Status of Lattice QCD

Significant progress has recently been achieved in the lattice gauge theory calculations required for extracting the fundamental parameters of the standard model from experiment. Recent lattice determinations of such quantities as the kaon $B$ parameter, the mass of the $b$ quark, and the strong coupling constant have produced results and uncertainties as good or better than the best conventional determinations. Many other calculations crucial to extracting the fundamental parameters of the standard model from experimental data are undergoing very active development. I review the status of such applications of lattice QCD to standard model phenomenology, and discuss the prospects for the near future.Comment: 20 pages, 8 embedded figures, uuencoded, 2 missing figures. (Talk presented at the Lepton-Photon Symposium, Cornell University, Aug. 10-15, 1993.

Deterministic Digital Clustering of Wireless Ad Hoc Networks

We consider deterministic distributed communication in wireless ad hoc networks of identical weak devices under the SINR model without predefined infrastructure. Most algorithmic results in this model rely on various additional features or capabilities, e.g., randomization, access to geographic coordinates, power control, carrier sensing with various precision of measurements, and/or interference cancellation. We study a pure scenario, when no such properties are available. As a general tool, we develop a deterministic distributed clustering algorithm. Our solution relies on a new type of combinatorial structures (selectors), which might be of independent interest. Using the clustering, we develop a deterministic distributed local broadcast algorithm accomplishing this task in $O(\Delta \log^*N \log N)$ rounds, where $\Delta$ is the density of the network. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first solution in pure scenario which is only polylog$(n)$ away from the universal lower bound $\Omega(\Delta)$, valid also for scenarios with randomization and other features. Therefore, none of these features substantially helps in performing the local broadcast task. Using clustering, we also build a deterministic global broadcast algorithm that terminates within $O(D(\Delta + \log^* N) \log N)$ rounds, where $D$ is the diameter of the network. This result is complemented by a lower bound $\Omega(D \Delta^{1-1/\alpha})$, where $\alpha > 2$ is the path-loss parameter of the environment. This lower bound shows that randomization or knowledge of own location substantially help (by a factor polynomial in $\Delta$) in the global broadcast. Therefore, unlike in the case of local broadcast, some additional model features may help in global broadcast

Smallpox vaccination-elicited antibodies cross-neutralize 2022-Monkeypox virus Clade II

Since early May 2022, some monkeypox virus (MPXV) infections have been reported from countries where the disease is not endemic. Within 2 months, the number of patients has increased extensively, becoming the most considerable MPXV outbreak described. Smallpox vaccines demonstrated high efficacy against MPXVs in the past and are considered a crucial outbreak control measure. However, viruses isolated during the current outbreak carry distinct genetic variations, and the cross-neutralizing capability of antibodies remains to be assessed. Here we report that serum antibodies elicited by first-generation smallpox vaccines can neutralize the current MPXV more than 40 years after vaccine administration

Relativistic coupled-cluster calculations of 20^{20}Ne, 40^{40}Ar, 84^{84}Kr and 129^{129}Xe: correlation energies and dipole polarizabilities

We have carried out a detailed and systematic study of the correlation energies of inert gas atoms Ne, Ar, Kr and Xe using relativistic many-body perturbation theory and relativistic coupled-cluster theory. In the relativistic coupled-cluster calculations, we implement perturbative triples and include these in the correlation energy calculations. We then calculate the dipole polarizability of the ground states using perturbed coupled-cluster theory.Comment: 10 figures, 6 tables, submitted to PR

Kappa-deformed random-matrix theory based on Kaniadakis statistics

We present a possible extension of the random-matrix theory, which is widely used to describe spectral fluctuations of chaotic systems. By considering the Kaniadakis non-Gaussian statistics, characterized by the index {\kappa} (Boltzmann-Gibbs entropy is recovered in the limit {\kappa}\rightarrow0), we propose the non-Gaussian deformations ({\kappa} \neq 0) of the conventional orthogonal and unitary ensembles of random matrices. The joint eigenvalue distributions for the {\kappa}-deformed ensembles are derived by applying the principle maximum entropy to Kaniadakis entropy. The resulting distribution functions are base invarient as they depend on the matrix elements in a trace form. Using these expressions, we introduce a new generalized form of the Wigner surmise valid for nearly-chaotic mixed systems, where a basis-independent description is still expected to hold. We motivate the necessity of such generalization by the need to describe the transition of the spacing distribution from chaos to order, at least in the initial stage. We show several examples about the use of the generalized Wigner surmise to the analysis of the results of a number of previous experiments and numerical experiments. Our results suggest the entropic index {\kappa} as a measure for deviation from the state of chaos. We also introduce a {\kappa}-deformed Porter-Thomas distribution of transition intensities, which fits the experimental data for mixed systems better than the commonly-used gamma-distribution.Comment: 18 pages, 8 figure

Adaptive Resolution Simulation of Liquid Water

We present a multiscale simulation of liquid water where a spatially adaptive molecular resolution procedure allows for changing on-the-fly from a coarse-grained to an all-atom representation. We show that this approach leads to the correct description of all essential thermodynamic and structural properties of liquid water.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures; changed figure

Clinical characterization and whole genome sequence-based typing of two cases of endophthalmitis due to Listeria monocytogenes

Endophthalmitis due to Listeria monocytogenes is a rare form of listeriosis. Here, we report two cases that occurred in patients with different medical history, a 46-years-old woman with no comorbidities and an elderly man with several comorbidities. There was no history of trauma or surgery in either patient suggesting an endogenous origin. Despite antibiotic treatment, both patients showed poor visual acuity outcomes. Subtyping clinical isolates using whole genome sequencing could allow to characterise Listeria monocytogenes strains involved in rare clinical manifestation, such as in unusual anatomical sites, even in immunocompetent patients