Chromoelectric Knot in QCD

We argue that the Skyrme theory describes the chromomagnetic (not chromoelectric) dynamics of QCD. This shows that the Skyrme theory could more properly be interpreted as an effective theory which is dual to QCD, rather than an effective theory of QCD itself. This leads us to predict the existence of a new type of topological knot, a twisted chromoelectric flux ring, in QCD which is dual to the chromomagnetic Faddeev-Niemi knot in Skyrme theory. We estimate the mass and the decay width of the lightest chromoelectric knot to be around $50 GeV$ and $117 MeV$.Comment: 4 page

Knot Topology of QCD Vacuum

We show that one can express the knot equation of Skyrme theory completely in terms of the vacuum potential of SU(2) QCD, in such a way that the equation is viewed as a generalized Lorentz gauge condition which selects one vacuum for each class of topologically equivalent vacua. From this we show that there are three ways to describe the QCD vacuum (and thus the knot), by a non-linear sigma field, a complex vector field, or by an Abelian gauge potential. This tells that the QCD vacuum can be classified by an Abelian gauge potential with an Abelian Chern-Simon index.Comment: 4 page

Hidden symmetry and knot solitons in a charged two-condensate Bose system

We show that a charged two-condensate Ginzburg-Landau model or equivalently a Gross-Pitaevskii functional for two charged Bose condensates, can be mapped onto a version of the nonlinear O(3) $\sigma$-model. This implies in particular that such a system possesses a hidden O(3) symmetry and allows for the formation of stable knotted solitons. The results, in particular, should be relevant to the superconducting MgB_2.Comment: This version will appear in Phys. Rev. B, added a comment on the case when condensates in two bands do not independently conserve, also added a figure and references to experimental papers on MgB_2 (for which our study is relevant). Miscellaneous links on knot solitons are also available at the homepage of one of the authors http://www.teorfys.uu.se/PEOPLE/egor/ . Animations of knot solitons are available at http://users.utu.fi/h/hietarin/knots/c45_p2.mp

Actin Cytoskeleton and Golgi Involvement in Barley stripe mosaic virus Movement and Cell Wall Localization of Triple Gene Block Proteins

Barley stripe mosaic virus (BSMV) induces massive actin filament thickening at the infection front of infected Nicotiana benthamiana leaves. To determine the mechanisms leading to actin remodeling, fluorescent protein fusions of the BSMV triple gene block (TGB) proteins were coexpressed in cells with the actin marker DsRed: Talin. TGB ectopic expression experiments revealed that TGB3 is a major elicitor of filament thickening, that TGB2 resulted in formation of intermediate DsRed:Talin filaments, and that TGB1 alone had no obvious effects on actin filament structure. Latrunculin B (LatB) treatments retarded BSMV cell-to-cell movement, disrupted actin filament organization, and dramatically decreased the proportion of paired TGB3 foci appearing at the cell wall (CW). BSMV infection of transgenic plants tagged with GFP-KDEL exhibited membrane proliferation and vesicle formation that were especially evident around the nucleus. Similar membrane proliferation occurred in plants expressing TGB2 and/or TGB3, and DsRed: Talin fluorescence in these plants colocalized with the ER vesicles. TGB3 also associated with the Golgi apparatus and overlapped with cortical vesicles appearing at the cell periphery. Brefeldin A treatments disrupted Golgi and also altered vesicles at the CW, but failed to interfere with TGB CW localization. Our results indicate that actin cytoskeleton interactions are important in BSMV cell-to-cell movement and for CW localization of TGB3

No ghost state of Gauss-Bonnet interaction in warped backgrounds

A general solution to the Einstein field equations with Gauss-Bonnet(GB) term in the $AdS_5$ bulk background implies that the GB coupling $\alpha$ can take either sign (+ or -), though a positive $\alpha$ will be more meaningful. By considering linearized gravity with the GB term in the Randall-Sundrum(RS) a singular 3-brane model, we study the gravitational interactions between matter sources localized on the brane. With a correctly defined boundary condition on the brane, we find a smooth behavior of graviton propagator and hence the zero-mode solution as a 4d massless graviton localized on the brane with correct momentum and tensor structures. The coupling $\alpha$ modifies the graviton propagators both on the brane and in the bulk. The issue on ghost state of the GB term is resolved, and we find that there is no real ghost (negative norm) state of the GB term in the RS single brane picture. The latter condition leads to a consistency in the coupling between the brane matter and the bulk gravity. We also elucidate about the possibilities for behavior of a test particle on the brane and in the bulk.Comment: 24 pages, LaTex, minor correction to discussion, replaced with NPB versio

Search for Tensor, Vector, and Scalar Polarizations in the Stochastic Gravitational-Wave Background

The detection of gravitational waves with Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo has enabled novel tests of general relativity, including direct study of the polarization of gravitational waves. While general relativity allows for only two tensor gravitational-wave polarizations, general metric theories can additionally predict two vector and two scalar polarizations. The polarization of gravitational waves is encoded in the spectral shape of the stochastic gravitational-wave background, formed by the superposition of cosmological and individually unresolved astrophysical sources. Using data recorded by Advanced LIGO during its first observing run, we search for a stochastic background of generically polarized gravitational waves. We find no evidence for a background of any polarization, and place the first direct bounds on the contributions of vector and scalar polarizations to the stochastic background. Under log-uniform priors for the energy in each polarization, we limit the energy densities of tensor, vector, and scalar modes at 95% credibility to Ω0T<5.58×10-8, Ω0V<6.35×10-8, and Ω0S<1.08×10-7 at a reference frequency f0=25 Hz. © 2018 American Physical Society

Risk profiles and one-year outcomes of patients with newly diagnosed atrial fibrillation in India: Insights from the GARFIELD-AF Registry.

BACKGROUND: The Global Anticoagulant Registry in the FIELD-Atrial Fibrillation (GARFIELD-AF) is an ongoing prospective noninterventional registry, which is providing important information on the baseline characteristics, treatment patterns, and 1-year outcomes in patients with newly diagnosed non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF). This report describes data from Indian patients recruited in this registry. METHODS AND RESULTS: A total of 52,014 patients with newly diagnosed AF were enrolled globally; of these, 1388 patients were recruited from 26 sites within India (2012-2016). In India, the mean age was 65.8 years at diagnosis of NVAF. Hypertension was the most prevalent risk factor for AF, present in 68.5% of patients from India and in 76.3% of patients globally (P < 0.001). Diabetes and coronary artery disease (CAD) were prevalent in 36.2% and 28.1% of patients as compared with global prevalence of 22.2% and 21.6%, respectively (P < 0.001 for both). Antiplatelet therapy was the most common antithrombotic treatment in India. With increasing stroke risk, however, patients were more likely to receive oral anticoagulant therapy [mainly vitamin K antagonist (VKA)], but average international normalized ratio (INR) was lower among Indian patients [median INR value 1.6 (interquartile range {IQR}: 1.3-2.3) versus 2.3 (IQR 1.8-2.8) (P < 0.001)]. Compared with other countries, patients from India had markedly higher rates of all-cause mortality [7.68 per 100 person-years (95% confidence interval 6.32-9.35) vs 4.34 (4.16-4.53), P < 0.0001], while rates of stroke/systemic embolism and major bleeding were lower after 1 year of follow-up. CONCLUSION: Compared to previously published registries from India, the GARFIELD-AF registry describes clinical profiles and outcomes in Indian patients with AF of a different etiology. The registry data show that compared to the rest of the world, Indian AF patients are younger in age and have more diabetes and CAD. Patients with a higher stroke risk are more likely to receive anticoagulation therapy with VKA but are underdosed compared with the global average in the GARFIELD-AF. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION-URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT01090362

On the progenitor of binary neutron star merger GW170817

On 2017 August 17 the merger of two compact objects with masses consistent with two neutron stars was discovered through gravitational-wave (GW170817), gamma-ray (GRB 170817A), and optical (SSS17a/AT 2017gfo) observations. The optical source was associated with the early-type galaxy NGC 4993 at a distance of just ∼40 Mpc, consistent with the gravitational-wave measurement, and the merger was localized to be at a projected distance of ∼2 kpc away from the galaxy's center. We use this minimal set of facts and the mass posteriors of the two neutron stars to derive the first constraints on the progenitor of GW170817 at the time of the second supernova (SN). We generate simulated progenitor populations and follow the three-dimensional kinematic evolution from binary neutron star (BNS) birth to the merger time, accounting for pre-SN galactic motion, for considerably different input distributions of the progenitor mass, pre-SN semimajor axis, and SN-kick velocity. Though not considerably tight, we find these constraints to be comparable to those for Galactic BNS progenitors. The derived constraints are very strongly influenced by the requirement of keeping the binary bound after the second SN and having the merger occur relatively close to the center of the galaxy. These constraints are insensitive to the galaxy's star formation history, provided the stellar populations are older than 1 Gyr

Convalescent plasma in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 (RECOVERY): a randomised controlled, open-label, platform trial

Background: Many patients with COVID-19 have been treated with plasma containing anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. We aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of convalescent plasma therapy in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19. Methods: This randomised, controlled, open-label, platform trial (Randomised Evaluation of COVID-19 Therapy [RECOVERY]) is assessing several possible treatments in patients hospitalised with COVID-19 in the UK. The trial is underway at 177 NHS hospitals from across the UK. Eligible and consenting patients were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive either usual care alone (usual care group) or usual care plus high-titre convalescent plasma (convalescent plasma group). The primary outcome was 28-day mortality, analysed on an intention-to-treat basis. The trial is registered with ISRCTN, 50189673, and ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04381936. Findings: Between May 28, 2020, and Jan 15, 2021, 11558 (71%) of 16287 patients enrolled in RECOVERY were eligible to receive convalescent plasma and were assigned to either the convalescent plasma group or the usual care group. There was no significant difference in 28-day mortality between the two groups: 1399 (24%) of 5795 patients in the convalescent plasma group and 1408 (24%) of 5763 patients in the usual care group died within 28 days (rate ratio 1·00, 95% CI 0·93–1·07; p=0·95). The 28-day mortality rate ratio was similar in all prespecified subgroups of patients, including in those patients without detectable SARS-CoV-2 antibodies at randomisation. Allocation to convalescent plasma had no significant effect on the proportion of patients discharged from hospital within 28 days (3832 [66%] patients in the convalescent plasma group vs 3822 [66%] patients in the usual care group; rate ratio 0·99, 95% CI 0·94–1·03; p=0·57). Among those not on invasive mechanical ventilation at randomisation, there was no significant difference in the proportion of patients meeting the composite endpoint of progression to invasive mechanical ventilation or death (1568 [29%] of 5493 patients in the convalescent plasma group vs 1568 [29%] of 5448 patients in the usual care group; rate ratio 0·99, 95% CI 0·93–1·05; p=0·79). Interpretation: In patients hospitalised with COVID-19, high-titre convalescent plasma did not improve survival or other prespecified clinical outcomes. Funding: UK Research and Innovation (Medical Research Council) and National Institute of Health Research

Numerical investigation of the aerodynamic noise from a forward-facing step

In the present study, aerodynamic noise from a forward-facing step is numerically investigated for Reynolds number based on the step height, Reh=8,000 and flow Mach number, M=0.03. A three-dimensional flow over the forward-facing step is calculated by the incompressible large eddy simulation (LES), while its acoustic field is solved by the linearized compressible perturbed equations (LPCE). The space-time characteristics of the surface pressure over the step and the flow strucuture low-dimensionalized by a filtered proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) method indicate two different noise generation mechanisms at St=0.1 & 0.4~0.8. The low frequency noise is generated by a flapping motion of the shear layer. The high frequency noise is, however, generated by the breaking-off of the shear layer, due to the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability. A dominant noise source for the forward-facing step with an extended span will be expected to be around the step-corner (step front-face and leading-edge over the step) rather than near the shear layer reattachment point because the spanwise coherence length for the shear layer flapping mode is much longer than that for the shear layer breaking-off mode