Amalgamated products and properly 3-realizable groups

In this paper, we show that the class of all properly 3-realizable groups is closed under amalgamated free products (and HNN-extensions) over finite groups. We recall that $G$ is said to be properly 3-realizable if there exists a compact 2-polyhedron $K$ with $\pi_1(K) \cong G$ and whose universal cover $\tilde{K}$ has the proper homotopy type of a 3-manifold (with boundary).Comment: J. Pure Appl. Alg., to appea

Phase Diagram of a Classical Fluid in a Quenched Random Potential

We consider the phase diagram of a classical fluid in the presence of a random pinning potential of arbitrary strength. Introducing replicas for averaging over the quenched disorder, we use the hypernetted chain approximation to calculate the correlations in the replicated liquid. The freezing transition of the liquid into a nearly crystalline state is studied using a density functional approach, and the liquid-to-glass transition is studied using a phenomenological replica symmetry breaking approach introduced by Mezard and Parisi. The first-order liquid-to-crystal transition is found to change to a continuous liquid-to-glass transition as the strength of the disorder is increased above a threshold value.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures, to appear in EuroPhysics Letter

COVID-19: My Life, My Experience

Student generated description: “Diary entires documenting my experience with COVID-19 and how it affected my mental health

Treating Bipolar Disorder and Schizophrenia with Biomedical Protocol

Bipolar Disorder and schizophrenia afflict approximately 2% of the human population, more than 12,400,000 people. When family members, co-workers, and care-givers are factored in, more than 10% of the population is directly impacted by these medical conditions. Finding a way to reduce the severity of the symptoms or cure these diseases would positively impact a large number of people. This paper defines and differentiates between these two similar-but-different maladies, and explores both the traditional courses of treatment as well as the most current research with potential to help combat these diseases – especially genetic mapping with the use of neuroimaging. Because genetic mapping has been successfully used to treat cancers, applying this technique to neurological disorders is the next logical step to take

Conceptual Model for Serious Games Design: Case Study of Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

The field of Serious Games (SGs) is relatively new; however, so far, these have focused more on assessing impacts on results rather than identifying the most appropriate implementation phases to obtain a successful SG. The present work proposes a conceptual model for the design of SGs, which is based on four stages: Analysis, Design, Development, and Evaluation, under the life cycle of the software. For the validation of the model, an SG called ATHYNOS was developed, which was applied in a case study comparing it with the traditional therapy. The results obtained allowed to demonstrate that the SGs is a complementary tool for the treatment of children diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).     Keywords: ATHYNOS, conceptual model, serious games design, attention deficit disorde

MECHANISTIC STUDY OF A RUTHENIUM HYDRIDE COMPLEX OF TYPE [RuH(CO)(N-N)(PR3)2]+ AS CATALYST PRECURSOR FOR THE HYDROFORMYLATION REACTION OF 1-HEXENE

Indexación: Web of Science; Scopus; Scielo.The catalytic activity of systems of type [RuH(CO)(N-N)(PR3)(2)](+) was evaluated in the hydroformylation reaction of 1-hexene. The observed activity is explained through a reaction mechanism on the basis of the quantum theory. The mechanism included total energy calculations for each of the intermediaries of the elemental steps considered in the catalytic cycle. The deactivation of the catalyst precursors takes place via dissociation of the polypyridine ligand and the subsequent formation of thermodynamically stable species, such as RuH(CO)(3)(PPh3)(2) and RuH3(CO)(PPh3)(2), which interrupt the catalytic cycle. In addition, the theoretical study allows to explain the observed regioselectivity which is defined in two steps: (a) the hydride migration reaction with an anti-Markovnikov orientation to produce the alkyl-linear-complex (3.1a), which is more stable by 19.4 kJ/mol than the Markovnikov orientation (alkyl-branched-complex) (3.1b); (b) the carbon monoxide insertion step generates the carbonyl alkyl-linear specie (4.1a) which is more stable by 9.5 kJ/mol than the alternative species (4.1b), determining the preferred formation of heptanal in the hydroformylation of 1-hexene. Palabras clavehttp://ref.scielo.org/db4yc

Complexity and line of critical points in a short-range spin-glass model

We investigate the critical behavior of a three-dimensional short-range spin glass model in the presence of an external field \eps conjugated to the Edwards-Anderson order parameter. In the mean-field approximation this model is described by the Adam-Gibbs-DiMarzio approach for the glass transition. By Monte Carlo numerical simulations we find indications for the existence of a line of critical points in the plane (\eps,T) which separates two paramagnetic phases and terminates in a critical endpoint. This line of critical points appears due to the large degeneracy of metastable states present in the system (configurational entropy) and is reminiscent of the first-order phase transition present in the mean-field limit. We propose a scenario for the spin-glass transition at \eps=0, driven by a spinodal point present above $T_c$, which induces strong metastability through Griffiths singularities effects and induces the absence of a two-step shape relaxation curve characteristic of glasses.Comment: 5 pages, 4 postscript figure, revte

Upper Airways Microbiota in Antibiotic-Naive Wheezing and Healthy Infants from the Tropics of Rural Ecuador

Background: Observations that the airway microbiome is disturbed in asthma may be confounded by the widespread use of antibiotics and inhaled steroids. We have therefore examined the oropharyngeal microbiome in early onset wheezinginfants from a rural area of tropical Ecuador where antibiotic usage is minimal and glucocorticoid usage is absent. Materials and Methods: We performed pyrosequencing of amplicons of the polymorphic bacterial 16S rRNA gene from oropharyngeal samples from 24 infants with non-infectious early onset wheezing and 24 healthy controls (average age 10.2 months). We analyzed microbial community structure and differences between cases and controls by QIIME software. Results: We obtained 76,627 high quality sequences classified into 182 operational taxonomic units (OTUs). Firmicutes was the most common and diverse phylum (71.22% of sequences) with Streptococcus being the most common genus (49.72%). Known pathogens were found significantly more often in cases of infantile wheeze compared to controls, exemplified by Haemophilus spp. (OR = 2.12, 95% Confidence Interval (CI) 1.82–2.47; P = 5.46610223) and Staphylococcus spp. (OR = 124.1, 95%CI 59.0–261.2; P = 1.876102241). Other OTUs were less common in cases than controls, notably Veillonella spp. (OR = 0.59, 95%CI = 0.56–0.62; P = 8.06610286). Discussion: The airway microbiota appeared to contain many more Streptococci than found in Western Europe and the USA. Comparisons between healthy and wheezing infants revealed a significant difference in several bacterial phylotypes that were not confounded by antibiotics or use of inhaled steroids. The increased prevalence of pathogens such as Haemophilus and Staphylococcus spp. in cases may contribute to wheezing illnesses in this age group