Complex Hybrid Inflation and Baryogenesis

We propose a hybrid inflation model with a complex waterfall field which contains an interaction term that breaks the U(1) global symmetry associated to the waterfall field charge. We show that the asymmetric evolution of the real and imaginary parts of the complex field during the phase transition at the end of inflation translates into a charge asymmetry. The latter strongly depends on the vev of the waterfall field, which is well constrained by diverse cosmological observations.Comment: 4 RevTex pages, no figures. Changes made in response to referee's comments; matches version published in Phys.Rev.Let

The utility of the MMPI-2-RF to predict the outcome of a smoking-cessation treatment

People with psychopathology experience high rates of smoking and have more trouble quitting. The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 Restructured Form (MMPI-2-RF; Tellegen & Ben-Porath, 2008, 2009) is a valid and reliable instrument for the assessment of psychopathology. In this study, we examined the ability of the MMPI-2-RF to assess psychopathology and to predict smoking cessation outcomes in a sample of 281 smokers seeking psychological treatment to stop smoking at the end of treatment and at 6- and 12-month follow-ups. Results showed that T-scores < 65 on Disaffiliativeness (DSF) scale were associated with a higher likelihood of smoking at the end of treatment, and T-scores = 65 on Neurological Complaints (NUC) scale were associated with a higher likelihood of smoking at the 12-month follow-up, after controlling for the effect of age and initial levels of nicotine dependence. The results highlight the usefulness of the MMPI-2-RF in the field of smoking cessation treatment

Meropenem heteroresistance in clinical isolates of OXA-48–producing Klebsiella pneumoniae

OXA-48–producing Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates often show growth of colonies within inhibition zones in carbapenem diffusion assays. The nature of these colonies was investigated in a series of clinical isolates of OXA-48–producing K. pneumoniae obtained in the context of a hospital outbreak, and they were found to be persistent colonies that reproduced again the same phenotype when they were collected and tested in diffusion assays again. The frequency of mutations conferring resistance to meropenem (8 µg/mL) was determined for the same isolates. The average mutation frequency was 5.47·10-6 (range: 2.59·10-8–5.87·10-5), and the analysis of several resistant mutants showed that all of them had mutations in the ompK36 porin gene. Heteroresistance was investigated using population analysis profiling. The profiles were compatible with mutation frequency assays, and all the colonies analyzed were resistant mutants. In OXA-48–producing K. pneumoniae, the growth of persisters seems to be specific of diffusion assays