Antifield BRST quantization of duality-symmetric Maxwell theory

We perform the antifield BRST quantization of duality-symmetric Maxwell theory and show explicitly the quantum equivalence of the different formulations (covariant and non-covariant). The non-covariant gauge-fixed action is used in the computation of propagators for this model.Comment: 19 pages, some clarifying sentences added, version published in JHEP 0101 (2001) 01

Weyl multiplets of N=2 conformal supergravity in five Dimensions

We construct the Weyl multiplets of N=2 conformal supergravity in five dimensions. We show that there exist two different versions of the Weyl multiplet, which contain the same gauge fields but differ in the matter field content: the Standard Weyl multiplet and the Dilaton Weyl multiplet. At the linearized level we obtain the transformation rules for the Dilaton Weyl multiplet by coupling it to the multiplet of currents corresponding to an on-shell vector multiplet. We construct the full non-linear transformation rules for both multiplets by gauging the D=5 superconformal algebra F^2(4). We show that the Dilaton Weyl multiplet can also be obtained by solving the equations of motion for an improved vector multiplet coupled to the Standard Weyl multiplet.Comment: 40 pages, v2: note added and minor corrections; v3: corrections in (3.19-23); v4: + sign added in (3.19

The morphology of multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR TBC)

Catedra Morfopatologie USMF „Nicolae Testemiţanu”Multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR TBC) represents a form of tuberculosis , characterized by resistance towards at least two antituberculous drugs of the first line (isoniaside and rifampicine). This type of chemical resistance is most often met in the fibro-cavernous form of pulmonary TBC, which represents, in its turn, the final stage in the evolution of the inflammatory tuberculous process – a destructive chronic process with marked fibrosis in the capsule of the cavity and in the surrounding pulmonary tissue, as well as with multiple foci of bronchogenous dissemination. Tuberculoza multi-drog rezistentă reprezintă o formă a tuberculozei, caracterizată prin rezistenţă la cel puţin două medicamente antituberculoase de prima linie (izoniazidă şi rifampicină). Acest tip de chimiorezistenţă este întîlnit cel mai frecvent în forma fibro-cavernoasă a TBC pulmonare, care reprezintă etapa finală în evoluţia procesului inflamator tuberculos, un proces distructiv cronic cu prezenţa de fibroză pronunţată în capsula cavităţii şi în ţesutul pulmonar circumiacent, precum şi cu focare multiple de diseminare bronhogenă

The map between conformal hypercomplex/hyper-Kaehler and quaternionic(-Kaehler) geometry

We review the general properties of target spaces of hypermultiplets, which are quaternionic-like manifolds, and discuss the relations between these manifolds and their symmetry generators. We explicitly construct a one-to-one map between conformal hypercomplex manifolds (i.e. those that have a closed homothetic Killing vector) and quaternionic manifolds of one quaternionic dimension less. An important role is played by '\xi-transformations', relating complex structures on conformal hypercomplex manifolds and connections on quaternionic manifolds. In this map, the subclass of conformal hyper-Kaehler manifolds is mapped to quaternionic-Kaehler manifolds. We relate the curvatures of the corresponding manifolds and furthermore map the symmetries of these manifolds to each other.Comment: 54 pages, 2 figures; v2: small corrections, version to be published in CMP; v3: changes of statement on (3.5

Endovascular management of arteriovenous malformations: a case report

Laboratorul de chirurgie endovasculară, Spitalul Clinic Republican, Chișinău, Republica Moldova, Catedra de chirurgie nr. 4, Universitatea de Stat de Medicină şi Farmacie „Nicolae Testemiţanu”, Chișinău, Republica MoldovaIntroducere. Malformația arteriovenoasă este o anomalie vasculară activă hemodinamic, de tip „fast flow”, caracterizată printr-un „nidus” ce constă din afluenți arteriali și vene dilatate de drenaj, interconectate în mod direct prin micro și macro fistule. Malformațiile arteriovenoase (MAV) nu involuează niciodată. În 70% din cazuri, se localizează în regiunea capului și gâtului. Conform unui studiu ce descrie 200 de cazuri consecutive, în 34% MAV erau detectate la naștere, în 21% – malformațiile au devenit vizibile în copilărie, în 8,5% din cazuri – în timpul pubertății și numai în 21,5% din cazuri aceste anomalii au fost depistate la vârsta adultă. Un factor declanșator al creșterii malformației este pubertatea și traumatismul. Metodele de bază de diagnostic sunt scanarea Duplex, RMN-angio și arteriografia. Metodele de tratament sunt embolizarea, rezecția chirurgicală sau combinarea acestora. Recidiva este foarte frecventă, ajungând peste 90%, fapt ce impune reintervenții episodice. Material şi metode. Pacientul S., bărbat de 30 de ani, acuză prezența unei formațiuni tumorale a regiunii nazo-labiale, senzație de pulsație permanentă, periodic – dureri și sângerări frecvente la periaj dentar. Diagnosticul de malformație arteriovenoasă a regiunii nazolabiale, stadiul III după Schobinger, a fost stabilit clinic, prin duplex arterial, angio-RMN și arteriografie. S-a efectuat embolizarea supraselectivă a malformației prin bazinul arterelor maxilare, bilateral, folosind microsfere, sub anestezie locală, din acces prin artera femurală comună dreaptă. Rezultate. Evoluția postoperatorie a decurs fără complicații. Formațiunea de volum a cedat în dimensiuni după embolizare, a dispărut senzația de pulsație și disconfort local. S-au diminuat hemoragiile gingivale. Pacientul a fost externat a doua zi după intervenție în stare satisfăcătoare. Concluzii. Tehnica endovasculară rămâne metoda de elecție în tratamentul malformațiilor arteriovenoase, fie ca metodă unică, sau în asociere cu o rezecție radicală, ulterioară, a malformației. Metoda endovasculară este sigură, miniminvazivă și cu traumatism intervențional foarte scăzut. Luând în considerație gradul înalt de recidivă, această metodă poate fi repetată de mai multe ori. Dintre avantaje, menționăm și durata scurtă de spitalizare.Introduction. Arteriovenous malformations are fast flow vascular anomalies, characterized by a so called “nidus”, which represents arterial feeders and dilated outflow veins that are interconnected through micro and macro fistulas. Arteriovenous malformations (AVM) never regress. In 70% of cases it affects the head and neck region. According to a study which analyzed 200 consecutive cases, 34% of all AVM were discovered at birth, 21% of cases became visible during childhood, in 8.5% of cases – during puberty, and in 21.5% cases these anomalies were discovered in adults. Puberty and trauma are considered to be triggering factors that determine the malformation to grow. Basic diagnostic tools are: Duplex scanning, MRA and angiography. Treatment modalities include endovascular embolization, surgical excision or the combination of these two. Relapse rate is higher than 90%, thus multiple re-interventions are frequently necessary. Material and methods. Patient S., male, 30 years old, on admission complains of presence of a pulsatile tumor in the nazo-labial region, periodical pain and bleeding at teeth brushing. The diagnosis of arteriovenous malformation of the nazo-labial region, Schobinger stage III, was set by clinical examination, arterial duplex scanning, MRA and angiography. Supra-selective embolization of the anomaly with microspheres was achieved through the maxillary arteries, bilaterally, under local anesthesia. The access site was the right common femoral artery. Results. Postoperative outcome was eventless. The tumor decreased in size after the intervention. The pulsatile sensation disappeared. There were no gingival bleedings at tooth brushing. The patient was discharged the second day after the intervention in a satisfactory state. Conclusions. The endovascular approach remains the method of choice in the treatment of arteriovenous malformations, in combination or not with surgical excision of the malformation. The endovascular method is safe, minimally invasive, and with minimal interventional trauma. Due to the high rate of relapse, this method can be applied repeatedly. Another advantage is the short term of hospital stay

N=2 supergravity in five dimensions revisited

We construct matter-coupled N=2 supergravity in five dimensions, using the superconformal approach. For the matter sector we take an arbitrary number of vector-, tensor- and hyper-multiplets. By allowing off-diagonal vector-tensor couplings we find more general results than currently known in the literature. Our results provide the appropriate starting point for a systematic search for BPS solutions, and for applications of M-theory compactifications on Calabi-Yau manifolds with fluxes.Comment: 35 pages; v.2: A sign changed in a bilinear fermion term in (5.7

Deformations of duality-symmetric theories

We prove that a sum of free non-covariant duality-symmetric actions does not allow consistent, continuous and local self-interactions that deform the gauge transformations. For instance, non-Abelian deformations are not allowed, even in 4 dimensions where Yang-Mills type interactions of 1-forms are allowed in the non-manifestly duality-symmetric formulation. This suggests that non-Abelian duality should require to leave the standard formalism of perturbative local field theories. The analyticity of self-interactions for a single duality-symmetric gauge field in four dimensions is also analyzed.Comment: 35 pages, typo corrections and one reference added, submitted to Nucl. Phy

Superconformal N=2, D=5 matter with and without actions

We investigate N=2, D=5 supersymmetry and matter-coupled supergravity theories in a superconformal context. In a first stage we do not require the existence of a Lagrangian. Under this assumption, we already find at the level of rigid supersymmetry, i.e. before coupling to conformal supergravity, more general matter couplings than have been considered in the literature. For instance, we construct new vector-tensor multiplet couplings, theories with an odd number of tensor multiplets, and hypermultiplets whose scalar manifold geometry is not hyperkaehler. Next, we construct rigid superconformal Lagrangians. This requires some extra ingredients that are not available for all dynamical systems. However, for the generalizations with tensor multiplets mentioned above, we find corresponding new actions and scalar potentials. Finally, we extend the supersymmetry to local superconformal symmetry, making use of the Weyl multiplet. Throughout the paper, we will indicate the various geometrical concepts that arise, and as an application we compute the non-vanishing components of the Ricci tensor of hypercomplex group manifolds. Our results can be used as a starting point to obtain more general matter-couplings to Poincare supergravity.Comment: 67 pages; v2: title of reference changed and small editing corrections; v3: small typing errors corrected, version published in JHEP; v4: typos corrected; v5: additional term in (2.109) and (4.11); v6: change of order of indices in (2.89

Global, regional, and national incidence, prevalence, and years lived with disability for 354 diseases and injuries for 195 countries and territories, 1990–2017: A systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017

Background: The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2017 (GBD 2017) includes a comprehensive assessment of incidence, prevalence, and years lived with disability (YLDs) for 354 causes in 195 countries and territories from 1990 to 2017. Previous GBD studies have shown how the decline of mortality rates from 1990 to 2016 has led to an increase in life expectancy, an ageing global population, and an expansion of the non-fatal burden of disease and injury. These studies have also shown how a substantial portion of the world's population experiences non-fatal health loss with considerable heterogeneity among different causes, locations, ages, and sexes. Ongoing objectives of the GBD study include increasing the level of estimation detail, improving analytical strategies, and increasing the amount of high-quality data. Methods: We estimated incidence and prevalence for 354 diseases and injuries and 3484 sequelae. We used an updated and extensive body of literature studies, survey data, surveillance data, inpatient admission records, outpatient visit records, and health insurance claims, and additionally used results from cause of death models to inform estimates using a total of 68 781 data sources. Newly available clinical data from India, Iran, Japan, Jordan, Nepal, China, Brazil, Norway, and Italy were incorporated, as well as updated claims data from the USA and new claims data from Taiwan (province of China) and Singapore. We used DisMod-MR 2.1, a Bayesian meta-regression tool, as the main method of estimation, ensuring consistency between rates of incidence, prevalence, remission, and cause of death for each condition. YLDs were estimated as the product of a prevalence estimate and a disability weight for health states of each mutually exclusive sequela, adjusted for comorbidity. We updated the Socio-demographic Index (SDI), a summary development indicator of income per capita, years of schooling, and total fertility rate. Additionally, we calculated differences between male and female YLDs to identify divergent trends across sexes. GBD 2017 complies with the Guidelines for Accurate and Transparent Health Estimates Reporting. Findings: Globally, for females, the causes with the greatest age-standardised prevalence were oral disorders, headache disorders, and haemoglobinopathies and haemolytic anaemias in both 1990 and 2017. For males, the causes with the greatest age-standardised prevalence were oral disorders, headache disorders, and tuberculosis including latent tuberculosis infection in both 1990 and 2017. In terms of YLDs, low back pain, headache disorders, and dietary iron deficiency were the leading Level 3 causes of YLD counts in 1990, whereas low back pain, headache disorders, and depressive disorders were the leading causes in 2017 for both sexes combined. All-cause age-standardised YLD rates decreased by 3·9% (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 3·1-4·6) from 1990 to 2017; however, the all-age YLD rate increased by 7·2% (6·0-8·4) while the total sum of global YLDs increased from 562 million (421-723) to 853 million (642-1100). The increases for males and females were similar, with increases in all-age YLD rates of 7·9% (6·6-9·2) for males and 6·5% (5·4-7·7) for females. We found significant differences between males and females in terms of age-standardised prevalence estimates for multiple causes. The causes with the greatest relative differences between sexes in 2017 included substance use disorders (3018 cases [95% UI 2782-3252] per 100 000 in males vs 1400 [1279-1524] per 100 000 in females), transport injuries (3322 [3082-3583] vs 2336 [2154-2535]), and self-harm and interpersonal violence (3265 [2943-3630] vs 5643 [5057-6302]). Interpretation: Global all-cause age-standardised YLD rates have improved only slightly over a period spanning nearly three decades. However, the magnitude of the non-fatal disease burden has expanded globally, with increasing numbers of people who have a wide spectrum of conditions. A subset of conditions has remained globally pervasive since 1990, whereas other conditions have displayed more dynamic trends, with different ages, sexes, and geographies across the globe experiencing varying burdens and trends of health loss. This study emphasises how global improvements in premature mortality for select conditions have led to older populations with complex and potentially expensive diseases, yet also highlights global achievements in certain domains of disease and injury

Global, regional, and national age-sex-specific mortality and life expectancy, 1950-2017: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017

Background: Assessments of age-specific mortality and life expectancy have been done by the UN Population Division, Department of Economics and Social Affairs (UNPOP), the United States Census Bureau, WHO, and as part of previous iterations of the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD). Previous iterations of the GBD used population estimates from UNPOP, which were not derived in a way that was internally consistent with the estimates of the numbers of deaths in the GBD. The present iteration of the GBD, GBD 2017, improves on previous assessments and provides timely estimates of the mortality experience of populations globally. Methods: The GBD uses all available data to produce estimates of mortality rates between 1950 and 2017 for 23 age groups, both sexes, and 918 locations, including 195 countries and territories and subnational locations for 16 countries. Data used include vital registration systems, sample registration systems, household surveys (complete birth histories, summary birth histories, sibling histories), censuses (summary birth histories, household deaths), and Demographic Surveillance Sites. In total, this analysis used 8259 data sources. Estimates of the probability of death between birth and the age of 5 years and between ages 15 and 60 years are generated and then input into a model life table system to produce complete life tables for all locations and years. Fatal discontinuities and mortality due to HIV/AIDS are analysed separately and then incorporated into the estimation. We analyse the relationship between age-specific mortality and development status using the Socio-demographic Index, a composite measure based on fertility under the age of 25 years, education, and income. There are four main methodological improvements in GBD 2017 compared with GBD 2016: 622 additional data sources have been incorporated; new estimates of population, generated by the GBD study, are used; statistical methods used in different components of the analysis have been further standardised and improved; and the analysis has been extended backwards in time by two decades to start in 1950. Findings: Globally, 18·7% (95% uncertainty interval 18·4–19·0) of deaths were registered in 1950 and that proportion has been steadily increasing since, with 58·8% (58·2–59·3) of all deaths being registered in 2015. At the global level, between 1950 and 2017, life expectancy increased from 48·1 years (46·5–49·6) to 70·5 years (70·1–70·8) for men and from 52·9 years (51·7–54·0) to 75·6 years (75·3–75·9) for women. Despite this overall progress, there remains substantial variation in life expectancy at birth in 2017, which ranges from 49·1 years (46·5–51·7) for men in the Central African Republic to 87·6 years (86·9–88·1) among women in Singapore. The greatest progress across age groups was for children younger than 5 years; under-5 mortality dropped from 216·0 deaths (196·3–238·1) per 1000 livebirths in 1950 to 38·9 deaths (35·6–42·83) per 1000 livebirths in 2017, with huge reductions across countries. Nevertheless, there were still 5·4 million (5·2–5·6) deaths among children younger than 5 years in the world in 2017. Progress has been less pronounced and more variable for adults, especially for adult males, who had stagnant or increasing mortality rates in several countries. The gap between male and female life expectancy between 1950 and 2017, while relatively stable at the global level, shows distinctive patterns across super-regions and has consistently been the largest in central Europe, eastern Europe, and central Asia, and smallest in south Asia. Performance was also variable across countries and time in observed mortality rates compared with those expected on the basis of development. Interpretation: This analysis of age-sex-specific mortality shows that there are remarkably complex patterns in population mortality across countries. The findings of this study highlight global successes, such as the large decline in under-5 mortality, which reflects significant local, national, and global commitment and investment over several decades. However, they also bring attention to mortality patterns that are a cause for concern, particularly among adult men and, to a lesser extent, women, whose mortality rates have stagnated in many countries over the time period of this study, and in some cases are increasing