578 research outputs found
Constant curvature black holes in Einstein AdS gravity: conserved quantities
We study physical properties of constant curvature black holes (CCBHs) in
Einstein anti-de Sitter (AdS) gravity. These objects, which are locally AdS
throughout the space, are constructed from identifications of global AdS
spacetime, in a similar fashion as Banados-Teitelboim-Zanelli (BTZ) black hole
in three dimensions. We find that, in dimensions equal or greater than four,
CCBHs have zero mass and angular momentum. Only in odd dimensions we are able
to associate a nonvanishing conserved quantity to these solutions, which
corresponds to the vacuum (Casimir) energy of the spacetime.Comment: 20 pages, no figure
Hamilton-Jacobi Counterterms for Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet Gravity
The on-shell gravitational action and the boundary stress tensor are
essential ingredients in the study of black hole thermodynamics. We employ the
Hamilton-Jacobi method to calculate the boundary counterterms necessary to
remove the divergences and allow the study of the thermodynamics of
Einstein-Gauss-Bonnet black holes.Comment: 21 pages, LaTe
Xenoestrogens released from lacquer coatings in food cans
We present data showing that some foods preserved in lacquer-coated cans and the liquid in them may acquire estrogenic activity. Hormonal activity was measured using the E-screen bioassay. The biological activity of vegetables packed in cans was a result of plastic monomers used in manufacturing the containers. The plastic monomer bisphenol-A, identified by mass spectrometry, was found as a contaminant not only in the liquid of the preserved vegetables but also in water autoclaved in the cans. The amount of bisphenol-A in the extracts accounted for all the hormonal activity measured. Although the presence of other xenoestrogens cannot be ruled out, it is apparent that all estrogenic activity in these cans was due to bisphenol-A leached from the lacquer coating. The use of plastic in food-packaging materials may require closer scrutiny to determine whether epoxy resins and polycarbonates contribute to human exposure to xenoestrogens.This work was supported by grant 94/1551
from the Fondo de Investigaciones Sanitarias (FIS), Spanish Ministry of Health
Produtos quĂmicos como desreguladores endĂłcrinos: substâncias danosas e como devem ser testadas
This paper presents an analysis of the opinions of different groups from: scientists, international regulatory bodies, non-governmental organizations and industry; with an interest in the problem of identifying chemical substances with endocrine disrupting activity. There is also discussion of the consequences that exposure to endocrine disruptors may have for human health, considering concrete issues related to: the estimation of risk; the tests that must be used to detect endocrine disruption; the difficulties to establish an association between dose, time of exposure, individual susceptibility, and effect; and the attempts to create a census of endocrine disruptors. Finally, it is proposed that not all hormonal mimics should be included under the single generic denomination of endocrine disruptors.This work was supported by a 96/99 Research Project from the Health Department of the Andalusian Regional Government
Regularization of odd-dimensional AdS gravity: Kounterterms
As an alternative to the Dirichlet counterterms prescription, I introduce the
concept of Kounterterms as the boundary terms with explicit dependence on the
extrinsic curvature K_{ij} that regularize the AdS gravity action. Instead of a
Dirichlet boundary condition on the metric, a suitable choice of the boundary
conditions --compatible with any asymptotically AdS (AAdS) spacetime-- ensures
a finite action principle for all odd dimensions. Background-independent
conserved quantities are obtained as Noether charges associated to asymptotic
symmetries and their general expression appears naturally split in two parts.
The first one gives the correct mass and angular momentum for AAdS black
holes and vanishes identically for globally AdS spacetimes. Thus, the second
part is a covariant formula for the vacuum energy in AAdS spacetimes and
reproduces the results obtained by the Dirichlet counterterms method in a
number of cases. It is also shown that this Kounterterms series regularizes the
Euclidean action and recovers the correct black hole thermodynamics in odd
dimensions.Comment: 35+6 pages, 8 references and an appendix added, improved discussion
on boundary conditions and geometrical origin of Kounterterms. Version
accepted in JHE
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