Kink Chains from Instantons on a Torus

We describe how the procedure of calculating approximate solitons from instanton holonomies may be extended to the case of soliton crystals. It is shown how sine-Gordon kink chains may be obtained from CP1 instantons on a torus. These kink chains turn out to be remarkably accurate approximations to the true solutions. Some remarks on the relevance of this work to Skyrme crystals are also made.Comment: latex 17 pages, DAMTP 94-7

Inversion symmetric 3-monopoles and the Atiyah-Hitchin manifold

We consider 3-monopoles symmetric under inversion symmetry. We show that the moduli space of these monopoles is an Atiyah-Hitchin submanifold of the 3-monopole moduli space. This allows what is known about 2-monopole dynamics to be translated into results about the dynamics of 3-monopoles. Using a numerical ADHMN construction we compute the monopole energy density at various points on two interesting geodesics. The first is a geodesic over the two-dimensional rounded cone submanifold corresponding to right angle scattering and the second is a closed geodesic for three orbiting monopoles.Comment: latex, 22 pages, 2 figures. To appear in Nonlinearit

Analysis of the relationship between disease activity and damage in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus—a 5-yr prospective study

Objective. To determine whether initial damage, disease duration, age, initial health status, average disease activity over the 5 yr or an average medication score covering the follow-up period would predict an increase in damage in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) within the next 5 yr. Methods. A 5-yr prospective longitudinal study of a cohort of 141 consecutive patients with SLE attending a specialist lupus out-patient clinic in London from their first assessment between July 1994 and February 1995. Disease activity was assessed using the BILAG system, initial health status by the Medical Outcome Survey Short Form 20 with an extra question about fatigue (SF-20+) and damage by the SLICC/ACR Damage Index (SDI). Damage was reassessed 5 yr later. Statistical analysis was carried out using multiple logistic regression analysis (logXact). Results. One hundred and thirty-three female and eight male SLE patients (97 Caucasians, 16 Afro-Caribbeans, 22 Asians and 6 others) were included, their age at inclusion was 41.1 ± 12.5 yr and their disease duration 10.2 ± 6.3 yr. The mean measures at inclusion were: total BILAG 5.2 (range 0-17), total SDI 1.2 (0-7) and medication score 1.2 (0-3). Six patients were lost to follow-up because they had moved. Of the remaining 135 patients total damage had increased in 40 patients and 10 patients had died. At the end of the study, at 4.63 ± 0.19 yr, the total SDI had increased to 1.6 ± 1.7. Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that death and increase in damage were strongly predicted by a high total disease activity over the entire study period (P<0.001) as we had hypothesized. When the total BILAG score was replaced by the average number of A-flares the prediction of accrual of damage during the study period was again highly significant (P = 0.004). Conclusions. In this first prospective study of its type a highly significant impact of total disease activity, as measured over 5 yr using the BILAG system, on the development of total damage was revealed. Moreover, these results provide further proof of the validity of the SDI and support the BILAG concept of the A-flare

Can remote STI/HIV testing and eClinical Care be compatible with robust public health surveillance?

In this paper we outline the current data capture systems for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and sexually transmitted infection (STI) surveillance used by Public Health England (PHE), and how these will be affected by the introduction of novel testing platforms and changing patient pathways. We outline the Chlamydia Online Clinical Care Pathway (COCCP), developed as part of the Electronic Self-Testing for Sexually Transmitted Infections (eSTI(2)) Consortium, which ensures that surveillance data continue to be routinely collected and transmitted to PHE. We conclude that both novel diagnostic testing platforms and established data capture systems must be adaptable to ensure continued robust public health surveillance

Soliton Lattice and Single Soliton Solutions of the Associated Lam\'e and Lam\'e Potentials

We obtain the exact nontopological soliton lattice solutions of the Associated Lam\'e equation in different parameter regimes and compute the corresponding energy for each of these solutions. We show that in specific limits these solutions give rise to nontopological (pulse-like) single solitons, as well as to different types of topological (kink-like) single soliton solutions of the Associated Lam\'e equation. Following Manton, we also compute, as an illustration, the asymptotic interaction energy between these soliton solutions in one particular case. Finally, in specific limits, we deduce the soliton lattices, as well as the topological single soliton solutions of the Lam\'e equation, and also the sine-Gordon soliton solution.Comment: 23 pages, 5 figures. Submitted to J. Math. Phy

Numerical Investigation of Monopole Chains

We present numerical results for chains of SU(2) BPS monopoles constructed from Nahm data. The long chain limit reveals an asymmetric behavior transverse to the periodic direction, with the asymmetry becoming more pronounced at shorter separations. This analysis is motivated by a search for semiclassical finite temperature instantons in the 3D SU(2) Georgi-Glashow model, but it appears that in the periodic limit the instanton chains either have logarithmically divergent action or wash themselves out.Comment: 14 pages, 6 figures; v2 minor changes, published versio

Patient-maintained sedation for oral surgery using a target-controlled infusion of propofol - a pilot study

OBJECTIVE: To assess the safety and efficacy of a new patient-maintained propofol system for conscious sedation in dentistry. DESIGN: Prospective clinical trial SETTING: Department of Sedation, Glasgow Dental Hospital and School, 2001 SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Patients scheduled for oral surgery with conscious sedation. Exclusions included ASA IV -V, inability to use the handset, opioid use and severe respiratory disease. INTERVENTIONS: Patients were given intravenous propofol to a level of 1.0 microg/ml (reducing from 1.5 microg/ml) using a target controlled infusion system, they then controlled their sedation level by double-clicking a handset which on each activation increased the propofol concentration by 0.2 microg/ml. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Oxygen saturation, patient satisfaction, and surgeon satisfaction. RESULTS: Twenty patients were recruited, 16 female and four male. Nineteen patients completed sedation and treatment successfully. Mean lowest oxygen saturation was 94%. No patients were over-sedated. All patients successfully used the system to maintain a level of sedation adequate for their comfort. Patient and surgeon satisfaction were consistently high. CONCLUSIONS: Initial experience with this novel system has confirmed safety, patient satisfaction and surgeon satisfaction

Dynamical Toroidal Hopfions in a Ferromagnet with Easy-Axis Anisotropy

Three-dimensional toroidal precession solitons with a nonzero Hopf index, which uniformly move along the anisotropy axis in a uniaxial ferromagnet, have been found. The structure and existence region of the solitons have been numerically determined by solving the Landau-Lifshitz equation.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure

Symmetric Instantons and Skyrme Fields

By explicit construction of the ADHM data, we prove the existence of a charge seven instanton with icosahedral symmetry. By computing the holonomy of this instanton we obtain a Skyrme field which approximates the minimal energy charge seven Skyrmion. We also present a one parameter family of tetrahedrally symmetric instantons whose holonomy gives a family of Skyrme fields which models a Skyrmion scattering process, where seven well-separated Skyrmions collide to form the icosahedrally symmetric Skyrmion.Comment: 22 pages plus 1 figure in GIF forma