Magnification relations in gravitational lensing via multidimensional residue integrals

We investigate the so-called magnification relations of gravitational lensing models. We show that multidimensional residue integrals provide a simple explanation for the existence of these relations, and an effective method of computation. We illustrate the method with several examples, thereby deriving new magnification relations for galaxy lens models and microlensing (point mass lensing).Comment: 16 pages, uses revtex4, submitted to Journal of Mathematical Physic

Calibrated cycles and T-duality

For Hitchin's generalised geometries we introduce and analyse the concept of a structured submanifold which encapsulates the classical notion of a calibrated submanifold. Under a suitable integrability condition on the ambient geometry, these generalised calibrated cycles minimise a functional occurring as D-brane energy in type II string theories, involving both so-called NS-NS- and R-R-fields. Further, we investigate the behaviour of calibrated cycles under T-duality and construct non-trivial examples.Comment: 43 pages. v4: formalism and T-duality part considerably expande

Selected psychiatric problems among college students in two Arab countries: Comparison with the USA

Background: Psychiatric problems among college students on USA campuses are common. Little is known about similar problems in developing countries, particularly the Arab region. The goal of this study was to assess the frequency of selected psychiatric problems among college students in two Arab countries: Qatar and Lebanon, and to compare them to the USA. Methods: The Healthy Minds Study, an online confidential survey of common psychiatric symptoms designed for college campuses was used. We used the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) to screen for major depression, the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) to screen for generalized anxiety and the SCOFF questionnaire to screen for eating disorders. Comparisons were made using ANOVA, Chi-Square tests and logistic regressions. Results: A total of 1841 students participated in the study. The rates of depression (PHQ-9 ? 12), generalized anxiety (GAD-7 ? 10) and eating disorders (SCOFF?3) at the combined Arab universities were 34.6, 36.1 and 20.4% respectively. The corresponding rates in the USA were: 12.8, 15.9 and 6.8% (p < 0.001 for all measures). The impact of psychiatric problems on functioning in general and academic performance in particular was more severe in the Arab countries compared to the USA (p < 0.001). Independent predictors of psychiatric problems in general included location, female gender, financial difficulties and poor grades. Being religious had a protective association with mental health. Conclusion: The rates of depression, anxiety and eating disorders were significantly higher among college students in Qatar and Lebanon compared to the USA. Additional research is needed to determine whether these results reflect methodological limitations or true differences in psychopathology across these populations. If replicated, the results indicate that the psychiatric problems on college campuses in the USA are a microcosm of a global problem that needs global solutions. 2018 The Author(s).This study was made possible by NPRP Grant 5–618–5-087 from the Qatar National Research Fund (a member of Qatar Foundation). The findings achieved herein are solely the responsibility of the authors.Scopu

Quantization of Two-Dimensional Gravity with Dynamical Torsion

We consider two-dimensional gravity with dynamical torsion in the Batalin - Vilkovisky and Batalin - Lavrov - Tyutin formalisms of gauge theories quantization as well as in the background field method.Comment: 12 pages, LaTe

Supersymmetric D-branes and calibrations on general N=1 backgrounds

We study the conditions to have supersymmetric D-branes on general {\cal N}=1 backgrounds with Ramond-Ramond fluxes. These conditions can be written in terms of the two pure spinors associated to the SU(3)\times SU(3) structure on T_M\oplus T^\star_M, and can be split into two parts each involving a different pure spinor. The first involves the integrable pure spinor and requires the D-brane to wrap a generalised complex submanifold with respect to the generalised complex structure associated to it. The second contains the non-integrable pure spinor and is related to the stability of the brane. The two conditions can be rephrased as a generalised calibration condition for the brane. The results preserve the generalised mirror symmetry relating the type IIA and IIB backgrounds considered, giving further evidence for this duality.Comment: 23 pages. Some improvements and clarifications, typos corrected and references added. v3: Version published in JHE

Homeopathic treatment of patients with chronic sinusitis: A prospective observational study with 8 years follow-up

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>An evaluation of homeopathic treatment and the outcomes in patients suffering from sinusitis for ≥12 weeks in a usual care situation.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Subgroup analysis including all patients with chronic sinusitis (ICD-9: 473.9; ≥12 weeks duration) of a large prospective multicentre observational study population. Consecutive patients presenting for homeopathic treatment were followed-up for 2 years, and complaint severity, health-related quality of life (QoL), and medication use were regularly recorded. We also present here patient-reported health status 8 years post initial treatment.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The study included 134 adults (mean age 39.8 ± 10.4 years, 76.1% women), treated by 62 physicians. Patients had suffered from chronic sinusitis for 10.7 ± 9.8 years. Almost all patients (97.0%) had previously been treated with conventional medicine. For sinusitis, effect size (effect divided by standard deviation at baseline) of complaint severity was 1.58 (95% CI 1.77; 1.40), 2.15 (2.38; 1.92), and 2.43 (2.68; 2.18) at 3, 12, and 24 months respectively. QoL improved accordingly, with SF-36 changes in physical component score 0.27 (0.15; 0.39), 0.35 (0.19; 0.52), 0.44 (0.23; 0.65) and mental component score 0.66 (0.49; 0.84), 0.71 (0.50; 0.92), 0.65 (0.39; 0.92), 0.74 (0.49; 1.00) at these points. The effects were still present after 8 years with SF-36 physical component score 0.38 (0.10; 0.65) and mental component score 0.74 (0.49; 1.00).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This observational study showed relevant improvements that persisted for 8 years in patients seeking homeopathic treatment because of sinusitis. The extent to which the observed effects are due to the life-style regulation and placebo or context effects associated with the treatment needs clarification in future explanatory studies.</p

Perturbing gauge/gravity duals by a Romans mass

We show how to produce algorithmically gravity solutions in massive IIA (as infinitesimal first order perturbations in the Romans mass parameter) dual to assigned conformal field theories. We illustrate the procedure on a family of Chern--Simons--matter conformal field theories that we recently obtained from the N=6 theory by waiving the condition that the levels sum up to zero.Comment: 30 page

Finite Number and Finite Size Effects in Relativistic Bose-Einstein Condensation

Bose-Einstein condensation of a relativistic ideal Bose gas in a rectangular cavity is studied. Finite size corrections to the critical temperature are obtained by the heat kernel method. Using zeta-function regularization of one-loop effective potential, lower dimensional critical temperatures are calculated. In the presence of strong anisotropy, the condensation is shown to occur in multisteps. The criteria of this behavior is that critical temperatures corresponding to lower dimensional systems are smaller than the three dimensional critical temperature.Comment: 18 pages, 9 figures, Fig.3 replaced, to appear in Physical Review

The DIRTY Model. I. Monte Carlo Radiative Transfer Through Dust

We present the DIRTY radiative transfer model in this paper and a companion paper. This model computes the polarized radiative transfer of photons from arbitrary distributions of stars through arbitrary distributions of dust using Monte Carlo techniques. The dust re-emission is done self-consistently with the dust absorption and scattering and includes all three important emission paths: equilibrium thermal emission, non-equilibrium thermal emission, and the aromatic features emission. The algorithm used for the radiative transfer allows for the efficient computation of the appearance of a model system as seen from any viewing direction. We present a simple method for computing an upper limit on the output quantity uncertainties for Monte Carlo radiative transfer models which use the weighted photon approach.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures, accepted to the Ap

Multi-sulfonated ligands on gold nanoparticles as virucidal antiviral for Dengue virus

Dengue virus (DENV) causes 390 million infections per year. Infections can be asymptomatic or range from mild fever to severe haemorrhagic fever and shock syndrome. Currently, no effective antivirals or safe universal vaccine is available. In the present work we tested different gold nanoparticles (AuNP) coated with ligands ω-terminated with sugars bearing multiple sulfonate groups. We aimed to identify compounds with antiviral properties due to irreversible (virucidal) rather than reversible (virustatic) inhibition. The ligands varied in length, in number of sulfonated groups as well as their spatial orientation induced by the sugar head groups. We identified two candidates, a glucose- and a lactose-based ligand showing a low EC50 (effective concentration that inhibit 50% of the viral activity) for DENV-2 inhibition, moderate toxicity and a virucidal effect in hepatocytes with titre reduction of Median Tissue Culture Infectious Dose log10TCID50 2.5 and 3.1. Molecular docking simulations complemented the experimental findings suggesting a molecular rationale behind the binding between sulfonated head groups and DENV-2 envelope protein