S-duality in Abelian gauge theory revisited

Definition of the partition function of U(1) gauge theory is extended to a class of four-manifolds containing all compact spaces and certain asymptotically locally flat (ALF) ones including the multi-Taub--NUT spaces. The partition function is calculated via zeta-function regularization with special attention to its modular properties. In the compact case, compared with the purely topological result of Witten, we find a non-trivial curvature correction to the modular weights of the partition function. But S-duality can be restored by adding gravitational counter terms to the Lagrangian in the usual way. In the ALF case however we encounter non-trivial difficulties stemming from original non-compact ALF phenomena. Fortunately our careful definition of the partition function makes it possible to circumnavigate them and conclude that the partition function has the same modular properties as in the compact case.Comment: LaTeX; 22 pages, no figure

Specialisation and reduction of continued fractions of formal power series

We discuss and illustrate the behaviour of the continued fraction expansion of a formal power series under specialisation of parameters or their reduction modulo $p$ and sketch some applications of the reduction theorem here proved.Comment: 7 page

Lightweight and static verification of UML executable models

Executable models play a key role in many software development methods by facilitating the (semi)automatic implementation/execution of the software system under development. This is possible because executable models promote a complete and fine-grained specification of the system behaviour. In this context, where models are the basis of the whole development process, the quality of the models has a high impact on the final quality of software systems derived from them. Therefore, the existence of methods to verify the correctness of executable models is crucial. Otherwise, the quality of the executable models (and in turn the quality of the final system generated from them) will be compromised. In this paper a lightweight and static verification method to assess the correctness of executable models is proposed. This method allows us to check whether the operations defined as part of the behavioural model are able to be executed without breaking the integrity of the structural model and returns a meaningful feedback that helps repairing the detected inconsistencies.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Síndrome de Budd-Chiari e Falência Hepática Aguda: Uma Apresentação Incomum de Leucemia Mieloide Aguda

Acute liver failure (ALF) is a rare entity, particularly in the context of Budd-Chiari syndrome (BCS). BCS is an uncommon disorder with multiple risk factors, most commonly myeloproliferative disorders. In BCS, active search and exclusion of underlying malignancy is mandatory, particularly in the context of ALF, as it may contraindicate liver transplantation (LT). We present the case of a healthy 29-year-old male, without known risk factors for liver disease, who presented to the emergency department with abdominal pain, ascites, and jaundice. BCS with consequent severe acute liver injury with rapid progression to ALF was diagnosed. The patient was listed for LT. The study of peripheral blood finally revealed myeloid blasts, and flow cytometry showed a population of blast cells with abnormal immunophenotypic profile (CD33+ and myeloperoxidase, MPO+). The bone marrow biopsy showed morphological and immunophenotypic aspects of acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) FAB M1. This diagnosis was considered a formal contraindication to LT, so the patient was delisted. ALF contraindicated rescue chemotherapy and AML contraindicated LT. The patient died 48 h after ICU admission. The search for underlying neoplasia is mandatory in the context of BCS, moreover with associated ALF, as it may limit lifesaving treatments and interventions to supportive and palliative.A falência hepática aguda (FHA) é uma entidade rara, particularmente no contexto da Síndrome de Budd-Chiari (SBC). A SBC é uma doença incomum com múltiplos fatores de risco, principalmente as doenças mieloproliferativas. Na SBC, a procura ativa e exclusão de malignidade subjacente é obrigatória, particularmente no contexto de FHA, já que pode contraindicar o transplante hepático (TH). Apresentamos o caso de um homem de 29 anos saudável, sem fatores de risco conhecidos para doença hepática que se apresentou no serviço de urgência com dor abdominal, ascite e icterícia. A SBC associada a lesão hepática severa com rápida progressão para FHA foi diagnosticada e o doente colocado em lista para TH. O estudo do sangue periférico finalmente revelou a presença de blastos mieloides e a citometria de fluxo a presença de uma população de blastos com perfil imunofenotípico anormal (CD33 + e mieloperoxidase (MPO) +). A biópsia da medula óssea mostrou aspetos morfológicos e imunofenotípicos de leucemia mieloide aguda (LMA) FAB M1. Este diagnóstico foi considerado uma contraindicação formal para o TH, pelo que o doente foi retirado de lista. Pela FHA a quimioterapia de resgate estava também contraindicada. O doente faleceu 48 horas após a admissão na UCI. O despiste de neoplasia subjacente é obrigatório no contexto de SBC, ainda mais com FHA, pois pode limitar o tratamento lifesaving a cuidados de suporte e paliativos.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Rich Situated Attitudes

We outline a novel theory of natural language meaning, Rich Situated Semantics [RSS], on which the content of sentential utterances is semantically rich and informationally situated. In virtue of its situatedness, an utterance’s rich situated content varies with the informational situation of the cognitive agent interpreting the utterance. In virtue of its richness, this content contains information beyond the utterance’s lexically encoded information. The agent-dependence of rich situated content solves a number of problems in semantics and the philosophy of language (cf. [14, 20, 25]). In particular, since RSS varies the granularity of utterance contents with the interpreting agent’s informational situation, it solves the problem of finding suitably fine- or coarse-grained objects for the content of propositional attitudes. In virtue of this variation, a layman will reason with more propositions than an expert

Bondi-Metzner-Sachs symmetry, holography on null-surfaces and area proportionality of "light-slice" entropy

It is shown that certain kinds of behavior, which hitherto were expected to be characteristic for classical gravity and quantum field theory in curved spacetime, as the infinite dimensional Bondi-Metzner-Sachs symmetry, holography on event horizons and an area proportionality of entropy, have in fact an unnoticed presence in Minkowski QFT. This casts new light on the fundamental question whether the volume propotionality of heat bath entropy and the (logarithmically corrected) dimensionless area law obeyed by localization-induced thermal behavior are different geometric parametrizations which share a common primordeal algebraic origin. Strong arguments are presented that these two different thermal manifestations can be directly related, this is in fact the main aim of this paper. It will be demonstrated that QFT beyond the Lagrangian quantization setting receives crucial new impulses from holography onto horizons. The present paper is part of a project aimed at elucidating the enormous physical range of "modular localization". The latter does not only extend from standard Hamitonian heat bath thermal states to thermal aspects of causal- or event- horizons addressed in this paper. It also includes the recent understanding of the crossing property of formfactors whose intriguing similarity with thermal properties was, although sometimes noticed, only sufficiently understood in the modular llocalization setting.Comment: 42 pages, changes, addition of new results and new references, in this form the paper will appear in Foundations of Physic