The Role of Booster Vaccination and Ongoing Viral Evolution In Seasonal Circulation of SARS-CoV-2

Periodic resurgences of COVID-19 in the coming years can be expected, while public health interventions may be able to reduce their intensity. We used a transmission model to assess how the use of booster doses and non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) amid ongoing pathogen evolution might influence future transmission waves. We find that incidence is likely to increase as NPIs relax, with a second seasonally driven surge expected in autumn 2022. However, booster doses can greatly reduce the intensity of both waves and reduce cumulative deaths by 20% between 7 January 2022 and 7 January 2023. Reintroducing NPIs during the autumn as incidence begins to increase again could also be impactful. Combining boosters and NPIs results in a 30% decrease in cumulative deaths, with potential for greater impacts if variant-adapted boosters are used. Reintroducing these NPIs in autumn 2022 as transmission rates increase provides similar benefits to sustaining NPIs indefinitely (307 000 deaths with indefinite NPIs and boosters compared with 304 000 deaths with transient NPIs and boosters). If novel variants with increased transmissibility or immune escape emerge, deaths will be higher, but vaccination and NPIs are expected to remain effective tools to decrease both cumulative and peak health system burden, providing proportionally similar relative impacts

Extension to order β23\beta^{23} of the high-temperature expansions for the spin-1/2 Ising model on the simple-cubic and the body-centered-cubic lattices

Using a renormalized linked-cluster-expansion method, we have extended to order $\beta^{23}$ the high-temperature series for the susceptibility $\chi$ and the second-moment correlation length $\xi$ of the spin-1/2 Ising models on the sc and the bcc lattices. A study of these expansions yields updated direct estimates of universal parameters, such as exponents and amplitude ratios, which characterize the critical behavior of $\chi$ and $\xi$. Our best estimates for the inverse critical temperatures are $\beta^{sc}_c=0.221654(1)$ and $\beta^{bcc}_c=0.1573725(6)$. For the susceptibility exponent we get $\gamma=1.2375(6)$ and for the correlation length exponent we get $\nu=0.6302(4)$. The ratio of the critical amplitudes of $\chi$ above and below the critical temperature is estimated to be $C_+/C_-=4.762(8)$. The analogous ratio for $\xi$ is estimated to be $f_+/f_-=1.963(8)$. For the correction-to-scaling amplitude ratio we obtain $a^+_{\xi}/a^+_{\chi}=0.87(6)$.Comment: Misprints corrected, 8 pages, latex, no figure

Universal features of the order-parameter fluctuations : reversible and irreversible aggregation

We discuss the universal scaling laws of order parameter fluctuations in any system in which the second-order critical behaviour can be identified. These scaling laws can be derived rigorously for equilibrium systems when combined with the finite-size scaling analysis. The relation between order parameter, criticality and scaling law of fluctuations has been established and the connexion between the scaling function and the critical exponents has been found. We give examples in out-of-equilibrium aggregation models such as the Smoluchowski kinetic equations, or of at-equilibrium Ising and percolation models.Comment: 19 pages, 10 figure

Non-perturbative calculations for the effective potential of the PTPT symmetric and non-Hermitian (−gϕ4)(-g\phi^{4}) field theoretic model

We investigate the effective potential of the $PT$ symmetric $(-g\phi^{4})$ field theory, perturbatively as well as non-perturbatively. For the perturbative calculations, we first use normal ordering to obtain the first order effective potential from which the predicted vacuum condensate vanishes exponentially as $G\to G^+$ in agreement with previous calculations. For the higher orders, we employed the invariance of the bare parameters under the change of the mass scale $t$ to fix the transformed form totally equivalent to the original theory. The form so obtained up to $G^3$ is new and shows that all the 1PI amplitudes are perurbative for both $G\ll 1$ and $G\gg 1$ regions. For the intermediate region, we modified the fractal self-similar resummation method to have a unique resummation formula for all $G$ values. This unique formula is necessary because the effective potential is the generating functional for all the 1PI amplitudes which can be obtained via $\partial^n E/\partial b^n$ and thus we can obtain an analytic calculation for the 1PI amplitudes. Again, the resummed from of the effective potential is new and interpolates the effective potential between the perturbative regions. Moreover, the resummed effective potential agrees in spirit of previous calculation concerning bound states.Comment: 20 page

The color gauge invariance and a possible origin of a mass gap in QCD

The general scale parameter, having the dimensions of mass squared, is dynamically generated in the QCD gluon sector. It is introduced through the difference between the regularized full gluon self-energy and its value at some finite point. It violates transversality of the full gluon self-energy. The Slavnov-Taylor identity for the full gluon propagator, when it is given by the corresponding equation of motion, is also violated by it. So in order to maintain both transversality and the identity it should be disregarded from the very beginning, i.e., put formally zero everywhere. However, we have shown how to preserve the above-mentioned identity at non-zero mass squared parameter. This allows one to establish the structure of the full gluon propagator when it is explicitly present. Its contribution does not survive in the perturbation theory regime when the gluon momentum goes to infinity. At the same time, its contribution dominates the structure of the full gluon propagator when the gluon momentum goes to zero. We have also proposed a method how to restore transversality of the relevant gluon propagator in a gauge invariant way, while keeping the mass squared parameter "alive".Comment: 20 pages, 1 figure, no tables, some final additional material is added minor correction introduced and references rearrange

Palaeoproterozoic magnesite: lithological and isotopic evidence for playa/sabkha environments

Magnesite forms a series of 1- to 15-m-thick beds within the approximate to2.0 Ga (Palaeoproterozoic) Tulomozerskaya Formation, NW Fennoscandian Shield, Russia. Drillcore material together with natural exposures reveal that the 680-m-thick formation is composed of a stromatolite-dolomite-'red bed' sequence formed in a complex combination of shallow-marine and non-marine, evaporitic environments. Dolomite-collapse breccia, stromatolitic and micritic dolostones and sparry allochemical dolostones are the principal rocks hosting the magnesite beds. All dolomite lithologies are marked by delta C-13 values from +7.1 parts per thousand to +11.6 parts per thousand (V-PDB) and delta O-18 ranging from 17.4 parts per thousand to 26.3 parts per thousand (V-SMOW). Magnesite occurs in different forms: finely laminated micritic; stromatolitic magnesite; and structureless micritic, crystalline and coarsely crystalline magnesite. All varieties exhibit anomalously high delta C-13 values ranging from +9.0 parts per thousand to +11.6 parts per thousand and delta O-18 values of 20.0-25.7 parts per thousand. Laminated and structureless micritic magnesite forms as a secondary phase replacing dolomite during early diagenesis, and replaced dolomite before the major phase of burial. Crystalline and coarsely crystalline magnesite replacing micritic magnesite formed late in the diagenetic/metamorphic history. Magnesite apparently precipitated from sea water-derived brine, diluted by meteoric fluids. Magnesitization was accomplished under evaporitic conditions (sabkha to playa lake environment) proposed to be similar to the Coorong or Lake Walyungup coastal playa magnesite. Magnesite and host dolostones formed in evaporative and partly restricted environments; consequently, extremely high delta C-13 values reflect a combined contribution from both global and local carbon reservoirs. A C- 13-rich global carbon reservoir (delta C-13 at around +5 parts per thousand) is related to the perturbation of the carbon cycle at 2.0 Ga, whereas the local enhancement in C-13 (up to +12 parts per thousand) is associated with evaporative and restricted environments with high bioproductivity

Critical exponents and equation of state of the three-dimensional Heisenberg universality class

We improve the theoretical estimates of the critical exponents for the three-dimensional Heisenberg universality class. We find gamma=1.3960(9), nu=0.7112(5), eta=0.0375(5), alpha=-0.1336(15), beta=0.3689(3), and delta=4.783(3). We consider an improved lattice phi^4 Hamiltonian with suppressed leading scaling corrections. Our results are obtained by combining Monte Carlo simulations based on finite-size scaling methods and high-temperature expansions. The critical exponents are computed from high-temperature expansions specialized to the phi^4 improved model. By the same technique we determine the coefficients of the small-magnetization expansion of the equation of state. This expansion is extended analytically by means of approximate parametric representations, obtaining the equation of state in the whole critical region. We also determine a number of universal amplitude ratios.Comment: 40 pages, final version. In publication in Phys. Rev.

PAM50 molecular intrinsic subtypes in the nurses' health Study cohorts

Background: Modified median and subgroup-specific gene subtypes by PAM50 and IHC surrogates improved to fair centering are two essential preprocessing methods to assign when Luminal subtypes were grouped together. Using the breast cancer molecular subtypes by PAM50. We evaluated the modified median method, our study consisted of 46% PAM50 subtypes derived from both methods in a subset of Luminal A, 18% Luminal B, 14% HER2-enriched, 15% Nurses' Health Study (NHS) and NHSII participants; correlat-Basal-like, and 8% Normal-like subtypes; 53% of tumor-ed tumor subtypes by PAM50 with IHC surrogates; and adjacent tissues were Normal-like. Women with the Basal-characterized the PAM50 subtype distribution, proliferation like subtype had a higher rate of relapse within 5 years. scores, and risk of relapse with proliferation and tumor size HER2-enriched subtypes had poorer outcomes prior to weighted (ROR-PT) scores in the NHS/NHSII. 1999. Methods: PAM50 subtypes, proliferation scores, and Conclusions: Either preprocessing method may be uti-ROR-PT scores were calculated for 882 invasive breast tumors lized to derive PAM50 subtypes for future studies. The and 695 histologically normal tumor-adjacent tissues. Cox majority of NHS/NHSII tumor and tumor-adjacent tissues proportional hazards models evaluated the relationship were classified as Luminal A and Normal-like, respectively. between PAM50 subtypes or ROR-PT scores/groups with Impact: Preprocessing methods are important for the recurrence-free survival (RFS) or distant RFS. accurate assignment of PAM50 subtypes. These data provide Results: PAM50 subtypes were highly comparable evidence that either preprocessing method can be used in between the two methods. The agreement between tumor epidemiologic studies

Random Exchange Quantum Heisenberg Chains

The one-dimensional quantum Heisenberg model with random $\pm J$ bonds is studied for $S=\frac{1}{2}$ and $S=1$. The specific heat and the zero-field susceptibility are calculated by using high-temperature series expansions and quantum transfer matrix method. The susceptibility shows a Curie-like temperature dependence at low temperatures as well as at high temperatures. The numerical results for the specific heat suggest that there are anomalously many low-lying excitations. The qualitative nature of these excitations is discussed based on the exact diagonalization of finite size systems.Comment: 13 pages, RevTex, 12 figures available on request ([email protected]

The scintillation and ionization yield of liquid xenon for nuclear recoils

XENON10 is an experiment designed to directly detect particle dark matter. It is a dual phase (liquid/gas) xenon time-projection chamber with 3D position imaging. Particle interactions generate a primary scintillation signal (S1) and ionization signal (S2), which are both functions of the deposited recoil energy and the incident particle type. We present a new precision measurement of the relative scintillation yield \leff and the absolute ionization yield Q_y, for nuclear recoils in xenon. A dark matter particle is expected to deposit energy by scattering from a xenon nucleus. Knowledge of \leff is therefore crucial for establishing the energy threshold of the experiment; this in turn determines the sensitivity to particle dark matter. Our \leff measurement is in agreement with recent theoretical predictions above 15 keV nuclear recoil energy, and the energy threshold of the measurement is 4 keV. A knowledge of the ionization yield \Qy is necessary to establish the trigger threshold of the experiment. The ionization yield \Qy is measured in two ways, both in agreement with previous measurements and with a factor of 10 lower energy threshold.Comment: 8 pages, 9 figures. To be published in Nucl. Instrum. Methods