22 research outputs found
On the growth of perturbations in interacting dark energy and dark matter fluids
The covariant generalizations of the background dark sector coupling
suggested in G. Mangano, G. Miele and V. Pettorino, Mod. Phys. Lett. A 18, 831
(2003) are considered. The evolution of perturbations is studied with detailed
attention to interaction rate that is proportional to the product of dark
matter and dark energy densities. It is shown that some classes of models with
coupling of this type do not suffer from early time instabilities in strong
coupling regime.Comment: 11 pages, 2 figures. v3: minor changes, typos fixe
Viability of Noether symmetry of F(R) theory of gravity
Canonization of F(R) theory of gravity to explore Noether symmetry is
performed treating R - 6(\frac{\ddot a}{a} + \frac{\dot a^2}{a^2} +
\frac{k}{a^2}) = 0 as a constraint of the theory in Robertson-Walker
space-time, which implies that R is taken as an auxiliary variable. Although it
yields correct field equations, Noether symmetry does not allow linear term in
the action, and as such does not produce a viable cosmological model. Here, we
show that this technique of exploring Noether symmetry does not allow even a
non-linear form of F(R), if the configuration space is enlarged by including a
scalar field in addition, or taking anisotropic models into account.
Surprisingly enough, it does not reproduce the symmetry that already exists in
the literature (A. K. Sanyal, B. Modak, C. Rubano and E. Piedipalumbo,
Gen.Relativ.Grav.37, 407 (2005), arXiv:astro-ph/0310610) for scalar tensor
theory of gravity in the presence of R^2 term. Thus, R can not be treated as an
auxiliary variable and hence Noether symmetry of arbitrary form of F(R) theory
of gravity remains obscure. However, there exists in general, a conserved
current for F(R) theory of gravity in the presence of a non-minimally coupled
scalar-tensor theory (A. K. Sanyal, Phys.Lett.B624, 81 (2005),
arXiv:hep-th/0504021 and Mod.Phys.Lett.A25, 2667 (2010), arXiv:0910.2385
[astro-ph.CO]). Here, we briefly expatiate the non-Noether conserved current
and cite an example to reveal its importance in finding cosmological solution
for such an action, taking F(R) \propto R^{3/2}.Comment: 16 pages, 1 figure. appears in Int J Theoretical Phys (2012
Phantom Divide Crossing with General Non-minimal Kinetic Coupling
We propose a model of dark energy consists of a single scalar field with a
general non-minimal kinetic couplings to itself and to the curvature. We study
the cosmological dynamics of the equation of state in this setup. The coupling
terms have the form and
where
and are coupling parameters and their dimensions depend on the type
of function . We obtain the conditions required for phantom divide
crossing and show numerically that a cosmological model with general
non-minimal derivative coupling to the scalar and Ricci curvatures can realize
such a crossing.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figures. Accepted for publication in Gen. Rel. Grav.
arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:1105.4967,
arXiv:1201.1627, and with arXiv:astro-ph/0610092 by other author
Stability of curvature perturbation with new covariant form for energy-momentum transfer in dark sector
It was found that the model with interaction between cold dark matter (CDM)
and dark energy (DE) proportional to the energy density of CDM and
constant equation of state of DE suffered from instabilities of the
density perturbations on the supper-Hubble scales. Here we suggest a new
covariant model for the energy-momentum transfer between CDM and DE. Then using
the covariant model, we analyze the evolution of density perturbations on the
supper-Hubble scale. We find that the instabilities can be avoided in the model
with constant and interaction proportional to . Furthermore, we
analyze the dominant non-adiabatic mode in the radiation era and find that the
mode grows regularly.Comment: 12 pages, 2 figure
Influência da estação do ano nas características do sêmen e na concentração de hormônios em touros Nelore e Simental
Extended Theories of Gravity and their Cosmological and Astrophysical Applications
We review Extended Theories of Gravity in metric and Palatini formalism
pointing out their cosmological and astrophysical application. The aim is to
propose an alternative approach to solve the puzzles connected to dark
components.Comment: 44 pages, 11 figure
New insights into the genetic etiology of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias.
Characterization of the genetic landscape of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and related dementias (ADD) provides a unique opportunity for a better understanding of the associated pathophysiological processes. We performed a two-stage genome-wide association study totaling 111,326 clinically diagnosed/'proxy' AD cases and 677,663 controls. We found 75 risk loci, of which 42 were new at the time of analysis. Pathway enrichment analyses confirmed the involvement of amyloid/tau pathways and highlighted microglia implication. Gene prioritization in the new loci identified 31 genes that were suggestive of new genetically associated processes, including the tumor necrosis factor alpha pathway through the linear ubiquitin chain assembly complex. We also built a new genetic risk score associated with the risk of future AD/dementia or progression from mild cognitive impairment to AD/dementia. The improvement in prediction led to a 1.6- to 1.9-fold increase in AD risk from the lowest to the highest decile, in addition to effects of age and the APOE ε4 allele
New insights into the genetic etiology of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias
Characterization of the genetic landscape of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and related dementias (ADD) provides a unique opportunity for a better understanding of the associated pathophysiological processes. We performed a two-stage genome-wide association study totaling 111,326 clinically diagnosed/'proxy' AD cases and 677,663 controls. We found 75 risk loci, of which 42 were new at the time of analysis. Pathway enrichment analyses confirmed the involvement of amyloid/tau pathways and highlighted microglia implication. Gene prioritization in the new loci identified 31 genes that were suggestive of new genetically associated processes, including the tumor necrosis factor alpha pathway through the linear ubiquitin chain assembly complex. We also built a new genetic risk score associated with the risk of future AD/dementia or progression from mild cognitive impairment to AD/dementia. The improvement in prediction led to a 1.6- to 1.9-fold increase in AD risk from the lowest to the highest decile, in addition to effects of age and the APOE ε4 allele
Impaired protamination and sperm DNA damage in a Nellore bull with high percentages of morphological sperm defects in comparison to normospermic bulls
The routine semen evaluation assessing sperm concentration, motility and morphology, does not identify subtle defects in sperm chromatin architecture. Bulls appear to have stable chromatin, with low levels of DNA fragmentation. However, the nature of fragmentation and its impact on fertility remain unclear and there are no detailed reports characterizing the DNA organization and damage in this species. The intensive genetic selection, the use of artificial insemination and in vitro embryo production associated to the cryopreservation process can contribute to the chromatin damage and highlights the importance of sperm DNA integrity for the success of these technologies. Frozen-thawed semen samples from three ejaculates from a Nellore bull showed high levels of morphological sperm abnormalities (55.8±5.1%), and were selected for complementary tests. Damage of acrosomal (76.9±8.9%) and plasma membranes (75.7±9.3%) as well as sperm DNA strand breaks (13.8±9.5%) and protamination deficiency (3.7±0.6%) were significantly higher compared to the values measured in the semen of five Nellore bulls with normospermia (24.3±3.3%; 24.5±6.1%; 0.6±0.5%; 0.4±0.6% for acrosome, plasma membrane, DNA breaks and protamine deficiency, respectively) (P<0.05). Motility and percentage of spermatozoa with low mitochondrial potential showed no differences between groups. This study shows how routine semen analyses (in this case morphology) may point to the length and complexity of sperm cell damage emphasizing the importance of sperm function testing
Efeito da utilização de diferentes diluidores para a produção in vitro de embriões bovinos
Objetivou-se avaliar as características morfológica e funcional do sêmen bovino congelado comparando-se a eficácia de dois diferentes diluidores. O ejaculado de quatro touros foi dividido em duas partes iguais, uma submetida ao diluidor Tris e gema de ovo (A) e outra ao diluidor à base de lecitina de soja (Andromed®) (B). No experimento I, cinco palhetas dos diluidores A e B de cada touro foram descongeladas e avaliadas quanto à motilidade, vigor, concentração, morfologia espermática e teste de termor-resistência lento. Foram feitas, ainda, avaliação da integridade de membranas, por meio da associação das sondas iodeto de propídio, isotiocionato de fluoresceína - Pisum sativum e carbocianina catiônica lipofílica, e avaliação funcional da membrana plasmática com teste hiposmótico. A avaliação da integridade da cromatina foi realizada pelo método de coloração com laranja de acridina. No experimento II, o sêmen com os diferentes diluidores foi utilizado na fecundação in vitro, sendo observadas taxas de clivagem e desenvolvimento embrionário in vitro. em relação aos resultados obtidos, apenas a porcentagem de espermatozoides no sêmen congelado foi discretamente maior com o diluidor A, concluindo-se que o diluidor composto por lecitina de soja pode substituir o composto por Tris e gema de ovo, respeitando-se as variações individuais de cada touro utilizado no presente experimento.The goal of this study was to evaluate the protective effect of egg yolk compared with a soybean lecithin-based extender on morphologic and functional characteristics of frozen bovine semen. The ejaculate of four bulls was divided into two equal parts, one diluted with egg-yolk-Tris extender (A) and the other with a soy-lecithin based extender (Andromed®) (B). In experiment I, five straws of extender A and B from each bull were thawed and assessed regarding motility (subjective and computerized analysis), vigor, concentration, sperm morphology and slow thermoresistance (STR), evaluation of membrane integrity through association of propidium iodite probes (PI), fluorescein isotiocianate - Pisum sativum (FITC-PSA) and lipophilic cationic carbocyanine (JC-1) and functional evaluation of the plasmatic membrane through Hyposmotic Swelling Test (HOST). An evaluation of chromatin integrity was performed with the acridine orange staining procedure. In experiment II, the frozen semen with different extenders was used for in vitro fertilization (IVF), analyzing cleavage rates and in vitro embryo development. No statistical difference between extenders was identified, suggesting that the soy lecithin extender may substitute egg-yolk-Tris extender, considering the individual variations of each bull used in this experiment