Renormalization of the noncommutative photon self-energy to all orders via Seiberg-Witten map

We show that the photon self-energy in quantum electrodynamics on noncommutative $\mathbb{R}^4$ is renormalizable to all orders (both in $\theta$ and $\hbar$) when using the Seiberg-Witten map. This is due to the enormous freedom in the Seiberg-Witten map which represents field redefinitions and generates all those gauge invariant terms in the $\theta$-deformed classical action which are necessary to compensate the divergences coming from loop integrations.Comment: 12 pages, LaTeX2e. v3: added references, changed title. The general renormalizability proof for noncommutative Maxwell theory turned out to be incomplete, therefore, we have to restrict the proof to the noncommutative photon self-energ

Bone Mass Distribution of the Distal Tibia in Normal, Osteopenic, and Osteoporotic Conditions: An Ex Vivo Assessment Using HR-pQCT, DXA, and Computational Modelling.

Osteoporosis leads to bone loss and structural deterioration, which increase the risk of fractures. The aim of this study was to characterize the three-dimensional (3D) bone mass distributions of the distal tibia in normal, osteopenic, and osteoporotic conditions. High-resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomography (HR-pQCT) of the 33 % of the distal tibia and local dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry were applied to 53 intact, fresh-frozen tibiae. The HR-pQCTs were graded to assign local T-scores and merged into three equally sized average normal, osteopenic, and osteoporotic surface models. Volumetric bone mineral density (vBMD) was determined using categorized T-scores, volumetric visualization, and virtual bore probes at the dia-, meta-, and epiphyseal sites (T-DIA, T-META, and T-EPI). We observed a distinct 3D bone mass distribution that was gradually uninfluenced by T-score categories. T-DIA was characterized by the lowest bone mass located in the medullary cavity and a wide homogenous cortex containing the maximum vBMD. The T-META showed decreased cortical thickness and maximal vBMD. At the T-EPI, the relatively low vBMD of the mostly trabecular bone was similar to the maximal cortical vBMD in this sub-region. Four trabecular regions of low bone mass were identified in the recesses. The bone content gradually decreased at all sites, whereas the pattern of bone mass distribution remained essentially unchanged, with the exception of disproportionate losses at T-DIA, T-META, and T-EPI that consistently showed increased endocortical, intracortical, and trabecular bone loss. Extra information can be obtained from the specific pattern of bone mass distribution, potential disproportionate bone losses, and method used

Modeling of Fluctuations in Dynamical Optoelectronic Device Simulations within a Maxwell-Density Matrix Langevin Approach

We present a full-wave Maxwell-density matrix simulation tool including c-number stochastic noise terms for the modeling of the spatiotemporal dynamics in active photonic devices, such as quantum cascade lasers (QCLs) and quantum dot (QD) structures. The coherent light-matter interaction in such devices plays an important role in the generation of frequency combs and other nonlinear and nonclassical optical phenomena. Since the emergence of nonlinear and nonclassical features is directly linked to the noise properties, detailed simulations of the noise characteristics are required for the development of low-noise quantum optoelectronic sources. Our semiclassical simulation framework is based on the Lindblad equation for the electron dynamics, coupled with Maxwell's equations for the optical propagation in the laser waveguide. Fluctuations arising from interactions of the optical field and quantum system with their reservoirs are treated within the quantum Langevin theory. Here, the fluctuations are included by adding stochastic c-number terms to the Maxwell-density matrix equations. The implementation in the mbsolve dynamic simulation framework is publicly available.Comment: 18 pages, 5 figure

Melt layer statistic of two firn cores recently drilled at Dye3 and South Dome in the dry snow zone of Southern Greenland

In the last couple of years remote sensing data have shown large areas of wet snow in the Southern part of the Greenland ice sheet. These melt features are attributed to the overall warming trend. Persistent warming implies changes in the firn layer as well. Even in areas of the dry snow zone one can observe sporadically a few ice lenses within the firn column indicating refrozen meltwater from warm events in the past. In our contribution we want to close the gap between investigations of firn cores drilled in the 70's and the observational record of remote sensing data over the last decade in South Greenland. The focus lies on firn of the dry snow zone which is sensitive against changes in a warming atmosphere and cold enough to prevent a longway percolation path of meltwater to several firn layers. To this end we had drilled two 45m-long firn cores at the former drilling sites of DYE3 (65°11'N, 43°49'W) and South Dome (SD) (63°32'N, 44°34'W) during a aircraft-supported field campaign 2012. The retrieved 3inch-firn core segments of 1m length are measured by a X-ray-scanning routine with the means of the core-scale AWI-ICE-CT. The 2d-density fields are calculated and allow to distinguish between refreezing meltwater and compacted firn. The depth-scales are converted to time-scales by using DEP (dielectric profiling) and (in case of DYE3) discrete sampled d18O measurements. Number density of melt layers and relative amount of melt show an synchronized behavior with an general increase over the last 30 years. Local maxima are observed in both sites at around 6-9m and 25m at DYE3 and 5-8m, 22m and 40m at SD

Infliximab Reduces Endoscopic, but Not Clinical, Recurrence of Crohn's Disease After Ileocolonic Resection

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Protective immune trajectories in early viral containment of non-pneumonic SARS-CoV-2 infection

The antiviral immune response to SARS-CoV-2 infection can limit viral spread and prevent development of pneumonic COVID-19. However, the protective immunological response associated with successful viral containment in the upper airways remains unclear. Here, we combine a multi-omics approach with longitudinal sampling to reveal temporally resolved protective immune signatures in non-pneumonic and ambulatory SARS-CoV-2 infected patients and associate specific immune trajectories with upper airway viral containment. We see a distinct systemic rather than local immune state associated with viral containment, characterized by interferon stimulated gene (ISG) upregulation across circulating immune cell subsets in non-pneumonic SARS-CoV2 infection. We report reduced cytotoxic potential of Natural Killer (NK) and T cells, and an immune-modulatory monocyte phenotype associated with protective immunity in COVID-19. Together, we show protective immune trajectories in SARS-CoV2 infection, which have important implications for patient prognosis and the development of immunomodulatory therapies

25th annual computational neuroscience meeting: CNS-2016

The same neuron may play different functional roles in the neural circuits to which it belongs. For example, neurons in the Tritonia pedal ganglia may participate in variable phases of the swim motor rhythms [1]. While such neuronal functional variability is likely to play a major role the delivery of the functionality of neural systems, it is difficult to study it in most nervous systems. We work on the pyloric rhythm network of the crustacean stomatogastric ganglion (STG) [2]. Typically network models of the STG treat neurons of the same functional type as a single model neuron (e.g. PD neurons), assuming the same conductance parameters for these neurons and implying their synchronous firing [3, 4]. However, simultaneous recording of PD neurons shows differences between the timings of spikes of these neurons. This may indicate functional variability of these neurons. Here we modelled separately the two PD neurons of the STG in a multi-neuron model of the pyloric network. Our neuron models comply with known correlations between conductance parameters of ionic currents. Our results reproduce the experimental finding of increasing spike time distance between spikes originating from the two model PD neurons during their synchronised burst phase. The PD neuron with the larger calcium conductance generates its spikes before the other PD neuron. Larger potassium conductance values in the follower neuron imply longer delays between spikes, see Fig. 17.Neuromodulators change the conductance parameters of neurons and maintain the ratios of these parameters [5]. Our results show that such changes may shift the individual contribution of two PD neurons to the PD-phase of the pyloric rhythm altering their functionality within this rhythm. Our work paves the way towards an accessible experimental and computational framework for the analysis of the mechanisms and impact of functional variability of neurons within the neural circuits to which they belong

Technical reliability of shipboard technologies for the application of alternative fuels

Background: Naval traffic is highly dependent on depleting fossil resources and causes significant greenhouse gasemissions. At the same time, marine transportation is a major backbone of world trade. Thus, alternative fuel conceptsare highly needed. Different fuels such as ammonia, methanol, liquefied natural gas and hydrogen have been proposed.For some of them, first prototype vessels have been in operation. However, practical experience is still limited.Most studies so far focus on aspects such as efficiency and economics. However, particularly in marine applications,reliability of propulsion systems is of utmost importance, because failures on essential ship components at sea posea huge safety risk. If the respective components lose their functionality, repair can be much more challenging due tolarge distances to dockyards and the complicated transport of spare parts to the ship. Consequently, evaluation ofreliability should be a core element of system analysis for new marine fuels.Results: In this study, reliability was studied for four potential fuels. The analysis involved several steps: estimation ofoverall failure rates, identification of most vulnerable components and assessment of criticality by including severityof fault events. On the level of overall failure rate, ammonia is shown to be very promising. Extending the view overa pure failure rate-based evaluation shows that other approaches, such as LOHC or methanol, can be competitive interms of reliability and risk. As different scenarios require different weightings of the different reliability criteria, theconclusion on the best technology can differ. Relevant aspects for this decision can be the availability of technicalstaff, high-sea or coastal operation, the presence of non-naval personnel onboard and other factors.Conclusions: The analysis allowed to compare different alternative marine fuel concepts regarding reliability. However,the analysis is not limited to assessment of overall failure rates, but can also help to identify critical elementsthat deserve attention to avoid fault events. As a last step, severity of the individual failure modes was included. Forthe example of ammonia, it is shown that the decomposition unit and the fuel cell should be subject to measures forincreasing safety and reducing failure rates.Keywords: Resilience, Dependability, Energy storage, FME

Reducing the reflection error of PML absorbing boundary conditions within a generalized Maxwell-Bloch framework

We demonstrate a full-wave numerical Maxwell-Bloch simulation tool including perfectly matched layer (PML) absorbing boundary conditions. To avoid detrimental reflection errors at the boundary of the simulation domain, an adapted PML model is introduced, which takes into account impedance mismatch effects arising from the internal quantum system. For the numerical validation of the modified PML model the simulation tool is applied to the active gain medium of a terahertz quantum cascade laser (QCL) structure. Improved absorbing characteristics for the truncation of active gain media in our Maxwell-Bloch simulation approach are obtained.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, accepted at URSI AT-AP-RASC, Gran Canaria, 29 May - 3 June 202