Fermions and Emergent Noncommutative Gravity

Fermions coupled to Yang-Mills matrix models are studied from the point of view of emergent gravity. We show that the simple matrix model action provides an appropriate coupling for fermions to gravity, albeit with a non-standard spin connection. Integrating out the fermions in a nontrivial geometrical background induces indeed the Einstein-Hilbert action and a dilaton-like term, at least for on-shell geometries. This explains and precisely reproduces the UV/IR mixing for fermions in noncommutative gauge theory, extending recent results for scalar fields. It also explains why some UV/IR mixing remains even in supersymmetric models, except in the N=4 case.Comment: 29 pages, 2 figures. V2: typos corrected, references adde

Cosmological solutions of emergent noncommutative gravity

Matrix models of Yang-Mills type lead to an emergent gravity theory, which may not require fine-tuning of a cosmological constant. We find cosmological solutions of Friedmann-Robertson-Walker type. They generically have a big bounce, and an early inflation-like phase with graceful exit. The mechanism is purely geometrical, no ad-hoc scalar fields are introduced. The solutions are stabilized through vacuum fluctuations and are thus compatible with quantum mechanics. This leads to a Milne-like universe after inflation, which appears to be in remarkably good agreement with observation and may provide an alternative to standard cosmology.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures. V2: version accepted by Phys.Rev.Lett. plus one pictur

Flexicurity in a life-course perspective

"This article extends the analysis of flexicurity to take account of the life-course perspective; in the international flexicurity debate such an approach has so far not been systematically taken. The article focuses an the question of what options will be needed for time allocation in different phases of life and over the whole life of an individual, and what financial resources Gould be combined to finance those phases. The first section discusses methodological and conceptual issues related to flexicurity and the life course. In the second section, longitudinal data from Germany is presented to illustrate some of the relevant patterns of, and changes within, life courses. The third and main section deals with policy implications. Four crucial objectives of a flexicurity policy based an a life-course approach are identified, and a range of options to improve flexibility and security over the lifetime are discussed. These options include measures to increase time sovereignty, subsidised part-time schemes for care and lifelong learning, the use of accumulated pension savings to finance other activities during the course of working life, and the role of minimum provision in social security schemes." (author's abstract)"In dem Beitrag wird die Analyse der Flexicurity um die Perspektive des Lebensverlaufs erweitert. In der internationalen Debatte zum Thema Flexicurity ist ein derartiger Ansatz bislang nicht systematisch angewandt worden. Die Autorin befasst sich mit der Frage, welche Optionen für die Zeitverwendung in den verschiedenen Lebensphasen und über das gesamte Leben des Einzelnen hinweg erforderlich sein werden, und welche finanziellen Ressourcen miteinander kombiniert werden könnten, um diese Phasen zu finanzieren. Im ersten Teil werden methodische und konzeptuelle Fragen im Zusammenhang mit Flexicurity und dem Lebensverlauf erörtert. Im zweiten Teil werden Längsschnittdaten aus Deutschland vorgestellt, um einige relevante Muster von und Veränderungen in Lebensläufen zu veranschaulichen. Der dritte Teil des Beitrags befasst sich mit den Voraussetzungen für politische Maßnahmen in diesem Bereich. Die Autorin nennt vier wesentliche Ziele einer Flexicurity-Politik, die von einer Lebenszyklusperspektive ausgeht, und erörtert eine Reihe von Optionen zur Verbesserung des Verhältnisses von Flexibilität und Sicherheit aus der Perspektive des Lebensverlaufs. Zu diesen Optionen gehören Maßnahmen zur Erhöhung der Zeitsouveränität, subventionierte Programme zur Vereinbarkeit von Teilzeitarbeit mit Betreuungspflichten und lebenslangem Lernen, die Verwendung von angespartem Rentenkapital für die Finanzierung anderer Aktivitäten während des Arbeitslebens und die Rolle von Mindestschutzbestimmungen in den Sozialversicherungssystemen." (Autorenreferat

Development of a Dendritic Cell based Vaccine for the Immunotherapy of Acute Myeloid Leukaemia

22 patients with de novo or relapsed Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (AML) were recruited into a Phase I/II clinical trial aimed at vaccinating with autologous Dendritic-like Leukemia Cells (DLLC) once in complete remission. At trial entry leukaemia cells were harvested and tested for their permissiveness to cytokineinduced dendritic cell differentiation. Study patients were then treated with induction chemotherapy. Five patients achieved both complete remission and had leukaemia cells that were permissive to differentiation, and were therefore eligible to proceed to vaccination. Four escalating doses of DLLC were administered weekly by subcutaneous injection. Levels of minimal residual disease were measured by Wilms tumour-1 gene expression. Development of anti-leukaemic T-cell responses was assessed by ELIPSOT analysis of gamma interferon secreting T-lymphocytes and by measurement of WT1 specific T-cells by HLA tetramer analysis. An increase in antileukaemic T-cell responses was demonstrated in four patients. Vaccination was generally well tolerated with the only significant side effect being the development of extensive eczema in one patient. Two patients relapsed during or shortly after the vaccination schedule. In the remaining three patients, one relapsed at 12 months with two in continued remission more than 12 months post vaccination.In a parallel investigation, the potential of Tumour Cell / Dendritic Cell Fusion Hybrids to generate in vitro anti-leukaemic T-cell responses following co-culture with autologous remission lymphocytes was assessed in six patients with AML. Comparison was made to anti-leukaemic responses induced by mature Dendritic Cells (mDC) co-cultured with autologous, irradiated myeloid blasts. Fusion Hybrids iv induced anti-leukaemic T-cell immune responses in three out of six patients. Tumour pulsed mDC induced T-cellular responses in two other patients. Only one of six patient's remission lymphocytes failed to develop leukaemia directed immune responses following stimulation with either construct. Anti-proliferative properties of Fusion Hybrids against allogeneic lymphocytes were observed in mixed lymphocyte-leukaemia reactions (MLLR) and were found not to be specific to the cell fusion partners and do not prevent the ability of AML-mDC heterokaryons to induce autologous anti-leukaemic cytotoxicity. In conclusion, Tumour Cell / Dendritic Cell Fusion Hybrids hold promise as a cellular vaccine for Acute Myeloid Leukaemia

The Influence of Pragmatism on Contemporary American Education, with Especial Reference to the Sunday School Materials of the Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod

The thesis presents a brief historical sketch of the development of pragmatism, a statement of the philosophy, an analysis of its influence on contemporary American religious education, and an investigation of the Sunday School materials of the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod to determine the extent of its influence on those materials, if any

Salarios bajos. Un reto para el Estado social.

The current debate in Germany on extending the low-wage sector turns primarily on labour market policy considerations. This contribution, on the other hand, focuses on the social and social-policy challenges thrown down by a low-wage strategy. The problem levels and the arenas for social-policy action are discussed, initially considering fundamnetal issues, but then moving on to look at the approches to the problem taken by various European countries. The second section focuses on the subsidisation of social security contributions, an approach that has recently been the subject of particularly intense debate in Germany, and is to be tried out in pilot projects at regional level. As is clearly shown by the discussion of two leading concepts taken from the debate in Germany, proposals made under the same "label" may differ considerably from one another in terms of their premises, their financial resource requirementes and their distributive effects.El debate actual en Alemania sobre la expansión del sector de los bajos salarios gira principalmente sobre consideraciones relacionadas con la política del mercado de trabajo. Esta contribución, sin embargo, está centrada en el ámbito social y en los desafíos de política social establecidos por una estrategia de bajos salarios. Se discuten en el artículo los niveles del problema y los campos de acción en materia de política social, considerando inicialmente los temas fundamentales, para continuar con el examen de los diferentes enfoques adoptados hacia el problema por algunos países europeos. La segunda parte presta atención a la subvención de las cotizaciones a la Seguridad Social, un enfoque que ha sido recientemente tema de discusión, particularmente intenso en Alemania, y que será evaluado en los proyectos pilotos a nivel regional. Como muestra con claridad la discusión de los dos conceptos principales que se derivan del debate en Alemania, las propuestas hechas bajo la misma "etiqueta" pueden variar considerablemente entre sí en función de sus premisas, sus requerimientos financieros y sus efectos distributivos

Miscellanea

Miscellane