Conformally rescaled spacetimes and Hawking radiation

We study various derivations of Hawking radiation in conformally rescaled metrics. We focus on two important properties, the location of the horizon under a conformal transformation and its associated temperature. We find that the production of Hawking radiation cannot be associated in all cases to the trapping horizon because its location is not invariant under a conformal transformation. We also find evidence that the temperature of the Hawking radiation should transform simply under a conformal transformation, being invariant for asymptotic observers in the limit that the conformal transformation factor is unity at their location.Comment: 22 pages, version submitted to journa

Particle creation rate for dynamical black holes

We present the particle creation probability rate around a general black hole as an outcome of quantum fluctuations. Using the uncertainty principle for these fluctuation, we derive a new ultraviolet frequency cutoff for the radiation spectrum of a dynamical black hole. Using this frequency cutoff, we define the probability creation rate function for such black holes. We consider a dynamical Vaidya model, and calculate the probability creation rate for this case when its horizon is in a slowly evolving phase. Our results show that one can expect the usual Hawking radiation emission process in the case of a dynamical black hole when it has a slowly evolving horizon. Moreover, calculating the probability rate for a dynamical black hole gives a measure of when Hawking radiation can be killed off by an incoming flux of matter or radiation. Our result strictly suggests that we have to revise the Hawking radiation expectation for primordial black holes that have grown substantially since they were created in the early universe. We also infer that this frequency cut off can be a parameter that shows the primordial black hole growth at the emission moment.Comment: 10 pages, 1 figure. The paper was rewritten in more clear presentation and one more appendix is adde

The N-terminal intrinsically disordered domain of mgm101p is localized to the mitochondrial nucleoid.

The mitochondrial genome maintenance gene, MGM101, is essential for yeasts that depend on mitochondrial DNA replication. Previously, in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, it has been found that the carboxy-terminal two-thirds of Mgm101p has a functional core. Furthermore, there is a high level of amino acid sequence conservation in this region from widely diverse species. By contrast, the amino-terminal region, that is also essential for function, does not have recognizable conservation. Using a bioinformatic approach we find that the functional core from yeast and a corresponding region of Mgm101p from the coral Acropora millepora have an ordered structure, while the N-terminal domains of sequences from yeast and coral are predicted to be disordered. To examine whether ordered and disordered domains of Mgm101p have specific or general functions we made chimeric proteins from yeast and coral by swapping the two regions. We find, by an in vivo assay in S.cerevisiae, that the ordered domain of A.millepora can functionally replace the yeast core region but the disordered domain of the coral protein cannot substitute for its yeast counterpart. Mgm101p is found in the mitochondrial nucleoid along with enzymes and proteins involved in mtDNA replication. By attaching green fluorescent protein to the N-terminal disordered domain of yeast Mgm101p we find that GFP is still directed to the mitochondrial nucleoid where full-length Mgm101p-GFP is targeted

Isolated and dynamical horizons and their applications

Over the past three decades, black holes have played an important role in quantum gravity, mathematical physics, numerical relativity and gravitational wave phenomenology. However, conceptual settings and mathematical models used to discuss them have varied considerably from one area to another. Over the last five years a new, quasi-local framework was introduced to analyze diverse facets of black holes in a unified manner. In this framework, evolving black holes are modeled by dynamical horizons and black holes in equilibrium by isolated horizons. We review basic properties of these horizons and summarize applications to mathematical physics, numerical relativity and quantum gravity. This paradigm has led to significant generalizations of several results in black hole physics. Specifically, it has introduced a more physical setting for black hole thermodynamics and for black hole entropy calculations in quantum gravity; suggested a phenomenological model for hairy black holes; provided novel techniques to extract physics from numerical simulations; and led to new laws governing the dynamics of black holes in exact general relativity.Comment: 77 pages, 12 figures. Typos and references correcte

Association of MC1R Variants and host phenotypes with melanoma risk in CDKN2A mutation carriers: a GenoMEL study

<p><b>Background</b> Carrying the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 2A (CDKN2A) germline mutations is associated with a high risk for melanoma. Penetrance of CDKN2A mutations is modified by pigmentation characteristics, nevus phenotypes, and some variants of the melanocortin-1 receptor gene (MC1R), which is known to have a role in the pigmentation process. However, investigation of the associations of both MC1R variants and host phenotypes with melanoma risk has been limited.</p> <p><b>Methods</b> We included 815 CDKN2A mutation carriers (473 affected, and 342 unaffected, with melanoma) from 186 families from 15 centers in Europe, North America, and Australia who participated in the Melanoma Genetics Consortium. In this family-based study, we assessed the associations of the four most frequent MC1R variants (V60L, V92M, R151C, and R160W) and the number of variants (1, ≥2 variants), alone or jointly with the host phenotypes (hair color, propensity to sunburn, and number of nevi), with melanoma risk in CDKN2A mutation carriers. These associations were estimated and tested using generalized estimating equations. All statistical tests were two-sided.</p> <p><b>Results</b> Carrying any one of the four most frequent MC1R variants (V60L, V92M, R151C, R160W) in CDKN2A mutation carriers was associated with a statistically significantly increased risk for melanoma across all continents (1.24 × 10−6 ≤ P ≤ .0007). A consistent pattern of increase in melanoma risk was also associated with increase in number of MC1R variants. The risk of melanoma associated with at least two MC1R variants was 2.6-fold higher than the risk associated with only one variant (odds ratio = 5.83 [95% confidence interval = 3.60 to 9.46] vs 2.25 [95% confidence interval = 1.44 to 3.52]; Ptrend = 1.86 × 10−8). The joint analysis of MC1R variants and host phenotypes showed statistically significant associations of melanoma risk, together with MC1R variants (.0001 ≤ P ≤ .04), hair color (.006 ≤ P ≤ .06), and number of nevi (6.9 × 10−6 ≤ P ≤ .02).</p> <p><b>Conclusion</b> Results show that MC1R variants, hair color, and number of nevi were jointly associated with melanoma risk in CDKN2A mutation carriers. This joint association may have important consequences for risk assessments in familial settings.</p&gt

Improving the use of research evidence in guideline development: 10. Integrating values and consumer involvement

BACKGROUND: The World Health Organization (WHO), like many other organisations around the world, has recognised the need to use more rigorous processes to ensure that health care recommendations are informed by the best available research evidence. This is the 10(th )of a series of 16 reviews that have been prepared as background for advice from the WHO Advisory Committee on Health Research to WHO on how to achieve this. OBJECTIVES: We reviewed the literature on integrating values and consumers in guideline development. METHODS: We searched PubMed and three databases of methodological studies for existing systematic reviews and relevant methodological research. We reviewed the titles of all citations and retrieved abstracts and full text articles if the citations appeared relevant to the topic. We checked the reference lists of articles relevant to the questions and used snowballing as a technique to obtain additional information. We did not conduct a full systematic review ourselves. Our conclusions based on the available evidence, consideration of what WHO and other organisations are doing and logical arguments. KEY QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS: We did not find a systematic review of methods for integrating values in guidelines, but we found several systematic reviews that dealt with related topics. Whose values should WHO use when making recommendations? • Values, the relative importance or worth of a state or consequences of a decision (outcomes relating to benefits, harms, burden and costs), play a role in every recommendation. Ethical considerations, concepts that determine what is right, also play a role. • The values used in making recommendations should reflect those of the people affected. Judgements should be explicit and should be informed by input from those affected (including citizens, patients, clinicians and policy makers). • When differences in values may lead to different decisions or there is uncertainty about values, this should also be explicit. If differences in values are likely to affect a decision, such that people in different setting would likely make different choices about interventions or actions based on differences in their values, global recommendations should be explicit in terms of which values were applied and allow for adaptation after incorporating local values. How should WHO ensure that appropriate values are integrated in recommendations? • All WHO guideline groups should uniformly apply explicit, transparent and clearly described methods for integrating values. • WHO should consider involving relevant stakeholders if this is feasible and efficient. • WHO should develop a checklist for guidelines panels to help them to ensure that ethical considerations relevant to recommendations are addressed explicitly and transparently. How should users and consumers be involved in generating recommendations? • Including consumers in groups that are making global recommendations presents major challenges with respect to the impossibility of including a representative spectrum of consumers from a variety of cultures and settings. Nonetheless, consideration should be given to including consumers in groups who are able to challenge assumptions that are made about the values used for making recommendations, rather than represent the values of consumers around the world. • WHO should establish a network to facilitate involvement of users. • Draft recommendations should be reviewed by consumers, who should be asked explicitly to consider the values that were used. How should values be presented in recommendations? • Recommendations should include a description of how decisions were made about the relative importance of the consequences (benefits, harms and costs) of a decision. • Values that influence recommendations should be reported along with the research evidence underlying recommendations. • When differences in values would lead to different decisions or there is important uncertainty about values that are critical to a decision, this should be flagged and reflected in the strength of the recommendation. • Adaptable guideline templates that allow for integration of different values should be developed and used when differences in values are likely to be critical to a decision

Characteristic Evolution and Matching

I review the development of numerical evolution codes for general relativity based upon the characteristic initial value problem. Progress in characteristic evolution is traced from the early stage of 1D feasibility studies to 2D axisymmetric codes that accurately simulate the oscillations and gravitational collapse of relativistic stars and to current 3D codes that provide pieces of a binary black hole spacetime. Cauchy codes have now been successful at simulating all aspects of the binary black hole problem inside an artificially constructed outer boundary. A prime application of characteristic evolution is to extend such simulations to null infinity where the waveform from the binary inspiral and merger can be unambiguously computed. This has now been accomplished by Cauchy-characteristic extraction, where data for the characteristic evolution is supplied by Cauchy data on an extraction worldtube inside the artificial outer boundary. The ultimate application of characteristic evolution is to eliminate the role of this outer boundary by constructing a global solution via Cauchy-characteristic matching. Progress in this direction is discussed.Comment: New version to appear in Living Reviews 2012. arXiv admin note: updated version of arXiv:gr-qc/050809

Attentional Prioritization of Infant Faces Is Limited to Own-Race Infants

Background: Recent evidence indicates that infant faces capture attention automatically, presumably to elicit caregiving behavior from adults and leading to greater probability of progeny survival. Elsewhere, evidence demonstrates that people show deficiencies in the processing of other-race relative to own-race faces. We ask whether this other-race effect impacts on attentional attraction to infant faces. Using a dot-probe task to reveal the spatial allocation of attention, we investigate whether other-race infants capture attention. Principal Findings: South Asian and White participants (young adults aged 18–23 years) responded to a probe shape appearing in a location previously occupied by either an infant face or an adult face; across trials, the race (South Asian/ White) of the faces was manipulated. Results indicated that participants were faster to respond to probes that appeared in the same location as infant faces than adult faces, but only on own-race trials. Conclusions/Significance: Own-race infant faces attract attention, but other-race infant faces do not. Sensitivity to facespecific care-seeking cues in other-race kindenschema may be constrained by interracial contact and experience

Prognostic factors for patients with hepatic metastases from breast cancer

Median survival from liver metastases secondary to breast cancer is only a few months, with very rare 5-year survival. This study reviewed 145 patients with liver metastases from breast cancer to determine factors that may influence survival. Data were analysed using Kaplan–Meier survival curves, univariate and multivariate analysis. Median survival was 4.23 months (range 0.16–51), with a 27.6% 1-year survival. Factors that significantly predicted a poor prognosis on univariate analysis included symptomatic liver disease, deranged liver function tests, the presence of ascites, histological grade 3 disease at primary presentation, advanced age, oestrogen receptor (ER) negative tumours, carcinoembryonic antigen of over 1000 ng ml−1 and multiple vs single liver metastases. Response to treatment was also a significant predictor of survival with patients responding to chemo- or endocrine therapy surviving for a median of 13 and 13.9 months, respectively. Multivariate analysis of pretreatment variables identified a low albumin, advanced age and ER negativity as independent predictors of poor survival. The time interval between primary and metastatic disease, metastases at extrahepatic sites, histological subtype and nodal stage at primary presentation did not predict prognosis. Awareness of the prognostic implications of the above factors may assist in selecting the most appropriate treatment for these patients

Measurement of the Dipion Mass Spectrum in X(3872) -> J/Psi Pi+ Pi- Decays

We measure the dipion mass spectrum in X(3872)--> J/Psi Pi+ Pi- decays using 360 pb-1 of pbar-p collisions at 1.96 TeV collected with the CDF II detector. The spectrum is fit with predictions for odd C-parity (3S1, 1P1, and 3DJ) charmonia decaying to J/Psi Pi+ Pi-, as well as even C-parity states in which the pions are from Rho0 decay. The latter case also encompasses exotic interpretations, such as a D0-D*0Bar molecule. Only the 3S1 and J/Psi Rho hypotheses are compatible with our data. Since 3S1 is untenable on other grounds, decay via J/Psi Rho is favored, which implies C=+1 for the X(3872). Models for different J/Psi-Rho angular momenta L are considered. Flexibility in the models, especially the introduction of Rho-Omega interference, enable good descriptions of our data for both L=0 and 1.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures -- Submitted to Phys. Rev. Let