458 research outputs found
q-Deformed de Sitter/Conformal Field Theory Correspondence
Unitary principal series representations of the conformal group appear in the
dS/CFT correspondence. These are infinite dimensional irreducible
representations, without highest weights. In earlier work of Guijosa and the
author it was shown for the case of two-dimensional de Sitter, there was a
natural q-deformation of the conformal group, with q a root of unity, where the
unitary principal series representations become finite-dimensional cyclic
unitary representations. Formulating a version of the dS/CFT correspondence
using these representations can lead to a description with a finite-dimensional
Hilbert space and unitary evolution. In the present work, we generalize to the
case of quantum-deformed three-dimensional de Sitter spacetime and compute the
entanglement entropy of a quantum field across the cosmological horizon.Comment: 18 pages, 2 figures, revtex, (v2 reference added
An impairment-specific hip exoskeleton assistance for gait training in subjects with acquired brain injury: a feasibility study
This study was designed to investigate the feasibility and the potential effects on walking performance of a short gait training with a novel impairment-specific hip assistance (iHA) through a bilateral active pelvis orthosis (APO) in patients with acquired brain injury (ABI). Fourteen subjects capable of independent gait and exhibiting mild-to-moderate gait deficits, due to an ABI, were enrolled. Subjects presenting deficit in hip flexion and/or extension were included and divided into two groups based on the presence (group A, n = 6) or absence (group B, n = 8) of knee hyperextension during stance phase of walking. Two iHA-based profiles were developed for the groups. The protocol included two overground gait training sessions using APO, and two evaluation sessions, pre and post training. Primary outcomes were pre vs. post-training walking distance and steady-state speed in the 6-min walking test. Secondary outcomes were self-selected speed, joint kinematics and kinetics, gait symmetry and forward propulsion, assessed through 3D gait analysis. Following the training, study participants significantly increased the walked distance and average steady-state speed in the 6-min walking tests, both when walking with and without the APO. The increased walked distance surpassed the minimal clinically important difference for groups A and B, (respectively, 42 and 57 m > 34 m). In group A, five out of six subjects had decreased knee hyperextension at the post-training session (on average the peak of the knee extension angle was reduced by 36%). Knee flexion during swing phase increased, by 16% and 31%, for A and B groups respectively. Two-day gait training with APO providing iHA was effective and safe in improving walking performance and knee kinematics in ABI survivors. These preliminary findings suggest that this strategy may be viable for subject-specific post-ABI gait rehabilitation
Early respiratory viral infections in infants with cystic fibrosis
This article is made available for unrestricted research re-use and secondary analysis in any form or by any means with acknowledgement of the original source. These permissions are granted for the duration of the World Health Organization (WHO) declaration of COVID-19 as a global pandemic.Background
Viral infections contribute to morbidity in cystic fibrosis (CF), but the impact of respiratory viruses on the development of airway disease is poorly understood.
Methods
Infants with CF identified by newborn screening were enrolled prior to 4 months of age to participate in a prospective observational study at 4 centers. Clinical data were collected at clinic visits and weekly phone calls. Multiplex PCR assays were performed on nasopharyngeal swabs to detect respiratory viruses during routine visits and when symptomatic. Participants underwent bronchoscopy with bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) and a subset underwent pulmonary function testing. We present findings through 8.5 months of life.
Results
Seventy infants were enrolled, mean age 3.1 ± 0.8 months. Rhinovirus was the most prevalent virus (66%), followed by parainfluenza (19%), and coronavirus (16%). Participants had a median of 1.5 viral positive swabs (range 0–10). Past viral infection was associated with elevated neutrophil concentrations and bacterial isolates in BAL fluid, including recovery of classic CF bacterial pathogens. When antibiotics were prescribed for respiratory-related indications, viruses were identified in 52% of those instances.
Conclusions
Early viral infections were associated with greater neutrophilic inflammation and bacterial pathogens. Early viral infections appear to contribute to initiation of lower airway inflammation in infants with CF. Antibiotics were commonly prescribed in the setting of a viral infection. Future investigations examining longitudinal relationships between viral infections, airway microbiome, and antibiotic use will allow us to elucidate the interplay between these factors in young children with CF
A biophysical model of prokaryotic diversity in geothermal hot springs
Recent field investigations of photosynthetic bacteria living in geothermal
hot spring environments have revealed surprisingly complex ecosystems, with an
unexpected level of genetic diversity. One case of particular interest involves
the distribution along hot spring thermal gradients of genetically distinct
bacterial strains that differ in their preferred temperatures for reproduction
and photosynthesis. In such systems, a single variable, temperature, defines
the relevant environmental variation. In spite of this, each region along the
thermal gradient exhibits multiple strains of photosynthetic bacteria adapted
to several distinct thermal optima, rather than the expected single thermal
strain adapted to the local environmental temperature. Here we analyze
microbiology data from several ecological studies to show that the thermal
distribution field data exhibit several universal features independent of
location and specific bacterial strain. These include the distribution of
optimal temperatures of different thermal strains and the functional dependence
of the net population density on temperature. Further, we present a simple
population dynamics model of these systems that is highly constrained by
biophysical data and by physical features of the environment. This model can
explain in detail the observed diversity of different strains of the
photosynthetic bacteria. It also reproduces the observed thermal population
distributions, as well as certain features of population dynamics observed in
laboratory studies of the same organisms
A new twist on dS/CFT
We stress that the dS/CFT correspondence should be formulated using unitary
principal series representations of the de Sitter isometry group/conformal
group, rather than highest-weight representations as originally proposed. These
representations, however, are infinite-dimensional, and so do not account for
the finite gravitational entropy of de Sitter space in a natural way. We then
propose to replace the classical isometry group by a q-deformed version. This
is carried out in detail for two-dimensional de Sitter and we find that the
unitary principal series representations deform to finite-dimensional unitary
representations of the quantum group. We believe this provides a promising
microscopic framework to account for the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy of de
Sitter space.Comment: 21 pages, revtex, v2 references adde
Cruise Report Poseidon 229a/b Kolbeinsey Ridge, Akureyri - Reykjavik, 22.05.1997 - 11.06.1997
General Subject of research: Detailed study of the shallow water hydrothermal system around Kolbeinsey and Grimsey island
First observations of high-temperature submarine hydrothermal vents and massive anhydrite deposits off the north coast of Iceland
High-temperature (250°C) hydrothermal vents and massive anhydrite deposits have been found in a shallow water, sediment-filled graben near 66°36′N in the Tjornes Fracture Zone north of Iceland. The site is located about 30 km offshore, near the small island of Grimsey. The main vent field occurs at a depth of 400 m and consists of about 20 large-diameter (up to 10 m) mounds and 1–3 m chimneys and spires of anhydrite and talc. A north–south alignment of the mounds over a 1-km strike length of the valley floor suggests that their distribution is controlled by a buried fault. Widespread shimmering water and extensive white patches of anhydrite in the sediment between the mounds indicates that the entire 1-km2 area occupied by the vents is thermally active. A 2-man research submersible JAGO was used to map the area and to sample vent waters, gases, and chimneys. Actively boiling hydrothermal vents occur on most of the mounds, and extensive two-phase venting indicates that the field is underlain by a large boiling zone (200×300 m). The presence of boiling fluids in shallow aquifers beneath the deposits was confirmed by sediment coring. The highest-temperature pore fluids were encountered in talc- and anhydrite-rich sedimentary layers that occur up to 7 m below the mounds. Baked muds underlie the talc and anhydrite layers, and pyrite is common in stockwork-like fractures and veins in the hydrothermally altered sediments. However, massive sulfides (pyrite–marcasite crusts) were found in only one relict mound. Subseafloor boiling has likely affected the metal-carrying capacity of the hydrothermal fluids, and deposition of sulfides may be occurring at greater depth. Although the mounds and chimneys at Grimsey resemble other deposits at sedimented ridges (e.g. Middle Valley, Escanaba Trough, Guaymas Basin), the shallow water setting and extensive boiling of the hydrothermal fluids represent a distinctive new type of seafloor hydrothermal system
Internet-based medical education: a realist review of what works, for whom and in what circumstances
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0
Protocol: Health, social care and technological interventions to improve functional ability of older adults: Evidence and gap map
This is the final version. Available on open access from Wiley via the DOI in this frecordThis is a protocol for a Campbell Evidence and Gap Map. The objectives are to identify and assess the available evidence on health, social care and technological interventions to improve functional ability among older adults
Instabilities of Black Strings and Branes
We review recent progress on the instabilities of black strings and branes
both for pure Einstein gravity as well as supergravity theories which are
relevant for string theory. We focus mainly on Gregory-Laflamme instabilities.
In the first part of the review we provide a detailed discussion of the
classical gravitational instability of the neutral uniform black string in
higher dimensional gravity. The uniform black string is part of a larger phase
diagram of Kaluza-Klein black holes which will be discussed thoroughly. This
phase diagram exhibits many interesting features including new phases,
non-uniqueness and horizon-topology changing transitions. In the second part,
we turn to charged black branes in supergravity and show how the
Gregory-Laflamme instability of the neutral black string implies via a
boost/U-duality map similar instabilities for non- and near-extremal smeared
branes in string theory. We also comment on instabilities of D-brane bound
states. The connection between classical and thermodynamic stability, known as
the correlated stability conjecture, is also reviewed and illustrated with
examples. Finally, we examine the holographic implications of the
Gregory-Laflamme instability for a number of non-gravitational theories
including Yang-Mills theories and Little String Theory.Comment: 119 pages, 16 figures. Invited review for Classical and Quantum
Gravit
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