6,896 research outputs found
Creation of a brane world with Gauss-Bonnet term
We study a creation of a brane world using an instanton solution. We analyze
a brane model with a Gauss-Bonnet term in a bulk spacetime. The curvature of
3-brane is assumed to be closed, flat, or open. We construct instanton
solutions with branes for those models, and calculate the value of the actions
to discuss an initial state of a brane universe.Comment: 9 pages, 10 figure
Tradeoff Analysis of Delay-Power-CSIT Quality of Dynamic BackPressure Algorithm for Energy Efficient OFDM Systems
In this paper, we analyze the fundamental power-delay tradeoff in
point-to-point OFDM systems under imperfect channel state information quality
and non-ideal circuit power. We consider the dynamic back- pressure (DBP)
algorithm, where the transmitter determines the rate and power control actions
based on the instantaneous channel state information (CSIT) and the queue state
information (QSI). We exploit a general fluid queue dynamics using a continuous
time dynamic equation. Using the sample-path approach and renewal theory, we
decompose the average delay in terms of multiple unfinished works along a
sample path, and derive an upper bound on the average delay under the DBP power
control, which is asymptotically accurate at small delay regime. We show that
despite imperfect CSIT quality and non-ideal circuit power, the average power
(P) of the DBP policy scales with delay (D) as P = O(Dexp(1/D)) at small delay
regime. While the impacts of CSIT quality and circuit power appears as the
coefficients of the scaling law, they may be significant in some operating
regimes.Comment: 30 page
Topological Chern-Simons Sigma Model
We consider topological twisting of recently constructed Chern-Simons-matter
theories in three dimensions with N=4 or higher supersymmetry. We enumerate
physically inequivalent twistings for each N, and find two different twistings
for N=4, one for N=5,6, and four for N=8. We construct the two types of N=4
topological theories, which we call A/B-models, in full detail. The A-model has
been recently studied by Kapustin and Saulina. The B-model is new and it
consists solely of a Chern-Simons term of a complex gauge field up to
BRST-exact terms. We also compare the new theories with topological Yang-Mills
theories and find some interesting connections. In particular, the A-model
seems to offer a new perspective on Casson invariant and its relation to
Rozansky-Witten theory.Comment: 31 pages, no figure; v2. references adde
Beware the Anomalous Portal Vein
Portal vein thrombosis is an unusual potential complication of liver resection. In our case it was due to
ligation of the right branch of the portal vein during right hepatectomy in a patient without portal vein
bifurcation. Hepatic angiography can delineate this abnormality and influence the choice of surgical
management
Modulation of Osteoblastic Cell Efferocytosis by Bone Marrow Macrophages
Apoptosis occurs at an extraordinary rate in the human body and the effective clearance of dead cells (efferocytosis) is necessary to maintain homeostasis and promote healing, yet the contribution and impact of this process in bone is unclear. Bone formation requires that bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) differentiate into osteoblasts which direct matrix formation and either become osteocytes, bone lining cells, or undergo apoptosis. A series of experiments were performed to identify the regulators and consequences of macrophage efferocytosis of apoptotic BMSCs (apBMSCs). Bone marrow derived macrophages treated with the anti‐inflammatory cytokine interleukin‐10 (IL‐10) exhibited increased efferocytosis of apBMSCs compared to vehicle treated macrophages. Additionally, IL‐10 increased anti‐inflammatory M2‐like macrophages (CD206+), and further enhanced efferocytosis within the CD206+ population. Stattic, an inhibitor of STAT3 phosphorylation, reduced the IL‐10‐mediated shift in M2 macrophage polarization and diminished IL‐10‐directed efferocytosis of apBMSCs by macrophages implicating the STAT3 signaling pathway. Cell culture supernatants and RNA from macrophages co‐cultured with apoptotic bone cells showed increased secretion of monocyte chemotactic protein 1/chemokine (C‐C motif) ligand 2 (MCP‐1/CCL2) and transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF‐β1) and increased ccl2 gene expression. In conclusion, IL‐10 increases M2 macrophage polarization and enhances macrophage‐mediated engulfment of apBMSCs in a STAT3 phosphorylation‐dependent manner. After engulfment of apoptotic bone cells, macrophages secrete TGF‐β1 and MCP‐1/CCL2, factors which fuel the remodeling process. A better understanding of the role of macrophage efferocytosis as it relates to normal and abnormal bone turnover will provide vital information for future therapeutic approaches to treat bone related diseases. J. Cell. Biochem. 117: 2697–2706, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.The process of efferocytosis (clearance of apoptotic cells) has been characterized in various tissues but the role of efferocytosis in the bone microenvironment is unclear. Bone marrow macrophage efferocytosis of apoptotic osteoblastic cells was enhanced by interleukin‐10 in a STAT‐3 dependent manner and resulted in increased production of TGF‐β1 and CCL‐2. The process of efferocytosis is likely important in bone remodeling and osseous wound healing.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/134491/1/jcb25567.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/134491/2/jcb25567_am.pd
Effects of Variable Newton Constant During Inflation
In this paper the effects of time-dependent Newton constant G during
inflation are studied. We present the formalism of curvature perturbations in
an inflationary system with a time-dependent Newton constant. As an example we
consider a toy model in which G undergoes a sudden change during inflation. By
imposing the appropriate matching conditions the imprints of this sharp change
in G on curvature perturbation power spectrum are studied. We show that if G
increases (decreases) during the transition the amplitude of curvature
perturbations on large scales decreases (increases). In our model with a sudden
change in G a continuous sinusoidal modulations on curvature power spectrum is
induced. However, in a realistic scenario in which the change in G has some
finite time scale we expect these sinusoidal modulations to be damped on short
scales. The generated features may be used to explain the observed glitches on
CMB power spectrum. This puts a bound on during inflation of roughly
the same order as current bounds on during the entire observed age
of the universe.Comment: 15 pages, 2 figures. Typos fixed, new references added, conforms with
the journal versio
Electronic Structure of Electron-doped Sm1.86Ce0.14CuO4: Strong `Pseudo-Gap' Effects, Nodeless Gap and Signatures of Short Range Order
Angle resolved photoemission (ARPES) data from the electron doped cuprate
superconductor SmCeCuO shows a much stronger pseudo-gap
or "hot-spot" effect than that observed in other optimally doped -type
cuprates. Importantly, these effects are strong enough to drive the
zone-diagonal states below the chemical potential, implying that d-wave
superconductivity in this compound would be of a novel "nodeless" gap variety.
The gross features of the Fermi surface topology and low energy electronic
structure are found to be well described by reconstruction of bands by a
order. Comparison of the ARPES and optical data from
the sample shows that the pseudo-gap energy observed in optical data is
consistent with the inter-band transition energy of the model, allowing us to
have a unified picture of pseudo-gap effects. However, the high energy
electronic structure is found to be inconsistent with such a scenario. We show
that a number of these model inconsistencies can be resolved by considering a
short range ordering or inhomogeneous state.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure
Influence of operating parameters on the biodegradation of steroid estrogens and nonylphenolic compounds during biological wastewater treatment processes
This document is the unedited author's version of a Submitted Work that was subsequently accepted for
publication in Environmental Science & Technology, copyright © American Chemical Society after peer
review. To access the final edited and published work see http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/es901612v.This study investigated operational factors influencing the removal of steroid estrogens and nonylphenolic compounds in two sewage treatment works, one a nitrifying/denitrifying activated sludge plant and the other a nitrifying/denitrifying activated sludge plant with phosphorus removal. Removal efficiencies of >90% for steroid estrogens and for longer chain nonylphenol ethoxylates (NP4−12EO) were observed at both works, which had equal sludge ages of 13 days. However, the biological activity in terms of milligrams of estrogen removed per day per tonne of biomass was found to be 50−60% more efficient in the nitrifying/denitrifying activated sludge works compared to the works which additionally incorporated phosphorus removal. A temperature reduction of 6 °C had no impact on the removal of free estrogens, but removal of the conjugated estrone-3-sulfate was reduced by 20%. The apparent biomass sorption (LogKp) values were greater in the nitrifying/denitrifying works than those in the nitrifying/denitrifying works with phosphorus removal for both steroid estrogens and nonylphenolic compounds possibly indicating a different cell surface structure and therefore microbial population. The difference in biological activity (mg tonne−1 d−1) identified in this study, of up to seven times, suggests that there is the potential for enhancing the removal of estrogens and nonylphenols if more detailed knowledge of the factors responsible for these differences can be identified and maximized, thus potentially improving the quality of receiving waters.Public Utilities Board (Singapore), Anglian Water Ltd, Severn Trent Water Ltd, Thames Water Utilities Ltd, United Utilities 393 Plc and Yorkshire Water Services
Deep-learned estimation of uncertainty in measurements of apparent diffusion coefficient from whole-body diffusion-weighted MRI.
PURPOSE: To use deep learning to calculate the uncertainty in apparent diffusion coefficient (σADC) voxel-wise measurements to clinically impact the monitoring of treatment response and improve the quality of ADC maps. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We use a uniquely designed diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) acquisition protocol that provides gold-standard measurements of σADC to train a deep learning model on two separate cohorts: 16 patients with prostate cancer and 28 patients with mesothelioma. Our network was trained with a novel cost function, which incorporates a perception metric and a b-value regularisation term, on ADC maps calculated by combinations of 2 or 3 b-values (e.g. 50/600/900, 50/900, 50/600, 600/900 s/mm2). We compare the accuracy of the deep-learning based approach for estimation of σADC with gold-standard measurements. RESULTS: The model accurately predicted the σADC for every b-value combination in both cohorts. Mean values of σADC within areas of active disease deviated from those measured by the gold-standard by 4.3% (range, 2.87-6.13%) for the prostate and 3.7% (range, 3.06-4.54%) for the mesothelioma cohort. We also showed that the model can easily be adapted for a different DWI protocol and field-of-view with only a few images (as little as a single patient) using transfer learning. CONCLUSION: Deep learning produces maps of σADC from standard clinical diffusion-weighted images (DWI) when 2 or more b-values are available
Formation of a Massive Black Hole at the Center of the Superbubble in M82
We performed 12CO(1-0), 13CO(1-0), and HCN(1-0) interferometric observations
of the central region (about 450 pc in radius) of M82 with the Nobeyama
Millimeter Array, and have successfully imaged a molecular superbubble and
spurs. The center of the superbubble is clearly shifted from the nucleus by 140
pc. This position is close to that of the massive black hole (BH) of >460 Mo
and the 2.2 micron secondary peak (a luminous supergiant dominated cluster),
which strongly suggests that these objects may be related to the formation of
the superbubble. Consideration of star formation in the cluster based on the
infrared data indicates that (1) energy release from supernovae can account for
the kinetic energy of the superbubble, (2) the total mass of stellar-mass BHs
available for building-up the massive BH may be much higher than 460 Mo, and
(3) it is possible to form the middle-mass BH of 100-1000 Mo within the
timescale of the superbubble. We suggest that the massive BH was produced and
is growing in the intense starburst region.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures, to appear in ApJ Lette
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