Logarithmic Corrections to Schwarzschild and Other Non-extremal Black Hole Entropy in Different Dimensions

Euclidean gravity method has been successful in computing logarithmic corrections to extremal black hole entropy in terms of low energy data, and gives results in perfect agreement with the microscopic results in string theory. Motivated by this success we apply Euclidean gravity to compute logarithmic corrections to the entropy of various non-extremal black holes in different dimensions, taking special care of integration over the zero modes and keeping track of the ensemble in which the computation is done. These results provide strong constraint on any ultraviolet completion of the theory if the latter is able to give an independent computation of the entropy of non-extremal black holes from microscopic description. For Schwarzschild black holes in four space-time dimensions the macroscopic result seems to disagree with the existing result in loop quantum gravity.Comment: LaTeX, 40 pages; corrected small typos and added reference

Kinetic Characterisation of a Single Chain Antibody against the Hormone Abscisic Acid: Comparison with Its Parental Monoclonal

A single-chain Fv fragment antibody (scFv) specific for the plant hormone abscisic acid (ABA) has been expressed in the bacterium Escherichia coli as a fusion protein. The kinetics of ABA binding have been measured using surface plasmon resonance spectrometry (BIAcore 2000) using surface and solution assays. Care was taken to calculate the concentration of active protein in each sample using initial rate measurements under conditions of partial mass transport limitation. The fusion product, parental monoclonal antibody and the free scFv all have low nanomolar affinity constants, but there is a lower dissociation rate constant for the parental monoclonal resulting in a three-fold greater affinity. Analogue specificity was tested and structure-activity binding preferences measured. The biologically-active (+)-ABA enantiomer is recognised with an affinity three orders of magnitude higher than the inactive (-)-ABA. Metabolites of ABA including phaseic acid, dihydrophaseic acid and deoxy-ABA have affinities over 100-fold lower than that for (+)-ABA. These properties of the scFv make it suitable as a sensor domain in bioreporters specific for the naturally occurring form of ABA

Logarithmic Corrections to Extremal Black Hole Entropy from Quantum Entropy Function

We evaluate the one loop determinant of matter multiplet fields of N=4 supergravity in the near horizon geometry of quarter BPS black holes, and use it to calculate logarithmic corrections to the entropy of these black holes using the quantum entropy function formalism. We show that even though individual fields give non-vanishing logarithmic contribution to the entropy, the net contribution from all the fields in the matter multiplet vanishes. Thus logarithmic corrections to the entropy of quarter BPS black holes, if present, must be independent of the number of matter multiplet fields in the theory. This is consistent with the microscopic results. During our analysis we also determine the complete spectrum of small fluctuations of matter multiplet fields in the near horizon geometry.Comment: LaTeX file, 52 pages; v2: minor corrections, references adde

Quantum Gravity in Everyday Life: General Relativity as an Effective Field Theory

This article is meant as a summary and introduction to the ideas of effective field theory as applied to gravitational systems. Contents: 1. Introduction 2. Effective Field Theories 3. Low-Energy Quantum Gravity 4. Explicit Quantum Calculations 5. ConclusionsComment: 56 pages, 2 figures, JHEP style, Invited review to appear in Living Reviews of Relativit

Extraordinary absorption of sound in porous lamella-crystals

We present the design of a structured material supporting complete absorption of sound with a broadband response and functional for any direction of incident radiation. The structure which is fabricated out of porous lamellas is arranged into a low-density crystal and backed by a reflecting support. Experimental measurements show that strong all-angle sound absorption with almost zero reflectance takes place for a frequency range exceeding two octaves. We demonstrate that lowering the crystal filling fraction increases the wave interaction time and is responsible for the enhancement of intrinsic material dissipation, making the system more absorptive with less material.The work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation and European Union FEDER through project FIS2011-29734-C02-01. J.C. gratefully acknowledges financial support from the Danish Council for Independent Research and a Sapere Aude grant (12-134776). V. R. G. gratefully acknowledges financial support from the ''Contratos Post-Doctorales Campus Excelencia Internacional'' UPV CEI-01-11.Christensen, J.; Romero García, V.; Picó Vila, R.; Cebrecos Ruiz, A.; Garcia De Abajo, FJ.; Mortensen, NA.; Willatzen, M.... (2014). Extraordinary absorption of sound in porous lamella-crystals. Scientific Reports. 4(4674). https://doi.org/10.1038/srep04674S44674Mei, J. et al. Dark acoustic metamaterials as super absorbers for low-frequency sound. Nat. Commun. 3, 756 (2012).Leroy, V., Strybulevych, A., Scanlon, M. G. & Page, J. Transmission of ultrasound through a single layer of bubbles. Eur. Phys. J. E 29, 123 (2009).Leroy, V., Bretagne, A., Fink, M. H. W., Tabeling, P. & Tourin, A. Design and characterization of bubble phononic crystals. Appl. Phys. Lett. 95, 171904 (2009).Thomas, E. L. Applied physics: Bubbly but quiet. Nature 462, 990 (2009).Romero-García, V., Sánchez-Pérez, J. V. & Garcia-Raffi, L. M. Tunable wideband bandstop acoustic filter based on two-dimensional multiphysical phenomena periodic systems. J. Appl. Phys. 110, 014904 (2011).Garcia-Chocano, V. M., Cabrera, S. & Sanchez-Dehesa, J. Broadband sound absorption by lattices of microperforated cylindrical shells. Appl. Phys. Lett. 101, 184101 (2012).Kushwaha, M. S., Halevi, P., Dobrzynski, L. & Djafari-Rouhani, B. Acoustic band structure of periodic elastic composites. Phys. Rev. Lett. 71, 2022 (1993).Vasseur, J. O. et al. Experimental and Theoretical Evidence for the Existence of Absolute Acoustic Band Gaps in Two-Dimensional Solid Phononic Crystals. Phys. Rev. Lett. 86, 3012 (2001).Liu, Z. et al. Locally Resonant Sonic Materials. Science 289, 1734 (2000).Christensen, J., Martin-Moreno, L. & Garcia-Vidal, F. J. All-angle blockage of sound by an acoustic double-fishnet metamaterial. Appl. Phys. Lett. 97, 134106 (2010).Botten, L. C., Craig, M. S., McPhedran, R. C., Adams, J. L. & Andrewartha, J. R. The finitely conducting lamellar diffraction grating. Optica Acta 28, 1087 (1981).McPhedran, R. C., Botten, L. C., Craif, M. S., Neviere, M. & Maystre, D. Lossy lamellar gratings in the quasistatic limit. Optica Acta 29, 289 (1982).Kravets, V. G., Schedin, F. & Grigorenko, A. N. Plasmonic blackbody: Almost complete absorption of light in nanostructured metallic coatings. Phys. Rev. B 78, 205405 (2008).Sondergaard, T. et al. Plasmonic black gold by adiabatic nanofocusing and absorption of light in ultra-sharp convex grooves. Nat. Commun. 3, 969 (2012).Clapham, P. B. & Hurtley, M. C. Reduction of Lens Reflexion by the Moth Eye Principle. Nature Vol. 244, 281 (1973).Garcia-Vidal, F. J., Pitarke, J. M. & Pendry, J. B. Effective Medium Theory of the Optical Properties of Aligned Carbon Nanotubes. Phys. Rev. Lett. 78, 4289 (1997).Yang, Z., Ci, L., Bur, J. A., Lin, S. & Ajayan, P. M. Experimental Observation of an Extremely Dark Material Made By a Low-Density Nanotube Array. Nano Lett. 8, 446 (2008).Garcia-Vidal, F. J. Metamaterials: Towards the dark side. Nat. Photonics 2, 215 (2008).Mizunoa, K. et al. A black body absorber from vertically aligned single-walled carbon nanotubes. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 106, 6044 (2009).Lidorkis, E. & Ferrari, A. C. Photonics with Multiwall Carbon Nanotube Arrays. ACS Nano 3, 1238 (2009).Beenakker, C. W. J. & Brouwer, P. W. Distribution of the reflection eigenvalues of a weakly absorbing chaotic cavity. Physica E 9, 463 (2001).Lafarge, D., Lemarinier, P., Allard, J. F. & Tarnow, V. Dynamic compressibility of air in porous structures at audible frequencies. J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 102, 1995 (1997), With the macroscopic parameters: ϕ = 0.94, α∞ = 1, σ = 20000 Nm−4s and Λ = Λ′ = 0.41 μm.García de Abajo, F. J. Colloquium: Light scattering by particle and hole arrays. Rev. Mod. Phys. 79, 1267–1290 (2007)

Planck intermediate results. XLI. A map of lensing-induced B-modes

The secondary cosmic microwave background (CMB) $B$-modes stem from the post-decoupling distortion of the polarization $E$-modes due to the gravitational lensing effect of large-scale structures. These lensing-induced $B$-modes constitute both a valuable probe of the dark matter distribution and an important contaminant for the extraction of the primary CMB $B$-modes from inflation. Planck provides accurate nearly all-sky measurements of both the polarization $E$-modes and the integrated mass distribution via the reconstruction of the CMB lensing potential. By combining these two data products, we have produced an all-sky template map of the lensing-induced $B$-modes using a real-space algorithm that minimizes the impact of sky masks. The cross-correlation of this template with an observed (primordial and secondary) $B$-mode map can be used to measure the lensing $B$-mode power spectrum at multipoles up to $2000$. In particular, when cross-correlating with the $B$-mode contribution directly derived from the Planck polarization maps, we obtain lensing-induced $B$-mode power spectrum measurement at a significance level of $12\,\sigma$, which agrees with the theoretical expectation derived from the Planck best-fit $\Lambda$CDM model. This unique nearly all-sky secondary $B$-mode template, which includes the lensing-induced information from intermediate to small ($10\lesssim \ell\lesssim 1000$) angular scales, is delivered as part of the Planck 2015 public data release. It will be particularly useful for experiments searching for primordial $B$-modes, such as BICEP2/Keck Array or LiteBIRD, since it will enable an estimate to be made of the lensing-induced contribution to the measured total CMB $B$-modes.Comment: 20 pages, 12 figures; Accepted for publication in A&A; The B-mode map is part of the PR2-2015 Cosmology Products; available as Lensing Products in the Planck Legacy Archive http://pla.esac.esa.int/pla/#cosmology; and described in the 'Explanatory Supplement' https://wiki.cosmos.esa.int/planckpla2015/index.php/Specially_processed_maps#2015_Lensing-induced_B-mode_ma

Asteroseismology and Interferometry

Asteroseismology provides us with a unique opportunity to improve our understanding of stellar structure and evolution. Recent developments, including the first systematic studies of solar-like pulsators, have boosted the impact of this field of research within Astrophysics and have led to a significant increase in the size of the research community. In the present paper we start by reviewing the basic observational and theoretical properties of classical and solar-like pulsators and present results from some of the most recent and outstanding studies of these stars. We centre our review on those classes of pulsators for which interferometric studies are expected to provide a significant input. We discuss current limitations to asteroseismic studies, including difficulties in mode identification and in the accurate determination of global parameters of pulsating stars, and, after a brief review of those aspects of interferometry that are most relevant in this context, anticipate how interferometric observations may contribute to overcome these limitations. Moreover, we present results of recent pilot studies of pulsating stars involving both asteroseismic and interferometric constraints and look into the future, summarizing ongoing efforts concerning the development of future instruments and satellite missions which are expected to have an impact in this field of research.Comment: Version as published in The Astronomy and Astrophysics Review, Volume 14, Issue 3-4, pp. 217-36

Hepatitis C prevalence in Denmark -an estimate based on multiple national registers

Background: A national survey for chronic hepatitis C has not been performed in Denmark and the prevalence is unknown. Our aim was to estimate the prevalence of chronic hepatitis C from public registers and the proportion of these patients who received specialized healthcare. Methods: Patients with a diagnosis of chronic hepatitis C were identified from four national registers: a laboratory register, the Hospital Discharge Register, a clinical database of chronic viral hepatitis and the Register of Communicable Diseases. The total population diagnosed with hepatitis C was estimated by capture-recapture analysis. The population with undiagnosed hepatitis C was derived from the national register of drug users by comparing diagnosed and tested persons. Results: A total of 6,935 patients diagnosed with chronic hepatitis C were identified in the four registers and the estimated population diagnosed with the disease was 9,166 persons (95% C.I. interval 8,973 – 9,877), corresponding to 0.21% (95% CI 0.21%-0.23%) of the Danish population over 15years of age. The prevalence was highest among persons 40–49years old (0.39%) and males (0.28%). It was estimated that 40% of the diagnosed patients lived in the capital region, and 33.5% had attended specialised healthcare. It was estimated that 46% of hepatitis C patients had not been diagnosed and the total population with chronic hepatitis C in Denmark was 16,888 (95% C.I. 16,474-18,287), corresponding to 0.38% (95% CI 0.37-0.42) of the population over 15years of age. Conclusions: The estimated prevalence of chronic hepatitis C in Denmark was 0.38%. Less than half of the patients with chronic hepatitis C in Denmark have been identified and among these patients, one in three has attended specialised care

Enteric-coated sodium bicarbonate supplementation improves high-intensity cycling performance in trained cyclists

Purpose: Enteric-coated sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) can attenuate gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms following acute bicarbonate loading, although the subsequent effects on exercise performance have not been investigated. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of enteric-coated NaHCO3 supplementation on high-intensity exercise performance and GI symptoms. Methods: Eleven trained male cyclists completed three 4 km time trials after consuming; a placebo or 0.3 g∙kg–1 body mass NaHCO3 in enteric-coated or gelatin capsules. Exercise trials were timed with individual peak blood bicarbonate ion concentration ([HCO3–]). Blood acid–base balance was measured pre-ingestion, pre-exercise, and post-exercise, whereas GI symptoms were recorded pre-ingestion and immediately pre-exercise. Results: Pre-exercise blood [HCO3−] and potential hydrogen (pH) were greater for both NaHCO3 conditions (P &lt; 0.0005) when compared to placebo. Performance time was faster with enteric-coated (− 8.5 ± 9.6 s, P = 0.044) and gelatin (− 9.6 ± 7.2 s, P = 0.004) NaHCO3 compared to placebo, with no significant difference between conditions (mean difference = 1.1 ± 5.3 s, P = 1.000). Physiological responses were similar between conditions, although blood lactate ion concentration was higher with gelatin NaHCO3 (2.4 ± 1.7 mmol∙L–1, P = 0.003) compared with placebo. Furthermore, fewer participants experienced GI symptoms with enteric-coated (n = 3) compared to gelatin (n = 7) NaHCO3. Discussion: Acute enteric-coated NaHCO3 consumption mitigates GI symptoms at the onset of exercise and improves subsequent 4 km cycling TT performance. Athletes who experience GI side-effects after acute bicarbonate loading may, therefore, benefit from enteric-coated NaHCO3 supplementation prior to exercise performance.</p

Skeletal muscle and performance adaptations to high-intensity training in elite male soccer players: speed endurance runs versus small-sided game training.

PURPOSE: To examine the skeletal muscle and performance responses across two different exercise training modalities which are highly applied in soccer training. METHODS: Using an RCT design, 39 well-trained male soccer players were randomized into either a speed endurance training (SET; n = 21) or a small-sided game group (SSG; n = 18). Over 4 weeks, thrice weekly, SET performed 6-10 × 30-s all-out runs with 3-min recovery, while SSG completed 2 × 7-9-min small-sided games with 2-min recovery. Muscle biopsies were obtained from m. vastus lateralis pre and post intervention and were subsequently analysed for metabolic enzyme activity and muscle protein expression. Moreover, the Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery level 2 test (Yo-Yo IR2) was performed. RESULTS: Muscle CS maximal activity increased (P < 0.05) by 18% in SET only, demonstrating larger (P < 0.05) improvement than SSG, while HAD activity increased (P < 0.05) by 24% in both groups. Na(+)-K(+) ATPase α1 subunit protein expression increased (P < 0.05) in SET and SSG (19 and 37%, respectively), while MCT4 protein expression rose (P < 0.05) by 30 and 61% in SET and SSG, respectively. SOD2 protein expression increased (P < 0.05) by 28 and 37% in SET and SSG, respectively, while GLUT-4 protein expression increased (P < 0.05) by 40% in SSG only. Finally, SET displayed 39% greater improvement (P < 0.05) in Yo-Yo IR2 performance than SSG. CONCLUSION: Speed endurance training improved muscle oxidative capacity and exercise performance more pronouncedly than small-sided game training, but comparable responses were in muscle ion transporters and antioxidative capacity in well-trained male soccer players