2,574 research outputs found
Precision MRI phenotyping enables detection of small changes in body composition for longitudinal cohorts
Longitudinal studies provide unique insights into the impact of environmental factors and lifespan issues on health and disease. Here we investigate changes in body composition in 3088 free-living participants, part of the UK Biobank in-depth imaging study. All participants underwent neck-to-knee MRI scans at the first imaging visit and after approximately two years (second imaging visit). Image-derived phenotypes for each participant were extracted using a fully-automated image processing pipeline, including volumes of several tissues and organs: liver, pancreas, spleen, kidneys, total skeletal muscle, iliopsoas muscle, visceral adipose tissue (VAT), abdominal subcutaneous adipose tissue, as well as fat and iron content in liver, pancreas and spleen. Overall, no significant changes were observed in BMI, body weight, or waist circumference over the scanning interval, despite some large individual changes. A significant decrease in grip strength was observed, coupled to small, but statistically significant, decrease in all skeletal muscle measurements. Significant increases in VAT and intermuscular fat in the thighs were also detected in the absence of changes in BMI, waist circumference and ectopic-fat deposition. Adjusting for disease status at the first imaging visit did not have an additional impact on the changes observed. In summary, we show that even after a relatively short period of time significant changes in body composition can take place, probably reflecting the obesogenic environment currently inhabited by most of the general population in the United Kingdom
Evidence for the classical integrability of the complete AdS(4) x CP(3) superstring
We construct a zero-curvature Lax connection in a sub-sector of the
superstring theory on AdS(4) x CP(3) which is not described by the
OSp(6|4)/U(3) x SO(1,3) supercoset sigma-model. In this sub-sector worldsheet
fermions associated to eight broken supersymmetries of the type IIA background
are physical fields. As such, the prescription for the construction of the Lax
connection based on the Z_4-automorphism of the isometry superalgebra OSp(6|4)
does not do the job. So, to construct the Lax connection we have used an
alternative method which nevertheless relies on the isometry of the target
superspace and kappa-symmetry of the Green-Schwarz superstring.Comment: 1+26 pages; v2: minor typos corrected, acknowledgements adde
Ten-Dimensional Super-Twistors and Super-Yang-Mills
Four-dimensional super-twistors provide a compact covariant description of
on-shell N=4 d=4 super-Yang-Mills. In this paper, ten-dimensional
super-twistors are introduced which similarly provide a compact covariant
description of on-shell d=10 super-Yang-Mills. The super-twistor variables are
Z=(lambda^alpha, mu_alpha, Gamma^m) where lambda^alpha and mu_alpha are
constrained bosonic d=10 spinors and Gamma^m is a constrained fermionic d=10
vector. The Penrose map relates the twistor superfield Phi(Z) with the d=10
super-Yang-Mills vertex operator lambda^alpha A_alpha(x,theta) which appears in
the pure spinor formalism of the superstring, and the cubic super-Yang-Mills
amplitude is proportional to the super-twistor integral \int dZ Phi_1 Phi_2
Phi_3.Comment: 14 pages harvmac, added short clarificatio
Superparticle Models with Tensorial Central Charges
A generalization of the Ferber-Shirafuji formulation of superparticle
mechanics is considered. The generalized model describes the dynamics of a
superparticle in a superspace extended by tensorial central charge coordinates
and commuting twistor-like spinor variables. The D=4 model contains a
continuous real parameter and at a=0 reduces to the SU(2,2|1)
supertwistor Ferber-Shirafuji model, while at a=1 one gets an OSp(1|8)
supertwistor model of ref. [1] (hep-th/9811022) which describes BPS states with
all but one unbroken target space supersymmetries. When 0<a<1 the model admits
an OSp(2|8) supertwistor description, and when a>1 the supertwistor group
becomes OSp(1,1|8). We quantize the model and find that its quantum spectrum
consists of massless states of an arbitrary (half)integer helicity. The
independent discrete central charge coordinate describes the helicity spectrum.
We also outline the generalization of the a=1 model to higher space-time
dimensions and demonstrate that in D=3,4,6 and 10, where the quantum states are
massless, the extra degrees of freedom (with respect to those of the standard
superparticle) parametrize compact manifolds. These compact manifolds can be
associated with higher-dimensional helicity states. In particular, in D=10 the
additional ``helicity'' manifold is isomorphic to the seven-sphere.Comment: 32 pages, LATEX, no figure
Action for the eleven dimensional multiple M-wave system
We present the covariant supersymmetric and kappa-symmetric action for a
system of N nearly coincident M-waves (multiple M0-brane system) in flat eleven
dimensional superspace.Comment: 4+ pages, RevTeX4, no figures. V2: misprints corrected, discussion
extended, references added, LaTeX, 10 pages. V3: misprints corrected. V4,
extended version, 1+13 pages, to appear in JHE
Ecology and application of haloalkaliphilic anaerobic microbial communities
Haloalkaliphilic microorganisms that grow optimally at high-pH and high-salinity conditions can be found in natural environments such as soda lakes. These globally spread lakes harbour interesting anaerobic microorganisms that have the potential of being applied in existing technologies or create new opportunities. In this review, we discuss the potential application of haloalkaliphilic anaerobic microbial communities in the fermentation of lignocellulosic feedstocks material subjected to an alkaline pre-treatment, methane production and sulfur removal technology. Also, the general advantages of operation at haloalkaline conditions, such as low volatile fatty acid and sulfide toxicity, are addressed. Finally, an outlook into the main challenges like ammonia toxicity and lack of aggregation is provided.This work was performed in the TTIW-
cooperation framework of Wetsus, European Centre of Excel-
lence for Sustainable Water Technology (www.wetsus.nl).
Wetsus is funded by the Dutch Ministry of Economic
Affairs, the European Union Regional Development Fund,
the Province of Fryslân, the City of Leeuwarden and the EZ/Kompas program of theâ
Samenwerkingsverband Noord-Nederlandâ. The authors would like to thank the participants of
the research theme "Sulfur", namely Paqell, for fruitful discussions and financial suppor
Spin states of the first four holes in a silicon nanowire quantum dot
We report measurements on a silicon nanowire quantum dot with a clarity that
allows for a complete understanding of the spin states of the first four holes.
First, we show control of the hole number down to one. Detailed measurements at
perpendicular magnetic fields reveal the Zeeman splitting of a single hole in
silicon. We are able to determine the ground-state spin configuration for one
to four holes occupying the quantum dot and find a spin filling with
alternating spin-down and spin-up holes, which is confirmed by
magnetospectroscopy up to 9T. Additionally, a so far inexplicable feature in
single-charge quantum dots in many materials systems is analyzed in detail. We
observe excitations of the zero-hole ground-state energy of the quantum dot,
which cannot correspond to electronic or Zeeman states. We show that the most
likely explanation is acoustic phonon emission to a cavity between the two
contacts to the nanowire.Comment: 24 pages, 8 figures, both including supporting informatio
Superlattices Consisting of "Lines" of Adsorbed Hydrogen Atom Pairs on Graphene
The structures and electron properties of new superlattices formed on
graphene by adsorbed hydrogen molecules are theoretically described. It has
been shown that superlattices of the (n, 0) zigzag type with linearly arranged
pairs of H atoms have band structures similar to the spectra of (n, 0) carbon
nanotubes. At the same time, superlattices of the (n, n) type with a
"staircase" of adsorbed pairs of H atoms are substantially metallic with a high
density of electronic states at the Fermi level and this property distinguishes
their spectra from the spectra of the corresponding (n, n) nanotubes. The
features of the spectra have the Van Hove form, which is characteristic of each
individual superlattice. The possibility of using such planar structures with
nanometer thickness is discussed.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure
A New First Class Algebra, Homological Perturbation and Extension of Pure Spinor Formalism for Superstring
Based on a novel first class algebra, we develop an extension of the pure
spinor (PS) formalism of Berkovits, in which the PS constraints are removed. By
using the homological perturbation theory in an essential way, the BRST-like
charge of the conventional PS formalism is promoted to a bona fide
nilpotent charge , the cohomology of which is equivalent to the
constrained cohomology of . This construction requires only a minimum number
(five) of additional fermionic ghost-antighost pairs and the vertex operators
for the massless modes of open string are obtained in a systematic way.
Furthermore, we present a simple composite "-ghost" field which
realizes the important relation , with the
Virasoro operator, and apply it to facilitate the construction of the
integrated vertex. The present formalism utilizes U(5) parametrization and the
manifest Lorentz covariance is yet to be achieved.Comment: 38 pages, no figure. Proof of triviality of delta-homology improved
and a reference adde
Blue laser cooling transitions in Tm I
We have studied possible candidates for laser cooling transitions in
Tm in the spectral region 410 -- 420 nm. By means of saturation
absorption spectroscopy we have measured the hyperfine structure and rates of
two nearly closed cycling transitions from the ground state
to upper states
at
410.6 nm and
at
420.4 nm and evaluated the life times of the excited levels as 15.9(8) ns and
48(6) ns respectively. Decay rates from these levels to neighboring
opposite-parity levels are evaluated by means of Hartree-Fock calculations. We
conclude, that the strong transition at 410.6 nm has an optical leak rate of
less then and can be used for efficient laser cooling of
Tm from a thermal atomic beam. The hyperfine structure of two other
even-parity levels which can be excited from the ground state at 409.5 nm and
418.9 nm is also measured by the same technique. In addition we give a
calculated value of s for the rate of magnetic-dipole transition
at 1.14 m between the fine structure levels
of the ground state which can be
considered as a candidate for applications in atomic clocks.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figure
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