717 research outputs found
D-Brane Dynamics and NS5 Rings
We consider the classical motion of a probe D-brane moving in the background
geometry of a ring of NS5 branes, assuming that the latter are non-dynamical.
We analyse the solutions to the Dirac-Born-Infield (DBI) action governing the
approximate dynamics of the system. In the near horizon (throat) approximation
we find several exact solutions for the probe brane motion. These are compared
to numerical solutions obtained in more general cases. One solution of
particular interest is when the probe undergoes oscillatory motion through the
centre of the ring (and perpendicular to it). By taking the ring radius
sufficiently large, this solution should remain stable to any stringy
corrections coming from open-strings stretching between the probe and the
NS5-branes along the ring.Comment: 17 pages, Latex, 8 figures; References adde
D-brane dynamics near compactified NS5-branes
We examine the dynamics of a -brane in the background of coincident,
parallel 5-branes which have had one of their common transverse directions
compactified. We find that for small energy, bound orbits can exist at
sufficiently large distances where there will be no stringy effects. The orbits
are dependent upon the energy density, angular momentum and electric field. The
analysis breaks down at radial distances comparable with the compactification
radius and we must resort to using a modified form of the harmonic function in
this region.Comment: Latex, 20 pages, 6 figs, references adde
Recomendações sobre o uso dos testes de exercício na prática clínica
Resumo: A elaboração deste documento pelo grupo de trabalho da European Respiratory Society tem como objectivo apresentar as recomendações sobre o uso clÃnico dos testes de exercÃcio em doentes com patologia cardiorrespiratória, dando particular ênfase à avaliação funcional, à avaliação do prognóstico e à avaliação das intervenções terapêuticas.A intolerância ao esforço fÃsico é um dos sintomas mais frequentes, condicionando a perda de qualidade de vida do doente com patologia cardiorrespiratória crónica. Pode definir-se âintolerância ao exercÃcioâ numa perspectiva clÃnica à incapacidade que o doente apresenta para realizar tarefas que os indivÃduos saudáveis considerariam toleráveis.A intolerância ao exercÃcio, considerada em termos do pico de consumo de oxigénio atingido no esforço máximo (VâO2pico) não pode ser prevista por parâmetros avaliados em repouso, como o volume expiratório máximo no primeiro segundo (FEV1), a transferência alvéolo-capilar do monóxido de carbono (DLCO), a fracção de ejecção do ventrÃculo esquerdo ou o Ãndice de massa corporal (IMC). A avaliação em exercÃcio impõe alguns desafios técnicos: a aplicação de protocolos especÃficos de incremento de carga de forma precisa e reprodutÃvel, com o recurso habitual a ergómetros, tais como a bicicleta ergométrica e o tapete rolante.A prova de exercÃcio cardiorrespiratória (CPET) é considerada o gold standard na avaliação das causas de intolerância ao exercÃcio em doentes com doença cardÃaca e pulmonar e é baseado no princÃpio de que a falência do sistema ocorre tipicamente quando o sistema (seja ele músculo-energético, cardiovascular ou pulmonar) se encontra sob stress. A CPET compreende a imposição de um exercÃcio com cargas crescentes (ou seja, incremental) limitado por sintomas, enquanto se monitorizam as variáveis cardiopulmonares (exemplo: consumo de oxigénio (VâO2), produção de dióxido de carbono (VâCO2), ventilação minuto (VâE), frequência cardÃaca (fC)), a percepção de sintomas (exemplo: a dispneia e o desconforto nos membros inferiores) e, quando necessárias, as avaliações da dessaturação arterial do oxigénio relacionada com o esforço, da hiperinsuflação dinâmica e da força muscular dos membros. Os sistemas são forçados até ao seu limite tolerável, de forma controlada, o que permite detectar respostas que identificam padrões de alteração e que podem ser relacionadas com padrões de referência previamente estudados e publicados pelas sociedades respiratórias europeia e americanas1-3.Neste documento, é descrito o papel da CPET como auxiliar no diagnóstico e na avaliação funcional e prognóstica. A CPET pode: â Fornecer uma medição objectiva da capacidade para o exercÃcio; â Identificar os mecanismos que limitam a tolerância ao exercÃcio; â Estabelecer Ãndices de prognóstico; â Monitorizar a progressão da doença e a resposta à s intervenções terapêuticas. â Auxiliar no diagnóstico, em situações de broncoconstrição induzida pelo exercÃcio e de dessaturação arterial do oxigénio. Na identificação das causas de intolerância ao exercÃcio, a CPET pode detectar: â Alterações na entrega de oxigénio (desde a sua entrada nas vias aéreas, passando pelo sistema de transporte cardiocirculatório, até à entrega à s mitocôndrias das fibras musculares); â Limitação ventilatória no exercÃcio; â Alteração do controlo ventilatório; â Alteração das trocas gasosas pulmonares; â Percepção excessiva de sintomas (exemplos: dispneia, precordialgia, fadiga muscular periférica); â Disfunção metabólica muscular; â Descondicionamento; â Fraco esforço dispendido. Com um bom esforço realizado, se o valor do pico do consumo de oxigénio atingido foi normal e o motivo para parar a prova foi dispneia ou fadiga muscular, então pode considerar-se que o indivÃduo estudado tem uma normal tolerância ao exercÃcio. Este cenário irá excluir doença pulmonar (DPOC, doença intersticial pulmonar, doença vascular pulmonar) ou cardÃaca (insuficiência cardÃaca congestiva) significativas como causa de intolerância.A prova de exercÃcio cardiopulmonar pode auxiliar no diagnóstico diferencial entre limitação no esforço de origem pulmonar ou cardiocirculatória. Pode fornecer um perfil de respostas que caracterizam determinadas doenças; exemplo: na DPOC são frequentes a limitação ventilatória, a hiperinsuflação dinâmica, a dessaturação arterial com o exercÃcio, a dispneia, a disfunção dos músculos periféricos; na doença intersticial pulmonar são frequentes a dispneia, a restrição ventilatória mecânica e as alterações graves das trocas gasosas. Outros padrões de respostas podem ser encontrados na broncoconstrição induzida pelo exercÃcio, na doença vascular pulmonar, na insuficiência cardÃaca e em cardiopatias congénitas. A avaliação cardiorrespiratória no exercÃcio fornece ainda indicadores prognósticos em várias doenças. Descrevem-se neste documento vários trabalhos que estudaram os parâmetros indicadores de prognóstico em doenças como a DPOC, a doença intersticial pulmonar, a hipertensão pulmonar primária, a fibrose quÃstica e a insuficiência cardÃaca.Este documento demonstra ainda a utilidade dos testes de exercÃcio na definição das respostas à s intervenções terapêuticas, em avaliações seriadas.O grupo de trabalho envolvido neste documento considerou importante apresentar as indicações baseadas na evidência para a realização dos testes de exercÃcio na prática clÃnica. A evidência actual é clara quanto à utilidade da prova de exercÃcio cardiopulmonar, das provas de marcha e das provas de carga constante na avaliação do grau de intolerância ao exercÃcio, do prognóstico e dos efeitos das intervenções terapêuticas em doentes adultos com doença pulmonar crónica (DPOC, doença intersticial pulmonar, hipertensão pulmonar primária), em crianças e adultos com fibrose quÃstica, em crianças e adultos com broncospasmo induzido pelo exercÃcio, em adultos com insuficiência cardÃaca congestiva e em crianças e adolescentes com cardiopatias congénitas.Na elaboração deste documento, os autores pretenderam fornecer as respostas à s perguntas que se colocam com frequência na prática clÃnica: â Quando se deve pedir uma avaliação da intolerância ao esforço? â Qual o teste mais adequado? â Quais as variáveis a seleccionar na avaliação do prognóstico de determinada doença ou na avaliação do efeito de uma intervenção terapêutica particular? O documento contém ainda um suplemento que pode ser obtido on-line e que descreve as bases fisiológicas subjacentes aos parâmetros avaliados nas provas de exercÃcio cardiopulmonar
Pilot Proof of Concept Clinical Trials of Stochastic Targeted (STAR) Glycemic Control
(open access)Introduction: Tight glycemic control (TGC) has shown benefits but has been difficult to achieve consistently. STAR (Stochastic TARgeted) is a flexible, model-based TGC approach directly accounting for intra- and inter- patient variability with a stochastically derived maximum 5% risk of blood glucose (BG) < 4.0 mmol/L. This research assesses the safety, efficacy, and clinical burden of a STAR TGC controller modulating both insulin and nutrition inputs in pilot trials.
Methods: Seven patients covering 660 hours. Insulin and nutrition interventions are given 1-3 hourly as chosen by the nurse to allow them to manage workload. Interventions are calculated by using clinically validated computer models of human metabolism and its variability in critical illness to maximize the overlap of the model-predicted (5-95th percentile) range of BG outcomes with the 4.0-6.5 mmol/L band while ensuring a maximum 5% risk of BG < 4.0 mmol/L. Carbohydrate intake (all sources) was selected to maximize intake up to 100% of SCCM/ACCP goal (25 kg/kcal/h). Maximum insulin doses and dose changes were limited for safety. Measurements were made with glucometers. Results are compared to those for the SPRINT study, which reduced mortality 25-40% for length of stay ≥3 days. Written informed
consent was obtained for all patients, and approval was granted by the NZ Upper South A Regional Ethics Committee.
Results: A total of 402 measurements were taken over 660 hours (~14/day), because nurses showed a preference for 2-hourly measurements. Median [interquartile range, (IQR)] cohort BG was 5.9 mmol/L [5.2-6.8]. Overall, 63.2%, 75.9%, and 89.8% of measurements were in the 4.0-6.5, 4.0-7.0, and 4.0-8.0 mmol/L bands. There were no
hypoglycemic events (BG < 2.2 mmol/L), and the minimum BG was 3.5 mmol/L with 4.5% < 4.4 mmol/L. Per patient, the median [IQR] hours of TGC was 92 h [29-113] using 53 [19-62] measurements (median, ~13/day). Median [IQR] results: BG, 5.9 mmol/L [5.8-6.3]; carbohydrate nutrition, 6.8 g/h [5.5-8.7] (~70% goal feed median); insulin, 2.5 U/h [0.1-5.1]. All patients achieved BG < 6.1 mmol/L. These results match or exceed SPRINT and clinical workload is reduced more than 20%.
Conclusions: STAR TGC modulating insulin and nutrition inputs provided very tight control with minimal variability by managing intra- and inter- patient variability. Performance and safety exceed that of SPRINT, which reduced mortality and cost in the Christchurch ICU. The use of glucometers did not appear to impact the quality of TGC.
Finally, clinical workload was self-managed and reduced 20% compared with SPRINT
Geometrical Tachyon Kinks and NS5 Branes
We further investigate the 5 ring background using the tachyon map.
Mapping the radion fields to the rolling tachyon helps to explain the motion of
a probe -brane in this background. It turns out that the radion field
becomes tachyonic when the brane is confined to one dimensional motion inside
the ring. We find explicit solutions for the geometrical tachyon field that
describe stable kink solutions which are similar to those of the open string
tachyon. Interestingly in the case of the geometric tachyon, the dynamics is
controlled by a cosine potential. In addition, we couple a constant electric
field to the probe-brane, but find that the only stable kink solutions occur
when there is zero electric field or a critical field value. We also
investigate the behaviour of Non-BPS branes in this background, and find that
the end state of any probe brane is that of tachyonic matter 'trapped' around
the interior of the ring. We conclude by considering compactification of the
ring solution in one of the transverse directions.Comment: Latex, 24 pages, 1 eps fig; clarifying comments added to Section 2;
typos correcte
Fuzzy Sphere Dynamics and Non-Abelian DBI in Curved Backgrounds
We consider the non-Abelian action for the dynamics of -branes in the
background of -branes, which parameterises a fuzzy sphere using the SU(2)
algebra. We find that the curved background leads to collapsing solutions for
the fuzzy sphere except when we have branes in the background, which
is a realisation of the gravitational Myers effect. Furthermore we find the
equations of motion in the Abelian and non-Abelian theories are identical in
the large limit. By picking a specific ansatz we find that we can
incorporate angular momentum into the action, although this imposes restriction
upon the dimensionality of the background solutions. We also consider the case
of non-Abelian non-BPS branes, and examine the resultant dynamics using
world-volume symmetry transformations. We find that the fuzzy sphere always
collapses but the solutions are sensitive to the combination of the two
conserved charges and we can find expanding solutions with turning points. We
go on to consider the coincident 5-brane background, and again construct
the non-Abelian theory for both BPS and non-BPS branes. In the latter case we
must use symmetry arguments to find additional conserved charges on the
world-volumes to solve the equations of motion. We find that in the Non-BPS
case there is a turning solution for specific regions of the tachyon and radion
fields. Finally we investigate the more general dynamics of fuzzy
in the -brane background, and find collapsing solutions
in all cases.Comment: 49 pages, 3 figures, Latex; Version to appear in JHE
Spinflation from Geometric Tachyon
We study the assisted inflation scenario from the rolling of BPS D3-brane
into the NS5-branes, on a transverse geometry of , coupled to
four dimensional gravity. We assume that the branes are distributed along
and the probe D3-branes spin along plane. Qualitatively this process is
similar to that of N-tachyon assisted inflation on unstable D-branes. We
further study the spinflation scenario numerically and analyze its effect.Comment: 18pages, 9 figures, added clarifications, to appear in JHE
Palaeoenvironmental control on distribution of crinoids in the Bathonian (Middle Jurassic) of England and France
Bulk sampling of a number of different marine and marginal marine lithofacies in the British Bathonian has allowed us to assess the palaeoenvironmental distribution of crinoids for the first time. Although remains are largely fragmentary, many species have been identified by comparison with articulated specimens from elsewhere, whilst the large and unbiased sample sizes allowed assessment of relative proportions of different taxa. Results indicate that distribution of crinoids well corresponds to particular facies. Ossicles of Chariocrinus and Balanocrinus dominate in deeper-water and lower-energy facies,with the former extending further into shallower-water facies than the latter. Isocrinus dominates in shallower water carbonate facies, accompanied by rarer comatulids, and was also present in the more marine parts of lagoons. Pentacrinites remains are abundant in very high-energy oolite shoal lithofacies. The presence of millericrinids within one, partly allochthonous lithofacies suggests the presence of an otherwise unknown hard substrate from which they have been transported. These results are compared to crinoid assemblages from other Mesozoic localities, and it is evident that the same morphological ad-aptations are present within crinoids from similar lithofacies throughout the Jurassic and Early Cretaceous
Measurement of Hadron and Lepton-Pair Production at 130GeV < \sqrt{s} < 189 GeV at LEP
We report on measurements of e+e- annihilation into hadrons and lepton pairs.
The data have been collected with the L3 detector at LEP at centre-of-mass
energies between 130 and 189 GeV. Using a total integrated luminosity of 243.7
pb^-1, 25864 hadronic and 8573 lepton-pair events are selected for the
measurement of cross sections and leptonic forward-backward asymmetries. The
results are in good agreement with Standard Model predictions
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