Recent developments in unconventional superconductivity theory

The review of recent developments in the unconventional superconductivity theory is given. In the fist part I consider the physical origin of the Kerr rotation polarization of light reflected from the surface of superconducting $Sr_2RuO_4$. Then the comparison of magneto-optical responses in superconductors with orbital and spin spontaneous magnetization is presented. The latter result is applied to the estimation of the magneto-optical properties of neutral superfluids with spontaneous magnetization. The second part is devoted to the natural optical activity or gyrotropy properties of noncentrosymmetric metals in their normal and superconducting states. The temperature behavior of the gyrotropy coefficient is compared with the temperature behavior of paramagnetic susceptibility determining the noticeable increase of the paramagnetic limiting field in noncentrosymmetric superconductors. In the last chapter I describe the order parameter and the symmetry of superconducting state in the itinerant ferromagnet with orthorhombic symmetry. Finally the Josephson coupling between two adjacent ferromagnet superconducting domains is discussed.Comment: 15 page

Mental health outcomes of male UK military personnel deployed to Afghanistan and the role of combat injury: analysis of baseline data from the ADVANCE cohort study

Background: The long-term psychosocial outcomes of UK armed forces personnel who sustained serious combat injuries during deployment to Afghanistan are largely unknown. We aimed to assess rates of probable post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, anxiety, and mental health-associated multimorbidity in a representative sample of serving and ex-serving UK military personnel with combat injuries, compared with rates in a matched sample of uninjured personnel. Methods: This analysis used baseline data from the ADVANCE cohort study, in which injured individuals were recruited from a sample of UK armed forces personnel who were deployed to Afghanistan and had physical combat injuries, according to records provided by the UK Ministry of Defence. Participants from the uninjured group were frequency-matched by age, rank, regiment, deployment, and role on deployment. Participants were recruited through postal, email, and telephone invitations. Participants completed a comprehensive health assessment, including physical health assessment and self-reported mental health measures (PTSD Checklist, Patient Health Questionnaire-9, and Generalised Anxiety Disorder-7). The mental health outcomes were rates of PTSD, depression, anxiety, and mental health-associated multimorbidity in the injured and uninjured groups. The ADVANCE study is ongoing and is registered with the ISRCTN registry, ISRCTN57285353. Findings: 579 combat-injured participants (161 with amputation injuries and 418 with non-amputation injuries) and 565 uninjured participants were included in the analysis. Participants had a median age of 33 years (IQR 30–37 years) at the time of assessment. 90·3% identified as White and 9·7% were from all other ethnic groups. The rates of PTSD (16·9% [n=89] vs 10·5% [n=53]; adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 1·67 [95% CI 1·16–2·41], depression (23·6% [n=129] vs 16·8% [n=87]; AOR 1·46 [1·08–2·03]), anxiety (20·8% [n=111] vs 13·5% [n=71]; AOR 1·56 [1·13–2·24]) and mental health-associated multimorbidity (15·3% [n=81] vs 9·8% [n=49]; AOR 1·62 [1·12–2·49]) were greater in the injured group than the uninjured group. Minimal differences in odds of reporting any poor mental health outcome were noted between the amputation injury subgroup and the uninjured group (AOR range 0·77–0·97), whereas up to double the odds were noted for the non-amputation injury subgroup compared with the uninjured group (AOR range 1·74–2·02). Interpretation: Serious physical combat injuries were associated with poor mental health outcomes. However, the type of injury sustained influenced this relationship. Regardless of injury, this cohort represents a group who present with greater rates of PTSD than the general population, as well as increased psychological burden from multimorbidity. Funding: The ADVANCE Charity

Two-body Z′Z' decays in the minimal 331 model

The two-body decays of the extra neutral boson Z_2 predicted by the minimal 331 model are analyzed. At the three-level it can decay into standard model particles as well as exotic quarks and the new gauge bosons predicted by the model. The decays into a lepton pair are strongly suppressed, with $Br(Z_2 --> l^+l^-) ~ 10^{-2}$ and $Br(Z_2 --> \bar{\nu}_l \nu) ~ 10^{-3}$. In the bosonic sector, Z_2 would decay mainly into a pair of bilepton gauge bosons, with a branching ratio below the 0.1 level. The Z_2 boson has thus a leptophobic and bileptophobic nature and it would decay dominantly into quark pairs. The anomaly-induced decays $Z_2 --> Z_1\gamma$ and $Z_2 --> Z_1Z_1$, which occurs at the one-loop level are studied. It is found that $Br(Z_2 --> Z_1\gamma) ~ 10^{-9}$ and $Br(Z_2 --> Z_1Z_1) ~ 10^{-6}$ at most. As for the $Z_2 --> W^+W^-$ and $Z_2 --> Z_1H$ decays, with H a relatively light Higgs boson, they are induced via Z'-Z mixing. It is obtained that $Br(Z_2 --> W^+W^-) ~ 10^{-2}$ and $Br (Z_2 --> Z_1H) ~ 10^{-5}$. We also examine the flavor changing neutral current decays $Z_2 --> tc$ and $Z_2 --> tu$, which may have branching fractions as large as $10^{-3}$ and $10^{-5}$, respectively, and thus may be of phenomenological interest.Comment: 14 pages, 3 figures, submitted to Physical Review

An Inflationary Model in String Theory

We construct a model of inflation in string theory after carefully taking into account moduli stabilization. The setting is a warped compactification of Type IIB string theory in the presence of D3 and anti-D3-branes. The inflaton is the position of a D3-brane in the internal space. By suitably adjusting fluxes and the location of symmetrically placed anti-D3-branes, we show that at a point of enhanced symmetry, the inflaton potential V can have a broad maximum, satisfying the condition V''/V << 1 in Planck units. On starting close to the top of this potential the slow-roll conditions can be met. Observational constraints impose significant restrictions. As a first pass we show that these can be satisfied and determine the important scales in the compactification to within an order of magnitude. One robust feature is that the scale of inflation is low, H = O(10^{10}) GeV. Removing the observational constraints makes it much easier to construct a slow-roll inflationary model. Generalizations and consequences including the possibility of eternal inflation are also discussed. A more careful study, including explicit constructions of the model in string theory, is left for the future.Comment: 27 pages, LaTeX, 1 eps figure. v2: references adde

Dust Devil Tracks

Dust devils that leave dark- or light-toned tracks are common on Mars and they can also be found on the Earth’s surface. Dust devil tracks (hereinafter DDTs) are ephemeral surface features with mostly sub-annual lifetimes. Regarding their size, DDT widths can range between ∼1 m and ∼1 km, depending on the diameter of dust devil that created the track, and DDT lengths range from a few tens of meters to several kilometers, limited by the duration and horizontal ground speed of dust devils. DDTs can be classified into three main types based on their morphology and albedo in contrast to their surroundings; all are found on both planets: (a) dark continuous DDTs, (b) dark cycloidal DDTs, and (c) bright DDTs. Dark continuous DDTs are the most common type on Mars. They are characterized by their relatively homogenous and continuous low albedo surface tracks. Based on terrestrial and martian in situ studies, these DDTs most likely form when surficial dust layers are removed to expose larger-grained substrate material (coarse sands of ≥500 μm in diameter). The exposure of larger-grained materials changes the photometric properties of the surface; hence leading to lower albedo tracks because grain size is photometrically inversely proportional to the surface reflectance. However, although not observed so far, compositional differences (i.e., color differences) might also lead to albedo contrasts when dust is removed to expose substrate materials with mineralogical differences. For dark continuous DDTs, albedo drop measurements are around 2.5 % in the wavelength range of 550–850 nm on Mars and around 0.5 % in the wavelength range from 300–1100 nm on Earth. The removal of an equivalent layer thickness around 1 μm is sufficient for the formation of visible dark continuous DDTs on Mars and Earth. The next type of DDTs, dark cycloidal DDTs, are characterized by their low albedo pattern of overlapping scallops. Terrestrial in situ studies imply that they are formed when sand-sized material that is eroded from the outer vortex area of a dust devil is redeposited in annular patterns in the central vortex region. This type of DDT can also be found in on Mars in orbital image data, and although in situ studies are lacking, terrestrial analog studies, laboratory work, and numerical modeling suggest they have the same formation mechanism as those on Earth. Finally, bright DDTs are characterized by their continuous track pattern and high albedo compared to their undisturbed surroundings. They are found on both planets, but to date they have only been analyzed in situ on Earth. Here, the destruction of aggregates of dust, silt and sand by dust devils leads to smooth surfaces in contrast to the undisturbed rough surfaces surrounding the track. The resulting change in photometric properties occurs because the smoother surfaces have a higher reflectance compared to the surrounding rough surface, leading to bright DDTs. On Mars, the destruction of surficial dust-aggregates may also lead to bright DDTs. However, higher reflective surfaces may be produced by other formation mechanisms, such as dust compaction by passing dust devils, as this may also cause changes in photometric properties. On Mars, DDTs in general are found at all elevations and on a global scale, except on the permanent polar caps. DDT maximum areal densities occur during spring and summer in both hemispheres produced by an increase in dust devil activity caused by maximum insolation. Regionally, dust devil densities vary spatially likely controlled by changes in dust cover thicknesses and substrate materials. This variability makes it difficult to infer dust devil activity from DDT frequencies. Furthermore, only a fraction of dust devils leave tracks. However, DDTs can be used as proxies for dust devil lifetimes and wind directions and speeds, and they can also be used to predict lander or rover solar panel clearing events. Overall, the high DDT frequency in many areas on Mars leads to drastic albedo changes that affect large-scale weather patterns

Brane inflation revisited after WMAP five-year results

In this paper, we revisit brane inflation models with the WMAP five-year results. The WMAP five-year data favor a red-tilted power spectrum of primordial fluctuations at the level of two standard deviations, which is the same as the WMAP three-year result qualitatively, but quantitatively the spectral index is slightly greater than the three-year value. This result can bring impacts on brane inflation models. According to the WMAP five-year data, we find that the KKLMMT model can survive at the level of one standard deviation, and the fine-tuning of the parameter $\beta$ can be alleviated to a certain extent at the level of two standard deviations.Comment: 23 pages, 11 figure

Novel genetic loci associated with hippocampal volume

The hippocampal formation is a brain structure integrally involved in episodic memory, spatial navigation, cognition and stress responsiveness. Structural abnormalities in hippocampal volume and shape are found in several common neuropsychiatric disorders. To identify the genetic underpinnings of hippocampal structure here we perform a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of 33,536 individuals and discover six independent loci significantly associated with hippocampal volume, four of them novel. Of the novel loci, three lie within genes (ASTN2, DPP4 and MAST4) and one is found 200 kb upstream of SHH. A hippocampal subfield analysis shows that a locus within the MSRB3 gene shows evidence of a localized effect along the dentate gyrus, subiculum, CA1 and fissure. Further, we show that genetic variants associated with decreased hippocampal volume are also associated with increased risk for Alzheimer's disease (rg =-0.155). Our findings suggest novel biological pathways through which human genetic variation influences hippocampal volume and risk for neuropsychiatric illness

Global, regional, and national comparative risk assessment of 79 behavioural, environmental and occupational, and metabolic risks or clusters of risks, 1990-2015: A systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015

Background: The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2015 provides an up-to-date synthesis of the evidence for risk factor exposure and the attributable burden of disease. By providing national and subnational assessments spanning the past 25 years, this study can inform debates on the importance of addressing risks in context. Methods: We used the comparative risk assessment framework developed for previous iterations of the Global Burden of Disease Study to estimate attributable deaths, disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), and trends in exposure by age group, sex, year, and geography for 79 behavioural, environmental and occupational, and metabolic risks or clusters of risks from 1990 to 2015. This study included 388 risk-outcome pairs that met World Cancer Research Fund-defined criteria for convincing or probable evidence. We extracted relative risk and exposure estimates from randomised controlled trials, cohorts, pooled cohorts, household surveys, census data, satellite data, and other sources. We used statistical models to pool data, adjust for bias, and incorporate covariates. We developed a metric that allows comparisons of exposure across risk factors—the summary exposure value. Using the counterfactual scenario of theoretical minimum risk level, we estimated the portion of deaths and DALYs that could be attributed to a given risk. We decomposed trends in attributable burden into contributions from population growth, population age structure, risk exposure, and risk-deleted cause-specific DALY rates. We characterised risk exposure in relation to a Socio-demographic Index (SDI). Findings: Between 1990 and 2015, global exposure to unsafe sanitation, household air pollution, childhood underweight, childhood stunting, and smoking each decreased by more than 25%. Global exposure for several occupational risks, high body-mass index (BMI), and drug use increased by more than 25% over the same period. All risks jointly evaluated in 2015 accounted for 57·8% (95% CI 56·6–58·8) of global deaths and 41·2% (39·8–42·8) of DALYs. In 2015, the ten largest contributors to global DALYs among Level 3 risks were high systolic blood pressure (211·8 million [192·7 million to 231·1 million] global DALYs), smoking (148·6 million [134·2 million to 163·1 million]), high fasting plasma glucose (143·1 million [125·1 million to 163·5 million]), high BMI (120·1 million [83·8 million to 158·4 million]), childhood undernutrition (113·3 million [103·9 million to 123·4 million]), ambient particulate matter (103·1 million [90·8 million to 115·1 million]), high total cholesterol (88·7 million [74·6 million to 105·7 million]), household air pollution (85·6 million [66·7 million to 106·1 million]), alcohol use (85·0 million [77·2 million to 93·0 million]), and diets high in sodium (83·0 million [49·3 million to 127·5 million]). From 1990 to 2015, attributable DALYs declined for micronutrient deficiencies, childhood undernutrition, unsafe sanitation and water, and household air pollution; reductions in risk-deleted DALY rates rather than reductions in exposure drove these declines. Rising exposure contributed to notable increases in attributable DALYs from high BMI, high fasting plasma glucose, occupational carcinogens, and drug use. Environmental risks and childhood undernutrition declined steadily with SDI; low physical activity, high BMI, and high fasting plasma glucose increased with SDI. In 119 countries, metabolic risks, such as high BMI and fasting plasma glucose, contributed the most attributable DALYs in 2015. Regionally, smoking still ranked among the leading five risk factors for attributable DALYs in 109 countries; childhood underweight and unsafe sex remained primary drivers of early death and disability in much of sub-Saharan Africa. Interpretation: Declines in some key environmental risks have contributed to declines in critical infectious diseases. Some risks appear to be invariant to SDI. Increasing risks, including high BMI, high fasting plasma glucose, drug use, and some occupational exposures, contribute to rising burden from some conditions, but also provide opportunities for intervention. Some highly preventable risks, such as smoking, remain major causes of attributable DALYs, even as exposure is declining. Public policy makers need to pay attention to the risks that are increasingly major contributors to global burden. Funding: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

The Influence of Age and Sex on Genetic Associations with Adult Body Size and Shape : A Large-Scale Genome-Wide Interaction Study

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified more than 100 genetic variants contributing to BMI, a measure of body size, or waist-to-hip ratio (adjusted for BMI, WHRadjBMI), a measure of body shape. Body size and shape change as people grow older and these changes differ substantially between men and women. To systematically screen for age-and/or sex-specific effects of genetic variants on BMI and WHRadjBMI, we performed meta-analyses of 114 studies (up to 320,485 individuals of European descent) with genome-wide chip and/or Metabochip data by the Genetic Investigation of Anthropometric Traits (GIANT) Consortium. Each study tested the association of up to similar to 2.8M SNPs with BMI and WHRadjBMI in four strata (men 50y, women 50y) and summary statistics were combined in stratum-specific meta-analyses. We then screened for variants that showed age-specific effects (G x AGE), sex-specific effects (G x SEX) or age-specific effects that differed between men and women (G x AGE x SEX). For BMI, we identified 15 loci (11 previously established for main effects, four novel) that showed significant (FDR= 50y). No sex-dependent effects were identified for BMI. For WHRadjBMI, we identified 44 loci (27 previously established for main effects, 17 novel) with sex-specific effects, of which 28 showed larger effects in women than in men, five showed larger effects in men than in women, and 11 showed opposite effects between sexes. No age-dependent effects were identified for WHRadjBMI. This is the first genome-wide interaction meta-analysis to report convincing evidence of age-dependent genetic effects on BMI. In addition, we confirm the sex-specificity of genetic effects on WHRadjBMI. These results may providefurther insights into the biology that underlies weight change with age or the sexually dimorphism of body shape.Peer reviewe

Global, regional, and national age-sex-specific mortality and life expectancy, 1950–2017: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017

BACKGROUND: Assessments of age-specific mortality and life expectancy have been done by the UN Population Division, Department of Economics and Social Affairs (UNPOP), the United States Census Bureau, WHO, and as part of previous iterations of the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD). Previous iterations of the GBD used population estimates from UNPOP, which were not derived in a way that was internally consistent with the estimates of the numbers of deaths in the GBD. The present iteration of the GBD, GBD 2017, improves on previous assessments and provides timely estimates of the mortality experience of populations globally. METHODS: The GBD uses all available data to produce estimates of mortality rates between 1950 and 2017 for 23 age groups, both sexes, and 918 locations, including 195 countries and territories and subnational locations for 16 countries. Data used include vital registration systems, sample registration systems, household surveys (complete birth histories, summary birth histories, sibling histories), censuses (summary birth histories, household deaths), and Demographic Surveillance Sites. In total, this analysis used 8259 data sources. Estimates of the probability of death between birth and the age of 5 years and between ages 15 and 60 years are generated and then input into a model life table system to produce complete life tables for all locations and years. Fatal discontinuities and mortality due to HIV/AIDS are analysed separately and then incorporated into the estimation. We analyse the relationship between age-specific mortality and development status using the Socio-demographic Index, a composite measure based on fertility under the age of 25 years, education, and income. There are four main methodological improvements in GBD 2017 compared with GBD 2016: 622 additional data sources have been incorporated; new estimates of population, generated by the GBD study, are used; statistical methods used in different components of the analysis have been further standardised and improved; and the analysis has been extended backwards in time by two decades to start in 1950. FINDINGS: Globally, 18·7% (95% uncertainty interval 18·4–19·0) of deaths were registered in 1950 and that proportion has been steadily increasing since, with 58·8% (58·2–59·3) of all deaths being registered in 2015. At the global level, between 1950 and 2017, life expectancy increased from 48·1 years (46·5–49·6) to 70·5 years (70·1–70·8) for men and from 52·9 years (51·7–54·0) to 75·6 years (75·3–75·9) for women. Despite this overall progress, there remains substantial variation in life expectancy at birth in 2017, which ranges from 49·1 years (46·5–51·7) for men in the Central African Republic to 87·6 years (86·9–88·1) among women in Singapore. The greatest progress across age groups was for children younger than 5 years; under-5 mortality dropped from 216·0 deaths (196·3–238·1) per 1000 livebirths in 1950 to 38·9 deaths (35·6–42·83) per 1000 livebirths in 2017, with huge reductions across countries. Nevertheless, there were still 5·4 million (5·2–5·6) deaths among children younger than 5 years in the world in 2017. Progress has been less pronounced and more variable for adults, especially for adult males, who had stagnant or increasing mortality rates in several countries. The gap between male and female life expectancy between 1950 and 2017, while relatively stable at the global level, shows distinctive patterns across super-regions and has consistently been the largest in central Europe, eastern Europe, and central Asia, and smallest in south Asia. Performance was also variable across countries and time in observed mortality rates compared with those expected on the basis of development. INTERPRETATION: This analysis of age-sex-specific mortality shows that there are remarkably complex patterns in population mortality across countries. The findings of this study highlight global successes, such as the large decline in under-5 mortality, which reflects significant local, national, and global commitment and investment over several decades. However, they also bring attention to mortality patterns that are a cause for concern, particularly among adult men and, to a lesser extent, women, whose mortality rates have stagnated in many countries over the time period of this study, and in some cases are increasing