255 research outputs found
Supersymmetry and Electroweak Breaking in the Interval
Hypermultiplets are considered in the five-dimensional interval where all
fields are continuous and the boundary conditions are dynamically obtained from
the action principle. The orbifold boundary conditions are obtained as
particular cases. We can interpret the Scherk-Schwarz supersymmetry breaking as
a misalignment of boundary conditions while a new source of supersymmetry
breaking corresponding to a mismatch of different boundary parameters is
identified. The latter can be viewed as coming from boundary supersymmetry
breaking masses for hyperscalars and the nature of the corresponding
supersymmetry breaking parameter is analyzed. For some regions of the parameter
space where supersymmetry is broken (either by Scherk-Schwarz boundary
conditions or by boundary hyperscalar masses) electroweak symmetry breaking can
be triggered at the tree level.Comment: 28 pages, 5 figure
Electrical and Chemical Analysis of the In-situ H2 Plasma Cleaned InGaSb-Al2O3 Interface
No abstract available
Baseline neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio holds no prognostic value for esophageal and junctional adenocarcinoma in patients treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy
BACKGROUND: Several studies have reported that neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) can predict survival in esophageal and gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma, as it reflects systemic inflammation. Hence, we aimed to determine whether baseline NLR holds prognostic value for esophageal adenocarcinoma patients treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy (nCT) followed by surgery. METHODS: We studied the data of 139 patients that received nCT before undergoing esophagectomy with curative intent, all identified from a prospectively maintained database (1998-2016). Pretreatment hematology reports were used to calculate the baseline NLR. A receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC-curve) was plotted to determine an optimal cutoff value. NLR quartiles were used to display possible differences between groups in relation to overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS) using the method of Kaplan-Meier. Cox regression analysis was performed to assess the prognostic value of NLR. RESULTS: The median OS and DFS times were 46 months (interquartile range [IQR]: 19-166) and 30 months (IQR: 13-166], respectively, for the entire cohort. The ROC-curve showed that NLR has no discriminating power for survival status (area under the curve = 0.462) and therefore no optimal cutoff value could be determined. There were no statistically significant differences in median OS times for NLR quartiles: 65 (Q1), 32 (Q2), 45 (Q3), and 46 months (Q4) (P = 0.926). Similarly, DFS showed no difference between quartile groups, with median survival times of 27 (Q1), 19 (Q2), 36 (Q3), and 20 months (Q4) (P = 0.973). Age, pN, pM, and resection margin were independent prognostic factors for both OS and DFS. On the contrary, NLR was not associated with OS or DFS in univariable and multivariable analyses. CONCLUSION: Baseline NLR holds no prognostic value for esophageal and gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma patients treated with nCT in this study, in contrast to other recently published papers. This result questions the validity of NLR as a reliable prognostic indicator and its clinical usefulness in these patients
Physics Opportunities with the 12 GeV Upgrade at Jefferson Lab
This white paper summarizes the scientific opportunities for utilization of
the upgraded 12 GeV Continuous Electron Beam Accelerator Facility (CEBAF) and
associated experimental equipment at Jefferson Lab. It is based on the 52
proposals recommended for approval by the Jefferson Lab Program Advisory
Committee.The upgraded facility will enable a new experimental program with
substantial discovery potential to address important topics in nuclear,
hadronic, and electroweak physics.Comment: 64 page
P-wave excited baryons from pion- and photo-induced hyperon production
We report evidence for , , ,
, , and , and find
indications that might have a companion state at 1970\,MeV. The
controversial is not seen. The evidence is derived from a
study of data on pion- and photo-induced hyperon production, but other data are
included as well. Most of the resonances reported here were found in the
Karlsruhe-Helsinki (KH84) and the Carnegie-Mellon (CM) analyses but were
challenged recently by the Data Analysis Center at GWU. Our analysis is
constrained by the energy independent scattering amplitudes from either
KH84 or GWU. The two amplitudes from KH84 or GWU, respectively, lead to
slightly different branching ratios of contributing resonances but the
debated resonances are required in both series of fits.Comment: 22 pages, 28 figures. Some additional sets of data are adde
Polaron Effective Mass, Band Distortion, and Self-Trapping in the Holstein Molecular Crystal Model
We present polaron effective masses and selected polaron band structures of
the Holstein molecular crystal model in 1-D as computed by the Global-Local
variational method over a wide range of parameters. These results are augmented
and supported by leading orders of both weak- and strong-coupling perturbation
theory. The description of the polaron effective mass and polaron band
distortion that emerges from this work is comprehensive, spanning weak,
intermediate, and strong electron-phonon coupling, and non-adiabatic, weakly
adiabatic, and strongly adiabatic regimes. Using the effective mass as the
primary criterion, the self-trapping transition is precisely defined and
located. Using related band-shape criteria at the Brillouin zone edge, the
onset of band narrowing is also precisely defined and located. These two lines
divide the polaron parameter space into three regimes of distinct polaron
structure, essentially constituting a polaron phase diagram. Though the
self-trapping transition is thusly shown to be a broad and smooth phenomenon at
finite parameter values, consistency with notion of self-trapping as a critical
phenomenon in the adiabatic limit is demonstrated. Generalizations to higher
dimensions are considered, and resolutions of apparent conflicts with
well-known expectations of adiabatic theory are suggested.Comment: 28 pages, 15 figure
Glucocerebrosidase expression patterns in the non-human primate brain
Glucocerebrosidase (GCase) is a lysosomal
enzyme encoded by the GBA1 gene. Mutations in GBA1
gene lead to Gaucher’s disease, the most prevalent lysosomal storage disorder. GBA1 mutations reduce GCase
activity, therefore promoting the aggregation of alphasynuclein, a common neuropathological finding underlying
Parkinson’s disease (PD) and dementia with Lewy bodies.
However, it is also worth noting that a direct link between
GBA1 mutations and alpha-synuclein aggregation indicating cause and effect is still lacking, with limited experimental evidence to date. Bearing in mind that a number of
strategies increasing GCase expression for the treatment of
PD are currently under development, here we sought to
analyze the baseline expression of GCase in the brain of
Macaca fascicularis, which has often been considered as
the gold-standard animal model of PD. Although as with
other lysosomal enzymes, GCase is expected to be ubiquitously expressed, here a number of regional variations
have been consistently found, together with several specific
neurochemical phenotypes expressing very high levels of
GCase. In this regard, the most enriched expression of
GCase was constantly found in cholinergic neurons from
the nucleus basalis of Meynert, dopaminergic cells in the
substantia nigra pars compacta, serotoninergic neurons
from the raphe nuclei, as well as in noradrenergic neurons
located in the locus ceruleus. Moreover, it is also worth
noting that moderate levels of expression were also found
in a number of areas within the paleocortex and archicortex, such as the entorhinal cortex and the hippocampal
formation, respectively
(Borel) convergence of the variationally improved mass expansion and the O(N) Gross-Neveu model mass gap
We reconsider in some detail a construction allowing (Borel) convergence of
an alternative perturbative expansion, for specific physical quantities of
asymptotically free models. The usual perturbative expansions (with an explicit
mass dependence) are transmuted into expansions in 1/F, where
for while for m \lsim \Lambda,
being the basic scale and given by renormalization group
coefficients. (Borel) convergence holds in a range of which corresponds to
reach unambiguously the strong coupling infrared regime near , which
can define certain "non-perturbative" quantities, such as the mass gap, from a
resummation of this alternative expansion. Convergence properties can be
further improved, when combined with expansion (variationally improved
perturbation) methods. We illustrate these results by re-evaluating, from
purely perturbative informations, the O(N) Gross-Neveu model mass gap, known
for arbitrary from exact S matrix results. Comparing different levels of
approximations that can be defined within our framework, we find reasonable
agreement with the exact result.Comment: 33 pp., RevTeX4, 6 eps figures. Minor typos, notation and wording
corrections, 2 references added. To appear in Phys. Rev.
One loop renormalization of the four-dimensional theory for quantum dilaton gravity.
We study the one loop renormalization in the most general metric-dilaton
theory with the second derivative terms only. The general theory can be divided
into two classes, models of one are equivalent to conformally coupled with
gravity scalar field and also to general relativity with cosmological term. The
models of second class have one extra degree of freedom which corresponds to
dilaton. We calculate the one loop divergences for the models of second class
and find that the arbitrary functions of dilaton in the starting action can be
fine-tuned in such a manner that all the higher derivative counterterms
disappear on shell. The only structures in both classical action and
counterterms, which survive on shell, are the potential (cosmological) ones.
They can be removed by renormalization of the dilaton field which acquire the
nontrivial anomalous dimension, that leads to the effective running of the
cosmological constant. For some of the renormalizable solutions of the theory
the observable low energy value of the cosmological constant is small as
compared with the Newtonian constant. We also discuss another application of
our result.Comment: 21 pages, latex, no figures
Quantized bulk fermions in the Randall-Sundrum brane model
The lowest order quantum corrections to the effective action arising from
quantized massive fermion fields in the Randall-Sundrum background spacetime
are computed. The boundary conditions and their relation with gauge invariance
are examined in detail. The possibility of Wilson loop symmetry breaking in
brane models is also analysed. The self-consistency requirements, previously
considered in the case of a quantized bulk scalar field, are extended to
include the contribution from massive fermions. It is shown that in this case
it is possible to stabilize the radius of the extra dimensions but it is not
possible to simultaneously solve the hierarchy problem, unless the brane
tensions are dramatically fine tuned, supporting previous claims.Comment: 25 pages, 1 figure, RevTe
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