2,879 research outputs found
Thermodynamics of Dyonic Lifshitz Black Holes
Black holes with asymptotic anisotropic scaling are conjectured to be gravity
duals of condensed matter system close to quantum critical points with
non-trivial dynamical exponent z at finite temperature. A holographic
renormalization procedure is presented that allows thermodynamic potentials to
be defined for objects with both electric and magnetic charge in such a way
that standard thermodynamic relations hold. Black holes in asymptotic Lifshitz
spacetimes can exhibit paramagnetic behavior at low temperature limit for
certain values of the critical exponent z, whereas the behavior of AdS black
holes is always diamagnetic.Comment: 26 pages, 4 figure
Absence of association between behavior problems in childhood and hypertension in midlife
Background It is known that behavior in childhood is associated with certain physical and mental health problems in midlife. However, there is limited evidence on the role of childhood behavior problems in the development of hypertension in adulthood. The present study aimed to examine whether behavior problems in childhood influenced the risk of hypertension in midlife in the United Kingdom 1958 birth cohort. Methods The 1958 British birth cohort comprised 17,638 individuals born in the first week of March 1958 in the United Kingdom. Behavior problems were assessed at 7, 11, and 16 years of age by parents and teachers. At age 45, blood pressure was measured and hypertension was recorded if blood pressure was ≥140/90 mm Hg or if the participants were informed by their health professionals that they had high blood pressure. Behavioral information was reported according to the Rutter Children's Behaviour Questionnaire (RCBQ) and the Bristol Social Adjustment Guide (BSAG). Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated to examine behavior problems in childhood in relation to hypertension at 45 years of age according to logistic regression analysis, with adjustment for sex, social class in childhood and adulthood, childhood cognition, birth weight, gestational age at birth, body mass index (BMI), smoking, alcohol consumption, and physical activity. Results Behavior problems reported by parents at 7, 11, and 16 years were not associated with hypertension in midlife (OR, 0.93; 95% CI, 0.81, 1.07; OR, 0.95; 95% CI, 0.81, 1.11; OR, 0.98; 95% CI, 0.85, 1.12, respectively). Similarly, teacher-reported behavior problems at 7, 11, and 16 years were not associated with hypertension in midlife (OR, 0.92; 95% CI, 0.72, 1.18; OR, 0.92; 95% CI, 0.84, 1.02; OR, 1.03; 95% CI, 0.92, 1.15, respectively). Further separate analyses showed similar results for males and females. Conclusion There is no association between behavior problems in childhood and hypertension in midlife
Black holes and black branes in Lifshitz spacetimes
We construct analytic solutions describing black holes and black branes in
asymptotically Lifshitz spacetimes with arbitrary dynamical exponent z and for
arbitrary number of dimensions. The model considered consists of Einstein
gravity with negative cosmological constant, a scalar, and N U(1) gauge fields
with dilatonic-like couplings. We study the phase diagrams and thermodynamic
instabilities of the solution, and find qualitative differences between the
cases with 12.Comment: 27 pages, 10 figures; v2 references added, minor comments adde
Molecular Refinement of Clinical Staging in Hepatocellular Carcinoma Patients Evaluated for Potentially Curative Therapies
Abstract: Aim: VEGF and AFP mRNA determinations in the blood are promising prognostic factors for patients with HCC. This study explores their potential prognostic synergy in a cohort of HCC patients evaluated for potentially curative therapies.
Methods: One hundred twenty-four patients with a diagnosis of HCC were prospectively enrolled in the study. Inclusion criteria were: (a) histological diagnosis of HCC and assessment of tumour grade and (b) determination of AFP mRNA status and VEGF levels in the blood before therapy.
Results: At baseline evaluation, 40% of the study group had AFP mRNA in the blood (AFP mRNA positive), and 35% had VEGF > 23 pg ml(-1) (VEGF positive). Surgery was performed in 58 patients (47%), 54 (43%) had tumour ablation, and 12 had chemoembolisation (10%). Median follow-up and survival of the study group were 19 and 26 months (range, 1 to 60), respectively. The association of AFP mRNA and VEGF proved to be prognostically more accurate than their single use in discriminating the risk of death (ROC curve analysis) and survival probability (Cox analysis). In particular, we identified 3 main molecular stages (p < 0,0001): both negative (3-year survival = 63%), one positive (3-year survival = 40%), both positive (3-year survival = 16%). Multivariate analysis identified BCLC staging, surgery, and molecular staging as the most significant survival variables.
Conclusions: The preoperative determination of AFP mRNA status and VEGF may potentially refine the prognostic evaluation of HCC patients and improve the selection process for potentially curative therapies
Analytical study on holographic superconductors in external magnetic field
We investigate the holographic superconductors immersed in an external
magnetic field by using the analytical approach. We obtain the spatially
dependent condensate solutions in the presence of the magnetism and find
analytically that the upper critical magnetic field satisfies the relation
given in the Ginzburg-Landau theory. We observe analytically the reminiscent of
the Meissner effect where the magnetic field expels the condensate. Extending
to the D-dimensional Gauss-Bonnet AdS black holes, we examine the influence
given by the Gauss-Bonnet coupling on the condensation. Different from the
positive coupling, we find that the negative Gauss-Bonnet coupling enhances the
condensation when the external magnetism is not strong enough.Comment: revised version, to appear in JHE
Black Hole Thermodynamics and Heavy Fermion Metals
Heavy fermion alloys at critical doping typically exhibit non-Fermi-liquid
behavior at low temperatures, including a logarithmic or power law rise in the
ratio of specific heat to temperature as the temperature is lowered. Anomalous
specific heat of this type is also observed in a simple class of gravitational
dual models that exhibit anisotropic scaling with dynamical critical exponent z
> 1.Comment: 17 pages, 4 figures; v2: added references; v3: matches published
versio
Lovelock-Lifshitz Black Holes
In this paper, we investigate the existence of Lifshitz solutions in Lovelock
gravity, both in vacuum and in the presence of a massive vector field. We show
that the Lovelock terms can support the Lifshitz solution provided the
constants of the theory are suitably chosen. We obtain an exact black hole
solution with Lifshitz asymptotics of any scaling parameter in both
Gauss-Bonnet and in pure 3rd order Lovelock gravity. If matter is added in the
form of a massive vector field, we also show that Lifshitz solutions in
Lovelock gravity exist; these can be regarded as corrections to Einstein
gravity coupled to this form of matter. For this form of matter we numerically
obtain a broad range of charged black hole solutions with Lifshitz asymptotics,
for either sign of the cosmological constant. We find that these asymptotic
Lifshitz solutions are more sensitive to corrections induced by Lovelock
gravity than are their asymptotic AdS counterparts. We also consider the
thermodynamics of the black hole solutions and show that the temperature of
large black holes with curved horizons is proportional to where is
the critical exponent; this relationship holds for black branes of any size. As
is the case for asymptotic AdS black holes, we find that an extreme black hole
exists only for the case of horizons with negative curvature. We also find that
these Lovelock-Lifshitz black holes have no unstable phase, in contrast to the
Lovelock-AdS case. We also present a class of rotating Lovelock-Lifshitz black
holes with Ricci-flat horizons.Comment: 26 pages, 10 figures, a few references added, typo fixed and some
comments have been adde
Gauss-Bonnet Black Holes and Heavy Fermion Metals
We consider charged black holes in Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet Gravity with
Lifshitz boundary conditions. We find that this class of models can reproduce
the anomalous specific heat of condensed matter systems exhibiting
non-Fermi-liquid behaviour at low temperatures. We find that the temperature
dependence of the Sommerfeld ratio is sensitive to the choice of Gauss-Bonnet
coupling parameter for a given value of the Lifshitz scaling parameter. We
propose that this class of models is dual to a class of models of
non-Fermi-liquid systems proposed by Castro-Neto et.al.Comment: 17 pages, 6 figures, pdfLatex; small corrections to figure 10 in this
versio
- …