93 research outputs found
The R-map and the Coupling of N=2 Tensor Multiplets in 5 and 4 Dimensions
We study the dimensional reduction of five dimensional N=2
Yang-Mills-Einstein supergravity theories (YMESGT) coupled to tensor
multiplets. The resulting 4D theories involve first order interactions among
tensor and vector fields with mass terms. If the 5D gauge group, K, does not
mix the 5D tensor and vector fields, the 4D tensor fields can be integrated out
in favor of 4D vector fields and the resulting theory is dual to a standard 4D
YMESGT. The gauge group has a block diagonal symplectic embedding and is a
semi-direct product of the 5D gauge group K with a Heisenberg group of
dimension (2P+1), where 2P is the number of tensor fields in five dimensions.
There exists an infinite family of theories, thus obtained, whose gauge groups
are pp-wave contractions of the simple noncompact groups of type SO*(2M). If,
on the other hand, the 5D gauge group does mix the 5D tensor and vector fields,
the resulting 4D theory is dual to a 4D YMESGT whose gauge group does, in
general,NOT have a block diagonal symplectic embedding and involves additional
topological terms. The scalar potentials of the dimensionally reduced theories
naturally have some of the ingredients that were found necessary for stable de
Sitter ground states. We comment on the relation between the known 5D and 4D,
N=2 supergravities with stable de Sitter ground states.Comment: 42 pages;latex fil
Stress-Induced Reinstatement of Drug Seeking: 20 Years of Progress
In human addicts, drug relapse and craving are often provoked by stress. Since 1995, this clinical scenario has been studied using a rat model of stress-induced reinstatement of drug seeking. Here, we first discuss the generality of stress-induced reinstatement to different drugs of abuse, different stressors, and different behavioral procedures. We also discuss neuropharmacological mechanisms, and brain areas and circuits controlling stress-induced reinstatement of drug seeking. We conclude by discussing results from translational human laboratory studies and clinical trials that were inspired by results from rat studies on stress-induced reinstatement. Our main conclusions are (1) The phenomenon of stress-induced reinstatement, first shown with an intermittent footshock stressor in rats trained to self-administer heroin, generalizes to other abused drugs, including cocaine, methamphetamine, nicotine, and alcohol, and is also observed in the conditioned place preference model in rats and mice. This phenomenon, however, is stressor specific and not all stressors induce reinstatement of drug seeking. (2) Neuropharmacological studies indicate the involvement of corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF), noradrenaline, dopamine, glutamate, kappa/dynorphin, and several other peptide and neurotransmitter systems in stress-induced reinstatement. Neuropharmacology and circuitry studies indicate the involvement of CRF and noradrenaline transmission in bed nucleus of stria terminalis and central amygdala, and dopamine, CRF, kappa/dynorphin, and glutamate transmission in other components of the mesocorticolimbic dopamine system (ventral tegmental area, medial prefrontal cortex, orbitofrontal cortex, and nucleus accumbens). (3) Translational human laboratory studies and a recent clinical trial study show the efficacy of alpha-2 adrenoceptor agonists in decreasing stress-induced drug craving and stress-induced initial heroin lapse
Comparative proteomic analysis of spermatozoa isolated by swim-up or density gradient centrifugation
Abstract
BACKGROUND:
Reports about the morphologic and functional characteristics of spermatozoa prepared by density gradient centrifugation (DC) or swim-up (SU) have produced discordant results. We have performed a proteomic comparison of cells prepared by DC and SU providing a molecular insight into the differences between these two methods of sperm cell isolation.
METHODS:
Protein maps were obtained by 2-dimensional (2-D) separations consisting of isoelectrofocusing (IEF) from pI 3 to 11 followed by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. 2-D gels were stained with Sypro Ruby. Map images of DC and SU spermatozoa were compared using dedicated software. Intensities of a given spot were considered different between DC and SU when their group mean differed by >1.5-fold (p<0.05, Anova).
RESULTS:
No differences were observed for 853 spots, indicating a 98.7% similarity between DC and SU. Five spots were DC>SU and 1 was SU>DC. Proteins present in 3 of the differential spots could be identified. One DC>SU spot contained lactate dehydrogenase C and gamma-glutamylhydrolase, a second DC>SU spot contained fumarate hydratase and glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase-2, and a SU>DC spot contained pyruvate kinase M1/M2.
CONCLUSIONS:
The differences in protein levels found on comparison of DC with SU spermatozoa indicate possible dissimilarities in their glycolytic metabolism and DNA methylation and suggest that DC cells may have a better capacitation potential
The neutron and its role in cosmology and particle physics
Experiments with cold and ultracold neutrons have reached a level of
precision such that problems far beyond the scale of the present Standard Model
of particle physics become accessible to experimental investigation. Due to the
close links between particle physics and cosmology, these studies also permit a
deep look into the very first instances of our universe. First addressed in
this article, both in theory and experiment, is the problem of baryogenesis ...
The question how baryogenesis could have happened is open to experimental
tests, and it turns out that this problem can be curbed by the very stringent
limits on an electric dipole moment of the neutron, a quantity that also has
deep implications for particle physics. Then we discuss the recent spectacular
observation of neutron quantization in the earth's gravitational field and of
resonance transitions between such gravitational energy states. These
measurements, together with new evaluations of neutron scattering data, set new
constraints on deviations from Newton's gravitational law at the picometer
scale. Such deviations are predicted in modern theories with extra-dimensions
that propose unification of the Planck scale with the scale of the Standard
Model ... Another main topic is the weak-interaction parameters in various
fields of physics and astrophysics that must all be derived from measured
neutron decay data. Up to now, about 10 different neutron decay observables
have been measured, much more than needed in the electroweak Standard Model.
This allows various precise tests for new physics beyond the Standard Model,
competing with or surpassing similar tests at high-energy. The review ends with
a discussion of neutron and nuclear data required in the synthesis of the
elements during the "first three minutes" and later on in stellar
nucleosynthesis.Comment: 91 pages, 30 figures, accepted by Reviews of Modern Physic
Comparative proteomic analysis of spermatozoa isolated by swim-up or density gradient centrifugation
Some vibrational properties of solid and liquid H2O and D2O derived from differential cross-section measurements
Long-term results of two behavior modification weight loss programs using nutritionists as therapists
- …