Cylindric multipartitions and level-rank duality

We show that a multipartition is cylindric if and only if its level rank-dual is a source in the corresponding affine type $A$ crystal. This provides an algebraic interpretation of cylindricity, and completes a similar result for FLOTW multipartitions.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figure

Observational Aspects of Symmetries of the Neutral B Meson System

We revisit various results, which have been obtained by the BABAR and Belle Collaborations over the last twelve years, concerning symmetry properties of the Hamiltonian, which governs the time evolution and the decay of neutral B mesons.We find that those measurements, which established CP violation in B meson decay, 12 years ago, had as well established T (time-reversal) symmetry violation. They also confirmed CPT symmetry in the decay (T_CPT = 0) and symmetry with respect to time-reversal (epsilon? = 0) and to CPT (delta? = 0) in the B0 ?B0bar oscillation.Comment: Original arguments and conclusions unchanged. Relation to other work explained in more detail. 2 references adde

Structure of retracted tendons after staged repair following continuous traction

Purpose: The effect of staged repair involving continuous re-lengthening of the retracted musculotendinous unit after rotator cuff tear is not known. We quantified changes in chronically retracted tendons undergoing no repair or a staged repair involving an initial re-lengthening of the musculotendinous unit by traction in a sheep model of massive rotator cuff tear. Materials and methods: Infraspinatus tendons of 12 sheep were released and allowed to retract for 4months. Repair was performed after the retracted musculotendinous unit had been progressively returned to its original length through continuous traction in 8 sheep (group I). In the other 4 sheep (group II) traction was not successful and the tendons remained retracted. Tendon structure was assessed macroscopically, by MRI, histology, and TEM. Results: Normalized to their contralateral controls, at sacrifice, tendon thickness was unchanged in group I (116%, n.s) and increased in group II (129%, P<0.05), however with substantial shortening. Increased collagen fiber crimping and disorganization was found in group II, whereas in group I the differences from normal tendon were less pronounced. Conclusion: Retracted musculotendinous units have deteriorated tendons, characterized by increased collagen fiber crimp, and ultrastructural collagen fibril atrophy and disorganization. Continuous traction may arrest and partially restore degenerative changes in retracted tendon. The findings of this study might contribute to new approaches for the treatment of chronic "irreparable” rotator cuff tear

Water-Blown Polyurethane Foams Showing a Reversible Shape-Memory Effect

Water-blown polyurethane (PU) foams are of enormous technological interest as they are widely applied in various fields, i.e., consumer goods, medicine, automotive or aerospace industries. The discovery of the one-way shape-memory effect in PU foams provided a fresh impetus for extensive investigations on porous polymeric actuators over the past decades. High expansion ratios during the shape-recovery are of special interest when big volume changes are required, for example to fill an aneurysm during micro-invasive surgery or save space during transportation. However, the need to program the foams before each operation cycle could be a drawback impeding the entry of shape- memory polymeric (SMP) foams to our daily life. Here, we showed that a reversible shape-memory effect (rSME) is achievable for polyurethane water- blown semicrystalline foams. We selected commercially available crystallizable poly(ε-caprolactone)-diols of different molecular weight for foams synthesis, followed by investigations of morphology, thermal, thermomechanical and shape- memory properties of obtained compositions. Densities of synthesized foams varied from 110 to 180 kg∙m−3, while peak melting temperatures were composition-dependent and changed from 36 to 47 °C, while the melting temperature interval was around 15 K. All semicrystalline foams exhibited excellent one-way SME with shape-fixity ratios slightly above 100% and shape- recovery ratios from the second cycle of 99%. The composition with broad distribution of molecular weights of poly(ε-caprolactone)-diols exhibited an rSME of about 12% upon cyclic heating and cooling from Tlow = 10 °C and Thigh = 47 °C. We anticipate that our experimental study opens a field of systematic investigation of rSMEs in porous polymeric materials on macro and micro scale and extend the application of water-blown polyurethane foams to, e.g., protective covers with zero thermal expansion or even cushions adjustable to a certain body shape. View Full-Tex

Photothermal excitation of microcantilevers in liquid: effect of the excitation laser position on temperature and vibrational amplitude

Demands to improve the sensitivity and measurement speed of dynamic scanning force microscopy and cantilever sensing applications necessitate the development of smaller cantilever sensors. As a result, methods to directly drive cantilevers, such as photothermal or magnetic excitation, are gaining in importance. Presented is a report on the effect of photothermal excitation of microcantilevers on the increase in steady-state temperature and the dynamics of higher mode vibrations. First, the local temperature increase upon continuous irradiation with laser light at different positions along the cantilever was measured and compared with finite element analysis data. The temperature increase was highest when the heating laser was positioned at the free end of the cantilever. Next, the laser intensity was modulated to drive higher flexural modes to resonance. The dependence of the cantilever dynamics on the excitation laser position was assessed and was in good agreement with the analytical expressions. An optimal position to simultaneously excite all flexural modes of vibration with negligible heating was found at the clamped end of the cantilever. The reports findings are essential for optimisation of the excitation efficiency to minimise the rise in temperature and avoid damaging delicate samples or functionalisation layers

gsbDesign: An R Package for Evaluating the Operating Characteristics of a Group Sequential Bayesian Design

The R package gsbDesign provides functions to evaluate the operating characteristics of Bayesian group sequential clinical trial designs. More specifically, we consider clinical trials with interim analyses, which compare a treatment with a control, and where the endpoint is normally distributed. Prior information can either be specified for the difference of treatment and control, or separately for the effects in the treatment and the control groups. At each interim analysis, the decision to stop or continue the trial is based on the posterior distribution of the difference between treatment and control. The decision at the final analysis is also based on this posterior distribution. Multiple success and/or futility criteria can be specified to reflect adequately medical decision-making. We describe methods to evaluate the operating characteristics of such designs for scenarios corresponding to different true treatment and control effects. The characteristics of main interest are the probabilities of success and futility at each interim analysis, and the expected sample size. We illustrate the use of gsbDesign with a detailed case study

Financing Direct Democracy: Revisiting the Research on Campaign Spending and Citizen Initiatives

The conventional view in the direct democracy literature is that spending against a measure is more effective than spending in favor of a measure, but the empirical results underlying this conclusion have been questioned by recent research. We argue that the conventional finding is driven by the endogenous nature of campaign spending: initiative proponents spend more when their ballot measure is likely to fail. We address this endogeneity by using an instrumental variables approach to analyze a comprehensive dataset of ballot propositions in California from 1976 to 2004. We find that both support and opposition spending on citizen initiatives have strong, statistically significant, and countervailing effects. We confirm this finding by looking at time series data from early polling on a subset of these measures. Both analyses show that spending in favor of citizen initiatives substantially increases their chances of passage, just as opposition spending decreases this likelihood

Sodium p-toluenesulfinate tetra­hydrate

The title compound, Na+·C7H7O2S−·4H2O, is the hydrate of the sodium salt of para-toluene­sulfinic acid. The mol­ecular geometry around the sulfur atom is tetra­hedral with X–S–Y angles spanning a range of 102.23 (6)–110.04 (6)°. In the crystal, the water mol­ecules connect the sodium cations into chains along the b axis via O—H⋯O hydrogen bonds. An inter­molecular O—H⋯π inter­action is also observed

2,4,6-Trifluoro­benzoic acid

In the title compound, C7H3F3O2, the C—C—C angles in the ring are greater than 120° for F-bonded C atoms [123.69 (13), 123.88 (12) and 123.66 (12)°]. In the crystal, inter­molecular O—H⋯O hydrogen bonds between carboxyl groups give rise to the formation of a centrosymmetric dimer, while dispersive F⋯O contacts [2.8849 (16) Å] connect the dimers into infinite strands along the a axis