Gauge Theory Wilson Loops and Conformal Toda Field Theory

The partition function of a family of four dimensional N=2 gauge theories has been recently related to correlation functions of two dimensional conformal Toda field theories. For SU(2) gauge theories, the associated two dimensional theory is A_1 conformal Toda field theory, i.e. Liouville theory. For this case the relation has been extended showing that the expectation value of gauge theory loop operators can be reproduced in Liouville theory inserting in the correlators the monodromy of chiral degenerate fields. In this paper we study Wilson loops in SU(N) gauge theories in the fundamental and anti-fundamental representation of the gauge group and show that they are associated to monodromies of a certain chiral degenerate operator of A_{N-1} Toda field theory. The orientation of the curve along which the monodromy is evaluated selects between fundamental and anti-fundamental representation. The analysis is performed using properties of the monodromy group of the generalized hypergeometric equation, the differential equation satisfied by a class of four point functions relevant for our computation.Comment: 17 pages, 3 figures; references added

The formation of professional identity in medical students: considerations for educators

<b>Context</b> Medical education is about more than acquiring an appropriate level of knowledge and developing relevant skills. To practice medicine students need to develop a professional identity – ways of being and relating in professional contexts.<p></p> <b>Objectives</b> This article conceptualises the processes underlying the formation and maintenance of medical students’ professional identity drawing on concepts from social psychology.<p></p> <b>Implications</b> A multi-dimensional model of identity and identity formation, along with the concepts of identity capital and multiple identities, are presented. The implications for educators are discussed.<p></p> <b>Conclusions</b> Identity formation is mainly social and relational in nature. Educators, and the wider medical society, need to utilise and maximise the opportunities that exist in the various relational settings students experience. Education in its broadest sense is about the transformation of the self into new ways of thinking and relating. Helping students form, and successfully integrate their professional selves into their multiple identities, is a fundamental of medical education

Intellectual property enclosure and economic discourse in the 2012 London Olympic Games.

Special legislation associated with mega sporting events has enabled new forms of cultural enclosure, effectively commoditising aspects of cultural expression that previously remained in the public domain. In this article, the authors examine the tension between economic and political justifications for hosting the Olympics and the intellectual property enclosures that are imposed upon host nations. These enclosures extend beyond what is traditionally protected under trade mark law, to include ‘generic’ terms. Enabling market competitors to freely use generic, descriptive language is a core doctrine of trade mark law, seeking to balance monopoly IP rights with free market competition. The authors evaluate the impact of special legislative enclosures on the public interest, and argue that collective access to expression should be more carefully considered in political and economic calculations of the value of the Olympics

Considering Intra-individual Genetic Heterogeneity to Understand Biodiversity

In this chapter, I am concerned with the concept of Intra-individual Genetic Hetereogeneity (IGH) and its potential influence on biodiversity estimates. Definitions of biological individuality are often indirectly dependent on genetic sampling -and vice versa. Genetic sampling typically focuses on a particular locus or set of loci, found in the the mitochondrial, chloroplast or nuclear genome. If ecological function or evolutionary individuality can be defined on the level of multiple divergent genomes, as I shall argue is the case in IGH, our current genetic sampling strategies and analytic approaches may miss out on relevant biodiversity. Now that more and more examples of IGH are available, it is becoming possible to investigate the positive and negative effects of IGH on the functioning and evolution of multicellular individuals more systematically. I consider some examples and argue that studying diversity through the lens of IGH facilitates thinking not in terms of units, but in terms of interactions between biological entities. This, in turn, enables a fresh take on the ecological and evolutionary significance of biological diversity

Extended [C I] and (CO)-C-13 (5 -\u3e 4) emission in M17SW

We mapped a 13 × 22 pc region in emission from 492 GHz [C I] and, for the first time, 551 GHz 13CO (5 → 4) in the giant molecular cloud M17SW. The morphologies of the [C I] and 13CO emission are strikingly similar. The extent and intensity of the [C I] and 13CO (5 → 4) emission is explained as arising from photodissociation regions on the surfaces of embedded molecular clumps. Modeling of the 13CO (5 → 4) emission in comparison to 13CO (1 → 0) indicates a temperature gradient across the cloud, peaking to at least 63 K near the M17 ionization front and decreasing to at least 20 K at the western edge of the cloud. We see no correlation between gas density and column density. The beam-averaged column density of C I in the core is 1 × 1018 cm-2, and the mean column density ratio N(C I)/N(CO) is about 0.4. The variations of N(C I)/N(CO) with position in M17SW indicate a similar clump size distribution throughout the cloud

Measuring health-related quality of life in population-based studies of coronary heart disease: comparing six generic indexes and a disease-specific proxy score

To compare HRQoL differences with CHD in generic indexes and a proxy CVD-specific score in a nationally representative sample of U.S. adults. The National Health Measurement Study, a cross-sectional random-digit-dialed telephone survey of adults aged 35–89, administered the EQ-5D, QWB-SA, HUI2, HUI3, SF-36v2™ (yielding PCS, MCS, and SF-6D), and HALex. Analyses compared 3,350 without CHD (group 1), 265 with CHD not taking chest pain medication (group 2), and 218 with CHD currently taking chest pain medication (group 3), with and without adjustment for demographic variables and comorbidities. Data on 154 patients from heart failure clinics were used to construct a proxy score utilizing generic items probing CVD symptoms. Mean scores differed between CHD groups for all indexes with and without adjustment (P < 0.0001 for all except MCS P = 0.018). Unadjusted group 3 versus 1 differences were about three times larger than for group 2 versus 1. Standardized differences for the proxy score were similar to those for generic indexes, and were about 1.0 for all except MCS for group 3 versus 1. Generic indexes capture differences in HRQoL in population-based studies of CHD similarly to a score constructed from questions probing CVD-specific symptoms

I-TRAP: A method to identify transcriptional regulator activated promoters

BACKGROUND: The differential expression of virulence genes is often used by microbial pathogens in adapting to the environment of their host. The differential expression of such sets of genes can be regulated by RNA polymerase sigma factors. Some sigma factors are differentially expressed, which can provide a means to identifying other differentially expressed genes such as those whose expression are controlled by the sigma factor. METHODS: To identify sigma factor-regulated genes, we developed a method, termed I-TRAP, for the identification of transcriptional regulator activated promoters. The I-TRAP method is based on the fact that some genes will be differentially expressed in the presence and absence of a transcriptional regulator. I-TRAP uses a DNA library in a promoter-trap vector that contains two reporter genes, one to allow the selection of active promoters in the presence of the transcriptional regulator and a second to allow screening for promoter activity in the absence of the transcriptional regulator. RESULTS: To illustrate the development and use of the I-TRAP approach, the construction of the vectors, host strains, and library necessary to identify SigmaE-regulated genes of Mycobacterium tuberculosis is described. CONCLUSION: The I-TRAP method should be a versatile and useful method for identifying and characterizing promoter activity under a variety of conditions and in response to various regulatory proteins. In our study, we isolated 360 clones that may contain plasmids carrying SigmaE-regulated promoters genes of M. tuberculosis