An Exact Prediction of N=4 SUSYM Theory for String Theory

We propose that the expectation value of a circular BPS-Wilson loop in N=4 SUSYM can be calculated exactly, to all orders in a 1/N expansion and to all orders in g^2 N. Using the AdS/CFT duality, this result yields a prediction of the value of the string amplitude with a circular boundary to all orders in alpha' and to all orders in g_s. We then compare this result with string theory. We find that the gauge theory calculation, for large g^2 N and to all orders in the 1/N^2 expansion does agree with the leading string theory calculation, to all orders in g_s and to lowest order in alpha'. We also find a relation between the expectation value of any closed smooth Wilson loop and the loop related to it by an inversion that takes a point along the loop to infinity, and compare this result, again successfully, with string theory.Comment: LaTeX, 22 pages, 3 figures. Argument corrected and two new sections adde

Expected-value bias in routine third-trimester growth scans.

OBJECTIVES: Operators performing fetal growth scans are usually aware of the gestational age of the pregnancy, which may lead to expected-value bias when performing biometric measurements. We aimed to evaluate the incidence of expected-value bias in routine fetal growth scans and assess its impact on standard biometric measurements. METHODS: We collected prospectively full-length video recordings of routine ultrasound growth scans coupled with operator eye tracking. Expected value was defined as the gestational age at the time of the scan, based on the estimated due date that was established at the dating scan. Expected-value bias was defined as occurring when the operator looked at the measurement box on the screen during the process of caliper adjustment before saving a measurement. We studied the three standard biometric planes on which measurements of head circumference (HC), abdominal circumference (AC) and femur length (FL) are obtained. We evaluated the incidence of expected-value bias and quantified the impact of biased measurements. RESULTS: We analyzed 272 third-trimester growth scans, performed by 16 operators, during which a total of 1409 measurements (354 HC, 703 AC and 352 FL; including repeat measurements) were obtained. Expected-value bias occurred in 91.4% of the saved standard biometric plane measurements (85.0% for HC, 92.9% for AC and 94.9% for FL). The operators were more likely to adjust the measurements towards the expected value than away from it (47.7% vs 19.7% of measurements; P < 0.001). On average, measurements were corrected by 2.3 ± 5.6, 2.4 ± 10.4 and 3.2 ± 10.4 days of gestation towards the expected gestational age for the HC, AC, and FL measurements, respectively. Additionally, we noted a statistically significant reduction in measurement variance once the operator was biased (P = 0.026). Comparing the lowest and highest possible estimated fetal weight (using the smallest and largest biased HC, AC and FL measurements), we noted that the discordance, in percentage terms, was 10.1% ± 6.5%, and that in 17% (95% CI, 12-21%) of the scans, the fetus could be considered as small-for-gestational age or appropriate-for-gestational age if using the smallest or largest possible measurements, respectively. Similarly, in 13% (95% CI, 9-16%) of scans, the fetus could be considered as large-for-gestational age or appropriate-for-gestational age if using the largest or smallest possible measurements, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: During routine third-trimester growth scans, expected-value bias frequently occurs and significantly changes standard biometric measurements obtained. © 2019 the Authors. Ultrasound in Obstetrics & Gynecology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of the International Society of Ultrasound in Obstetrics and Gynecology

Impure Aspects of Supersymmetric Wilson Loops

We study a general class of supersymmetric Wilson loops operator in N = 4 super Yang-Mills theory, obtained as orbits of conformal transformations. These loops are the natural generalization of the familiar circular Wilson-Maldacena operator and their supersymmetric properties are encoded into a Killing spinor that is not pure. We present a systematic analysis of their scalar couplings and of the preserved supercharges, modulo the action of the global symmetry group, both in the compact and in the non-compact case. The quantum behavior of their expectation value is also addressed, in the simplest case of the Lissajous contours: explicit computations at weak-coupling, through Feynman diagrams expansion, and at strong-coupling, by means of AdS/CFT correspondence, suggest the possibility of an exact evaluation.Comment: 40 pages, 4 figure

Efficient Ultrasound Image Analysis Models with Sonographer Gaze Assisted Distillation.

Recent automated medical image analysis methods have attained state-of-the-art performance but have relied on memory and compute-intensive deep learning models. Reducing model size without significant loss in performance metrics is crucial for time and memory-efficient automated image-based decision-making. Traditional deep learning based image analysis only uses expert knowledge in the form of manual annotations. Recently, there has been interest in introducing other forms of expert knowledge into deep learning architecture design. This is the approach considered in the paper where we propose to combine ultrasound video with point-of-gaze tracked for expert sonographers as they scan to train memory-efficient ultrasound image analysis models. Specifically we develop teacher-student knowledge transfer models for the exemplar task of frame classification for the fetal abdomen, head, and femur. The best performing memory-efficient models attain performance within 5% of conventional models that are 1000× larger in size

Conformal Fixed Points of Unidentified Gauge Theories

In this article we discuss gauge/strings correspondence based on the non-critical strings. With this goal we present several remarkable sigma models with the AdS target spaces. The models have kappa symmetry and are completely integrable. The radius of the AdS space is fixed and thus they describe isolated fixed points of gauge theories in various dimensionsComment: 14 page

Exact Results in ABJM Theory from Topological Strings

Recently, Kapustin, Willett and Yaakov have found, by using localization techniques, that vacuum expectation values of Wilson loops in ABJM theory can be calculated with a matrix model. We show that this matrix model is closely related to Chern-Simons theory on a lens space with a gauge supergroup. This theory has a topological string large N dual, and this makes possible to solve the matrix model exactly in the large N expansion. In particular, we find the exact expression for the vacuum expectation value of a 1/6 BPS Wilson loop in the ABJM theory, as a function of the 't Hooft parameters, and in the planar limit. This expression gives an exact interpolating function between the weak and the strong coupling regimes. The behavior at strong coupling is in precise agreement with the prediction of the AdS string dual. We also give explicit results for the 1/2 BPS Wilson loop recently constructed by Drukker and TrancanelliComment: 18 pages, two figures, small misprints corrected and references added, final version to appear in JHE

Wilson Loops in Large N Theories

Talk presented at Strings '99 in Potsdam, Germany (July 19 - 24, 1999).Comment: 11 pages; submitted to Proceedings of Strings '9

Supersymmetric Wilson loops on S^3

This paper studies in great detail a family of supersymmetric Wilson loop operators in N=4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory we have recently found. For a generic curve on an S^3 in space-time the loops preserve two supercharges but we will also study special cases which preserve 4, 8 and 16 supercharges. For certain loops we find the string theory dual explicitly and for the general case we show that string solutions satisfy a first order differential equation. This equation expresses the fact that the strings are pseudo-holomorphic with respect to a novel almost complex structure we construct on AdS_4 x S^2. We then discuss loops restricted to S^2 and provide evidence that they can be calculated in terms of similar observables in purely bosonic YM in two dimensions on the sphere.Comment: Latex, 84 pages, 4 figures. v2: minor changes, references added; to appear in JHE

The Safety of Embryonic Stem Cell Therapy Relies on Teratoma Removal

FWN – Publicaties zonder aanstelling Universiteit Leide

Dirac Action on M5 and M2 Branes with Bulk Fluxes

We derive an explicit form of the quadratic in fermions Dirac action on the M5 brane for an arbitrary on-shell background of 11D supergravity with non-vanishing fluxes and in presence of a chiral 2-form on M5. This action may be used to generalize the conditions for which the non-perturbative superpotential can be generated in M/string theory. We also derive the Dirac action with bulk fluxes on the M2 brane.Comment: 12 pages References adde