The Finite Temperature SU(2) Savvidy Model with a Non-trivial Polyakov Loop

We calculate the complete one-loop effective potential for SU(2) gauge bosons at temperature T as a function of two variables: phi, the angle associated with a non-trivial Polyakov loop, and H, a constant background chromomagnetic field. Using techniques broadly applicable to finite temperature field theories, we develop both low and high temperature expansions. At low temperatures, the real part of the effective potential V_R indicates a rich phase structure, with a discontinuous alternation between confined (phi=pi) and deconfined phases (phi=0). The background field H moves slowly upward from its zero-temperature value as T increases, in such a way that sqrt(gH)/(pi T) is approximately an integer. Beyond a certain temperature on the order of sqrt(gH), the deconfined phase is always preferred. At high temperatures, where asymptotic freedom applies, the deconfined phase phi=0 is always preferred, and sqrt(gH) is of order g^2(T)T. The imaginary part of the effective potential is non-zero at the global minimum of V_R for all temperatures. A non-perturbative magnetic screening mass of the form M_m = cg^2(T)T with a sufficiently large coefficient c removes this instability at high temperature, leading to a stable high-temperature phase with phi=0 and H=0, characteristic of a weakly-interacting gas of gauge particles. The value of M_m obtained is comparable with lattice estimates.Comment: 28 pages, 5 eps figures; RevTeX 3 with graphic

International Consortium for Health Outcomes Measurement (ICHOM): Standardized Patient-Centered Outcomes Measurement Set for Heart Failure Patients

Whereas multiple national, international, and trial registries for heart failure have been created, international standards for clinical assessment and outcome measurement do not currently exist. The working group's objective was to facilitate international comparison in heart failure care, using standardized parameters and meaningful patient-centered outcomes for research and quality of care assessments. The International Consortium for Health Outcomes Measurement recruited an international working group of clinical heart failure experts, researchers, and patient representatives to define a standard set of outcomes and risk-adjustment variables. This was designed to document, compare, and ultimately improve patient care outcomes in the heart failure population, with a focus on global feasibility and relevance. The working group employed a Delphi process, patient focus groups, online patient surveys, and multiple systematic publications searches. The process occurred over 10 months, employing 7 international teleconferences. A 17-item set has been established, addressing selected functional, psychosocial, burden of care, and survival outcome domains. These measures were designed to include all patients with heart failure, whether entered at first presentation or subsequent decompensation, excluding cardiogenic shock. Sources include clinician report, administrative data, and validated patient-reported outcome measurement tools: the Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire; the Patient Health Questionnaire-2; and the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System. Recommended data included those to support risk adjustment and benchmarking across providers and regions. The International Consortium for Health Outcomes Measurement developed a dataset designed to capture, compare, and improve care for heart failure, with feasibility and relevance for patients and clinicians worldwide

Patterning and lifetime of plasma membrane-localized cellulose synthase is dependent on actin organization in Arabidopsis interphase cells

The actin and microtubule cytoskeletons regulate cell shape across phyla, from bacteria to metazoans. In organisms with cell walls, the wall acts as a primary constraint of shape, and generation of specific cell shape depends on cytoskeletal organization for wall deposition and/or cell expansion. In higher plants, cortical microtubules help to organize cell wall construction by positioning the delivery of cellulose synthase (CesA) complexes and guiding their trajectories to orient newly synthesized cellulose microfibrils. The actin cytoskeleton is required for normal distribution of CesAs to the plasma membrane, but more specific roles for actin in cell wall assembly and organization remain largely elusive. We show that the actin cytoskeleton functions to regulate the CesA delivery rate to, and lifetime of CesAs at, the plasma membrane, which affects cellulose production. Furthermore, quantitative image analyses revealed that actin organization affects CesA tracking behavior at the plasma membrane and that small CesA compartments were associated with the actin cytoskeleton. By contrast, localized insertion of CesAs adjacent to cortical microtubules was not affected by the actin organization. Hence, both actin and microtubule cytoskeletons play important roles in regulating CesA trafficking, cellulose deposition, and organization of cell wall biogenesi