Abstract The ratio of central charges in four-dimensional CFT s has been suggested by Hofman and Maldacena to lie within an interval whose boundaries are fixed by the number of supersymmetries. We compute this ratio for a set of interacting N = 1 superconformal field theories which arise as RG fixed points of supersymmetric Yang-Mills theories with adjoint and fundamental matter. We do not find...

A recently proposed renormalization group technique, based on the hierarchical structures present in theories with fluctuating geometry, is implemented in the model of branched polymers. The renormalization group equations can be solved analytically , and we observe a flow between the two fixed points of the model.

Introduction and Aim. Further gains in the prevention of drug abuse disorders require in-depth and holistic understanding of the risk factors of addiction from different perspectives. Lay persons and experts have different concepts of risk which could complement each other. The purpose of this study was to elaborate drug abuse risk factors through the story of individuals who had become drug de...

The goal of this work-in-progress is to improve student engagement and learning in courses that form the core of a discipline. Such gateway courses represent critical milestones in a student's academic career and have a strong influence on his or her attitude and future success in engineering. We contend that students who struggle in gateway courses do so because they are having difficulty with...

BACKGROUND The 'gateway' pattern of drug initiation describes a normative sequence, beginning with alcohol and tobacco use, followed by cannabis, then other illicit drugs. Previous work has suggested that 'violations' of this sequence may be predictors of later problems but other determinants were not considered. We have examined the role of pre-existing mental disorders and sociodemographics i...

Climbing the Drug Staircase: A Bayesian Analysis of the Initiation of Hard Drug Use Empirical studies have found that cannabis commonly precedes consumption of drugs like amphetamine, ecstasy, cocaine and heroin. As a result a causal linkage between cannabis and subsequent hard drug use has been hypothesized. Despite mixed empirical evidence and a limited understanding of possible transmission ...

Marijuana is often referred to as a gateway drug due its placement in the stage-like progression of use (Kandel, 2002; Zimmer & Morgan, 1997). This study examines concept from an insiders’ perspective. Qualitative, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 51 current and former users marijuana. Data collected between 2000 2002. on histories perceptions about marijuana analyzed. While 80.3%...

We review some of the uses of Whitham hierarchies in the context of the theory of the prepotential in N = 2 supersymmetric gauge theories. We focus on the structure of the contact terms in the twisted topological theory, and on the connection between Whitham hierarchies and the u-plane integrals for higher rank gauge groups, trying to put together the different approaches involved in this conne...

aims: adolescence is one the most precarious periods of life, concerning the drug abuse. the social cost of the drug abuse and injury among adolescents is extraordinary and requires intervention. the theory of planned behavior (tpb) is perhaps the most influential theory for prediction of social and health behaviors including drug abuse. this study aimed at designing and implementing a curricul...