235 research outputs found
Can the "brick wall" model present the same results in different coordinate representations?
By using the 't Hooft's "brick wall" model and the Pauli-Villars
regularization scheme we calculate the statistical-mechanical entropies arising
from the quantum scalar field in different coordinate settings, such as the
Painlev\'{e} and Lemaitre coordinates. At first glance, it seems that the
entropies would be different from that in the standard Schwarzschild coordinate
since the metrics in both the Painlev\'{e} and Lemaitre coordinates do not
possess the singularity at the event horizon as that in the Schwarzschild-like
coordinate. However, after an exact calculation we find that, up to the
subleading correction, the statistical-mechanical entropies in these
coordinates are equivalent to that in the Schwarzschild-like coordinate. The
result is not only valid for black holes and de Sitter spaces, but also for the
case that the quantum field exerts back reaction on the gravitational field
provided that the back reaction does not alter the symmetry of the spacetime.Comment: 8 pages, Phys. Rev. D in pres
Quantum Gravitational Corrections to the Real Klein-Gordon Field in the Presence of a Minimal Length
The (D+1)-dimensional -two-parameter Lorentz-covariant
deformed algebra introduced by Quesne and Tkachuk [C. Quesne and V. M. Tkachuk,
J. Phys. A: Math. Gen. \textbf {39}, 10909 (2006).], leads to a nonzero minimal
uncertainty in position (minimal length). The Klein-Gordon equation in a
(3+1)-dimensional space-time described by Quesne-Tkachuk Lorentz-covariant
deformed algebra is studied in the case where up to first order
over deformation parameter . It is shown that the modified Klein-Gordon
equation which contains fourth-order derivative of the wave function describes
two massive particles with different masses. We have shown that physically
acceptable mass states can only exist for which
leads to an isotropic minimal length in the interval . Finally, we have shown that the above estimation of
minimal length is in good agreement with the results obtained in previous
investigations.Comment: 10 pages, no figur
c-Axis Transport and Resistivity Anisotropy of Lightly- to Moderately-Doped La_{2-x}Sr_{x}CuO_{4} Single Crystals: Implications on the Charge Transport Mechanism
Both the in-plane and the out-of-plane resistivities (\rho_{ab} and \rho_{c})
are measured in high-quality La_{2-x}Sr_{x}CuO_{4} (LSCO) single crystals in
the lightly- to moderately-doped region, x = 0.01 to 0.10, and the resistivity
anisotropy is determined. In all the samples studied, the anisotropy ratio \rho
_{c}/\rho_{ab} quickly increases with decreasing temperature, although in
non-superconducting samples the strong localization effect causes \rho
_{c}/\rho_{ab} to decrease at low temperatures. Most notably, it is found that
\rho_{c}/\rho_{ab} at moderate temperatures (100 - 300 K) is almost completely
independent of doping in the non-superconducting regime (x = 0.01 to 0.05);
this indicates that the same charge confinement mechanism that renormalizes the
c-axis hopping rate is at work down to x = 0.01. It is discussed that this
striking x-independence of \rho_{c}/\rho_{ab} is consistent with the idea that
holes form a self-organized network of hole-rich regions, which also explains
the unusually metallic in-plane transport of the holes in the lightly-doped
region. Furthermore, the data for x > 0.05 suggest that the emergence of the
superconductivity is related to an increase in the c-axis coupling.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.
Magnetotransport in the Normal State of La1.85Sr0.15Cu(1-y)Zn(y)O4 Films
We have studied the magnetotransport properties in the normal state for a
series of La1.85Sr0.15Cu(1-y)Zn(y)O4 films with values of y, between 0 and
0.12. A variable degree of compressive or tensile strain results from the
lattice mismatch between the substrate and the film, and affects the transport
properties differently from the influence of the zinc impurities. In
particular, the orbital magnetoresistance (OMR) varies with y but is
strain-independent. The relations for the resistivity and the Hall angle and
the proportionality between the OMR and tan^2 theta are followed about 70 K. We
have been able to separate the strain and impurity effects by rewriting the
above relations, where each term is strain-independent and depends on y only.
We also find that changes in the lattice constants give rise to closely the
same fractional changes in other terms of the equation.The OMR is more strongly
supressed by the addition of impurities than tan^2 theta. We conclude that the
relaxation ratethat governs Hall effect is not the same as for the
magnetoresistance. We also suggest a correspondence between the transport
properties and the opening of the pseudogap at a temperature which changes when
the La-sr ratio changes, but does not change with the addition of the zinc
impurities
Comparing very low birth weight versus very low gestation cohort methods for outcome analysis of high risk preterm infants
Background: Compared to very low gestational age (\u3c32 weeks, VLGA) cohorts, very low birth weight (\u3c1500 g; VLBW) cohorts are more prone to selection bias toward small-for-gestational age (SGA) infants, which may impact upon the validity of data for benchmarking purposes. Method: Data from all VLGA or VLBW infants admitted in the 3 Networks between 2008 and 2011 were used. Two-thirds of each network cohort was randomly selected to develop prediction models for mortality and composite adverse outcome (CAO: mortality or cerebral injuries, chronic lung disease, severe retinopathy or necrotizing enterocolitis) and the remaining for internal validation. Areas under the ROC curves (AUC) of the models were compared. Results: VLBW cohort (24,335 infants) had twice more SGA infants (20.4% vs. 9.3%) than the VLGA cohort (29,180 infants) and had a higher rate of CAO (36.5% vs. 32.6%). The two models had equal prediction power for mortality and CAO (AUC 0.83), and similarly for all other cross-cohort validations (AUC 0.81-0.85). Neither model performed well for the extremes of birth weight for gestation (\u3c1500 g and ≥32 weeks, AUC 0.50-0.65; ≥1500 g and \u3c32 weeks, AUC 0.60-0.62). Conclusion: There was no difference in prediction power for adverse outcome between cohorting VLGA or VLBW despite substantial bias in SGA population. Either cohorting practises are suitable for international benchmarking
Far-infrared optical excitations in multiferroic TbMnO_3
We provide a detailed study of the reflectivity of multiferroic TbMnO_3 for
wave numbers from 40 cm^{-1} to 1000 cm^{-1} and temperatures 5 K < T < 300 K.
Excitations are studied for polarization directions E || a, the polarization
where electromagnons are observed, and for E || c, the direction of the
spontaneous polarization in this material. The temperature dependencies of
eigenfrequencies, damping constants and polar strengths of all modes are
studied and analyzed. For E || a and below the spiral ordering temperature of
about 27 K we observe a transfer of optical weight from phonon excitations to
electromagnons, which mainly involves low-frequency phonons. For E || c an
unusual increase of the total polar strength and hence of the dielectric
constant is observed indicating significant transfer of dynamic charge probably
within manganese-oxygen bonds on decreasing temperatures.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figures, accepted for submission in European Physical
Journal
Cellular and molecular mechanisms involved in the neurotoxicity of opioid and psychostimulant drugs
Substance abuse and addiction are the most costly of all the neuropsychiatric disorders. In the last decades, much progress has been achieved in understanding the effects of the drugs of abuse in the brain. However, efficient treatments that prevent relapse have not been developed. Drug addiction is now considered a brain disease, because the abuse of drugs affects several brain functions. Neurological impairments observed in drug addicts may reflect drug-induced neuronal dysfunction and neurotoxicity. The drugs of abuse directly or indirectly affect neurotransmitter systems, particularly dopaminergic and glutamatergic neurons. This review explores the literature reporting cellular and molecular alterations reflecting the cytotoxicity induced by amphetamines, cocaine and opiates in neuronal systems. The neurotoxic effects of drugs of abuse are often associated with oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, apoptosis and inhibition of neurogenesis, among other mechanisms. Understanding the mechanisms that underlie brain dysfunction observed in drug-addicted individuals may contribute to improve the treatment of drug addiction, which may have social and economic consequences.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6SYS-4S50K2J-1/1/7d11c902193bfa3f1f57030572f7034
Metabolic profiling stratifies colorectal cancer and reveals adenosylhomocysteinase as a therapeutic target
The genomic landscape of colorectal cancer (CRC) is shaped by inactivating mutations in tumour suppressors such as APC, and oncogenic mutations such as mutant KRAS. Here we used genetically engineered mouse models, and multimodal mass spectrometry-based metabolomics to study the impact of common genetic drivers of CRC on the metabolic landscape of the intestine. We show that untargeted metabolic profiling can be applied to stratify intestinal tissues according to underlying genetic alterations, and use mass spectrometry imaging to identify tumour, stromal and normal adjacent tissues. By identifying ions that drive variation between normal and transformed tissues, we found dysregulation of the methionine cycle to be a hallmark of APC-deficient CRC. Loss of Apc in the mouse intestine was found to be sufficient to drive expression of one of its enzymes, adenosylhomocysteinase (AHCY), which was also found to be transcriptionally upregulated in human CRC. Targeting of AHCY function impaired growth of APC-deficient organoids in vitro, and prevented the characteristic hyperproliferative/crypt progenitor phenotype driven by acute deletion of Apc in vivo, even in the context of mutant Kras. Finally, pharmacological inhibition of AHCY reduced intestinal tumour burden in ApcMin/+ mice indicating its potential as a metabolic drug target in CRC
Search for the Zγ decay mode of new high-mass resonances in pp collisions at √s = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector
This letter presents a search for narrow, high-mass resonances in the Zγ final state with the Z boson decaying into a pair of electrons or muons. The √s = 13 TeV pp collision data were recorded by the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider and have an integrated luminosity of 140 fb−1. The data are found to be in agreement with the Standard Model background expectation. Upper limits are set on the resonance production cross section times the decay branching ratio into Zγ. For spin-0 resonances produced via gluon–gluon fusion, the observed limits at 95% confidence level vary between 65.5 fb and 0.6 fb, while for spin-2 resonances produced via gluon–gluon fusion (or quark–antiquark initial states) limits vary between 77.4 (76.1) fb and 0.6 (0.5) fb, for the mass range from 220 GeV to 3400 GeV
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