Super Calabi-Yau's and Special Lagrangians

We apply mirror symmetry to the super Calabi-Yau manifold CP^{(n|n+1)} and show that the mirror can be recast in a form which depends only on the superdimension and which is reminiscent of a generalized conifold. We discuss its geometrical properties in comparison to the familiar conifold geometry. In the second part of the paper examples of special-Lagrangian submanifolds are constructed for a class of super Calabi-Yau's. We finally comment on their infinitesimal deformations.Comment: 20 pages, no figures, latex; v2: references added; v3: minor clarifications added, version published in JHE

Granular cell tumor of the trachea as a rare cause of dyspnea in a young woman

Tracheal granular cell tumors are rare neurogenic neoplasms characterized by an indolent behavior. We report the case of a young woman affected by this tumor with non-specific clinical presentation. We performed a literature search in order to identify all the cases of tracheal granular cell tumor and to summarize the current state of knowledge about this rare disease

Twistor Strings with Flavour

We explore the tree-level description of a class of N=2 UV-finite SYM theories with fundamental flavour within a topological B-model twistor string framework. In particular, we identify the twistor dual of the Sp(N) gauge theory with one antisymmetric and four fundamental hypermultiplets, as well as that of the SU(N) theory with 2N hypermultiplets. This is achieved by suitably orientifolding/orbifolding the original N=4 setup of Witten and adding a certain number of new topological 'flavour'-branes at the orientifold/orbifold fixed planes to provide the fundamental matter. We further comment on the appearance of these objects in the B-model on CP(3|4). An interesting aspect of our construction is that, unlike the IIB description of these theories in terms of D3 and D7-branes, on the twistor side part of the global flavour symmetry is realised geometrically. We provide evidence for this correspondence by calculating and matching amplitudes on both sides.Comment: 38+12 pages; uses axodraw.sty. v2: References added, minor clarification

A Connection between Twistors and Superstring Sigma Models on Coset Superspaces

We consider superstring sigma models that are based on coset superspaces G/H in which H arises as the fixed point set of an order-4 automorphism of G. We show by means of twistor theory that the corresponding first-order system, consisting of the Maurer-Cartan equations and the equations of motion, arises from a dimensional reduction of some generalised self-dual Yang-Mills equations in eight dimensions. Such a relationship might help shed light on the explicit construction of solutions to the superstring equations including their hidden symmetry structures and thus on the properties of their gauge theory duals.Comment: v3: 16 pages, typos fixed and minor clarifications adde

BAT AGN Spectroscopic Survey – XIX. Type 1 versus type 2 AGN dichotomy from the point of view of ionized outflows

We present a detailed study of ionized outflows in a large sample of ∼650 hard X-raydetected active galactic neuclei (AGNs). Using optical spectroscopy from the BAT AGN Spectroscopic Survey (BASS), we are able to reveal the faint wings of the [OIII] emission lines associated with outflows covering, for the first time, an unexplored range of low AGN bolometric luminosity at low redshift (z ∼0.05).We test if and how the incidence and velocity of ionized outflow is related to AGN physical parameters: black hole mass (MBH), gas column density (NH), Eddington ratio (λEdd), [O III], X-ray, and bolometric luminosities. We find a higher occurrence of ionized outflows in type 1.9 (55 per cent) and type 1 AGNs (46 per cent) with respect to type 2 AGNs (24 per cent). While outflows in type 2 AGNs are evenly balanced between blue and red velocity offsets with respect to the [OIII] narrow component, they are almost exclusively blueshifted in type 1 and type 1.9 AGNs. We observe a significant dependence between the outflow occurrence and accretion rate, which becomes relevant at high Eddington ratios [log(λEdd) −1.7]. We interpret such behaviour in the framework of covering factor-Eddington ratio dependence. We do not find strong trends of the outflow maximum velocity with AGN physical parameters, as an increase with bolometric luminosity can be only identified when including samples of AGNs at high luminosity and high redshift taken from literature.Idexación:Scopu

Superstripes and complexity in high-temperature superconductors

While for many years the lattice, electronic and magnetic complexity of high-temperature superconductors (HTS) has been considered responsible for hindering the search of the mechanism of HTS now the complexity of HTS is proposed to be essential for the quantum mechanism raising the superconducting critical temperature. The complexity is shown by the lattice heterogeneous architecture: a) heterostructures at atomic limit; b) electronic heterogeneity: multiple components in the normal phase; c) superconducting heterogeneity: multiple superconducting gaps in different points of the real space and of the momentum space. The complex phase separation forms an unconventional granular superconductor in a landscape of nanoscale superconducting striped droplets which is called the "superstripes" scenario. The interplay and competition between magnetic orbital charge and lattice fluctuations seems to be essential for the quantum mechanism that suppresses thermal decoherence effects at an optimum inhomogeneity.Comment: 20 pages, 3 figures; J. Supercon. Nov. Mag. 201

Diabetic gastroparesis: Therapeutic options

Gastroparesis is a condition characterized by delayed gastric emptying and the most common known underlying cause is diabetes mellitus. Symptoms include nausea, vomiting, abdominal fullness, and early satiety, which impact to varying degrees on the patient’s quality of life. Symptoms and deficits do not necessarily relate to each other, hence despite significant abnormalities in gastric emptying, some individuals have only minimal symptoms and, conversely, severe symptoms do not always relate to measures of gastric emptying. Prokinetic agents such as metoclopramide, domperidone, and erythromycin enhance gastric motility and have remained the mainstay of treatment for several decades, despite unwanted side effects and numerous drug interactions. Mechanical therapies such as endoscopic pyloric botulinum toxin injection, gastric electrical stimulation, and gastrostomy or jejunostomy are used in intractable diabetic gastroparesis (DG), refractory to prokinetic therapies. Mitemcinal and TZP-101 are novel investigational motilin receptor and ghrelin agonists, respectively, and show promise in the treatment of DG. The aim of this review is to provide an update on prokinetic and mechanical therapies in the treatment of DG

Evolution of the use of corticosteroids for the treatment of hospitalised COVID-19 patients in Spain between March and November 2020: SEMI-COVID national registry

Objectives: Since the results of the RECOVERY trial, WHO recommendations about the use of corticosteroids (CTs) in COVID-19 have changed. The aim of the study is to analyse the evolutive use of CTs in Spain during the pandemic to assess the potential influence of new recommendations. Material and methods: A retrospective, descriptive, and observational study was conducted on adults hospitalised due to COVID-19 in Spain who were included in the SEMI-COVID- 19 Registry from March to November 2020. Results: CTs were used in 6053 (36.21%) of the included patients. The patients were older (mean (SD)) (69.6 (14.6) vs. 66.0 (16.8) years; p < 0.001), with hypertension (57.0% vs. 47.7%; p < 0.001), obesity (26.4% vs. 19.3%; p < 0.0001), and multimorbidity prevalence (20.6% vs. 16.1%; p < 0.001). These patients had higher values (mean (95% CI)) of C-reactive protein (CRP) (86 (32.7-160) vs. 49.3 (16-109) mg/dL; p < 0.001), ferritin (791 (393-1534) vs. 470 (236- 996) µg/dL; p < 0.001), D dimer (750 (430-1400) vs. 617 (345-1180) µg/dL; p < 0.001), and lower Sp02/Fi02 (266 (91.1) vs. 301 (101); p < 0.001). Since June 2020, there was an increment in the use of CTs (March vs. September; p < 0.001). Overall, 20% did not receive steroids, and 40% received less than 200 mg accumulated prednisone equivalent dose (APED). Severe patients are treated with higher doses. The mortality benefit was observed in patients with oxygen saturation </=90%. Conclusions: Patients with greater comorbidity, severity, and inflammatory markers were those treated with CTs. In severe patients, there is a trend towards the use of higher doses. The mortality benefit was observed in patients with oxygen saturation </=90%

Measurements of differential production cross sections for a Z boson in association with jets in pp collisions at root s=8 TeV

Peer reviewe