Transient hygro- and hydro-expansion of freely and restrained dried paper: the fiber-network coupling

The transient dimensional changes during \textit{hygro}-expansion and \textit{hydro}-expansion of freely and restrained dried, softwood and hardwood sheets and fibers is monitored, to unravel the governing micro-mechanisms occurring during gradual water saturation. The response of individual fibers is measured using a full-field global digital height correlation method, which has been extended to monitor the transient \textit{hydro}-expansion of fibers from dry to fully saturated. The \textit{hygro}- and \textit{hydro}-expansion is larger for freely versus restrained dried and softwood versus hardwood handsheets. The transient sheet-scale \textit{hydro}-expansion reveals a sudden strain and moisture content step. It is postulated that the driving mechanism is the moisture-induced softening of the so-called "dislocated regions" in the fiber's cellulose micro-fibrils, unlocking further fiber swelling. The strain step is negligible for restrained dried handsheets, which is attributed to the "dislocated cellulose regions" being locked in their stretched configuration during restrained drying, which is supported by the single fiber \textit{hydro}-expansion measurements. Finally, an inter-fiber bond model is exploited and adapted to predict the sheet-scale \textit{hygro}-expansion from the fiber level characteristics. The model correctly predicts the qualitative differences between freely versus restrained dried and softwood versus hardwood handsheets, yet, its simplified geometry does not allow for more quantitative predictions of the sheet-scale \textit{hydro}-expansion.Comment: 37 pages; 12 figures; 5 table

Intraoperative detection of insufficient surgical margins in head and neck cancer resection using dual aperture fluorescence ratio imaging

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Non-supersymmetric Black Holes and Topological Strings

We study non-supersymmetric, extremal 4 dimensional black holes which arise upon compactification of type II superstrings on Calabi-Yau threefolds. We propose a generalization of the OSV conjecture for higher derivative corrections to the non-supersymmetric black hole entropy, in terms of the one parameter refinement of topological string introduced by Nekrasov. We also study the attractor mechanism for non-supersymmetric black holes and show how the inverse problem of fixing charges in terms of the attractor value of CY moduli can be explicitly solved.Comment: 47 pages, harvmac. v2: footnote(4) expanded, references adde

Twistor Strings with Flavour

We explore the tree-level description of a class of N=2 UV-finite SYM theories with fundamental flavour within a topological B-model twistor string framework. In particular, we identify the twistor dual of the Sp(N) gauge theory with one antisymmetric and four fundamental hypermultiplets, as well as that of the SU(N) theory with 2N hypermultiplets. This is achieved by suitably orientifolding/orbifolding the original N=4 setup of Witten and adding a certain number of new topological 'flavour'-branes at the orientifold/orbifold fixed planes to provide the fundamental matter. We further comment on the appearance of these objects in the B-model on CP(3|4). An interesting aspect of our construction is that, unlike the IIB description of these theories in terms of D3 and D7-branes, on the twistor side part of the global flavour symmetry is realised geometrically. We provide evidence for this correspondence by calculating and matching amplitudes on both sides.Comment: 38+12 pages; uses axodraw.sty. v2: References added, minor clarification

POS0054 THE IMPACT AND OUTCOME OF COVID-19 ON SYSTEMIC SCLEROSIS PATIENTS FROM THE EUROPEAN SCLERODERMA TRIAL AND RESEARCH GROUP (EUSTAR)

Background:Coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) has been a major clinical challenge worldwide. Sex, age and comorbidities have been associated with worse outcome in the general population. Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a severe, autoimmune disease with frequent multi-organ involvement.Objectives:To assess the impact of COVID-19 and to determine factors associated with worse outcome in SSc patients from the European Scleroderma Trial and Research (EUSTAR) database.Methods:SSc patients from the EUSTAR database with COVID-19 were prospectively collected between 15.03.-31.12.2020. Two outcomes were chosen: (1) hospitalization; and (2) severe outcome defined as either non-invasive ventilation, mechanical ventilation/extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) or death. General risk factors assessed were sex, age and number of comorbidities. SSc related risk factors were SSc subtype, autoantibodies, disease duration, SSc associated organ manifestations including interstitial lung disease (ILD), pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), cardiac, gastrointestinal (GI), and musculoskeletal involvement; digital ulcers (DU), CRP at last visit, renal disease (scleroderma renal crisis and SSc associated renal insufficiency), modified Rodnan skin score (mRSS) and immunosuppressive treatment. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression models were applied.Results:In total, 178 European SSc patients with COVID-19 were registered with a median observation time of 5.5 weeks (Table 1). 95 patients (53%) could recall SAR-Cov-2 contact, while 47 (26%) had no contact. 156 (88%) were symptomatic at COVID-19 onset with fever, cough, malaise and dyspnea being most prevalent. Over the disease course, 63 (36%) developed pneumonia. In total, 67/176 (38%) were hospitalized which were in 84% due to COVID-19. 41/170 (24%) had a severe outcome including 21 (12%) deaths. 128 (72%) recovered completely, while 14 (8%) complained of sequela, with 7 (50%) stating respiratory complications. Age, non-SSc comorbidities, presence of ILD, PAH and SSc associated renal or cardiac disease were numerically associated with hospitalization and severe outcome (Table 1). Univariable logistic analyses for hospitalization and severe outcome are shown in Figure 1. In multivariable logistic regression, age (OR 1.03, 95%CI 1.01-1.07, p=0.019), presence of non-SSc comorbidities (OR 2.52, 95%CI 1.16-5.47, p=0.019) and SSc-related renal disease (predicting success perfectly) were associated with hospitalization and for severe outcome age (OR 1.05, 95%CI 1.01-1.08).Conclusion:SSc patients at older age, with non-SSc comorbidities, SSc related renal disease or ILD are at risk of a more severe outcome and should follow precautions to avoid COVID-19 infections and need careful monitoring in case of COVID-19.Table 1.SSc disease characteristics of COVID-19 patientsAll(n=172)Hospitalized(n=67)Severe outcome(n=41)Age at COVID-19, yrs (SD)57 (14.0)63 (13.8)65 (12.2)Male sex, n (%)38 (21)18 (27)12 (29)≥1 comorbidity, n (%)63/176 (36)37 (55)30 (58)SSc disease duration at COVID, yrs (SD)11.5 (8.8)13.3 (9.7)12.7 (10.2)Diffuse cutaneous SSc, n (%)74 (42)29 (43)19 (46)mRSS, median (IQR)5 (8)5 (9)5 (7)ILD, n (%)90/175 (51)36/65 (55)26/40 (65)PAH, n (%)21/175 (12)11/65 (17)8/40 (20)GI disease, n (%)112/176 (64)45 (67)30 (73)Cardiac disease, n (%)37/166 (22)19/59 (32)16/36 (44)Musculoskeletal disease, n (%)40/175 (23)15/65 (23)6/40 (15)Renal disease, n (%)8/175 (5)7/65 (11)5/40 (13)Ever DU, n (%)69/175 (39)27/65 (42)14/40 (35)CRP, ng/ml (SD)35/177 (20)14 (21)9 (22)Immunosuppressive treatment, n (%)104/177 (59)41/66 (62)26 (63)Figure 1.Univariable logistic analyses for hospitalization and severe outcomeDisclosure of Interests:Anna-Maria Hoffmann-Vold Speakers bureau: Actelion, Boehringer Ingelheim, Roche, Merck Sharp & Dohme, ARXX, Lilly and Medscape, Consultant of: Actelion, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bayer, ARXX, and Medscape, Grant/research support from: Boehringer Ingelheim, Cathrine Brunborg: None declared, Francesca Tirelli: None declared, Patricia Carreira: None declared, Nicoletta Del Papa: None declared, Arsene Mekinian: None declared, Madelon Vonk: None declared, Alessandro Giollo: None declared, Giacomo De Luca: None declared, Maria De Santis: None declared, Corrado Campochiaro: None declared, Carina Mihai: None declared, Paolo Airò Speakers bureau: Bristol Myers Squibb, Bohringer Ingelheim, Consultant of: Bristol Myers Squibb, Bohringer Ingelheim, non-financial support from CSL Behring, SOBI, Janssen, Roche, Sanofi, Pfizer, Maria Grazia Lazzaroni: None declared, Elisabetta Zanatta: None declared, Rosario Foti: None declared, Yannick Allanore: None declared, Daniel Furst: None declared, Marco Matucci-Cerinic: None declared, Armando Gabrielli: None declared, Oliver Distler Speakers bureau: Actelion, Kymera Therapeutics, Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma, Abbvie, Acceleron, Alexion, Amgen, AnaMar, Arxx Therapeutics, Baecon, Discovery, Blade Therapeutics, Corbus Pharmaceuticals, Drug Development International, Ltd, CSL Behring, Galapagos NV, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, GSK, Horizon (Curzion) Pharmaceuticals, Inventiva, iQvia, Kymera Therapeutics, Lilly, Novartis, Pfizer, Topadur and UCB, Consultant of: Actelion, Kymera Therapeutics, Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma, Abbvie, Acceleron, Alexion, Amgen, AnaMar, Arxx Therapeutics, Baecon, Discovery, Blade Therapeutics, Corbus Pharmaceuticals, Drug Development International, Ltd, CSL Behring, Galapagos NV, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, GSK, Horizon (Curzion) Pharmaceuticals, Inventiva, iQvia, Kymera Therapeutics, Lilly, Novartis, Pfizer, Topadur and UCB, Grant/research support from: Boehringer Ingelheim

Is It Rational to Assume that Infants Imitate Rationally? A Theoretical Analysis and Critique

It has been suggested that preverbal infants evaluate the efficiency of others' actions (by applying a principle of rational action) and that they imitate others' actions rationally. The present contribution presents a conceptual analysis of the claim that preverbal infants imitate rationally. It shows that this ability rests on at least three assumptions: that infants are able to perceive others' action capabilities, that infants reason about and conceptually represent their own bodies, and that infants are able to think counterfactually. It is argued that none of these three abilities is in place during infancy. Furthermore, it is shown that the idea of a principle of rational action suffers from two fallacies. As a consequence, is it suggested that it is not rational to assume that infants imitate rationally. Copyright (C) 2012 S. Karger AG, Base

A replication study confirms the association of TNFSF4 (OX40L) polymorphisms with systemic sclerosis in a large European cohort

<p><b>Objectives</b> The aim of this study was to confirm the influence of TNFSF4 polymorphisms on systemic sclerosis (SSc) susceptibility and phenotypic features.</p> <p><b>Methods</b> A total of 8 European populations of Caucasian ancestry were included, comprising 3014 patients with SSc and 3125 healthy controls. Four genetic variants of TNFSF4 gene promoter (rs1234314, rs844644, rs844648 and rs12039904) were selected as genetic markers.</p> <p><b>Results</b> A pooled analysis revealed the association of rs1234314 and rs12039904 polymorphisms with SSc (OR 1.15, 95% CI 1.02 to 1.31; OR 1.18, 95% CI 1.08 to 1.29, respectively). Significant association of the four tested variants with patients with limited cutaneous SSc (lcSSc) was revealed (rs1234314 OR 1.22, 95% CI 1.07 to 1.38; rs844644 OR 0.91, 95% CI 0.83 to 0.99; rs844648 OR 1.10, 95% CI 1.01 to 1.20 and rs12039904 OR 1.20, 95% CI 1.09 to 1.33). Association of rs1234314, rs844648 and rs12039904 minor alleles with patients positive for anti-centromere antibodies (ACA) remained significant (OR 1.23, 95% CI 1.10 to 1.37; OR 1.12, 95% CI 1.01 to 1.25; OR 1.22, 95% CI 1.07 to 1.38, respectively). Haplotype analysis confirmed a protective haplotype associated with SSc, lcSSc and ACA positive subgroups (OR 0.88, 95% CI 0.82 to 0.96; OR 0.88, 95% CI 0.80 to 0.96; OR 0.86, 95% CI 0.77 to 0.97, respectively) and revealed a new risk haplotype associated with the same groups of patients (OR 1.14, 95% CI 1.03 to 1.26; OR 1.20, 95% CI 1.08 to 1.35; OR 1.23, 95% CI 1.07 to 1.42, respectively).</p> <p><b>Conclusions</b> The data confirm the influence of TNFSF4 polymorphisms in SSc genetic susceptibility, especially in subsets of patients positive for lcSSc and ACA.</p&gt

Direct Integration of the Topological String

We present a new method to solve the holomorphic anomaly equations governing the free energies of type B topological strings. The method is based on direct integration with respect to the non-holomorphic dependence of the amplitudes, and relies on the interplay between non-holomorphicity and modularity properties of the topological string amplitudes. We develop a formalism valid for any Calabi-Yau manifold and we study in detail two examples, providing closed expressions for the amplitudes at low genus, as well as a discussion of the boundary conditions that fix the holomorphic ambiguity. The first example is the non-compact Calabi-Yau underlying Seiberg-Witten theory and its gravitational corrections. The second example is the Enriques Calabi-Yau, which we solve in full generality up to genus six. We discuss various aspects of this model: we obtain a new method to generate holomorphic automorphic forms on the Enriques moduli space, we write down a new product formula for the fiber amplitudes at all genus, and we analyze in detail the field theory limit. This allows us to uncover the modularity properties of SU(2), N=2 super Yang-Mills theory with four massless hypermultiplets.Comment: 75 pages, 3 figure