Computing the elliptic genus of higher rank E-strings from genus 0 GW invariants

We show that the elliptic genus of the higher rank E-strings can be computed based solely on the genus 0 Gromov-Witten invariants of the corresponding elliptic geometry. To set up our computation, we study the structure of the topological string free energy on elliptically fibered Calabi-Yau manifolds both in the unrefined and the refined case, determining the maximal amount of the modular structure of the partition function that can be salvaged. In the case of fibrations exhibiting only isolated fibral curves, we show that the principal parts of the topological string partition function at given base-wrapping can be computed from the knowledge of the genus 0 Gromov-Witten invariants at this base-wrapping, and the partition function at lower base-wrappings. For the class of geometries leading to the higher rank E-strings, this leads to the result stated in the opening sentence.Comment: 40 page

Experimental and Numerical Study of Macro-Cell Corrosion Between Crossed Steel Bars

Reinforcing steel bars embedded in concrete are always intersected with each other to form rebar mesh or three-dimensional steel cage. The present study aims to investigate the phenomenon of severe corrosion observed at stirrups or some intersections of steel rebar mesh, which has not been well studied before. Macro-cell corrosion between crossed steel bars was considered to be the major cause for this phenomenon. In this regard, crossed steel bars were divided into intersected zone (IZ) and non-intersected zone (NIZ). The macro-cell current at the face-to-face IZ was calculated by Ohm’s law. A one-dimensional model based on transmission line method was employed to obtain the distribution of macro-cell current on the NIZ juxtaposed to the IZ. Experiments of steel bars in aqueous solutions and concrete were undertaken to verify the numerical model. The results demonstrated a good match between experiments and numerical model. It was also shown that the distribution of macro-cell current on the non-intersected areas was influenced by the resistivity of electrolyte. Based on the corrosion rate model presented in this study, the severe corrosion observed at stirrups or some intersection zones of rebar mesh can be explained and quantified

Towards Artistic Image Aesthetics Assessment: a Large-scale Dataset and a New Method

Image aesthetics assessment (IAA) is a challenging task due to its highly subjective nature. Most of the current studies rely on large-scale datasets (e.g., AVA and AADB) to learn a general model for all kinds of photography images. However, little light has been shed on measuring the aesthetic quality of artistic images, and the existing datasets only contain relatively few artworks. Such a defect is a great obstacle to the aesthetic assessment of artistic images. To fill the gap in the field of artistic image aesthetics assessment (AIAA), we first introduce a large-scale AIAA dataset: Boldbrush Artistic Image Dataset (BAID), which consists of 60,337 artistic images covering various art forms, with more than 360,000 votes from online users. We then propose a new method, SAAN (Style-specific Art Assessment Network), which can effectively extract and utilize style-specific and generic aesthetic information to evaluate artistic images. Experiments demonstrate that our proposed approach outperforms existing IAA methods on the proposed BAID dataset according to quantitative comparisons. We believe the proposed dataset and method can serve as a foundation for future AIAA works and inspire more research in this field. Dataset and code are available at: https://github.com/Dreemurr-T/BAID.gitComment: Accepted by CVPR 202

Spatiotemporal response of ecosystem services to tourism activities in urban forests

Tourism in urban forests is rapidly becoming an increasing trend; however, rather few studies have used quantitative measurement to describe the relationship between tourism intensity and ecological functions. This study provides a practical framework that integrates ecosystem service value (ESV) assessment, Internet big data mining and spatial regression analysis to identify the spatial response of ESV and land use/land cover change to tourism activities from 2009 to 2019 in the Siming Mountain Region (SMR), a famous tourist resort located in the eastern coastal China. Results showed that between 2009 and 2019 total ESV increased by 7.1%. Nevertheless, there have been drastic transitions in land use types with function adjustments from traditional agricultural production to diversified tourism-oriented services. Significant spatial autocorrelation was identified for the patterns of ESV changes. GWR further highlighted that the relationship between ESV change and rural tourism indicators varied in space. ESV change in the core zone was negatively correlated with changes in catering service spots and recreational venues, whereas it was positively correlated with local lodgings. Ultimately, targeted recommendations and countermeasures for spatial planning and sustainable tourism development of urban forests under new circumstances were discussed

Two simple assays for assessing the seeding activity of proteopathic tau

The regional distribution of neurofibrillary tangles of hyperphosphorylated tau aggregates is associated with the progression of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Misfolded proteopathic tau recruits naïve tau and templates its misfolding and aggregation in a prion-like fashion, which is believed to be the molecular basis of propagation of tau pathology. A practical way to assess tau seeding activity is to measure its ability to recruit/bind other tau molecules and to induce tau aggregation. Based on the properties of proteopathic tau, here we report the development of two simple assays to assess tau seeding activity ----- capture assay in vitro and seeded-tau aggregation assay in cultured cells. In the capture assay, proteopathic tau was applied onto a nitrocellulose membrane and the membrane was incubated with cell lysate containing HA-tagged tau151-391 (HA-tau151-391). The captured tau on the membrane was determined by immuno-blots developed with anti-HA. For the seeded-tau aggregation assay, HEK-293FT cells transiently expressing HA-tau151-391 were treated with proteopathic tau in the presence of Lipofectamine 2000 and then lysed with RIPA buffer. RIPA-insoluble fraction containing aggregated tau was obtained by ultracentrifugation and analyzed by immuno-blot developed with anti-HA. To validate these two assays, we assessed the seeding activity of tau in the middle frontal gyrus, middle temporal gyrus and basal forebrain of AD and control brains and found that AD, but not control, brain extracts effectively captured and seeded tau151-391 aggregation. Basal forebrain contained less phospho-tau and tau seeding activity. The levels of captured tau or seeded-tau aggregates were positively correlated to the levels of phospho-tau, Braak stages and tangle sores. These two assays are specific and sensitive and can be carried out in a regular biomedical laboratory setting by using routine biochemical techniques

Crikvenica\u27s cemetries

Autor u radu donosi povijesni pregled posljednjih počivališta, od najstarijih prapovijesnih nalaza na predjelu Stolnič, nalaza iz razdoblja antike u sklopu rimskoga Ad Turresa, srednjovjekovnog groblja Stranče-Gorica u bliskom zaleđu crikvenice, zatim tri groblja vezana uz crkve: sv. Šimuna i Jude Tadeja u naselju Kotor, sv. Antona na Gorici i pavlinske Crkve BDM na ušću Dubračine, jednog kratkotrajno korištenog groblja na lokaciji današnjeg Gradskog kupališta, do sadašnjega i budućega crikveničkog groblja koje postoji tek u planskim dokumentima. Povijest crikveničkih groblja je zapravo povijest samoga mjesta Crikvenice i njegove urbanizacije. S porastom broja stanovnika, koji se u posljednjih 150 godina povećao za gotovo tri i pol puta, rastu potrebe za novim ukopištima. Stoga se koncem 18. i početkom 19. stoljeća otvaraju tri groblja na novim lokacijama, ali se iz urbanističkih razloga dva groblja zatvaraju, a ukopi sele na sadašnje crikveničko groblje. Prostorni resursi postojećeg groblja su do krajnosti potrošeni, pa je izrađena planska dokumentacija za novo groblje u blizini crikveničkog naselja Zoričići, ispod vrha Drenin.In the paper the author gives an overview of the final resting places, from the oldest prehistoric finds at the area of Stolnič, finds from Antiquity within the Roman Ad Turres, the Stranče-Gorica mediaeval cemetery in the nearby hinterland of Crikvenica, then the three cemeteries connected to the churches: Saints Simon and Jude Thaddeus in the settlement of Kotor, St Anthony on Gorica and the Pauline Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary at the mouth of the Dubračina, a single use cemetery at the site of the town’s current bathing area, to the present-day and future Crikvenica cemetery which exists only in planning documents. The history of Crikvenica’s cemeteries is in fact the history of the town of Crikvenica itself and its urbanisation. With the growth of the population, which over the last 150 years has increased almost three and a half times, the need for new burial grounds has also grown. Therefore, at the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th three cemeteries opened in new locations, however for urbanisation reasons two cemeteries were closed, and the burials moved to the current Crikvenica cemetery. The spatial resources of the existing cemetery have been used to the extremes, so planning documentation has been made for a new cemetery near to the Crikvenica settlement of Zoričići, under the hilltop of Drenin