Anomalies and Tadpoles in Open/Closed String Duality

We discuss the role played by the divergences appearing in the interaction between a fractional D3 brane dressed with an SU(N) gauge field and a stack of N fractional D3 branes on the orbifolds C^2/Z_2 and C^3/(Z_2 x Z_2). In particular we show that the logarithmic divergences in the closed string channel, interpreted as due to twisted massless tadpoles, are mapped, under open/closed string duality, in the logarithmic ones in the open string channel, due to the massless states circulating in the annulus diagram and corresponding to the one-loop divergences that one finds in the gauge theory living in the world volume of the brane. This result provides a quantitative evidence of why the chiral and scale anomalies of the supersymmetric and non conformal gauge theories supported by the world volume of the branes can be inferred from supergravity calculations.Comment: LaTeX, 8 pages. Contribution to the proceedings of the workshop of the RTN Network "The quantum structure of space-time and the geometric nature of fundamental interactions", Copenhagen, September 200

Brane-Inspired Orientifold Field Theories

In this paper we consider the gauge theory living on the world-volume of a stack of N D3-branes of Type 0B/\Omega' I_6(-1)^{F_{L}} and of its orbifolds C^2/Z_2 and C^3/(Z_2 x Z_2). The gauge theories obtained in the three cases are a brane realization of ``orientifold field theories'' having the bosonic sector common with N=4,2,1 super Yang-Mills respectively. In these non-supersymmetric theories, we investigate the possibility of keeping the gauge/gravity correspondence that has revealed itself so successful in the case of supersymmetric theories. In the open string framework we compute the coefficient of the gauge kinetic term showing that the perturbative behaviour of the orientifold field theory can be obtained from the closed string channel in the large N limit, where the theory exhibits Bose-Fermi degeneracy.Comment: 27 pages, LaTe

Topological order in Josephson junction ladders with Mobius boundary conditions

We propose a CFT description for a closed one-dimensional fully frustrated ladder of quantum Josephson junctions with Mobius boundary conditions, in particular we show how such a system can develop topological order. Such a property is crucial for its implementation as a "protected" solid state qubit.Comment: 14 pages, 3 figures, to appear in JSTA

Atmospheric Pressure Non-thermal Plasma for Air Purification: Ions and Ionic Reactions Induced by dc+ Corona Discharges in Air Contaminated with Acetone and Methanol

Atmospheric pressure mass spectrometry (APCI-MS) was used to investigate the positive ions in air containing acetone (A), methanol (M) and mixtures thereof (A + M), subjected to +dc corona discharges. The results of experiments with isotopically labelled analogues, perdeuterated acetone Adeu and methanol Mdeu, and relevant thermochemical data found in the literature allowed us to identify the main ionic reactions occurring in single component systems (A or M) and in binary mixtures (A + M). It is concluded that, thanks to its significantly higher proton affinity, A is very efficient in quenching M-derived ions at atmospheric pressure. These conclusions provide a rationale for interpreting the results of a parallel investigation on the reciprocal effects of M and A when treated together in air at atmospheric pressure with +dc corona in a non-thermal plasma reactor developed previously in our laboratory. Specifically, we observed a marked drop in the degradation efficiency of methanol when it was treated in the presence of an equivalent amount of acetone. This effect is attributed to acetone interfering with ion-initiated degradation processes of methanol, and supports the conclusion\ua0that ions and ionic reactions are important in dc+ corona induced oxidation of volatile organic pollutants in air

Polyamine–Drug Conjugates: Do They Boost Drug Activity?

Over the past two decades, the strategy of conjugating polyamine tails with bioactive molecules such as anticancer and antimicrobial agents, as well as antioxidant and neuroprotective scaffolds, has been widely exploited to enhance their pharmacological profile. Polyamine transport is elevated in many pathological conditions, suggesting that the polyamine portion could improve cellular and subcellular uptake of the conjugate via the polyamine transporter system. In this review, we have presented a glimpse on the polyamine conjugate scenario, classified by therapeutic area, of the last decade with the aim of highlighting achievements and fostering future developments

The behavioral parenting interventions (BPT) for support and mandatory integrative therapy for children and adolescents affected by disruptive behavioural disorders: A brief review

The behavioral parenting interventions (BPT), commonly abbreviated as parent training, is a program conducted by an expert with the specific purpose of improving or modifying parental practices in order to promote the child's well-being, increasing parenting skills in the daily management of the child, problem solving and reducing the level of parenting and family stress. BPT presents many positive effects on children or adolescents affected by neurodevelopmental disorder such as ADHD, autism and cognitive dysfunction but BPT appears to improve also other proximal outcomes such as parenting competence and parenting stress

Review about comorbidities of behavioural disorders in children and adolescents: The focus on attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder

Disruptive behavior disorders (DBD) present high comorbidity rate mainly for opposite-defiant disorders that are frequent among children, adolescents and adults affected by with attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), probably as result of common temperamental risk factors such as attention, distraction, impulsivity. ADHD tend to manifest in about 50% of individuals diagnosed as disruptive behavioral disorders

Behavioural disorders in children and adolescents: A conceptual review about the therapeutic alliance with family and school

Aim: In disruptive behavioral disorders, given the wide range of symptomatic manifestations and the complexity of the sociofamiliar contexts in which they develop, it is now proven that more visible and more stable results can be achieved over time through multimodal and multidimensional interventions. These are accomplished through the integration of psychotherapeutic interventions for the child and parents, counseling interventions for all the various practitioners who come into contact with the child in school, sports, and social settings, through the possibility of organizing multiple settings in patient can be followed by several health professionals such as child and adolescent neuropsychiatrist, neuropsychomotricist, occupation therapist, psychologist

The static and time-dependent signature of ocean–continent and ocean–ocean subduction: the case studies of Sumatra and Mariana complexes

SUMMARY The anomalous density structure at subduction zones, both in the wedge and in the upper mantle, is analysed to shed light on the processes that are responsible for the characteristic gravity fingerprints of two types of subduction: ocean–continent and ocean–ocean. Our modelling is then performed within the frame of the EIGEN-6C4 gravitational disturbance pattern of two subductions representative of the above two types, the Sumatra and Mariana complexes, finally enabling the different characteristics of the two patterns to be observed and understood on a physical basis, including some small-scale details. A 2-D viscous modelling perpendicular to the trench accounts for the effects on the gravity pattern caused by a wide range of parameters in terms of convergence velocity, subduction dip angle and lateral variability of the crustal thickness of the overriding plate, as well as compositional differentiation, phase changes and hydration of the mantle. Plate coupling, modelled within a new scheme where the relative velocity at the plate contact results self-consistently from the thermomechanical evolution of the system, is shown to have an important impact on the gravity signature. Beyond the already understood general bipolar fingerprint of subduction, perpendicular to the trench, we obtain the density and gravity signatures of the processes occurring within the wedge and mantle that are responsible for the two different gravity patterns. To be compliant with the geodetic EIGEN-6C4 gravitational disturbance and to compare our predictions with the gravity at Sumatra and Mariana, we define a model normal Earth. Although the peak-to-peak gravitational disturbance is comparable for the two types of subductions, approximately 250 mGal, from both observations and modelling, encompassing the highest positive maximum on the overriding plates and the negative minimum on the trench, the trough is wider for the ocean–ocean subduction: approximately 300 km compared to approximately 180 km for the ocean–continent subduction. Furthermore, the gravitational disturbance pattern is more symmetric for the ocean–ocean subduction compared to the ocean–continent subduction in terms of the amplitudes of the two positive maxima over the overriding and subducting plates. Their difference is, for the ocean–ocean type, approximately one half of the ocean–continent one. These different characteristics of the two types of subductions are exploited herein in terms of the different crustal thicknesses of the overriding plate and of the different dynamics in the wedge and in the mantle for the two types of subduction, in close agreement with the gravity data