Pulsating Strings in Lunin-Maldacena Backgrounds

We consider pulsating strings in Lunin-Maldacena backgrounds, specifically in deformed Minkowski spacetime and deformed AdS_5xS^5. We find the relation between the energy and the oscillation number of the pulsating string when the deformation is small. Since the oscillation number is an adiabatic invariant it can be used to explore the regime of highly excited string states. We then quantize the string and look for such a sector. For the deformed Minkowski background we find a precise match with the classical results if the oscillation number is quantized as an even number. For the deformed AdS_5xS^5 we find a contribution which depends on the deformation parameter.Comment: 16 pages, 2 figures, typos fixe

The dual string sigma-model of the SU_q(3) sector

In four-dimensional N=4 super Yang-Mills (SYM) the SU(3) sub-sector spanned by purely holomorphic fields is isomorphic to the corresponding mixed one spanned by both holomorphic and antiholomorphic fields. This is no longer the case when one considers the marginally deformed N=4 SYM. The mixed SU(3) sector marginally deformed by a complex parameter beta, i.e. SU_q(3) with q=e^{2 i\pi\beta}, has been shown to be integrable at one-loop hep-th/0703150, while it is not the case for the corresponding purely holomorphic one. Moreover, the marginally deformed N=4 SYM also has a gravity dual constructed by Lunin and Maldacena in hep-th/0502086. However, the mixed SU_q(3) sector has not been studied from the supergravity point of view. Hence in this note, for the case of purely imaginary marginal $\beta$-deformations, we compute the superstring SU_q(3) \sigma-model in the fast spinning string limit and show that, for rational spinning strings, it reproduces the energy computed via Bethe equations.Comment: 20 page

Dietary zinc and the control of Streptococcus pneumoniae infection

© 2019 Eijkelkamp et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Human zinc deficiency increases susceptibility to bacterial infection. Although zinc supplementation therapies can reduce the impact of disease, the molecular basis for protection remains unclear. Streptococcus pneumoniae is a major cause of bacterial pneumonia, which is prevalent in regions of zinc deficiency. We report that dietary zinc levels dictate the outcome of S. pneumoniae infection in a murine model. Dietary zinc restriction impacts murine tissue zinc levels with distribution post-infection altered, and S. pneumoniae virulence and infection enhanced. Although the activation and infiltration of murine phagocytic cells was not affected by zinc restriction, their efficacy of bacterial control was compromised. S. pneumoniae was shown to be highly sensitive to zinc intoxication, with this process impaired in zinc restricted mice and isolated phagocytic cells. Collectively, these data show how dietary zinc deficiency increases sensitivity to S. pneumoniae infection while revealing a role for zinc as a component of host antimicrobial defences

Holographic Entanglement Entropy and Fermi Surfaces

The entanglement entropy in theories with a Fermi surface is known to produce a logarithmic violation of the usual area law behavior. We explore the possibility of producing this logarithmic violation holographically by analyzing the IR regions of the bulk geometries dual to such theories. The geometry of Ogawa, Takayanagi, and Ugajin is explored and shown to have a null curvature singularity for all values of parameters, except for dynamical critical exponent 3/2 in four dimensions. The results are extended to general hyperscaling violation exponent. We explore strings propagating through the singularity and show that they become infinitely excited, suggesting the singularity is not resolved by stringy effects and may become a full-fledged "stringularity." An Einstein-Maxwell-dilaton embedding of the nonsingular geometry is exhibited where the dilaton asymptotes to a constant in the IR. The unique nonsingular geometry in any given number of dimensions is proposed as a model to study the T=0 limit of a theory with a Fermi surface.Comment: 20 pages plus appendices, 5 figures; v2 discussion clarified, results generalized, and acknowledgments update

Symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux disease in severely mentally retarded people: a systematic review

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) occurs when stomach acid frequently backs up (or refluxes) into the gullet (or esophagus), and it has serious consequences for the quality of life. Usually this is felt as heartburn. Because severely mentally retarded people usually do not utter complaints of heartburn, it requires a high index of suspicion to discover possible GERD. Therefore it is relevant for care professionals such as nurses to have knowledge of those with a higher risk of GERD and of the possible manifestations of GERD.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Using a predefined search method, electronic databases were searched for studies relating the presence of symptoms to the presence of GERD. Relevant data were extracted and the methodological quality of the studies assessed. The results of the included studies were synthesized and conclusions about the level of evidence were drawn.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Nineteen studies were found relating symptoms to the presence of GERD. Only four were of good methodological quality. The studies were very diverse concerning the studied population, the study method, and the kind of symptoms examined. This makes it difficult to synthesize the results of the studies. There is evidence that patients with cerebral palsy, patients using anticonvulsive drugs, and those with an IQ lower than 35 more frequently have GERD. There is also evidence that vomiting, rumination and hematemesis are associated with a higher risk of the presence of GERD, whereas there is no clear scientific evidence that particular behavior symptoms are indicative for GERD.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The possible manifestations of GERD are many and varied. A guideline will be made for care professionals to aid systematic observation of possible manifestations of GERD.</p

Thermal Tolerance of the Coffee Berry Borer Hypothenemus hampei: Predictions of Climate Change Impact on a Tropical Insect Pest

Coffee is predicted to be severely affected by climate change. We determined the thermal tolerance of the coffee berry borer , Hypothenemus hampei, the most devastating pest of coffee worldwide, and make inferences on the possible effects of climate change using climatic data from Colombia, Kenya, Tanzania, and Ethiopia. For this, the effect of eight temperature regimes (15, 20, 23, 25, 27, 30, 33 and 35°C) on the bionomics of H. hampei was studied. Successful egg to adult development occurred between 20–30°C. Using linear regression and a modified Logan model, the lower and upper thresholds for development were estimated at 14.9 and 32°C, respectively. In Kenya and Colombia, the number of pest generations per year was considerably and positively correlated with the warming tolerance. Analysing 32 years of climatic data from Jimma (Ethiopia) revealed that before 1984 it was too cold for H. hampei to complete even one generation per year, but thereafter, because of rising temperatures in the area, 1–2 generations per year/coffee season could be completed. Calculated data on warming tolerance and thermal safety margins of H. hampei for the three East African locations showed considerably high variability compared to the Colombian site. The model indicates that for every 1°C rise in thermal optimum (Topt.), the maximum intrinsic rate of increase (rmax) will increase by an average of 8.5%. The effects of climate change on the further range of H. hampei distribution and possible adaption strategies are discussed. Abstracts in Spanish and French are provided as supplementary material Abstract S1 and Abstract S2

nIFTy Cosmology: Comparison of Galaxy Formation Models

We present a comparison of 14 galaxy formation models: 12 different semi-analytical models and 2 halo-occupation distribution models for galaxy formation based upon the same cosmological simulation and merger tree information derived from it. The participating codes have proven to be very successful in their own right but they have all been calibrated independently using various observational data sets, stellar models, and merger trees. In this paper we apply them without recalibration and this leads to a wide variety of predictions for the stellar mass function, specific star formation rates, stellar-to- halo mass ratios, and the abundance of orphan galaxies. The scatter is much larger than seen in previous comparison studies primarily because the codes have been used outside of their native environment within which they are well tested and calibrated. The purpose of the `nIFTy comparison of galaxy formation models' is to bring together as many different galaxy formation modellers as possible and to investigate a common approach to model calibration. This paper provides a unified description for all participating models and presents the initial, uncalibrated comparison as a baseline for our future studies where we will develop a common calibration framework and address the extent to which that reduces the scatter in the model predictions seen here

Neuropsychiatric Symptoms in Patients with Aortic Aneurysms

BACKGROUND: Emerging evidence suggests that vascular disease confers vulnerability to a late-onset of depressive illness and the impairment of specific cognitive functions, most notably in the domains of memory storage and retrieval. Lower limb athero-thrombosis and abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) have both been previously associated with neuropsychiatric symptoms possibly due to associated intracerebral vascular disease or systemic inflammation, hence suggesting that these illnesses may be regarded as models to investigate the vascular genesis of neuropsychiatric symptoms. The aim of this study was to compare neuropsychiatric symptoms such as depression, anxiety and a variety of cognitive domains in patients who had symptoms of peripheral athero-thrombosis (intermittent claudication) and those who had an asymptomatic abdominal aortic aneurysm AAA. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: In a cross-sectional study, 26 participants with either intermittent claudication or AAA were assessed using a detailed neuropsychiatric assessment battery for various cognitive domains and depression and anxiety symptoms (Hamilton Depression and Anxiety Scales). Student t test and linear regression analyses were applied to compare neuropsychiatric symptoms between patient groups. AAA participants showed greater levels of cognitive impairment in the domains of immediate and delayed memory as compared to patients who had intermittent claudication. Cognitive dysfunction was best predicted by increasing aortic diameter. CRP was positively related to AAA diameter, but not to cognitive function. AAA and aortic diameter in particular were associated with cognitive dysfunction in this study. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: AAA patients are at a higher risk for cognitive impairment than intermittent claudication patients. Validation of this finding is required in a larger study, but if confirmed could suggest that systemic factors peculiar to AAA may impact on cognitive function.Bernhard T. Baune, Steven J. Unwin, Frances Quirk and Jonathan Golledg

Anatomy of the ankle ligaments: a pictorial essay

Understanding the anatomy of the ankle ligaments is important for correct diagnosis and treatment. Ankle ligament injury is the most frequent cause of acute ankle pain. Chronic ankle pain often finds its cause in laxity of one of the ankle ligaments. In this pictorial essay, the ligaments around the ankle are grouped, depending on their anatomic orientation, and each of the ankle ligaments is discussed in detail

Understanding the chronology and occupation dynamics of oversized pit houses in the southern Brazilian highlands

A long held view about the occupation of southern proto-Je pit house villages of the southern Brazilian highlands is that these sites represent cycles of long-term abandonment and reoccupation. However, this assumption is based on an insufficient number of radiocarbon dates for individual pit houses. To address this problem, we conducted a programme of comprehensive AMS radiocarbon dating and Bayesian modelling at the deeply stratified oversized pit Houe 1, Baggio 1 site (Cal. A.D. 1395-1650), Campo Belo do Sul, Santa Catarina, Brazil. The straigraphy of House 1 revealed an unparalleled sequence of twelve well preserved floors evidencing a major change in occupation dynamics including five completely burnt collapsed roofs. The results of the radiocarbon dating allowed us to understand for the first time the occupation dynamics of an oversized pit house in the southern Brazilian highlands. The Bayesian model demonstrates that House 1 was occupied for over two centuries with no evidence of major periods of abandonment, calling into question previous models of long-term abandonment. In addition, the House 1 sequence allowed us to tie transformations in ceramic style and lithic technology to an absolute chronology. Finally, we can provide new evidence that the emergence of oversized domestic structures is a relatively recent phenomenon among the southern proto-Je. As monumental pit houses start to be bulit, small pit houses continue to be inhabited, evidencing emerging disparities in domestic architecture after AD 1000. Our research shows the importance of programmes of intensive dating of individual structures to understand occupation dynamcis and site permanence, and challenges long held assumptions that the southern Brazilian highlands were home to marginal cultures in the context of lowland South America