Short-cut to new anomalies in gravity duals to logarithmic conformal field theories

Various massive gravity theories in three dimensions are conjecturally dual to logarithmic conformal field theories (LCFTs). We summarise the status of these conjectures. LCFTs are characterised by the values of the central charges and the so-called "new anomalies". We employ a short-cut to calculate these new anomalies in generalised massive gravity and in the recently proposed higher-derivative gravity theories with holographic c-theorem. Both cases permit LCFTs exhibiting intriguing features, like rank three Jordan cells or non-zero central charges. Finally, as an example we discuss in some detail the partially massless version of new massive gravity, a theory with several special properties that we call "partially massless gravity".Comment: 34 pages, 2 figures; v2: added references; v3: Several rewordings in the introduction and section 2, added references. Matches published versio

AdS_3/LCFT_2 - Correlators in Cosmological Topologically Massive Gravity

For cosmological topologically massive gravity at the chiral point we calculate momentum space 2- and 3-point correlators of operators in the postulated dual CFT on the cylinder. These operators are sourced by the bulk and boundary gravitons. Our correlators are fully consistent with the proposal that cosmological topologically massive gravity at the chiral point is dual to a logarithmic CFT. In the process we give a complete classification of normalizable and non-normalizeable left, right and logarithmic solutions to the linearized equations of motion in global AdS_3.Comment: 39 pages + appendices, 1 eps figure, v2: minor changes in text in 4.1.2, corrected typo in (2.31

The prevalence of strabismus types in strabismic Iranian patients

Masoud Khorrami-Nejad,1 Mohamad Reza Akbari,2 Bahram Khosravi1 1Department of Optometry, Faculty of Rehabilitation, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; 2Eye Research Center, Farabi Eye Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran Purpose: To determine the frequency of different types of strabismus and amblyopia in the patients of strabismus clinics from 2008 to 2014. Methods: This retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted using data from the archives of Farabi Hospital in Tehran, Iran, from 2008 to 2014. The study consisted of using records of strabismic patients. From these, strabismus types and associated abnormalities, types of amblyopia and other ocular pathological findings were recorded. Results: In this study, 1174 strabismic patients were studied. Accommodative esotropia (ET) was the most prevalent type of strabismus accounting for 25.04% of all strabismic patients while intermittent exotropia (XT), nonaccommodative ET and partially accommodative ET, with 12.09%, 11.24% and 10.39%, respectively, were relatively common. Also, 63.03% of all strabismic patients had esodeviation with XT coming second accounting for 24.53% of patients. Other ocular pathologic findings in addition to strabismus were found in 236 (20.1%) patients. The most common association with those types of strabismus was inferior oblique over action accounting for 11.07% of all cases, and 88 patients had nystagmus in addition to strabismus. Significantly 45% of patients had no amblyopia and 37% of patients had a combined type of amblyopia which was the most common type of amblyopia found in strabismic patients. Conclusion: The prevalence of ET was two and a half times more than XT and almost half of strabismic patients suffer from amblyopia. This study suggests that strabismus screening of children could be useful in the early detection of strabismus, appropriate management of it and prevention of strabismic amblyopia. Keywords: horizontal deviation, amblyopia, vertical deviation, inferior oblique over actio

Selective cytotoxicity of green synthesized silver nanoparticles against the MCF-7 tumor cell line and their enhanced antioxidant and antimicrobial properties

Sadegh Khorrami,1 Ali Zarrabi,1 Moj Khaleghi,2 Marziyeh Danaei,3 MR Mozafari3 1Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Advanced Sciences and Technologies, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran; 2Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Shahid Bahonar University, Kerman, Iran; 3Australasian Nanoscience and Nanotechnology Initiative, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia Introduction: Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are of great interest due to their unique and controllable characteristics. Different synthesis methods have been proposed to produce these nanoparticles, which often require elevated temperatures/pressures or toxic solvents. Thus, green synthesis could be a replacement option as a simple, economically viable and environmentally friendly alternative approach for the synthesis of silver nanoparticles.Methods: Here, the potential of the walnut green husk was investigated in the production of silver nanoparticles. An aqueous solution extracted from walnut green husk was used as a reducing agent as well as a stabilizing agent. Then, the synthesized nanoparticles were characterized with respect of their anticancer, antioxidant, and antimicrobial properties. Results: Results showed that the synthesized nanoparticles possessed an average size of 31.4 nm with a Zeta potential of -33.8 mV, indicating high stability. A significant improvement in the cytotoxicity and antioxidant characteristics of the green synthesized Ag nanoparticles against a cancerous cell line was observed in comparison with the walnut green husk extract and a commercial silver nanoparticle (CSN). This could be due to a synergistic effect of the synthesized silver nanoparticles and their biological coating. AgNPs and the extract exhibited 70% and 40% cytotoxicity against MCF-7 cancerous cells, respectively, while CSN caused 56% cell death (at the concentration of 60 µg/mL). It was observed that AgNPs were much less cytotoxic when tested against a noncancerous cell line (L-929) in comparison with the control material (CSN). The free radical scavenging analysis demonstrated profound anti-oxidant activity for the synthesized nanoparticles in comparison with the extract and CSN. It was also detected that the synthesized AgNPs possess antibacterial activity against nosocomial and standard strains of both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria (minimum inhibitory concentration =5–30 µg/mL). Conclusion: These findings imply that the synthesized nanoparticles using green nanotechnology could be an ideal strategy to combat cancer and infectious diseases. Keywords: green synthesis, silver nanoparticles, antimicrobial agent, antioxidant agent, anticancer agent, selective cytotoxicit