1,088 research outputs found
Hemodynamic Environments from Opposing Sides of Human Aortic Valve Leaflets Evoke Distinct Endothelial Phenotypes In Vitro
The regulation of valvular endothelial phenotypes by the hemodynamic environments of the human aortic valve is poorly understood. The nodular lesions of calcific aortic stenosis (CAS) develop predominantly beneath the aortic surface of the valve leaflets in the valvular fibrosa layer. However, the mechanisms of this regional localization remain poorly characterized. In this study, we combine numerical simulation with in vitro experimentation to investigate the hypothesis that the previously documented differences between valve endothelial phenotypes are linked to distinct hemodynamic environments characteristic of these individual anatomical locations. A finite-element model of the aortic valve was created, describing the dynamic motion of the valve cusps and blood in the valve throughout the cardiac cycle. A fluid mesh with high resolution on the fluid boundary was used to allow accurate computation of the wall shear stresses. This model was used to compute two distinct shear stress waveforms, one for the ventricular surface and one for the aortic surface. These waveforms were then applied experimentally to cultured human endothelial cells and the expression of several pathophysiological relevant genes was assessed. Compared to endothelial cells subjected to shear stress waveforms representative of the aortic face, the endothelial cells subjected to the ventricular waveform showed significantly increased expression of the āatheroprotectiveā transcription factor Kruppel-like factor 2 (KLF2) and the matricellular protein Nephroblastoma overexpressed (NOV), and suppressed expression of chemokine Monocyte-chemotactic protein-1 (MCP-1). Our observations suggest that the difference in shear stress waveforms between the two sides of the aortic valve leaflet may contribute to the documented differential side-specific gene expression, and may be relevant for the development and progression of CAS and the potential role of endothelial mechanotransduction in this disease.National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Molecular, Cellular, and Tissue Biomechanics training grant (T32 EB006348))National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (NHLBI RO1-HL7066686)Charles Stark Draper Laboratory (Fellowship
Supersymmetry enhancement by monopole operators
We describe a method which allows one to study hidden symmetries in a large
class of strongly coupled supersymmetric gauge theories in three dimensions. We
apply this method to the ABJM theory and to the infrared limit of N=4 SQCD with
adjoint and fundamental matter. We show that the U(N) ABJM model with
Chern-Simons level k=1 or k=2 has hidden N=8 supersymmetry. Hidden
supersymmetry is also shown to occur in N=4 d=3 SQCD with one fundamental and
one adjoint hypermultiplet. The latter theory, as well as the U(N) ABJM theory
at k=1, are shown to have a decoupled free sector. This provides evidence that
both models are dual to the infrared limit of N=8 U(N) super-Yang-Mills theory.Comment: 29 pages, late
Majorana Zero-modes and Topological Phases of Multi-flavored Jackiw-Rebbi model
Motivated by the recent Kitaev's K-theory analysis of topological insulators
and superconductors, we adopt the same framework to study the topological phase
structure of Jackiw-Rebbi model in 3+1 dimensions. According to the K-theory
analysis based on the properties of the charge conjugation and time reversal
symmetries, we classify the topological phases of the model. In particular, we
find that there exist Majorana zero-modes hosted by the
hedgehogs/t'Hooft-Polyakov monopoles, if the model has a time reversal
symmetry. Guided by the K-theory results, we then explicitly show that a single
Majorana zero mode solution exists for the SU(2) doublet fermions in some
co-dimensional one planes of the mass parameter space. It turns out we can see
the existence of none or a single zero mode when the fermion doublet is only
two. We then take a step further to consider four-fermion case and find there
can be zero, one or two normalizable zero mode in some particular choices of
mass matrices. Our results also indicate that a single normalizable Majorana
zero mode can be compatible with the cancellation of SU(2) Witten anomaly.Comment: 29 pages, 3 figures; v2, typos correcte
New Constraints (and Motivations) for Abelian Gauge Bosons in the MeV-TeV Mass Range
We survey the phenomenological constraints on abelian gauge bosons having
masses in the MeV to multi-GeV mass range (using precision electroweak
measurements, neutrino-electron and neutrino-nucleon scattering, electron and
muon anomalous magnetic moments, upsilon decay, beam dump experiments, atomic
parity violation, low-energy neutron scattering and primordial
nucleosynthesis). We compute their implications for the three parameters that
in general describe the low-energy properties of such bosons: their mass and
their two possible types of dimensionless couplings (direct couplings to
ordinary fermions and kinetic mixing with Standard Model hypercharge). We argue
that gauge bosons with very small couplings to ordinary fermions in this mass
range are natural in string compactifications and are likely to be generic in
theories for which the gravity scale is systematically smaller than the Planck
mass - such as in extra-dimensional models - because of the necessity to
suppress proton decay. Furthermore, because its couplings are weak, in the
low-energy theory relevant to experiments at and below TeV scales the charge
gauged by the new boson can appear to be broken, both by classical effects and
by anomalies. In particular, if the new gauge charge appears to be anomalous,
anomaly cancellation does not also require the introduction of new light
fermions in the low-energy theory. Furthermore, the charge can appear to be
conserved in the low-energy theory, despite the corresponding gauge boson
having a mass. Our results reduce to those of other authors in the special
cases where there is no kinetic mixing or there is no direct coupling to
ordinary fermions, such as for recently proposed dark-matter scenarios.Comment: 49 pages + appendix, 21 figures. This is the final version which
appears in JHE
BPS States, Refined Indices, and Quiver Invariants
For D=4 BPS state construction, counting, and wall-crossing thereof, quiver
quantum mechanics offers two alternative approaches, the Coulomb phase and the
Higgs phase, which sometimes produce inequivalent counting. The authors have
proposed, in arXiv:1205.6511, two conjectures on the precise relationship
between the two, with some supporting evidences. Higgs phase ground states are
naturally divided into the Intrinsic Higgs sector, which is insensitive to
wall-crossings and thus an invariant of quiver, plus a pulled-back ambient
cohomology, conjectured to be an one-to-one image of Coulomb phase ground
states. In this note, we show that these conjectures hold for all cyclic
quivers with Abelian nodes, and further explore angular momentum and R-charge
content of individual states. Along the way, we clarify how the protected spin
character of BPS states should be computed in the Higgs phase, and further
determine the entire Hodge structure of the Higgs phase cohomology. This shows
that, while the Coulomb phase states are classified by angular momentum, the
Intrinsic Higgs states are classified by R-symmetry.Comment: 51 pages, 5 figure
QCD axion and quintessential axion
The axion solution of the strong CP problem is reviewed together with the
other strong CP solutions. We also point out the quintessential
axion(quintaxion) whose potential can be extremely flat due to the tiny ratio
of the hidden sector quark mass and the intermediate hidden sector scale. The
quintaxion candidates are supposed to be the string theory axions, the model
independent or the model dependent axions.Comment: 15 pages. Talk presented at Castle Ringberg, June 9-14, 200
Immodest and proud
In his āAmbitious, Yet Modest, Metaphysicsā, Hofweber (Metametaphysics, Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp 260ā289, 2009a) puts forward arguments against positions in metaphysics that he describes as āimmodestā; a position he identifies as defended by Jonathan Lowe. In this paper I reply to Hofweberās arguments, offering a defence of immodest metaphysics of the type practiced by Lowe (The possibility of metaphysics, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1998) inter alia
Chiral perturbation theory in a magnetic background - finite-temperature effects
We consider chiral perturbation theory for SU(2) at finite temperature in
a constant magnetic background . We compute the thermal mass of the pions
and the pion decay constant to leading order in chiral perturbation theory in
the presence of the magnetic field. The magnetic field gives rise to a
splitting between and as well as between
and . We also calculate the free energy and the
quark condensate to next-to-leading order in chiral perturbation theory. Both
the pion decay constants and the quark condensate are decreasing slower as a
function of temperature as compared to the case with vanishing magnetic field.
The latter result suggests that the critical temperature for the chiral
transition is larger in the presence of a constant magnetic field. The increase
of as a function of is in agreement with most model calculations but
in disagreement with recent lattice calculations.Comment: 24 pages and 9 fig
Soliton pair creation in classical wave scattering
We study classical production of soliton-antisoliton pairs from colliding
wave packets in (1+1)-dimensional scalar field model. Wave packets represent
multiparticle states in quantum theory; we characterize them by energy E and
particle number N. Sampling stochastically over the forms of wave packets, we
find the entire region in (E,N) plane which corresponds to classical creation
of soliton pairs. Particle number is parametrically large within this region
meaning that the probability of soliton-antisoliton pair production in
few-particle collisions is exponentially suppressed.Comment: 16 pages, 8 figures, journal version; misprint correcte
A Study of Wall-Crossing: Flavored Kinks in D=2 QED
We study spectrum of D=2 N=(2,2) QED with N+1 massive charged chiral
multiplets, with care given to precise supermultiplet countings. In the
infrared the theory flows to CP^N model with twisted masses, where we construct
generic flavored kink solitons for the large mass regime, and study their
quantum degeneracies. These kinks are qualitatively different and far more
numerous than those of small mass regime, with features reminiscent of
multi-pronged (p,q) string web, complete with the wall-crossing behavior. It
has been also conjectured that spectrum of this theory is equivalent to the
hypermultiplet spectrum of a certain D=4 Seiberg-Witten theory. We find that
the correspondence actually extends beyond hypermultiplets in D=4, and that
many of the relevant indices match. However, a D=2 BPS state is typically
mapped to several different kind of dyons whose individual supermultiplets are
rather complicated; the match of index comes about only after summing over
indices of these different dyons. We note general wall-crossing behavior of
flavored BPS kink states, and compare it to those of D=4 dyons.Comment: 47 pages, 5 figures; typos fixed; references adde
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