3,069 research outputs found
On the multiplicity of the hyperelliptic integrals
Let be an Abelian integral, where
is a hyperelliptic polynomial of Morse type, a
horizontal family of cycles in the curves , and a polynomial
1-form in the variables and . We provide an upper bound on the
multiplicity of , away from the critical values of . Namely: $ord\
I(t) \leq n-1+\frac{n(n-1)}{2}\deg \omega <\deg H=n+1\delta(t)nHHI(t)\gamma(t)\textbf C^ n\gamma(t)\omegaHI(t)\{H=t\}
\subseteq \textbf C^2\omega\gamma(t)\textbf C^{n+1}ord I(t)\deg \omega$.Comment: 18 page
Suspending Lefschetz fibrations, with an application to Local Mirror Symmetry
We consider the suspension operation on Lefschetz fibrations, which takes
p(x) to p(x)-y^2. This leaves the Fukaya category of the fibration invariant,
and changes the category of the fibre (or more precisely, the subcategory
consisting of a basis of vanishing cycles) in a specific way. As an
application, we prove part of Homological Mirror Symmetry for the total spaces
of canonical bundles over toric del Pezzo surfaces.Comment: v2: slightly expanded expositio
Nox1 oxidase suppresses influenza a virus-induced lung inflammation and oxidative stress
Influenza A virus infection is an ongoing clinical problem and thus, there is an urgent need to understand the mechanisms that regulate the lung inflammation in order to unravel novel generic pharmacological strategies. Evidence indicates that the Nox2-containing NADPH oxidase enzyme promotes influenza A virus-induced lung oxidative stress, inflammation and dysfunction via ROS generation. In addition, lung epithelial and endothelial cells express the Nox1 isoform of NADPH oxidase, placing this enzyme at key sites to regulate influenza A virus-induced lung inflammation. The aim of this study was to investigate whether Nox1 oxidase regulates the inflammatory response and the oxidative stress to influenza infection in vivo in mice. Male WT and Nox1-deficient (Nox1â/y) mice were infected with the moderately pathogenic HkX-31 (H3N2, 1Ă104 PFU) influenza A virus for analysis of bodyweight, airways inflammation, oxidative stress, viral titre, lung histopathology, and cytokine/chemokine expression at 3 and 7 days post infection. HkX-31 virus infection of Nox1â/y mice resulted in significantly greater: loss of bodyweight (Day 3); BALF neutrophilia, peri-bronchial, peri-vascular and alveolar inflammation; Nox2-dependent inflammatory cell ROS production and peri-bronchial, epithelial and endothelial oxidative stress. The expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines including CCL2, CCL3, CXCL2, IL-1ÎČ, IL-6, GM-CSF and TNF-α was higher in Nox1â/y lungs compared to WT mice at Day 3, however, the expression of CCL2, CCL3, CXCL2, IFN-Îł and the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 were lower in lungs of Nox1â/y mice vs. WT mice at Day 7. Lung viral titre, and airways infiltration of active CD8+ and CD4+ T lymphocytes, and of Tregs were similar between WT and Nox1â/y mice. In conclusion, Nox1 oxidase suppresses influenza A virus induced lung inflammation and oxidative stress in mice particularly at the early phases of the infection. Nox1 and Nox2 oxidases appear to have opposing roles in the regulation of inflammation caused by influenza A viruses
Million-atom molecular dynamics simulation by order-N electronic structure theory and parallel computation
Parallelism of tight-binding molecular dynamics simulations is presented by
means of the order-N electronic structure theory with the Wannier states,
recently developed (J. Phys. Soc. Jpn. 69,3773 (2000)). An application is
tested for silicon nanocrystals of more than millions atoms with the
transferable tight-binding Hamiltonian. The efficiency of parallelism is
perfect, 98.8 %, and the method is the most suitable to parallel computation.
The elapse time for a system of atoms is 3.0 minutes by a
computer system of 64 processors of SGI Origin 3800. The calculated results are
in good agreement with the results of the exact diagonalization, with an error
of 2 % for the lattice constant and errors less than 10 % for elastic
constants.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure
Morphology, geographical variation and the subspecies of marsh tit Poecile palustris in Britain and central Europe
Capsule: All British Marsh Tits belong to subspecies Poecile palustris dresseri, being smaller than nominate P. p. palustris of central Europe.
Aims: Determining the subspecies of Marsh Tit in Britain to test whether ssp. P. p. palustris occurs in northern England and Scotland, by assessing regional variation in size compared with central European birds.
Methods: 1147 wing length and 250 tail length measurements from 953 Marsh Tits were compared between eight British locations to test for regional variation. Biometrics were compared between birds from Britain and six locations within the continental European range of ssp. palustris.
Results: There was no regional variation in wing or tail lengths among British Marsh Tits, indicating that all resident birds belong to ssp. dresseri. There was no evidence supporting the existence of ssp. palustris in northern England. British birds were significantly smaller than those from continental Europe, with proportionately shorter tails, consistent across all age and sex classes.
Conclusion: All British Marsh Tits should be considered as ssp. dresseri, with ssp. palustris being limited to continental Europe. With no evidence of regional variation in size within Britain, reliable sexing methods based on biometrics could be applied in demographic studies throughout the country
An Empirical Charge Transfer Potential with Correct Dissociation Limits
The empirical valence bond (EVB) method [J. Chem. Phys. 52, 1262 (1970)] has
always embodied charge transfer processes. The mechanism of that behavior is
examined here and recast for use as a new empirical potential energy surface
for large-scale simulations. A two-state model is explored. The main features
of the model are: (1) Explicit decomposition of the total system electron
density is invoked; (2) The charge is defined through the density decomposition
into constituent contributions; (3) The charge transfer behavior is controlled
through the resonance energy matrix elements which cannot be ignored; and (4) A
reference-state approach, similar in spirit to the EVB method, is used to
define the resonance state energy contributions in terms of "knowable"
quantities. With equal validity, the new potential energy can be expressed as a
nonthermal ensemble average with a nonlinear but analytical charge dependence
in the occupation number. Dissociation to neutral species for a gas-phase
process is preserved. A variant of constrained search density functional theory
is advocated as the preferred way to define an energy for a given charge.Comment: Submitted to J. Chem. Phys. 11/12/03. 14 pages, 8 figure
Anharmonic Decay of Vibrational States in Amorphous Silicon
Anharmonic decay rates are calculated for a realistic atomic model of
amorphous silicon. The results show that the vibrational states decay on
picosecond timescales and follow the two-mode density of states, similar to
crystalline silicon, but somewhat faster. Surprisingly little change occurs for
localized states. These results disagree with a recent experiment.Comment: 10 pages, 4 Postscript figure
Barriers and Enablers to Weight Management Programmes for Working Men: A Qualitative Study
Gender-sensitised weight management programmes have been developed to encourage more men to access support. Whilst these programmes have proved successful for some groups of men, they are not a panacea, and the views of men who have never attended any form of structured weight management programme remain unknown. The aim of this research was to explore the views of such men towards body weight, health, and weight management programmes. Participants were recruited purposefully at their place of work. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 16 adult men with a BMIâ>â25 who worked in routine manual occupations and had no previous experience of attending a weight management programme. Interviews were analysed using an inductive thematic analysis approach. Interview findings were developed into five themes: âthe indestructible breadwinner,â âavoidance of feminine behaviour,â âthe body conscious man,â âbeing one of the lads,â and âdoctor knows best.â The findings suggest that these men have high levels of body consciousness, value guidance from GPs, have high levels of agency towards lifestyle choices, and wish to preserve their masculinity. The study identified various factors that help explain low participation in weight management programmes for men and potential ways to improve access. Future interventions should include gender sensitisation of resources and providing men with the opportunity to follow self-directed weight management programmes to increase participation. Individual and population-level interventions to address weight management that includes the perceived and actual needs of men working in routine manual occupations are urgently needed to address health inequalities
Absence of a Finite-Temperature Melting Transition in the Classical Two-Dimensional One-Component Plasma
Vortices in thin-film superconductors are often modelled as a system of
particles interacting via a repulsive logarithmic potential. Arguments are
presented to show that the hypothetical (Abrikosov) crystalline state for such
particles is unstable at any finite temperature against proliferation of
screened disclinations. The correlation length of crystalline order is
predicted to grow as as the temperature is reduced to zero, in
excellent agreement with our simulations of this two-dimensional system.Comment: 3 figure
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