104 research outputs found
Predicted Planck Extragalactic Point Source Catalogue
An estimation of the number and amplitude (in flux) of the extragalactic
point sources that will be observed by the Planck Mission is presented in this
paper. The study is based on the Mexican Hat wavelet formalism introduced by
Cayon et al. 2000. Simulations at Planck observing frequencies are analysed,
taking into account all the possible cosmological, Galactic and Extragalactic
emissions together with noise. With the technique used in this work the Planck
Mission will produce a catalogue of extragalactic point sources above fluxes:
1.03 Jy (857 GHz), 0.53 Jy (545 GHz), 0.28 Jy (353 GHz), 0.24 Jy (217 GHz),
0.32 Jy (143 GHz), 0.41 Jy (100 GHz HFI), 0.34 Jy (100 GHz LFI), 0.57 Jy (70
GHz), 0.54 Jy (44 GHz) and 0.54 Jy (30 GHz), which are only slightly model
dependent (see text). Amplitudes of these sources are estimated with errors
below 15%. Moreover, we also provide a complete catalogue (for the point
sources simulation analysed) with errors in the estimation of the amplitude
below 10%. In addition we discuss the possibility of identifying different
point source populations in the Planck catalogue by estimating their spectral
indices.Comment: 13 pages, 2 figures, submitted to MNRA
Counterterms and dual holographic anomalies in CS gravity
The holographic Weyl anomaly associated to Chern-Simons gravity in 2n+1
dimensions is proportional to the Euler term in 2n dimensions, with no
contributions from the Weyl tensor. We compute the holographic energy-momentum
tensor associated to Chern-Simons gravity directly from the action, in an
arbitrary odd-dimensional spacetime. We show, in particular, that the
counterterms rendering the action finite contain only terms of the Lovelock
type.Comment: 10 pages, no figure
Gravitational Lorentz Violations from M-Theory
In an attempt to bridge the gap between M-theory and braneworld
phenomenology, we present various gravitational Lorentz-violating braneworlds
which arise from p-brane systems. Lorentz invariance is still preserved locally
on the braneworld. For certain p-brane intersections, the massless graviton is
quasi-localized. This also results from an M5-brane in a C-field. In the case
of a p-brane perturbed from extremality, the quasi-localized graviton is
massive. For a braneworld arising from global AdS_5, gravitons travel faster
when further in the bulk, thereby apparently traversing distances faster than
light.Comment: 13 pages, 1 figure, LaTeX, references added, minor corrections and
addition
Spin three gauge theory revisited
We study the problem of consistent interactions for spin-3 gauge fields in
flat spacetime of arbitrary dimension n>3. Under the sole assumptions of
Poincar\'e and parity invariance, local and perturbative deformation of the
free theory, we determine all nontrivial consistent deformations of the abelian
gauge algebra and classify the corresponding deformations of the quadratic
action, at first order in the deformation parameter. We prove that all such
vertices are cubic, contain a total of either three or five derivatives and are
uniquely characterized by a rank-three constant tensor (an internal algebra
structure constant). The covariant cubic vertex containing three derivatives is
the vertex discovered by Berends, Burgers and van Dam, which however leads to
inconsistencies at second order in the deformation parameter. In dimensions n>4
and for a completely antisymmetric structure constant tensor, another covariant
cubic vertex exists, which contains five derivatives and passes the consistency
test where the previous vertex failed.Comment: LaTeX, 37 pages. References and comments added. Published versio
Consistent interactions of dual linearized gravity in D=5: couplings with a topological BF model
Under some plausible assumptions, we find that the dual formulation of
linearized gravity in D=5 can be nontrivially coupled to the topological BF
model in such a way that the interacting theory exhibits a deformed gauge
algebra and some deformed, on-shell reducibility relations. Moreover, the
tensor field with the mixed symmetry (2,1) gains some shift gauge
transformations with parameters from the BF sector.Comment: 63 pages, accepted for publication in Eur. Phys. J.
BRST approach to Lagrangian formulation for mixed-symmetry fermionic higher-spin fields
We construct a Lagrangian description of irreducible half-integer higher-spin
representations of the Poincare group with the corresponding Young tableaux
having two rows, on a basis of the BRST approach. Starting with a description
of fermionic higher-spin fields in a flat space of any dimension in terms of an
auxiliary Fock space, we realize a conversion of the initial operator
constraint system (constructed with respect to the relations extracting
irreducible Poincare-group representations) into a first-class constraint
system. For this purpose, we find auxiliary representations of the constraint
subsuperalgebra containing the subsystem of second-class constraints in terms
of Verma modules. We propose a universal procedure of constructing
gauge-invariant Lagrangians with reducible gauge symmetries describing the
dynamics of both massless and massive fermionic fields of any spin. No
off-shell constraints for the fields and gauge parameters are used from the
very beginning. It is shown that the space of BRST cohomologies with a
vanishing ghost number is determined only by the constraints corresponding to
an irreducible Poincare-group representation. To illustrate the general
construction, we obtain a Lagrangian description of fermionic fields with
generalized spin (3/2,1/2) and (3/2,3/2) on a flat background containing the
complete set of auxiliary fields and gauge symmetries.Comment: 41 pages, no figures, corrected typos, updated introduction, sections
5, 7.1, 7.2 with examples, conclusion with all basic results unchanged,
corrected formulae (3.27), (7.138), (7.140), added dimensional reduction part
with formulae (5.34)-(5.48), (7.8)-(7.10), (7.131)-(7.136), (7.143)-(7.164),
added Refs. 52, 53, 54, examples for massive fields developed by 2 way
Are non-tariff measures a substitute for tariffs in agricultural trade? Recent evidence from southern Mediterranean countries
[EN] The significance of and interest in non-tariff measures (NTMs) have increased as a consequence of the reduction in agricultural tariffs. This paper analyses the relationship between NTMs and tariffs in southern Mediterranean countries (SMCs) through two complementary analyses. First, the authors construct a taxonomy of protection for products, distinguishing between high protection, transparent protection, low protection and disguised protection. The low protection category is most widely represented, and the disguised protection category is also important. Second, the policy substitution hypothesis between tariff and non-tariff protection is tested. This hypothesis appears in the literature as the possibility that countries implement NTMs for protection purposes, as a result of the progressive reduction in the tariffs levied. Policy substitution is found in some SMCs, which is consistent with an upward trend of non-tariff protection as tariff liberalization progresses in the region.The authors are grateful for support from the European Commission through FP7 'Sustainable agri-food systems and rural development in the Mediterranean Partner Countries' (SUSTAINMED, FP7-KBBE-2009-3-245233), and from the Universitat Politecnica de Valencia (PAID-06-12).Tudela Marco, L.; García Alvarez-Coque, JM.; Martinez Gómez, VD. (2014). Are non-tariff measures a substitute for tariffs in agricultural trade? Recent evidence from southern Mediterranean countries. Outlook On Agriculture. 43(4):235-240. https://doi.org/10.5367/oa.2014.0187S23524043
HI in the Outskirts of Nearby Galaxies
The HI in disk galaxies frequently extends beyond the optical image, and can
trace the dark matter there. I briefly highlight the history of high spatial
resolution HI imaging, the contribution it made to the dark matter problem, and
the current tension between several dynamical methods to break the disk-halo
degeneracy. I then turn to the flaring problem, which could in principle probe
the shape of the dark halo. Instead, however, a lot of attention is now devoted
to understanding the role of gas accretion via galactic fountains. The current
cold dark matter theory has problems on galactic scales, such as
the core-cusp problem, which can be addressed with HI observations of dwarf
galaxies. For a similar range in rotation velocities, galaxies of type Sd have
thin disks, while those of type Im are much thicker. After a few comments on
modified Newtonian dynamics and on irregular galaxies, I close with statistics
on the HI extent of galaxies.Comment: 38 pages, 17 figures, invited review, book chapter in "Outskirts of
Galaxies", Eds. J. H. Knapen, J. C. Lee and A. Gil de Paz, Astrophysics and
Space Science Library, Springer, in pres
Enabling global clinical collaborations on identifiable patient data: The Minerva Initiative
The clinical utility of computational phenotyping for both genetic and rare diseases is increasingly appreciated; however, its true potential is yet to be fully realized. Alongside the growing clinical and research availability of sequencing technologies, precise deep and scalable phenotyping is required to serve unmet need in genetic and rare diseases. To improve the lives of individuals affected with rare diseases through deep phenotyping, global big data interrogation is necessary to aid our understanding of disease biology, assist diagnosis, and develop targeted treatment strategies. This includes the application of cutting-edge machine learning methods to image data. As with most digital tools employed in health care, there are ethical and data governance challenges associated with using identifiable personal image data. There are also risks with failing to deliver on the patient benefits of these new technologies, the biggest of which is posed by data siloing. The Minerva Initiative has been designed to enable the public good of deep phenotyping while mitigating these ethical risks. Its open structure, enabling collaboration and data sharing between individuals, clinicians, researchers and private enterprise, is key for delivering precision public health
Adenosine A2A receptors modulate BDNF both in normal conditions and in experimental models of Huntington’s disease
Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a member of the neurotrophin family, enhances synaptic transmission and regulates neuronal proliferation and survival. Functional interactions between adenosine A2A receptors (A2ARs) and BDNF have been recently reported. In this article, we report some recent findings from our group showing that A2ARs regulate both BDNF functions and levels in the brain. Whereas BDNF (10 ng/ml) increased the slope of excitatory postsynaptic field potentials (fEPSPs) in hippocampal slices from wild-type (WT) mice, it was completely ineffective in slices taken from A2AR knock-out (KO) mice. Furthermore, enzyme immunoassay studies showed a significant reduction in hippocampal BDNF levels in A2AR KO vs. WT mice. Having found an even marked reduction in the striatum of A2AR KO mice, and as both BDNF and A2ARs have been implicated in the pathogenesis of Huntington’s disease (HD), an inherited striatal neurodegenerative disease, we then evaluated whether the pharmacological blockade of A2ARs could influence striatal levels of BDNF in an experimental model of HD-like striatal degeneration (quinolinic acid-lesioned rats) and in a transgenic mice model of HD (R6/2 mice). In both QA-lesioned rats and early symptomatic R6/2 mice (8 weeks), the systemic administration of the A2AR antagonist SCH58261 significantly reduced striatal BDNF levels. These results indicate that the presence and the tonic activation of A2ARs are necessary to allow BDNF-induced potentiation of synaptic transmission and to sustain a normal BDNF tone. The possible functional consequences of reducing striatal BDNF levels in HD models need further investigation
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