Progress in Gauge-Higgs Unification on the Lattice

We study a five-dimensional pure SU(2) gauge theory formulated on the orbifold and discretized on the lattice by means of Monte Carlo simulations. The gauge symmetry is explicitly broken to U(1) at the orbifold boundaries. The action is the Wilson plaquette action with a modified weight for the boundary U(1) plaquettes. We study the phase transition and present results for the spectrum and the shape of the static potential on the boundary. The latter is sensitive to the presence of a massive Z-boson, in good agreement with the directly measured Z-boson mass. The results may support an alternative view of the lattice orbifold (stemming from its mean-field study) as a 5d bosonic superconductor.Comment: 9 pages, 10 figures, PoS(LATTICE 2013)061; changed section 2.

The Surface Tension of Some Oral Antiseptics

The bio-chemist is now thouroughly (sic) interested in the theories and principles which underly physical Chemistry. The results of these investigations are such, that they have brought about a change in the treatment of many diseases. It shall be the purpose of this paper to illustrate by experiment the importance of principles in oral antiseptics these theories and principles in oral antiseptics. It shall be endeavoured to show that an oral antiseptic with a low surface tension is necessary for good ad­sorption. That good adsorption is necessary in order to reach the bacteria that are in the deep crevices of the mouth. The human subject was given a uniform amount of solu­tion to wash his mouth with, for a prescribed time, at regular intervals; cultures were then taken before, and after each washing in order to determine to some degree the amount of adsorption

Fatal land: war, empire, and the Highland soldier in British America, 1756-1783

This thesis examines the experiences and impacts of the deployment of Highland soldiers to North America in the mid to late-eighteenth century. Between 1756 and 1783, Britain sent ten Highland battalions to the North American theatre, where they fought for the duration of both the Seven Years‟ War and the War of American Independence. The pressures of recruiting, utilizing, and demobilizing these men created powerful new forces in the Scottish Highlands, occurring, and in some cases prefiguring, the region‟s severe socio-economic problems. The impact of military contributions to the imperial state also had significant implications for Gaelic self-perception and the politics of loyalty and interest. This thesis asserts the importance of imperial contacts in shaping the development of the Scottish Highlands within the British state. Rejecting the narrative of a centrifugal empire based on military subjugation, this thesis argues that Gaels, of all social groups, constructed their own experiences of empire, having tremendous agency in how that relationship was formed. The British Empire was not constructed only through the extension or strengthening of state apparatus in various geographical spaces. It was formed by the decision of local actors to willingly embrace the perceived advantages of empire. Ultimately, the disproportionately large Highland commitment to military service was a largely negative force in the Highlands. This thesis establishes, however, the importance of political and ideological imperatives which drove these decisions, imperatives that were predicated on inter-peripheral contacts with British America. It establishes the extent to which Highland soldiers willingly ensured the development of British imperialism in the late eighteenth century

‘All spirited likely young lads’: free men of colour, the defence of Jamaica, and subjecthood during the American War for Independence

The American War for Independence provided opportunities across the British Americas for people of African descent to embrace military service as a means of enhancing their rights. In Jamaica wartime disagreements between imperial officials and the planter elite gave free men of colour an opportunity to lay claim to fairer treatment and the rights of subjecthood through military service. By examining a series of unique and unprecedented petitions and recruiting proclamations, this article reconstructs the creation of the Jamaica Rangers in 1782 and reveals how free men challenged the racial hierarchies of the island and coalesced politically a decade before scholars have previously recognised the emergence of community mobilisation

Potential of DNA zygosity tests for non-invasive evaluation of risk of complications in twin pregnancies

Objectives: To evaluate and compare the potential of DNA analysis and ultrasound examination for diagnosis of high-risk and low-risk twin pregnancies. Material and methods: Chorionicity of 42 twin pregnancies was determined by routine high-resolution sonographic examination between 10 and 14 weeks of gestation. Zygosity was analysed in umbilical cord blood samples collected immediately after the birth by genotyping of 22 autosomal short tandem repeats used in human identity testing. Results: Routine ultrasound imaging in the first trimester of twin gestations revealed 21 low-risk dichorionic (50%) and 21 high-risk monochorionic pregnancies (50%). DNA typing of umbilical cord blood showed 23 twin pairs with different genotypes (low-risk dizygotic pregnancies, 55%) and 19 twin pairs with identical genotypes (high-risk monozygotic pregnancies, 45%). We found four pregnancies (10%), which were diagnosed sonographically as monochorionic diamniotic, but were identified as dizygotic in postnatal DNA testing. They constituted 19% of all high-risk monochorionic pregnancies detected by ultrasound imaging. Conclusions: Our results indicate high potential of prenatal DNA testing of zygosity in identification of low-risk and high-risk twin gestations requiring different prenatal care, especially in cases when chorionicity and zygosity cannot be reliably determined by ultrasound examination and as a supplementary test able to detect gestations misdiagnosed as monochorionic, resulting from fusions of dizygotic placentas. In such cases, dizygosity detected prenatally eliminates the need for frequent prenatal visits typical for monochorionic pregnancies. If chorionicity cannot be unequivocally determined and a prenatal DNA test detects monozygotic twins, a more pessimistic variant of monochorionic pregnancy should always be assumed