Solving relativistic hydrodynamic equation in presence of magnetic field for phase transition in a neutron star

Hadronic to quark matter phase transition may occur inside neutron stars (NS) having central densities of the order of 3-10 times normal nuclear matter saturation density ($n_0$). The transition is expected to be a two-step process; transition from hadronic to 2-flavour matter and two-flavour to $\beta$ equilibrated charge neutral three-flavour matter. In this paper we concentrate on the first step process and solve the relativistic hydrodynamic equations for the conversion front in presence of high magnetic field. Lorentz force due to magnetic field is included in the energy momentum tensor by averaging over the polar angles. We find that for an initial dipole configuration of the magnetic field with a sufficiently high value at the surface, velocity of the front increases considerably.Comment: 16 pages, 4 figures, same as published version of JPG, J. Phys. G: Nucl. Part. Phys. 39 (2012) 09520

Correlation between spinal column length and the spread of subarachnoid hyperbaric bupivacaine in the term parturient

Background: Anaesthetists frequently tailor the subarachnoid local anaesthetic dosage according to parturient height to achieve sensory blockade up to the T4 dermatome for lower segment Caesarean sections (LSCSs). Studies that have been conducted have demonstrated that height does not affect the spread of subarachnoid hyperbaric bupivacaine. This study aimed to find the correlation between the spinal column length of termparturients and the highest level of sensory blockade after spinal anaesthesia.Methods: The authors studied 60 singleton term parturients of American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) physical status I or II scheduled for elective LSCSs. The length of the spinal column was taken as an averageof three measurements from the C7 spinous process to the sacral hiatus in a sitting upright and facing forward position. Spinal anaesthesia was given by administering 1.8 ml of 0.5% hyperbaric bupivacaine and 25 μg fentanyl through the L3/L4 or L4/L5 intervertebral space. The level of sensory blockade was assessed using pin-prick testing for pain sensation. Linear regression analysis was used to analyse the correlation; R < 0.25 indicates no correlation with the level of significance being < 0.05.Results: The spinal column lengths measured were between 42.2 cm and 85.8 cm (median: 58.5 cm). Spinal anaesthesia given was adequate for all patients, with the highest levels of anaesthesia ranging from T8 to T2 with sensory levels between T6 and T4. The parturients’ spinal column length showed no correlation with the highest level of sensory blockade achieved, namely R = 0.11.Conclusions: The study found no correlation between the parturients’ spinal column length and the highest level of sensory blockade achieved.Keywords: spinal anaesthesia; spinal column; hyperbaric bupivacaine; parturients; lower segment Caesarean section (LSCS

The Extinction Properties of and Distance to the Highly Reddened Type Ia Supernova SN 2012cu

Correction of Type Ia Supernova brightnesses for extinction by dust has proven to be a vexing problem. Here we study the dust foreground to the highly reddened SN 2012cu, which is projected onto a dust lane in the galaxy NGC 4772. The analysis is based on multi-epoch, spectrophotometric observations spanning 3,300 - 9,200 {\AA}, obtained by the Nearby Supernova Factory. Phase-matched comparison of the spectroscopically twinned SN 2012cu and SN 2011fe across 10 epochs results in the best-fit color excess of (E(B-V), RMS) = (1.00, 0.03) and total-to-selective extinction ratio of (RV , RMS) = (2.95, 0.08) toward SN 2012cu within its host galaxy. We further identify several diffuse interstellar bands, and compare the 5780 {\AA} band with the dust-to-band ratio for the Milky Way. Overall, we find the foreground dust-extinction properties for SN 2012cu to be consistent with those of the Milky Way. Furthermore we find no evidence for significant time variation in any of these extinction tracers. We also compare the dust extinction curve models of Cardelli et al. (1989), O'Donnell (1994), and Fitzpatrick (1999), and find the predictions of Fitzpatrick (1999) fit SN 2012cu the best. Finally, the distance to NGC4772, the host of SN 2012cu, at a redshift of z = 0.0035, often assigned to the Virgo Southern Extension, is determined to be 16.6$\pm$1.1 Mpc. We compare this result with distance measurements in the literature.Comment: 48 pages, 13 figures. Accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journal. The spectral time series data presented in this article can be found at http://snfactory.lbl.gov/snf/data

Genetic analysis of over half a million people characterises C-reactive protein loci

Chronic low-grade inflammation is linked to a multitude of chronic diseases. We report the largest genome-wide association study (GWAS) on C-reactive protein (CRP), a marker of systemic inflammation, in UK Biobank participants (N = 427,367, European descent) and the Cohorts for Heart and Aging Research in Genomic Epidemiology (CHARGE) Consortium (total N = 575,531 European descent). We identify 266 independent loci, of which 211 are not previously reported. Gene-set analysis highlighted 42 gene sets associated with CRP levels (p ≤ 3.2 ×10−6) and tissue expression analysis indicated a strong association of CRP related genes with liver and whole blood gene expression. Phenome-wide association study identified 27 clinical outcomes associated with genetically determined CRP and subsequent Mendelian randomisation analyses supported a causal association with schizophrenia, chronic airway obstruction and prostate cancer. Our findings identified genetic loci and functional properties of chronic low-grade inflammation and provided evidence for causal associations with a range of diseases

Signatures of Thermal Dilepton Radiation at RHIC

The properties of thermal dilepton production from heavy-ion collisions in the RHIC energy regime are evaluated for invariant masses ranging from 0.5 to 3 GeV. Using an expanding thermal fireball to model the evolution through both quark-gluon and hadronic phases various features of the spectra are addressed. In the low-mass region, due to an expected large background, the focus is on possible medium modifications of the narrow resonance structures from $\omega$ and $\phi$ mesons, whereas in the intermediate-mass region the old idea of identifying QGP radiation is reiterated including effects of chemical under-saturation in the early stages of central Au+Au collisions.Comment: 17 pages ReVTeX including 16 figure

Cloning sequencing and characterization of lipopolysaccharides genes of Vibrio alginolyticus

Bacterial lipopolysaccharides are the major outer surface membrane components present in almost all Gram-negative bacteria and act as extremely strong stimulators of innate or natural immunity in diverse eukaryotic species ranging from insects to humans. The DNA sequence of the O-antigen biosynthesis cluster of a putative probiotic and pathogenic strain, Vibrio alginolyticus has been determined. Here, we report the sequence of the LPS biosynthesis genes, wzm, wzt and wbil and the analysis of the genes using Biology Workbench 3.2. From the study, it shows that the sequences of LPS genes in V. alginolyticus are highly homologous to the LPS genes in Vibrio cholerae isolates with more 80% homology. However, several variants of the wbil sequence have been found in the V. alginolyticus isolates compared to the other genes, wzm and wzt

Mechanical thrombectomy in acute basilar artery stroke: a systematic review and Meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

Background: The evidence for mechanical thrombectomy in acute basilar artery occlusion has until now remained inconclusive with basilar artery strokes associated with high rates of death and disability. This systematic review and meta-analysis will summarize the available evidence for the effectiveness of mechanical thrombectomy in acute basilar artery occlusion compared to best medical therapy. Methods: We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials using Embase, Medline and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL). We calculated risk ratios (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) to summarize the effect estimates for each outcome. Results: We performed a random effects (Mantel-Haenszel) meta-analysis of the four included randomized controlled trials comprising a total of 988 participants. We found a statistically significant improvement in the rates of those with a good functional outcome (mRS 0–3, RR 1.54, 1.16–2.06, p = 0.003) and functional independence (mRS 0–2, RR 1.69, 1.05–2.71, p = 0.03) in those who were treated with thrombectomy when compared to best medical therapy alone. Thrombectomy was associated with a higher level of sICH (RR 7.12, 2.16–23.54, p = 0.001) but this was not reflected in a higher mortality rate, conversely the mortality rate was significantly lower in the intervention group (RR 0.76, 0.65–0.89, p = 0.0004). Conclusions: Our meta-analysis of the recently presented randomized controlled studies is the first to confirm the disability and mortality benefit of mechanical thrombectomy in basilar artery stroke

Dynamics of Barred Galaxies

Some 30% of disc galaxies have a pronounced central bar feature in the disc plane and many more have weaker features of a similar kind. Kinematic data indicate that the bar constitutes a major non-axisymmetric component of the mass distribution and that the bar pattern tumbles rapidly about the axis normal to the disc plane. The observed motions are consistent with material within the bar streaming along highly elongated orbits aligned with the rotating major axis. A barred galaxy may also contain a spheroidal bulge at its centre, spirals in the outer disc and, less commonly, other features such as a ring or lens. Mild asymmetries in both the light and kinematics are quite common. We review the main problems presented by these complicated dynamical systems and summarize the effort so far made towards their solution, emphasizing results which appear secure. (Truncated)Comment: This old review appeared in 1993. Plain tex with macro file. 82 pages 18 figures. A pdf version with figures at full resolution (3.24MB) is available at http://www.physics.rutgers.edu/~sellwood/bar_review.pd

Modeling and characterization of TES-based detectors for the Ricochet experiment

Coherent elastic neutrino-nucleus scattering (CE$\nu$NS) offers a valuable approach in searching for physics beyond the Standard Model. The Ricochet experiment aims to perform a precision measurement of the CE$\nu$NS spectrum at the Institut Laue-Langevin nuclear reactor with cryogenic solid-state detectors. The experiment plans to employ an array of cryogenic thermal detectors, each with a mass around 30 g and an energy threshold of sub-100 eV. The array includes nine detectors read out by Transition-Edge Sensors (TES). These TES based detectors will also serve as demonstrators for future neutrino experiments with thousands of detectors. In this article we present an update in the characterization and modeling of a prototype TES detector.Comment: Submitted to LTD20 proceedin

Challenges in QCD matter physics - The Compressed Baryonic Matter experiment at FAIR

Substantial experimental and theoretical efforts worldwide are devoted to explore the phase diagram of strongly interacting matter. At LHC and top RHIC energies, QCD matter is studied at very high temperatures and nearly vanishing net-baryon densities. There is evidence that a Quark-Gluon-Plasma (QGP) was created at experiments at RHIC and LHC. The transition from the QGP back to the hadron gas is found to be a smooth cross over. For larger net-baryon densities and lower temperatures, it is expected that the QCD phase diagram exhibits a rich structure, such as a first-order phase transition between hadronic and partonic matter which terminates in a critical point, or exotic phases like quarkyonic matter. The discovery of these landmarks would be a breakthrough in our understanding of the strong interaction and is therefore in the focus of various high-energy heavy-ion research programs. The Compressed Baryonic Matter (CBM) experiment at FAIR will play a unique role in the exploration of the QCD phase diagram in the region of high net-baryon densities, because it is designed to run at unprecedented interaction rates. High-rate operation is the key prerequisite for high-precision measurements of multi-differential observables and of rare diagnostic probes which are sensitive to the dense phase of the nuclear fireball. The goal of the CBM experiment at SIS100 (sqrt(s_NN) = 2.7 - 4.9 GeV) is to discover fundamental properties of QCD matter: the phase structure at large baryon-chemical potentials (mu_B > 500 MeV), effects of chiral symmetry, and the equation-of-state at high density as it is expected to occur in the core of neutron stars. In this article, we review the motivation for and the physics programme of CBM, including activities before the start of data taking in 2022, in the context of the worldwide efforts to explore high-density QCD matter.Comment: 15 pages, 11 figures. Published in European Physical Journal