Distribution of mass of holomorphic cusp forms

We prove an upper bound for the L^4-norm and for the L^2-norm restricted to the vertical geodesic of a holomorphic Hecke cusp form of large weight. The method is based on Watson's formula and estimating a mean value of certain L-functions of degree 6. Further applications to restriction problems of Siegel modular forms and subconvexity bounds of degree 8 L-functions are given.Comment: 23 page

Distribution and Potential Impact of Microplastics in the Ribbed Marsh Mussel Geukensia demissa

Human activities have generated large quantities of plastics that are actively dumped or indirectly deposited into oceans. In particular, the use of single-use packaging and microplastics in cosmetics and manufacturing has led to significant increases of these contaminants in coastal waters. These plastics, because of their size, can be ingested by filter-, suspension-, and deposit-feeding organisms who coincidentally consume them as potential food sources. As a result, organisms may experience marked reductions in growth and/or health due to the accumulation of these plastics in their digestive tracts. While research has concentrated on the commercially harvested blue mussel Mytilus edulis, none have investigated the critically important ribbed marsh mussel Geukensia demissa. This study examined microplastic abundances and distribution trends within a bed of G. demissa at Sandy Hook, New Jersey, and investigated microplastic ingestion/rejection in a laboratory setting. Results indicate that microplastics in the field ranged from 11,000 pieces/m2 to 50,000 pieces/m2. Microplastics were also found in significant abundances down to a sampling depth of 10 cm, which was twice the average sampling depth of other studies. Furthermore, this study confirms that the G. demissa ingests polystyrene spherules (5 pm or less), which were histologically observed throughout the digestive system of all experimental mussels. Also, all experimental mussels rejected positively buoyant plastics as negatively buoyant feces and pseudo feces, which may represent a potential source of buoyant microplastics to the benthos

Increased hazard of myocardial infarction with insulin‐provision therapy in actively smoking patients with diabetes mellitus and stable ischemic heart disease: The BARI 2D (Bypass Angioplasty Revascularization Investigation 2 Diabetes) trial

Background In the BARI 2D (Bypass Angioplasty Revascularization Investigation 2 Diabetes) trial, randomization of diabetic patients with stable ischemic heart disease to insulin provision ( IP ) therapy, as opposed to insulin sensitization ( IS ) therapy, resulted in biochemical evidence of impaired fibrinolysis but no increase in adverse clinical outcomes. We hypothesized that the prothrombotic effect of IP therapy in combination with the hypercoagulable state induced by active smoking would result in an increased risk of myocardial infarction ( MI ). Methods and Results We analyzed BARI 2D patients who were active smokers randomized to IP or IS therapy. The primary end point was fatal or nonfatal MI . PAI ‐1 (plasminogen activator inhibitor 1) activity was analyzed at 1, 3, and 5 years. Of 295 active smokers, MI occurred in 15.4% randomized to IP and in 6.8% randomized to IS over the 5.3 years ( P =0.023). IP therapy was associated with a 3.2‐fold increase in the hazard of MI compared with IS therapy (hazard ratio: 3.23; 95% confidence interval, 1.43–7.28; P =0.005). Baseline PAI ‐1 activity (19.0 versus 17.5 Au/mL, P =0.70) was similar in actively smoking patients randomized to IP or IS therapy. However, IP therapy resulted in significantly increased PAI ‐1 activity at 1 year (23.0 versus 16.0 Au/mL, P =0.001), 3 years (24.0 versus 18.0 Au/mL, P =0.049), and 5 years (29.0 versus 15.0 Au/mL, P =0.004) compared with IS therapy. Conclusions Among diabetic patients with stable ischemic heart disease who were actively smoking, IP therapy was independently associated with a significantly increased hazard of MI . This finding may be explained by higher PAI ‐1 activity in active smokers treated with IP therapy. Clinical Trial Registration URL : http://www.clinicaltrials.gov . Unique identifier: NCT 00006305. </jats:sec

Association of Intraocular Pressure With Human Immunodeficiency Virus

PURPOSE: Prior studies have shown an association between human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and reduced intraocular pressures (IOP). The purpose of this study was to determine if patients with HIV on highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) had any difference in their IOP compared with patients without HIV or with HIV who are not on HAART. DESIGN: Retrospective cross-sectional study. METHODS: We included 400 patients from our academic eye center between 2000 and 2016. Group 1 (G1) consisted of patients with HIV on HAART (n = 176), Group 2 (G2) consisted of patients with HIV who were not on HAART (n = 48), and Group 3 (G3) consisted of controls without HIV (n = 176). An analysis of variance (ANOVA) was performed to compare mean IOP values. Multivariate linear and logistic regression models were performed to assess factors impacting IOP. Difference in IOP was the primary outcome being measured. RESULTS: The mean IOPs in mm Hg were 13.7 +/- 5.1 (G1), 13.1 +/- 3.6 (G2), and 17.3 +/- 3.8 (G3), P \u3c .01. In regression modeling, having a CD4 count CONCLUSIONS: Absolute CD4 counts may play a role in IOP fluctuations. This association was found in patients with HIV regardless of whether patients were on HAART

Long-Term X-Ray/UV Variability in ULXs

The focus of NASA's Swift telescope has been transients and target-of-opportunity observing, resulting in many observations of ultraluminous X-ray sources (ULXs) over the last ~20 years. For the vast majority of these observations, simultaneous data has been obtained using both the X-ray telescope (XRT) and the ultraviolet and optical telescope (UVOT), providing a unique opportunity to study coupled variability between these bands. Using a sample of ~40 ULXs with numerous repeat observations, we extract stacked images to characterise the spatial extent of the UV-Optical emission and extract long-term light curves to search for first-order linear correlations between the UV and X-ray emission. We find that a small subset may show weakly correlated joint variability, while other sources appear to display non-linear relationships between the bands. We discuss these observations in the context of several theoretical models: precession, irradiation of the outer accretion disc and irradiation of the companion star. We conclude that more complicated analysis or higher quality data may be required to accurately constrain the nature of the joint X-ray and UV/optical emission in these sources.Comment: 14 pages, 13 Figure

Duloxetine for the treatment of generalized anxiety disorder: a review

Approximately 16 million people in the United States suffer from anxiety disorders alone, while another 12 million experience both anxiety and at least one other psychiatric condition. Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) has lifetime prevalence rates between 5% and 6%. Treatment of GAD is aimed primarily at symptom reduction. Duloxetine, a serotonin norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI), received Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for the treatment of GAD in 2007. This article reviews the pharmacologic profile and seminal clinical trials associated with the FDA indication of duloxetine for GAD. A literature search performed using PubMed with the keywords “duloxetine”, “gad”, “generalized anxiety disorder”, and “venlafaxine XR” yielded 27 articles. We also focused on papers that pooled data from these seminal studies. Data on file from Eli Lilly were also reviewed, including data from the Eli Lilly website. Based on this search, duloxetine was found to be an FDA-approved treatment option for GAD that has been studied in several double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trials. This review of duloxetine will help physicians to interpret clinical studies properly and also help them to make an informed decision about which patients are the most appropriate candidates for a trial of duloxetine

Baryonic Post-Processing of N-body Simulations, with Application to Fast Radio Bursts

Where the cosmic baryons lie in and around galactic dark matter halos is only weakly constrained. We develop a method to quickly paint on models for their distribution. Our approach uses the statistical advantages of $N$-body simulations, while painting on the profile of gas around individual halos in ways that can be motivated by semi-analytic models or zoom-in hydrodynamic simulations of galaxies. Possible applications of the algorithm include extragalactic dispersion measures to fast radio bursts (FRBs), the Sunyaev-Zeldovich effect, baryonic effects on weak lensing, and cosmic metal enrichment. As an initial application, we use this tool to investigate how the baryonic profile of foreground galactic-mass halos affects the statistics of the dispersion measure (DM) towards cosmological FRBs. We show that the distribution of DM is sensitive to the distribution of baryons in galactic halos, with viable gas profile models having significantly different probability distributions for DM to a given redshift. We also investigate the requirements to statistically measure the circumgalactic electron profile for FRB analyses that stack DM with impact parameter to foreground galaxies, quantifying the size of the contaminating "two-halo" term from correlated systems and the number of FRBs for a high significance detection. Publicly available Python modules implement our CGMBrush algorithm.Comment: 23 pages, 10 figures, public python code at https://github.com/ianw89/cgm-brus

Emotional resilience and event centrality mediate posttraumatic growth following adverse childhood experiences

Research has long established that adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) can lead to a range of negative psychological consequences, including post-traumatic stress (PTS) symptoms. It is also increasingly recognized that ACEs can serve as a catalyst for positive changes, such as post-traumatic growth (PTG). The mechanisms by which people report negative or positive changes are less well known. This study explored whether emotional resilience and event centrality could determine the degree of negative or positive changes reported following ACEs. Participants (N = 167; 54.5% female; aged 19-95 years) completed an online survey measuring experiences of childhood adversity, resilience, event centrality, PTS symptoms and PTG. Mediation analyses indicated that resilience and event centrality explained PTG only, exerting significant medium negative and small positive indirect effects on PTG, respectively. These findings indicate that following ACEs, the treatment and management of emotional resilience and event centrality could lead to positive effects on psychological well-being

Modelling the Social Buffering Hypothesis in an Artificial Life Environment

© 2020 Massachusetts Institute of Technology Published under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.In social species, individuals who form social bonds have been found to live longer, healthier lives. One hypothesised reason for this effect is that social support, mediated by oxytocin, “buffers” responses to stress in a number of ways, and is considered an important process of adaptation that facilitates long-term wellbeing in changing, stressful conditions. Using an artificial life model, we have investigated the role of one hypothesised stress-reducing effect of social support on the survival and social interactions of agents in a small society. We have investigated this effect using different types of social bonds and bond partner combinations across environmentally-challenging conditions. Our results have found that stress reduction through social support benefits the survival of agents with social bonds, and that this effect often extends to the wider society. We have also found that this effect is significantly affected by environmental and social contexts. Our findings suggest that these “social buffering” effects may not be universal, but dependent upon the degree of environmental challenges, the quality of affective relationships and the wider social context