524 research outputs found
Lagrangian submanifolds and dynamics on Lie affgebroids
We introduce the notion of a symplectic Lie affgebroid and their Lagrangian
submanifolds in order to describe the Lagrangian (Hamiltonian) dynamics on a
Lie affgebroid in terms of this type of structures. Several examples are
discussed.Comment: 50 pages. Several sections update
Driving the resonant quantum kicked rotor via extended initial conditions
We study the resonances of the quantum kicked rotor subjected to an extended
initial distribution. For the primary resonances we obtain the dispersion
relation for the map of this system. We find an analytical dependence of the
statistical moments on the shape of the initial distribution. For the secondary
resonances we obtain numerically a similar dependence. This allows us to devise
an extended initial condition which produces an average angular momentum
pointing in a preset direction which increases with time with a preset ratio.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures, send to EPJ
Discrete Nonholonomic Lagrangian Systems on Lie Groupoids
This paper studies the construction of geometric integrators for nonholonomic
systems. We derive the nonholonomic discrete Euler-Lagrange equations in a
setting which permits to deduce geometric integrators for continuous
nonholonomic systems (reduced or not). The formalism is given in terms of Lie
groupoids, specifying a discrete Lagrangian and a constraint submanifold on it.
Additionally, it is necessary to fix a vector subbundle of the Lie algebroid
associated to the Lie groupoid. We also discuss the existence of nonholonomic
evolution operators in terms of the discrete nonholonomic Legendre
transformations and in terms of adequate decompositions of the prolongation of
the Lie groupoid. The characterization of the reversibility of the evolution
operator and the discrete nonholonomic momentum equation are also considered.
Finally, we illustrate with several classical examples the wide range of
application of the theory (the discrete nonholonomic constrained particle, the
Suslov system, the Chaplygin sleigh, the Veselova system, the rolling ball on a
rotating table and the two wheeled planar mobile robot).Comment: 45 page
"Author! Author!" : Shakespeare and biography
Original article can be found at: http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/title~content=t714579626~db=all Copyright Informa / Taylor & Francis Group. DOI: 10.1080/17450910902764454Since 1996, not a year has passed without the publication of at least one Shakespeare biography. Yet for many years the place of the author in the practice of understanding literary works has been problematized, and even on occasions eliminated. Criticism reads the “works”, and may or may not refer to an author whose “life” contributed to their meaning. Biography seeks the author in the works, the personality that precedes the works and gives them their characteristic shape and meaning. But the form of literary biography addresses the unusual kind of “life” that puts itself into “works”, and this is particularly challenging where the “works” predominate massively over the salient facts of the “life”. This essay surveys the current terrain of Shakespeare biography, and considers the key questions raised by the medium: can we know anything of Shakespeare's “personality” from the facts of his life and the survival of his works? What is the status of the kind of speculation that inevitably plays a part in biographical reconstruction? Are biographers in the end telling us as much about themselves as they tell us about Shakespeare?Peer reviewe
D* Production in Deep Inelastic Scattering at HERA
This paper presents measurements of D^{*\pm} production in deep inelastic
scattering from collisions between 27.5 GeV positrons and 820 GeV protons. The
data have been taken with the ZEUS detector at HERA. The decay channel
(+ c.c.) has been used in the study. The
cross section for inclusive D^{*\pm} production with
and is 5.3 \pms 1.0 \pms 0.8 nb in the kinematic region
{ GeV and }. Differential cross
sections as functions of p_T(D^{*\pm}), and are
compared with next-to-leading order QCD calculations based on the photon-gluon
fusion production mechanism. After an extrapolation of the cross section to the
full kinematic region in p_T(D^{*\pm}) and (D^{*\pm}), the charm
contribution to the proton structure function is
determined for Bjorken between 2 10 and 5 10.Comment: 17 pages including 4 figure
Observation of Scaling Violations in Scaled Momentum Distributions at HERA
Charged particle production has been measured in deep inelastic scattering
(DIS) events over a large range of and using the ZEUS detector. The
evolution of the scaled momentum, , with in the range 10 to 1280
, has been investigated in the current fragmentation region of the Breit
frame. The results show clear evidence, in a single experiment, for scaling
violations in scaled momenta as a function of .Comment: 21 pages including 4 figures, to be published in Physics Letters B.
Two references adde
Observation of hard scattering in photoproduction events with a large rapidity gap at HERA
Events with a large rapidity gap and total transverse energy greater than 5
GeV have been observed in quasi-real photoproduction at HERA with the ZEUS
detector. The distribution of these events as a function of the
centre of mass energy is consistent with diffractive scattering. For total
transverse energies above 12 GeV, the hadronic final states show predominantly
a two-jet structure with each jet having a transverse energy greater than 4
GeV. For the two-jet events, little energy flow is found outside the jets. This
observation is consistent with the hard scattering of a quasi-real photon with
a colourless object in the proton.Comment: 19 pages, latex, 4 figures appended as uuencoded fil
Interleukin-6 Receptor Antagonists in Critically Ill Patients with Covid-19.
BACKGROUND: The efficacy of interleukin-6 receptor antagonists in critically ill patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) is unclear. METHODS: We evaluated tocilizumab and sarilumab in an ongoing international, multifactorial, adaptive platform trial. Adult patients with Covid-19, within 24 hours after starting organ support in the intensive care unit (ICU), were randomly assigned to receive tocilizumab (8 mg per kilogram of body weight), sarilumab (400 mg), or standard care (control). The primary outcome was respiratory and cardiovascular organ support-free days, on an ordinal scale combining in-hospital death (assigned a value of -1) and days free of organ support to day 21. The trial uses a Bayesian statistical model with predefined criteria for superiority, efficacy, equivalence, or futility. An odds ratio greater than 1 represented improved survival, more organ support-free days, or both. RESULTS: Both tocilizumab and sarilumab met the predefined criteria for efficacy. At that time, 353 patients had been assigned to tocilizumab, 48 to sarilumab, and 402 to control. The median number of organ support-free days was 10 (interquartile range, -1 to 16) in the tocilizumab group, 11 (interquartile range, 0 to 16) in the sarilumab group, and 0 (interquartile range, -1 to 15) in the control group. The median adjusted cumulative odds ratios were 1.64 (95% credible interval, 1.25 to 2.14) for tocilizumab and 1.76 (95% credible interval, 1.17 to 2.91) for sarilumab as compared with control, yielding posterior probabilities of superiority to control of more than 99.9% and of 99.5%, respectively. An analysis of 90-day survival showed improved survival in the pooled interleukin-6 receptor antagonist groups, yielding a hazard ratio for the comparison with the control group of 1.61 (95% credible interval, 1.25 to 2.08) and a posterior probability of superiority of more than 99.9%. All secondary analyses supported efficacy of these interleukin-6 receptor antagonists. CONCLUSIONS: In critically ill patients with Covid-19 receiving organ support in ICUs, treatment with the interleukin-6 receptor antagonists tocilizumab and sarilumab improved outcomes, including survival. (REMAP-CAP ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT02735707.)
The current status of species recognition and identification in Aspergillus
The species recognition and identification of aspergilli and their
teleomorphs is discussed. A historical overview of the taxonomic concepts
starting with the monograph of Raper & Fennell
(1965) is given. A list of
taxa described since 2000 is provided. Physiological characters, particularly
growth rates and the production of extrolites, often show differences that
reflect phylogenetic species boundaries and greater emphasis should be placed
on extrolite profiles and growth characteristics in species descriptions.
Multilocus sequence-based phylogenetic analyses have emerged as the primary
tool for inferring phylogenetic species boundaries and relationships within
subgenera and sections. A four locus DNA sequence study covering all major
lineages in Aspergillus using genealogical concordance theory
resulted in a species recognition system that agrees in part with phenotypic
studies and reveals the presence of many undescribed species not resolved by
phenotype. The use of as much data from as many sources as possible in making
taxonomic decisions is advocated. For species identification, DNA barcoding
uses a short genetic marker in an organism”s DNA to quickly and easily
identify it to a particular species. Partial cytochrome oxidase subunit 1
sequences, which are used for barcoding animal species, were found to have
limited value for species identification among black aspergilli. The various
possibilities are discussed and at present partial β-tubulin or
calmodulin are the most promising loci for Aspergillus
identification. For characterising Aspergillus species one
application would be to produce a multilocus phylogeny, with the goal of
having a firm understanding of the evolutionary relationships among species
across the entire genus. DNA chip technologies are discussed as possibilities
for an accurate multilocus barcoding tool for the genus
Aspergillus
Association of a novel mutation in the plasmodium falciparum chloroquine resistance transporter with decreased piperaquine sensitivity
Background. Amplified copy number in the plasmepsin II/III genes within Plasmodium falciparum has been associated with decreased sensitivity to piperaquine. To examine this association and test whether additional loci might also contribute, we performed a genome-wide association study of ex vivo P. falciparum susceptibility to piperaquine. Methods. Plasmodium falciparum DNA from 183 samples collected primarily from Cambodia was genotyped at 33 716 genomewide single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Linear mixed models and random forests were used to estimate associations between parasite genotypes and piperaquine susceptibility. Candidate polymorphisms were evaluated for their association with dihydroartemisinin- piperaquine treatment outcomes in an independent dataset. Results. Single nucleotide polymorphisms on multiple chromosomes were associated with piperaquine 90% inhibitory concentrations (IC90) in a genome-wide analysis. Fine-mapping of genomic regions implicated in genome-wide analyses identified multiple SNPs in linkage disequilibrium with each other that were significantly associated with piperaquine IC90, including a novel mutation within the gene encoding the P. falciparum chloroquine resistance transporter, PfCRT. This mutation (F145I) was associated with dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine treatment failure after adjusting for the presence of amplified plasmepsin II/III, which was also associated with decreased piperaquine sensitivity. Conclusions. Our data suggest that, in addition to plasmepsin II/III copy number, other loci, including pfcrt, may also be involved in piperaquine resistance
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