The South Seas of To-Day

The following is a chapter plus some text from the Introduction of a book published in 1926, describing a scientific expedition that cruised the Pacific in 1924. The group visited the Marquesas, Tahiti, and Rapa Iti before stopping, briefly, at Easter Island. What science was conducted is unclear. They did make a film record of the journey and the whereabouts ofthe footage they shot would be of interest, if it still exists. Of particular concern is the presence on Easter Island of a Ford automobile, described as "very, very old and decrepit ". This apparition, belonging to Mr. Edmunds, is a real mystery of Easter Island. How did it get to the island? And when?</p

RNA splicing: disease and therapy

The majority of human genes that encode proteins undergo alternative pre-mRNA splicing and mutations that affect splicing are more prevalent than previously thought. The mechanism of pre-mRNA splicing is highly complex, requiring multiple interactions between pre-mRNA, small nuclear ribonucleoproteins and splicing factor proteins. Regulation of this process is even more complicated, relying on loosely defined cis-acting regulatory sequence elements, trans-acting protein factors and cellular responses to varying environmental conditions. Many different human diseases can be caused by errors in RNA splicing or its regulation. Targeting aberrant RNA provides an opportunity to correct faulty splicing and potentially treat numerous genetic disorders. Antisense oligonucleotide therapies show particular promise in this area and, if coupled with improved delivery strategies, could open the door to a multitude of novel personalized therapies

Quasi-localized states on noncommutative solitons

We consider noncommutative gauge theories which have zero mass states propagating along both commutative and noncommutative dimensions. Solitons in these theories generically carry U(m) gauge group on their world-volume. From the point of view of string theory, these solitons correspond to ``branes within branes''. We show that once the world-volume U(m) gauge theory is in the Higgs phase, light states become quasi-localized, rather than strictly localized on the soliton, i.e. they mix with light bulk modes and have finite widths to escape into the noncommutative dimensions. At small values of U(m) symmetry breaking parameters, these widths are small compared to the corresponding masses. Explicit examples considered are adjoint scalar field in the background of a noncommutative vortex in U(1)-Higgs theory, and gauge fields in instanton backgrounds in pure gauge noncommutative theories.Comment: 27 pages, references and comments added, final version to appear in JHE

Some Low Dimensional Evidence for the Weak Gravity Conjecture

We discuss a few examples in 2+1 dimensions and 1+1 dimensions supporting a recent conjecture concerning the relation between the Planck scale and the coupling strength of a non-gravitional interaction, unlike those examples in 3+1 dimensions, we do not have to resort to exotic physics such as small black holes. However, the result concerning these low dimensional examples is a direct consequence of the 3+1 dimensional conjecture.Comment: 7 pages, harvma

Trombe walls with nanoporous aerogel insulation applied to UK housing refurbishments

There is an opportunity to improve the efficiency of passive Trombe walls and active solar air collectors by replacing their conventional glass covers with lightweight polycarbonate panels filled with nanoporous aerogel insulation. This study investigates the thermal performance, energy savings, and financial payback period of passive Aerogel Trombe walls applied to the existing UK housing stock. Using parametric modeling, a series of design guidance tables have been generated, providing estimates of the energy savings and overheating risk associated with applying areas of Trombe wall to four different house types across the UK built to six notional construction standards. Calculated energy savings range from 183 kWh/m2/year for an 8 m2 system retrofitted to a solid walled detached house to 62 kWh/m2/year for a 32 m2 system retrofitted to a super insulated flat. Predicted energy savings from Trombe walls up to 24 m2 are found to exceed the energy savings from external insulation across all house types and constructions. Small areas of Trombe wall can provide a useful energy contribution without creating a significant overheating risk. If larger areas are to be installed, then detailed calculations would be recommended to assess and mitigate potential overheating issues.The EPSRC, Brunel University, and Buro Happold Lt

Produced water toxicity tests accurately measure the produced water toxicity in marine environments?

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region VI has issued a general permit for offshore oil and gas discharges to the Gulf of Mexico that places numerical limits on whole effluent toxicity (WEI) for produced water. Recently proposed EPA general permits for other produced water discharges in Regions VI and X also include enforceable numerical limits on WET. Clearly, the industry will be conducting extensive produced water WET testing. Unfortunately, the WET test may not accurately measure the toxicity of the chemical constituents of produced water. Rather the mortality of test organisms may be attributable to (1) the high salinity of produced water, which causes salinity shock to the organisms, or (2) an ionic imbalance caused by excesses or deficiencies of one or more of seawater`s essential ions in the test chambers. Both of these effects are likely to be mitigated in actual offshore discharge settings, where the receiving water will be seawater and substantial dilution will be probable. Thus, the additional salinity of produced water will be rapidly assimilated, and the proper marine ionic balance will be quickly restored. Regulatory authorities should be aware of these factors when interpreting WET test results

Non-BPS Solutions of the Noncommutative CP^1 Model in 2+1 Dimensions

We find non-BPS solutions of the noncommutative CP^1 model in 2+1 dimensions. These solutions correspond to soliton anti-soliton configurations. We show that the one-soliton one-anti-soliton solution is unstable when the distance between the soliton and the anti-soliton is small. We also construct time-dependent solutions and other types of solutions.Comment: 11 pages, minor correction

Non-Douglas-Kazakov phase transition of two-dimensional generalized Yang-Mills theories

In two-dimensional Yang-Mills and generalized Yang-Mills theories for large gauge groups, there is a dominant representation determining the thermodynamic limit of the system. This representation is characterized by a density the value of which should everywhere be between zero and one. This density itself is determined through a saddle-point analysis. For some values of the parameter space, this density exceeds one in some places. So one should modify it to obtain an acceptable density. This leads to the well-known Douglas-Kazakov phase transition. In generalized Yang-Mills theories, there are also regions in the parameter space where somewhere this density becomes negative. Here too, one should modify the density so that it remains nonnegative. This leads to another phase transition, different from the Douglas-Kazakov one. Here the general structure of this phase transition is studied, and it is shown that the order of this transition is typically three. Using carefully-chosen parameters, however, it is possible to construct models with phase-transition orders not equal to three. A class of these non-typical models are also studied.Comment: 11 pages, accepted for publication in Eur. Phys. J.

D1-D5 on ALE Space

We construct a two-dimensional N=(0,4) quiver gauge theory on D1-brane probing D5-branes on ALE space, and study its IR behavior. This can be thought of as a gauged linear sigma model for the NS5-branes on ALE space.Comment: 17 pages, 1 figure, lanlmac; v2: reference adde

Oligonucleotide-based therapy for FTD/ALS caused by the C9orf72 repeat expansion: a perspective

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive and lethal disease of motor neuron degeneration, leading to paralysis of voluntary muscles and death by respiratory failure within five years of onset. Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is characterised by degeneration of frontal and temporal lobes, leading to changes in personality, behaviour, and language, culminating in death within 5–10 years. Both of these diseases form a clinical, pathological, and genetic continuum of diseases, and this link has become clearer recently with the discovery of a hexanucleotide repeat expansion in the C9orf72 gene that causes the FTD/ALS spectrum, that is, c9FTD/ALS. Two basic mechanisms have been proposed as being potentially responsible for c9FTD/ALS: loss-of-function of the protein encoded by this gene (associated with aberrant DNA methylation) and gain of function through the formation of RNA foci or protein aggregates. These diseases currently lack any cure or effective treatment. Antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) are modified nucleic acids that are able to silence targeted mRNAs or perform splice modulation, and the fact that they have proved efficient in repeat expansion diseases including myotonic dystrophy type 1 makes them ideal candidates for c9FTD/ALS therapy. Here, we discuss potential mechanisms and challenges for developing oligonucleotide-based therapy for c9FTD/ALS