3-dimensional Gravity from the Turaev-Viro Invariant

We study the $q$-deformed su(2) spin network as a 3-dimensional quantum gravity model. We show that in the semiclassical continuum limit the Turaev-Viro invariant obtained recently defines naturally regularized path-integral $\grave{\rm a}$ la Ponzano-Regge, In which a contribution from the cosmological term is effectively included. The regularization dependent cosmological constant is found to be ${4\pi^2\over k^2} +O(k^{-4})$, where $q^{2k}=1$. We also discuss the relation to the Euclidean Chern-Simons-Witten gravity in 3-dimension.Comment: 11page

Molecular dynamics simulation on a parallel computer.

For the purpose of molecular dynamics simulations of large biopolymers we have built a parallel computer with a systolic loop architecture, based on Transputers as computational units, and have programmed it in Occam 11. The computational nodes of the computer are linked together in a systolic ring. The program based on this .topology for large biopolymers increases its computational throughput nearly linearly with the number of computational nodes. The program developed is closely related to the simulation programs CHARMM and XPLOR, the input files required (force field, protein structure file, coordinates) and output files generated (sets of atomic coordinates representing dynamic trajectories and energies) are compatible with the corresponding files of these programs. Benchmark results of simulations of biopolymers comprising 66, 568, 3 634, 5 797 and 12 637 atoms are compared with XPLOR simulations on conventional computers (Cray, Convex, Vax). These results demonstrate that the software and hardware developed provide extremely cost effective biopolymer simulations. We present also a simulation (equilibrium of X-ray structure) of the complete photosynthetic reaction center of Rhodopseudomonus viridis (12 637 atoms). The simulation accounts for the Coulomb forces exactly, i.e. no cut-off had been assumed

Madagascar - Mission de formulation d'un Programme de Lutte Antiacridienne à court, moyen et long termes.

Relata os resultados da Missão à Madagascar, visando a formulação de um Projeto de Luta Antiacrediana em conjunto com a FAO.bitstream/item/105449/1/1279.pd

Results of the 1997–1998 multi-country FAO activity on containment and control of the western corn rootworm, Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte, in Central Europe

A Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Technical Cooperation Programme (TCP)was undertaken on the western corn rootworm (WCR)in 1997 –1998 to establish a permanent moni- toring network,evaluate a containment and control program,test the feasibility and effectiveness of using a Slam ®-based areawide pest management program,develop training materials,and conduct a risk assessment of the potential for WCR spread and establishment in other areas of Europe.TCP countries were Bosnia-Her- zegovina,Croatia,Hungary,and Romania.Bulgaria and Yugoslavia cooperated as unofficial TCP members. The data from the permanent monitoring network showed that the WCR had spread over an area of about 105,600 km 2 in Central Europe and that economic populations had developed on 14,000 km 2 in Yugoslavia through 1998.The containment and control trapping program,although designed to determine the feasibility of restricting the establishment of WCR beetles in an area,did not prove to be successful due to the number of WCR beetles encountered and their rapid movement into previously uninfested areas.The areawide pest management activity showed that the semiochemical Slam was highly efficacious against WCR beetles with residual activity for up to 2 weeks,thus making it a cost-effective alternative to other controls.Also, investigations showed that WCR will continue to spread and establish in other parts of Europe

Ligand Migration and Cavities within Scapharca Dimeric HbI: Studies by Time-Resolved Crystallo- graphy, Xe Binding, and Computational Analysis

SummaryAs in many other hemoglobins, no direct route for migration of ligands between solvent and active site is evident from crystal structures of Scapharca inaequivalvis dimeric HbI. Xenon (Xe) and organic halide binding experiments, along with computational analysis presented here, reveal protein cavities as potential ligand migration routes. Time-resolved crystallographic experiments show that photodissociated carbon monoxide (CO) docks within 5 ns at the distal pocket B site and at more remote Xe4 and Xe2 cavities. CO rebinding is not affected by the presence of dichloroethane within the major Xe4 protein cavity, demonstrating that this cavity is not on the major exit pathway. The crystal lattice has a substantial influence on ligand migration, suggesting that significant conformational rearrangements may be required for ligand exit. Taken together, these results are consistent with a distal histidine gate as one important ligand entry and exit route, despite its participation in the dimeric interface

Generating non-Gaussian maps with a given power spectrum and bispectrum

We propose two methods for generating non-Gaussian maps with fixed power spectrum and bispectrum. The first makes use of a recently proposed rigorous, non-perturbative, Bayesian framework for generating non-Gaussian distributions. The second uses a simple superposition of Gaussian distributions. The former is best suited for generating mildly non-Gaussian maps, and we discuss in detail the limitations of this method. The latter is better suited for the opposite situation, i.e. generating strongly non-Gaussian maps. The ensembles produced are isotropic and the power spectrum can be jointly fixed; however we cannot set to zero all other higher order cumulants (an unavoidable mathematical obstruction). We briefly quantify the leakage into higher order moments present in our method. We finally present an implementation of our code within the HEALPIX packageComment: 22 pages submitted to PRD, astro-ph version only includes low resolution map

Electronic structure and magnetic properties of the linear chain cuprates Sr_2CuO_3 and Ca_2CuO_3

Sr_2CuO_3 and Ca_2CuO_3 are considered to be model systems of strongly anisotropic, spin-1/2 Heisenberg antiferromagnets. We report on the basis of a band-structure analysis within the local density approximation and on the basis of available experimental data a careful analysis of model parameters for extended Hubbard and Heisenberg models. Both insulating compounds show half-filled nearly one-dimensional antibonding bands within the LDA. That indicates the importance of strong on-site correlation effects. The bonding bands of Ca_2CuO_3 are shifted downwards by 0.7 eV compared with Sr_2CuO_3, pointing to different Madelung fields and different on-site energies within the standard pd-model. Both compounds differ also significantly in the magnitude of the inter-chain dispersion along the crystallographical a-direction: \approx 100 meV and 250 meV, respectively. Using the band-structure and experimental data we parameterize a one-band extended Hubbard model for both materials which can be further mapped onto an anisotropic Heisenberg model. From the inter-chain dispersion we estimate a corresponding inter-chain exchange constant J_{\perp} \approx 0.8 and 3.6 meV for Sr_2CuO_3 and Ca_2CuO_3, respectively. Comparing several approaches to anisotropic Heisenberg problems, namely the random phase spin wave approximation and modern versions of coupled quantum spin chains approaches, we observe the advantage of the latter in the reproduction of reasonable values for the N\'eel temperature T_N and the magnetization m_0 at zero temperature. Our estimate of $J_{\perp}$ gives the right order of magnitude and the correct tendency going from Sr_2CuO_3 to Ca_2CuO_3. In a comparative study we also include CuGeO_3.Comment: 23 pages, 5 figures, 1 tabl