709 research outputs found
Constructing Gravitational Dimensions
It would be extremely useful to know whether a particular low energy
effective theory might have come from a compactification of a higher
dimensional space. Here, this problem is approached from the ground up by
considering theories with multiple interacting massive gravitons. It is
actually very difficult to construct discrete gravitational dimensions which
have a local continuum limit. In fact, any model with only nearest neighbor
interactions is doomed. If we could find a non-linear extension for the
Fierz-Pauli Lagrangian for a graviton of mass mg which does not break down
until the scale Lambda_2=(mg Mpl)^(1/2), this could be used to construct a
large class of models whose continuum limit is local in the extra dimension.
But this is shown to be impossible: a theory with a single graviton must break
down by Lambda_3 = (mg^2 Mpl)^(1/3). Next, we look at how the discretization
prescribed by the truncation of the KK tower of an honest extra diemsinon
rasies the scale of strong coupling. It dictates an intricate set of
interactions among various fields which conspire to soften the strongest
scattering amplitudes and allow for a local continuum limit. A number of
canditate symmetries associated with locality in the discretized dimension are
also discussed.Comment: 21 pages, 6 diagrams, 1 figur
Restenosis, reocclusion and adverse cardiovascular events after successful balloon angioplasty of occluded versus nonoccluded coronary arteries: Results from the multicenter american research trial with cilazapril after angioplasty to prevent transluminal coronary obstruction and restenosis (MARCATOR)
OBJECTIVES: This study sought to compare the frequency of restenosis, reocclusion and adverse cardiovascular events after angioplasty of occluded versus nonoccluded coronary arteries.
BACKGROUND: Angioplasty of chronically occluded coronary arteries is believed to be associated with a higher frequency of restenosis and reocclusion than angioplasty of subtotal stenoses. Whether this leads to adverse cardiovascular events is unknown.
METHODS: The Multicenter American Research Trial With Cilazapril After Angioplasty to Prevent Restenosis (MARCATOR) was a placebo-controlled trial with angiographic follow-up to determine the effect of the angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor cilazapril on the frequency of restenosis. In this trial, restenosis was defined as 1) angiographic reduction of minimal lumen diameter > or = 0.72 mm between angioplasty and the follow-up visit; and 2) > 50% diameter stenosis on the follow-up angiogram. We identified
Scalar Decay in Chaotic Mixing
I review the local theory of mixing, which focuses on infinitesimal blobs of
scalar being advected and stretched by a random velocity field. An advantage of
this theory is that it provides elegant analytical results. A disadvantage is
that it is highly idealised. Nevertheless, it provides insight into the
mechanism of chaotic mixing and the effect of random fluctuations on the rate
of decay of the concentration field of a passive scalar.Comment: 35 pages, 15 figures. Springer-Verlag conference style svmult.cls
(included). Published in "Transport in Geophysical Flows: Ten Years After,"
Proceedings of the Grand Combin Summer School, 14-24 June 2004, Valle
d'Aosta, Italy. Fixed some typo
Does Reverse Causality Underlie the Temporal Relationship between Depression and Crohn's Disease?
Background: Studies suggest that there is a temporal relationship between depression and Crohn's disease (CD) activity. However, these studies assumed a unidirectional relationship and did not examine the possibility of reverse causality and the risk of a spurious association due to the overlap of symptoms underlying the depression-CD relationship. We evaluated the existence of reverse causality reflected in a possible bidirectional relationship between patient-reported CD activity and an affective-cognitive dimension of depression. Methods: We studied 3307 adult volunteers with a self-reported diagnosis of CD who completed a baseline survey that included demographics, CD activity, and an affective-cognitive index of depression. Crohn's disease status and the affective-cognitive index of depression were also measured 6 and 12 months after the baseline evaluation. We used structural equation models to evaluate whether the effect of depression on future CD activity is stronger than the effect of CD activity on future depression. We calculated the likelihood that each of these hypotheses is supported by the data and calculated the likelihood ratio to provide a relative measure of which hypothesis best accounts for the data. Results: The results of the informative hypothesis testing showed the most support for the hypothesis stating that an affective-cognitive dimension of depression is a stronger predictor of patient-reported CD activity than the converse. Conclusions: The hypothesis that an affective-cognitive dimension of depression predicts patient-reported exacerbation of CD is 218 times more likely to account for the data than the converse
Attentive Learning of Sequential Handwriting Movements: A Neural Network Model
Defense Advanced research Projects Agency and the Office of Naval Research (N00014-95-1-0409, N00014-92-J-1309); National Science Foundation (IRI-97-20333); National Institutes of Health (I-R29-DC02952-01)
Biotinidase deficiency: Genotype-biochemical phenotype association in Brazilian patients
[EN] The association between the BTD genotype and biochemical phenotype [profound biotinidase deficiency (BD), partial BD or heterozygous activity] is not always consistent. This study aimed to investigate the genotype-biochemical phenotype association in patients with low biotinidase activity. Methods All exons, the 5'UTR and the promoter of the BTD gene were sequenced in 72 Brazilian individuals who exhibited low biotinidase activity. For each patient, the expected biochemical phenotype based on the known genotype was compared with the observed biochemical phenotype. Additional non-genetic factors that could affect the biotinidase activity were also analysed. Most individuals were identified by neonatal screening (n = 66/72). When consecutive results for the same patient were compared, age, prematurity and neonatal jaundice appeared to affect the level of biotinidase activity. The biochemical phenotype at the time of the second blood collection changed in 11/22 patients compared to results from the first sample. Three novel variants were found: c.1337T>C (p.L446P), c.1466A>G (p.N489S) and c.962G>A (p.W321*). Some patients with the same genotype presented different biochemical phenotypes. The expected and observed biochemical phenotypes agreed in 68.5% of cases (concordant patients). The non-coding variants c.-183G>A, c.-315A>G and c.-514C>T were present in heterozygosis in 5/17 discordant patients. In addition, c.- 183G>A and c.-514C>T were also present in 10/37 concordant patients. The variants found in the promoter region do not appear to have a strong impact on biotinidase activity. Since there is a disparity between the BTD genotype and biochemical phenotype, and biotinidase activity may be affected by both genetic and non-genetic factors, we suggest that the diagnosis of BD should be based on more than one measurement of plasma biotinidase activity. DNA analysis can be of additional relevance to differentiate between partial BD and heterozygosity.SIThis study received financial support from Fundo de Incentivo à Pesquisa e Eventos/Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre (FIPE-HCPA) for research materials and publication fee. Post Graduate Program in Genetics and Molecular Biology (Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul) funded the translation. ECN has a commercial affiliation (CTN Diagnósticos) which did not have any role or financial contribution to this research. TB have fellowship from the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (Capes). FS had fellowship from the Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul (FAPERGS). IVDS, MRSC and PASF have fellowships from the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq). HB receives a research grant of Orphan Europe. The funders did no provide support in the form of salaries for any author, and did not have any additional role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. The specific roles of these authors are articulated in the ‘author contributions’ section
Quantum theory of two-photon interference
In this paper, we study two-photon interference with the approach of photon
quantum theory, with specific attention to the two-photon interference
experiment carried out by Milena D'Angelo et al. (Phys. Rev. Lett 87:013602,
2001). We find the theoretical result is accordance with experiment data.Comment: arXiv admin note: substanital text overlap with arXiv:1011.3593, and
with arXiv:quant-ph/0408001, arXiv:quant-ph/0103035 by other author
Batalin-Vilkovisky formalism in the functional approach to classical field theory
We develop the Batalin-Vilkovisky formalism for classical field theory on
generic globally hyperbolic spacetimes. A crucial aspect of our treatment is
the incorporation of the principle of local covariance which amounts to
formulate the theory without reference to a distinguished spacetime. In
particular, this allows a homological construction of the Poisson algebra of
observables in classical gravity. Our methods heavily rely on the differential
geometry of configuration spaces of classical fields.Comment: 42 pages, improved formulation, typos correcte
Representational predicaments for employees: Their impact on perceptions of supervisors\u27 individualized consideration and on employee job satisfaction
A representational predicament for a subordinate vis-à-vis his or her immediate superior involves perceptual incongruence with the superior about the subordinate\u27s work or work context, with unfavourable implications for the employee. An instrument to measure the incidence of two types of representational predicament, being neglected and negative slanting, was developed and then validated through an initial survey of 327 employees. A subsequent substantive survey with a fresh sample of 330 employees largely supported a conceptual model linking being neglected and negative slanting to perceptions of low individualized consideration by superiors and to low overall job satisfaction. The respondents in both surveys were all Hong Kong Chinese. Two case examples drawn from qualitative interviews illustrate and support the conceptual model. Based on the research findings, we recommend some practical exercises to use in training interventions with leaders and subordinates. © 2013 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC
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