From quantum curves to topological string partition functions

This paper describes the reconstruction of the topological string partition function for certain local Calabi-Yau (CY) manifolds from the quantum curve, an ordinary differential equation obtained by quantising their defining equations. Quantum curves are characterised as solutions to a Riemann-Hilbert problem. The isomonodromic tau-functions associated to these Riemann-Hilbert problems admit a family of natural normalisations labelled by topological types of the Fenchel-Nielsen networks used in the Abelianisation of flat connections. To each chamber in the extended K\'ahler moduli space of the local CY under consideration there corresponds a unique topological type. The corresponding isomonodromic tau-functions admit a series expansion of generalised theta series type from which one can extract the topological string partition functions for each chamber

The geometric algebra of Fierz identities in arbitrary dimensions and signatures

We use geometric algebra techniques to give a synthetic and computationally efficient approach to Fierz identities in arbitrary dimensions and signatures, thus generalizing previous work. Our approach leads to a formulation which displays the underlying real, complex or quaternionic structure in an explicit and conceptually clear manner and is amenable to implementation in various symbolic computation systems. We illustrate our methods and results with a few examples which display the basic features of the three classes of pin representations governing the structure of such identities in various dimensions and signatures.Comment: 77 pages; version published in JHEP in 201

Retrospective Assessment of Animals Experimentation Projects in Romania – A Critical Analysis of Non-Technical Summaries

The aim of the present inquiry was to design an overview about the non-technical summaries available on the web page of the National Sanitary Veterinary and Food Safety Agency (Romania). We analyzed the compliance to the requirement of replacement, reduction and refinement (the 3R’s). 56 projects were found, the most of them (48), were assigned as “basic research”, 2 as “translational and applied research”, 2 as “regulatory use and routine analysis”, while 4 projects targeted “higher education or training”. The most common animals species used were rats, and mice, followed by rabbits, pigs, hamsters, guinea pigs and frogs (Rana sp.). According to cumulative severity of the project, 20 projects were classified as “severe”, six as “moderate”, three “mild”, and three as “non-recovery”. 24 projects had nor a severity assessment, neither a proper description of the level of severity. In our opinion, the number of projects classified as “severe” is too high; at least for some of them, the level of severity could be reduced using appropriate pain control techniques and / or human end-points. Overall, our recommendation is further improving the knowledge and skills of the personal involved in authorization and execution of the projects and of the authority inspectors that authorized the projects