Mass And Force Relations For Einstein-Maxwell-Dilaton Black Holes

We investigate various properties of extremal dyonic static black holes in Einstein-Maxwell-Dilaton theory. Using the fact that the long-range force between two identical extremal black holes always vanishes, we obtain a simple first-order ordinary differential equation for the black hole mass in terms of its electric and magnetic charges. Although this equation appears not to be solvable explicitly for general values of the strength a of the dilatonic coupling to the Maxwell field, it nevertheless provides a powerful way of characterising the black hole mass and the scalar charge. We make use of these expressions to derive general results about the long-range force between two non-identical extremal black holes. In particular, we argue that the force is repulsive whenever a>1 and attractive whenever a<1 (it vanishes in the intermediate BPS case a=1). The sign of the force is also correlated with the sign of the binding energy between extremal black holes, as well as with the convexity or concavity of the surface characterizing the extremal mass as a function of the charges. Our work is motivated in part by the Repulsive Force Conjecture and the question of whether long range forces between non-identical states can shed new light on the Swampland.Comment: 34 pages, 3 figure

PREVALENCE OF ANTI-HCV, HBSAG, HIV AMONG MULTI-TRANSFUSED THALASSEMIC INDIVIDUALS AND THEIR SOCIO-ECONOMIC BACKGROUND IN EASTERN INDIA

Objective: The objective was to study the serological prevalence of post-transfusion transmitted infections such as hepatitis C virus (HCV), hepatitisB virus (HBV), and HIV among multi-transfused thalassemic individuals of the Eastern India and the socio and financial difficulties faced by them.Methods: The study was carried out from January 2012 until December 2014 involving 1711 thalassemic major individuals. Blood serum wascollected from each patient to perform ELISA for the detection of HBV and HCV seroprevalence. HIV seropositivity along with their hematological andliver function parameters were obtained from the transfusion centers and the host institutions. Other socio-economic conditions were obtained bypredesigned proforma of the questionnaire.Results: 67.9% males and 32.1% females were present in our study population of which 75% were from rural area. The mean hemoglobin was foundto be lower, whereas mean ferritin, bilirubin, and liver enzymes were much higher than the normal range. Only a handful of 19.76% of the fathers ofthalassemic individuals had secondary education. 263 families (15.37%) were familiar with the chances of transfusion-transmitted infections (TTIs).The dominant TTI found within the population was HCV with 18.70% prevalence followed by HIV (3.74%) and HBV (3.33%). 82.93% of the affectedfamilies suffered poverty with a meager monthly income within Rs. 5000 fighting against high costs of transfusion and related treatments.Conclusion: Our study reflects the different socio-economic and psychological burdens faced by the thalassemia patients and their families. The highrate of TTIs highlights the need for stringent screening of blood or blood products before administration.Keywords: Thalassemia, Socio-economic, Transfusion-transmitted infections, Hepatitis C virus, Hepatitis B virus, HIV

Non-malignant CSF lymphocytosis in a patient with acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Patients with haematological malignancy are often profoundly immune suppressed, and more so if they require more than one line of therapy. Infection should always be considered when they become unwell. We discuss the differential diagnoses of a young man with multiply-relapsed Philadelphia chromosome-positive B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia who presented with neurological symptoms and cerebrospinal fluid lymphocytosis. The diagnostic approach needs to be rapid and structured, and may require microbiology and neurology support. Keywords: CSF lymphocytosis, Lymphocytic pleocytosis, Varicella zoster encephalitis, Inotuzumab, Relapsed leukemi