Counting Higher Genus Curves with Crosscaps in Calabi-Yau Orientifolds

We compute all loop topological string amplitudes on orientifolds of local Calabi-Yau manifolds, by using geometric transitions involving SO/Sp Chern-Simons theory, localization on the moduli space of holomorphic maps with involution, and the topological vertex. In particular we count Klein bottles and projective planes with any number of handles in some Calabi-Yau orientifolds.Comment: 40 pages, 18 figures, some corrections in section

A post-occupancy evaluation of energy-efficient measures in the housing sector: a case study for Malta

Due to higher demand for housing in Malta, local single-family dwellings, typically terraced houses, are being demolished to make way for maisonettes and multiple storey apartments. This increases the energy demand per square metre that would lead to a greater load on the infrastructure. This paper describes the first example of building an energy efficient housing block that integrates energy efficient measures and renewable energy systems, as a sample of Maltese housing stock working towards a sustainable housing vision.peer-reviewe

Fundamentals of Wireless Information and Power Transfer: From RF Energy Harvester Models to Signal and System Designs

Radio waves carry both energy and information simultaneously. Nevertheless, Radio-Frequency (RF) transmission of these quantities have traditionally been treated separately. Currently, we are experiencing a paradigm shift in wireless network design, namely unifying wireless transmission of information and power so as to make the best use of the RF spectrum and radiations as well as the network infrastructure for the dual purpose of communicating and energizing. In this paper, we review and discuss recent progress on laying the foundations of the envisioned dual purpose networks by establishing a signal theory and design for Wireless Information and Power Transmission (WIPT) and identifying the fundamental tradeoff between conveying information and power wirelessly. We start with an overview of WIPT challenges and technologies, namely Simultaneous Wireless Information and Power Transfer (SWIPT),Wirelessly Powered Communication Network (WPCN), and Wirelessly Powered Backscatter Communication (WPBC). We then characterize energy harvesters and show how WIPT signal and system designs crucially revolve around the underlying energy harvester model. To that end, we highlight three different energy harvester models, namely one linear model and two nonlinear models, and show how WIPT designs differ for each of them in single-user and multi-user deployments. Topics discussed include rate-energy region characterization, transmitter and receiver architecture, waveform design, modulation, beamforming and input distribution optimizations, resource allocation, and RF spectrum use. We discuss and check the validity of the different energy harvester models and the resulting signal theory and design based on circuit simulations, prototyping and experimentation. We also point out numerous directions that are promising for future research.Comment: guest editor-authored tutorial paper submitted to IEEE JSAC special issue on wireless transmission of information and powe

The influence of photovoltaics on roof thermal performance - an analysis of convective heat transfer coefficients

In a Mediterranean climate, given the absence of snow, flat roofs are typical of both vernacular and modern architecture. Thermal mass, cross ventilation and night time cooling are standard passive design aids that inhibit indoor temperature build-up on hot summer days. Such flat roofs provide a golden opportunity for free-orientation of PV (photovoltaic) panels, unlike pitched roofs. There is established scientific evidence that their presence on flat roofs also helps curtail surface temperatures of the heavy mass structure, by means of (i) solar shading and (ii) convective cooling at given angles. Both factors in turn lower the convective heat transfer coefficient (CHTC) of the roof structure, thus inhibiting early seasonal temperature build-up. This contributes to lower cooling loads, thus reducing both the carbon footprint of the building as well as lowering energy costs for the owners. Such a holistic contribution is deemed to uphold the social, environmental and economic challenges of today. This study purports to do just that. Through CFD (computational fluid dynamics) this study investigates the effect of flow fields over a typical flat roof building mass in a free field for a range of wind velocities. Results indicate that for a higher wind speed, the convective cooling is more significant than at lower wind speeds. This will in turn influence the elemental U-value of the roof structure, thus reducing cooling loads indoors.peer-reviewe

Is albumin administration in the acutely ill associated with increased mortality? Results of the SOAP study

INTRODUCTION: Albumin administration in the critically ill has been the subject of some controversy. We investigated the use of albumin solutions in European intensive care units (ICUs) and its relationship to outcome. METHODS: In a cohort, multicenter, observational study, all patients admitted to one of the participating ICUs between 1 May and 15 May 2002 were followed up until death, hospital discharge, or for 60 days. Patients were classified according to whether or not they received albumin at any time during their ICU stay. RESULTS: Of 3,147 admitted patients, 354 (11.2%) received albumin and 2,793 (88.8%) did not. Patients who received albumin were more likely to have cancer or liver cirrhosis, to be surgical admissions, and to have sepsis. They had a longer length of ICU stay and a higher mortality rate, but were also more severely ill, as manifested by higher simplified acute physiology score (SAPS) II and sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) scores than the other patients. A Cox proportional hazard model indicated that albumin administration was significantly associated with decreased 30-day survival. Moreover, in 339 pairs matched according to a propensity score, ICU and hospital mortality rates were higher in the patients who had received albumin than in those who had not (34.8 versus 20.9% and 41.3 versus 27.7%, respectively, both p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Albumin administration was associated with decreased survival in this population of acutely ill patients. Further prospective randomized controlled trials are needed to examine the effects of albumin administration in sub-groups of acutely ill patients

3'-UTR SIRF: A database for identifying clusters of whort interspersed repeats in 3' untranslated regions

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Short (~5 nucleotides) interspersed repeats regulate several aspects of post-transcriptional gene expression. Previously we developed an algorithm (REPFIND) that assigns P-values to all repeated motifs in a given nucleic acid sequence and reliably identifies clusters of short CAC-containing motifs required for mRNA localization in <it>Xenopus </it>oocytes.</p> <p>Description</p> <p>In order to facilitate the identification of genes possessing clusters of repeats that regulate post-transcriptional aspects of gene expression in mammalian genes, we used REPFIND to create a database of all repeated motifs in the 3' untranslated regions (UTR) of genes from the Mammalian Gene Collection (MGC). The MGC database includes seven vertebrate species: human, cow, rat, mouse and three non-mammalian vertebrate species. A web-based application was developed to search this database of repeated motifs to generate species-specific lists of genes containing specific classes of repeats in their 3'-UTRs. This computational tool is called 3'-UTR SIRF (<b>S</b>hort <b>I</b>nterspersed <b>R</b>epeat <b>F</b>inder), and it reveals that hundreds of human genes contain an abundance of short CAC-rich and CAG-rich repeats in their 3'-UTRs that are similar to those found in mRNAs localized to the neurites of neurons. We tested four candidate mRNAs for localization in rat hippocampal neurons by <it>in situ </it>hybridization. Our results show that two candidate CAC-rich (<it>Syntaxin 1B </it>and <it>Tubulin β4</it>) and two candidate CAG-rich (<it>Sec61α </it>and <it>Syntaxin 1A</it>) mRNAs are localized to distal neurites, whereas two control mRNAs lacking repeated motifs in their 3'-UTR remain primarily in the cell body.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Computational data generated with 3'-UTR SIRF indicate that hundreds of mammalian genes have an abundance of short CA-containing motifs that may direct mRNA localization in neurons. <it>In situ </it>hybridization shows that four candidate mRNAs are localized to distal neurites of cultured hippocampal neurons. These data suggest that short CA-containing motifs may be part of a widely utilized genetic code that regulates mRNA localization in vertebrate cells. The use of 3'-UTR SIRF to search for new classes of motifs that regulate other aspects of gene expression should yield important information in future studies addressing <it>cis</it>-regulatory information located in 3'-UTRs.</p

Binge Alcohol Drinking Alters Synaptic Processing of Executive and Emotional Information in Core Nucleus Accumbens Medium Spiny Neurons

The nucleus accumbens (NAc) is a forebrain region mediating the positive-reinforcing properties of drugs of abuse, including alcohol. It receives glutamatergic projections from multiple forebrain and limbic regions such as the prefrontal cortex (PFCx) and basolateral amygdala (BLA), respectively. However, it is unknown how NAc medium spiny neurons (MSNs) integrate PFCx and BLA inputs, and how this integration is affected by alcohol exposure. Because progress has been hampered by the inability to independently stimulate different pathways, we implemented a dual wavelength optogenetic approach to selectively and independently stimulate PFCx and BLA NAc inputs within the same brain slice. This approach functionally demonstrates that PFCx and BLA inputs synapse onto the same MSNs where they reciprocally inhibit each other pre-synaptically in a strict time-dependent manner. In alcohol-naive mice, this temporal gating of BLA-inputs by PFCx afferents is stronger than the reverse, revealing that MSNs prioritize high-order executive processes information from the PFCx. Importantly, binge alcohol drinking alters this reciprocal inhibition by unilaterally strengthening BLA inhibition of PFCx inputs. In line with this observation, we demonstrate that in vivo optogenetic stimulation of the BLA, but not PFCx, blocks binge alcohol drinking escalation in mice. Overall, our results identify NAc MSNs as a key integrator of executive and emotional information and show that this integration is dysregulated during binge alcohol drinking

Coarsening on percolation clusters: out-of-equilibrium dynamics versus non linear response

We analyze the violations of linear fluctuation-dissipation theorem (FDT) in the coarsening dynamics of the antiferromagnetic Ising model on percolation clusters in two dimensions. The equilibrium magnetic response is shown to be non linear for magnetic fields of the order of the inverse square root of the number of sites. Two extreme regimes can be identified in the thermoremanent magnetization: (i) linear response and out-of-equilibrium relaxation for small waiting times (ii) non linear response and equilibrium relaxation for large waiting times. The function $X(C)$ characterizing the deviations from linear FDT cross-overs from unity at short times to a finite positive value for longer times, with the same qualitative behavior whatever the waiting time. We show that the coarsening dynamics on percolation clusters exhibits stronger long-term memory than usual euclidian coarsening.Comment: 17 pages, 10 figure

Unleashing the Power of Edge-Cloud Generative AI in Mobile Networks: A Survey of AIGC Services

Artificial Intelligence-Generated Content (AIGC) is an automated method for generating, manipulating, and modifying valuable and diverse data using AI algorithms creatively. This survey paper focuses on the deployment of AIGC applications, e.g., ChatGPT and Dall-E, at mobile edge networks, namely mobile AIGC networks, that provide personalized and customized AIGC services in real time while maintaining user privacy. We begin by introducing the background and fundamentals of generative models and the lifecycle of AIGC services at mobile AIGC networks, which includes data collection, training, finetuning, inference, and product management. We then discuss the collaborative cloud-edge-mobile infrastructure and technologies required to support AIGC services and enable users to access AIGC at mobile edge networks. Furthermore, we explore AIGCdriven creative applications and use cases for mobile AIGC networks. Additionally, we discuss the implementation, security, and privacy challenges of deploying mobile AIGC networks. Finally, we highlight some future research directions and open issues for the full realization of mobile AIGC networks

Increasing the options for reducing adverse events: Results from a modified Delphi technique

which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Background: The aim of this paper is to illustrate a simple method for increasing the range of possible options for reducing adverse events in Australian hospitals, which could have been, but was not, adopted in the wake of the landmark 1995 &apos;Quality in Australian Health Care &apos; study, and to report the suggestions and the estimated lapse time before they would impact upon mortality and morbidity. Method: The study used a modified Delphi technique that first elicited options for reducing adverse events from an invited panel selected on the basis of their knowledge of the area of adverse events and quality assurance. Initial suggestions were collated and returned to them for reconsideration and comment. Results: Completed responses from both stages were obtained from 20 of those initially approached. Forty-one options for reducing AEs were identified with an average lapse time of 3.5 years. Hospital regulation had the least delay (2.4 years) and out of hospital information the greatest (6.4 years). Conclusion: Following identification of the magnitude of the problem of adverse events in the &apos;Quality in Australian Health Care &apos; study a more rapid and broad ranging response was possible than occurred. Apparently viable options for reducing adverse events and associated mortality and morbidity remain unexploited