123 research outputs found
The Elliptic curves in gauge theory, string theory, and cohomology
Elliptic curves play a natural and important role in elliptic cohomology. In
earlier work with I. Kriz, thes elliptic curves were interpreted physically in
two ways: as corresponding to the intersection of M2 and M5 in the context of
(the reduction of M-theory to) type IIA and as the elliptic fiber leading to
F-theory for type IIB. In this paper we elaborate on the physical setting for
various generalized cohomology theories, including elliptic cohomology, and we
note that the above two seemingly unrelated descriptions can be unified using
Sen's picture of the orientifold limit of F-theory compactification on K3,
which unifies the Seiberg-Witten curve with the F-theory curve, and through
which we naturally explain the constancy of the modulus that emerges from
elliptic cohomology. This also clarifies the orbifolding performed in the
previous work and justifies the appearance of the w_4 condition in the elliptic
refinement of the mod 2 part of the partition function. We comment on the
cohomology theory needed for the case when the modular parameter varies in the
base of the elliptic fibration.Comment: 23 pages, typos corrected, minor clarification
Duality symmetry and the form fields of M-theory
In previous work we derived the topological terms in the M-theory action in
terms of certain characters that we defined. In this paper, we propose the
extention of these characters to include the dual fields. The unified treatment
of the M-theory four-form field strength and its dual leads to several
observations. In particular we elaborate on the possibility of a twisted
cohomology theory with a twist given by degrees greater than three.Comment: 12 pages, modified material on the differentia
Efficient use of resources in the field of energy efficiency through the principles of the circular economy
The purpose of this study is to define indicators areas of efficient use of resources in a circular economy, aimed at solving energy and environmental problems, as well as to develop theoretical and practical recommendations for their formation. This study defines the conceptual foundations of the circular economy, defines the methodological approach to energy efficiency in terms of alternative energy sources, and develops a theoretical and practical approach to balancing employment in the labour market in a circular economy. As a result of the conducted research using the principles of the circular economy, the category of efficient use of resources in the field of energy efficiency is defined. The scientific novelty lies in the use of a systematic approach to the study of economic phenomena, which revealed the consideration of the interconnection of all elements, as well as the study of individual economic objects as structural parts. The role of each part in the general functioning of the circular economy and its impact on individual elements are defined. The methodology of the study is revealed using methods of comparison, the concept of systems, and statistical approaches
Principal infinity-bundles - General theory
The theory of principal bundles makes sense in any infinity-topos, such as
that of topological, of smooth, or of otherwise geometric
infinity-groupoids/infinity-stacks, and more generally in slices of these. It
provides a natural geometric model for structured higher nonabelian cohomology
and controls general fiber bundles in terms of associated bundles. For suitable
choices of structure infinity-group G these G-principal infinity-bundles
reproduce the theories of ordinary principal bundles, of bundle
gerbes/principal 2-bundles and of bundle 2-gerbes and generalize these to their
further higher and equivariant analogs. The induced associated infinity-bundles
subsume the notions of gerbes and higher gerbes in the literature.
We discuss here this general theory of principal infinity-bundles, intimately
related to the axioms of Giraud, Toen-Vezzosi, Rezk and Lurie that characterize
infinity-toposes. We show a natural equivalence between principal
infinity-bundles and intrinsic nonabelian cocycles, implying the classification
of principal infinity-bundles by nonabelian sheaf hyper-cohomology. We observe
that the theory of geometric fiber infinity-bundles associated to principal
infinity-bundles subsumes a theory of infinity-gerbes and of twisted
infinity-bundles, with twists deriving from local coefficient infinity-bundles,
which we define, relate to extensions of principal infinity-bundles and show to
be classified by a corresponding notion of twisted cohomology, identified with
the cohomology of a corresponding slice infinity-topos.
In a companion article [NSSb] we discuss explicit presentations of this
theory in categories of simplicial (pre)sheaves by hyper-Cech cohomology and by
simplicial weakly-principal bundles; and in [NSSc] we discuss various examples
and applications of the theory.Comment: 46 pages, published versio
Twisted topological structures related to M-branes
Studying the M-branes leads us naturally to new structures that we call
Membrane-, Membrane^c-, String^K(Z,3)- and Fivebrane^K(Z,4)-structures, which
we show can also have twisted counterparts. We study some of their basic
properties, highlight analogies with structures associated with lower levels of
the Whitehead tower of the orthogonal group, and demonstrate the relations to
M-branes.Comment: 17 pages, title changed on referee's request, minor changes to
improve presentation, typos correcte
Differential expression of collectins in human placenta and role in inflammation during spontaneous Labor.
© 2014 Yadav 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.Collectins, collagen-containing Ca2+ dependent C-type lectins and a class of secretory proteins including SP-A, SP-D and MBL, are integral to immunomodulation and innate immune defense. In the present study, we aimed to investigate their placental transcript synthesis, labor associated differential expression and localization at feto-maternal interface, and their functional implication in spontaneous labor. The study involved using feto-maternal interface (placental/decidual tissues) from two groups of healthy pregnant women at term (≥37 weeks of gestation), undergoing either elective C-section with no labor ('NLc' group, n = 5), or normal vaginal delivery with spontaneous labor ('SLv' group, n = 5). The immune function of SP-D, on term placental explants, was analyzed for cytokine profile using multiplexed cytokine array. SP-A, SP-D and MBL transcripts were observed in the term placenta. The 'SLv' group showed significant up-regulation of SP-D (p = 0.001), and down-regulation of SP-A (p = 0.005), transcripts and protein compared to the 'NLc' group. Significant increase in 43 kDa and 50 kDa SP-D forms in placental and decidual tissues was associated with the spontaneous labor (p<0.05). In addition, the MMP-9-cleaved form of SP-D (25 kDa) was significantly higher in the placentae of 'SLv' group compared to the 'NLc' group (p = 0.002). Labor associated cytokines IL-1α, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, TNF-α and MCP-1 showed significant increase (p<0.05) in a dose dependent manner in the placental explants treated with nSP-D and rhSP-D. In conclusion, the study emphasizes that SP-A and SP-D proteins associate with the spontaneous labor and SP-D plausibly contributes to the pro-inflammatory immune milieu of feto-maternal tissues.Funding provided by BT/PR15227/BRB/10/906/2011) Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Government of India http://dbtindia.nic.in/index.asp (TM) and Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) Junior Research Fellowship (JRF)/Senior Research Fellowship (SRF), Government of India, www.icmr.nic.in (AKY)
FLAIR* to visualize veins in white matter lesions: A new tool for the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis?
Royal College of Radiologists (pump priming grant to RJPS).
MEM is partly funded (20%) by the Barts and the London National Institute for Health Research
Cardiovascular Biomedical Research Unit.
Additional study support provided by the Intramural Research Program of
the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, USA
Abnormal cytokine production by bone marrow stromal cells of multiple myeloma patients in response to RPMI8226 myeloma cells
Comparative effectiveness and safety of non-vitamin K antagonists for atrial fibrillation in clinical practice: GLORIA-AF Registry
Comparative effectiveness and safety of non-vitamin K antagonists for atrial fibrillation in clinical practice: GLORIA-AF Registry
Background and purpose: Prospectively collected data comparing the safety and effectiveness of individual non-vitamin K antagonists (NOACs) are lacking. Our objective was to directly compare the effectiveness and safety of NOACs in patients with newly diagnosed atrial fibrillation (AF). Methods: In GLORIA-AF, a large, prospective, global registry program, consecutive patients with newly diagnosed AF were followed for 3 years. The comparative analyses for (1) dabigatran vs rivaroxaban or apixaban and (2) rivaroxaban vs apixaban were performed on propensity score (PS)-matched patient sets. Proportional hazards regression was used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) for outcomes of interest. Results: The GLORIA-AF Phase III registry enrolled 21,300 patients between January 2014 and December 2016. Of these, 3839 were prescribed dabigatran, 4015 rivaroxaban and 4505 apixaban, with median ages of 71.0, 71.0, and 73.0 years, respectively. In the PS-matched set, the adjusted HRs and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for dabigatran vs rivaroxaban were, for stroke: 1.27 (0.79–2.03), major bleeding 0.59 (0.40–0.88), myocardial infarction 0.68 (0.40–1.16), and all-cause death 0.86 (0.67–1.10). For the comparison of dabigatran vs apixaban, in the PS-matched set, the adjusted HRs were, for stroke 1.16 (0.76–1.78), myocardial infarction 0.84 (0.48–1.46), major bleeding 0.98 (0.63–1.52) and all-cause death 1.01 (0.79–1.29). For the comparison of rivaroxaban vs apixaban, in the PS-matched set, the adjusted HRs were, for stroke 0.78 (0.52–1.19), myocardial infarction 0.96 (0.63–1.45), major bleeding 1.54 (1.14–2.08), and all-cause death 0.97 (0.80–1.19). Conclusions: Patients treated with dabigatran had a 41% lower risk of major bleeding compared with rivaroxaban, but similar risks of stroke, MI, and death. Relative to apixaban, patients treated with dabigatran had similar risks of stroke, major bleeding, MI, and death. Rivaroxaban relative to apixaban had increased risk for major bleeding, but similar risks for stroke, MI, and death. Registration: URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifiers: NCT01468701, NCT01671007. Date of registration: September 2013
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