Rigidity of wonderful group compactifications under Fano deformations

For a complex connected semisimple linear algebraic group G of adjoint type and of rank n, De Concini and Procesi constructed its wonderful compactification \bar{G}, which is a smooth Fano G \times G-variety of Picard number n enjoying many interesting properties. In this paper, it is shown that the wonderful compactification \bar{G} is rigid under Fano deformations. Namely, for any family of smooth Fano varieties over a connected base, if one fiber is isomorphic to \bar{G}, then so are all other fibers.Comment: 42 pages, comments are welcome

Rigidity of projective symmetric manifolds of Picard number 1 associated to composition algebras

To each complex composition algebra $\mathbb{A}$, there associates a projective symmetric manifold $X(\mathbb{A})$ of Picard number one, which is just a smooth hyperplane section of the following varieties ${\rm Lag}(3,6), {\rm Gr}(3,6), \mathbb{S}_6, E_7/P_7.$ In this paper, it is proven that these varieties are rigid, namely for any smooth family of projective manifolds over a connected base, if one fiber is isomorphic to $X(\mathbb{A})$, then every fiber is isomorphic to $X(\mathbb{A})$.Comment: to appear in \'Epijournal G\'eom. Alg\'ebriqu

ERSVC: An Efficient Routing Scheme for Satellite Constellation Adapting Vector Composition

AbstractCompared with GEO and MEO satellites, LEO satellite constellation is able to provide low-latency, broadband communications which is difficult to be provided by the GEO or MEO satellites. However, one of the challenges in LEO constellation is the development of an efficient and specialized routing scheme. This paper takes transmission rate and data transmission time into consideration, and proposes ERSVC, an efficient routing scheme for satellite constellation adapting vector composition. ERSVC reduces routing table computation complexity, and saves restricted satellite resources. By adapting vector composition method, the amount of data flowing into satellite constellation is maximized while the data traffic is well controlled. Correlative and comprehensive simulation indicates that ERSVC is superior to existing schemes for LEO satellite constellation, especially in balancing data flow

Auxin-sensitive Aux/IAA proteins mediate drought tolerance in Arabidopsis by regulating glucosinolate levels.

A detailed understanding of abiotic stress tolerance in plants is essential to provide food security in the face of increasingly harsh climatic conditions. Glucosinolates (GLSs) are secondary metabolites found in the Brassicaceae that protect plants from herbivory and pathogen attack. Here we report that in Arabidopsis, aliphatic GLS levels are regulated by the auxin-sensitive Aux/IAA repressors IAA5, IAA6, and IAA19. These proteins act in a transcriptional cascade that maintains expression of GLS levels when plants are exposed to drought conditions. Loss of IAA5/6/19 results in reduced GLS levels and decreased drought tolerance. Further, we show that this phenotype is associated with a defect in stomatal regulation. Application of GLS to the iaa5,6,19 mutants restores stomatal regulation and normal drought tolerance. GLS action is dependent on the receptor kinase GHR1, suggesting that GLS may signal via reactive oxygen species. These results provide a novel connection between auxin signaling, GLS levels and drought response

Enhanced photothermal therapy assisted with gold nanorods using a radially polarized beam

We report on the use of a radially polarized beam for photothermal therapy of cancer cells labeled with gold nanorods. Due to a three-dimensionally distributed electromagnetic field in the focal volume, the radially polarized beam is proven to be a highly efficient laser mode to excite gold nanorods randomly oriented in cancer cells. As a result, the energy fluence for effective cancer cell damage is reduced to one fifth of that required for a linearly polarized beam, which is only 9.3% of the medical safety level.<br /

Hyperspectral Imaging and Their Applications in the Nondestructive Quality Assessment of Fruits and Vegetables

Over the past decade, hyperspectral imaging has been rapidly developing and widely used as an emerging scientific tool in nondestructive fruit and vegetable quality assessment. Hyperspectral imaging technique integrates both the imaging and spectroscopic techniques into one system, and it can acquire a set of monochromatic images at almost continuous hundreds of thousands of wavelengths. Many researches based on spatial image and/or spectral image processing and analysis have been published proposing the use of hyperspectral imaging technique in the field of quality assessment of fruits and vegetables. This chapter presents a detailed overview of the introduction, latest developments and applications of hyperspectral imaging in the nondestructive assessment of fruits and vegetables. Additionally, the principal components, basic theories, and corresponding processing and analytical methods are also reported in this chapter