6,552 research outputs found
On the stability of spacelike hypersurfaces
In this paper we study the strong stability of spacelike hypersurfaces with
constant -th mean curvature in Generalized Robertson-Walker spacetimes of
constant sectional curvature. In particular, we treat the case in which the
ambient spacetime is the de Sitter space
Yang-Mills fields on CR manifolds
We study pseudo Yang-Mills fields on a compact strictly pseudoconvex CR
manifold.Comment: 52 page
The region with trapped surfaces in spherical symmetry, its core, and their boundaries
We consider the region in spacetime containing future-trapped
closed surfaces and its boundary \B, and derive some of their general
properties. We then concentrate on the case of spherical symmetry, but the
methods we use are general and applicable to other situations. We argue that
closed trapped surfaces have a non-local property, "clairvoyance", which is
inherited by \B. We prove that \B is not a marginally trapped tube in
general, and that it can have portions in regions whose whole past is flat. For
asymptotically flat black holes, we identify a general past barrier, well
inside the event horizon, to the location of \B under physically reasonable
conditions. We also define the core of the trapped region as that
part of which is indispensable to sustain closed trapped
surfaces. We prove that the unique spherically symmetric dynamical horizon is
the boundary of such a core, and we argue that this may serve to single it out.
To illustrate the results, some explicit examples are discussed, namely
Robertson-Walker geometries and the imploding Vaidya spacetime.Comment: 70 pages, 14 figures. Figure 6 has been replaced, and corrected.
Minor changes around Propositions 10.3 and 10.4, and some typos correcte
Reconsidering "the love of art" : evaluating the potential of art museum outreach
Art museums have long been identified as bastions of social and cultural exclusion. This conclusion was best evidenced by the large-scale 1967 French study by Bourdieu and Darbel demonstrating the exclusionary nature of āThe Love of Art.ā However, in recent years there have been increasing efforts to reach out to a broader range of visitors beyond conventional
audiences. The present study investigates the impacts of an outreach program at a UK art museum, which sought to engage socially excluded young mothers. This study employs ethnographic research methods on a longitudinal basis to develop qualitative insights about the program seeking to mitigate cultural exclusion. While the studyās findings uphold many longstanding critiques of art museumsā conventional approaches, the study also indicates that carefully designed outreach activities can overcome such limitations and enhance cultural
engagement. Thus, art museumsā limited appeal is tied to problematic public engagement practices that can be changed
Theory of optical spectra of polar quantum wells: Temperature effects
Theoretical and numerical calculations of the optical absorption spectra of
excitons interacting with longitudinal-optical phonons in quasi-2D polar
semiconductors are presented. In II-VI semiconductor quantum wells, exciton
binding energy can be tuned on- and off-resonance with the longitudinal-optical
phonon energy by varying the quantum well width. A comprehensive picture of
this tunning effect on the temperature-dependent exciton absorption spectrum is
derived, using the exciton Green's function formalism at finite temperature.
The effective exciton-phonon interaction is included in the Bethe-Salpeter
equation. Numerical results are illustrated for ZnSe-based quantum wells. At
low temperatures, both a single exciton peak as well as a continuum resonance
state are found in the optical absorption spectra. By contrast, at high enough
temperatures, a splitting of the exciton line due to the real phonon absorption
processes is predicted. Possible previous experimental observations of this
splitting are discussed.Comment: 10 pages, 9 figures, to appear in Phys. Rev. B. Permanent address:
[email protected]
West Highland White Terriers under primary veterinary care in the UK in 2016: demography, mortality and disorders
The West Highland White Terrier (WHWT) is a relatively common breed in the UK, although Kennel Club registrations have declined in recent years. The VetCompassā¢ Programme collates de-identified clinical data from primary-care veterinary practices in the UK for epidemiological research. Using VetCompass clinical data, this study aimed to characterise the demography, longevity and common disorders of WHWTs under primary veterinary care in the UK
Precision Measurement of the Radiative Decay of the Free Neutron
The standard model predicts that, in addition to a proton, an electron, and
an antineutrino, a continuous spectrum of photons is emitted in the
decay of the free neutron. We report on the RDK II experiment which measured
the photon spectrum using two different detector arrays. An annular array of
bismuth germanium oxide scintillators detected photons from 14 to 782~keV. The
spectral shape was consistent with theory, and we determined a branching ratio
of 0.00335 0.00005 [stat] 0.00015 [syst]. A second detector array
of large area avalanche photodiodes directly detected photons from 0.4 to
14~keV. For this array, the spectral shape was consistent with theory, and the
branching ratio was determined to be 0.00582 0.00023 [stat] 0.00062
[syst]. We report the first precision test of the shape of the photon energy
spectrum from neutron radiative decay and a substantially improved
determination of the branching ratio over a broad range of photon energies
Simvastatin inhibits TLR8 signaling in primary human monocytes and spontaneous TNF production from rheumatoid synovial membrane cultures
Simvastatin has been shown to have anti-inflammatory effects that are independent of its serum cholesterol lowering action, but the mechanisms by which these anti-inflammatory effects are mediated have not been elucidated. To explore the mechanism involved, the effect of simvastatin on Toll-like receptor (TLR) signalling in primary human monocytes was investigated. A short pre-treatment with simvastatin dose-dependently inhibited the production of tumor necrosis factor-Ī± (TNF) in response to TLR8 (but not TLRs 2, 4, or 5) activation. Statins are known inhibitors of the cholesterol biosynthetic pathway, but intriguingly TLR8 inhibition could not be reversed by addition of mevalonate or geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate; downstream products of cholesterol biosynthesis. TLR8 signalling was examined in HEK 293 cells stably expressing TLR8, where simvastatin inhibited IKKĪ±/Ī² phosphorylation and subsequent NF-ĪŗB activation without affecting the pathway to AP-1. Since simvastatin has been reported to have anti-inflammatory effects in RA patients and TLR8 signalling contributes to TNF production in human RA synovial tissue in culture, simvastatin was tested in these cultures. Simvastatin significantly inhibited the spontaneous release of TNF in this model which was not reversed by mevalonate. Together, these results demonstrate a hitherto unrecognized mechanism of simvastatin inhibition of TLR8 signalling that may in part explain its beneficial anti-inflammatory effects
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