Need of the hour: pharmacovigilance study of SGLT-2 inhibitors

Background: Diabetes mellitus represents a global pandemic. Various pharmacotherapy and non-pharmacotherapy measures are advocated for its control. The latest in the pharmacotherapy are Sodium Glucose Transporter -2 (SGLT-2) inhibitors, widely used. Many studies suggest adverse effects related to SGLT-2 inhibitors, evidence still not conclusive and few data from India. Hence this study was planned.Methods: Cross-sectional study over a period of 02 months, recorded demographic details and history of various adverse drug reactions reported with the use of SGLT-2 inhibitors.Results: Majority of the study participants were females (58%) and belonged to the age group of 40-70 yrs. Urinary tract infections (UTI) and genital infections was more seen in the users of dapagliflozin, followed by empagliflozin and canagliflozin.Conclusions: SGLT-2 Inhibitors offer a unique therapeutic approach to the management of Diabetes Mellitus. Further evaluation of the safety profile and the risk-benefit analysis is the need of the hour

Geometry of deformations of branes in warped backgrounds

The `braneworld' (described by the usual worldvolume action) is a D dimensional timelike surface embedded in a N dimensional ($N>D$) warped, nonfactorisable spacetime. We first address the conditions on the warp factor required to have an extremal flat brane in a five dimensional background. Subsequently, we deal with normal deformations of such extremal branes. The ensuing Jacobi equations are analysed to obtain the stability condition. It turns out that to have a stable brane, the warp factor should have a minimum at the location of the brane in the given background spacetime. To illustrate our results we explicitly check the extremality and stability criteria for a few known co-dimension one braneworld models. Generalisations of the above formalism for the cases of (i) curved branes (ii) asymmetrical warping and (iii) higher co-dimension braneworlds are then presented alongwith some typical examples for each. Finally, we summarize our results and provide perspectives for future work along these lines.Comment: 21 pages. Version matching final version. Accepted for publication in Class. Quant. Gra

Note: A Simple Thermal Gradient Annealing Unit for the Treatment of Thin Films

A gradient annealing cell has been developed for the high-throughput study of thermalannealing effects on thin-film libraries in different environments. The inexpensive gradientannealing unit permits temperature gradients as large as 28 °C/mm and can accommodate samples ranging in length from 13 mm to 51 mm. The system was validated by investigating the effects of annealing temperature on the crystallinity, resistivity, and transparency of tin-doped indium oxide deposited on a glass substrate by magnetron sputtering. The unit developed in this work will permit the rapid optimization of materials properties such as crystallinity, homogeneity, and conductivity across a variety of applications

Higher order finite difference schemes for the magnetic induction equations

We describe high order accurate and stable finite difference schemes for the initial-boundary value problem associated with the magnetic induction equations. These equations model the evolution of a magnetic field due to a given velocity field. The finite difference schemes are based on Summation by Parts (SBP) operators for spatial derivatives and a Simultaneous Approximation Term (SAT) technique for imposing boundary conditions. We present various numerical experiments that demonstrate both the stability as well as high order of accuracy of the schemes.Comment: 20 page

Non-Z2\mathbb{Z}_{2} symmetric braneworlds in scalar tensorial gravity

We obtain, via the Gauss-Codazzi formalism, the expression of the effective Einstein-Brans-Dicke projected equations in a non-$\mathbb{Z}_{2}$ symmetric braneworld scenario which presents hybrid compactification. It is shown that the functional form of such equations resembles the one in the Einstein's case, except by the fact that they bring extra informations in the context of exotic compactifications.Comment: 12 pages, LATEX file, no figures. Accepted for publication in the European Physical Journal

Reducing Constraints in a Higher Dimensional Extension of the Randall and Sundrum Model

In order to investigate the phenomenological implications of warped spaces in more than five dimensions, we consider a $4+1+\delta$ dimensional extension to the Randall and Sundrum model in which the space is warped with respect to a single direction by the presence of an anisotropic bulk cosmological constant. The Einstein equations are solved, giving rise to a range of possible spaces in which the $\delta$ additional spaces are warped. Here we consider models in which the gauge fields are free to propagate into such spaces. After carrying out the Kaluza Klein (KK) decomposition of such fields it is found that the KK mass spectrum changes significantly depending on how the $\delta$ additional dimensions are warped. We proceed to compute the lower bound on the KK mass scale from electroweak observables for models with a bulk $SU(2)\times U(1)$ gauge symmetry and models with a bulk $SU(2)_R\times SU(2)_L\times U(1)$ gauge symmetry. It is found that in both cases the most favourable bounds are approximately $M_{KK}\gtrsim 2$ TeV, corresponding to a mass of the first gauge boson excitation of about 4-6 TeV. Hence additional warped dimensions offer a new way of reducing the constraints on the KK scale.Comment: 27 pages, 15 figures, v3: Additional comments in sections 1, 2 and 4. New appendix added. Five additional figures. References adde

Bulk scalar field in brane-worlds with induced gravity inspired by the L(R){\cal L}(R) term

We obtain the effective field equations in a brane-world scenario within the framework of a DGP model where the action on the brane is an arbitrary function of the Ricci scalar, ${\cal L}(R)$, and the bulk action includes a scalar field in the matter Lagrangian. We obtain the Friedmann equations and acceleration conditions in the presence of the bulk scalar field for the $R^n$ term in four-dimensional gravity.Comment: 9 pages, to appear in JCA

Fermion localization on asymmetric two-field thick branes

In this paper we investigate the localization of fermions on asymmetric thick branes generated by two scalars $\phi$ and $\chi$. In order to trap fermions on the asymmetric branes with kink-like warp factors, the couplings with the background scalars $\eta\bar{\Psi}F(\chi,\phi)\Psi$ are introduced, where $F(\chi,\phi)$ is a function of $\phi$ and $\chi$. We find that the coupling $\eta\bar{\Psi}\chi\phi\Psi$ do not support the localization of 4-dimensional fermions on the branes. While, for the case $\eta\bar{\Psi}\chi\Psi+\eta'\bar{\Psi}\phi\Psi$, which is the kink-fermion coupling corresponding to one-scalar-generated brane scenarios, the zero mode of left-handed fermions could be trapped on the branes under some conditions.Comment: v2: 11 pages, 4 figures, accepted by CQ

Scalar kinks and fermion localisation in warped spacetimes

Scalar kinks propagating along the bulk in warped spacetimes provide a thick brane realisation of the braneworld. We consider here, a class of such exact solutions of the full Einstein-scalar system with a sine-Gordon potential and a negative cosmological constant. In the background of the kink and the corresponding warped geometry, we discuss the issue of localisation of spin half fermions (with emphasis on massive ones) on the brane in the presence of different types of kink-fermion Yukawa couplings. We analyse the possibility of quasi-bound states for large values of the Yukawa coupling parameter $\gamma_F$ (with $\nu$, the warp factor parameter kept fixed) using appropriate, recently developed, approximation methods. In particular, the spectrum of the low--lying states and their lifetimes are obtained, with the latter being exponentially enhanced for large $\nu \gamma_F$. Our results indicate quantitatively, within this model, that it is possible to tune the nature of warping and the strength and form of the Yukawa interaction to obtain trapped massive fermion states on the brane, which, however, do have a finite (but very small) probability of escaping into the bulk.Comment: 22 pages, 4 figures, RevTex