Vacuum polarization for lukewarm black holes

We compute the renormalized expectation value of the square of a quantum scalar field on a Reissner-Nordström–de Sitter black hole in which the temperatures of the event and cosmological horizons are equal (“lukewarm” black hole). Our numerical calculations for a thermal state at the same temperature as the two horizons indicate that this renormalized expectation value is regular on both the event and cosmological horizons. We are able to show analytically, using an approximation for the field modes near the horizons, that this is indeed the case

I-fibrinogen as an oncophilic radiodiagnostic agent: distribution kinetics in tumour-bearing mice.

Fibrinogen radioiodinated by the iodine monochloride method was tested as a tumour radiodiagnostic agent in mice. The I-fibrinogen cleared from the blood of tumour-bearing mice more rapidly than from that of normal mice, but it cleared from the whole body more slowly, suggesting it accumulated in a substantial tumour-related compartment in the abnormal mice. The tumour concentration steadily increased for 4 h after injection, at which time it reached a peak concentration of 11-4% of the injected dose/g. This concentration was higher than the peak concentration for Ga-citrate (not reached until 24 h) or any other oncophilic radiopharmaceutical tested in this tumour model. The early accumulation is consistent with the use of 123I as a tracer label for fibrinogen. A combination of the large tumour concentration of I-fibrinogen, an increased catabolic rate induced by chemical modification, and the exceptional nuclear properties of 123I for scintigraphic imaging, could lead to a very useful radiodiagnostic procedure for cancer

Rethinking immune checkpoint blockade: Beyond the T cell

The clinical success of immune checkpoint inhibitors has highlighted the central role of the immune system in cancer control. Immune checkpoint inhibitors can reinvigorate anti-cancer immunity and are now the standard of care in a number of malignancies. However, research on immune checkpoint blockade has largely been framed with the central dogma that checkpoint therapies intrinsically target the T cell, triggering the tumoricidal potential of the adaptive immune system. Although T cells undoubtedly remain a critical piece of the story, mounting evidence, reviewed herein, indicates that much of the efficacy of checkpoint therapies may be attributable to the innate immune system. Emerging research suggests that T cell-directed checkpoint antibodies such as anti-programmed cell death protein-1 (PD-1) or programmed death-ligand-1 (PD-L1) can impact innate immunity by both direct and indirect pathways, which may ultimately shape clinical efficacy. However, the mechanisms and impacts of these activities have yet to be fully elucidated, and checkpoint therapies have potentially beneficial and detrimental effects on innate antitumor immunity. Further research into the role of innate subsets during checkpoint blockade may be critical for developing combination therapies to help overcome checkpoint resistance. The potential of checkpoint therapies to amplify innate antitumor immunity represents a promising new field that can be translated into innovative immunotherapies for patients fighting refractory malignancies

Neurosurgical Management of Self-Inflicted Cranial Crossbow Injury

Background Although gun-related penetrating traumatic brain injuries make up the majority of cranial missile injuries, low-velocity penetrating injuries present significant clinical difficulties that cannot necessarily be identically managed. Bow hunting is an increasingly popular pastime, and a crossbow allows a unique mechanism to cause a self-inflicted cranial injury with a large, low-velocity projectile. Historically, arrow removal is described in an operating room setting, which provides limited knowledge of the location of vascular injury in the setting of postremoval hemorrhage, and may represent an inefficient use of operating room availability. Case Description Two patients presented after self-inflicted cranial crossbow injuries. Both were neurologically salvageable. Initial assessment with computed tomography angiography allowed triage into likely or unlikely vascular injury. Arrow removal was performed in a radiology setting rather than in the operating room to allow immediate postremoval imaging to localize hemorrhage. While an operating room was on standby, neither patient required neurosurgical operative intervention. Both patients made a good recovery with no further injury caused by arrow removal. Conclusions We describe a novel approach to retained cranial arrow removal in a radiologic, rather than operative, setting and describe its relative benefits over traditional removal in the operating room

Trace Anomaly in Quantum Spacetime Manifold

In this paper we investigate the trace anomaly in a spacetime where single events are de-localized as a consequence of short distance quantum coordinate fluctuations. We obtain a modified form of heat kernel asymptotic expansion which does not suffer from short distance divergences. Calculation of the trace anomaly is performed using an IR regulator in order to circumvent the absence of UV infinities. The explicit form of the trace anomaly is presented and the corresponding 2D Polyakov effective action and energy momentumtensor are obtained. The vacuum expectation value of the energy momentum tensor in the Boulware, Hartle-Hawking and Unruh vacua is explicitly calculated in a (rt)-section of a recently found, noncommutative geometry inspired, Schwarzschild-like solution of the Einstein equations. The standard short distance divergences in the vacuum expectation values are regularized in agreement with the absence of UV infinities removed by quantum coordinate fluctuations.Comment: 15pages, RevTex, no figures, 1 Tabl

Black Hole Evaporation in an Expanding Universe

We calculate the quantum radiation power of black holes which are asymptotic to the Einstein-de Sitter universe at spatial and null infinities. We consider two limiting mass accretion scenarios, no accretion and significant accretion. We find that the radiation power strongly depends on not only the asymptotic condition but also the mass accretion scenario. For the no accretion case, we consider the Einstein-Straus solution, where a black hole of constant mass resides in the dust Friedmann universe. We find negative cosmological correction besides the expected redshift factor. This is given in terms of the cubic root of ratio in size of the black hole to the cosmological horizon, so that it is currently of order $10^{-5} (M/10^{6}M_{\odot})^{1/3} (t/14 {Gyr})^{-1/3}$ but could have been significant at the formation epoch of primordial black holes. Due to the cosmological effects, this black hole has not settled down to an equilibrium state. This cosmological correction may be interpreted in an analogy with the radiation from a moving mirror in a flat spacetime. For the significant accretion case, we consider the Sultana-Dyer solution, where a black hole tends to increase its mass in proportion to the cosmological scale factor. In this model, we find that the radiation power is apparently the same as the Hawking radiation from the Schwarzschild black hole of which mass is that of the growing mass at each moment. Hence, the energy loss rate decreases and tends to vanish as time proceeds. Consequently, the energy loss due to evaporation is insignificant compared to huge mass accretion onto the black hole. Based on this model, we propose a definition of quasi-equilibrium temperature for general conformal stationary black holes.Comment: Accepted for publication in Class.Quant.Grav., 18 pages and 3 figure