Transient domain walls and lepton asymmetry in the Left-Right symmetric model

It is shown that the dynamics of domain walls in Left-Right symmetric models, separating respective regions of unbroken SU(2)_L and SU(2)_R in the early universe, can give rise to baryogenesis via leptogenesis. Neutrinos have a spatially varying complex mass matrix due to CP-violating scalar condensates in the domain wall. The motion of the wall through the plasma generates a flux of lepton number across the wall which is converted to a lepton asymmetry by helicity-flipping scatterings. Subsequent processing of the lepton excess by sphalerons results in the observed baryon asymmetry, for a range of parameters in Left-Right symmetric models.Comment: v2 version accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. D. Discussion in Introduction and Conclusion sharpened. Equation (12) corrected. 16 pages, 3 figure files, RevTeX4 styl

The pictures on the greater Jelling stone

The greater Jelling stone, with an informative runic inscription mentioning King Harald Blåtand and the conversion of the Danes, is at the core of a large and important archaeological site of the late tenth century situated in the centre of the Danish peninsula. The stone is thought to have been positioned immediately to the south of some sort of church, and between the two mounds ever since that period. The great boulder has three main surfaces, all closely covered by carving. The first face has most of the inscription, which, unusually for runes, is arranged in parallel lines as for a Latin text. The second face shows an animal entwined with a snake, and the third face has the earliest image in Scandinavia of Christ – these two ‘pictures’ can be compared to a diptych since they share a similar border and are connected by a ‘hinge’. Identifying a diptych implies that the two faces must have compatible not antagonistic subjects. It is suggested that the design and carving was controlled by a missionary party from Ottonian Germany, and that in choosing the motifs they used various sources, mostly in the writings of Pope Gregory the Great. Following these early sources, the animal and snake can be interpreted as God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. It is likely that Christ is shown ascending to heaven in triumph, so that the two pictures show the Trinity united in celebration of the redemption of mankind

A randomised, blinded, trial of clopidogrel versus aspirin in patients at risk of ischaemic events (CAPRIE). CAPRIE Steering Committee

Many clinical trials have evaluated the benefit of long-term use of antiplatelet drugs in reducing the risk of clinical thrombotic events. Aspirin and ticlopidine have been shown to be effective, but both have potentially serious adverse effects. Clopidogrel, a new thienopyridine derivative similar to ticlopidine, is an inhibitor of platelet aggregation induced by adenosine diphosphate. METHODS: CAPRIE was a randomised, blinded, international trial designed to assess the relative efficacy of clopidogrel (75 mg once daily) and aspirin (325 mg once daily) in reducing the risk of a composite outcome cluster of ischaemic stroke, myocardial infarction, or vascular death; their relative safety was also assessed. The population studied comprised subgroups of patients with atherosclerotic vascular disease manifested as either recent ischaemic stroke, recent myocardial infarction, or symptomatic peripheral arterial disease. Patients were followed for 1 to 3 years. FINDINGS: 19,185 patients, with more than 6300 in each of the clinical subgroups, were recruited over 3 years, with a mean follow-up of 1.91 years. There were 1960 first events included in the outcome cluster on which an intention-to-treat analysis showed that patients treated with clopidogrel had an annual 5.32% risk of ischaemic stroke, myocardial infarction, or vascular death compared with 5.83% with aspirin. These rates reflect a statistically significant (p = 0.043) relative-risk reduction of 8.7% in favour of clopidogrel (95% Cl 0.3-16.5). Corresponding on-treatment analysis yielded a relative-risk reduction of 9.4%. There were no major differences in terms of safety. Reported adverse experiences in the clopidogrel and aspirin groups judged to be severe included rash (0.26% vs 0.10%), diarrhoea (0.23% vs 0.11%), upper gastrointestinal discomfort (0.97% vs 1.22%), intracranial haemorrhage (0.33% vs 0.47%), and gastrointestinal haemorrhage (0.52% vs 0.72%), respectively. There were ten (0.10%) patients in the clopidogrel group with significant reductions in neutrophils (< 1.2 x 10(9)/L) and 16 (0.17%) in the aspirin group. INTERPRETATION: Long-term administration of clopidogrel to patients with atherosclerotic vascular disease is more effective than aspirin in reducing the combined risk of ischaemic stroke, myocardial infarction, or vascular death. The overall safety profile of clopidogrel is at least as good as that of medium-dose aspirin