The Stream-Stream Collision after the Tidal Disruption of a Star Around a Massive Black Hole

A star can be tidally disrupted around a massive black hole. It has been known that the debris forms a precessing stream, which may collide with itself. The stream collision is a key process determining the subsequent evolution of the stellar debris: if the orbital energy is efficiently dissipated, the debris will eventually form a circular disk (or torus). In this paper, we have numerically studied such stream collision resulting from the encounter between a 10^6 Msun black hole and a 1 Msun normal star with a pericenter radius of 100 Rsun. A simple treatment for radiative cooling has been adopted for both optically thick and thin regions. We have found that approximately 10 to 15% of the initial kinetic energy of the streams is converted into thermal energy during the collision. The angular momentum of the incoming stream is increased by a factor of 2 to 3, and such increase, together with the decrease in kinetic energy, significantly helps the circularization process. Initial luminosity burst due to the collision may reach as high as 10^41 erg/sec in 10^4 sec, after which the luminosity increases again (but slowly this time) to a steady value of a few 10^40 erg/sec in a few times of 10^5 sec. The radiation from the system is expected to be close to Planckian with effective temperature of \~10^5K.Comment: 19 pages including 12 figures; Accepted for publication in Ap

Higgs Structures of Dyonic Instantons

We study Higgs field configurations of dyonic instantons in spontaneously broken (4+1)-dimensional Yang-Mills theory. The adjoint scalar field solutions to the covariant Laplace equation in the ADHM instanton background are constructed in general noncanonical basis, and they are used to study explicitly the Higgs field configurations of dyonic instantons when the gauge fields are taken by Jackiw-Nohl-Rebbi instanton solutions. For these solutions corresponding to small instanton number we then consider in some detail the zero locus of the Higgs field, which describes the cross section of supertubes connecting parallel D4-branes in string theory. Also the information on the Higgs zeroes is used to discuss the residual gauge freedom concerning the Jackiw-Nohl-Rebbi solutions.Comment: 1+27 pages, 6 figure

Janus and Multifaced Supersymmetric Theories

We investigate the various properties Janus supersymmetric Yang-Mills theories. A novel vacuum structure is found and BPS monopoles and dyons are studied. Less supersymmetric Janus theories found before are derived by a simpler method. In addition, we find the supersymmetric theories when the coupling constant depends on two and three spatial coordinates.Comment: 20 pages, no figures, typos, equations corrected. Additional comment

Sorbus alnifolia protects dopaminergic neurodegeneration in Caenorhabditis elegans

Context: The twigs of Sorbus alnifolia (Sieb. et Zucc.) K. Koch (Rosaceae) have been used to treat neuro- logical disorders as a traditional medicine in Korea. However, there are limited data describing the efficacy of S. alnifolia in Parkinson’s disease (PD). Objective: This study was conducted to identify the protective effects of the methanol extracts of S. alnifolia (MESA) on the dopaminergic (DA) neurodegeneration in Caenorhabditis elegans. Materials and methods: To test the neuroprotective action of MESA, viability assay was performed after 48 h exposure to 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridine (MMPþ) in PC12 cells and C. elegans (400 lM and 2 mM of MMPþ, respectively). Fluorescence intensity was quantified using transgenic mutants such as BZ555 (Pdat-1::GFP) and and UA57 (Pdat-1::GFP and Pdat-1::CAT-2) to determine MESA’s effects on DA neurode- generation in C. elegans. Aggregation of a-synuclein was observed using NL5901 strain (unc-54p::a- synuclein::YFP). MESA’s protective effects on the DA neuronal functions were examined by food-sensing assay. Lifespan assay was conducted to test the effects of MESA on the longevity. Results: MESA restored MPPþ-induced loss of viability in both PC12 cells and C. elegans (85.8% and 54.9%, respectively). In C. elegans, MESA provided protection against chemically and genetically-induced DA neurodegeneration, respectively. Moreover, food-sensing functions were increased 58.4% by MESA in the DA neuron degraded worms. MESA also prolonged the average lifespan by 25.6%. However, MESA failed to alter a-synuclein aggregation. Discussion and conclusions: These results revealed that MESA protects DA neurodegeneration and recov- ers diminished DA neuronal functions, thereby can be a valuable candidate for the treatment of PD

Vortex Dynamics in Selfdual Maxwell-Higgs Systems with Uniform Background Electric Charge Density

We introduce selfdual Maxwell-Higgs systems with uniform background electric charge density and show that the selfdual equations satisfied by topological vortices can be reduced to the original Bogomol'nyi equations without any background. These vortices are shown to carry no spin but to feel the Magnus force due to the shielding charge carried by the Higgs field. We also study the dynamics of slowly moving vortices and show that the spin-statistics theorem holds to our vortices.Comment: 24 pages + 2 figures ( not included), Cu-TP-611, IASSNS-HEP-93/33, NSF-ITP-93-13

PECTINASE-MODIFIED RED GINSENG (GS-E3D) INHIBIT NF-ΚB TRANSLOCATION AND NITRIC OXIDE PRODUCTION IN LIPOPOLYSACCHARIDE-STIMULATED RAW 264.7 CELLS

Objective: Red ginseng has been used as traditional medicines and functional foods in the world, because of its health benefits. The aim of this study was to elucidate the anti-inflammatory effect and mechanism of pectinase-modified red ginseng (GS-E3D) with a cellular model of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW264.7 cells.Methods: To study the anti-inflammatory effect of GS-E3D, the key inflammation mediators such as nitric oxide (NO),prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α), and interleukin (IL)-6 production as well as on nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) and mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) activation, were measured by using the enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)and Western blotting.Results: GS-E3D potently inhibited TNF-α and IL-6 and also diminished NO over-production, which was accompanied by the down-regulation of iNOS expression. GS-E3D effectively suppressed LPS-induced NF-κB activation through inhibiting the hyper-phosphorylation and degradation of IκB-α and phosphorylation of p38, ERK1/2 and JNK in MAPK signaling pathway.Conclusion: GS-E3D has a potential to be as an anti-inflammatory agent for functional food or cosmetic materials targeting on the NF-κB p65 and MAPKs signaling pathways.Â

1/16-BPS Black Holes and Giant Gravitons in the AdS_5 X S^5 Space

We explore 1/16-BPS objects of type IIB string theory in AdS_5 * S^5. First, we consider supersymmetric AdS_5 black holes, which should be 1/16-BPS and have a characteristic that not all physical charges are independent. We point out that the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy of these black holes admits a remarkably simple expression in terms of (dependent) physical charges, which suggests its microscopic origin via certain Cardy or Hardy-Ramanujan formula. We also note that there is an upper bound for the angular momenta given by the electric charges. Second, we construct a class of 1/16-BPS giant graviton solutions in AdS_5 * S^5 and explore their properties. The solutions are given by the intersections of AdS_5 * S^5 and complex 3 dimensional holomorphic hyperspaces in C^{1+5}, the latter being the zero loci of three holomorphic functions which are homogeneous with suitable weights on coordinates. We investigate examples of giant gravitons, including their degenerations to tensionless strings.Comment: 25 pages, no figures, v2: references added, comments added in the conclusio

Does moxibustion work? An overview of systematic reviews

Abstract Background Several systematic reviews (SRs) have assessed the effectiveness of moxibustion for a range of conditions, often with contradictory conclusions. Our aim was to provide a critical evaluation and summary of these data. Methods Electronic searches were conducted to locate all SRs of moxibustion for any condition. Data were extracted by two authors according to predefined criteria. Results Ten SRs met our inclusion criteria, which related to the following conditions: cancer, ulcerative colitis, stroke rehabilitation, constipation, hypertension, pain conditions and breech presentation. Their conclusions were contradictory in several instances. Relatively clear evidence emerged to suggest that moxibustion is effective for breech presentation. Conclusions Based on evidence from the currently available SRs, the effectiveness of moxibustion has been demonstrated for several conditions; however, due to the poor quality of the primary studies, there remains considerable uncertainty.</p