Einstein Metrics on Rational Homology 7-Spheres

In this paper we demonstrate the existence of Sasakian-Einstein structures on certain 2-connected rational homology 7-spheres. These appear to be the first non-regular examples of Sasakian-Einstein metrics on simply connected rational homology spheres. We also briefly describe the rational homology 7-spheres that admit regular positive Sasakian structures.Comment: 19 page

On Sasaki-Einstein manifolds in dimension five

We prove the existence of Sasaki-Einstein metrics on certain simply connected 5-manifolds where until now existence was unknown. All of these manifolds have non-trivial torsion classes. On several of these we show that there are a countable infinity of deformation classes of Sasaki-Einstein structures.Comment: 18 pages, Exposition was expanded and a reference adde

Inhibition of Candida albicans by Fluvastatin Is Dependent on pH

The cholesterol-lowering drug fluvastatin (FS) has an inhibitory effect on the growth of the pathogenic yeast Candida albicans that is dependent on the pH of the medium. At the low pH value of the vagina, FS is growth inhibitory at low and at high concentrations, while at intermediate concentrations (1–10 mM), it has no inhibitory effect. Examination of the effect of the common antifungal drug fluconazole in combination with FS demonstrates drug interactions in the low concentration range. Determination of intracellular stress and the activity of the FS target enzyme HMG-CoA reductase confirm our hypothesis that in the intermediate dose range adjustments to the sterol biosynthesis pathway can compensate for the action of FS. We conclude that the pH dependent uptake of FS across yeast membranes might make FS combination therapy an attractive possibility for treatment of vaginal C. albicans infections

Boric Acid Disturbs Cell Wall Synthesis in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Boric acid (BA) has broad antimicrobial activity that makes it a popular treatment for yeast vaginitis in complementary and alternative medicine. In the model yeast S. cerevisiae, BA disturbs the cytoskeleton at the bud neck and impairs the assembly of the septation apparatus. BA treatment causes cells to form irregular septa and leads to the synthesis of irregular cell wall protuberances that extend far into the cytoplasm. The thick, chitin-rich septa that are formed during BA exposure prevent separation of cells after abscission and cause the formation of cell chains and clumps. As a response to the BA insult, cells signal cell wall stress through the Slt2p pathway and increase chitin synthesis, presumably to repair cell wall damage

A note on monopole moduli spaces

We discuss the structure of the framed moduli space of Bogomolny monopoles for arbitrary symmetry breaking and extend the definition of its stratification to the case of arbitrary compact Lie groups. We show that each stratum is a union of submanifolds for which we conjecture that the natural $L^2$ metric is hyperKahler. The dimensions of the strata and of these submanifolds are calculated, and it is found that for the latter, the dimension is always a multiple of four.Comment: 17 pages, LaTe

Seasonal variability of the warm Atlantic Water layer in the vicinity of the Greenland shelf break

The warmest water reaching the east and west coast of Greenland is found between 200?m and 600?m. Whilst important for melting Greenland's outlet glaciers, limited winter observations of this layer prohibit determination of its seasonality. To address this, temperature data from Argo profiling floats, a range of sources within the World Ocean Database and unprecedented coverage from marine-mammal borne sensors have been analysed for the period 2002-2011. A significant seasonal range in temperature (~1-2?°C) is found in the warm layer, in contrast to most of the surrounding ocean. The phase of the seasonal cycle exhibits considerable spatial variability, with the warmest water found near the eastern and southwestern shelf-break towards the end of the calendar year. High-resolution ocean model trajectory analysis suggest the timing of the arrival of the year's warmest water is a function of advection time from the subduction site in the Irminger Basin

Responding positively to plant defences, a candidate key trait for invasion success in the New Zealand grass grub Costelytra zealandica

Occasionally, exotic plant introductions lead to the emergence of an invasive insect within its native geographical range. Such emergence could be explained by a pre-adaptation of the insect to break through the defences of the new encountered host. We investigated the fitness responses of two New Zealand endemic scarabs (Costelytra brunneum and C. zealandica ) when given a diet of an exotic pasture species, Trifolium repens, whose defences were artificially triggered by the phytohormone jasmonic acid. We found differential fitness responses between the two species when they were exposed to a defence-induced diet. We observed a significant weight increase in the invasive species C.zealandica when it was fed with treated roots compared with untreated controls, whereas no significant weight increase was observed in the non-invasive C.brunneum compared with the control treatments. Our study suggests that C. zealandica has a pre-existing ability to tolerate the defence chemicals of its exotic host and, more interestingly, to benefit from them, which may explain why this species has become a serious pest of pasture throughout its native geographical ran