1,705 research outputs found
Gluon Scattering Amplitudes in Finite Temperature Gauge/Gravity Dualities
We examine the gluon scattering amplitude in N=4 super Yang-Mills at finite
temperature with nonzero R-charge densities, and in Non-Commutative gauge
theory at finite temperature. The gluon scattering amplitude is defined as a
light-like Wilson loop which lives at the horizon of the T-dual black holes of
the backgrounds we consider. We study in detail a special amplitude, which
corresponds to forward scattering of a low energy gluon off a high energy one.
For this kinematic configuration in the considered backgrounds, we find the
corresponding minimal surface which is directly related to the gluon scattering
amplitude. We find that for increasing the chemical potential or the
non-commutative parameter, the on-shell action corresponding to our Wilson loop
in the T-dual space decreases. For all of our solutions the length of the short
side of the Wilson loop is constrained by an upper bound which depends on the
temperature, the R-charge density and the non-commutative parameter. Due to
this constraint, in the limit of zeroth temperature our approach breaks down
since the upper bound goes to zero, while by keeping the temperature finite and
letting the chemical potential or the non-commutative parameter to approach to
zero the limit is smooth.Comment: 30 pages, 16 figures, minor corrections (plus improved numerical
computation for the non-commutative case
N = 2 SCFTs: An M5-brane perspective
Inspired by the recently discovered holographic duality between N=2 SCFTs and
half-BPS M-theory backgrounds, we study probe M5-branes. Though our main focus
is supersymmetric M5-branes whose worldvolume has an AdS_n factor, we also
consider some other configurations. Of special mention is the identification of
AdS_5 and AdS_3 probes preserving supersymmetry, with only the latter
supporting a self-dual field strength.Comment: 27 page
Generalized quark-antiquark potential at weak and strong coupling
We study a two-parameter family of Wilson loop operators in N=4
supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory which interpolates smoothly between the 1/2
BPS line or circle and a pair of antiparallel lines. These observables capture
a natural generalization of the quark-antiquark potential. We calculate these
loops on the gauge theory side to second order in perturbation theory and in a
semiclassical expansion in string theory to one-loop order. The resulting
determinants are given in integral form and can be evaluated numerically for
general values of the parameters or analytically in a systematic expansion
around the 1/2 BPS configuration. We comment about the feasibility of deriving
all-loop results for these Wilson loops.Comment: 43 pages: 15 comprising the main text and 25 for detailed appendice
Quark-antiquark potential in AdS at one loop
We derive an exact analytical expression for the one-loop partition function
of a string in AdS_5xS^5 background with world-surface ending on two
anti-parallel lines. All quantum fluctuations are shown to be governed by
integrable, single-gap Lame' operators. The first strong coupling correction to
the quark-antiquark potential, as defined in N=4 SYM, is derived as the sum of
known mathematical constants and a one-dimensional integral representation. Its
full numerical value can be given with arbitrary precision and confirms a
previous result.Comment: 16 pages. Typos corrected, minor change
Three-point correlators for giant magnons
Three-point correlation functions in the strong-coupling regime of the
AdS/CFT correspondence can be analyzed within a semiclassical approximation
when two of the vertex operators correspond to heavy string states having large
quantum numbers while the third vertex corresponds to a light state with fixed
charges. We consider the case where the heavy string states are chosen to be
giant magnon solitons with either a single or two different angular momenta,
for various different choices of light string states.Comment: 15 pages. Latex. v2: Misprints corrected. Published versio
Three-Point Functions of Twist-Two Operators in N=4 SYM at One Loop
We calculate three-point functions of two protected operators and one
twist-two operator with arbitrary even spin j in N=4 SYM theory to one-loop
order. In order to carry out the calculations we project the indices of the
spin j operator to the light-cone and evaluate the correlator in a soft-limit
where the momentum coming in at the spin j operator becomes zero. This limit
largely simplifies the perturbative calculation, since all three-point diagrams
effectively reduce to two-point diagrams and the dependence on the one-loop
mixing matrix drops out completely. The results of our direct calculation are
in agreement with the structure constants obtained by F.A. Dolan and H. Osborn
from the operator product expansion of four-point functions of half-BPS
operators.Comment: references update
Dose patterns in commercially insured subjects chronically exposed to opioids: a large cohort study in the United States
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Little data exist on how opioid doses vary with the length of exposure among chronic opioid users.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>To characterize the change in the dosage of opioids over time, a retrospective cohort study using the PharMetrics database for the years 1999 through 2008 was conducted. Individuals exposed to opioids in 2000 who had 2 opioid dispensings at least 6 months apart and were opioid naive (did not receive any opioid 6 month before their exposure in 2000) were included. The date of the first dispensing in 2000 was defined as the index date and the dispensing had to be for a strong and full agonist opioid. All opioid doses were converted to oral morphine equivalent doses. Exposure was classified as continuous or intermittent. Mean, median, interquartile range, and 95<sup>th </sup>percentile of opioid dose over 6-month periods, as well as the percentage of subjects who ever received a high or very high opioid dose, were calculated.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Among the 48,986 subjects, the mean age was 44.5 years and 54.5% were women. Intermittent exposure was observed in 99% of subjects; continuous exposure was observed in 1% of subjects. The mean duration of exposure for the subjects who were continuously exposed to opioids was 477 days. In subjects with no cancer diagnosis who were continuously exposed to opioids, the mean, 25<sup>th</sup>, 50<sup>th</sup>, and 75<sup>th </sup>percentile of dose was stable during the first 2 years of use, but the 95<sup>th </sup>percentile increased. Seven percent of them were exposed to doses of 180 mg or more of morphine at some point.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Dose escalation is uncommon in subjects with intermittent exposure to opioids. For subjects with continuous exposure to opioids who have cancer, doses rise substantially with time. For those without cancer, doses remain relatively stable for the first 2 years of use, but subsequently increase. Seven percent of subjects with no cancer diagnosis will be exposed to daily doses of 180 mg or more of morphine equivalent at some point.</p
Brain natriuretic peptide precursor (NT-pro-BNP) levels predict for clinical benefit to sunitinib treatment in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Sunitinib is an oral, multitargeted tyrosine kinase inhibitor that has been approved for the treatment of metastatic renal cell carcinoma. Although the majority of sunitinib-treated patients receive a clinical benefit, almost a third of the patients will not respond. Currently there is no available marker that can predict for response in these patients.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We estimated the plasma levels of NT-pro-BNP (the N-terminal precursor of brain natriuretic peptide) in 36 patients that were treated with sunitinib for metastatic clear-cell renal carcinoma.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>From the 36 patients, 9 had progressive disease and 27 obtained a clinical benefit (objective response or disease stabilization). Increases in plasma NT-pro-BNP were strongly correlated to clinical outcome. Patients with disease progression increased plasma BNP at statistically significant higher levels than patients that obtained a clinical benefit, and this was evident from the first 15 days of treatment (a three-fold increase in patients with progressive disease compared to stable NT-pro-BNP levels in patients with clinical benefit, p < 0.0001). Median progression-free survival was 12.0 months in patients with less than 1.5 fold increases (n = 22) and 3.9 months in patients with more than 1.5 fold increases in plasma NT-pro-BNP (n = 13) (log-rank test, p = 0.001).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This is the first time that a potential "surrogate marker" has been reported with such a clear correlation to clinical benefit at an early time of treatment. Due to the relative small number of accessed patients, this observation needs to be further addressed on larger cohorts. More analyses, including multivariate analyses are needed before such an observation can be used in clinical practice.</p
Lumican Expression in Diaphragm Induced by Mechanical Ventilation
Diaphragmatic dysfunction found in the patients with acute lung injury required prolonged mechanical ventilation. Mechanical ventilation can induce production of inflammatory cytokines and excess deposition of extracellular matrix proteins via up-regulation of transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1. Lumican is known to participate in TGF-β1 signaling during wound healing. The mechanisms regulating interactions between mechanical ventilation and diaphragmatic injury are unclear. We hypothesized that diaphragmatic damage by short duration of mechanical stretch caused up-regulation of lumican that modulated TGF-β1 signaling.Male C57BL/6 mice, either wild-type or lumican-null, aged 3 months, weighing between 25 and 30 g, were exposed to normal tidal volume (10 ml/kg) or high tidal volume (30 ml/kg) mechanical ventilation with room air for 2 to 8 hours. Nonventilated mice served as control groups.High tidal volume mechanical ventilation induced interfibrillar disassembly of diaphragmatic collagen fiber, lumican activation, type I and III procollagen, fibronectin, and α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) mRNA, production of free radical and TGF-β1 protein, and positive staining of lumican in diaphragmatic fiber. Mechanical ventilation of lumican deficient mice attenuated diaphragmatic injury, type I and III procollagen, fibronectin, and α-SMA mRNA, and production of free radical and TGF-β1 protein. No significant diaphragmatic injury was found in mice subjected to normal tidal volume mechanical ventilation.Our data showed that high tidal volume mechanical ventilation induced TGF-β1 production, TGF-β1-inducible genes, e.g., collagen, and diaphragmatic dysfunction through activation of the lumican
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