72 research outputs found
Ectoplasm with an Edge
The construction of supersymmetric invariant actions on a spacetime manifold
with a boundary is carried out using the "ectoplasm" formalism for the
construction of closed forms in superspace. Non-trivial actions are obtained
from the pull-backs to the bosonic bodies of closed but non-exact forms in
superspace; finding supersymmetric invariants thus becomes a cohomology
problem. For a spacetime with a boundary, the appropriate mathematical language
changes to relative cohomology, which we use to give a general formulation of
off-shell supersymmetric invariants in the presence of boundaries. We also
relate this construction to the superembedding formalism for the construction
of brane actions, and we give examples with bulk spacetimes of dimension 3, 4
and 5. The closed superform in the 5D example needs to be constructed as a
Chern-Simons type of invariant, obtained from a closed 6-form displaying Weil
triviality.Comment: 25 page
The supermultiplet of boundary conditions in supergravity
Boundary conditions in supergravity on a manifold with boundary relate the
bulk gravitino to the boundary supercurrent, and the normal derivative of the
bulk metric to the boundary energy-momentum tensor. In the 3D N=1 setting, we
show that these boundary conditions can be stated in a manifestly
supersymmetric form. We identify the Extrinsic Curvature Tensor Multiplet, and
show that boundary conditions set it equal to (a conjugate of) the boundary
supercurrent multiplet. Extension of our results to higher-dimensional models
(including the Randall-Sundrum and Horava-Witten scenarios) is discussed.Comment: 22 pages. JHEP format; references added; published versio
Decay of correlations for maps with uniformly contracting fibers and logarithm law for singular hyperbolic attractors
We consider two dimensional maps preserving a foliation which is uniformly
contracting and a one dimensional associated quotient map having exponential
convergence to equilibrium (iterates of Lebesgue measure converge exponentially
fast to physical measure). We prove that these maps have exponential decay of
correlations over a large class of observables. We use this result to deduce
exponential decay of correlations for the Poincare maps of a large class of
singular hyperbolic flows. From this we deduce logarithm laws for these flows.Comment: 39 pages; 03 figures; proof of Theorem 1 corrected; many typos
corrected; improvements on the statements and comments suggested by a
referee. Keywords: singular flows, singular-hyperbolic attractor, exponential
decay of correlations, exact dimensionality, logarithm la
D=7 / D=6 Heterotic Supergravity with Gauged R-Symmetry
We construct a family of chiral anomaly-free supergravity theories in D=6
starting from D=7 supergravity with a gauged noncompact R-symmetry, employing a
Horava-Witten bulk-plus-boundary construction. The gauged noncompact R-symmetry
yields a positive (de Sitter sign) D=6 scalar field potential. Classical
anomaly inflow which is needed to cancel boundary-field loop anomalies requires
careful consideration of the gravitational, gauge, mixed and local
supersymmetry anomalies. Coupling of boundary hypermultiplets requires care
with the Sp(1) gauge connection required to obtain quaternionic Kahler target
manifolds in D=6. This class of gauged R-symmetry models may be of use as
starting points for further compactifications to D=4 that take advantage of the
positive scalar potential, such as those proposed in the scenario of
supersymmetry in large extra dimensions.Comment: 43 pages, plain Latex; Clarification of discussion and references
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General preparation for Pt-based alloy nanoporous nanoparticles as potential nanocatalysts
Although Raney nickel made by dealloying has been used as a heterogeneous catalyst in a variety of organic syntheses for more than 80 years, only recently scientists have begun to realize that dealloying can generate nanoporous alloys with extraordinary structural characteristics. Herein, we achieved successful synthesis of a variety of monodisperse alloy nanoporous nanoparticles via a facile chemical dealloying process using nanocrystalline alloys as precursors. The as-prepared alloy nanoporous nanoparticles with large surface area and small pores show superior catalytic properties compared with alloyed nanoparticles. It is believed that these novel alloy nanoporous nanoparticles would open up new opportunities for catalytic applications
Rapid automatized naming as an index of genetic liability to autism
This study investigated rapid automatized naming (RAN) ability in high functioning individuals with autism and parents of individuals with autism. Findings revealed parallel patterns of performance in parents and individuals with autism, where both groups had longer naming times than controls. Significant parent-child correlations were also detected, along with associations with language and personality features of the broad autism phenotype (retrospective reports of early language delay, socially reticent personality). Together, findings point towards RAN as a potential marker of genetic liability to autism
Phenotypic Characterization of Autoreactive B Cells—Checkpoints of B Cell Tolerance in Patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus
DNA-reactive B cells play a central role in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE); DNA antibodies precede clinical disease and in established disease correlate with renal inflammation and contribute to dendritic cell activation and high levels of type 1 interferon. A number of central and peripheral B cell tolerance mechanisms designed to control the survival, differentiation and activation of autoreactive B cells are thought to be disturbed in patients with SLE. The characterization of DNA-reactive B cells has, however, been limited by their low frequency in peripheral blood. Using a tetrameric configuration of a peptide mimetope of DNA bound by pathogenic anti-DNA antibodies, we can identify B cells producing potentially pathogenic DNA-reactive antibodies. We, therefore, characterized the maturation and differentiation states of peptide, (ds) double stranded DNA cross-reactive B cells in the peripheral blood of lupus patients and correlated these with clinical disease activity. Flow cytometric analysis demonstrated a significantly higher frequency of tetramer-binding B cells in SLE patients compared to healthy controls. We demonstrated the existence of a novel tolerance checkpoint at the transition of antigen-naĂŻve to antigen-experienced. We further demonstrate that patients with moderately active disease have more autoreactive B cells in both the antigen-naĂŻve and antigen-experienced compartments consistent with greater impairment in B cell tolerance in both early and late checkpoints in these patients than in patients with quiescent disease. This methodology enables us to gain insight into the development and fate of DNA-reactive B cells in individual patients with SLE and paves the way ultimately to permit better and more customized therapies
The Conley Conjecture and Beyond
This is (mainly) a survey of recent results on the problem of the existence
of infinitely many periodic orbits for Hamiltonian diffeomorphisms and Reeb
flows. We focus on the Conley conjecture, proved for a broad class of closed
symplectic manifolds, asserting that under some natural conditions on the
manifold every Hamiltonian diffeomorphism has infinitely many (simple) periodic
orbits. We discuss in detail the established cases of the conjecture and
related results including an analog of the conjecture for Reeb flows, the cases
where the conjecture is known to fail, the question of the generic existence of
infinitely many periodic orbits, and local geometrical conditions that force
the existence of infinitely many periodic orbits. We also show how a recently
established variant of the Conley conjecture for Reeb flows can be applied to
prove the existence of infinitely many periodic orbits of a low-energy charge
in a non-vanishing magnetic field on a surface other than a sphere.Comment: 34 pages, 1 figur
Structural and non-coding variants increase the diagnostic yield of clinical whole genome sequencing for rare diseases
BACKGROUND: Whole genome sequencing is increasingly being used for the diagnosis of patients with rare diseases. However, the diagnostic yields of many studies, particularly those conducted in a healthcare setting, are often disappointingly low, at 25–30%. This is in part because although entire genomes are sequenced, analysis is often confined to in silico gene panels or coding regions of the genome. METHODS: We undertook WGS on a cohort of 122 unrelated rare disease patients and their relatives (300 genomes) who had been pre-screened by gene panels or arrays. Patients were recruited from a broad spectrum of clinical specialties. We applied a bioinformatics pipeline that would allow comprehensive analysis of all variant types. We combined established bioinformatics tools for phenotypic and genomic analysis with our novel algorithms (SVRare, ALTSPLICE and GREEN-DB) to detect and annotate structural, splice site and non-coding variants. RESULTS: Our diagnostic yield was 43/122 cases (35%), although 47/122 cases (39%) were considered solved when considering novel candidate genes with supporting functional data into account. Structural, splice site and deep intronic variants contributed to 20/47 (43%) of our solved cases. Five genes that are novel, or were novel at the time of discovery, were identified, whilst a further three genes are putative novel disease genes with evidence of causality. We identified variants of uncertain significance in a further fourteen candidate genes. The phenotypic spectrum associated with RMND1 was expanded to include polymicrogyria. Two patients with secondary findings in FBN1 and KCNQ1 were confirmed to have previously unidentified Marfan and long QT syndromes, respectively, and were referred for further clinical interventions. Clinical diagnoses were changed in six patients and treatment adjustments made for eight individuals, which for five patients was considered life-saving. CONCLUSIONS: Genome sequencing is increasingly being considered as a first-line genetic test in routine clinical settings and can make a substantial contribution to rapidly identifying a causal aetiology for many patients, shortening their diagnostic odyssey. We have demonstrated that structural, splice site and intronic variants make a significant contribution to diagnostic yield and that comprehensive analysis of the entire genome is essential to maximise the value of clinical genome sequencing
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