Wilson Loops in string duals of Walking and Flavored Systems

We consider the VEV of Wilson loop operators by studying the behavior of string probes in solutions of Type IIB string theory generated by Nc D5 branes wrapped on an internal manifold. In particular, we focus on solutions to the background equations that are dual to field theories with a walking gauge coupling as well as for flavored systems. We present in detail our walking solution and emphasize various general aspects of the procedure to study Wilson loops using string duals. We discuss the special features that the strings show when probing the region associated with the walking of the field theory coupling.Comment: 28 pages. Various figures. Version to be published

A novel approach to increasing the reliability of accelerator magnets

Abstract — When a very large particle accelerator with about 8000 electromagnets, such as the proposed Next Linear Collider (NLC), has an 85 % overall availability goal, then all these magnets and their power supplies must be highly reliable and/or quickly repairable. An interdisciplinary reliability engineering approach, more commonly applied to aircraft and space vehicles, has been taken to design maximum reliability in the NLC main linac quadrupoles, while maintaining magnetic field performance and reducing cost. A specially assembled team of engineers with a variety of experiences with magnets carried out a Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) on a standard SLAC quadrupole magnet system. This process helped them identify which components were less reliable. Then they redesigned the quadrupole to avoid all the potential problems. A prototype magnet will be made and tested to ensure that functionality has not been lost. Index Terms—Magnet, reliability, FMEA. I

Label-Free 3D Imaging of Development of Cell Patterns in Drosophila melanogaster Wing Imaginal Disc

Extended abstract of a paper presented at Microscopy and Microanalysis 2011 in Nashville, Tennessee, USA, August 7-August 11, 201

Shape resonance for the anisotropic superconducting gaps near a Lifshitz transition: the effect of electron hopping between layers

The multigap superconductivity modulated by quantum confinement effects in a superlattice of quantum wells is presented. Our theoretical BCS approach captures the low-energy physics of a shape resonance in the superconducting gaps when the chemical potential is tuned near a Lifshitz transition. We focus on the case of weak Cooper-pairing coupling channels and strong pair exchange interaction driven by repulsive Coulomb interaction that allows to use the BCS theory in the weak-coupling regime neglecting retardation effects like in quantum condensates of ultracold gases. The calculated matrix element effects in the pairing interaction are shown to yield a complex physics near the particular quantum critical points due to Lifshitz transitions in multigap superconductivity. Strong deviations of the ratio $2\Delta/T_c$ from the standard BCS value as a function of the position of the chemical potential relative to the Lifshitz transition point measured by the Lifshitz parameter are found. The response of the condensate phase to the tuning of the Lifshitz parameter is compared with the response of ultracold gases in the BCS-BEC crossover tuned by an external magnetic field. The results provide the description of the condensates in this regime where matrix element effects play a key role.Comment: 12 pages, 6 figure

Enhanced ERbeta immunoexpression and apoptosis in the germ cells of cimetidine-treated rats

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Cimetidine, refereed as antiandrogenic drug, causes hormonal changes in male patients such as increased testosterone and FSH levels. In the rat testis, structural alterations in the seminiferous tubules have been related to germ cell loss and Sertoli cell death by apoptosis. Regarding the important role of Sertoli cells in the conversion of testosterone into estrogen, via aromatase, the immunoexpression of estrogen receptors-beta (ERbeta) was evaluated in the germ cells of untreated and treated rats with cimetidine. A relationship between ERbeta immunoreactivity and apoptosis was also investigated in the germ cells of damaged tubules.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Immunohistochemistry for detection of ERbeta and TUNEL method were performed in testicular sections of adult male rats treated with 50 mg/Kg of cimetidine (CmG) or saline solution (CG) for 52 days.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In CG, a cytoplasmic immunoexpression for ERbeta was observed in spermatogonia, primary spermatocytes and spermatids. An evident ERbeta immunoreactivity was always observed in the flagellum and residual bodies of late spermatids. In CmG, the cytoplasm or cytoplasm and nuclei of germ cells of the damaged tubules by cimetidine showed enhanced ERbeta immunostaining. TUNEL-labeling was usually observed in the same germ cell types exhibiting enhanced ERbeta immunoreactivity.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The presence of ERbeta immunolabeling in the flagellum and residual bodies of spermatids reinforces the role of estrogen in spermiogenesis. The overexpression of ERbeta in the germ cells of CmG could be related to a possible interference of cimetidine on tubular androgenization and/or on the intratubular aromatase due to Sertoli cell damage. The parallelism between ERbeta overexpression and apoptosis indicates a participation of ERbeta on germ cell death.</p

<i>Gaia</i> Data Release 1. Summary of the astrometric, photometric, and survey properties

Context. At about 1000 days after the launch of Gaia we present the first Gaia data release, Gaia DR1, consisting of astrometry and photometry for over 1 billion sources brighter than magnitude 20.7. Aims. A summary of Gaia DR1 is presented along with illustrations of the scientific quality of the data, followed by a discussion of the limitations due to the preliminary nature of this release. Methods. The raw data collected by Gaia during the first 14 months of the mission have been processed by the Gaia Data Processing and Analysis Consortium (DPAC) and turned into an astrometric and photometric catalogue. Results. Gaia DR1 consists of three components: a primary astrometric data set which contains the positions, parallaxes, and mean proper motions for about 2 million of the brightest stars in common with the HIPPARCOS and Tycho-2 catalogues – a realisation of the Tycho-Gaia Astrometric Solution (TGAS) – and a secondary astrometric data set containing the positions for an additional 1.1 billion sources. The second component is the photometric data set, consisting of mean G-band magnitudes for all sources. The G-band light curves and the characteristics of ∼3000 Cepheid and RR-Lyrae stars, observed at high cadence around the south ecliptic pole, form the third component. For the primary astrometric data set the typical uncertainty is about 0.3 mas for the positions and parallaxes, and about 1 mas yr−1 for the proper motions. A systematic component of ∼0.3 mas should be added to the parallax uncertainties. For the subset of ∼94 000 HIPPARCOS stars in the primary data set, the proper motions are much more precise at about 0.06 mas yr−1. For the secondary astrometric data set, the typical uncertainty of the positions is ∼10 mas. The median uncertainties on the mean G-band magnitudes range from the mmag level to ∼0.03 mag over the magnitude range 5 to 20.7. Conclusions. Gaia DR1 is an important milestone ahead of the next Gaia data release, which will feature five-parameter astrometry for all sources. Extensive validation shows that Gaia DR1 represents a major advance in the mapping of the heavens and the availability of basic stellar data that underpin observational astrophysics. Nevertheless, the very preliminary nature of this first Gaia data release does lead to a number of important limitations to the data quality which should be carefully considered before drawing conclusions from the data

Vitamin C selectively kills KRAS and BRAF mutant colorectal cancer cells by targeting GAPDH

More than half of human colorectal cancers (CRCs) carry either KRAS or BRAF mutations, and are often refractory to approved targeted therapies. We report that cultured CRC cells harboring KRAS or BRAF mutations are selectively killed when exposed to high levels of vitamin C. This effect is due to increased uptake of the oxidized form of vitamin C, dehydroascorbate (DHA), via the GLUT1 glucose transporter. Increased DHA uptake causes oxidative stress as intracellular DHA is reduced to vitamin C, depleting glutathione. Thus, ROS accumulates and inactivates glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH). Inhibiting GAPDH in highly glycolytic KRAS or BRAF mutant cells leads to an energetic crisis and cell death not seen in KRAS and BRAF wild-type cells. High-dose vitamin C impaired tumor growth in Apc/KrasG12D mutant mice. These results provide a mechanistic rationale for exploring the therapeutic use of vitamin C for CRCs with KRAS or BRAF mutations

Cryogenic testing of the TPC superconducting solenoid

This report describes the results of a series of tests on the TPC superconducting magnet cryogenic system which occurred during the winter and spring of 1983. The tests occurred at interaction region 2 of the PEP colliding beam facility at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC). The TPC Magnet Cryogenic System which was tested includes the following major components: a remote helium compressor with a full flow liquid nitrogen purification station, 400 meters of high pressure supply and low pressure return lines; and locally a CTi Model 2800 refrigerator with two Sulzer gas bearing turbines, the TPC magnet control dewar, 70 meters of transfer lines, and the TPC thin superconducting solenoid magnet. In addition, there is a conditioner (liquid nitrogen heat exchangers and gas heaters) system for cooldown and warmup of the magnet. This report describes the local cryogenic system and describes the various steps in the cooldown and operation of the TPC magnet. The tests were successful in that they showed that the TPC magnet could be cooled down in 24 hours and the magnet could be operated on the refrigerator or a helium pump with adequate cooling margin. The tests identified problems with the cryogenic system and the 2800 refrigerator. Procedures for successful operation and quenching of the superconducting magnet were developed. 19 references