1,486 research outputs found
Experimental Constraints on Heavy Fermions in Higgsless Models
Using an effective Lagrangian approach we analyze a generic Higgsless model
with composite heavy fermions, transforming as SU(2)_{L+R} Doublets. Assuming
that the Standard Model fermions acquire mass through mixing with the new heavy
fermions, we constrain the free parameters of the effective Lagrangian studying
Flavour Changing Neutral Current processes. In so doing we obtain bounds that
can be applied to a wide range of models characterized by the same fermion
mixing hypothesis.Comment: 23 pages, 10 figure
Relativistic two-body equation based on the extension of the SL(2,C) group
A new approach to the two-body problem based on the extension of the
group to the one is developed. The wave equation with
various forms of including the interaction for the system of the spin-1/2 and
spin-0 particles is constructed. For this system, it was found that the wave
equation with a linear confinement potential involved in the non-minimal manner
has an oscillator-like form and possesses the exact solution.Comment: 9 pages, no figure
Minimal Composite Higgs Model with Light Bosons
We analyze a composite Higgs model with the minimal content that allows a
light Standard-Model-like Higgs boson, potentially just above the current LEP
limit. The Higgs boson is a bound state made up of the top quark and a heavy
vector-like quark. The model predicts that only one other bound state may be
lighter than the electroweak scale, namely a CP-odd neutral scalar. Several
other composite scalars are expected to have masses in the TeV range. If the
Higgs decay into a pair of CP-odd scalars is kinematically open, then this
decay mode is dominant, with important implications for Higgs searches. The
lower bound on the CP-odd scalar mass is loose, in some cases as low as
100 MeV, being set only by astrophysical constraints.Comment: 33 pages, latex. Corrections in eqs. 3.21, 3.23, 4.1, 4.5-10. One
figure adde
Transcriptomic analysis of human astrocytes in vitro reveals hypoxia-induced mitochondrial dysfunction, modulation of metabolism, and dysregulation of the immune response
Hypoxia is a feature of neurodegenerative diseases, and can both directly and indirectly impact on neuronal function through modulation of glial function. Astrocytes play a key role in regulating homeostasis within the central nervous system, and mediate hypoxia-induced changes in response to reduced oxygen availability. The current study performed a detailed characterization of hypoxia-induced changes in the transcriptomic profile of astrocytes in vitro. Human astrocytes were cultured under normoxic (5% CO2, 95% air) or hypoxic conditions (1% O2, 5% CO2, 94% N2) for 24 h, and the gene expression profile assessed by microarray analysis. In response to hypoxia 4904 genes were significantly differentially expressed (1306 upregulated and 3598 downregulated, FC ≥ 2 and p ≤ 0.05). Analysis of the significant differentially expressed transcripts identified an increase in immune response pathways, and dysregulation of signalling pathways, including HIF-1 (p = 0.002), and metabolism, including glycolysis (p = 0.006). To assess whether the hypoxia-induced metabolic gene changes observed affected metabolism at a functional level, both the glycolytic and mitochondrial flux were measured using an XF bioanalyser. In support of the transcriptomic data, under physiological conditions hypoxia significantly reduced mitochondrial respiratory flux (p = 0.0001) but increased basal glycolytic flux (p = 0.0313). However, when metabolically stressed, hypoxia reduced mitochondrial spare respiratory capacity (p = 0.0485) and both glycolytic capacity (p = 0.0001) and glycolytic reserve (p < 0.0001). In summary, the current findings detail hypoxia-induced changes in the astrocyte transcriptome in vitro, identifying potential targets for modifying the astrocyte response to reduced oxygen availability in pathological conditions associated with ischaemia/hypoxia, including manipulation of mitochondrial function, metabolism, and the immune response
Vale of York 3-D borehole interpretation and cross-sections study
The Vale of York between Doncaster and Scunthorpe in the south and York and Bugthorpe in
the north is largely underlain by bedrock of the Sherwood Sandstone Group – one of the regions
principal aquifers. Significant superficial deposits of Quaternary age overlie the Sherwood
Sandstone. This study aims to investigate the nature of these superficial deposits with respect to
their relationship with the underlying aquifer.
The Vale of York project area represents a varied glaciated terrain, consisting of pro-glacial finegrained
sediments, coarser glaciofluvilal sediments and extensive glacial tills. These diverse
superficial units vary in thickness throughout the project area. The hydrogeological nature of the
natural superficial sequence is consequently highly variable. Units may be considered as
aquitards, while others may act as aquifers, providing a potential pathway to the underlying
sandstone. The classification of lithologies as aquifer or aquitard is described in detail in this
report.
To investigate the hydrogeological nature of the superficial sequence, six east-west and three
north-south lithostratigraphical cross-sections were constructed. A range of geoscientific
information was considered, including existing geological mapping and over 3000 fully
attributed and coded boreholes. The cross-sections show a subdivision of the superficial
sequence into lithostratigraphical units. Each unit is described in detail in this report.
In addition, a series of thematic maps were generated from the lithological component of the
digital borehole data. Total superficial aquifer and superficial aquitard maps show how the
lithological nature of the superficial sequence varies across the area. Rockhead elevation and
superficial thickness maps indicate where the sandstone aquifer outcrops at the ground surface.
In summary, four main lithostratigraphical units overlie the Sherwood Sandstone Group aquifer
in the project area: a basal sequence of glaciofluvial sand and gravel (interpreted as a superficial
aquifer), glaciolacustrine laminated silt & clay (aquitard), glacial till comprising sandy gravelly
clay (aquitard), and a cover sequence of fluvial and aeolian sand, clay and peat (aquifer /
aquitard). The correlations illustrate that in certain areas, superficial deposits are thin or absent
and that in these areas the Sherwood Sandstone aquifer comes directly to ground surface
Arthroscopic partial medial meniscectomy is associated with higher medial knee joint load and reductions in medial articular cartilage volume despite typical knee strength at 2 years post-surgery
Electron Spin Decoherence in Bulk and Quantum Well Zincblende Semiconductors
A theory for longitudinal (T1) and transverse (T2) electron spin coherence
times in zincblende semiconductor quantum wells is developed based on a
non-perturbative nanostructure model solved in a fourteen-band restricted basis
set. Distinctly different dependences of coherence times on mobility,
quantization energy, and temperature are found from previous calculations.
Quantitative agreement between our calculations and measurements is found for
GaAs/AlGaAs, InGaAs/InP, and GaSb/AlSb quantum wells.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figure
Pre-market version of a commercially available hearing instrument with a tinnitus sound generator: feasibility of evaluation in a clinical trial.
OBJECTIVE:
This report considers feasibility of conducting a UK trial of combination devices for tinnitus, using data from the study which evaluated different listener programmes available within the pre-market version of Oticon Alta with Tinnitus Sound Generator.
DESIGN:
Open and closed questions addressed the following feasibility issues: (1) Participant recruitment; (2) Device acceptability; (3) Programme preferences in different self-nominated listening situations; (4) Usability; (5) Compliance; (6) Adverse events.
STUDY SAMPLE:
Eight current combination hearing aid users (all males) aged between 62-72 years (mean age 67.25 years, SD = 3.8).
RESULTS:
All eight participants reported the physical aspects and noise options on the experimental device to be acceptable. Programmes with amplification and masking features were equally preferred over the basic amplification-only programme. Individual preferences for the different programme options varied widely, both across participants and across listening situations.
CONCLUSIONS:
A set of recommendations for future trials were formulated which calls for more "real world" trial design rather than tightly controlling the fitting procedure
Substitution of crude cell wall for neutral detergent fibre in the equations of the Cornell Net Carbohydrate and Protein System that predict carbohydrate fractions: application to sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.)
Supersymmetric models with minimal flavour violation and their running
We revisit the formulation of the principle of minimal flavor violation (MFV)
in the minimal supersymmetric extension of the standard model, both at moderate
and large tan(beta), and with or without new CP-violating phases. We introduce
a counting rule which keeps track of the highly hierarchical structure of the
Yukawa matrices. In this manner, we are able to control systematically which
terms can be discarded in the soft SUSY breaking part of the Lagrangian. We
argue that for the implementation of this counting rule, it is convenient to
introduce a new basis of matrices in which both the squark (and slepton) mass
terms as well as the trilinear couplings can be expanded. We derive the RGE for
the MFV parameters and show that the beta functions also respect the counting
rule. For moderate tan(beta), we provide explicit analytic solutions of these
RGE and illustrate their behaviour by analyzing the neighbourhood (also
switching on new phases) of the SPS-1a benchmark point. We then show that even
in the case of large tan(beta), the RGE remain valid and that the analytic
solutions obtained for moderate tan(beta) still allow us to understand the most
important features of the running of the parameters, as illustrated with the
help of the SPS-4 benchmark point.Comment: plain latex, 38 pages and 5 figures Eq. (12) corrected and one
reference added, conclusions unchanged. Published versio
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