Shock waves in superconducting cosmic strings: growth of current

Intrinsic equations of motion of superconducting cosmic string may admit solutions in the shock-wave form that implies discontinuity of the current term \chi. The hypersurface of discontinuity propagates at finite velocity determined by finite increment \Delta \chi =\chi_+ -\chi_-. The current increases \chi_+>\chi_- in stable shocks but transition between spacelike (\chi >0) and timelike (\chi<0) currents is impossible.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figure

Asymptotic Optimality of the Bisection Method

The bisection method is shown to possess the asymptotically best rate of convergence for infinitely differentiable functions having zeros of arbitrary multiplicity. If the multiplicity of zeros is bounded methods are known which have asymptotically at least quadratic rate of convergence

A Radio Determination of the Time of the New Moon

The detection of the New Moon at sunset is of importance to communities based on the lunar calendar. This is traditionally undertaken with visual observations. We propose a radio method which allows a higher visibility of the Moon relative to the Sun and consequently gives us the ability to detect the Moon much closer to the Sun than is the case of visual observation. We first compare the relative brightness of the Moon and Sun over a range of possible frequencies and find the range 5--100\,GHz to be suitable. The next consideration is the atmospheric absorption/emission due to water vapour and oxygen as a function of frequency. This is particularly important since the relevant observations are near the horizon. We show that a frequency of $\sim 10$ GHz is optimal for this programme. We have designed and constructed a telescope with a FWHM resolution of 0$^\circ{}\!\!$.6 and low sidelobes to demonstrate the potential of this approach. At the time of the 21 May 2012 New Moon the Sun/Moon brightness temperature ratio was $72.7 \pm 2.2$ in agreement with predictions from the literature when combined with the observed sunspot numbers for the day. The Moon would have been readily detectable at $\sim 2^{\circ}$ from the Sun. Our observations at 16\,hr\,36\,min UT indicated that the Moon would have been at closest approach to the Sun 16\,hr\,25\,min earlier; this was the annular solar eclipse of 00\,hr\,00\,min\,UT on 21 May 2012.Comment: 11 pages, 15 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA

Impaired CD8+ T-Cell Reactivity against Viral Antigens in Cancer Patients with Solid Tumors

Abstract. : Background: : Patients with hematological malignancies are at increased risk for various infections. In patients with solid cancer, a variety of immunosuppressive mechanisms affecting T-cell response are described. We hypothesized that patients with advanced solid tumors may exhibit an impaired recognition of viral antigens. To test this, the capability of CD8+ T cells to recognize recall antigens from influenza and vaccinia virus was compared in patients and healthy individuals. Since all patients and most of the healthy individuals had been vaccinated against vaccinia years ago, comparison of the two groups was expected to be especially informative with respect to distinct effector T-cell reactivity. Materials and Methods: : Our test population included 16 healthy individuals and 12 patients with advanced solid cancers who were currently not receiving chemotherapy. We stimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) ex vivo with the well-characterized influenza A matrix 58-66 peptide and the immunogenic and HLA-A*0201 restricted peptide epitope SLSAYIIRV derived from the modified vaccinia virus Ankara (MVA). A specific CD8+ T-cell reactivity was determined by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) measuring changes in interferon gamma (IFN-γ) mRNA expression levels. Results: : We found that significantly fewer cancer patients than healthy individuals exhibited specific T-cell recognition of the vaccinia epitope (25% and 69%, respectively). In addition, strength of the T-cell responses against both viral peptides was significantly reduced in cancer patients. Conclusion: : Patients with advanced tumors are less likely to mount a T-cell response against viral epitopes. These findings may have implications for the design of immunotherapeutic interventions against virus-induced diseases, including tumor

Fusion PET-CT imaging of neurolymphomatosis

In a patient suffering from peripheral neuropathy due to neurolymphomatosis, fused PET-CT imaging, performed on a novel in-line PET-CT system, showed multiple small nodular lesions extending along the peripheral nerves corresponding to an early relapse of a transformed B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphom