A Massive Yang-Mills Theory based on the Nonlinearly Realized Gauge Group

We propose a subtraction scheme for a massive Yang-Mills theory realized via a nonlinear representation of the gauge group (here SU(2)). It is based on the subtraction of the poles in D-4 of the amplitudes, in dimensional regularization, after a suitable normalization has been performed. Perturbation theory is in the number of loops and the procedure is stable under iterative subtraction of the poles. The unphysical Goldstone bosons, the Faddeev-Popov ghosts and the unphysical mode of the gauge field are expected to cancel out in the unitarity equation. The spontaneous symmetry breaking parameter is not a physical variable. We use the tools already tested in the nonlinear sigma model: hierarchy in the number of Goldstone boson legs and weak power-counting property (finite number of independent divergent amplitudes at each order). It is intriguing that the model is naturally based on the symmetry SU(2)_L local times SU(2)_R global. By construction the physical amplitudes depend on the mass and on the self-coupling constant of the gauge particle and moreover on the scale parameter of the radiative corrections. The Feynman rules are in the Landau gauge.Comment: 44 pages, 1 figure, minor changes, final version accepted by Phys. Rev.

Dilaton Interactions and the Anomalous Breaking of Scale Invariance of the Standard Model

We discuss the main features of dilaton interactions for fundamental and effective dilaton fields. In particular, we elaborate on the various ways in which dilatons can couple to the Standard Model and on the role played by the conformal anomaly as a way to characterize their interactions. In the case of a dilaton derived from a metric compactification (graviscalar), we present the structure of the radiative corrections to its decay into two photons, a photon and a $Z$, two $Z$ gauge bosons and two gluons, together with their renormalization properties. We prove that, in the electroweak sector, the renormalization of the theory is guaranteed only if the Higgs is conformally coupled. For such a dilaton, its coupling to the trace anomaly is quite general, and determines, for instance, an enhancement of its decay rates into two photons and two gluons. We then turn our attention to theories containing a non-gravitational (effective) dilaton, which, in our perturbative analysis, manifests as a pseudo-Nambu Goldstone mode of the dilatation current ($J_D$). The infrared coupling of such a state to the two-photons and to the two-gluons sector, and the corresponding anomaly enhancements of its decay rates in these channels, is critically analyzed.Comment: Revised version, 42 pages, 5 figure

Fab antibody fragment-functionalized liposomes for specific targeting of antigen-positive cells

Liposomes functionalized with monoclonal antibodies or their antigen-binding fragments have attracted much attention as specific drug delivery devices for treatment of various diseases including cancer. The conjugation of antibodies to liposomes is usually achieved by covalent coupling using cross-linkers in a reaction that might adversely affect the characteristics of the final product. Here we present an alternative strategy for liposome functionalization: we created a recombinant Fab antibody fragment genetically fused on its C-terminus to the hydrophobic peptide derived from pulmonary surfactant protein D, which became inserted into the liposomal bilayer during liposomal preparation and anchored the Fab onto the liposome surface. The Fab-conjugated liposomes specifically recognized antigen-positive cells and efficiently delivered their cargo, the Alexa Fluor 647 dye, into target cells in vitro and in vivo. In conclusion, our approach offers the potential for straightforward development of nanomedicines functionalized with an antibody of choice without the need of harmful cross-linkers.This work has received funding from the European Union's Seventh Framework Program (FP7/2007-2013; grant agreement NMP4-LA-2009-228827 NANOFOL) and Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Program (grant agreement No 683356 - FOLSMART), further from the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology under the scope of the strategic funding of UID/BIO/04469/2013 unit and COMPETE 2020 (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006684) and BioTecNorte operation (NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000004) funded by the European Regional Development Fund under the scope of Norte2020.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The effects of violence and aggression from parents on child protection workers' personal, family and professional lives

Creative Commons CC-BY: This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License (http://www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/) which permits any use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access pages (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).This article presents findings from a survey of the experiences of child protection workers in England when working with parents who exhibit aggression and violence. This work explores the effects on workers in their professional lives, and on themselves and their families in their private lives. The article examines workers’ thoughts and experiences about the effects of parental hostility on workers’ ability to protect children. The article also details workers’ experiences of the nature and effectiveness of training and support in this area. These findings are then examined in the light of the results of an analysis of the literature, including the findings from serious case review (SCR) reports in England (official inquiries into the causes of child deaths where the children are known to social and health services). The majority of the 590 respondents in the survey were social workers (n = 402; 68%), reflecting the fact that case management of child protection cases in the United Kingdom is the responsibility of social workers working in statutory agencies. This article addresses, from a consideration of the secondary analysis and the original research findings from the survey, how individual workers, managers, and agencies can best understand and then respond effectively to aggressive parental behaviors.Peer reviewe

The Higgs resonance in vector boson scattering

A heavy Higgs resonance is described in a representation-independent way which is valid for the whole energy range of 2 -> 2 scattering processes, including the asymptotic behavior at low and high energies. The low-energy theorems which follow from to the custodial SU_2 symmetry of the Higgs sector restrict the possible parameterizations of the lineshape that are consistent in perturbation theory. Matching conditions are specified which are necessary and sufficient to relate the parameters arising in different expansions. The construction is performed explicitly up to next-to-leading order.Comment: 25 pages, revtex, uses epsf, amssym

Advances on the structure of the R2TP/Prefoldin-like complex

Cellular stability, assembly and activation of a growing list of macromolecular complexes require the action of HSP90 working in concert with the R2TP/Prefoldin-like (R2TP/PFDL) co-chaperone. RNA polymerase II, snoRNPs and complexes of PI3-kinase-like kinases, a family that includes the ATM, ATR, DNA-PKcs, TRAPP, SMG1 and mTOR proteins, are among the clients of the HSP90-R2TP system. Evidence links the R2TP/PFDL pathway with cancer, most likely because of the essential role in pathways commonly deregulated in cancer. R2TP forms the core of the co-cochaperone and orchestrates the recruitment of HSP90 and clients, whereas prefoldin and additional prefoldin-like proteins, including URI, associate with R2TP, but their function is still unclear. The mechanism by which R2TP/PFLD facilitates assembly and activation of such a variety of macromolecular complexes is poorly understood. Recent efforts in the structural characterization of R2TP have started to provide some mechanistic insights. We summarize recent structural findings, particularly how cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) is contributing to our understanding of the architecture of the R2TP core complex. Structural differences discovered between yeast and human R2TP reveal unanticipated complexities of the metazoan R2TP complex, and opens new and interesting questions about how R2TP/PFLD works

Apolipoprotein E gene is related to mortality only in normal weight individuals: The Rotterdam study

Objective To investigate the relationship between the apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene and the risk of mortality in normal weight, overweight and obese individuals. Methods and Results In a population-based study of 7,983 individuals aged 55 years and older, we compared the risks of all-cause and coronary heart disease (CHD) mortality by APOE genotype, both overall and in subgroups defined by body mass index (BMI). We found significant evidence for interaction between APOE and BMI in relation to total cholesterol (p = 0.04) and HDL cholesterol (p < 0.001). Overall, APOE*2 carriers showed a decreased risk of all-cause mortality. Analyses within BMI strata showed a beneficial effect of APOE*2 only in normal weight persons (adjusted hazard ratio (HR) 0.7[95% CI 0.5–0.9]). APOE*2 was not associated with a lower risk of all-cause mortality in overweight or obese persons. The effect of APOE*2 in normal weight individuals tended to be due to the risk of CHD mortality (adjusted HR 0.5 [95% CI 0.2–1.2]). Conclusion The APOE*2 allele confers a lower risk of all-cause mortality only to normal weight individuals