Chern-Simons action for zero-mode supporting gauge fields in three dimensions

Recent results on zero modes of the Abelian Dirac operator in three dimensions support to some degree the conjecture that the Chern-Simons action admits only certain quantized values for gauge fields that lead to zero modes of the corresponding Dirac operator. Here we show that this conjecture is wrong by constructing an explicit counter-example.Comment: version as published in PRD, minor change

General bound-state structure of the massive Schwinger model

Within the Euclidean path integral and mass perturbation theory we derive, from the Dyson-Schwinger equations of the massive Schwinger model, a general formula that incorporates, for sufficiently small fermion mass, all the bound-state mass poles of the massive Schwinger model. As an illustration we perturbatively compute the masses of the three lowest bound states.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figures, needed macro: psbox.te

Multiple zero modes of the Dirac operator in three dimensions

One of the key properties of Dirac operators is the possibility of a degeneracy of zero modes. For the Abelian Dirac operator in three dimensions the construction of multiple zero modes has been sucessfully carried out only very recently. Here we generalise these results by discussing a much wider class of Dirac operators together with their zero modes. Further we show that those Dirac operators that do admit zero modes may be related to Hopf maps, where the Hopf index is related to the number of zero modes in a simple way.Comment: Latex file, 20 pages, no figure

A neurophysiological examination of voluntary isometric contractions: modulations in sensorimotor oscillatory dynamics with contraction force and physical fatigue, and peripheral contributions to maximal force production

Human motor control is a complex process involving both central and peripheral components of the nervous system. Type Ia afferent input contributes to both motor unit recruitment and firing frequency, however, whether maximal force production is dependent on this input is unclear. Therefore, chapter 2 examined maximal and explosive force production of the knee extensors following prolonged infrapatellar tendon vibration; designed to attenuate the efficacy of the homonymous Ia afferent-α-motoneuron pathway. Despite a marked decrease in H-reflex amplitude, indicating an attenuated efficacy of the Ia afferent-α-motoneuron pathway, both maximal and explosive force production were unaffected after vibration. This suggested that maximal and explosive isometric quadriceps force production was not dependent upon Ia afferent input to the homonymous motor unit pool. Voluntary movements are linked with various modulations in ongoing neural oscillations within the supraspinal sensorimotor system. Despite considerable interest in the oscillatory responses to movements per se, the influence of the motor parameters that define these movements is poorly understood. Subsequently, chapters 3 and 4 investigated how the motor parameters of voluntary contractions modulated the oscillatory amplitude. Chapter 3 recorded electroencephalography from the leg area of the primary sensorimotor cortex in order to investigate the oscillatory responses to isometric unilateral contractions of the knee-extensors at four torque levels (15, 30, 45 and 60% max.). An increase in movement-related gamma (30-50 Hz) activity was observed with increments in knee-extension torque, whereas oscillatory power within the delta (0.5-3 Hz), theta (3-7 Hz), alpha (7-13 Hz) and beta (13-30 Hz) bands were unaffected. Chapter 4 examined the link between the motor parameters of voluntary contraction and modulations in beta (15-30 Hz) oscillations; specifically, movement-related beta decrease (MRBD) and post-movement beta rebound (PMBR). Magnetoencephalography (MEG) was recorded during isometric ramp and constant-force wrist-flexor contractions at distinct rates of force development (10.4, 28.9 and 86.7% max./s) and force output (5, 15, 35 and 60%max.), respectively. MRBD was unaffected by RFD or force output, whereas systematic modulation of PMBR by both contraction force and RFD was identified for the first time. Specifically, increments in isometric contraction force increased PMBR amplitude, and increments in RFD increased PMBR amplitude but decreased PMBR duration. Physical fatigue arises not only from peripheral processes within the active skeletal muscles but also from supraspinal mechanisms within the brain. However, exactly how cortical activity is modulated during fatigue has received a paucity of attention. Chapter 5 investigated whether oscillatory activity within the primary sensorimotor cortex was modulated when contractions were performed in a state of physical fatigue. MEG was recorded during submaximal isometric contractions of the wrist-flexors performed both before and after a fatiguing series of isometric wrist-flexions or a time matched control intervention. Physical fatigue offset the attenuation in MRBD observed during the control trial, whereas PMBR was increased when submaximal contractions were performed in a fatigued state

The Public’s Reaction, Over Time, to the Findings of the Warren Report

Abstract From the moment President Kennedy was shot, the public had difficulty accepting Lee Harvey Oswald as the lone assassin, and spoke in terms of conspiracy. Polling data indicated that while Oswald may have participated in the plot, the majority believed others were also involved. Examining the public’s response to the vocal critics of the Warren Commission, the findings of both the Church Committee and the House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA), and the release of pertinent documents as a result of the Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act, an image of an unconvinced public is seen. Evidence of this can be seen not only in the number of cultural and literary endeavors dedicated to the topic, but also by the public’s insatiable appetite for said material. By examining literature both critical of and in support of the Warren Report, documents collected by the Assassination Records Review Board (ARRB), and the public’s response expressed through the arts, indicates an ongoing culture of disbelief in the findings of the Warren Report. Polling data suggests that the Warren Report was not only ill received, but as additional information became public, the work of the Commission also became less reliable according to public opinion. This occurred despite of the efforts of traditional media outlets to not only marginalize critics, but also to weaponize the term “conspiracy theorist” as a pejorative. In the eyes of the public, a congressional committee reaching this conclusion not only acerbated their disbelief in the Warren Report, but also indicated that federal agencies had practiced an ongoing campaign of deception. As an expression of the Warren Report’s lack of credence is its ongoing debate through art. Manifesting itself in the form of literature, plays, film, television, song; the Warren Report’s selective use of testimony, missing evidence, and its rush to assure the public that Oswald was the lone-gunman had failed

The Schwinger Mass in the Massive Schwinger Model

We derive a systematic procedure to compute Green functions for the massive Schwinger model via a perturbation expansion in the fermion mass. The known exact solution of the massless Schwinger model is used as a starting point. We compute the corrections to the Schwinger mass up to second order.Comment: Latex, 7 pages, no figure

Mathematically optimized cryoprotectant equilibration procedures for cryopreservation of human oocytes

Background Simple and effective cryopreservation of human oocytes would have an enormous impact on the financial and ethical constraints of human assisted reproduction. Recently, studies have demonstrated the potential for cryopreservation in an ice-free glassy state by equilibrating oocytes with high concentrations of cryoprotectants (CPAs) and rapidly cooling to liquid nitrogen temperatures. A major difficulty with this approach is that the high concentrations required for the avoidance of crystal formation (vitrification) also increase the risk of osmotic and toxic damage. We recently described a mathematical optimization approach for designing CPA equilibration procedures that avoid osmotic damage and minimize toxicity, and we presented optimized procedures for human oocytes involving continuous changes in solution composition. Methods Here we adapt and refine our previous algorithm to predict piecewise-constant changes in extracellular solution concentrations in order to make the predicted procedures easier to implement. Importantly, we investigate the effects of using alternate equilibration endpoints on predicted protocol toxicity. Finally, we compare the resulting procedures to previously described experimental methods, as well as mathematically optimized procedures involving continuous changes in solution composition. Results For equilibration with CPA, our algorithm predicts an optimal first step consisting of exposure to a solution containing only water and CPA. This is predicted to cause the cells to initially shrink and then swell to the maximum cell volume limit. To reach the target intracellular CPA concentration, the cells are then induced to shrink to the minimum cell volume limit by exposure to a high CPA concentration. For post-thaw equilibration to remove CPA, the optimal procedures involve exposure to CPA-free solutions that are predicted to cause swelling to the maximum volume limit. The toxicity associated with these procedures is predicted to be much less than that of conventional procedures and comparable to that of the corresponding procedures with continuous changes in solution composition. Conclusions The piecewise-constant procedures described in this study are experimentally facile and are predicted to be less toxic than conventional procedures for human oocyte cryopreservation. Moreover, the mathematical optimization approach described here will facilitate the design of cryopreservation procedures for other cell types.This work was supported by a National Science Foundation grant (#1150861) to Adam Higgins. This article is made openly accessible in part by an award from the Northern Illinois University Libraries’ Open Access Publishing Fund

A Cytochrome-b Perspective on Passerina Bunting Relationships

We sequenced the complete mitochondrial cytochrome-b gene (1,143 nucleotides) for representatives of each species in the cardinalid genera Passerina (6 species), Guiraca (1 species), and Cyanocompsa (3 species), and used a variety of phylogenetic methods to address relationships within and among genera. We determined that Passerina, as presently recognized, is paraphyletic. Lazuli Bunting (P. amoena) is sister to the much larger Blue Grosbeak (Guiraca caerulea). Indigo Bunting (P. cyanea) and Lazuli Bunting are not sister taxa as generally thought. In all weighted parsimony trees and for the gamma-corrected HKY tree, Indigo Bunting is the sister of two sister groups, a “blue” (Lazuli Bunting and Blue Grosbeak) and a “painted” (Rosita\u27s Bunting [P. rositae], Orange-breasted Bunting [P. leclancherii], Varied Bunting [P. versicolor], and Painted Bunting [P. ciris]) clade. The latter two species form a highly supported sister pair of relatively more recent origin. Uncorrected (p) distances for ingroup (Passerina and Guiraca) taxa range from 3.0% (P. versicolor–P. ciris) to 7.6% (P. cyanea–P. leclancherii) and average 6.5% overall. Assuming a molecular clock, a bunting “radiation” between 4.1 and 7.3 Mya yielded four lineages. This timing is consistent with fossil evidence and coincides with a late-Miocene cooling during which a variety of western grassland habitats evolved. A reduction in size at that time may have allowed buntings to exploit that new food resource (grass seeds). We speculate that the Blue Grosbeak subsequently gained large size and widespread distribution as a result of ecological character displacement

Tidal restoration to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from freshwater impounded coastal wetlands

Freshwater impounded wetlands are created by artificially restricting coastal wetlands connection to tides. The decrease in salinity and altered hydrology can significantly increase greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, specifically methane (CH4). Restoration of freshwater impounded wetlands through tidal reintroduction can potentially reduce GHG emissions; however, studies in tropical regions are scare. This study investigates the potential for tidal restoration of impounded freshwater coastal wetlands by comparing their GHG emissions with tidally connected mangrove and saltmarshes in the Burdekin catchment in Queensland, Australia. We found that freshwater impounded wetlands had significantly higher CH4 emissions (3,633  ± 812 μg CH4 m2 hour1) than mangroves (27 ± 8 μg CH4 m2 hour1 ) and saltmarsh (13  ± 8 μg CH4 m2 hour1 ). Soil redox, moisture, carbon, nitrogen, and bulk density were all significantly correlated to methane emissions. Conversely, freshwater impounded wetlands had significantly lower nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions (0.72  ± 0.18 μg N2O m2 hour1) than mangroves and saltmarsh (0.35  ± 0.29 and 1.32  ± 0.52 μg N2O m2 hour1 respectively). Nevertheless, when converting to CO2 equivalents (CO2-eq), freshwater impounded wetlands emitted 91  ± 20 g CO2-eq m2 hour1 , compared to the much lower 0.8  ± 0.2 and 0.7  ± 0.2 g CO2-eq m2 hour1 emission rates for mangroves and saltmarsh. In conclusion, restoration of freshwater impounded wetlands through tidal restoration is likely to result in reduced GHG emissions