721 research outputs found
Condensate cosmology in O'Raifeartaigh models
Flat directions charged under an R-symmetry are a generic feature of
O'Raifeartaigh models. Non-topological solitons associated with this symmetry,
R-balls, are likely to form through the fragmentation of a condensate, itself
created by soft terms induced during inflation. In gravity mediated SUSY
breaking R-balls decay to gravitinos, reheating the universe. For gauge
mediation R-balls can provide a good dark matter candidate. Alternatively they
can decay, either reheating or cooling the universe. Conserved R-symmetry
permits decay to gravitinos or gauginos, whereas spontaneously broken
R-symmetry results in decay to visible sector gauge bosons.Comment: 29 pages, 5 figures. Comments and references added, accepted for
publication in JHE
Characterizing storm-induced coastal change hazards along the United States West Coast
Traditional methods to assess the probability of storm-induced erosion and flooding from extreme
water levels have limited use along the U.S. West Coast where swell dominates erosion and storm surge
is limited. This effort presents methodology to assess the probability of erosion and flooding for the U.S.
West Coast from extreme total water levels (TWLs), but the approach is applicable to coastal settings
worldwide. TWLs were derived from 61 years of wave and water level data at shore-perpendicular
transects every 100-m along open coast shorelines. At each location, wave data from the Global Ocean
Waves model were downscaled to the nearshore and used to empirically calculate wave run-up. Tides
were simulated using the Oregon State University?s tidal data inversion model and non-tidal residuals
were calculated from sea-surface temperature and pressure anomalies. Wave run-up was combined
with still water levels to generate hourly TWL estimates and extreme TWLs for multiple return periods.
Extremes were compared to onshore morphology to determine erosion hazards and define the
probability of collision, overwash, and inundation
Mid-term outcomes for Endoscopic versus Open Vein Harvest: a case control study
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Saphenous vein remains the most common conduit for coronary artery bypass grafting with increasing uptake of minimally invasive harvesting techniques. While Endoscopic Vein Harvest (EVH) has been demonstrated to improve early morbidity compared to Open Vein Harvest (OVH), recent literature suggests that this may be at the expense of graft patency at one year and survival at three years.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We undertook a retrospective single-centre, single-surgeon, case-control study of EVH (n = 89) and OVH (n = 182). The primary endpoint was death with secondary endpoints including acute coronary syndrome, revascularisation or other major adverse cardiac events. Freedom from angina, wound complications and self-rated health status were also assessed. Where repeat angiography had been performed, this was reviewed.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Both groups were well matched demographically and for peri-operative characteristics. All cause mortality was 2/89 (2%) and 11/182 (6%) in the EVH and OVH groups respectively. This was shown by Cox Log-Rank analysis to be non-significant (p = 0.65), even if adjusting for inpatient mortality (p = 0.74). There was no difference in the rates of freedom from angina (p = 1.00), re-admission (p = 0.78) or need for further anti-anginals (p = 1.00). There was a significant reduction in the incidence of leg wound infections and complications in the endoscopic group (EVH: 7%; OVH: 28%; p = 0.0008) and the skew of high patient self-rated health scores in the EVH group (61% compared to 52% in the open group) approached statistical significance (p = 0.06).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>While aware of the limitations of this small retrospective study, we are heartened by the preliminary results and consider our data to be justification for continuing to provide patients the opportunity to have minimally invasive conduit harvest in our centre. More robust evidence is still required to elucidate the implications of endoscopic techniques on conduit patency and patient outcome, but until the results of a large, prospective and randomised trial are available, we believe we can confidently offer our patients the option and benefits of EVH.</p
On the thermoelectricity of correlated electrons in the zero-temperature limit
The Seebeck coefficient of a metal is expected to display a linear
temperature-dependence in the zero-temperature limit. To attain this regime, it
is often necessary to cool the system well below 1K. We put under scrutiny the
magnitude of this term in different families of strongly-interacting electronic
systems. For a wide range of compounds (including heavy-fermion, organic and
various oxide families) a remarkable correlation between this term and the
electronic specific heat is found. We argue that a dimensionless ratio relating
these two signatures of mass renormalisation contains interesting information
about the ground state of each system. The absolute value of this ratio remains
close to unity in a wide range of strongly-correlated electron systems.Comment: 15 pages, including two figure
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Regulating working families in the European Union: a history of disjointed strategies
Families in market economies worldwide have long been confronted with the demands of participating in paid work and providing care for their dependent members. The social, economic and political contexts within which families do so differ from country to country but an increasing number of governments are being asked to engage, or better engage, with this important area of public policy. What seems like a relatively simple goal – to enable families to better balance care-giving and paid employment – has raised several difficulties and dilemmas for policy makers which have been approached in different ways. This paper aims to identify and critique the nature and development of the means by which legal engagement with work-family reconciliation has, historically, been framed in the European Union. In doing so, and with reference to specific cohorts of workers, we demonstrate how disjointed the strategies are in relation to working carers and argue that the EU is unlikely to provide the legal framework necessary to bring about effective change in this fundamentally important area of social policy
Serpin Induced Antiviral Activity of Prostaglandin Synthetase-2 against HIV-1 Replication
The serine protease inhibitors (serpins) are anti-inflammatory proteins that have various functions. By screening a diverse panel of viruses, we demonstrate that the serpin antithrombin III (ATIII) has a broad-spectrum anti-viral activity for HIV-1, HCV and HSV. To investigate the mechanism of action in more detail we investigated the HIV-1 inhibition. Using gene-expression arrays we found that multiple host cell signal transduction pathways were activated by ATIII in HIV-1 infected cells but not in uninfected controls. Moreover, the signal pathways initiated by ATIII treatment, were more than 200-fold increased by the use of heparin-activated ATIII. The most up-regulated transcript in HIV-1 infected cells was prostaglandin synthetase-2 (PTGS2). Furthermore, we found that over-expression of PTGS2 reduced levels of HIV-1 replication in human PBMC. These findings suggest a central role for serpins in the host innate anti-viral response. Host factors such as PTGS2 elicited by ATIII treatment could be exploited in the development of novel anti-viral interventions
The validation analysis of the INSHORE system: a precise and efficient coastal survey system
Government and environmental entities are becoming increasingly concerned with qualifying and quantifying the erosion effects that are observed in sandy shores. Correspondingly, survey methodologies that gather data for such erosion studies are increasingly being demanded. The responsible entities are continually broadening their areas of interest, are concerned in the establishment of regular monitoring programmes and are demanding high accuracy from the geo-spatial data that is collected. The budget available for such monitoring activities, however, does not parallel the trend in the increasing demand for quality specifications. Survey methodologies need improvement to meet these requirements. We have developed a new land-based survey system-the INSHORE system-that is ideal for low cost, highly efficient and highly precise coastal surveys. The INSHORE system uses hi-tech hardware that is based on high-grade global positioning system (GPS) receivers and a laser distance sensor combined with advanced software algorithms. This system enables the determination of the ground coordinates of the surveyed areas with a precision of 1 to 2 cm, without having a sensor in contact with the ground surface. The absence of physical contact with the ground makes this system suitable for high-efficiency surveys. The accuracy of the positioning, which is based on advanced differential GPS processing, is enhanced by considering the estimated attitude of the GPS receiver holding structure and eliminates undesirable offsets. This paper describes the INSHORE survey system and presents the results of validation tests that were performed in a sandy shore environment
Material Need Insecurities, Control of Diabetes Mellitus, and Use of Health Care Resources: Results of the Measuring Economic Insecurity in Diabetes Study
Increasing access to care may be insufficient to improve health for diabetes patients with unmet basic needs. However, how specific material need insecurities relate to clinical outcomes and care utilization in a setting of near-universal care access is unclear
Strong coupling, discrete symmetry and flavour
We show how two principles - strong coupling and discrete symmetry - can work
together to generate the flavour structure of the Standard Model. We propose
that in the UV the full theory has a discrete flavour symmetry, typically only
associated with tribimaximal mixing in the neutrino sector. Hierarchies in the
particle masses and mixing matrices then emerge from multiple strongly coupled
sectors that break this symmetry. This allows for a realistic flavour
structure, even in models built around an underlying grand unified theory. We
use two different techniques to understand the strongly coupled physics:
confinement in N=1 supersymmetry and the AdS/CFT correspondence. Both
approaches yield equivalent results and can be represented in a clear,
graphical way where the flavour symmetry is realised geometrically.Comment: 31 pages, 5 figures, updated references and figure
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