The Dirichlet Casimir effect for ϕ4\phi^4 theory in (3+1) dimensions: A new renormalization approach

We calculate the next to the leading order Casimir effect for a real scalar field, within $\phi^4$ theory, confined between two parallel plates in three spatial dimensions with the Dirichlet boundary condition. In this paper we introduce a systematic perturbation expansion in which the counterterms automatically turn out to be consistent with the boundary conditions. This will inevitably lead to nontrivial position dependence for physical quantities, as a manifestation of the breaking of the translational invariance. This is in contrast to the usual usage of the counterterms in problems with nontrivial boundary conditions, which are either completely derived from the free cases or at most supplemented with the addition of counterterms only at the boundaries. Our results for the massive and massless cases are different from those reported elsewhere. Secondly, and probably less importantly, we use a supplementary renormalization procedure, which makes the usage of any analytic continuation techniques unnecessary.Comment: JHEP3 format,20 pages, 2 figures, to appear in JHE

Global research priorities for sea turtles : informing management and conservation in the 21st century

Over the past 3 decades, the status of sea turtles and the need for their protection to aid population recovery have increasingly captured the interest of government agencies, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and the general public worldwide. This interest has been matched by increased research attention, focusing on a wide variety of topics relating to sea turtle biology and ecology, together with the interrelations of sea turtles with the physical and natural environments. Although sea turtles have been better studied than most other marine fauna, management actions and their evaluation are often hindered by the lack of data on turtle biology, human–turtle interactions, turtle population status and threats. In an effort to inform effective sea turtle conservation a list of priority research questions was assembled based on the opinions of 35 sea turtle researchers from 13 nations working in fields related to turtle biology and/or conservation. The combined experience of the contributing researchers spanned the globe as well as many relevant disciplines involved in conservation research. An initial list of more than 200 questions gathered from respondents was condensed into 20 metaquestions and classified under 5 categories: reproductive biology, biogeography, population ecology, threats and conservation strategies

The New Look pMSSM with Neutralino and Gravitino LSPs

The pMSSM provides a broad perspective on SUSY phenomenology. In this paper we generate two new, very large, sets of pMSSM models with sparticle masses extending up to 4 TeV, where the lightest supersymmetric particle (LSP) is either a neutralino or gravitino. The existence of a gravitino LSP necessitates a detailed study of its cosmological effects and we find that Big Bang Nucleosynthesis places strong constraints on this scenario. Both sets are subjected to a global set of theoretical, observational and experimental constraints resulting in a sample of \sim 225k viable models for each LSP type. The characteristics of these two model sets are briefly compared. We confront the neutralino LSP model set with searches for SUSY at the 7 TeV LHC using both the missing (MET) and non-missing ET ATLAS analyses. In the MET case, we employ Monte Carlo estimates of the ratios of the SM backgrounds at 7 and 8 TeV to rescale the 7 TeV data-driven ATLAS backgrounds to 8 TeV. This allows us to determine the pMSSM parameter space coverage for this collision energy. We find that an integrated luminosity of \sim 5-20 fb^{-1} at 8 TeV would yield a substantial increase in this coverage compared to that at 7 TeV and can probe roughly half of the model set. If the pMSSM is not discovered during the 8 TeV run, then our model set will be essentially void of gluinos and lightest first and second generation squarks that are \lesssim 700-800 GeV, which is much less than the analogous mSUGRA bound. Finally, we demonstrate that non-MET SUSY searches continue to play an important role in exploring the pMSSM parameter space. These two pMSSM model sets can be used as the basis for investigations for years to come.Comment: 54 pages, 22 figures; typos fixed, references adde

The Role of Sexual and Reproductive Rights in Social Work Practice

The understanding and promotion of sexual and reproductive rights are essential in the social work profession, not only to improve the health status of affected populations but to advocate effectively for social justice and to respond to globalized realities. This article highlights the relevance of sexual and reproductive rights in the philosophical foundation and practice of social work, emphasizes the impact of reproductive health and rights on women's lives, and proposes a social work agenda that will embrace and promote sexual and reproductive rights. It uses policy statements from the International Federation of Social Workers as well as a human rights framework focused on sexual and reproductive rights that stems from the global feminist movement.Yeshttps://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/manuscript-submission-guideline

The dynamics of poverty in Britain

Research carried out by the Inst. for Social and Economic Research, Univ. of EssexAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre-DSC:7761.4795(no 157) / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreSIGLEGBUnited Kingdo

Vascular-targeting anti-oxidant therapy in a model of hypertension and stroke

Oxidative stress is implicated in the pathogenesis of hypertension and stroke. Superoxide (SO) is produced by NAD(P)H oxidase in the vasculature and reduces nitric oxide (NO) bioavailability, which leads to increased blood pressure. The objective of this study was to determine whether targeting an anti-oxidant peptide to the vasculature would increase the anti-oxidant effect and reduce systolic blood pressure (SBP) in a model of genetic hypertension, the stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHRSP). Vascular-targeting peptides CRPPR and CSGMARTKC were identified by phage display in mice. These peptides retain their selectivity across species and target the aorta (CRPPR) and cardiac vasculature (CSGMARTKC) in the SHRSP. These vascular-targeting peptides were linked to the anti-oxidant peptide gp91ds, which selectively inhibits assembly of NAD(P)H oxidase, thereby reducing SO production. SBP was determined for one week prior to treatment, followed by three weeks of study duration before sacrifice. SBP in the control animals increased from 178.1 +/- 4.1 mmHg to 201.6 +/- 9.0 mmHg. The SBP of the animals treated with gp91ds alone, HIV-tat-gp91ds and CSGMARTKC-gp91ds increased from 177.8 +/- 3.5 mmHg, 179.8 +/- 4.7 mmHg and 177.9 +/- 5.2 mmHg, respectively, to 201.6 +/- 10.8 mmHg, 200.3 +/- 11.7 mmHg and 205.7 +/- 10.9 mmHg, respectively. This increase in SBP was significantly attenuated in animals receiving CRPPR-gp91ds (maximum SBP 187.5 mmHg +/- 5.2, * p < 0.001 vs. other treatment groups and control group). Additionally, animals treated with CRPPR-gp91ds, CSGMARTKC-gp91ds and gp91ds alone showed significantly improved nitric oxide (NO) bioavailability determined by large vessel myography. Therefore, targeting an anti-oxidant to the aortic vasculature in vivo using peptides can significantly improve NO bioavailability and attenuate the time-dependent and progressive increase in SBP in the SHRSP. This study has demonstrated the importance and potential benefit of targeting a biologically active peptide in the context of a pre-clinical model of endothelial dysfunction and hypertension