Do Two Symmetry Breaking Transitions in Photosynthetic Light Harvesting Complexes Form One, Two or More Kibble Zurek Model Topological Defects?

Kibble and Zurek proposed that rapid symmetry breaking transitions in the hot, early universe could result in causally disconnected topological defects such as cosmic strings. This type of first order transition has analogues in certain second order transitions present in condensed matter such as liquid crystals, super fluids, and charge density waves in terms of flux tubes or vortices. Recently, we discovered that Rhodopseudomonas acidophilus photosynthetic light harvesting complex might have different types of coherent ground and excited states, suggesting that there are two different symmetry breaking transitions. The B 850 ground states comprise eight identical rings each containing 18 bacteriochlorophyll components, and each ring has undergone a Bose Einstein phase transition to a charge density wave that lowers the energy. The excited state coherence results from polariton formation from the non-crossing of bosons, here an extension of exciton theory. The result is short-lived quasi-particles with very low mass that can form an unusual BEC. We suggest the oriented, circular B 850 and enclosed singlet B 875 compounds create a new cavity structure with some attributes of a nano pillar. Since both the ground and excited states should contain solitons, we envisage three fast light pulse experiments could be able to map both the Kibble Zurek Model phase transitions and energy transfers as a function of light intensity and time in this complex at room temperature

Infection risks of city canal swimming events in the Netherlands in 2016.

Swimming events in city canals are gaining popularity in the Netherlands, even though canal water is usually not officially designated for recreational use. Knowledge regarding the risk of infection after swimming in canals is limited. An outbreak was reported in 2015 following a canal swimming event in Utrecht, the Netherlands. Local governments were concerned about the health risks of such events. In order to assess the safety of canal swimming, the Public Health Service (PHS) prospectively investigated two city canal swimming events in 2015. In 2016, we repeated this study, aiming to prospectively determine the risks of infection during two urban swimming events, the Utrecht SingelSwim 2016 (USS) and the Amsterdam City Swim 2016 (ACS)

Reported health complaints of questionnaire respondents of the Amsterdam City Swim 2016.

<p>Reported health complaints of questionnaire respondents of the Amsterdam City Swim 2016.</p

Epidemiological curve Utrecht SingelSwim (USS), 19 June 2016.

<p>The number of cases by date of onset of Acute Gastrointestinal Illness following the event.</p

Univariable and multivariable analysis on risk factors for acute gastrointestinal illness in the Utrecht SingelSwim 2016 among the exposed group.

<p>Univariable and multivariable analysis on risk factors for acute gastrointestinal illness in the Utrecht SingelSwim 2016 among the exposed group.</p

Univariable and multivariable analysis of risk factors for acute gastrointestinal illness in the Amsterdam City Swim 2016 among participants of the event.

<p>Univariable and multivariable analysis of risk factors for acute gastrointestinal illness in the Amsterdam City Swim 2016 among participants of the event.</p

Reported health complaints of questionnaire respondents of the Utrecht SingelSwim 2016.

<p>Reported health complaints of questionnaire respondents of the Utrecht SingelSwim 2016.</p