602 research outputs found
Exploring the meson spectrum with twisted mass lattice QCD
Numerical simulations with access to all possible meson quantum numbers,
J^{PC}, are presented using two-flavor (up and down) quenched twisted mass
lattice QCD with three different lattice spacings and four different quark
masses. The connection between the quantum numbers (P and C) and the symmetries
of the twisted mass action are discussed, as is the connection between J and
the lattice rotation group, for the 400 operators used in this study. Curve
fitting of this large data set is accomplished by using an evolutionary fitting
algorithm. Results are reported for conventional and exotic quantum numbers.Comment: 23 pages, 10 figures, published versio
The scalar gluonium correlator: large-beta_0 and beyond
The investigation of the scalar gluonium correlator is interesting because it
carries the quantum numbers of the vacuum and the relevant hadronic current is
related to the anomalous trace of the QCD energy-momentum tensor in the chiral
limit. After reviewing the purely perturbative corrections known up to
next-next-to-leading order, the behaviour of the correlator is studied to all
orders by means of the large-beta_0 approximation. Similar to the QCD Adler
function, the large-order behaviour is governed by the leading ultraviolet
renormalon pole. The structure of infrared renormalon poles, being related to
the operator product expansion are also discussed, as well as a low-energy
theorem for the correlator that provides a relation to the renormalisation
group invariant gluon condensate, and the vacuum matrix element of the trace of
the QCD energy-momentum tensor.Comment: 14 pages, references added, discussion of IR renormalon pole at u=3
extended, similar version to appear in JHE
Linearized gravity and gauge conditions
In this paper we consider the field equations for linearized gravity and
other integer spin fields on the Kerr spacetime, and more generally on
spacetimes of Petrov type D. We give a derivation, using the GHP formalism, of
decoupled field equations for the linearized Weyl scalars for all spin weights
and identify the gauge source functions occuring in these. For the spin weight
0 Weyl scalar, imposing a generalized harmonic coordinate gauge yields a
generalization of the Regge-Wheeler equation. Specializing to the Schwarzschild
case, we derive the gauge invariant Regge-Wheeler and Zerilli equation directly
from the equation for the spin 0 scalar.Comment: 24 pages, corresponds to published versio
Follow-up of blood-pressure lowering and glucose control in type 2 diabetes.
BACKGROUND
In the Action in Diabetes and Vascular Disease: Preterax and Diamicron Modified Release Controlled Evaluation (ADVANCE) factorial trial, the combination of perindopril and indapamide reduced mortality among patients with type 2 diabetes, but intensive glucose control, targeting a glycated hemoglobin level of less than 6.5%, did not. We now report results of the 6-year post-trial follow-up.
METHODS
We invited surviving participants, who had previously been assigned to perindopril–indapamide or placebo and to intensive or standard glucose control (with the glucose-control comparison extending for an additional 6 months), to participate in a post-trial follow-up evaluation. The primary end points were death from any cause and major macrovascular events.
RESULTS
The baseline characteristics were similar among the 11,140 patients who originally underwent randomization and the 8494 patients who participated in the post-trial follow-up for a median of 5.9 years (blood-pressure–lowering comparison) or 5.4 years (glucose-control comparison). Between-group differences in blood pressure and glycated hemoglobin levels during the trial were no longer evident by the first post-trial visit. The reductions in the risk of death from any cause and of death from cardiovascular causes that had been observed in the group receiving active blood-pressure–lowering treatment during the trial were attenuated but significant at the end of the post-trial follow-up; the hazard ratios were 0.91 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.84 to 0.99; P=0.03) and 0.88 (95% CI, 0.77 to 0.99; P=0.04), respectively. No differences were observed during follow-up in the risk of death from any cause or major macrovascular events between the intensive-glucose-control group and the standard-glucose-control group; the hazard ratios were 1.00 (95% CI, 0.92 to 1.08) and 1.00 (95% CI, 0.92 to 1.08), respectively.
CONCLUSIONS
The benefits with respect to mortality that had been observed among patients originally assigned to blood-pressure–lowering therapy were attenuated but still evident at the end of follow-up. There was no evidence that intensive glucose control during the trial led to long-term benefits with respect to mortality or macrovascular events
The Radio Properties of Composite LINER/HII Galaxies
Arcsec-resolution VLA observations -- newly obtained as well as published --
of 40 nearby galaxies are discussed, completing a study of the radio properties
of a magnitude-limited sample of nearby galaxies of the composite LINER/HII
type. Our results reveal an overall detection rate of at least 25% AGN
candidates among these composite sources. The general properties of these AGN
candidates, as compared to non-AGN composite sources and HII galaxies, are
discussed.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ
Pre-peak ram pressure stripping in the Virgo cluster spiral galaxy NGC 4501
VIVA HI observations of the Virgo spiral galaxy NGC 4501 are presented. The
HI disk is sharply truncated to the southwest, well within the stellar disk. A
region of low surface-density gas, which is more extended than the main HI
disk, is discovered northeast of the galaxy center. These data are compared to
existing 6cm polarized radio continuum emission, Halpha, and optical broad band
images. We observe a coincidence between the western HI and polarized emission
edges, on the one hand, and a faint Halpha emission ridge, on the other. The
polarized emission maxima are located within the gaps between the spiral arms
and the faint Halpha ridge. Based on the comparison of these observations with
a sample of dynamical simulations with different values for maximum ram
pressure and different inclination angles between the disk and the orbital
plane,we conclude that ram pressure stripping can account for the main observed
characteristics. NGC 4501 is stripped nearly edge-on, is heading southwest, and
is ~200-300 Myr before peak ram pressure, i.e. its closest approach to M87. The
southwestern ridge of enhanced gas surface density and enhanced polarized
radio-continuum emission is due to ram pressure compression. It is argued that
the faint western Halpha emission ridge is induced by nearly edge-on ram
pressure stripping. NGC 4501 represents an especially clear example of early
stage ram pressure stripping of a large cluster-spiral galaxy.Comment: 22 pages, 25 figures, accepted for publication in A&
Electrostatic and electrokinetic contributions to the elastic moduli of a driven membrane
We discuss the electrostatic contribution to the elastic moduli of a cell or
artificial membrane placed in an electrolyte and driven by a DC electric field.
The field drives ion currents across the membrane, through specific channels,
pumps or natural pores. In steady state, charges accumulate in the Debye layers
close to the membrane, modifying the membrane elastic moduli. We first study a
model of a membrane of zero thickness, later generalizing this treatment to
allow for a finite thickness and finite dielectric constant. Our results
clarify and extend the results presented in [D. Lacoste, M. Cosentino
Lagomarsino, and J. F. Joanny, Europhys. Lett., {\bf 77}, 18006 (2007)], by
providing a physical explanation for a destabilizing term proportional to
\kps^3 in the fluctuation spectrum, which we relate to a nonlinear ()
electro-kinetic effect called induced-charge electro-osmosis (ICEO). Recent
studies of ICEO have focused on electrodes and polarizable particles, where an
applied bulk field is perturbed by capacitive charging of the double layer and
drives flow along the field axis toward surface protrusions; in contrast, we
predict "reverse" ICEO flows around driven membranes, due to curvature-induced
tangential fields within a non-equilibrium double layer, which hydrodynamically
enhance protrusions. We also consider the effect of incorporating the dynamics
of a spatially dependent concentration field for the ion channels.Comment: 22 pages, 10 figures. Under review for EPJ
Brugia malayi Antigen (BmA) inhibits HIV-1 trans-infection but neither BmA nor ES-62 alter HIV-1 infectivity of DC induced CD4+ Th-cells
One of the hallmarks of HIV-1 disease is the association of heightened CD4+ T-cell activation with HIV-1 replication. Parasitic helminths including filarial nematodes have evolved numerous and complex mechanisms to skew, dampen and evade human immune responses suggesting that HIV-1 infection may be modulated in co-infected individuals. Here we studied the effects of two filarial nematode products, adult worm antigen from Brugia malayi (BmA) and excretory-secretory product 62 (ES-62) from Acanthocheilonema viteae on HIV-1 infection in vitro. Neither BmA nor ES-62 influenced HIV-1 replication in CD4+ enriched T-cells, with either a CCR5- or CXCR4-using virus. BmA, but not ES-62, had the capacity to bind the C-type lectin dendritic cell-specific intercellular adhesion molecule-3-grabbing non-integrin (DC-SIGN) thereby inhibiting HIV-1 trans-infection of CD4+ enriched T-cells. As for their effect on DCs, neither BmA nor ES-62 could enhance or inhibit DC maturation as determined by CD83, CD86 and HLA-DR expression, or the production of IL-6, IL-10, IL-12 and TNF-α. As expected, due to the unaltered DC phenotype, no differences were found in CD4+ T helper (Th) cell phenotypes induced by DCs treated with either BmA or ES-62. Moreover, the HIV-1 susceptibility of the Th-cell populations induced by BmA or ES-62 exposed DCs was unaffected for both CCR5- and CXCR4-using HIV-1 viruses. In conclusion, although BmA has the potential capacity to interfere with HIV-1 transmission or initial viral dissemination through preventing the virus from interacting with DCs, no differences in the Th-cell polarizing capacity of DCs exposed to BmA or ES-62 were observed. Neither antigenic source demonstrated beneficial or detrimental effects on the HIV-1 susceptibility of CD4+ Th-cells induced by exposed DCs
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