Higgs Inflation and the Refined dS Conjecture

The refined de Sitter derivative conjecture provides constraints to potentials that are low energy effective theories of quantum gravity. It can give direct bounds on inflationary scenarios and determine whether the theory is in the Landscape or the Swampland. We consider the `Higgs inflation' scenario taking the refined de Sitter derivative conjecture into account. Obtaining the critical lines for the potential, we find a conjecture parameter space in which the `Higgs inflation' is to be in the Landscape. Comparing with the model independent observational bounds from recent data we find that the observational bounds represent the Higgs inflation can be in the Landscape.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, Version to appear in PL

Composite Hybrid Inflation: Dilaton and Waterfall Pions

We investigate the possibility that inflation originates from a composite field theory, in terms of an effective chiral Lagrangian involving a dilaton and pions. The walking dynamics of the theory constrain the potential in a specific way, where the anomalous dimensions of operators involving pions play a crucial role. For realistic values of the anomalous dimensions, we find a successful hybrid inflation occurring via the dilaton-inflaton, with the pions acting as waterfall fields. Compositeness consistency strongly constrain the model, predicting a dilaton scale $f_\chi \sim \mathcal{O} (1)$ in unit of the Planck scale, an inflation scale $H_\text{inf} \sim 10^{10}$ GeV, and the pion scale around $10^{14}$ GeV. We further discuss possible phenomenological consequences of this theory.Comment: 14 pages, 4 figure

Axion Quality Problem and Non-Minimal Gravitational Coupling in the Palatini Formulation

In axion models, the global U(1) Peccei-Quinn (PQ) symmetry is explicitly broken by non-perturbative effects of gravity, such as axionic wormholes. The gravitational violation of the PQ symmetry due to wormholes is large enough to invalidate the PQ mechanism, which is entitled as the axion quality problem. Recently, a novel solution to this quality problem was suggested, where the non-minimal coupling of the axion field to gravity $\xi$ is introduced to suppress the wormhole contribution. In this work, we revisit the problem in a different but equally valid formulation of gravity, namely the Palatini formulation, where the Ricci scalar is solely determined by connection. We first find the axionic wormhole solution in the Palatini formulation, taking the full dynamical radial mode as well as the axial mode, then show that the quality problem is still resolved with the non-minimal coupling $\xi$. The requested lower bound of $\xi$ in the Palatini formulation turns out to be slightly higher than that in the metric formulation.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figures, v2: matches published version in Phys. Rev.

Differential effects of secreted frizzled-related proteins (sFRPs) on osteoblastic differentiation of mouse mesenchymal cells and apoptosis of osteoblasts

Secreted frizzled-related proteins (sFRPs) are modulators of Wnt signaling. This study was undertaken for definitive assessment of contribution of different sFRPs in osteoblastic differentiation of mesenchymal progenitor cells and apoptosis of osteoblasts. Treatment of C3H10T1/2 cells with sFRP-2 at concentrations of 10, 50, and 100nM and sFRP-4 at low concentrations (5nM) significantly increased Wnt-3A-induced alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activities, whereas sFRP-1 or 3 did not. Retroviral transduction of the sFRP-2 but not other sFRPs also significantly enhanced ALP activity induced by beta-glycerophosphate and ascorbic acid. Furthermore, transfection of all the sFRP expression vectors significantly increased beta-catenin/TCF reporter activity and the effects were most prominent with sFRP-2 and -4. In osteoblast apoptosis assay, only sFRP-3 increased etoposide-induced apoptosis in MC3T3-E1 mouse osteoblasts. In conclusion, we found that different repertoires of sFRPs exert differential effects on osteoblastic differentiation of mouse mesenchymal cells and cellular apoptosis of mouse osteoblasts in vitro

Treatment of two Asiatic black bears (Ursus thibetanus) with severe injuries and their subsequent release into the wild: a case report

Background The rehabilitation of injured wildlife and their subsequent release into the wild is a humane act as well as important in wildlife conservation. However, little is known about the animals fate after release. Therefore, to address these uncertainties, it is essential to adequately describe how the injured animals were treated and managed before releasing into the wild; moreover, post-release monitoring should also be performed. Herein, we document for the first time the process of rescue, surgery, and rehabilitation of severely injured Asiatic black bears (Ursus thibetanus; endangered species in South Korea) and their fate after returning to the wild. Case presentation A six-year-old female (bear-01) and a three-year-old male (bear-02) bears were injured by an illegal snare and collision with a bus, respectively. Bear-01 had broad muscle necrosis and ruptures from the snared ankle on the right thoracic limb, with myiasis, and elbow disarticulation was performed. In bear-02, a non-reducible comminuted fracture of the left humerus was confirmed radiologically, and the operation was performed by using dual plate fixation with hydroxyapatite and recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein-2. The bear-01 and -02 were completely healed approximately 30 and 60 days after surgery, respectively. After that, they underwent rehabilitation for 8 and 25 days, respectively, in an outdoor enclosure similar to their natural habitat. Bear-01 and -02 were released into the wild after 45 and 99 days after surgery, respectively, and their mean daily movement distance during the first 30 days after releasing was 2.9 ± 2.1 and 1.3 ± 1.6 km, respectively. The annual mean 95% Kernel home-range size of bear-01 and bear-02 was 265.8 and 486.9 km2, respectively. They hibernated every winter, gained weight, gave birth to cubs (bear-01), were not found to have any abnormalities in the veterinary tests, and were not involved in any conflicts with humans after returning to the wild. Conclusions Bears without one leg or those with dual plates could adapt well in their natural habitat, which shows that our surgical and post-operative treatments were effective. Additionally, minimizing human contact and observing/evaluating behavior during the rehabilitation is essential in reducing human-bear conflicts after release.This work conducted as part of a restoration project of endangered Asiatic black bears by the Ministry of Environment. In addition, this work was financially supported by a grant of the Korea Health Technology Development R&D Project through the Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI), funded by the Ministry of Health & Welfare, Republic of Korea (grant number: HI19C0642), Rural Development Administration, Republic of Korea and Korea Institute of Planning and Evaluation for Technology in Food, Agriculture and Forestry (IPET) through Useful Agricultural Life Resources Industry Technology Development Program, funded by Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (MAFR A)(120054021HD020). These three funders had no role in the study design, data collection and analysis, interpretation of the results, manuscript preparation, or decision to disseminate and publish the study findings

Volumetric change of the latissimus dorsi muscle after immediate breast reconstruction with an extended latissimus dorsi musculocutaneous flap

Background In immediate breast reconstruction using an extended latissimus dorsi musculocutaneous (eLDMC) flap, the volume of the flap decreases, which causes a secondary deformity of the breast shape. Since little research has investigated this decrease in muscle volume, the authors conducted an objective study to characterize the decrease in muscle volume after breast reconstruction using an eLDMC flap. Methods Research was conducted from October 2011 to November 2016. The subjects included 23 patients who underwent mastectomy due to breast cancer, received immediate reconstruction using an eLDMC flap without any adjuvant chemotherapy or radiotherapy, and received a computed tomography (CT) scan from days 7 to 10 after surgery and 6 to 8 months postoperatively. In 10 patients, an additional CT scan was conducted 18 months postoperatively. Axial CT scans were utilized to measure the volumetric change of the latissimus dorsi muscle during the follow-up period. Results In the 23 patients, an average decrease of 54.5% was observed in the latissimus dorsi muscle volume between the images obtained immediately postoperatively and the scans obtained 6 to 8 months after surgery. Ten patients showed an average additional decrease of 11.9% from 6–8 months to 18 months after surgery. Conclusions We studied changes in the volume of the latissimus dorsi muscle after surgery using an eLDMC flap performed after a mastectomy without adjuvant chemotherapy or radiotherapy. In this study, we found that immediate breast reconstruction using a latissimus dorsi muscle flap led to a decrease in muscle volume of up to 50%

Femoral geometry, bone mineral density, and the risk of hip fracture in premenopausal women: a case control study

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.Background The purpose of this study was to determine the relationships among hip geometry, bone mineral density, and the risk of hip fracture in premenopausal women. Methods The participants in this case–control study were 16 premenopausal women with minimal-trauma hip fractures (fracture group) and 80 age-and BMI-adjusted controls. Subjects underwent dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) to assess BMD at the proximal femur and to obtain DXA-derived hip geometry measurements. Results The fracture group had a lower mean femoral neck and total hip BMD than the control group (0.721 ± 0.123 vs. 0.899 ± 0.115, p <0.001 for the femoral neck BMD and 0.724 ± 0.120 vs. 0.923 ± 0.116, p <0.001 for the total hip BMD). In addition, participants in the fracture group had a longer hip axis length (HAL; p = 0.007), narrower neck shaft angle (NSA; p = 0.008), smaller cross sectional area (CSA; p < 0.001) and higher cross sectional moment of inertia (CSMI; p = 0.004) than those in control group. After adjusting for BMD, the fracture group still had a significantly longer mean HAL (p = 0.020) and narrower NSA (p = 0.006) than the control group. Conclusions BMD is an important predictor of hip fracture in premenopausal women. Furthermore, HAL and NSA are BMD-independent predictors of hip fracture in premenopausal women. Hip geometry may be clinically useful for identification of premenopausal women for whom active fracture prevention should be considered