Generalized duality between local vector theories in D=2+1

The existence of an interpolating master action does not guarantee the same spectrum for the interpolated dual theories. In the specific case of a generalized self-dual (GSD) model defined as the addition of the Maxwell term to the self-dual model in D = 2 + 1, previous master actions have furnished a dual gauge theory which is either nonlocal or contains a ghost mode. Here we show that by reducing the Maxwell term to first order by means of an auxiliary field we are able to define a master action which interpolates between the GSD model and a couple of non-interacting Maxwell-Chern-Simons theories of opposite helicities. The presence of an auxiliary field explains the doubling of fields in the dual gauge theory. A generalized duality transformation is defined and both models can be interpreted as self-dual models. Furthermore, it is shown how to obtain the gauge invariant correlators of the non-interacting MCS theories from the correlators of the self-dual field in the GSD model and vice-versa. The derivation of the non-interacting MCS theories from the GSD model, as presented here, works in the opposite direction of the soldering approach.

Duality of parity doublets of helicity +/- 2 in D=2+1 dimensions

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Spin-1 duality in D dimensions

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Geographic and Educational Factors and Risk of the First Peritonitis Episode in Brazilian Peritoneal Dialysis Study (BRAZPD) Patients

Background and objectives Peritonitis remains as the most frequent cause of peritoneal dialysis (PD) failure, impairing patient's outcome. No large multicenter study has addressed socioeconomic, educational, and geographic issues as peritonitis risk factors in countries with a large geographic area and diverse socioeconomic conditions, such as Brazil.Design, setting, participants, & measurements Incident PD patients recruited from 114 dialysis centers and reporting to BRAZPD, a multicenter observational study, from December 2004 through October 2007 were included. Clinical, dialysis-related, demographic, and socioeconomic variables were analyzed. Patients were followed up until their first peritonitis. Cox proportional model was used to determine independent factors associated with peritonitis.Results In a cumulative follow-up of 2032 patients during 22.026 patient-months, 474 (23.3%) presented a first peritonitis episode. In contrast to earlier findings, PD modality, previous hemodialysis, diabetes, gender, age, and family income were not risk predictors. Factors independently associated with increased hazard risk were lower educational level, non-white race, region where patients live, shorter distance from dialysis center, and lower number of patients per center.Conclusions Educational level and geographic factors as well as race and center size are associated with risk for the first peritonitis, independent of socioeconomic status, PD modality, and comorbidities. Clin J Am Soc Nephrol 6: 1944-1951, 2011. doi: 10.2215/CJN.11431210

Influence of educational level on myocardial hypertrophy of hemodialysis patients

Introduction: Chronic renal disease is associated with a high cardiovascular risk. Data from the general population associate cardiovascular diseases with low educational level, but no study has evaluated this association in patients on hemodialysis. Objective: This study aimed at evaluating the association between educational level, hypertension, and left ventricular hypertrophy in patients on chronic hemodialysis. Methods: A standard socioeconomic questionnaire was applied to 79 hemodialysis patients at the Hospital das Clínicas of Faculdade de Medicina de Botucatu, state of São Paulo. Clinical, laboratory and echocardiographic data were obtained from medical records. The patients were divided into two groups according to the median educational level, as follows: G1, patients with three or less years of schooling; G2, patients with more than three years of schooling. Results: Blood pressure, interdialytic weight gain, and variables statistically different in the two groups (p < 0.2) underwent multiple analysis. Independent associations were stated with p < 0.05 in multiple analysis. The mean age of patients was 57 ± 12.8 years, 46 were males (57%), and 53 white (67%). The variables selected for multiple analysis were: age (p = 0.004); educational level (p < 0.0001); body mass index (p = 0.124); left ventricular diameter (p = 0.048); and left ventricular mass index (p = 0.006). Antihypertensive drugs were similar in both groups. Systolic blood pressure (p = 0.006) and years of schooling (p = 0.047) had a significant and independent correlation with left ventricular mass index. Conclusion: In hemodialysis patients, left ventricular mass associated not only with blood pressure but also with educational level.

Tele-education on Leprosy: Evaluation of an Educational Strategy

The purpose of this research was to evaluate educational strategies applied to a tele-education leprosy course. The curriculum was for members of the Brazilian Family Health Team and was made available through the São Paulo Telehealth Portal. The course educational strategy was based on a constructivist learning model where interactivity was emphasized. Authors assessed motivational aspects of the course using the WebMAC Professional tool. Forty-eight healthcare professionals answered the evaluation questionnaire. Adequate internal consistency was achieved (Cronbach's alpha = 0.79). More than 95% of queried items received good evaluations. Multidimensional analysis according to motivational groups of questions (STIMULATING, MEANINGFUL, ORGANIZED, EASY-TO-USE) showed high agreement. According to WebMAC's criteria, it was considered an awesome course. The tele-educational strategies implemented for leprosy disclosed high motivational scores.

T-duality in 2D integrable models

The non-conformal analogue of Abelian T-duality transformations relating pairs of axial and vector integrable models from the non-Abelian affine Toda family is constructed and studied in detail.

Duality of coordinates and matter fields in curved spacetime

We show that there exists a duality between the local coordinates and the solutions of the Klein-Gerdon equation in curved spacetime in the same sense as in the Minkowski spacetime. However, the duality in curved spacetime does not have the same generality as in flat spacetime and it holds only if the system satisfies certain constraints. We derive these constraints and the basic equations of duality and discuss the implications in the quantum theory. (C) 2000 Elsevier B.V. B.V. All rights reserved.

T-duality in affine NA Toda models

The construction of non-Abelian affine Toda models is discussed in terms of its underlying Lie algebraic structure. It is shown that a subclass of such non-conformal two-dimensional integrable models naturally leads to the construction of a pair of actions, which share the same spectra and are related by canonical transformations.

Duality between non-commutative Yang-Mills-Chem-Simons and non-Abelian self-dual models

By introducing an appropriate parent action and considering a perturbative approach, we establish, up to fourth order terms in the field and for the full range of the coupling constant, the equivalence between the non-commutative Yang-Mills-ChernSimons theory and the non-commutative, non-Abelian self-dual model. In doing this, we consider two different approaches by using both the Moyal star-product and the Seiberg-Witten map. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. B.V. All rights reserved.

Gravitation and duality symmetry

By generalizing the Hodge dual operator to the case of soldered bundles, and working in the context of the teleparallel equivalent of general relativity, an analysis of the duality symmetry in gravitation is performed. Although the basic conclusion is that, at least in the general-case, gravitation is not dual symmetric, there is a particular theory in which this symmetry shows up. It is a self dual (or anti-self dual) teleparallel gravity in which, due to the fact that it does not contribute to the interaction of fermions with gravitation, the purely tensor part of torsion is assumed to vanish. The ensuing fermionic gravitational interaction is found to be chiral. Since duality is intimately related to renormalizability, this theory may eventually be more amenable to renormalization than telepaxallel gravity or general relativity.

Duality between coordinates and Dirac field

The duality between the Cartesian coordinates on the Minkowski space-time and the Dirac field is investigated. Two distinct possibilities to define this duality are shown to exist. In both cases, the equations satisfied by prepotentials are of second order. (C) 2000 Elsevier B.V. B.V. All rights reserved.

Local duality and charge symmetry violation in quark distributions

We use local quark-hadron duality to calculate the nucleon structure function as seen by neutrino and muon beams. Our result indicates a possible signal of charge symmetry violation at the parton level in the very large x region.

Gravity and duality between coordinates and matter fields

We use the duality between the local Cartezian coordinates and the solutions of the Klein-Gordon equation to parametrize locally the spacetime in terms of wave functions and prepotentials. The components of metric, metric connection, curvature as well as the Einstein equation are given in this parametrization. We also discuss the local duality between coordinates and quantum fields and the metric in this later reparametrization. (C) 2000 Elsevier B.V. B.V. All rights reserved.