Summary of the Activities of the Working Group I on High Energy and Collider Physics

This is a summary of the projects undertaken by the Working Group I on High Energy Collider Physics at the Eighth Workshop on High Energy Physics Phenomenology (WHEPP8) held at the Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai, January 5-16, 2004. The topics covered are (i) Higgs searches (ii) supersymmetry searches (iii) extra dimensions and (iv) linear collider.Comment: summary of Working Group I at the Eighth Workshop on High Energy Physics Phenomenology (WHEPP8), I.I.T., Mumbai, January 5-16, 200

Factors associated with mortality in HIV-infected and uninfected patients with pulmonary tuberculosis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>HIV has fuelled the TB epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa. Mortality in patients co-infected with TB and HIV is high. Managing factors influencing mortality in TB patients might help reducing it. This study investigates factors associated with mortality including patients' HIV sero-status, CD4 cell count, laboratory, nutritional and demographic characteristics in AFB smear positive pulmonary TB patients.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We studied 887 sputum smear positive PTB patients, between 18 and 65 years of age receiving standard 8 months anti-TB treatment. Demographic, anthropometric and laboratory data including HIV, CD4 and other tests were collected at baseline and at regular intervals. Patients were followed for a median period of 2.5 years.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Of the 887 participants, 155 (17.5%) died, of whom 90.3% (140/155) were HIV-infected, a fatality of 29.7% (140/471) compared to 3.6% (15/416) among HIV-uninfected. HIV infection, age, low Karnofsky score, CD4 cell counts and hemoglobin, high viral load, and oral thrush were significantly associated with high mortality in all patients.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Mortality among HIV-infected TB patients is high despite the use of effective anti-TB therapy. Most deaths occur after successful completion of therapy, an indication that patients die from causes other than TB. HIV infection is the strongest independent predictor of mortality in this cohort.</p

Transient electromagnetic response of an inhomogeneous conducting sphere

Analytic expressions for the quasi-static electromagnetic response of a sphere in presence of unit-step and ramp-type time varying magnetic fields are derived. The conductivity inside the sphere is assumed to vary linearly with radius, i.e. σ(ρ)=σ0(ρ/a), where ρ is radial coordinate, σ0 is a constant and a is the radius of sphere. Curves showing the decay of the magnetic field for both types of fields are presented. In the case of ramp-type applied magnetic field, the magnitudes of maxima of the induced magnetic field are found to decrease with increase in the rise time of the applied field and, hence, exciting pulses having small values of rise time should be used. It is believed that the analysis will be useful in the geoelectric exploration for highly conducting mineral deposits

COVID-19 pandemic: Probing the dynamics in the North Himalayan state

Introduction: Coronavirus disease or COVID-19 emerged in December 2019 in China and thereafter spread to all regions of the world including India. In the Himalayan state of Himachal Pradesh, India, the first case was identified in the month of March 2020. As the most populous district of the state of Himachal Pradesh, Kangra not only identified the first case in the state but also thereafter suffered disproportionately due to the virus causing severe health and economic disruption. The study was carried out to better understand the pattern and trends of COVID-19 pandemic in the district since its emergence, covering the first and the second wave to use the data to prepare the future course of action. Materials and Methods: A robust database comprising real-time data in a line list format was created. The observations covered all confirmed COVID-19 cases in the district from March 20, 2020, to June 30, 2021, in terms of disease progression and distribution in time, place, and person, and the possible risk factors for severe disease. Results: During the study period, 45,871 cases and 1030 deaths were reported in Kangra district, with a case fatality rate of 2.2%. Of the 12 districts of the state, Kangra reported the highest number of cases (22.6%) and deaths (29.7%). Ninety percent of all cases occurred during the second wave. While the first wave peaked in December 2020 with 2596 cases, the highest number of cases occurred in May 2021 when as many as 25,625 cases were reported. The test positivity rate of 15.2% during the second wave which was many times higher than that seen during the previous year. The case fatality rates during the first and second waves were 2.2% and 2.1%, respectively. Conclusions: The study highlights an explosive surge in COVID-19 cases during the second wave, indicating the highly infectious nature of the virus. While absolute number of deaths was several times greater during the second wave, the case fatality rates did not differ greatly between the two waves

Redox-dependent condensation of the mycobacterial nucleoid by WhiB4

Oxidative stress response in bacteria is mediated through coordination between the regulators of oxidant-remediation systems (e.g. OxyR, SoxR) and nucleoid condensation (e.g. Dps, Fis). However, these genetic factors are either absent or rendered non-functional in the human pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb). Therefore, how Mtb organizes genome architecture and regulates gene expression to counterbalance oxidative imbalance is unknown. Here, we report that an intracellular redox-sensor, WhiB4, dynamically links genome condensation and oxidative stress response in Mtb. Disruption of WhiB4 affects the expression of genes involved in maintaining redox homeostasis, central metabolism, and respiration under oxidative stress. Notably, disulfide-linked oligomerization of WhiB4 in response to oxidative stress activates the protein's ability to condense DNA. Further, overexpression of WhiB4 led to hypercondensation of nucleoids, redox imbalance and increased susceptibility to oxidative stress, whereas WhiB4 disruption reversed this effect. In accordance with the findings in vitro, ChIP-Seq data demonstrated non-specific binding of WhiB4 to GC-rich regions of the Mtb genome. Lastly, data indicate that WhiB4 deletion affected the expression of similar to 30% of genes preferentially bound by the protein, suggesting both direct and indirect effects on gene expression. We propose that WhiB4 structurally couples Mtb's response to oxidative stress with genome organization and transcription

Working group report: High energy and collider physics

This is a summary of the projects undertaken by the working group I on high energy and collider physic