Explicit de Sitter Flux Vacua for Global String Models with Chiral Matter

We address the open question of performing an explicit stabilisation of all closed string moduli (including dilaton, complex structure and Kaehler moduli) in fluxed type IIB Calabi-Yau compactifications with chiral matter. Using toric geometry we construct Calabi-Yau manifolds with del Pezzo singularities. D-branes located at such singularities can support the Standard Model gauge group and matter content. In order to control complex structure moduli stabilisation we consider Calabi-Yau manifolds which exhibit a discrete symmetry that reduces the effective number of complex structure moduli. We calculate the corresponding periods in the symplectic basis of invariant three-cycles and find explicit flux vacua for concrete examples. We compute the values of the flux superpotential and the string coupling at these vacua. Starting from these explicit complex structure solutions, we obtain AdS and dS minima where the Kaehler moduli are stabilised by a mixture of D-terms, non-perturbative and perturbative alpha'-corrections as in the LARGE Volume Scenario. In the considered example the visible sector lives at a dP_6 singularity which can be higgsed to the phenomenologically interesting class of models at the dP_3 singularity.Comment: 49 pages, 5 figures; v2: references adde

Numerical elimination and moduli space of vacua

We propose a new computational method to understand the vacuum moduli space of (supersymmetric) field theories. By combining numerical algebraic geometry (NAG) and elimination theory, we develop a powerful, efficient, and parallelizable algorithm toextract important information such as the dimension, branch structure, Hilbert series and subsequent operator counting, as well as variation according to coupling constants and mass parameters. We illustrate this method on a host of examples from gauge theory, string theory, and algebraic geometry

Impact of COVID-19 on cardiovascular testing in the United States versus the rest of the world

Objectives: This study sought to quantify and compare the decline in volumes of cardiovascular procedures between the United States and non-US institutions during the early phase of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the care of many non-COVID-19 illnesses. Reductions in diagnostic cardiovascular testing around the world have led to concerns over the implications of reduced testing for cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality. Methods: Data were submitted to the INCAPS-COVID (International Atomic Energy Agency Non-Invasive Cardiology Protocols Study of COVID-19), a multinational registry comprising 909 institutions in 108 countries (including 155 facilities in 40 U.S. states), assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on volumes of diagnostic cardiovascular procedures. Data were obtained for April 2020 and compared with volumes of baseline procedures from March 2019. We compared laboratory characteristics, practices, and procedure volumes between U.S. and non-U.S. facilities and between U.S. geographic regions and identified factors associated with volume reduction in the United States. Results: Reductions in the volumes of procedures in the United States were similar to those in non-U.S. facilities (68% vs. 63%, respectively; p = 0.237), although U.S. facilities reported greater reductions in invasive coronary angiography (69% vs. 53%, respectively; p < 0.001). Significantly more U.S. facilities reported increased use of telehealth and patient screening measures than non-U.S. facilities, such as temperature checks, symptom screenings, and COVID-19 testing. Reductions in volumes of procedures differed between U.S. regions, with larger declines observed in the Northeast (76%) and Midwest (74%) than in the South (62%) and West (44%). Prevalence of COVID-19, staff redeployments, outpatient centers, and urban centers were associated with greater reductions in volume in U.S. facilities in a multivariable analysis. Conclusions: We observed marked reductions in U.S. cardiovascular testing in the early phase of the pandemic and significant variability between U.S. regions. The association between reductions of volumes and COVID-19 prevalence in the United States highlighted the need for proactive efforts to maintain access to cardiovascular testing in areas most affected by outbreaks of COVID-19 infection

The Effective Action of the Heterotic String Compactified on Manifolds with SU(3) Structure.

We derive the N=1 effective action of the heterotic string compactified on manifolds with SU(3) structure in the presence of background fluxes. We use a Kaluza-Klein reduction and compute the moduli dependence of the Kaehler potential, the gauge kinetic function and the superpotential entirely from fermionic terms of the reduced action.Comment: 35 page

Cys mutants in functional regions of Sticholysin I clarify the participation of these residues in pore formation

Experimental evidence shows that the mechanism of pore formation by actinoporins is a multistep process, involving binding of the water-soluble monomer to the membrane and subsequent oligomerization on the membrane surface, leading to the formation of a functional pore. However, as for other eukaryotic pore-forming toxins, the molecular details of the mechanism of membrane insertion and oligomerization are not clear. In order to obtain further insight with regard to the structure-function relationship in sticholysins, we designed and produced three cysteine mutants of recombinant sticholysin I (rStI) in relevant functional regions for membrane interaction: StI E2C and StI F15C (in the N-terminal region) and StI R52C (in the membrane binding site). The conformational characterization derived from fluorescence and CD spectroscopic studies of StI E2C, StI F15C and StI R52C suggests that replacement of these residues by Cys in rStI did not noticeably change the conformation of the protein. The substitution by Cys of Arg(52) in the phosphocholine-binding site, provoked noticeable changes in rStI permeabilizing activity; however, the substitutions in the N-terminal region (Glu(2), Phe(15)) did not modify the toxin`s permeabilizing ability. The presence of a dimerized population stabilized by a disulfide bond in the StI E2C mutant showed higher pore-forming activity than when the protein is in the monomeric state, suggesting that sticholysins pre-ensembled at the N-terminal region could facilitate pore formation. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.CNPq[F/4574-1]Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)FAPESPCoordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)CAPES (Brazil)MES (Cuba)MES (Cuba)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)CNP

Large-scale real-life analysis of survival and usage of therapies in multiple myeloma

Abstract Survival in multiple myeloma has improved significantly in recent years, especially in young patients. We reviewed the evolution of the survival of patients with MM in three groups based on age at MM diagnosis over three time periods between 1999 and 2020 at our 12 de Octubre Hospital institution (H12O). Then, to confirm our results, we used data from TriNetx, a global health research platform that includes patients from Europe to US. Finally, we analysed differences in the patterns of treatment between networks across the world. Kaplan‒Meier analysis was used to estimate survival probabilities, and between-group differences were tested using the log-rank test and hazard ratio. For patients from H12O, the median OS was 35.61, 55.59 and 68.67 months for the 1999–2009, 2010–2014 and 2015–2020 cohorts, respectively (p = 0.0001). Among all patients included in the EMEA network, the median OS was 20.32 months versus 34.75 months from 1999–2009 versus 2010–2014. The median OS from the 2010–2014 versus 2015–2020 time cohorts was 34.75 months versus 54.43 months, respectively. In relation to the US cohort, the median OS from before 2010 versus 2010–2014 was not reached in either time cohort and neither when comparing the 2010–2014 versus 2015–2019 time cohorts. Bortezomib is the most commonly used drug in the EMEA cohort, while lenalidomide is the most commonly used drug in the US cohort. This large-scale study based on real-world data confirms the previous finding that MM patients have increased their survival in the last two decades