmetries in extended superspace formalism by introducing new Grassmann
coordinates.Comment: 19 pages, 0 figures, accepted for publication in Comm. Theor. Phy
Development of Hydrophones for Detecting High-Energy Reactions in Water(III. Accelerator, Synchrotron Radiation, and Instrumentation)
Acoustic detectors were developed using a piezo ceramic compound PZT. A shape of the PZT detector was essential to obtain a high sensitivity. A detector of a spherically shaped shell structure, whose size was 50 mm in diameter and 2 mm thick, was fabricated. Its sensitivity was calibrated to be about 40 mV/Pa at 54 kHz. Using the hydrophone, acoustic signals generated by an electron-induced cascade shower in water were detected. Experimental results were compared with simulation data and confirmed a consistency in between
Test of the CRASH experiment counters at GSI
The CRASH (Cosmic RAys and Strange Hadronic matter) balloonborne experiment is specifically designed for the detection of the Strange Quark Matter, which according to theory is probably present in the cosmic-ray radiation at
the top of the atmosphere. The detection technique is based on the measure of the AOZ ratio of the nuclei crossing the detector. The charge, the velocity and the mass of the incoming nuclei are determined using both active and passive detectors. First results of the tests of the Cˇerenkov and scintillation counters performed at GSI
Darmstadt with heavy ions (Ar and Ni) of different energies are reported
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A new possibility of low-Z gas stripper for high power uranium beam acceleration alternative to C-foil
The RIKEN accelerator complex started feeding the next-generation exotic beam facility RIBF (RadioIsotope Beam Factory) with heavy ion beams from 2007 after the successful commissioning at the end of 2006. Many elaborating improvements increased the intensity of the various heavy ion beams from 2007 to 2010. However, the available beam intensity especially of uranium beam is far below our goal of 1 p{micro}A (6 x 10{sup 12} particle/s). In order to achieve it, upgrade programs are well in progress, including constructions of a new 28 GHz superconducting ECR ion source and a new injector linac. However, the most serious problem of the charge stripper for uranium beam is still open although many elaborating R&D works for the problems. Equilibrium charge state in gas generally is much lower than that in carbon foil due to its density-effect. But gas stripper is free from the problems originated from its lifetime and uniformity in thickness. Such merits pushed us think about low-Z gas stripper to get higher equilibrium charge state even in gas. Electron loss and capture cross section of U ion beams in He gas were measured as a function of their charge state at 11, 14 and 15 MeV/u. The extracted equilibrium charge states from the cross point of the two lines of the cross sections were promisingly higher than those in N{sub 2} gas by more than 10. The plasma window is expected to be a key technology to solve the difficulty in accumulation of such thick as about 1 mg/cm{sup 2} of low-Z gas
Gauge dependence and matching procedure of a nonrelativistic QED/QCD boundstate formalism
A nonrelativistic boundstate formalism used in contemporary calculations is
investigated. It is known that the effective Hamiltonian of the boundstate
system depends on the choice of gauge. We obtain the transformation charge Q of
the Hamiltonian for an arbitrary infinitesimal change of gauge, by which gauge
independence of the mass spectrum and gauge dependences of the boundstate wave
functions are dictated. We give formal arguments based on the BRST symmetry
supplemented by power countings of Coulomb singularities of diagrams. For
illustration: (1)we calculate Q up to O(1/c), (2)we examine gauge dependences
of diagrams for a decay of a qqbar boundstate up to O(1/c) and show that
cumbersome gauge cancellations can be circumvented by directly calculating Q.
As an application we point out that the present calculations of top quark
momentum distribution in the ttbar threshold region are gauge dependent. We
also show possibilities for incorrect calculations of physical quantities of
boundstates when the on-shell matching procedure is employed. We give a proof
of a justification for the use of the equation of motion to simplify the form
of a local NRQCD Lagrangian. The formalism developed in this work will provide
useful cross checks in computations involving NRQED/NRQCD boundstates.Comment: 30 pages, 15 figures (ver1); Presentations of Introduction and
Conclusion were modified substantially, although none of our findings have
been changed; Side remarks have been added in various parts of the paper.
(ver2); Supplementary remarks and minor corrections (ver3
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