The Quantum McKay Correspondence for polyhedral singularities

Let G be a polyhedral group, namely a finite subgroup of SO(3). Nakamura's G-Hilbert scheme provides a preferred Calabi-Yau resolution Y of the polyhedral singularity C^3/G. The classical McKay correspondence describes the classical geometry of Y in terms of the representation theory of G. In this paper we describe the quantum geometry of Y in terms of R, an ADE root system associated to G. Namely, we give an explicit formula for the Gromov-Witten partition function of Y as a product over the positive roots of R. In terms of counts of BPS states (Gopakumar-Vafa invariants), our result can be stated as a correspondence: each positive root of R corresponds to one half of a genus zero BPS state. As an application, we use the crepant resolution conjecture to provide a full prediction for the orbifold Gromov-Witten invariants of [C^3/G].Comment: Introduction rewritten. Issue regarding non-uniqueness of conifold resolution clarified. Version to appear in Inventione

Letrozole treatment of pubertal female mice results in activational effects on reproduction, metabolism and the gut microbiome.

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common endocrine disorder in reproductive-aged women that is comprised of two out of the following three features: hyperandrogenism, oligo- or amenorrhea, or polycystic ovaries. In addition to infertility, many women with PCOS have metabolic dysregulation that increases the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Changes in the gut microbiome are associated with PCOS and gut microbes may be involved in the pathology of this disorder. Since PCOS often manifests in the early reproductive years, puberty is considered to be a critical time period for the development of PCOS. Exposure to sex steroid hormones during development results in permanent, organizational effects, while activational effects are transient and require the continued presence of the hormone. Androgens exert organizational effects during prenatal or early post-natal development, but it is unclear whether androgen excess results in organizational or activational effects during puberty. We recently developed a letrozole-induced PCOS mouse model that recapitulates both reproductive and metabolic phenotypes of PCOS. In this study, we investigated whether letrozole treatment of pubertal female mice exerts organizational or activational effects on host physiology and the gut microbiome. Two months after letrozole removal, we observed recovery of reproductive and metabolic parameters, as well as diversity and composition of the gut microbiome, indicating that letrozole treatment of female mice during puberty resulted in predominantly activational effects. These results suggest that if exposure to excess androgens during puberty leads to the development of PCOS, reduction of androgen levels during this time may improve reproductive and metabolic phenotypes in women with PCOS. These results also imply that continuous letrozole exposure is required to model PCOS in pubertal female mice since letrozole exerts activational rather than organizational effects during puberty

Identifying Changes in Bicycle Accident Trends Using GIS and Time Series Information in the City of Zürich

In order to be effective, road safety officers must have a complete overview of the accidents in their area of responsibility, including information pertaining to the location and severity of the accidents, and how the number of accidents are developing over time. Ideally, this information is stored in a Geographic Information System (GIS) enabled database, which helps to facilitate data processing and analysis, which enables improved understanding of the reasons for the accidents and the proposals of how to improve road safety. This paper presents a case study based on accident reports from the Zurich City Police. Using a joint GIS and time series analysis based on negative binomial regression, the data is analyzed to identify trends in accident development for several accident subgroups (e.g., bicycle accidents, senior citizen accidents, e-bike accidents) and specific locations. The subgroup of bicycle accidents will be discussed in more detail. The time series analysis is corrected for exposure (e.g., the increasing number of e-bikes) and forecasts the number of accidents which are likely to occur in the future. Significantly higher numbers of accidents than those expected serve as an early warning that further investigation, leading to possible interventions, is required. The case study shows that with this information, it is possible to identify both geographical areas and accident subgroups that have deviating patterns in accident numbers, and should be further investigated. For bicycle accidents, 4 out of 12 districts exceed the average accident trend by over 95% and 3 districts have an accident number that is over 10% higher than that district's forecast, with the highest being 33% above the already increasing accident trend. Other accident subgroups are presented in summary form. The results of the analysis allow consistent and automated analysis across all potential areas for improving road safety, helping to focus the efforts of road safety managers on those areas where their efforts are most effective

The Momentum Distribution of Liquid 3^3He

We present high-resolution neutron Compton scattering measurements of liquid $^3$He below its renormalized Fermi temperature. Theoretical predictions are in excellent agreement with the experimental data when instrumental resolution and final state effects are accounted for. Our results resolve the long-standing inconsistency between theoretical and experimental estimates of the average atomic kinetic energy.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

A Triptych Inquiry: Rethinking Sustainability, Innovation, and Financial Performance

Management scholars have sought to answer the question: is there a financial payoff for ad-dressing ecological and social issues? We move beyond this question and include a time com-ponent for corporate financial performance (CFP) and a firm’s innovativeness in order to ask: when does it pay? Combining a contingency perspective with the resource-based view of the firm clarifies the positive relationship between corporate environmental and social perform-ance (ESP) and CFP, which only holds in the long-term but not in the short-term. Further, we find support for a moderating effect of innovation on the relationship between the ESP and short-term CFP as suggested by the literature. However, we empirically show that in the long-term, innovation mediates the ESP-CFP relationship suggesting that innovation should be considered as a long-term investment required to unlock the full potential of ESP initiatives

L-band radar sensing of soil moisture

The performance of an L-band, 25 cm wavelength imaging synthetic aperture radar was assessed for soil moisture determination, and the temporal variability of radar returns from a number of agricultural fields was studied. A series of three overflights was accomplished over an agricultural test site in Kern County, California. Soil moisture samples were collected from bare fields at nine sites at depths of 0-2, 2-5, 5-15, and 15-30 cm. These gravimetric measurements were converted to percent of field capacity for correlation to the radar return signal. The initial signal film was optically correlated and scanned to produce image data numbers. These numbers were then converted to relative return power by linear interpolation of the noise power wedge which was introduced in 5 dB steps into the original signal film before and after each data run. Results of correlations between the relative return power and percent of field capacity (FC) demonstrate that the relative return power from this imaging radar system is responsive to the amount of soil moisture in bare fields. The signal returned from dry (15% FC) and wet (130% FC) fields where furrowing is parallel to the radar beam differs by about 10 dB

Pulsar Wind Nebulae in EGRET Error Boxes

A remarkable number of pulsar wind nebulae (PWN) are coincident with EGRET gamma-ray sources. X-ray and radio imaging studies of unidentified EGRET sources have resulted in the discovery of at least 6 new pulsar wind nebulae (PWN). Stationary PWN (SPWN) appear to be associated with steady EGRET sources with hard spectra, typical for gamma-ray pulsars. Their toroidal morphologies can help determine the geometry of the pulsar which is useful for constraining models of pulsed gamma-ray emission. Rapidly moving PWN (RPWN) with more cometary morphologies seem to be associated with variable EGRET sources in regions where the ambient medium is dense compared to what is typical for the ISM.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures, to appear in the proceedings of "The Multiwavelength Approach to Unidentified Sources", ed. G. Romero & K.S. Chen

Pandangan Kontraktor Terhadap Klausul-klausul Kontrak Pada Proyek Konstruksi

Pada proyek konstruksi yang berfokus pada bangunan high-rise, atau dengan skala besar, kontrak konstruksi sudah menjadi kewajiban. Salah satu komponen penting dalam proyek konstruksi adalah kontrak, dalam kontrak diatur semua hal yang akan mempengaruhi berjalannya suatu proyek, kontrak sangat penting karena bersifat mengikat baik itu antara pengguna jasa, kontraktor, subkontarktor, pekerja, dan komponen komponen lain dalam proyek konstruksi. Tujuan dari penelitian kami adalah mengetahui seberapa penting klausul-klausul kontrak yang terdapat dalam suatu kontrak proyek konstruksi di Indonesia dan menghetahui seberapa detail klausul-klausul kontrak yang diatur dalam kontrak proyek konstruksi di Indonesia. Kami berfokus kepada bentuk kontrak konvensional, maka dari itu kami menggunakan FIDIC sebagai acuan untuk perbandingan kami terhadap para responden, Penulis menggunakan kuisioner dengan sistem skala likert untuk mengetahui indicator tingkat kepentingan dan tingkat kedetailan. Dari hasil analisis data dengan menggunakan perhitungan mean akan didapatkan rata-rata skala kepentingan dan kedetailan tiap klausul di kuisioner yang kami berikan. Dari hasil pengumpulan data dan pengolahan data didapati bahwa semua klausul kontrak konstruksi dalam proyek di surabaya sudah cukup penting dan detail. Tidak ada klausul yang terbengkalai. Semua sudah ditulis di dalam kontrak dengan jelas dan detail