7,237 research outputs found
Large-Scale Structure in Brane-Induced Gravity II. Numerical Simulations
We use N-body simulations to study the nonlinear structure formation in
brane-induced gravity, developing a new method that requires alternate use of
Fast Fourier Transforms and relaxation. This enables us to compute the
nonlinear matter power spectrum and bispectrum, the halo mass function, and the
halo bias. From the simulation results, we confirm the expectations based on
analytic arguments that the Vainshtein mechanism does operate as anticipated,
with the density power spectrum approaching that of standard gravity within a
modified background evolution in the nonlinear regime. The transition is very
broad and there is no well defined Vainshtein scale, but roughly this
corresponds to k_*~ 2 at redshift z=1 and k_*~ 1 at z=0. We checked that while
extrinsic curvature fluctuations go nonlinear, and the dynamics of the
brane-bending mode C receives important nonlinear corrections, this mode does
get suppressed compared to density perturbations, effectively decoupling from
the standard gravity sector. At the same time, there is no violation of the
weak field limit for metric perturbations associated with C. We find good
agreement between our measurements and the predictions for the nonlinear power
spectrum presented in paper I, that rely on a renormalization of the linear
spectrum due to nonlinearities in the modified gravity sector. A similar
prediction for the mass function shows the right trends. Our simulations also
confirm the induced change in the bispectrum configuration dependence predicted
in paper I.Comment: 19 pages, 13 figures. v2: corrected typos, added more simulations,
better test of predictions in large mass regime. v3: minor changes, published
versio
Galantamine Attenuates Type 1 Diabetes and Inhibits Anti-Insulin Antibodies in Non-Obese Diabetic Mice
Type 1 diabetes in mice is characterized by autoimmune destruction of insulin-producing pancreatic beta cells. Disease pathogenesis involves invasion of pancreatic islets by immune cells, including macrophages and T cells, and production of antibodies to self-antigens, including insulin. Activation of the inflammatory reflex, the neural circuit that inhibits inflammation, culminates on cholinergic receptor signals on immune cells to attenuate cytokine release and inhibit B cell antibody production. Here, we show that galantamine, a centrally acting acetylcholinesterase inhibitor and an activator of the inflammatory reflex, attenuates murine experimental type 1 diabetes. Administration of galantamine to animals immunized with keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH) significantly suppressed splenocyte release of immunoglobulin G (IgG), interleukin-4 and -6 (IL-4 and IL-6) during KLH-challenge ex vivo. Administration of galantamine beginning at one month of age in non-obese diabetic (NOD) mice significantly delayed the onset of hyperglycemia, attenuated immune cell infiltration in pancreatic islets and decreased anti-insulin antibodies in serum. These observations indicate that galantamine attenuates experimental type 1 diabetes in mice and suggest that activation of the inflammatory reflex should be further studied as a potential therapeutic approach
Vortex Formation in Two-Dimensional Bose Gas
We discuss the stability of a homogeneous two-dimensional Bose gas at finite
temperature against formation of isolated vortices. We consider a patch of
several healing lengths in size and compute its free energy using the Euclidean
formalism. Since we deal with an open system, which is able to exchange
particles and angular momentum with the rest of the condensate, we use the
symmetry-breaking (as opposed to the particle number conserving) formalism, and
include configurations with all values of angular momenta in the partition
function. At finite temperature, there appear sphaleron configurations
associated to isolated vortices. The contribution from these configurations to
the free energy is computed in the dilute gas approximation. We show that the
Euclidean action of linearized perturbations of a vortex is not positive
definite. As a consequence the free energy of the 2D Bose gas acquires an
imaginary part. This signals the instability of the gas. This instability may
be identified with the Berezinskii, Kosterlitz and Thouless (BKT) transition.Comment: RevTeX, 13 pages, 3 figure
Pattern formation and selection in quasi-static fracture
Fracture in quasi-statically driven systems is studied by means of a discrete
spring-block model. Developed from close comparison with desiccation
experiments, it describes crack formation induced by friction on a substrate.
The model produces cellular, hierarchical patterns of cracks, characterized by
a mean fragment size linear in the layer thickness, in agreement with
experiments. The selection of a stationary fragment size is explained by
exploiting the correlations prior to cracking. A scaling behavior associated
with the thickness and substrate coupling, derived and confirmed by
simulations, suggests why patterns have similar morphology despite their
disparity in scales.Comment: 4 pages, RevTeX, two-column, 5 PS figures include
Peculiar Features of the Velocity Field of OB Associations and the Spiral Structure of the Galaxy
Some of the peculiar features of the periodic velocity-field structure for OB
associations can be explained by using the model of Roberts and Hausman (1984),
in which the behavior of a system of dense clouds is considered in a perturbed
potential. The absence of statistically significant variations in the azimuthal
velocity across the Carina arm, probably, results from its sharp increase
behind the shock front, which is easily blurred by distance errors. The
existence of a shock wave in the spiral arms and, at the same time, the
virtually free motion of OB associations in epicycles can be reconciled in the
model of particle clouds with a mean free path of 0.2-2 kpc. The velocity field
of OB associations exhibits two appreciable nonrandom deviations from an ideal
spiral pattern: a 0.5-kpc displacement of the Cygnus- and Carina-arm fragments
from one another and a weakening of the Perseus arm in quadrant III. However,
the identified fragments of the Carina, Cygnus, and Perseus arms do not belong
to any of the known types of spurs.Comment: 14 pages, 3 postscript figures, to be published in Astronomy Letter
Born Effective Charges and Infrared Response of LiBC
Calculations of the zone center optical mode frequencies (including LO-TO
splitting), Born effective charges Z for each atom,
dielectric constants and , and the dielectric
response in the infrared, using density functional linear response theory, are
reported. Calculated Raman modes are in excellent agreement with experimental
values (170 cm and 1170 cm), while it will require better
experimental data to clarify the infrared active mode frequencies. The Born
effective charges Z (i) have surprisingly different values
for B and C, and (ii) show considerable anisotropy. Relationships between the
effective charges and LO-TO splitting are discussed, and the predicted
reflectivity in the range 0 -- 1400 cm is presented. These results hold
possible implications for Li removal in LiBC, and C substition for B in
MgB.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figure
Renaissance of the ~1 TeV Fixed-Target Program
This document describes the physics potential of a new fixed-target program
based on a ~1 TeV proton source. Two proton sources are potentially available
in the future: the existing Tevatron at Fermilab, which can provide 800 GeV
protons for fixed-target physics, and a possible upgrade to the SPS at CERN,
called SPS+, which would produce 1 TeV protons on target. In this paper we use
an example Tevatron fixed-target program to illustrate the high discovery
potential possible in the charm and neutrino sectors. We highlight examples
which are either unique to the program or difficult to accomplish at other
venues.Comment: 31 pages, 11 figure
Tri-critical behavior in rupture induced by disorder
We discover a qualitatively new behavior for systems where the load transfer
has limiting stress amplification as in real fiber composites. We find that the
disorder is a relevant field leading to tri--criticality, separating a
first-order regime where rupture occurs without significant precursors from a
second-order regime where the macroscopic elastic coefficient exhibit power law
behavior. Our results are based on analytical analysis of fiber bundle models
and numerical simulations of a two-dimensional tensorial spring-block system in
which stick-slip motion and fracture compete.Comment: Revtex, 10 pages, 4 figures available upon reques
Direct measurement of the pion valence quark momentum distribution, the pion light-cone wave function squared
We present the first direct measurements of the pion valence quark momentum
distribution which is related to the square of the pion light-cone wave
function. The measurements were carried out using data on diffractive
dissociation of 500 GeV/c into di-jets from a platinum target at
Fermilab experiment E791. The results show that the light-cone
asymptotic wave function, which was developed using perturbative QCD methods,
describes the data well for or more. We also
measured the transverse momentum distribution of the diffractive di-jets.Comment: 13 pages, 4 figure
Comparative effectiveness of dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitors and human glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) analogue as add-on therapies to sulphonylurea among diabetes patients in the Asia-Pacific region: a systematic review
The prevalence of diabetes mellitus is rising globally, and it induces a substantial public health burden to the healthcare systems. Its optimal control is one of the most significant challenges faced by physicians and policy-makers. Whereas some of the established oral hypoglycaemic drug classes like biguanide, sulphonylureas, thiazolidinediones have been extensively used, the newer agents like dipeptidyl peptidase-4 (DPP-4) inhibitors and the human glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) analogues have recently emerged as suitable options due to their similar efficacy and favorable side effect profiles. These agents are widely recognized alternatives to the traditional oral hypoglycaemic agents or insulin, especially in conditions where they are contraindicated or unacceptable to patients. Many studies which evaluated their clinical effects, either alone or as add-on agents, were conducted in Western countries. There exist few reviews on their effectiveness in the Asia-Pacific region. The purpose of this systematic review is to address the comparative effectiveness of these new classes of medications as add-on therapies to sulphonylurea drugs among diabetic patients in the Asia-Pacific countries. We conducted a thorough literature search of the MEDLINE and EMBASE from the inception of these databases to August 2013, supplemented by an additional manual search using reference lists from research studies, meta-analyses and review articles as retrieved by the electronic databases. A total of nine randomized controlled trials were identified and described in this article. It was found that DPP-4 inhibitors and GLP-1 analogues were in general effective as add-on therapies to existing sulphonylurea therapies, achieving HbA1c reductions by a magnitude of 0.59–0.90% and 0.77–1.62%, respectively. Few adverse events including hypoglycaemic attacks were reported. Therefore, these two new drug classes represent novel therapies with great potential to be major therapeutic options. Future larger-scale research should be conducted among other Asia-Pacific region to evaluate their efficacy in other ethnic groups
- …