Exotic smooth structures and symplectic forms on closed manifolds

We give a short proof of the (known) result that there are no Kaehler structures on exotic tori. This yields a negative solution to a problem posed by Benson and Gordon. W discuss the symplectic version of the problem and analyze results which yield an evidence for the conjecture that there are no symplectic structures on exotic tori.Comment: AMSLaTeX, 16 pages, a new version. A survey of the symplectic version of the problem is adde

Fitting the integrated Spectral Energy Distributions of Galaxies

Fitting the spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of galaxies is an almost universally used technique that has matured significantly in the last decade. Model predictions and fitting procedures have improved significantly over this time, attempting to keep up with the vastly increased volume and quality of available data. We review here the field of SED fitting, describing the modelling of ultraviolet to infrared galaxy SEDs, the creation of multiwavelength data sets, and the methods used to fit model SEDs to observed galaxy data sets. We touch upon the achievements and challenges in the major ingredients of SED fitting, with a special emphasis on describing the interplay between the quality of the available data, the quality of the available models, and the best fitting technique to use in order to obtain a realistic measurement as well as realistic uncertainties. We conclude that SED fitting can be used effectively to derive a range of physical properties of galaxies, such as redshift, stellar masses, star formation rates, dust masses, and metallicities, with care taken not to over-interpret the available data. Yet there still exist many issues such as estimating the age of the oldest stars in a galaxy, finer details ofdust properties and dust-star geometry, and the influences of poorly understood, luminous stellar types and phases. The challenge for the coming years will be to improve both the models and the observational data sets to resolve these uncertainties. The present review will be made available on an interactive, moderated web page (sedfitting.org), where the community can access and change the text. The intention is to expand the text and keep it up to date over the coming years.Comment: 54 pages, 26 figures, Accepted for publication in Astrophysics & Space Scienc

Scattering theory and ground-state energy of Dirac fermions in graphene with two Coulomb impurities

We study the physics of Dirac fermions in a gapped graphene monolayer containing two Coulomb impurities. For the case of equal impurity charges, we discuss the ground-state energy using the linear combination of atomic orbitals (LCAO) approach. For opposite charges of the Coulomb centers, an electric dipole potential results at large distances. We provide a nonperturbative analysis of the corresponding low-energy scattering problem

Anisotropy studies around the galactic centre at EeV energies with the Auger Observatory

Data from the Pierre Auger Observatory are analyzed to search for anisotropies near the direction of the Galactic Centre at EeV energies. The exposure of the surface array in this part of the sky is already significantly larger than that of the fore-runner experiments. Our results do not support previous findings of localized excesses in the AGASA and SUGAR data. We set an upper bound on a point-like flux of cosmic rays arriving from the Galactic Centre which excludes several scenarios predicting sources of EeV neutrons from Sagittarius $A$. Also the events detected simultaneously by the surface and fluorescence detectors (the `hybrid' data set), which have better pointing accuracy but are less numerous than those of the surface array alone, do not show any significant localized excess from this direction.Comment: Matches published versio

Phase II trial correlating standardized uptake value with pathologic complete response to pertuzumab and trastuzumab in breast cancer

PURPOSE Predictive biomarkers to identify patients with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)–positive breast cancer who may benefit from targeted therapy alone are required. We hypothesized that early measurements of tumor maximum standardized uptake values corrected for lean body mass (SULmax) on [ 18 F] fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography would predict pathologic complete response (pCR) to neoadjuvant pertuzumab and trastuzumab (PT). PATIENTS AND METHODS Patients with stage II/III, estrogen receptor–negative, HER2-positive breast cancer received four cycles of neoadjuvant PT. [ 18 F]Fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography was performed at baseline and 15 days after PT initiation (C1D15). Eighty evaluable patients were required to test the null hypothesis that the area under the curve of percentage of change in SULmax by C1D15 predicting pCR is less than or equal to 0.65, with a one-sided type I error rate of 10%. RESULTS Eighty-eight women were enrolled (83 evaluable), and 85% (75 of 88) completed all four cycles of PT. pCR after PT alone was 34%. Receiver operating characteristic analysis yielded an area under the curve of 0.76 (90% CI, 0.67 to 0.85), which rejected the null hypothesis. Between patients who obtained pCR versus not, a significant difference in median percent reduction in SULmax by C1D15 was observed (63.8% v 33.5%; P, .001), an SULmax reduction greater than or equal to 40% was more prevalent (86% v 46%; P, .001; negative predictive value, 88%; positive predictive value, 49%), and a significant difference in median C1D15 SULmax (1.6 v 3.9; P, .001) and higher proportion of C1D15 SULmax less than or equal to 3 (93% v 38%; P, .001; negative predictive value, 94%; positive predictive value, 55%) were observed. CONCLUSION Early changes in SULmax predict response to four cycles of PT in estrogen receptor–negative, HER2-positive breast cancer. Once optimized, this quantitative imaging strategy may facilitate a more tailored approach to therapy in this setting

Updated Results of TBCRC026: Phase II Trial Correlating Standardized Uptake Value With Pathological Complete Response to Pertuzumab and Trastuzumab in Breast Cancer

PURPOSE: Predictive biomarkers to identify patients with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive breast cancer who may benefit from targeted therapy alone are required. We hypothesized that early measurements of tumor maximum standardized uptake value corrected for lean body mass (SULmax) on 18F-labeled fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET-CT) would predict pathologic complete response (pCR) to pertuzumab and trastuzumab (PT). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Patients with stage II or III, estrogen receptor-negative, HER2-positive breast cancer received four cycles of neoadjuvant PT. 18F-labeled fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography-computed tomography was performed at baseline and 15 days after PT initiation (C1D15). Eighty evaluable patients were required to test the null hypothesis that the area under the curve of percent change in SULmax by C1D15 predicting pCR is ≤ 0.65, with a one-sided type I error rate of 10%. RESULTS: Eighty-eight women were enrolled (83 evaluable), and 85% (75 of 88) completed all four cycles of PT. pCR after PT alone was 22%. Receiver operator characteristic analysis of percent change in SULmax by C1D15 yielded an area under the curve of 0.72 (80% CI, 0.64 to 0.80; one-sided P = .12), which did not reject the null hypothesis. However, between patients who obtained pCR and who did not, a significant difference in median percent reduction in SULmax by C1D15 was observed (63.8% v 41.8%; P = .004) and SULmax reduction ≥ 40% was more prevalent (83% v 52%; P = .03; positive predictive value, 31%). Participants not obtaining a 40% reduction in SULmax by C1D15 were unlikely to obtain pCR (negative predictive value, 91%). CONCLUSION: Although the primary objective was not met, early changes in SULmax predict response to PT in estrogen receptor-negative and HER2-positive breast cancer. Once optimized, this quantitative imaging strategy may facilitate tailoring of therapy in this setting

Virtual Ontogeny of Cortical Growth Preceding Mental Illness

Background: Morphology of the human cerebral cortex differs across psychiatric disorders, with neurobiology and developmental origins mostly undetermined. Deviations in the tangential growth of the cerebral cortex during pre/perinatal periods may be reflected in individual variations in cortical surface area later in life. Methods: Interregional profiles of group differences in surface area between cases and controls were generated using T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging from 27,359 individuals including those with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, autism spectrum disorder, bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder, schizophrenia, and high general psychopathology (through the Child Behavior Checklist). Similarity of interregional profiles of group differences in surface area and prenatal cell-specific gene expression was assessed. Results: Across the 11 cortical regions, group differences in cortical area for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, schizophrenia, and Child Behavior Checklist were dominant in multimodal association cortices. The same interregional profiles were also associated with interregional profiles of (prenatal) gene expression specific to proliferative cells, namely radial glia and intermediate progenitor cells (greater expression, larger difference), as well as differentiated cells, namely excitatory neurons and endothelial and mural cells (greater expression, smaller difference). Finally, these cell types were implicated in known pre/perinatal risk factors for psychosis. Genes coexpressed with radial glia were enriched with genes implicated in congenital abnormalities, birth weight, hypoxia, and starvation. Genes coexpressed with endothelial and mural genes were enriched with genes associated with maternal hypertension and preterm birth. Conclusions: Our findings support a neurodevelopmental model of vulnerability to mental illness whereby prenatal risk factors acting through cell-specific processes lead to deviations from typical brain development during pregnancy

Studying young recipients of alcohol marketing : Two research paradigms and their possible consolidation

Peer reviewe

Risk profiles and one-year outcomes of patients with newly diagnosed atrial fibrillation in India: Insights from the GARFIELD-AF Registry.

BACKGROUND: The Global Anticoagulant Registry in the FIELD-Atrial Fibrillation (GARFIELD-AF) is an ongoing prospective noninterventional registry, which is providing important information on the baseline characteristics, treatment patterns, and 1-year outcomes in patients with newly diagnosed non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF). This report describes data from Indian patients recruited in this registry. METHODS AND RESULTS: A total of 52,014 patients with newly diagnosed AF were enrolled globally; of these, 1388 patients were recruited from 26 sites within India (2012-2016). In India, the mean age was 65.8 years at diagnosis of NVAF. Hypertension was the most prevalent risk factor for AF, present in 68.5% of patients from India and in 76.3% of patients globally (P < 0.001). Diabetes and coronary artery disease (CAD) were prevalent in 36.2% and 28.1% of patients as compared with global prevalence of 22.2% and 21.6%, respectively (P < 0.001 for both). Antiplatelet therapy was the most common antithrombotic treatment in India. With increasing stroke risk, however, patients were more likely to receive oral anticoagulant therapy [mainly vitamin K antagonist (VKA)], but average international normalized ratio (INR) was lower among Indian patients [median INR value 1.6 (interquartile range {IQR}: 1.3-2.3) versus 2.3 (IQR 1.8-2.8) (P < 0.001)]. Compared with other countries, patients from India had markedly higher rates of all-cause mortality [7.68 per 100 person-years (95% confidence interval 6.32-9.35) vs 4.34 (4.16-4.53), P < 0.0001], while rates of stroke/systemic embolism and major bleeding were lower after 1 year of follow-up. CONCLUSION: Compared to previously published registries from India, the GARFIELD-AF registry describes clinical profiles and outcomes in Indian patients with AF of a different etiology. The registry data show that compared to the rest of the world, Indian AF patients are younger in age and have more diabetes and CAD. Patients with a higher stroke risk are more likely to receive anticoagulation therapy with VKA but are underdosed compared with the global average in the GARFIELD-AF. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION-URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT01090362