472 research outputs found
Statistics in the Landscape of Intersecting Brane Models
An approach towards a statistical survey of four dimensional supersymmetric
vacua in the string theory landscape is described and illustrated with three
examples of ensembles of intersecting D-brane models. The question whether it
is conceivable to make predictions based on statistical distributions is
discussed. Especially interesting in this context are possible correlations
between low energy observables. As an example we look at correlations between
properties of the gauge sector of intersecting D-brane models and Gepner model
constructions.Comment: Submitted for the SUSY07 proceedings, 4 pages, 2 figure
Diversity in the Tail of the Intersecting Brane Landscape
Techniques are developed for exploring the complete space of intersecting
brane models on an orientifold. The classification of all solutions for the
widely-studied T^6/Z_2 x Z_2 orientifold is made possible by computing all
combinations of branes with negative tadpole contributions. This provides the
necessary information to systematically and efficiently identify all models in
this class with specific characteristics. In particular, all ways in which a
desired group G can be realized by a system of intersecting branes can be
enumerated in polynomial time. We identify all distinct brane realizations of
the gauge groups SU(3) x SU(2) and SU(3) x SU(2) x U(1) which can be embedded
in any model which is compatible with the tadpole and SUSY constraints. We
compute the distribution of the number of generations of "quarks" and find that
3 is neither suppressed nor particularly enhanced compared to other odd
generation numbers. The overall distribution of models is found to have a long
tail. Despite disproportionate suppression of models in the tail by K-theory
constraints, the tail in the distribution contains much of the diversity of
low-energy physics structure.Comment: 48 pages, 8 figure
Power of Black Hole Physics: Seeing through the Vacuum Landscape
In this paper we generalize the black hole bound of arXiv:0706.2050 to de
Sitter spaces, and apply it to various vacua in the landscape, with a special
emphasis on slow-roll inflationary vacua. Non-trivial constraints on the
lifetime and the Hubble expansion rate emerge. For example, the general
tendency is, that for the fixed number and the increasing mass of the species,
vacua must become more curved and more unstable, either classically or quantum
mechanically. We also discuss the constraints on the lifetime of vacua in the
landscape, due to decay into the neighboring states.Comment: 33 page
Selection Of A Novel Aptamer Against Vitronectin Using Capillary Electrophoresis And Next Generation Sequencing
Breast cancer (BC) results in ≃40,000 deaths each year in the United States and even among survivors treatment of the disease may have devastating consequences, including increased risk for heart disease and cognitive impairment resulting from the toxic effects of chemotherapy. Aptamer-mediated drug delivery can contribute to improved treatment outcomes through the selective delivery of chemotherapy to BC cells, provided suitable cancer-specific antigens can be identified. We report here the use of capillary electrophoresis in conjunction with next generation sequencing to develop the first vitronectin (VN) binding aptamer (VBA-01; Kd 405 nmol/l, the first aptamer to vitronectin (VN; Kd = 405 nmol/l), a protein that plays an important role in wound healing and that is present at elevated levels in BC tissue and in the blood of BC patients relative to the corresponding nonmalignant tissues. We used VBA-01 to develop DVBA-01, a dimeric aptamer complex, and conjugated doxorubicin (Dox) to DVBA-01 (7:1 ratio) using pH-sensitive, covalent linkages. Dox conjugation enhanced the thermal stability of the complex (60.2 versus 46.5°C) and did not decrease affinity for the VN target. The resulting DVBA-01-Dox complex displayed increased cytotoxicity to MDA-MB-231 BC cells that were cultured on plasticware coated with VN (1.8 × 10⁻⁶mol/l) relative to uncoated plates (2.4 × 10⁻⁶ mol/l), or plates coated with the related protein fibronectin (2.1 × 10⁻⁶ mol/l). The VBA-01 aptamer was evaluated for binding to human BC tissue using immunohistochemistry and displayed tissue specific binding and apparent association with BC cells. In contrast, a monoclonal antibody that preferentially binds to multimeric VN primarily stained extracellular matrix and vessel walls of BC tissue. Our results indicate a strong potential for using VN-targeting aptamers to improve drug delivery to treat BC
Community-based curriculum in psychiatric nursing science
As community-based health care delivery is now a prominent feature of the health care system in South Africa, nursing curricula are being challenged to prepare student nurses for community based nursing roles and responsibilities. The purpose of this study was to describe guidelines for a community-based curriculum in psychiatric nursing science for a nursing college in KwaZulu-Natal. A qualitative, quantitative, exploratory, descriptive and contextual design was employed. To reach the purpose of the study, a situational analysis was done in three phases to identify the principles for a community-based curriculum for psychiatric nursing science. Phase I: A document analysis of relevant government policies and legislation. Phase II: Statistics from psychiatric hospitals and community psychiatric clinics. Phase III: Focus group interviews with nurse educators and literature control and conceptual framework The principles obtained from the three phases were used to formulate the guidelines for a community-based curriculum in psychiatric nursing science (Phase IV). Eight guidelines with practical implications are described for the implementation of a Community-based curriculum in Psychiatric Nursing Science
Yukawa couplings and masses of non-chiral states for the Standard Model on D6-branes on T6/Z6'
The perturbative leading order open string three-point couplings for the
Standard Model with hidden USp(6) on fractional D6-branes on T6/Z6' from
arXiv:0806.3039 [hep-th], arXiv:0910.0843 [hep-th] are computed. Physical
Yukawa couplings consisting of holomorphic Wilsonian superpotential terms times
a non-holomorphic prefactor involving the corresponding classical open string
Kaehler metrics are given, and mass terms for all non-chiral matter states are
derived. The lepton Yukawa interactions are at leading order flavour diagonal,
while the quark sector displays a more intricate pattern of mixings. While N=2
supersymmetric sectors acquire masses via only two D6-brane displacements -
which also provide the hierarchies between up- and down-type Yukawas within one
quark or lepton generation -, the remaining vector-like states receive masses
via perturbative three-point couplings to some Standard Model singlet fields
with vevs along flat directions. Couplings to the hidden sector and messengers
for supersymmetry breaking are briefly discussed.Comment: 52 pages (including 8p. appendix); 5 figures; 14 tables; v2:
discussion in section 4.1.3 extended, footnote 5 added, typos corrected,
accepted by JHE
Localized tadpoles of anomalous heterotic U(1)'s
We investigate the properties of localized anomalous U(1)'s in heterotic
string theory on the orbifold T^6/Z_3. We argue that the local four dimensional
and original ten dimensional Green-Schwarz mechanisms can be implemented
simultaneously, making the theory manifestly gauge invariant everywhere, in the
bulk and at the fixed points. We compute the shape of the Fayet-Iliopoulos
tadpoles, and cross check this derivation for the four dimensional auxiliary
fields by a direct calculation of the tadpoles of the internal gauge fields.
Finally we study some resulting consequences for spontaneous symmetry breaking,
and derive the profile of the internal gauge field background over the
orbifold.Comment: 35 pages, LaTeX, with figure
Axionic dark energy and a composite QCD axion
We discuss the idea that the model-independent (MI) axion of string theory is
the source of quintessential dark energy. The scenario is completed with a
composite QCD axion from hidden sector squark condensation that could serve as
dark matter candidate. The mechanism relies on the fact that the hidden sector
anomaly contribution to the composite axion is much smaller than the QCD
anomaly term. This intuitively surprising scenario is based on the fact that
below the hidden sector scale there are many light hidden sector
quarks. Simply, by counting engineering dimensions the hidden sector instanton
potential can be made negligible compared to the QCD anomaly term.Comment: 9 pages, 7 figure
Merging Heterotic Orbifolds and K3 Compactifications with Line Bundles
We clarify the relation between six-dimensional Abelian orbifold
compactifications of the heterotic string and smooth heterotic K3
compactifications with line bundles for both SO(32) and E_8 x E_8 gauge groups.
The T^4/Z_N cases for N=2,3,4 are treated exhaustively, and for N=6 some
examples are given. While all T^4/Z_2 and nearly all T^4/Z_3 models have a
simple smooth match involving one line bundle only, this is only true for some
T^4/Z_4 and T^4/Z_6 cases. We comment on possible matchings with more than one
line bundle for the remaining cases. The matching is provided by comparisons of
the massless spectra and their anomalies as well as a field theoretic analysis
of the blow-ups.Comment: 49 pages, 1 figure; v2: references adde
Seasonality in Major Depressive Disorder: Effect of Sex and Age
Background: Aside from the concept of seasonal affective disorder, the evidence for a seasonal pattern (SP) of major depressive disorder (MDD) is controversial. Furthermore, the effect of sex and age is still unclear. Methods: This is a nationwide, registry-based study assessing all inpatient admissions in mental health hospitals due to MDD episodes according to ICD-10 (moderate (F32/33.1), severe (F32/33.2) and severe with psychotic features (F32/33.3)) in Austria across 14 years. Calculations were based on deviations from expected monthly admissions. Results: The sample comprised 231,824 hospitalisations (36.8% men) for MDD. A significant SP (p=0.001) in moderate and severe depressive episodes in both women and men with decreased admission rates in the summer months and December was detected. In psychotic depression a significant SP was only evidenced in women (p = 0.002, men: p = 0.291). Patients older than 55 years had a reduced SP compared to those being younger. Limitations: Only anonymised admission data of inpatient treatments were available. Hospitalization rates cannot fully be equated to the occurrence of MDD. Conclusions: The current study indicates a seasonal variation in MDD symptoms that may go beyond seasonal affective disorder. Knowledge about the predictability of depressive symptoms in patients should encourage preventive strategies
- …