Skyrmion black hole hair: Conservation of baryon number by black holes and observable manifestations

We show that the existence of black holes with classical skyrmion hair invalidates standard proofs that global charges, such as the baryon number, cannot be conserved by a black hole. By carefully analyzing the standard arguments based on a Gedankenexperiment in which a black hole is seemingly-unable to return the baryon number that it swallowed, we identify inconsistencies in this reasoning, which does not take into the account neither the existence of skyrmion black holes nor the baryon/skyrmion correspondence. We then perform a refined Gedankenexperiment by incorporating the new knowledge and show that no contradiction with conservation of baryon number takes place at any stage of black hole evolution. Our analysis also indicates no conflict between semi-classical black holes and the existence of baryonic gauge interaction arbitrarily-weaker than gravity. Next, we study classical cross sections of a minimally-coupled massless probe scalar field scattered by a skyrmion black hole. We investigate how the skyrmion hair manifests itself by comparing this cross section with the analogous cross section caused by a Schwarzschild black hole which has the same ADM mass as the skyrmion black hole. Here we find an order-one difference in the positions of the characteristic peaks in the cross sections. The peaks are shifted to smaller scattering angles when the skyrmion hair is present. This comes from the fact that the skyrmion hair changes the near horizon geometry of the black hole when compared to a Schwarzschild black hole with same ADM mass. We keep the study of this second aspect general so that the qualitative results which we obtain can also be applied to black holes with classical hair of different kind. (C) 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license

Skyrmion black hole hair: Conservation of baryon number by black holes and observable manifestations

We show that the existence of black holes with classical skyrmion hair invalidates standard proofs that global charges, such as the baryon number, cannot be conserved by a black hole. By carefully analyzing the standard arguments based on a Gedankenexperiment in which a black hole is seemingly-unable to return the baryon number that it swallowed, we identify inconsistencies in this reasoning, which does not take into the account neither the existence of skyrmion black holes nor the baryon/skyrmion correspondence. We then perform a refined Gedankenexperiment by incorporating the new knowledge and show that no contradiction with conservation of baryon number takes place at any stage of black hole evolution. Our analysis also indicates no conflict between semi-classical black holes and the existence of baryonic gauge interaction arbitrarily-weaker than gravity. Next, we study classical cross sections of a minimally-coupled massless probe scalar field scattered by a skyrmion black hole. We investigate how the skyrmion hair manifests itself by comparing this cross section with the analogous cross section caused by a Schwarzschild black hole which has the same ADM mass as the skyrmion black hole. Here we find an order-one difference in the positions of the characteristic peaks in the cross sections. The peaks are shifted to smaller scattering angles when the skyrmion hair is present. This comes from the fact that the skyrmion hair changes the near horizon geometry of the black hole when compared to a Schwarzschild black hole with same ADM mass. We keep the study of this second aspect general so that the qualitative results which we obtain can also be applied to black holes with classical hair of different kind. (C) 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license

Linearized elasticity as Mosco-limit of finite elasticity in the presence of cracks

The small-deformation limit of finite elasticity is considered in presence of a given crack. The rescaled finite energies with the constraint of global injectivity are shown to Gamma converge to the linearized elastic energy with a local constraint of noninterpenetrability along the crack

Bulk-boundary correspondence between charged, anyonic strings and vortices

We discuss a unified framework of dealing with electrically charged, anyonic vortices in 2+1 dimensional spacetimes and extended, anyonic string-like vortices in one higher dimension. We elaborate on two ways of charging these topological objects and point out that in both cases the vortices and strings obey fractional statistics as a consequence of being electrically charged. The statistics of the charged vortices and strings can be obtained from the phase shift of their respective wave-functions under the classic Aharonov-Bohm type experiments. We show that for a manifold with boundary, where one can realize 2+1 dimensional vortices as endpoints of trivially extended 3+1 dimensional strings, there is a smooth limit where the phase shift of a bulk string-vortex goes over to the phase shift of the boundary vortex. This also enables one to read off the bulk statistics (arising essentially from either a QCD theta-type term or an external current along the string) just from the corresponding boundary statistics in a generic setting. Finally, we discuss various applications of these findings, and in particular their prospects for the AdS/CFT duality

Traces of trauma – a multivariate pattern analysis of childhood trauma, brain structure and clinical phenotypes

Background: Childhood trauma (CT) is a major yet elusive psychiatric risk factor, whose multidimensional conceptualization and heterogeneous effects on brain morphology might demand advanced mathematical modeling. Therefore, we present an unsupervised machine learning approach to characterize the clinical and neuroanatomical complexity of CT in a larger, transdiagnostic context. Methods: We used a multicenter European cohort of 1076 female and male individuals (discovery: n = 649; replication: n = 427) comprising young, minimally medicated patients with clinical high-risk states for psychosis; patients with recent-onset depression or psychosis; and healthy volunteers. We employed multivariate sparse partial least squares analysis to detect parsimonious associations between combinations of items from the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire and gray matter volume and tested their generalizability via nested cross-validation as well as via external validation. We investigated the associations of these CT signatures with state (functioning, depressivity, quality of life), trait (personality), and sociodemographic levels. Results: We discovered signatures of age-dependent sexual abuse and sex-dependent physical and sexual abuse, as well as emotional trauma, which projected onto gray matter volume patterns in prefronto-cerebellar, limbic, and sensory networks. These signatures were associated with predominantly impaired clinical state- and trait-level phenotypes, while pointing toward an interaction between sexual abuse, age, urbanicity, and education. We validated the clinical profiles for all three CT signatures in the replication sample. Conclusions: Our results suggest distinct multilayered associations between partially age- and sex-dependent patterns of CT, distributed neuroanatomical networks, and clinical profiles. Hence, our study highlights how machine learning approaches can shape future, more fine-grained CT research

Decision-support for land reclamation location and design choices in the Maldives

Land reclamation in the Maldives is widespread. Current land reclamation practices, however, lack a systematic approach to anticipate sea-level rise and do not account for local flood risk differences to inform location and design choices. To address these limitations, this paper applies two decision-support tools: a hazard threshold analysis, and a cost-benefit analysis. Both tools produce site-specific estimates of land elevations or flood defence heights but do so for different goals. The hazard threshold analysis identifies hazard-based solutions that meet an acceptable flood probability for an intended lifespan without follow-up actions by reliability optimisation. The cost-benefit analysis identifies risk-based solutions using dynamic programming. We apply both tools to two land reclamation sites, a newly reclaimed airport island and a land extension of an inhabited island, in the Maldives. We find that total hazard-based heights for long-term planning horizons are highly uncertain, with local height differences of up to 1.9 m across sea-level rise scenarios by 2100. Risk-based Island elevations, in contrast, differ much less across scenarios, offering a practical advantage for decision-making. However, land reclamation choices on location, land elevation and investment in flood protection are not only driven by hazard-related aspects, such as reef characteristics, swell exposure, and sea-level rise, but also by estimates of exposed assets, reclamation, and flood protection costs. Taken together, the two decision-support tools are helpful for improving adaptation decisions and are also applicable in other small island regions.All authors have received funding from project INSeaPTION, which is part of ERA4CS, an ERA-NET initiated by JPI Climate, and funded by BMBF (DE), MINECO (ES), NWO (NL) and ANR (FR) with co-funding by the European Union (Grant 690462). JH, JR, and GG have also received funding from PROTECT. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 869304, PROTECT contribution number 65. Angel Amores was funded by the Conselleria d'Educació, Universitat i Recerca del Govern Balear through the Direcció General de Política Universitària i Recerca and by the Fondo Social Europeo for the period 2014–2020 (grant no. PD/011/2019).Peer reviewe

Anxiety and Depression Levels in Parents after Counselling for Fetal Heart Disease

The progress in fetal cardiology allows for the early diagnosis of congenital heart defects, but there is still a lack of data on the psychological situation of parents expecting a child with a congenital heart defect. In this cross-sectional study, 77 parents (45 women and 32 men) expecting a child with a heart defect were interviewed with different questionnaires. The standardized Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) questionnaire was used to assess the psychological state of the parents. Various statistical procedures were performed to determine the prevalence, risk factors, and predictors of anxiety and depression. The prevalence for prenatal anxiety was 11.8% and for depressed mood 6.6%, whereas the postnatal prevalence was 25% for anxiety and 16.7% for depressed mood. The mother is influential in protecting against depression as a contact person (p = 0.035). Women were more affected by anxiety and depression than men (p = 0.036). A significant and positive correlation was observed between anxiety and depression before birth (ρ = 0.649, p p p = 0.016) and anxiety (p = 0.017) before birth. Significantly higher anxiety and depression scores were not observed among health and social workers (p = 0.084), first-time mothers (p = 0.190), and parents whose pregnancies were due to medical assistance (p = 0.051). Close collaboration between maternal-fetal care units, pediatric cardiologists and psychiatric/psychosomatic disciplines is a possible strategy to reduce stress in parents. Therefore, an expert team of professionals, educating with understandable terms and sufficient knowledge about fetal heart disease in parenting counseling, is required. The support of affected parents can positively impact the treatment of the child and should be integrated into the daily routine of the clinic

Decision-support for land reclamation location and design choices in the Maldives

Land reclamation in the Maldives is widespread. Current land reclamation practices, however, lack a systematic approach to anticipate sea-level rise and do not account for local flood risk differences to inform location and design choices. To address these limitations, this paper applies two decision-support tools: a hazard threshold analysis, and a cost-benefit analysis. Both tools produce site-specific estimates of land elevations or flood defence heights but do so for different goals. The hazard threshold analysis identifies hazard-based solutions that meet an acceptable flood probability for an intended lifespan without follow-up actions by reliability optimisation. The cost-benefit analysis identifies risk-based solutions using dynamic programming. We apply both tools to two land reclamation sites, a newly reclaimed airport island and a land extension of an inhabited island, in the Maldives. We find that total hazard-based heights for long-term planning horizons are highly uncertain, with local height differences of up to 1.9 m across sea-level rise scenarios by 2100. Risk-based Island elevations, in contrast, differ much less across scenarios, offering a practical advantage for decision-making. However, land reclamation choices on location, land elevation and investment in flood protection are not only driven by hazard-related aspects, such as reef characteristics, swell exposure, and sea-level rise, but also by estimates of exposed assets, reclamation, and flood protection costs. Taken together, the two decision-support tools are helpful for improving adaptation decisions and are also applicable in other small island regions

The Impact of Gestational Diabetes in Pregnancy on the Cardiovascular System of Children at One Year of Age

Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is a common complication in pregnancy. The effect of GDM on the cardiovascular system after birth is still unclear. Between August 2015 and December 2018, 205 pregnant women were included in the prospective controlled observational study. Patients with GDM were assigned to the study group (n = 99), whereas (n = 107) healthy women served as controls. Postnatal follow up of their offspring was performed at 12 months of age. All included children (n = 125) underwent a specific standardized protocol including anthropometric data, such as weight, height, body mass index (BMI), blood pressure (BP) recordings and ultrasound measurements of the abdominal aortic intima-media-thickness (IMT). Furthermore, at least 10 min 3-channel electrocardiogram recording was done to evaluate the autonomic nervous system (ANS) by phase rectified signal averaging. There were no significant differences in anthropometric data between the groups, neither in the blood pressure nor in the intima-media-thickness of the aorta abdominals. However, in the study group, significantly lower average acceleration capacity (AAC) (study group −20.10 ± 3.04 ms, control group −18.87 ± 4.00 ms, p = 0.02) was found, indicating ANS activation at one year of age. Further studies are required to determine if these results are persistent and if these findings have long-term effects